June 17, 2025 - 11:00am Regular Board Meeting

001Check. Check. Good morning all. Time is now 11:01 a.m. on June 17th, 2025. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. Um, and welcome. We have a very full board room today. Um, I'm going to go ahead and take role. Miss Newell, present. Dr. Rivas, present. Mr. Meline here. Uh, Miss Grigo, Miss Gomez here, Miss Ortiz Franklin. Board President Shmelson present. Okay, we have a quorum. We will now go into the pledge. Uh, I'll note Miss Grego is here sitting down. Okay. And uh, we'll now go to the pledge of allegiance. If you direct your attention to the video, we'll all stand and follow this young man's lead. Hello, my name is Derek Martinez. I'm a graduate from Bell High School and I'm going to be leading the

002Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand. Put your right hand over your heart. Begin. Let's give the video another try. We're getting no sound out of the video. Thank you everyone for your patience. I appreciate And if we can't get the sound to work, I think we'll figure it out. Hello, my name is Derek Martinez. I'm a graduate from and I'm going to be leading the Please stand. Of the United States of America. Begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. Thank you all. That worked out quite well. Okay. Also on the order of business, I'm going to read the LA US Los Angeles Unified School District

003land acknowledgement. We'll have the slide up there. That is the longer version. There's two versions. There's a written version which is longer and more detailed. And then there's a spoken version that I have the pleasure of reading today. We acknowledge that the Los Angeles Unified School District is located on lands traditionally stewarded by the Gabrieleno and Fernandeno Tatavium peoples. We recognize the Gabrieleno as the original caretakers of the Los Angeles basin and the Fernando Tatavium as guardians of the northern valleys. As we learn and grow, we commit to understanding indigenous histories and cultures, fostering relationships with these communities in contributing to healing and unity. Thank you. Again, that's the spoken version. We have a more detailed written version that the board adopted a couple of months ago and that the district further put into its

004policy. We'll now go to board president's reports. And I want to remind all the labor partners who are populating our room today that we have five minutes per labor partner group policy at around five minutes. I have the unique honor of gently stepping in to remind you that the five minutes has elapsed and I will ask that you finish your important thought and then we'll move on to the next one. Um board president. Thank you. Thank you Mr. McClean. So, good morning to all my fellow board members, to Superintendent Carvalo, staff, and all members of our Los Angeles Unified community. So, I'd like to start by congratulating again all of our high school and option school graduates and those who culminated from our elementary and middle schools. I want to thank our superintendent, his team,

005as well as the teams at each of our schools for their leadership in ensuring that our families were safe during these graduations. It is an understatement to say the last few days and weeks have been very difficult for all of us and particularly for our immigrant families. And it also is obvious that in the process our communities have transformed. We have grown stronger and so has our will. Our will to protect our community has grown exponentially. The firm and peaceful resistance to the overreach has also grown rapidly through the media doesn't always show it. We see it in our streets and in our communities, and we will continue to stand stronger every day. LUSD has partnered with various organizations throughout Los Angeles to support students and families during these challenging times. If you or your

006family need assistance during immigration times, health, wellness, or housing, please call LUSD's family hotline at 21344313000. Again, if you or your family need assistance regarding immigration, health, wellness, or housing, please call LUSD's family hotline at 213-4431300. And we will work harder to promote these partnerships through emails, phone calls, social media, and other available medium. So, please be sure to check in on your family and your friends and your neighbors. And if they need resources, please visit our website to see what LUSD or one of our partners can offer them. Link, we are one. One word, we are one. We will get through this together. And thank you very much for listening. Yeah, our labor partners. Now I have first on our list teamsters with Adriana Salasar. Come on up, please. Morning board members, superintendent, and

007everyone who is standing behind me. Um, I want to echo some of the sentiments that board president Schmurson um just made regarding the past couple of weeks and actually take the time to thank all of you who are here for everything you have done for the students and families at LA Unified School District. I know it often doesn't get recognized or even commended upon, but the actions this board has taken to ensure that students and families are safe, that they feel protected, that our staff are doing everything they can to ensure that there is this feeling of safety around end ofear plans, whether it's culminations, graduations, just the last days of school. Um, I know because I've been in constant communication with the district. I know you've sent buses to ensure that students who are

008protesting are able to get home safely and um are doing so in a safe manner. One of the organizations I feel or the departments I feel that has gone often unremarked upon is school police. And by the way, Teamsters, we don't represent school police officers. But um I do believe that it is in this same vein that we look and we thank the school police officers, the men and women of your school police department who have shown up to school sites, who have shown up to um different plans that you have around the district to ensure that families and students feel safe. They've showed up to schools when you've had raids there and they've made sure that there is some type of protection or barrier. So, um I don't think we do enough to to

009thank them for the work that they do. You know, they show up when you need them the most even though they are doing so much more with so much less. Um during the worst of times I believe that we have seen LA Unified employees rise to any occasion right there is protests in the streets and people are still showing up to work. They're still doing everything they can to make sure that students and buildings are safe. They're doing everything they can to make sure that those school sites and offices are ready for occupancy the next day. whether it's through vandalism or um you know whatever is going on in the streets around them. And I think right now we this is no exception. It is no exception to the time that we see our your

010employees our members collectively our members rise to every single occasion. Whether it's answering the phone from a scared parent, making sure that kids are getting to class on time, feeding them, cleaning up after them, our members do a tremendous amount of work. And it's with that thought that I that brought me here. Um, I don't typically negotiate in public. That's not my style. I like to sit at a negotiation table with labor partners and talk about what's being put in front of us. But as you should all know, we have been in active negotiations with LUSD for over a year. We started in March of 2024. We recently received a counter proposal to our economic proposal that was presented in May of 2024. And we got the economic counter proposal on June 5th of 2025.

011I don't want to steal uh any thunder from anyone else, but to to say that the proposal we received was underwhelming would honestly be an understatement. It would be an understatement for all the hard work that the men and women that we represent do every single day. I don't know who can possibly look at the proposal we received and think that that is something that we would be able to recommend to our members because it's not. It's also not enough in our opinion to satisfy the unfair labor practice charges we have filed for the district's um refusal to bargain in good faith. It took a year over a year to get us an economic proposal that I don't know who thought this would be acceptable to anyone. It's certainly not acceptable to us. I want

012Oh, I see my five minute hook is is coming up, right? Okay. Um, I just think that we really need to work together on finding different ways to make economics more available here at the district. I believe that having the staff and students of the present pay for allegations and settlements of the past is not acceptable anymore. I would much rather have us working together to figure out solutions so that the burdens of the past are not put on employees and students of the present. Thank you. Thank you, Adriana. Thank you, teamsters. And thank you for keeping your time. Thank you. Which labor group would like to go next? Mr. Aras, you want to come down? Thank you, sir. Good. Is it morning still? Yeah. Sorry about that. Good morning, board members. Superintendent Carbalo. Our

013message is going to be longer than five minutes, and we urge you to listen. Please, we urge you not to try and quiet us. So, let me start our message. We're getting our folks here and Blanca who's first. Thank you. Hello, my name is Monica Madano. I'm an early ed a at Talfare Early Education Center. For the past 16 years, I have worked with our youngest students that from the ages of two to five, implementing experiences to promote physical, social, emotional, and language development skills. And with such young children, I am also the trusted employee who helps them with diapering, hygiene needs, and supporting their toilet training. What I like most about my job is that I get to help children grow and develop into confident, self-sufficient learners. But I am concerned that LUSD is

014not increasing staffing because we already understaffed and out of ratio. Short staffing affects our students drastically. It reduces personalized attention to students, interrupts lessons, and creates limited learning opportunities when certain extracurricular activities have to be eliminated due to lack of staff. In the early ed centers, our ratios are eight children to one adult, but classrooms are being left with two adults to 24 students and times one adult to 24 students due to toilet toileting issues and when others um there's no teachers to cover staffs when they're taking breaks, attending meetings, or taking their lunch. Classified workers are constantly being used to work out of classification and to cover the front desk or other assignments due to staffing shortages. I urge you to invest in our staff. Without sufficient staff, there is there will be safety

015issues and inadequate supervision of our children. It is imperative that LUSD ensures full staffing for the learning and safety of our students. And to ensure enough staffing, you must pay a living wage. I am disappointed and insulted that LUSD would offer a 2% wage. This clearly shows that you don't understand our work or worse, you don't value the contribution of the classified workers to our schools, our community, and our students. After 16 years at Ali USD, I still struggle to make ends meet. The only reason I can afford to live in Los Angeles is because I am a property manager of the property that I live in. I took this job because it covers my rent because I can't afford it with LA USD wages alone. If Ali USD truly puts our children first, your

016budget must reflect this. Ensure more staffing and make sure that the frontline workers like me get paid a poverty wage above poverty wages. We don't need peanuts. We need a living wage. [Applause] Good morning. Cesley Meyer Cruz, president, United Teachers Los Angeles. As this board discusses the proposed budget today, we encourage the board to consider our current reality in Los Angeles. Our school communities are under attack by racist, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, IA+ militarized forces that ruthlessly kidnap kids and their family members. People are being taken by armed masked men without badges or names while at work, at home, in church, or driving down the street. while you consider several resolutions that we strongly support, including honoring our LGBTQIA plus students and staff, standing with immigrant communities, and reviewing the commitment to renewing the commitment to community

017schools. Do not set those values aside when you discuss this budget. Budgets are moral documents, and it's time to meet the moment. We just heard this woman talk about having a living wage, making sure that we have stability in schools. Our students need school communities with stability now more than ever and in the next four years. Stability means staffing that is experienced, familiar, and trusted. Our schools don't just need stable funding. We need the district, y'all, to take responsibility and ensure critical programs at school sites succeed. We want to see a budget that includes $100 million for BAP and the expansion of dream centers and early education. We need investments in queer affirming spaces and curriculum and culturally responsive supports for immigrant students. We need a budget that raises salaries not only for our brothers,

018sisters, siblings in SEIU and other labor partners, but for our teaching profession. We need to recruit and retain educators. You are being asked to vote on a fiscal stabilization plan before a budget is thoroughly debated. This is only going to create more fear and uncertainty and doubt for our communities as fudiciaries. This board should not vote on the fiscal stabilization plan today. This board should not be bullied by staff who have failed to provide timely and critical information to you and our labor partners on key issues despite numerous requests. The board should not shy away from asking those hard questions about this budget. In particular, why staff are recommending a billion dollars in new and unnecessary OPE trust contributions, but nothing for wage increases to address the shortage of educators and the shortage of SEIU

