001[Applause] a little wild huh it's a great event Saturday a great event Saturday yes good neighborhood I know we don't have to oh supp we're going to begin our regular meeting today I'm going to ask uh student member Joseph fin Lee to lead us in bless uh but after the the BL I we to ask everyone remain standing we have a moment silence please stand put your right hand over your heart ready begin Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands one nation God indivisible andice for all we are sadden to hear the passing of one Elementary School second grade student we Yin Wang wein lovingly known as Mimi was Treasure member of the one school family touching the heart of Med her kindness warmth and joyful
002Spirit mayi had an infectionist smile and gentle heart that brighten every classroom she entered her personality and Mia present brought comfort and joy to her friend and teachers alike at school May found joy in playing with her more though often carried with her as a source of comfort and happiness she deeply loved My Little Pony and the music always brought her immense Joy her face lit up as she heard the song Baby shock her absence is deeply felt by her classmate teachers and all who had the privilege of knowing her though maybe time with Earth were far too short the love and the share and happiness she brought will forever remain in our heart her kindness Gentle Spirit and joyful nature had left a permanent mark on one Elementary School and the memories of the
003warmth and happiness she brought to the life to touch will be forever cherished we EX stand our deepest condolences to the family and friend of the way Yin Wang a moment of silence now begins a moment of silence now end it please be seated thank you like to first I announce to everyone too that this session is also being live streamed out to the community and because of that we don't take rooll call anymore so anyone can see who's uh who's here but today we're missing uh trusty Dina win she's uh ill she not feeling well today so we wish her speedy recovery and the first item on the agenda today is uh recognition first I like to invite assistant superintendent liisa SW uh of superintendent of second Elementary education and Stephanie Hein the assistant
004superintendent of secondary education to present the spelling bees winner good evening board President W members of the board Dr mafy staff and community members we are so excited this year to have host our 37th Annual Spelling be in elementary education I am here to recognize this year's fourth through sixth grade champion who spell down 43 other elementary site winners with that I'd like to introduce Ilana win from alen elementary school when asked what she likes about spelling Eliana shared that she appreciates that it is based on skill not luck and that you can learn the rules and imply them to words she shared that she prepared for the spelling be by competing since fourth grade and studying with her family she said one time her piano teacher asked her to spell the word word Exquisite
005and she got it wrong so she learned it and it actually came up in the spelling be and she obviously got it right this time well Ilana is a superstar in spelling her favorite subject is math and she loves the challenge of writing as well when not studying Ilana enjoys playing the piano flute and helping out with her siblings and she is the oldest by two minutes of her twin brother ilana's winning spelling word was miscellaneous ilana's teachers shared that she is a hard worker and gave it her all in this year's competition and they are all very proud of her Ilana is joined tonight by her father her siblings and her principal Mrs Jamie Wells congratulations to our spelling be champion in elementary Ilana win we're very proud of you sweetie give you a
006certificate she get and we're going to take pictures later so come over here and we'll let secondary go ready all right good evening president win members of the board Dr Mafi staff and community members if you were at that intermediate spelling be this year you know it was quite the exciting final round today we're celebrating our winner Katherine Sweeney who is a current eighth grader at Jordan intermediate placing first in our 37th Annual Spelling be Katherine competed against 39 other students and took the trophy correctly spelling the word I ioli this marks the second year in a row that a student from Jordan intermediate has won the be Katherine demonstrates not only success in her academic skills but goal 2A motivation Catherine practice her word list recommended by our coaches every day Miss Martin and
007Miss Stewart Katherine has attended ggusd school since kindergarten beginning at Cook Elementary and now at Jordan her favorite subject is English and she found daily hanging out with her friend can be found daily hanging out with her friends at lunch discussing her upcoming assignments Catherine is joined by her father as well as her principal Mr Nick Clark and here's another fun fact about Catherine she is quite the foodie she really I know she really enjoys chicken particularly Fried Chicken from popey's congratulations Katherine we are very proud of your accomplishments come over with me and we're gon to go ahead and do pictures we take pictures yeah we take a short recet to take the pictures absolutely and then we'll do one yep you're gon to stand right next door or next to yep Catherine why
008don't you come over here everybody [Applause] than now come another exciting presentation would like to invite Mr Chason Baka assistant superintendent Personnel to present employees of the month good evening board president win Board of Education trustees Dr Mafi staff and Community I am pleased to recognize our March employees of the month as you know our district is filled with amazing employees but these two definitely Stand Out gusd is employeer of the month program is designed to recognize employees who put others first go above and beyond to make a difference in their role carry out each day with a positive attitude strong work ethic and demonstrate Innovation leadership and passion for their job I'm excited to announce our classified employee of the month is Inda Torres yes Inda joined the district in 2005 as a substitute
009custodian she was quickly picked up as a custodian at morning side from 2005 to 2006 and has been serving as a custodian at Walton intermediate since 2006 Inda was recommended for this Honor by by staff who shared that she is a beloved member of the Walton community and has a natural gift for building lasting relationships with students and families Inda truly adds to the positive culture and climate of the school helping students feel welcome and cared for Inda is a servant leader who carries out her duties with great care and attention to detail she takes pride in creating a clean and safe School environment and supporting staff whenever and however needed the Walton Community is grateful for Inda and all that she does to support them each day congratulations Zinda and our certificated employee of