019folks. Our classrooms need our classified staff. This is irresponsible. We appreciate the leadership of Miss Gomez on a resolution that seeks to make the budget more transparent and to provide and prioritize the needs of students in this moment. But in this vein, we encourage the board to draw a line when it comes to proposed cuts. The board should perform a strategic review of all consulting contracts and other non-staff budgets which have grown much faster than labor costs. Our school communities need to feel supported and without transparency and prioritization of student needs, the budget will not meet this moment. I will close by raising our serious concerns about the school safety task force recommendation to give schools the option to bring police back to schools based on crime data. We oppose this unacceptable and irresponsible proposal

020because it fails to address so many serious concerns like who will decide police will be on campus? Who has input into that decision? What is counted as crime in the crime data? Is this data limited to incidents on the school campus? And if so, which ones? or do they plan to use crime da d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d da s from the surrounding neighborhood? How will the role of the police be defined? Are we talking about writing truency tickets, random searches, traffic citations, tardy sweeps, or helping ICE agents take away our people? Do not return to this model. It does not

021center student needs and safety. And again, UTLA stands 10 toes down with SEIU in their fight for a living wage. Thank you for your time. So that was UTLA's five minutes. Then I think you have about another three minutes left. Appreciate it. Thank you. Well, if you're going to this is imperative that you listen to us because, you know, listen to us at the bargaining table. So we need more than five minutes. So we're not going to leave in five. We need to finish what we're here to say. And I really urge you to listen. I really do. This is important. This is about student safety. All right. So, we need more than five minutes. Do what you need to do, but we need to do what we need to do. So, you listen to

022us because you don't listen to us. Thank you, Miss Ivon. Okay. Can I reclaim my time? Good morning, board members. My name is Ivon Wheeler, and I'm the president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, representing over 800,000 union members in Los Angeles County. and I'm here today to raise my voice in solidarity with the classified workers of LUSD and the members of SEIU Local 99. There's a lot unfolding across our region and in our communities, but we cannot ignore the urgent and growing needs of LUSD's classified employees. The facts are stark. 45% of SEIU local 99 members are working below are working below the poverty line. Many of these workers are assigned just two to three hour shifts a week with no benefits, no job security, and no path to retirement. And while

023workers are asking for more hours to support themselves and their families, LUSD continues to subcontract out bargaining union work. This is happening while the district sits on a $4.9 billion in reserves and pay some administrators four times an average wage of classified employees. That's not just, it's injust and it's unjust. It's a fundamental failure to value the people who make our schools work. So on behalf of the 800,000 union members of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, I urge LUSD board to bargain in good faith with SEIU Local 99. Our classified workers deserve dignity, respect, and a contract that reflects the essential work they do for our students, our families, and our communities every day. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Mark Ramos. I am the chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic

024Party. I am here today in support of my union brethren at SEIU99. My day job is I am president of United Food Commercial Workers Local 1428. Right now, grocery workers are in a contract fight for the exact same things that your employees are in a fight for. A living wage, the ability to live their life close to where they work. Look, hearing that they've been embarking for over one year is appalling, right? It's appalling. It's way too long. The continued expectations that you continue to put onto your staff, expecting them to do more work out of their classification, working doing more for less while offering a 2% wage increase while then mandating extra unpaid days off equals a pay cut. Folks can't live that way. In today's climate, what we are seeing here in the

025city of Los Angeles with Trump's terror force literally marching into schools in any public space rounding people up, these folks are on the front line protecting students while we understand the administrators are for the most part safe in their offices. It is the folks on the schoolyard who are having to fend off armed folks in mask looking to round people up. It is unacceptable. It is not who we are. It is not who you are. Look, I know all of you up here, all of you elected officials up here, you will say, and I know you believe this in your heart, that you care about your classified staff. You care about the people who work for you. But I am here to tell you today, words don't put food on the table. Words don't pay

026the rent. What is in the paycheck is what pays the rent and puts food on the table. So, I am here today to urge you to direct your negotiating team to go back to the table, stop the games, and put forward an offer that actually shows the respect to these folks who show up every day like my members in the USCW providing a service that is is essential to every single one of us. And you settle this contract now. Look, I'm going to end with this. When workers thrive, communities thrive. Absolutely. When communities thrive, schools thrive. When schools thrive, students thrive. When students thrive, we all strive. Thank you, sir. May May I have your name again for the record? And the hold on the name your name and you mentioned a couple of organizations.

027Mark Ramos, the chair, Los Angeles County Democratic Party, president of United Food Commercial Workers Local 1428. Thank you. Thank you. I will be very brief, less than 60 seconds to respect your time, but it's important that you respect our members, the people that do the work. Frank truth is you have there's 30 around 30,000 workers mostly woman immigrant uh immigrant black like this is the people doing the work and you obviously don't care about them you have them living on $33,000 a year you do unassigned days you offer 2% which is an insult understanding what the district is they're not even at the poverty rate this is completely unacceptable and then spend a year to give us a proposal That is lackluster. No, we're talking double digits here. We do not need single-digit percentages. That

028is unacceptable. We are happy to know that our siblings in TLA got a 7% raise. The same year you were offering us onethird of 2%. That is completely unacceptable. Just think about that. And it is your responsibility, board, when you speak about caring about immigrants. You too, superintendent. You're an immigrant. I heard your story. I heard your story. Think about your story and think about what the message you're sending to the people that are caring for the children of Los Angeles. You can do way better and I know you can. What happened in 23 was not a fluke. You're heading in the same direction. Nobody wants to strike. But if you force us, we will. Are you clear on that? So let's avoid the strike. Let's get to bargain. give our members a significant raise,

029which is what they need and deserve. Let's improve the staffing conditions. Let's stop playing with subcontracting contracts so other people can become wealthy off of public dollars. Let's get to work. That's what we want. And then we will all together face what we need to face. But we will do it in unity, not right now. Not like we're doing it right now. So I urge you to come to the table prepared and let's bargain. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Fight. Fight. [Applause] Fight. Fight. Fight. We win. We win. We fight. We win. Fight. We fight. We win. We fight. We win. We fight. We win. We win. We fight. We fight. We win. We win. We fight. We win. We win. We win. We win. We fight. We fight. We win. We win.

030We win. We win. If we don't get it, shut it down. If we don't get it, shut it down. If we don't get it, shut it down. If we don't get it, shut it down. [Music] [Applause] Okay. Thank you, SEIU. Any other labor partners in the house that wish to speak? I don't want to skip anybody. Okay. Thank you so much. We'll go on now to our superintendent report. Thank you very much and good morning. Um my report will be very brief. In fact, I'll turn my report into some degree of explanation for the board's benefit as well as the community's benefit over some uh last minute changes to some of the recommendations in a budget as well as the stabilization plan. Uh I had the opportunity of briefing most of you uh prior to

031today's meeting. Um the recommendations and the changes are as follows. Number one, and this is apppropo some of the comments that we just heard, uh this board's dedication uh to historic wrongs by uh investing in funding programs that directly impact and benefit uh specific groups within our community that historically have been uh left behind and not appropriately resourced is reflected in this budget. In fact, uh, the BAP program, uh, which was historically funded at $100 million, received a $25 million boost two years ago. In this budget, uh, you had already seen an additional $25 million uh, increase recommendation um, funded through general fund. Uh the the amendment that we are advancing is an additional $25 million supplemental equity investment for fiscal year 26, bringing BAP for fiscal year 26 up to $175 million. In addition

032to that, uh we are advancing a $26 million for accelerated arts investment for fiscal year 26. In addition to that, we are maintaining our commitment to the Senn investment as is no change for this coming fiscal year. We're also increasing funding for student centers and those include the dream centers from what you saw previously of $1.2 million to $4 million. This increase is not on the back of general fund. This increase uh is advanced on a basis of uh additional um strategies that resulted in available dollars through supplemental federal funding. In addition to that, so we increase student center funding and dream centers, BSAP, arts in schools to historic uh highs. Uh but we're not stopping there. We know that we are entering difficult times. uh the math doesn't lie. We may have difference of

033opinions on how to spend the money but the resource availability as audited is a stark one and uh I believe in leading from the front. Uh so we are declaring not as a budget recommendation but as a moral principle that defines our values that number one uh beginning right now effective immediately there is a moratorum a moratorum on cabinet level salary increases or compensation adjustments. In addition to that, there is an effective moratorum indefinitely on a number of benefits afforded senior staff members such as availability of cars and certain reimbursements. In addition to that board and members of the community, it is important to note that as we are required by law to submit a budget stabilization fund, as we approve uh the proposed budget for next year, we are recommending a number of modifications

034and this is the result of strategic um reductions in other areas and efficiency. that we've been able to realize for FY27. And by the way, the stabilization plan going to next year reflects no modifications, no impacts, no reductions, period. In fact, what we're presenting to you this year reflects a budget that requires no furls and no reductions in force going into next year. what you had previously seen for fiscal year 27 in terms of estimated savings, you did see a reflection on targeted funding allocation reductions in FY27 totaling $200 million. We are reducing that from $200 million to $75 million. As a result, we are amending the central operations non-schoolbased reductions from 75 million for FY27 to 200 million. That means consultant contracts strategic reductions in non-school expenses will increase again from 75 to $200

035million. In addition to that, we are capturing a 10% investment from fund 17 to minimize the impact on the stabilization plan beginning FY27. So again, Mr. President, members of the board, just to recap, we are advocating for an additional $25 million allocation under a new investment, a supplemental equity investment. This is not general fund. This is fedally funded. That brings the total BAP investment for FY20 26 to $175 million. We are advocating for an additional $26 million investment in a new program accelerated arts investment. Also for FY26, we are advancing an increase uh from $1.2 two to $4 million into student centers which will result in expanded supports for students and their families. And uh we are reducing under the proposed fiscal stabilization stabilization plan the targeted funding allocation reduction from 200 million to 75

036million and absorbing that reduction in central operations and news non-schoolbased reductions. uh lifting that value from 75 million to $200 million. In addition to that, as I close, a an immediate moratorum on any compensation adjustments, increases regardless of what's negotiated uh with labor groups to cabinet members and a significant reduction which is ongoing in benefits such as allocation of vehicles and reimbursements for senior staff members. Thank you very much, Mr. President. By the way, the the revised documents specific to the slides and the budget documents that accompany uh the report that I just provided are being distributed to the board. Thank you. And that concludes uh my report. Excellent. Thank you, Superintendent. We've now come to our advisory committee reports. Okay, so we will continue with advisory committee reports and our first up is the

037student advisory committee. Come on to the front. Student advisory committee. Welcome to the boardroom, students. they're just going to queue up your presentation. So, uh, thank you so much for coming. As soon as the presentation is ready, uh, we are fully ready for what you have to tell us. Okay, there's a there's a little clicker just to your right if you need to advance the slides, you want to check it before you go and then you can know about how long it takes to register. Okay, perfect. The floor is yours, sir. Thank you. Good morning, Superintendent Carvalo, deputy superintendent, and honorable members of the board. My name is Andrew Stean, a proud student of Lake Baloa College Prep and an officer on Superintendent Carvalo Student Advisory Council. Today marks a historic milestone for student voices

038in LUSD. For the first time, students are presenting policy recommendations directly to this governing body. We are deeply grateful for this opportunity and recognize the responsibility it carries. Our 73 members student advisory council represents every region and board district and reflects the unique diversity of LA Unified, a district we are proud to call home. After months of input, discussion, and research, we are proud to share proposals rooted in real student experience. I now have the honor of introducing our president, Isabella Bran Tobar, and vice president, Selik M. Good morning everyone and thank you for welcoming the students of LUSD. My name is Isabella Brandt Tobar and I am the proud president of Superintendent Carvalo's student advisory council. I would like to emphasize the work of this council and these students and the work that they

039have put into these resolutions. They have worked tirelessly, spending many weekends virtually and in person to craft and truly represent the over 550,000 students of LSD. I would also be remiss if I did not start by acknowledging the recent events that have occurred in our city and in our nation. We stand in solidarity with the in the with the immigrant community. and we are grateful to the board for fostering safe spaces and for resolutions like the sanctuary ordinance which protects and uplifts students like us. We would like to begin by proposing initiatives for LUSD's first pillar of success a part of the 2022 to 2026 strategic plan academic excellence. We are grateful that many campuses offer tutoring programs, extended library hours, and partnerships with programs like educare where I myself have been able to perform

040in events like the academic decathlon. Yet, there is still space to improve in the a in the availability of these resources for all students. Our first proposal is to guarantee equal quality access to textbooks, lab equipment, and learning technologies. By contacting schools before the school year and ensuring they use materials from the same publisher or with the same content, campuses can ensure equal content dispersion. We also propose sustained training for AP instructors, equipping them with the tools to deliver rigorous, effective instruction. We suggest formalizing a district-wide forum for AP teachers to share the best practices and create a mentorship network connecting veteran and new instructors, ensuring consistent AP teaching quality districtwide. Lastly, we encourage regional AP support, shared instruction, tutoring, and expanded partnerships with community colleges and thirdparty providers. This could offer free AP prep

041sources, eliminate AP entrance tests, and align schedules across neighboring schools, which will help remove participation barriers. Students can address equity by joining student advisory councils, attending school site council meetings, and engaging with campus and district officials. Promoting online courses and joining pilot initiatives can also improve AP program readiness. Continuing with academic excellence, the district administers the PSAT to 10th and 11th graders and offers the SAT during the school day at no cost, removing financial barriers for thousands. Students recommend that LUD institutionalize the PSAT access beginning in eighth grade by promoting the PSAT 8 and 9 and integrating targeted prep via summer and inter session programs. Repeated testing opportunities can build familiarity, reduce anxiety, and boost performance. We also recommend standardized district SAT and AP prep virtual and in person led by credentialed educators with adequate

042time and materials provided before exams, especially supporting supporting rising juniors and seniors with test prep guides, digital tools, and a three-month runway plan before exams to engage with the exam content. We also request designated instructional days for PSAT and SAT prep focused for specific subject instruction from math and English teachers. This use of academic time reflects a commitment to mastery and college readiness. Students can help by forming peer tutoring and SAT for prep circles to support classmates, leveraging school announcements, digital media, and campaigns about test dates and prep programs, ensuring vital information reaches all students. Thank you, Isabella. My name is Salman and I'm a rising senior at Chastro Charter High School and the vice president of the Superintendent Student Advisory Council. I want to begin by recognizing LUSD's current efforts to expand access to

043college and career pathways, including linked learning, CTE courses, and the district's partnerships with community colleges that offer no cost dual enrollment. In addition, I would like to acknowledge the unanimously passed board resolution on dual enrollments and board member hosted webinars that provide dual enrollment guidance. However, there are still several challenges. Dual enrollment is very difficult to navigate. Many students don't know how to find internships or programs and college essay support often isn't available in school. First, we suggest simplifying the dual enrollment process, reducing the number of hurdles and hoops to jump through. In addition, we recommend creating short, engaging videos that explain enrollment, credit transfer, and success tips and to offer these videos in multiple languages to ensure accessibility. In addition, we propose that starting in 9th grade, students should have counselors visit their classroom

044to promote the value of CTE and community college coursework as compliments or alternatives to AP and four-year options. With support from the district, students can give input to make the videos clear, fun, and easy to follow. Second, we suggest LUSD grow partnerships with businesses and local organizations to offer more paid and unpaid internships. We also recommend hosting career readiness days at the school or district level featuring resume, interview, and workplace skills workshops. Students can help by leading events in their own schools using toolkits that the district would include uh including samples uh sorry sample resumeumés, interview questions, and cover letter templates. Third, we recommend building a public searchable database of internships and programs. This tool can be promoted on schooly, social media, and newsletters and offer translations to ensure accessibility. This database should be updated

045regularly. Students can help by giving feedback on the tools designed. Some features students have already suggested include filtering by grade level and posting the required paperwork for each listing. Lastly, we urge LUSD to offer essay support for all students across the district through webinars, one-on-one reviews, and downloadable guides online. Now, moving to our next topic, ensuring individualized guidance for English learners. We want to begin by thanking LUSD for expanding EL programs and adding site coordinators. Still, there is room for improvement. We recommend LUSD to specify a minimum requirement for counselors to meet individually with LEL students. For example, at least twice per semester for 30 minutes. These meetings should hold student centered conversations that address academic progress, post-secondary planning, and awareness of available programs and opportunities. Counselors might begin with guiding questions such as, "How

046are your classes going?" or "Are you aware of so- and so opportunities?" To do this, the district would should fund more EL trained coordinators and bilingual staff or trained student interpreters who could gain leadership experience while improving access. When students are empowered as partners, we can help ensure every English learner is supported academically, linguistically, and personally. Now, I'd like to hand it back to Andrew. Thank you, Sel. My apologies if we go a few minutes over. We just have two more slides left. We'll turn to our next strategic pillar, joy and wellness. We're grateful for LUC's commitment to student mental health through PSWs, wellness campaigns, teleaalth, and other resources. H yet many schools still lack equitable wellness spaces. And even where PSWs exist, visibility and access remain challenges. Our first proposal is for every school

047to have a designated wellness space. Whether it's a PSW office, a section of the library, or its own dedicated room. Students need a space to decompress, reflect, and participate in wellness activities. These spaces should also distribute key resources like Narcan training, hotline numbers, feminine hygiene products, and various other vital health supplies. With district support, students can help tailor these centers to their own school's needs. Next, we strongly urge that every school site have a PSW. Lack of one is not just inequitable, it's unsafe. For campuses that do have PSWs, they should be visible and approachable. We recommend start of the year introductions, monthly updates, schoolwide posters and QR codes, and a discrete system for booking appointments. Finally, we call for regular collaboration between PSWs and student leadership through wellness clubs, ASV, or other channels. By

048co-hosting events, promoting resources, and offering feedback, students can become true partners in campus wellness efforts as long as we have district institutionalization. Now, on to our final slide and pillar, engagement and collaboration. We're thankful for the district support of advisory councils. As an active member, I can personally say these opportunities to make a difference in our schools, communities, and district have been genuinely life-changing, and I know many of my peers share this sentiment. That said, there's room to strengthen engagement even further. First, we propose expanding the scope and capacity of student advisory councils. Under director Dr. Franco's leadership, the student empowerment unit helps students grow in extraordinary ways. broader access to such councils will empower even more students to become leaders not just ready for the world but ready to shape it. Second, school sites

049supported by students should create peer advising programs where upperassmen mentor younger students on course selection, college readiness, and personal growth. We recommend official district support, funding for teacher adviserss, and district-wide celebration of student success stories. Lastly, we propose a student leadership program with assigned and trained mentors to train students in empowering tools such as communication, collaboration, and leadership. We believe that this would be most effective as a four credit class in which students can understand fundamental concepts and engage in active projects within their communities. Students can assist in shaping these programs, supporting mentors, and helping craft school specific curricula. In closing, we thank you for listening to the voices of the students you serve. With continued partnership, we can turn the ideas recommended today into real progress for every student in LA Unified. We would

050also like to thank Superintendent Carvalo for consistently showing up for the students in the district. As members of your student advisory council, we have witnessed your commitment firsthand. And being a member of your council has been one of the best experiences in high school for all of us. Thank you. [Applause] And thank you, Student Advisory Council. What a brilliant, beautiful presentation. I'm We are so so proud of you. And thank you so much. Your recommendations certainly will be followed. Thank you so much. Thank you. Our next group to come up, our next advisory committee report is from the community advisory council. Come on up, community advisory council for your presentation. Hi. Um, is this the way to advance the slides here? Yes. Okay. And welcome and welcome. All right. Thank you so much. Um, good

051morning. My name is Ingred Levy and I'm the chairperson of the community advisory committee for special education. I'm the proud parent of two students with IEPs who happen to be third generation LUSD students. I am the daughter of immigrants who met and fell in love in Hollywood High School. So L USD is a big part of my history. Um and I'd like to pass over to Christie. Hi, my name is Christy Lacy. I'm a mother of eight-year-old twins who attend LA USD and have IEPs. one gets their services in a general education classroom and the other in a special education classroom. And I've had the honor of serving the CAC as vice chair this year. Thank you. Norma Gonzalez education district. So I'm a mother and I came as an immigrant and I'm here to

052serve as a secretary in this committee. Thank you very much. remember. Okay. So, during this past school year, the CAC has had a lot of momentum. We established a culture of positive collaboration to build solid relationships between our members and our district partners who support our work. And we met Porum at each meeting. We empowered our committee to elevate caregiver voices as equal partners in the IEP team and a valuable source of information in the school community. We revised our bylaws to allow for public elections for membership into the CAC and contributed to shaping the election process. Start here. Okay. So, the following are CAC's recommendations to the board and superintendent based on feedback from stakeholders across the district who have shared their varied experiences with us. Caregivers of students with disabilities seek many common