010the month is Cindy kobashi [Applause] okay so Cindy joined the district in 2007 and has taught third fifth and sixth grade at Russell Elementary Language Academy where she currently serves as a community schools coach Cindy was nominated by a Russell family member who said Cindy shows great care for her students uh they also making sure that she succeeds or that they succeed in school and at home the parents shared that Cindy was able to assist a child who was feeling unmotivated to attend school and thanks to her leadership the situation was resolved and she was able to get the student back and excited about school and confident in Social Circles Cindy builds lasting connections with students who often come back to visit her and share that she motivated them to achieve their goals Cindy was
011also nominated by staff members who shared that she always puts students first putting in many hours to support their academic pentathlon to take photos for the yearbook and to be there for students and their families in every imaginable way congratulations to Inda Torres and Cindy Kobayashi who join who are joined by family friends and colleagues uh we wish you all congratulations again we're going to get to see a quick video here to Spotlight all the wonderful things these exemplary employees do after video we'll take some photos [Applause] [Music] thank you I appreciate the honor I love my job because of the students I like getting to know them and helping them wton is like a home to me the staff is like a family thank you again I'm the plant one here at Walton and
012uh I'm here uh to talk about um Inda Tores originally when I first came here to Walton it was in 2008 and Inda had gotten here in 2006 and let me tell you I've been a custodian uh roughly since I was 16 and I'm now 50 and uh Inda Tores is the the best custodian I've ever worked alongside with she has made me better I've learned so much being by her side the thing about Inda what makes her uh extra great is that she cares cares about the students she cares about the campus she cares about people and I think that's the biggest key with her is that she cares about each individual uh here at Walton and so I'd like to congratulate her once once again and uh Walton is very lucky uh to
013have had her the entire time that she's been at the Garden girl school district very fortunate and Walton is is the best because of people like in Inda taures congratulations for being employee of the month for March uh we're we're super proud of you and uh we see it every day we see it every day congratulations Inda um we are super proud of you and first and foremost I want to say since 2012 you've been nothing but great and amazing the person that you are as a former wild cat and to now working with you I love you for many reasons for the person you are for being so caring and loving not only to the student but all the staff we love you and we want to congratulate you on winning [Music] again I
014just wanted to say thank you so much for this incredibly special recognition um I've been so blessed to work at Russell for the last 18 years um and I've taught sixth grade fifth grade and third grade and this year I get to do the a new role of Community Schools teacher coach r is so special to me our students are such a joy to be around and they have so much heart and character we have an amazing staff who truly care about the students and their well-being and our Russell families and Community are so supportive hardworking and friendly I became a teacher because I wanted to give back and serve others but I feel that I have been given so much more from the Russell Community what drives and motivates me each day is seeing
015the lifelong success of our Scholars and I love being able to keep in touch with our students stud even after they leave our school the Russell Community has become like family to me and I'm so grateful for all of the friendships and relationships that I have here thanks again so much for this recognition well miss Kashi congratulations for being employee of the month we all know that you deserve it because you go Way Beyond your duties at school she's so caring and not only towards me or you know my kid because we've known each other but also with every kid around her I feel really grateful towards her I think she's such an incredible person so to me she did like this award for her is well well deserved congrats Miss kobashi on being named
016employee of the month I Believe Miss Kobayashi is deserving this award because I remember first through fifth grade leading up to sixth grade I wasn't in the right mindset at the time I was getting in trouble every single day when I got to sixth grade was when Miss kobashi put me in check and she pushed me to be in pentathlon and after that I just I wanted to not only do it for myself but for her and make her proud for example she always checked up on me every single year even throughout Co she always checked up on me and said how are you doing even when she was doing when even when she was in Japan and I feel like if it weren't for her I wouldn't be where I am today in Cy
017Fullerton can we please invite IND first [Applause] here one more ready [Applause] watch [Music] we love you where okay [Music] good going to take a short break now but this is a time if you have something else to do at night tonight or tomorrow you can quietly leave the room and no question asked what's the score yeah marit end of the first hey Walter sanago 1512 end of the she's got David on [Music] I got you he'll give me an update right before yeah put on the screen let's we yeah that's what we always say about that that school it's a community you going to resume our meeting now so um next item on the public comments do we have any request to speak we have none we have none so we can move on
018to the next item with it approval of the minute from the last meeting on February 18 2025 any comment request for correction hearing none I let's call for the vote truste Josephine Lee Yes trusty Walter munan yes trusty Terry Roco hi trusty Bob Hardon hi chairperson Lenn win yes item four is um the administration we have item 4 a uh I need a motion I move we approve item 4 a quick question before that motion would we at this point motion which option we would like to choose I know there was two options presented to us Oh no you're going to open it and then and then we'll discuss okay sounds good a motion the item second okay so item four a is to um vote to appoint uh several members seven member to serve