053things in their child's school experience. safety, dignity, progress, accountability, and honest communication. Our children desire connection, stimulating instruction, and the chance to explore their interests at school and beyond. We ask that you ensure that students with IEPs have equitable access to all programs and opportunities. A free and appropriate public education is the cornerstone of the idea and all IEP teams should be empowered to offer students a choice in order to fit their individual educational needs. Uh school administrators need to have the ability to offer FAP placement based on student interest and acceptance into pathways offered via e choices. There are currently obstacles that prevent this from happening or create additional bureaucracy where families have to go to due process. So, we're hoping we can avoid that going forward. Every student and caregiver should be treated

054as an equal partner in the placement decision. The move towards more full-clusion classrooms is exciting for many, but also raises concerns in its execution. We ask that district-wide consistent guidelines are mandated for classrooms that are changing to the inclusion model with the appropriate staff, equipment, and services in place. And I shout out the SEIU members here because our students would not thrive in school without them. Um, they are an important part of the success of our kids. We also urge you to fund more opportunities for intentional inclusion in extracurricular activities and enrichment programs with accessibility and rightful presence guiding the structure and support staff that is put in place for this to succeed. Also, LUSD students with higher support needs are equally deserving of the opportunity to be ready for the world. Please continue the

055promise to keep education center, special education centers open in spite of budgetary issues that threaten these vital options for our most vulnerable student populations. Over recent years, we've seen a concerning breakdown in trust in communication between special education families and school administrators, two essential partners in the IEP process. This disconnect has led to increased disputes and a shift away from student centered collaboration. These proposals focus on access and transparency between families and school administration. In our IEP training and education subcommittee and in public comment, families are consistently asking for more accessible, meaningful IEP trainings. To fill this need, we proposed both a series of in-depth district level sessions and twice yearly school-based trainings led by school administrators for access and collaboration at the school site. Our second focus is the ongoing and yearly demand uh

056by parents for sightbased special education caregiver groups. Uh this year our CAC parent ambassador subcommittee empowered many of its members to directly partner with their child's administrators to create these groups. I was able to pair with my children's APIs and we were joined by teachers, pair professionals, and other uh special education caregivers all working together to improve the daily lives of our special education students. What these groups can do for a school when supported by the school staff is a transformational and trustbuilding experience. We also urge you to listen to a uh to support a school site version of Dr. Sodto's highly successful listen and learn campaign. We found this district level campaign to be invaluable and believe that a localized conversations could provide schools and district with vital insights about strengths, challenges, and disparities

057in special education experiences. These action items foster meaningful collaboration, rebuild trust, and refocus IEPs on what matters most, the students. Our next set of proposals focus on the urgent need for added supports for families of students who face intersectionality and compounded barriers of being both a special education and a BSAP or English learner student. First, we propose specialized IEP trainings for dual qualifying families. This initiative aligns with the core values of the district and the work of our African-American students with IEP subcommittee by responding to intersectional identities while reinforcing the mandates of IDA and ensuring meaningful family participation in the IEP process. Next, we're calling for consistency and clarity for policies affecting our English learners with IEPs, such as standardized translation timelines for IEP documents so that parents can fully engage in their legal right

058to participate in the IEP process or clearer pro policies around how English learner goals align with IEP supports so special education families understand their child's unique path to reclassification and ensure that their IEP he supports them along that path. Finally, we urge the district to expand two-way partnerships with community organizations like CCIS for ongoing tracking of trends in emotional disability identification for BAP students to protect them from further disparity. Penny Lane to more efficiently support foster and unhoused youths with IEPs and family resource centers to inform students with disabilities of the wealth of supports that exist for them in their community. All of these proposals support one goal, ensuring every family has access, clarity, and the respect that they deserve as equal partners in their child's education. Thank you. Um, collaboration. When CAC members are

059invited to speak in district workshops and trainings, students receive the ultimate benefit because informed caregivers make effective advocates. Let's equip the Office of Student, Family, and Community Engagement to continue scheduling community outreach opportunities for the CAC. In addition to the very special arts festival and the principal leadership initiative, prioritizing our presence at district events protects our well-earned partnership, which is an invaluable resource to families everywhere. Thank you to Espace for making our branded CAC table a reality and guiding our dreams for building a more inclusive community. We ask for your help now in building this momentum. To build off of our participation in DSSE's region level workshops, let's include additional areas of CAC engagement such as at title one, med, and new teacher trainings to build awareness of overlapping needs and resources. The CAC is

060well equipped to give annual presentations to parent center directors and regional superintendent town halls to provide guidance on celebrating the beauty and value of students with disabilities ahead of LAUSD's inclusive schools weeks each December and autism awareness month in April. Offering a special education resource fair as a community building opportunity during back- tochool season would help families identify district resources and additionally connect them with regional centers and other providers for in um excuse me for inclusive recreation and summer and summer winter and spring camps caregiver respbit and educational support in their communities. We are grateful to Dr. Sodto for his support of this idea and also extend our thanks to Miss Lambert and Miss Moran for your time in considering our feedback and taking action whenever possible. We hope that this can continue. Um we've

061seen a big um increase in collaboration between our CAC support teams and I really love to see all this effort go forward. Finally, we believe the board special education committee and the CAC would mutually benefit from exchanging ideas on supporting students with IEPs. We thank Miss Grigo for having her staff attend some of our meetings this spring and we are grateful to the time that Mr. Schmemell gave um this April when he came to visit our committee and had an open discussion with our membership. The CAC would appreciate the opportunity to present our objectives to the special education committee each year with the purpose of creating synergy in addressing the needs of students with disabilities. We extend this interest to all of the board's committees with the same goal in mind. You for a few

062more minutes for our final slide. Um for our final slide, we're focusing on priorities around effective staffing, oversight, and inclusion. We hear a lot about a push for inclusion and when well done it's benefits it benefits all students but without proper support it can do harm especially to students with disabilities. Inclusion must be individualized, intentional and guided by clear district-wide protocols. Uh a strong starting point is an increase in shared time between general education and self-contained classrooms during activities like art, lunch, recess, and school activities. We urge the board to prioritize two key staffing roles in addition to the full staffing of all special education classrooms. First is to fund for a full-time special education administrator at every school site. Many schools only have access once or twice a week, which leads to service delays

063and a disconnection from the very students that they serve. Second, we to designate a liaison for families of students with complex communication needs. So families of nonverbal students have a clear point of contact about their child's school day and well-being. We also recommend stronger district-wide oversight to address the wide disparities in special education services across the regions. Equity shouldn't depend on the student zip code. Finally, we address the core responsibility of the CAC to review and advise on the SULPA plan. We propose that the district begin collecting and analyzing data on the reasons why families ut utilize district resolution tactics. By identifying common points of contention within the IEP process, we can pinpoint systemic challenges and recommend meaningful improvements to the sulfa. This approach aligns with our shared commitment to transparency, continuous improvement, and better

064outcomes for students with disabilities. And before Ingred gives her acknowledgements, I would like to invite everyone um to our public meetings that are held on Wednesdays throughout the school year. We would love to see everyone there. Thank you. Yes. And thank you so much for your partnership this year and your support and engagement with our committee. We hope to keep on building on that. And um I also just wanted to open it up in case anyone had questions for us or if Veron uh Veronica Montano Sanchez who is our training and education officer, Norma Gonzalez, who's our secretary and serves on many committees. If you have questions for any of us, we're here for you now or later. Thank you so much, ladies. First of all, I I want to give a shout out to

065Dr. Sto. His name has been mentioned several times as being a real friend to the CAC, and that's really really important. Yeah, absolutely. So, your suggestions were were just fantastic. We appreciate it so much and for helping not only the specialed families and children but the gened families and children too. So, this is knowledge is power and we appreciate you very much. Thank you ladies. Thank you so much. Okay, our next committee is the parent advisory committee. Come on down. Parent advisory committee members. and please begin whenever you are ready. So portions of the presentation are going to be in Spanish. If you'd like to hear what the person speaking in Spanish is saying in English in the moment that they're saying it, please put your hands up and we'll get you these headsets for

066uh Spanish to English translation. So, just keep your hands up and we'll get them to you. So, again, the headsets uh you'll hear one of our wonderful members of the translations unit simultaneously translating what's spoken in Spanish in the boardroom uh in into those headsets. They turn on automatically when you open them and put them on your ears and they will be on the correct channel. Uh, also gracias. Good morning. My name is Diana Gen and I am the chairperson for parent advisory committee pack. Our purpose is to review the funds and programs that belong to the three categories that have the most needs in the district which are students in foster care students uh low-income students and English learners. The next one please. I just want to introduce our executive board. I am the

067chairperson Danna Guen, Mr. Crown. Good morning everybody. Juvia science. I am the secretary for the committee. Good morning everyone. My name is Wendy Mos. I'm the vice secretary, second year on the committee. Also LUSD graduate. Good morning everyone. My name is Eva Jackson. I am the public relations. Good morning. My name is uh Monica and I'm the president and also here are members of our committee. And before continuing, I just want to say a few words that I am a firm advocate. I'm not radical but for passionate for parents participation in their student education. Our immigrant community is suffering at this moment and even more so they are taking away their livelihood breaking away dreams breaking up homes breaking up families. As board members, you made declarations against deportations of working families and it is

068our community thanks you for that and that is why to want to appeal to your human sympathy as to include parents as equal partners in their students education in name of those uh support declaration or statements. you understand that more than 50% of this district is of people that are immigrants and that family Latinos families. We appeal to your uh common sense and to take into account our requests and everything that we come to share with you today since it is a small percentage of what the parents have uh provided as feedback this school year and the comments that they develop about LCAP were more than 60 comments and we hope that you have an answer because up until this point we have not received a response from the superintendent. Can we continue? And I

069will present Mr. Andrew Crown who will follow up with the next two slides. Good morning board. Good morning superintendent. Thank you for the time today. Um we are very likely going to go over our 10 minutes. So we would uh ask our one time to speak to you all uh some latitude today. Thank you. Before you Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to speak. Before diving into the meat of our presentation today, I want to to reiterate the critical importance of and the needed improvement of the communication between the parents of the district level committees and you, the board members. We are all trying to pull on the same rope to greatly improve the educational experience of not only our own children but of all the children in the district. We can all

070indisputably agree that students with involved parents outperform students without involved parents. We can all indisputably agree that schools and by extension LUSD needs financial support from parents to survive. We can all indisputably agree that schools needs and requests parents to volunteer their time to fill important roles in offices, classrooms, and at special events. The system only works when educators, students, and parents all work together. With those tenants in place, our first two slides today will illustrate impediments, some of them severe, and proposed solutions to those impediments so that the parents giving of themselves through service on the parent advisory committee as well as on the CAC and DAC can more thoroughly fulfill our duties. There are three basic categories our impediments fall into. The first being communication, the second being time and the third being

071acknowledgement, respect and partnership. Communication. Currently, PAC executive officers do not have static district managed emails either individually or by board position or one email for the entire executive board as shown on the slide in the first bullet. This makes communication between pack members laborious and communication with parents. We meet at schools and at various meetings throughout the year impossible. Bullets three and four on your screen fall squarely under the category of time with bullet two coming along for the ride being loosely related. The job pack members are tasked to do is immense. Review LCAP and its mountain often complex data in order to formulate quality comments about changes. we believe will make education better. We cannot do this without enough meeting dates. We can't do this without digestible, not overly complicated data sets and presentations.