019on the csba uh delegate assembly for the for the terms of 2025 for the region 15 uh we have a list of some nine members we need to select seven member from this and it's open for discussion now would you like me to just review with the board uh yes sir um so we've set up this is the California school Birds Association delegates e each of um the districts receive a set number of delegates based on their District size in our case we receed two delegates but these are additional delegates that school districts May apply for so over the course of my 12 years as we've done this we typically have protocols um where we select um not more than one per District um up to a certain amount that are allowed and then um
020we start with the unified school districts followed by the high school districts which are typically larger followed by the smaller School District districts and then if we have to eliminate any then that would go to um the districts that are that are further away not as um adjacent to us as a district this is the first year we've had uh the submission of two candidates as right in candidates we did get clarification since it's the first time it's happened and apparently they had missed the deadline but they still wanted us to honor them and we're not sure why they made that designation or if it's never happened in the past so I presented the board with two options which would be to either um foro the writing candidates um even though they are according to
021csba all to be included or just follow our normal normal protocols um as I indicated in my board letter I would like to open to the board the suggestion of only voting for The Seven that submitted their paperwork on time that would be my suggestion yeah I'm inclined to agree with that but in case that if they put it on to put the candidate on the list doesn't mean they not eligible if they are not eligible by the bylaw of thepa that would not be put on the list are we do we know if that comply with the bylaw we did um clarify was C SBA and they indicated because this is the first time they ever said a right in name which usually is blank when you ask for a write a name and
022so they indicated that we should consider all of them and that was the extent to the um instructions that they gave us so if we they say that we should consider all them meaning that they are eligible for the voting purpose right that is true but it doesn't necessarily mean that the board has to vote for them yes that that is a consideration for all seven or nine of them here so um I think we have some protocol and according to the future process and elimination process we uh did come down with the seven member uh with all all the candidate except the member Beverly Berman and also Angela Hernandez those are the two member because they not in in the elimination process they go out that's the proposal from the superintendent so if if
023if we follow that protocol then we should elect everyone else except Beverly bman and Angela Hernandez is that your recommendation I provided two recommendations just because we've never had writing candidates before so it's a little unusual we weren't really sure why they gave them to us that way however if we were to follow if we were to consider them all equally my recommendation based on the past protocols would be to eliminate Angela Hernandez because there are two members from c a very small district and when we have two members we would always um select the incumbent and then um following our pattern of the various districts by size um the smallest District size that is CLO uh furthest from us would be Fullerton and that would be Beverly bman so one recommendation would be to
024vote for all excluding Angela Hernandez and Beverly bman the other option I gave to the board because this was unique and we never had it happen is to vote for the seven that were listed not as writing candidates and I have no preference I just gave those two options as meeting our existing protocols and this new protocol given an unexpected circumstance that was option one and then option two right yes so option one would be to follow our typical protocols and and sort of disregard the right-in status and the other option would be since we've never had the right-in status would be to just for the seven who submitted that were not wrin and and I just added that in as an option because it's never happened before and I wanted to give the board
025two options and to clarify the the reason that the the the two right in names are there is because the paperwork was submitted late there's paperwork was submitted past the deadline but yet when we asked for clarification from csba they said they still should be considered equally for a vote I think they had never had it happen before for either so but that mean we have two uh two options should we call for the vote for two options separately so that we can come down or does anyone have any motion to consider one more one option or the other op just to C for option two is just to vote for the seven individuals that submitted the paperwork before the deadline so I would like to motion option two and I'll second option two right
026okay that's option two is to select only uh the seven member who submitted the paperwork or whatever uh on time so they consider the official candidate for this election purpose let's call to vote option two student trusty Josephine Lee yes thank you trusty Walter munton yes trusty Terry Roco um I do know that um Carrie Flanders is um been on a delegate assembly a long time I'm not sure why she didn't submit her her paperwork on time but um I'm leaning more toward option one so I guess it's a no that count the vote no no no vote trusty Bob Hardon uh I'm a yes thank you and chairperson Lenn no so we impact oh okay that's then so somebody then somebody move somebody move so I will move to consider just say option one
027to consider the seven member as um as recommended by a superintendent except the two member bever bman and Angela Hernandez I need a second now we're voting for option one so Glen put the motion and now he need a second I second okay motion let's call for the vote now stent truste Josephine Lee abstain thank you trusty Walter muntin no trusty Terry Rocco I trusty Bob Harden I want to go home tonight yes chairperson Len win that mean yes yeah yeah all right yes okay so that conclude item four now on item five on the programs and instruction we have item 5 a to d i need a motion yeah I'll move five items 5 a through D second second thank you um item 5 a to re uh recommend the approval of the 78
028and 9 to 12 course of study and course title list as presented for the 2025 26 uh school years and that item is very bogy with a lot of reading material item 5 b is to approve the adult education course of study and course uh title list for the school year 2025 and 26 also Boi item 5c is to um approve the recommendation to allow our students to apply uh for the scholarship to participate in sixth and seventh grade uh student in the year 2025 Pacific Symphony Arts Act press uh program uh which will they will pay some tour if they low income they can apply for reduced tour to participate in this wonderful program uh item 5D it to approve a number of our district event uh item number one is to allow 20
029cheer member from Gand High School to participate in Universal cheerleader Association National in Orlando Florida on February 4th 10 2025 second event is to allow nine academic the catalon student from Bona granding High School to participate in academic the catalon state competition in s Santa Clarita uh on March 2020 to 23rd 2025 at third uh event is to allow 30 colard members from Pacific High School to attend Winter Guard Association of Southern California in Las Vegas championship in Henderson Nevada on March 28 to 30 2025 the fourth event is to allow 13 CTE education pathway students uh from Bona Grande High School to attend the skill USA California state competition in Ontario Convention Center on April 10 to 13 202 25 the fifth event to allow um 12 keywin members uh from linta high school
030to attend the kwin district convention in Woodland Hills California on April 11 to 13 and the last event it to allow some 88 grade students from mavin intermediate uh to attend the Washington DC strip uh in the west DC uh on March 14 to 20th of 2026 and comment question on any of the item the Boi um the list study I noted that um we now have the the vi acnes study course been offered does begin uh next year or next semester this approval this approval is for the um 2526 school year so we've been we've been working on it this year but it will be prepared to go to serve as an ethnic studies graduation requirement in the fall but we have started our e study beginning this year right that's correct thank you
031any other question hearing none call for the vote student trustee Josephine Lee yes trusty Walter mitton hi trusty Terry Roco hi trusty Bob Parton hi chairperson Lenn hi item six is on business we have item 6 a to I trust Roo I move we approve item 6 a through I Walter I'll second it thank you uh item 6A is to approve the accept the board to accept the second interim report and certify that the district will be able to meet it financial obligation for the rest of the school year 2024 25th and for two subsequent uh fiscal years item 6B is to approve resolution number 17 to revise income uh and then do the income and expenditure for the year 2024 25 which is which is different from the finan the final budget item 6C
032to approve um resolution number 18 for the budget transfer would authorize a budget transfer between expenditure classification in according to Education Code section 42600 item 60 to approve bit 248 uh for transportation Roofing replacing project to award uh the the accept of the bid form transportation department roof and placement project uh from Chapman cost Roof Company in the amount of 330,000 28 and according to the terms and condition of bit number 2408 item 6 is it to appr uh approve the completion of project at uh various site uh form completed by true Line Construction and surfacing Inc at the gandro high school and JL car painting Construction in at San Diego High School and noted the completion to be signed and file and invoice process for payment item 6f is to ratify to approve the
033awarding informal bit number 25-11 to 25-16 under the California uniform public construction cost accounting act to Bravo science and design ink Circle CD Electric ink Uh custom science Franklin mechanical system ink more for Schon and Southern California landscape Inc item 6 Z is to accept the annual report for the period July 1st 2023 to June 30th 2024 for mejor A and P citizen Bond oversight committee and that the statement that the district isn't compliant with the article 13A section one pantis b p b of C of the California Constitution is that the last one then I no yeah item 6 I I'm sorry okay I 68 it reject it rejection of claim uh from the law office of RTM law uh a professional corporation on behalf of the client Ricardo aquus for the uh aless
034uh personal injury sustain on September 13 and item 6 I is to approve the purchase order and check for the total amount of 6 million 83,000 3876 any comment question and hearing none just call for the vote student trusty Josephine Lee Yes trusty Walter muntin hi trusty Terry Roco hi trusty Bob Harden hi chairperson lwin yes item seven Personnel we have uh 7 A2 e M yes I'm sorry a M7 a to I uh but we did have on item J we did a close session with a superintendent and assistant superintendent to discuss different issue the Personnel Service and pending litigation and conference with the labor negotiator and confence with the legal council to discuss us uh on labor related issues and no action were taken and but I need a motion for 7A through
035I Walter I move 7 a through I yeah second thank you item 7A is to report on a c certificate personnel report 7B is the report to approve the report on a classifying Personnel report 7 C is to approve and to ratify the teny agreement with cs CSA chapter 121 to increase uh the salary schedule by 1% for the school year 2023 24 effective July 1st 202 2 4 and for the 2024 25 school years and also employees was received a one time 1.75 cents per of salary schedule increase on a base rent a base pay for the year for the school year 2024 25 F school year item 7D is also to ratify the teny agreement with the G Education Association also with 1% salary increase for 2023 24 base pay for each employees
036um and preschool and adult education teachers teaching 25 25 hours or more affected July 1st 2024 in addition employees shall receive in one time 1.7 25% off scheduled salaries payment this payment will be based on their base salary for the school year 2024 25 salary schedule and will be paid at the year end item 7e is also to ratify the tenative agreement with the GG supervisory unit to increase the 20 2324 salary scheduled by 1% effective July 1st 2024 for the 2024 and 25 school year additionally employee uh will receive one time 1.75% off salary schedule increase on base pay for the 2024 25 fiscal year at the year end item four F it to to approve the 1% salary increase for classified subtitute tutor and college worker effective February 16 2025 item 7 Z