072We can't do this without enough members present to participate in the process. Finally, bullet five addresses the category of acknowledgement, respect, and partnership. Having identified some of the impediments, here are the possible solutions. Some of which are finally in process, some of them are stalled. Under communication, we enumerated the lack of of email communication pathways. This year, the pack made and unanimously approved a motion to request emails. This request was initially denied. However, during our meeting with Superintendent Carvalo, we agreed that emails were just and warranted and he committed to their implementation. We thank you very much for that. My question is, why does such a benign yet logical need have to rise to the level of the superintendent? Additionally, there is a fundamentally broken line of communication and that is with all of you.

073It is our belief that the pack should have regular meeting cadence with the board members as well as the superintendent. One that extends beyond the obligatory 30inut presentation made at our regular pack meetings. We the parents have valuable contributions we can and are eager to make to improve the educational output of the district. We just need a far greater opportunity than one presentation each year. We sincerely hope that going forward we can establish f a far more robust relationship with you all. Under the category of time, our proposed changes are quite simple. We are not provided enough meeting dates, both full pack meetings as well as subcommittee meetings to complete our work. So, let's s significantly increase the number of meetings each term. The presentations we review at our meetings continue to be not digestible

074and are overly complicated. So, let's work to simplify them. The district should be able to work with the pack and create some uh manner of standardized or templated presentations and reports that get used year overyear. Lastly, all the meetings in the world and the best presentations in the world won't matter if there aren't enough people to do the job. We need parents to fill the positions. The sad truth is that there are certain categories that year overyear struggle to fill their vacancies. Foster youth being the most affected by vacancies. Therefore, the pack made and unanimously passed a motion to increase the number of members in every category in every region. Thus far, the district has rejected that request. Finally, under acknowledgement, respect and partnership. Frankly, there isn't enough structured communication or promotion of the district

075level committees at the school sites. I myself had no idea about any of the district level committees until stumbling upon my region's election meeting for the pack. I have to thank my wife for that. If the district truly wants and values parent engagement and involvement, then a comprehensive plan needs to be developed and more importantly implemented to promote the committees and its members through the regions on down to the school sites. When pack members attend regional level meetings and town halls, they should be introduced. Parents at my school should know I'm their representative and what my role is so that they can talk to me about their concerns. Principles should view involve parents not as troublemakers or nuance new nuance nuances, excuse me, nuisances, but as partners for positive change. Not because this is some

076ego or vanity project for any of us, but because we are there to listen and collect as much parent feedback as possible. That invaluable input can be taken back to the pack. That's how we inform ourselves to generate the most comprehensive comments for the LCAP that we can, which my fellow board members will share with you momentarily. We are all here because we want the best education possible for the over 600,000 children in this district. We we implore you to offer your assistance in any way you can so that in partnership we can make things better. And now I'll pass back to our chair. We will share comments related to the specific LCAP goals. Thank you very much. So I want to some of the comments that parents meant. So uh in regards to academic

077excesses give the data of I already knowing that this information wasn't given to us by the groups and we were asking for we were asking Mr. Edward for this information. it wasn't given to us and I believe that it's very important to have not just to have it within PAC but to give it to all committees and for it to give it to us to us with ample time so that we can review the information and so that also parents can have this information at every school you they've indicated that it's not given to them and also present every action of ELAP to create a reference level the goal the objective and the results for every school year and is uh we should have clear in numbers to see if the goal was achieved or

078not. That's very important not just for us but I believe it's also for you to to know if we reach the goal and also parents uh spoke in regards to the system known as AG I believe that's something that is needs to be implemented excuse me it's EGI and I also want to share that this is the academic the exc academic excellence and I'm doing an investigation where many of the parents are asking for tutoring and I know that you have given been tutoring to many schools but they're giving silven tutoring at schools when we asked for the school in regards to that they didn't even give parents the progress the students progress the parent needs to ask for the progress and parents don't know their rights therefore I want to leave this information to

079you Mr. Bas Mrs. bias gave this to us and I believe this is bad information and we also asked her other questions. I was working with MAD because English learners at our schools, MacArthur Park, is one of the the school that has the most English learners. And when we asked for a request on how it's measured, what they told us was, well, it's not possible to give you that information or or because they believe that we're asking the personal in student personal information and we're not. We're asking the progress information. we would like for you to review this. I also emailed Miss Bias tell letting her know that this is not acceptable because from 23rd floor you don't know what's happening down here uh where it has to be where it has to do with

080the schools. That is something very important to know. Well, uh goal number two, uh parents have expressed that safety is important and we want every community to say if they want school police or not. We know that UTLA SEIU and they're against it, but they are not the community, the parent community. We are the ones who receive that service and at least we want for us for you to give us that option. There are schools that don't need it. That's okay. And I believe that you can't act in a dictorial way and say no, we can't do that because then then you are looking like someone who's in the government as now. You're looking like him. At LUSD, you should also assign a core of funds for the psychologist. There uh is a lot of

081necessity not just for IEP students but also for all students in general and we know that you have purchased what uh you call PSW and honestly we need professional people like a psychologist so that they can also be uh overlook our students. Uh parents should also make sure that teachers are informed. For example, when a student has an IP, we are we are noticing that teachers don't know the necessities or the goals of these students. Therefore, we want schools to reinforce on this area. We're moving on to goal number three, collaboration, engagement and collaboration. And the most important is to restore collaboration within parents. Create CAC committee's DAC impact at a regional level. Every school should count with their own representatives so that they can make decisions within their regions. regions honestly are not working

082and these group that they've created and the way they are working now there is no parent leadership and you know that if it it's it's in your hands to empower the community so that they can also know their rights but it's not enough for them to know their rights it's important for them to know how to use it many parents don't come and speak because they're afraid many parents have asked and I've said how is it that you're afraid we can create a a long list of how parents are being oppressed. But if you are in charge to empower them with information and teach them how to use these tools and how to change, then they can better the education because that's your goal and that's our goal. We also need training for parents uh

083above anything everything that has to do with education like Williams complained UCP um IEP confuses a 504 plan. These are important plans and not even the parent academy are touching this and I will say in regards to IEP and the 504 plans but the solid basis that parent need to know what they're doing because they speak a language that it's not understandable. They they speak an a language that's so academic. For example, like I said 24th floor to seeing us at the schools is way different. You won't really see what's happening and how the families are suffering. especially. It's not that the parents don't have an interest, it's more that they don't understand. It's not that they're dumb. No, the language is very complicated. The beginning of every school year, uh, we presented the school's

084budget to every parent and that's very important for you to give and also the financial statements and audit to the pack. This is presented to us or this was presented to us at a later time and this talks about the transparency and the position that you have and I know that you're creating a tool that was proposed by Miss Ortiz but you also need to work more on this area. Goal number four is operational effectiveness. The district district should modify the politics to allow parents and school personnel and they should be able to choose whether they want school police assigned to their site. They are also asking for or excuse me there is a great deal of food waste including but not limited to milk and I know that this is something nutritionist of nutrition

085but this goes to waste. The milk goes to waste. Many children don't drink it. And I think this is something important that you should look at and also get parents involved in providing input to the school safety plan because the schools aren't working with the parents with within the school safety. They just choose one parent for safety plan and personnel is about five or six. There is no equity. This needs to have equity with parents and school personnel and also the parents at the district level. We want to be integrated within the safe school plan. Goal number five, which is investing in staff in implementing a system to measure the effectiveness of the professional development known as PDs that teachers receive. We request a report on PD data including in that have to do with

086the professional development including topics and investment at the district region and school site levels. And why do we say this? Parents are always saying that that uh teachers they should give the PD training and we know that they're receiving many parents don't know it but we know that you are giving these funds for PD training. The problem is that we don't see there is no revision, there is no supervision, excuse me, and our students aren't benefiting from this PD. Um, also we've established a selection committee to choose principles and hold elections for parent representatives. The committees must have an equal number of parents and LUSD employees. When a principal is chosen at a school, usually they choose one parent and it's about three or four parents, a previous principal and we want it to be

087more equitable. And also something very important for us is translation unit. We always need this. We always need this unit urgently. We need you to invest in this in this in this unit and personnel. Goal number six, English learner support. Well, uh within the information that has been presented for us for English learners, they have low academic performance performance within all the subgroups which are the lowest ones. And according to the master plan, uh we don't know what's failing, if it's the strategics or or this is just not working. But in regards to implementation, we know that the parents don't know about this. Uh even though there is ELAC in every school, parents don't receive the information that they need. Now, in regards to LCAP, investment for English learners is about $24 million only. Previously

088they had told us that it was 158,000 million. Um but when we started talking about the transparency issues they said no it's that 124 something million dollars was for bilingual issues. This is very different with and it has something different to do with English learners. They said that is while English learners account for 21% but I want to modify that is from 800 million that the district are receiving and you're only giving them $24 million. I I mean this is very little and I was looking at the LCAP and I know that the investment went up to 30 million. That's still a little bit of that's not enough. Uh English learners is a 23% of the whole district. Therefore, how can you you have to invest more in this category knowing that these are the

089lowest ones and there is inequality with other groups and this is the group that is less that you're being less considerate with them and if you want to uh support the immigrant community, this is the opportunity to make more investment for the English learners. Goal number seven. Uh, Miss Eva Jackson will speak in regards to this. I just want to pop in and say the committee's now had twice the time as all the other committees that have gone so far. Yes. And I'm getting ready to yield my time. I respect time and I respect you guys time. I think they've already said what we need to say about the BAP. Thank you for ex um trying to put that on the agenda to get more um more investment. Um if we have any questions or