037is to approve also an increase to the 20 2023 24 salary schure by 1% for confidential employees and student supervision uh assistant affected July 1st 2024 for the 2024 25 to year additional employee will receive a onetime 1.75% off salary schedule increase on base pay for the 2024 25 fiscal year and year end item 7X not me item 7 78 is to approve 1% salary increase on the 2023 24 base pay for management employees classifying certificate assistant superintendent and superintendent affected July 1st 2024 in addition employee will receive a one time time 1.75% off schedu salary payment this payment will be based on the base salary on 2024 25 salary scheduled and will be paid at the end of the of the SCH year item 7 I is to approve the 1% salary increase for
038board member Factory March 2025 any other bargaining unit asking for arise come now any uh careful what you ask for this the last day right so um yeah that is uh item 712 782 I any comment question having none just call for the vote student trusty Josephine Lee obain trusty Walter mouron hi trusty Terry Rocco hi trusty Bob Harden hi chairperson Len win hi now moving on to the last item on the agenda for closing begin with uh discussion by board member we ask to stud the member josephin Lee start first though it hasn't been long since we last met our district has been thriving with student achievements community events and inspiring initiatives we ended February with our Career and Technical education programs in full swing with students exploring Pathways with Hands-On learning experiences preparing
039students for future careers our schools have also hosted meaningful community service and engagement events the Parkview student leadership team successfully raised funds to support those affected by the LA fires Hazard Elementary brought families together for for kindness month and gusd Food Services launched Ramadan meal kits to support students observing Ramadan additionally Allan Elementary partnered with the UCI Health's iMobile to provide free Vision Care for students our district student athletes have been making history Santiago High School's boys basketball team recently claimed the CIF championship and are playing in the Southern California Regional playoffs Pacifica high school after a strong run to the CIF semifinals is visiting Maranatha Christian in their Regional game and buag Grande High School girls basketball team is set to compete against University Prep in the Regional playoffs we also celebrated literacy and
040the Arts with read Across America events featuring guest readers from local police and fire departments and outstanding School Musical performances including the Jungle Book and Annie as the spring season approaches excitement is building across ggusd schools for upcoming events like prom and talent shows prom planning is underway with high schools beginning to reveal their theme sparking enthusiasm among students additionally several high schools are organizing talent shows providing students with an opportunity to showcase their unique skills and creativity in front of peers and faculty with spring break just around the corner students and staff alike are looking forward to some well-deserved time off to recharge and enjoy the season our district remains dedicated to promoting Student Success Community engagement and lifelong learning and I'm excited to see all that we'll achieve in the coming months ahead
041thank you thank you ch um trusty won yes good evening um first I wanted to ask our assistant sup if we have an update on the Santiago basketball game I do I have a few updates Pacifica just finished they're up 28 to 27 um bulla girls basketball unfortunately lost 38 to 30 and the third quarter just started foran thank thank you for those very important updates that we had a stop a board meeting to get them it takes 430 seriously around here so we got to get those updates and thank you for that um yeah first I want to congratulate um our certificated and classified you know staff members of the month um we had a beautiful showing um from their colleagues their families and their friends um yeah it was it was awesome and
042I love the how there were some pictures uh a fan like little fan sticks that was awesome um yeah just great um to see them come out and be a part of this and then also the spelling be winners um I was unable to attend the spelling bees but just seeing them here and getting to hear the words that they used to um win I try to spell some and I asked the teacher in the on the board to see if I spell them correctly but I didn't do didn't do so hard but uh yeah Kudos kudos to them kudos to them a couple of events um that I've attended um starting with open house at Santiago um February 20th and at that time I didn't know that that would be a precursor to what
043would be later to come which I'll report out as well but one thing that I noted uh noticed at the open house is there was a lot of families there a lot of families and I started to really optimistic because these were the number of uh the turnout was like preco times where we would have like so many people out into these open houses uh and after the pandemic I kind of noticed that it was hard to kind of get folks to come back you know maybe for whatever reason but I just noted one thing like wow it was just a lot of people uh there and it was um an awesome time a couple days after that I attended the Jungle Book uh play at Violet Elementary School uh actually was seated right next
044to Lisa um and one thing that we both probably noted right when we got there is we felt like we were fully immersed in a jungle experience like it was beautifully decorated uh there was Vines trees bananas and there were even like hidden little things that you had to really look at and look at the fine details to get there I thought it was amazing um I loved it um took my family as well and they loved it I was surprised that Andres and Esme were sitting there just boom like not moving so they were enjoying the show and having a good time and yeah it I know it it takes a lot of work to host those plays So Lisa please you know let them know that they're doing a fantastic job and you
045know we we love them and I still have a couple more to attend I'm sure my board colleagues have attended them as well as well as our superintendent so those are always fantastic to see that day was a busy day um cuz then afterwards in the evening I went over to the Tav tavet Gala uh that was hosted um in recognition of our dual immersion programs and the Partnerships we have with them um I uh spoke with uh president NN and I you know reached out to him prior to the event and I was like you know what what should I expect it was my first time going he's like oh you know bring your Al have a good time it's going to be great um just a word of heads up if you ever
046go to a social event with lond win you're going to have a good time because um I he had some tricks of his sleeve so let me let me kind of give you the visual so I'm over here sitting in our table the program is going smoothly and next thing you know there is a beauty pageant that's about to take place and I'm like cool I'm going to see you know a pageant and have a good time little did I know that Lun signed me up for the pageant so myself and Len were members uh were contestants in this pageant and there were about 28 contestants and I was like holy moly and we're front and center and everybody's you know watching us and uh long story short uh it gets cut to the top
047eight and guess what I make the top eight so now I have to stay on even longer I had to do a Q&A I had to do a catwalk I had to practice hand waving it was a full-on show I wasn't prepared long story short I did not win maybe that was a good thing but overall I had I had a BL and you know thank you L for for you know making me come out and you know having a good time you beat me but you lost to Robert gy from g r I did I did you can't you can't out shine that guy yeah he's he's really good but overall had a had a great time and it was a good experience um then um yeah like March 1st we had our Santiago
048High School resource Fair um and for those that went it was a fantastic event and it was an event that could not have been made possible without the countless hours um and dedication and work with you know from our staff um everybody involved in that in terms of promoting the event um having uh student volunteers come out um you know letting the parent leaders know um so there's a lot of people to shout out but just some definitely some key ones that deserve the praise and really highlights the importance of community schools and our vision is obviously um Nicole um who is our Community Schools teacher at Santiago who did a fantastic job she is now like a social media Guru she um was doing very well promoting the event and making sure that she
049got folks out there um obviously Christina the principle at Santiago High School who fully Embraces the ideology of what it is to be a community schools because like we saw today Russell for example there are some schools that we have in our district that have always been Community Schools it's just now that we have the official capacity and the funding that we're getting from the state but they they've always been like that and and it's great to see Christina uh you know holding the ship and making sure that we um you know had a a great showing and then obviously uh we need to also give kudos to supervisor serento um and brose as well which is um his Aid that specifically works with our city and our district um because um for those folks
050that don't know the the County Board of Supervisors have a lot of um funds and a lot of resources at their hands that we were never fully able to embrace because we didn't have those relationships with prior Board of Supervisors and in this case the supervisor from what I've known just from what I've known we've been able to establish um uh hotels and potential um uh home homeless shelters for our families through the mckin vento program um ensuring that we get funds for for that as well um and then also getting vendors to come out to this resource Fair agencies and overall just uh providing us with a lot of key folks um that were out there that were doing eligibility for medical and other County Services I just think it's a great opportunity that
051we have uh a partner in the county um to be able to do what we what it is that we would like so yeah overall was a great event I was able to go with Terry um and Lun and then I was able to see Bob there as well and it it was just an amazing experience to see that um and it just um yeah I'm just looking forward to to much more potential that we have to do so that was exciting and and Kudos also to Terry um as well her laying the foundation and the framework from when her days with community outreach as well and and kind of seeing what it is Blossom what it is today I'm sure that you probably were even more excited and thrilled to see um you know
052this uh work come into pration and really uh look at our Community as a partner rather than somebody who just comes in and out so yeah kudos to everybody loved it um and lastly I do want to end with the note you know just unfortunate as as we heard today from our board um president lenda win um about the passing of our student from Warren Elementary School um you know when you do the um you know the moments of silence and you know if it's a staff member who's lived uh you know a great life that did so much service to our our district and were able to become grandparents and and got to live a life and they pass and we honor them but you know when it's a little one that's attending our
053elementary schools you know it it just kind of feels very uh saddened uh to get that news obviously we got that news before um tonight so you know we were able to process that but I also want to um you know acknowledge and give my condolences to the Mafi family uh on behalf of the munaton family and on behalf of the board uh for the passing um Gabriel as well so I want to also publicly give my condolences um you know eight years ago I got on this board and Gabriel has been nothing but like family to me um and you know just knowing that a member of her family had to go through that it it hurts me as well so you know I just want to give my condolences to you trusty uh
054rocku yes uh first of all I like to extend my congratulations of course to our outstanding spelling be winners it was very exciting attending both the uh four through six and the 78 spelling bees um very tense very tense moments for the kids and uh I also want to recognize the hard work and the achievement of all the students who participated the ones that didn't win uh they work very hard to get there and um kudos to them for for you know putting themselves out there and studying so hard and doing so well and I want to give a big shout out to our exemplary employees of of the month Cindy and India and just to let people know we're just very grateful for their dedication for their hard work and the positive impact that
055they have on our students but as you saw not just our students our parents and our other staff members rally around them so this is really it's for them but it's for all of their community and um I want to say kudos to hair um high school for being named at 2025 model continuation High School by the state of California for offering ex exceptional academic and social opportunities for our kids uh our kiddos at the um at their school and I believe this is what the third time fourth time and it and it's the recognition is for three years years right so they've been going quite quite a bit living up to the to that high standard and in addition the principal Lydia Machado was awarded the 2025 continuation education uh educational administrator of the