090concerns, that's where we'll leave it at. I yield my time. Well, what's next is this is a link to all the comments that parents made based on the whole work that was done this whole year. We had around 13 meetings, but the board members had more work, more than 30 meetings in which we would like for our voices to be heard and we want to know and we would honestly like for you to ask us questions. Any questions? We can do that by our email or contact you that way too. Gentlemen, I have one question and my colleague has a question. Mr. Carbalo, we want to know when will you give us the answer to the comments? Usually years past they had given us the answers. 15 days a month before we get to the

091presentation. But this year they didn't give us an answer. Mr. Edward is the one in charge of LCAP. And the last meeting we had with him was May 15th. So this is a lack of respect for the committee for the parents where we are not given a date at this current time. We'd like to know when that date will be for the answers. Thank you Miss Gillian. Thank you very much for your commentaries and your suggestions. Thank you so much. My colleague has a I would like to add something. Um, as you can see, the information is a lot. It's a lot. The comments that us parents have are suggestions and concerns that parents have on a school site level as a district level as well. And we'd like to ask you that for the

092future school years, there be a bit more respect demonstrated to add more time for the presentations that us parent committees have. The committees cannot come present in 10 minutes information they've been working for a whole school year. Parents, every time we have a meeting, it's four, five hours sitting analyzing information to come present here for with a quality presentation for us to only have 10 minutes per presentation. I honestly think it's time to give parents the respect we deserve with the volunteer work that we've provided. Thank you so much. We heard that also from Mr. Crown. I appreciate that very much. Thank you so much. I'd just like to leave here one last document. Um we all reviewed the waiver the the state uh um document for the classified uh workers for the early ed

093and Miss Alva Mara Alvarez never um called us so that we can uh for the presentation because PAC is not in agreement with the extension and we sent this letter to all of you right and there is a why. So I won't mention it here so that we don't take more time but us parents say no and we hope that you read the reasoning for which parents uh think that. So I will leave it here and if you'd want to say something briefly uh could I could I um Miss Nubble is there any way you can give us a suggestion on how to get our our our parents more involved? What's your take on that? What do you need from us? So, just to I'll I'll clarify with during this awkward pause is that board

094members aren't fully entitled to respond directly to a very specific question. They can respond in a general way something like I'll have my office reach out to you. We can discuss further that kind of a thing. I'll personally reach out to you and sit with you to find out how we can work on one accord. Thank you for your time and thank you so much. Thank you. And we hope that there be real change made. And no, Mr. I thought we're going to make these questions by email or Sure. Just I was going to ask if the superintendent's team can share with us the written responses because we do normally get those as a part of the LCAP. Um, and I would imagine we would get them before next Tuesday, right? The answer is yes.

095Okay. Thank you. Okay. Yes, we we do honestly need more time. 10 minutes is an insult for all the parents that and on their work they've done for a whole year and we know you have a lot on your agenda, but we are always here to fight for parents. So, we need more opportunities and I know that Miss Kelly in the past had been fighting for that. So, I hope she continues to do so and have a great day. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Guin. For for our record, that was a 26 minute presentation. And our next and last group is the District English Learner Advisory Committee. You're up now. Come on up, DACA. Okay. Okay. So, the he the presenter is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you need translation headsets and you

096didn't get one yet, please put your hands up and we'll get one to you. Hello, good afternoon members of the board. My name is Fernando Perv, the chairperson of the district English learner advisory committee. I want to thank all the parents who believed in me and school and in elementary school to to represent the parents of the English learner students and my children because I'm here thanks to them as well as the other students in the district. Today is a very emotional day for me. It's a c celebratory day for success as we were able to complete many goals. I'm here to present the recommendations and comments that for the majority of this year we've been able to collect as a committee. For the first point, we have we have the required uh English learner

097topics for the comprehensive needs assessment. So as our first point, we have I ready for parents. We suggest workshops for parents on how to use this tool to provide additional support for our students and more access in this tool at school and home for greater opportunities for reclassification and having better academic results. Intervention. We suggest more intervention opportunities to provide additional support where the English learners can need a a bit of a push. IP advise families of the services and programs available for students and also for students that are have a a double classification. And we need to make sure that in the IEP meeting there is a specialist present to provide assistance for LD in English and integrate strategic goals within the IEP for reclassification purposes. ELPAC, we need practice tests prior to the

098test so that students can benefit from that reading and mathematics that there still be and provide interventions to support those students that have low grades and provide parents uh the assistance to help them such as the example of the framework comprehension. We need a focus there because a lot of students read quickly but they don't understand what they're reading. We need tools to improve comprehension for every student. Coaches that every school have a math coach that provides support to teachers and orient the students with support to have better academic success. During the 20 the February 27 2025 master plan dual language, the recommendations were the following. Reclassification in elementary school. We recommend additional efforts for early reclassification because when they continue on to different grades, it becomes harder. Promote and increase dual language programs at

099school sites. We believe strongly that expanding and supporting the implementation of the dual programs in elementary school as well as middle school, especially in communities with a high concentration of of English learners and multilingual households can benefit from this. Uh Stamford studies also denote that they would have better academic improvement especially with math and reading with these efforts. And based on this evidence, we would be able to complete our first goal with our academic goals and the goals related to personnel assisting with this as well as English. Kena Elementary School in Korea Town, for example, provides a dual program for English and Korean, and they've had high levels of academic success and reclassification levels that are very successful. This denotes that dual programs assist these communities that are multilingual and multicultural, not just with English.

100So also pathway to biiteracy award. We would like this to be promoted at early grades so that they the students can want to achieve this award early on and have a uh strong hold on multiple languages. Summer school programs. We recommend enough programs for students that have a goal of reclassification. Pardon me, I'm a little nervous. I'm very happy to provide this recommendation since on June 14th we received an email where the the multilingual multicultural department offered a summer program for students that were uh had newcomers in international newcomers. One of the points or the bullets was 10 elective credits which is so important to be able to graduate and achieve that goal. So I feel like we've been listened to and are being heard. So recognizing the students with reclassification with a certificate acknowledge

101students and every time that they increase the level to have a different color and a diploma that would essentially acknowledge their efforts and reclassify them with acknowledgement for their goals, especially with their with their goal of understanding English in this following page. In the meeting of April 10th, 2025, we had teacher authorization as a focus. We would like to ensure transparency, provide a link that will inform parents about the teachers that have their authorization, how the credentials work, all the how would it work. The parents that are interested in this information can add the name, first name and last name of the teacher and in the search you will be able to have information about this individual. E designates ensure translation for ELAC meetings and parents so that we can also meet the needs of

102the parents and the people involved in these areas with provide training for teachers in the following areas. strengthen the relationship between parents and schools so that we can also try different learning techniques. One of the topics that we also touched on April 10th was a consolidated application to utilize Title 3 funding to support students and parents, newcomers in grades K through third with assistance on how to use a computer and how to establish yourself in a new community. also tutoring to learn to read and how to write. There was also a recommendation to provide a tool to bridge the communication gap. For example, interpretation with or translation with AI since there's 90 languages reported from the students upon arrival. providing a translation that is linked through a parent portal. Perhaps this would provide inclusion, would

103help with comprehension, meetings, events, and it would empower the the active participation in the students education. In the next slide, we'll have the LCAP comments and training and meeting information of the 21st of November 2024, AP January 16, 2025, and May 22nd, 2025. Goal one, which is academic excellence. One of the comments that would that the district for the district would be to train school principles to promote and implement music, art, and dance programs since students learn in different ways. There is the multiple intelligence theory that states that artistic endeavors can also promote academic achievement. Kennedy and UCLA studies also demonstrate that arts can retain knowledge and assist students with disabilities as well as English learners. Another of the comments was that the district should train school counselors to promote AP courses that are college

104level courses to also promote pathways to college and technical careers and that this be promoted in elementary school so that when they're in middle middle school they know all the opportunities offered and this would also provide accessibility to the families. On goal two, we would like promotion of mental health workshops for parents and provide opportunities for them to participate in instruction so they can support their children and prevent drug use, gangs and suicide. According to the CDC, they say that youngsters who receive support, emotional support, have a less probability of being in high-risk activities and also try to provide additional services for nursing and counseling services for one to two threes. The way this will benefit is this early attention will try to avoid a larger crisis later like suicide and also fights and absences.

105A nurse not only detects fevers but they also detect signs of abuse. G3 try to provide access to to the parent reps and give them a platform like schooly and others portal parent portal to try to prevent or try to promote events and give information. So that way it'll be a continuous useful tool for for families and that depend on several factors to be able to help themselves and also having digital platforms to try to improve communication direct and also multilingual communication and try to Train the parent center representatives so that way they can try to achieve these goals and try to establish me measurable goals and clear goals so that way they'll be able to try to provide workshops so that way the district can evaluate what's working, what isn't working and what needs

106to be reinforced. And at the end of every meeting have a survey for the people that participated in such meetings to see how effective these meetings have been. Goal four, supervise school sites to ensure they are properly maintained and provide more shaded areas and air conditioning. This will guarantee a physical environment that would try to prevent any kind of heat strokes or dehydration. It's also been recommended to create the possibility of receive payments digitally for example like for pictures for yearbooks and for other events that require payment. Create a support department for for schools with the highest rates of reported violence such as counseling. This type of resource will influence will help uh goal number one where the students will feel supported and goal two counseling with emotional attention will prevent absenteeism and also with

107number three a lot of English learners are also facing several challenges investing in staff investing in teachers with children with disabilities providing them more hours of support and also giving them incentives based on academic advancements and LCAP It's never mentioned ways, explicit ways for incentives based on the academic process for the students that are that have disabilities. This incorporates I'm sorry it's that I'm sorry this incorporates way measurements so so that way for motivation the incentives are connected to real progress tracked by the by the students and connects back to goal one in which teachers with time dedicated and additional motivation will be able to better confront aren't the the needs additional needs that will be provided in the California Department of Education. The LCAP for all the funds given to students with disabilities will

108be able to have a measurable impact providing incentives based on incentives so that way they're able to fulfill these expectations for these resources. I'm going to jump to goal six just to save some time. develop an intensive program for English learners for long term with tutoring, enhanced English language development classes and monitoring. This will help to break when for the students that are being affected with this stalling. Well, propose and strengthen collaboration between school and families with a cultural focus since the participation since family engagement is limited due to language barriers. But it's not just about translating the information. It's also about connecting truly connecting with the families and try to comprehend a cultural context and also recognizing and what they're able to provide education. In a meeting somebody had asked me well how can