056Year by the Association of California school administrators so we're very very proud of her she's worked really really hard all these years I love going to hair High School I feel like I'm on any of our other high school campuses the the um the quality of Education the passion the instructors have and the staff that works there for our kids and all of the wonderful things that I see happening there so very proud and uh it's been I've been really busy doing a lot of reading because it's read Across America week um which of for those of you who may be secondary you've heard of it but it's really to promote reading and literacy and to encourage love of reading in our kids and so a lot of our schools host of a day when
057they have uh guest readers come in so I uh have was a guest reader at uh see where was I Stanford Garden Park Zion and wake uh reading to three classes each time uh which was a lot of fun anything from TK to sixth grade and um you know we celebrate Dr Seuss's birthday her his real name is Theodore Seuss Geisel he's was never really a doctor his dad wanted him to be a doctor that's why he stuck that doctor in front of his name but fascinating person and uh I think what I wanted to do this time around was to make sure kids saw I had a little bought a little biography um maybe fourth fifth grade level that I wanted them to kind of take interest in reading about because they knew Dr
058suus they knew he wrote stories and books but they never knew things like his mom worked at a bakery selling pies and she would make up all these crazy silly rhymes and that's how she'd sell the pies and that's where he's got his love of rhyming and his dad worked at a zoo and um he took him took uh him to work with him right he went with his dad to the zoo all the time and was fascinated by The Animals on top of that he had a very vivid imagination so he would come home and on his bedroom walls all the way around draw huge pictures of animals with interesting characteristics like the ones you see in his books so um I told the kids so if you want to know more about him
059you got to read this book they were very interested but I think one of the highlights was this morning I had to read two more Upper Grade kids and I thought wow I don't know if they're going to really they probably have heard these Dr Seuss books over and over and over so I asked the kids well I have this book here or I have green eggs and ham and they were all excited about green eggs and ham I go oh you want me to read green green eggs and ham yeah I said oh I'm glad I asked you because I thought maybe you were too old for Green Eggs and Ham they said oh no we're never too old for green eggs in h so it was a lot of fun so that's been
060kind of fun this week um we had a couple of community events that I attended one was the Westminister city council meeting where they gave us this wonderful plaque uh in recognition of our sponsorship of the Tet parade and our participation so so pass it down to Dr mauy to put it wherever we put our our our recognitions so that was nice they recognized uh Garden Grove School District and Westminster that night I also attended the Orange County Pathways showcase which I just happened to hear about from our PTA council president and uh I really wasn't sure what it was but I'm really glad that I went because they were it was hosted by the Orange County Department of Education and they showcased high schools like ours uh and uh community colleges that have CTA
061Pathways so they had different booths and so we uh were repres well represented in Garden Grove I think with six different Pathways there you walked in and it was amazing to see all of these great CTA programs in different districts and in in the community college as well and so I wish I would have known what it was I would have help pushed to promote it more with our students because there were students there and for kids seeing is believing and seeing kids get enthusiastic about cyber security or uh automotive technology or culinary arts I tried to do the thing with the decorating they had these squiggly lines you had to try to do and it was hard but uh but fun this a hands-on experience that kids can get and go hey I might
062like this so um I think it's great I'm glad that we as a district are putting more of an emphasis on another option for our kids and uh I think that the Orange County department Ed also wants to lead the way um in the nation I heard in College and Career Readiness and success I think they're copying us don't you but anyway uh just wanting to prioritize the awareness of these programs and the access to all students so it was a very worthwhile um event for sure and um Santiago as as Walter said had an amazing community resource fair for me it was like Disneyland because I have I have been involved in planning these events and I know how much work goes into it but for our they had so many Community Partners ERS
063on a Saturday it's very difficult to get people to come on a Saturday because they typically work during the week but there were people there they were enthused to be there they were very helpful it was actually a community resource fun fair and it was fun it was fun for everyone ask Walter they had child care he was very happy but they also had activities for the kids they had kids performing so it was not just bringing the resources to the community but bringing bringing the community in to appreciate um the the Beauty and the wealth that's inv that's in their environment in their schools and in their Community uh I think it was very well done and very successful and I can't wait to see what the next one's going to be like so
064that's it for me thank you uh trusty Harden I think I want to start by congratulating Cesar Loya seor seor laa the principal at Monroe Language Academy who cab has figured out what we've known for a long time H and Cesar was named this year as the cab administrator of the year uh will be honored in a lunch coming up in a couple of weeks um but congratulations to a Senor laer um attended a few events the code celebration at Heritage about a week and a half ago um they their computer science academy excuse me um they break up uh using terminology from the IT industry they have Epic Builds and epic number two uh they break the Europe into three epics uh number two culminated a couple of weeks ago um with a celebration