109a parent influence in the education. That question makes me reflect and I had brought a few examples and they would be like in kinder a voluntary parent would be able to read stories in their parent language. This will be able to develop the development of language and also give support in two languages. In fourth grade, one-time parents once a month a month parents will be able to collaborate in science workshops with ex simple experiments like planting seeds. This will motivate the parents and the students and involve getting involved and engaging in academic content. In 10th grade, they'll be able to have forums with students, counselors, and also university students trying to focus on route to college. They would be talk about the different requisites from the A through G FASA and this will also raise

110the expectations of academic academic expected at home and we'll also be able to have more choices post high school and also seven assign PSA people services attendance uh counselor specialized in African-American population so that way the African-American families will be able to trust more into the school system when there are staff who understands their experiences and their difficulties. They would be able to mediate with empathy to have staff that would understand the invol the cultural environment. So that way suspensions and absences will reduce and this will reinforce goal seven. And to finish to finish I would like to give the accomplishments of de like I this year I'm proudly able to say that we are better together. We had an excellent collaboration with the multilingual multicultural educational department. We were able to complete every all

111the goals from the department of education. We also had great collaboration with the strategic initiative office bringing data that's understandable and easy to process for any level and they were also given time to respond to any questions and concerns in the department for federal programs. They had a dynamic in which we were able to work together with the board for parents of any levels for they would be able to understand for them to be able to understand for example witham with simple examples such as cutting a cake as an example for them to comprehend. We were able to evaluate different requirements for English learners. We were able to give recommendations for the strategic plan for control for the local accounts and we were also a we were also given the opportunity to go to important

112conferences and gain information such as the Honada Perohikica the association for bilingual students and also all the other conferences part of the department of education at home. And for the next goal that we were able to achieve was the modification and the approval of the statutes of DAC, the bylaws of DAC, the changes that were able to be done in which they were able to collaborate and also be able to participate in every phase of the process to approve it and also the challenges that were faced by the public along with some members of the committee were able to overcome and I would also like to thank Mr. Placencia with his participation, his active participation and his guidance. He was key and be able to facilitate the dialogue so that we would understand the parliamentary

113procedures and also where everything is regulated and also in connection with public schools and also I would like to say that it's a great accomplishment since 2019 was not being able to be modified. So another big accomplishment was our active participation in the strategic plan in 2025 in which our opinions were important where they made us feel that our voice as a committee counted. So we were given the opportunity to participate and also gave recommendations in focus groups such as the issues of artificial intelligence and security. I am grateful for you all for being an important part of the education of our children and also giving face for all the students and their participation and their support. In the name of all the par parents we give you. Thank you for maintaining our schools safe

114and we believe that an emotional support is stronger than any force. Is there any question? Thank you so much DAC committee but especially to you with your solo solo presentation. Solo, you're it. You are it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Okay, the time is now 12:56 p.m. We have a couple of things to get through. We have a 1 pm time certain that we're going to do right around 1 p.m. The superintendent has a a video to play for us. Um, we do. It's just a celebration of uh the graduations that we just culminated uh as of last night. So all graduations have been completed uh without uh without anything other than incredible joy and pride across our community, but also marked by concern and um and u lack of attendance by some in

115our community. Considering all that is happening that our uh board president mentioned earlier, I think it would be more appropriate actually to move the video presentation uh right before the community based safety plan update. Okay, we'll take we'll take the video at that time. So, the order of operations now is going to be uh we'll we'll move and second and take the consent calendar so we can set that. Then we will do the 1 pm time certain. Um and then as the meeting develops, we will do the video ahead of the safety update presentation. So can I have someone move the consent calendar? Move it. Moved by board presidentson. Second. Seconded by Dr. Revas. So we're going to take the consent calendar. We have just eight items. I think the majority of which will actually

116be not on consent. Um so as usual this is a procedural mechanism so that the board can take multiple items in a single vote and then actually spec specify which items will be taken off for discussion and specific questioning. So, tab one, adoption of the 202526 fiscal stabilization plan. Discussion. Tab two, application for exemption from the required expenditures for classroom teacher salaries. Discussion. Discussion. Discussion. Uh, tab three, submission of 25 26 consolidated application for categorical aid programs. Consent. Consent. Okay. Consent. Tab four, approval of the fiscal year 2026 office of inspector general work plan. Consent. Discussion. Okay. Um, tab five, we have a time certain for. So, I believe that would be discussion. We're going to take that at 1 p.m. Is that sound right? Yes. Uh, tab six. Okay. Consent with an intro by

117the by the board member. Okay. Yeah, I feel does that. Yeah, I feel it feels like a discussion now. Uh tab seven, upholding our constitutional rights and standing with immigrant communities. That's at 2 p.m. discussion for the time certain. Um and tab eight, uh budgeting based on equity and student need discussion. Okay. Tabs 9, 10, and 11 are not for action, but we have a robust public hearing scheduled for that today. So, we have um looks like looks like one item on the consent calendar, three number three. Yes, we have uh just tab three on the consent on the consent calendar. So, uh we're not going to take the public comment now because it is now about 1 pm and time for um Dr. Revas's uh tab five. Thank you. So, uh, tab seven, um,

118a resolution ensuring and a sustainable and collaborative community schools initiative. Tab five. Oh, I'm sorry. Is that tab five? Tab five. I'm sorry. Tab five. So many tabs. Um, so today I am proud to introduce this resolution alongside my co-sponsor, uh, Miss Grigo. This resolution is rooted in a simple but powerful truth. When we meet the whole needs of a child, we unlock their full potential. The community schools initiative is not just a program. It's a movement, a model that understands students don't leave their challenges at school at the school gate. That academic success requires more than a textbook or a test. It requires stability, wellness, mentorship, opportunity, and deep connection to community. This model works. From 2018 to 2022, our first cohort of community schools saw real measurable improvements in student proficiency in English

119and math. We saw more students enrolling in AP courses. And we saw high need students, 90% who live in poverty and nearly 30% of whom are English learners, begin to thrive in learning communities that finally reflected their lived realities. These gains didn't happen by accident. They happened because we invested in transformation not just in test scores but in people in coaches in mental health support and restorative practices in family engagement in infrastructure that sees the student the school and the community as interconnected to today's resolution protects that investment. It reaffirms our commitment to a collaborative cross-divisional funding model that is transparent and accountable. It ensures that the community schools initiative dollars are budgeted through a dedicated cost center to maintain oversight and integrity. It commits us to continued support for schoolside staffing, community school coordinators,

120coaches, and systems of continuous improvement. and it safeguards the model from unilateral changes by requiring board approval for any reconfiguration of the community schools infrastructure. Let me be clear, this resolution is not about preserving the program. It's about preserving progress. Our educators, families, and community partners have spent years building trust and systems at work. We cannot allow that progress to be disrupted by fragmentation, short-term thinking or siloed decisionmaking. The community school model is aligned with their strategic plan, particularly pillar two, joy and wellness, and pillar three, engagement and collaboration. It represents the very best of what public education can be when we lead with lead with int with equity and when we listen really listen to those closest to the work. I want to thank every stakeholder, every teacher and every family member and every

121student who has shaped this vision. This resolution is yours as well. Let's protect and strengthen community schools initiative. Let's fund it. Let's keep building and strengthening the community school infrastructure and ensure that every student in their community school has what they need to succeed. Before we move on to board discussion or um p public comment, I want to hand it over to my colleague, board member Grego, for her remarks. Thank you. I am once again very honored and proud to co-author this resolution on community schools. As you all know, I see a lot of community school coordinators here. Um, you know, community schools focus on creating communitydriven shared decisionmaking to address the needs of the whole child including mental and behavioral health. And this approach aims to strengthen family and community foundations, ensuring ensuring that

122students, families, and community members are full partners in decision-making. LUSD also emphasizes collaboration, equity, and excellence in all aspects of the school system and community schools does that. Um, being as I said in a different uh for a different resolution, being a community school is intentional. There's a lot of work that happens uh in getting the application in, a lot of self assessment and planning uh prior to becoming a community school and then of course when you're a community school. So I'm excited to co-sponsor this because now we are looking at the next phase of community schools initiative uh which involves deepening teaching and learning and assessment at community schools. And this is what our previous uh resolution meaningful teaching and learning addresses. And so did our last one, I think it was in March,

123um on autonomy over professional development. And now we have to ensure that the infrastructure to support these schools as they take on this work is there. This resolution also ensures community schools are here to stay. Early data is already showing that community schools work for families, for teachers, and for student academic achievement. So, I trust that our community school steering committee and the staff of the initiative will work towards taking our community schools to the next level. And I hope that we can count on the support uh from our colleagues and I'm looking forward to hearing from our community school coordinators. Can I have a motion in a second before we take public comment on tab five? Move. Moved by Dr. Rivas. I'll second it. Seconded by Miss Grigo. Okay. So for tab five, we

124have nine speakers. I'll take the folks who are listed as uh speaking in person. Uh and then after those speakers, the board will discuss and then vote. So uh Dominic Gera, are you here? Dominic G, come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. And then after Dominic is Cynthia Castillo. Just so you're ready. Okay, the floor is yours, sir. You have two minutes. Hello, my name is Zam Niggera and I am a student at Miguel Contreres, a proud community school in District 2. I'm here today to speak in strong support of the resolution titled Ensuring a Sustainable and Collaborative Community Schools Initiative. Choosing Miguel Contraas to attend to has been one of the most important decisions in my life. As a community school, it has provided me more than just academics.