065it was interesting to see some of the things that the kids are doing with with robots and and block code to control those Rob robots and it'll be even more fun to see how they progress um with that through the the final project of the year uh that was on a Friday morning in the afternoon I was back helping set up uh the monthly food bank that they do at Heritage um supported by Second Harvest Food Bank and we want to thank make sure we thank Second Harvest for for all they're doing for our community um then on last Saturday while these guys were all at the Fun Fair um I was taken one for the team um literally at 8 o'clock in the morning I was in my car heading for Ontario uh to
066to cheer on our basketball team uh Santiago High School in the uh CIF finals and congratulations to uh the kids and the coaching staff there and and everybody who's contributed to that program uh for I believe it's the first CIF championship in basketball in how long has San dieago been open 50 plus years uh the last time they were in the semis I think was 1970 and uh there so their first championship and they're continuing on in the regional competition uh along with Pacifica who's also playing tonight um congratul ations to Pacifica on a great season and and hopefully it continues Beyond tonight and congratulations to the girl it looks like we're GNA get another UPG update from the front row here well Pacific is up 4945 minute okay so um and so we there
067we had the celebration it's very short cele ation then CIS CIF ran us out of the building so they can play the next game which allowed me to get back in time to buy pizza from the ASB kids at San dieago uh so and and that that was great to see the the community turnout even even at noon when I got there um and all the important people had already gone home um the the community was there and uh reporting the event and enjoying themselves it was it was a party out on the grass um with lots of good food and and a great time and just an amazing number of organizations uh who showed up to support our families and our kids uh and it's a great thing uh and I'm sure next year
068as will be bigger than bigger and better thank you thank you m um can um I want to begin by congratulating uh to our spelling B winners uh I must say they um theyve been they getting better they get more in the competition get more intense every years uh I I I I would be the first person to admit on live stream video that I couldn't spell many of those words there so but then that's that me speak a lot about the the caliber of our student both Elementary and Intermediate School uh but it's another thing I found out that the the competition were being live streamed at the event and that a huge number of know one who just maybe parent maybe fellow student from our school were watching them and that would that
069will serve at a great motivating force for many more students to see our students so that I want to be like them to that is something that helped a lot in in that competition I congratulate the staff this a large portion of our District staff to to help um uh uh user that that event too and thank you very much for doing that you know 37 30 37 years now so I think that that help a lot to our students uh at least in that aspect of their uh academic uh achievement uh and also I I did attend the community fair at San Diego High School I must say it's truly a community event uh it it's not like a a School site event it it does look like a festival so then that mean
070indicated a lot of effort from our uh District staff and the School site to put into that so I will show a great example of the community how the Community scho will look like and there a lot of services a lot of benefit a lot of fun uh for everyone there to share the pride uh to one another so that that that will help a lot in terms of uh improving the school environment uh at least uh in that uh Community uh area and another event that I did attend with uh trusty uh Menan was to attend the the the tavet the Vietnamese language Galla the new year um for a long time to recognize our district as a a Pioneer force in in fostering the the Vietnamese language um program in the community and
071this year they really they highlight they took uh the actual effort to highlight our after school program which is beginning this year uh with the help with the partnership with tavat they uh we start the Vietnamese Lang uh Heritage uh language after school program at a number of our School site and they very exciting they really appreciate of the opportunity to them to join force with us in promoting uh that aspect of the mission that we want to achieve in our uh district with be to improve the the language access to our student that will bring about the better in almost any other aspect of the uh student academic uh environment there so I appreciate the district has been uh again pioneering this uh the Endeavor of improving our uh student uh language uh cap
072access so that they can improve uh in their acade academic environment and their longterm uh lifelong success later on so um with that I want to conclude U my statement and I want to um announce the future meeting um of April 1st the that will will begin uh at 5:00 p.m. on the Su session and the one after that will be April 15 uh and yeah to determine whether we can always assume we only have to stud start at 5 right I I put my candle and recur that going all way begin at 5 it's not seven anymore so before I conclude but before I forget I want to also express my condolences to uh the mhe family for your uh your hug loss for let's say uh last 9 years or so you you've
073been going to up and down when to a lot of joy and see the happiness in you uh with the beautiful angel there but um with the the great loss that you we experienced last uh week or so but thank you very much for handling the district very well thank you Dr Sanchez to taking over uh and do that and we always say uh take your time and just to do grieve but the the district's always there everyone's there to support you and we do uh we we still can do uh we still can do the better do in hold of for with without you thank you Dr mfy I do want to thank the board all of the cabinet all of the District staff and our bargaining units for um the overwhelming compassion and
074condolences that have been sent I uh was out last week and came back in on Monday and I had hundreds of cards and emails and um just as I know from our Garden Grove UniFi School District family just um empathy and love and compassion I'm very grateful for that and for the interest that the um the members of our GSD family including our parents our PTA our students um have had Eng Gabriel over the last 9.25 years um and the excitement that they had about hearing his stories and and seeing his pictures and that um relate related into um just an outpouring of love and compassion at his premature passing so thank you to uh my ggd family thank you with that we can adjin the meeting