125It's given us a true sense of support, care, and connection. At our school, we benefit from mental health counseling, after school tutoring, food pantries, and parent workshops, and our teachers. These services aren't extra, they're essential. They help students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn at my school. We have been seeing many of our staff and personal mentors of mine leaving because there isn't enough funding. So we need LUSD to support this. They help families like mine feel connected and empower. The community school models works because it brings together students, families, and educators and community partners to meet real needs and create lasting change. We need to protect and grow this model not just for today's students but for future generations. This resolution matters because it ensures our schools have dedicated funding, strong leadership, and

126the infrastructure to keep doing this important work. It keeps a promise that L USD made to invest in the whole child, not just test scores, but joy, wellness, and real community. We urge you to pass this resolution and continue investing in the future of our school, schools, our families, and our neighborhoods. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Cynthia Castillo, and after Miss Castillo is Sheena Boyd, and then Carla Terriquez. Floor is yours. Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Cynthia Castillo. I am the community school coordinator at Hawkins High School, a proud community school in District 1. I am honored to speak in support of the ensuring a sustainable and collaborative community schools initiative resolution. I have worked in LD in many different roles, including classified and certificated, and I can say by far the

127community schools initiative has been the most supportive and impactful unit that I have ever been a part of. I have never had a director like the current one, Cora Watkins, who is accessible and always willing to take the time to work through challenges with me, including over budgets, which, you know, as you all know, are very challenging. The CSI team there has been essential to the growth and success of LD's community schools, uh, from the director to the elementary, secondary, and data specialists to the school coaches who have been an integral part of making sure that the schools uphold the community schools framework and the district's strategic plan. I am proud to work in LUSD, a school district that has embraced the community schools model and sees value in having our schools be hubs of

128resources and safety in our community. It is essential now more than ever that we double down on the pillars of the strategic plan in the community schools framework. We must invest more in community schools and expand them. We must show that listening to stakeholders and acting upon what they experience and share is the only way to operate. As we've seen in previous presentations today, I have been fortunate to have had this exact experience in the last year. Our school's principal, Lester Malta, has prioritized listening and fully supported our local school leadership's requirements to hear from all stakeholders before making budget decisions. At Hawkins, by being over the community school's budget, LA LSLC has brought on a new wave of partnerships and opportunities for our students. This year alone, we had 45 newcomer students receive leadership

129development and a safe space to share their experience with Homies Unidos. We had 74 students discuss and decide decide and paint murals on our campus. We sent 20 students to racial and gender justice camps and we're just getting started. This is just a peak of what we have accomplished this year and none of it would be possible without LSLC, the community schools budget and the mandates by our state and district. I urge you to continue this model. Support it even more and let them show let us show the nation how LA does it. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Sheena Boyd. Sheena Boyd, come on up. And then after Miss Boyd is Carla Triquez. Hello, my name is Gina and I'm a parent of a 10th grader in Venice High School and recently graduated

130Venice High School senior, a proud community school in board district 4. I am also a member of Reclaimed Schools Los Angeles. For our family, choosing Venice High wasn't about wasn't just about academics. It was about continuing a legacy and building a future. My children's father went there and it was the natural choice after middle school because we've always heard it was a good school. But once we became a part of the community, it turned out to be so much more than what we expected. As both a community school and a black student achievement plan program site, Venice provides critical mental health resources and so many opportunities for students to thrive. from creative arts programs to afterchool activities. My oldest daughter even found her passion in the drama program. The principal has been incredibly open-minded and

131genuinely and genuinely listens to parents' voices which made me feel welcomed and involved in from the start. We've had access to a wide range of resources from mental health counseling to extracurricular programs that have made a huge difference for our family. These supports aren't optional, they're essential. They help our students feel safe, cared for, and excited to come to school. They help family-like minds and feel connected and empowered. That's why I'm here today to speak in strong support of the resolution titled Ensuring a Sustainable and Collaborative Community Schools Initiative. The community schools model works because it brings students, families, educators, and community partners together to meet real needs and create laugh lasting change. We need to protect and grow this model, not just for today's students, but for our future generations. We urge you to

132pass this resolution and continue investing in the future of our schools, our family, and our neighbors. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Carla, come on up. And after Carla T is Aurelia Valivia and then Maria Sanchez. That's not your time. I hope not. You got two minutes coming to you. Good afternoon everyone. My name is Carla Galdame Driquez. I'm the very proud community school coordinator at Jefferson High School, a community school, a BSAP school, an international newcomer school. At Jefferson High School, 15% of our students are identified as gifted and they deserve learning environments that truly nurture their potential. Just as important, we serve a richly diverse and dynamic student body, including many C who sorry, many newcomers who arrive seeking not only education, but also protection, healing, and hope. We don't just teach,

133we protect, we heal, and empower. The community schools initiative has been essential in making this possible. This model allows us to meet students academic, emotional, and social needs through a strong holistic support system. It helps create inclusive spaces where every student can thrive without fear. The motion before you is vital. The proposed $10 million investment and the commitment to expanding to more community schools means every student will have access to wraparound services that make this success possible. Funding for things like dream centers has become a need. This motion is also about accountability and sustainability. With a dedicated CSI cost center and annual reporting, we ensure that every dollar serves students directly and transparently. At every community school, we are committed to protecting our students and CSI helps us live that commitment every day. I urge

134you to support this motion so we can continue to build safe, supportive schools for all students during such a critical time. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you for your time. Aelia Valdivia. Aelia. Good afternoon, board members and superintendent. My name is Aelia Valivia. I'm the executive director of Reclaim Our Schools Los Angeles. We are a proud community labor coalition made up of students, parents, educators, and community members. And a core part of our mission is protecting public education and reimagining our schools through the through the transformative vision of community schools. I'm here to today to voice strong support for the resolution titled Ensuring a Sustainable and Collaborative Community Schools Initiative. Our coalition works across a broad range of issues to advance equity and improve our schools. We work on school greening. We work on safe passage

135programs. We work on alternatives to policing. BAP expansion, protections for our most vulnerable students, including LGBTQ and immigrant youth. And we see community schools as a powerful vehicle to achieve that transformation. Uh through our daily organizing across community schools across the district, I've seen how impactful this model can be when it's fully resourced and rooted in the needs of the whole child and the broader community. Community schools aren't just a policy. They're a proven approach that's reshaping what's possible in our neighborhoods. They offer central supports, mental health care, food access, youth leadership pathways, culturally responsible instruction, and deep partnerships with families and communities. Uh for the past two years, I've also had the honor of serving on LUSD's community school steering committee where I saw just how critical strong central infrastructure is to sustaining this

136work. To grow and protect this model, we need bold ongoing investment, not just in school sites, but in the staffing, in the infrastructure, and the leadership that make it thrive. This resolution represents a commitment to the students and families of community schools. A promise that LUSD will continue to build schools where every child can thrive. We urge you to vote yes and keep investing in the future of our schools and our communities. Thank you. Thank you for your time, Maria Sanchez. Maria Sanchez. What about So, uh, the speaker is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English, please put your hands up so we can get you these translation headsets. Uh, if you do not have a translation headset and you wish to hear what she's going

137to say, um, and you don't speak Spanish, please put your hands up and we'll get you a headset. When you put them on your ears, they automatically turn on the channel that you need in order to experience it. Good afternoon to everyone to the board members. and I'm specialist Martin organizations and reclaiming our I am here to express my support to the resolution that assures an initiative of schools community schools sustainable and collaborative Community schools work because they connect with families, with students, with educators and organizations to support the student, the whole student, not just in the academic side, but in the social emotional well-being. They helped me to sign and helped me with my child. They made sure that this model had funds, leadership, structure, leadership to continue growing. I asked for you to

138continue investing in the future of our schools, families, and students. Thank you for your support. And this is what we need in the schools. And thank you for attending all parents and all the organizations. Thank you for your time. And I want to thank everything that you're doing for our special needs students. And I want to to reinforce the schools so that they can also support more parents. And we want more invol parent involvement. We do need parent involvement inside those schools. Not school police so much, but we need involved parents and leadership within those parents. Thank you for your attention and support. Thank you for your time. Elizabeth Hernandez Castro. Come on down. And then after Miss Castro is Ashley Washington. Good morning. My name is Elizabeth Hernandez. I'm a parent at 28 and

139Santi. Obviously, these are not community schools, but I do I'm also an organizer with AIDS and I know a lot of parents who have children at community schools um at at the schools they these schools they benefit and specific programs and that support like mental health counseling after school tutoring, uh restorative justice circles, food pantries, parent workshops, etc. So those services aren't extra. They are essential stuff that our communities needs, our our students, especially right now in these hard times where our parents are so scared to send their children even to the summer camps. I keep hearing people like, "Oh, I don't want to send my kid because immigration is out there. You know, they're they're tackling all of our streets." So these programs are essential in our schools and this is not going to

140go anywhere. Uh with immigration, you know, all these crazy things that are happening. Uh it's this is a safe place for our students. Community schools should be open for all of our communities. The community schools model works because it brings together students, families, educators, and community par uh partners to meet real needs and create lasting change. We need to protect and grow this model not just for today's students, but for our future generations. I want to make sure that my grandkids eventually have these necess essential necessities at their own school and our public schools. Uh because I said one thing we do not want our schools to be privatized either. Uh this resolution matters because it ensures our stu our schools have uh to have dedicated funding a strong leadership and the infrastructure to keep

141doing this important work. It keeps the promise that LUSD made to invest in the whole child, not just test scores, but joy, wellness, and real community. So, we urge you to pass this resolution and continue investing in the future of our schools, our families, and our neighborhoods. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Ashley Washington, come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Hi all. I'm gonna yield my time. Okay. Thank you. Hello. I am Hovita Anel. I am a L USD graduate and also a staff member with Kadre. The proposed safety update recommendations move LA USD further away from the vision of community schools and directly threatens the well-being of black and brown students and families. Reintroducing police into schools under the guise of safety and based on crime data

142at that is not only harmful, it's a direct contradiction of existing district policy. The school climate bill of rights developed by parents and communities most impacted calls for reducing, not increasing, police presence in schools. That policy still remains in effect. Previously, Kadre parent leaders Lata Hall and Anton Rankin have shared how school police will take their bias and harass students on and off campus and also how previously one of their 8-year-old son was interrogated by three police officers without even a notification to the parent. The discipline foundation policy mandates that every school implement PBIS. This is not a suggestion. It is a requirement. And yet to this day, the district has failed to comply in far too many schools that serve the highest populations of black and brown students while simultaneously showcasing PBIS PBIS success

143in schools and affluent and wider neighborhoods. This is not a just a gap. It is willful negligence. It is racial discrimination in policy implementation and an obvious failure of integrity and leadership. Our principal core leader, Miss Roslin, once told you all that, that we are tired of you all making decisions that affect us and our children's lives without any of our involvement. You all tried it with the school climate bill of rights, trying to celebrate its 10 years without it even being fully implemented. Parents have been clear. We want safety that comes from care resist consistency and restorative relationships, not from criminalization or school police. Real safety honors the dignity of our children and meets their needs. We demand full implementation of community-based safety throughout the district. Thank you. Thank you for your time. And

144we have one person listed as being remote, Anna Martial. Anna Macio, but I do not see her online. Are you in the room, Anna Martial? I don't have her signed in online to speak remotely for tab five. Anna Macio, someone from the audience is saying she's been waiting, but I I don't have her um on the line. Uh Miss Meiel, if you're listening, it's important that you uh call in from the same number that you listed as speaking remotely from. That's the only way we can identify you. Okay. Um maybe maybe she'll make it online while the board is discussing the the resolution. So that well that concludes the comment for now. Now it's appropriate for the board to discuss the resolution. I'll open it up for any board members who want to make any

145comments. Thank you and uh appreciate all the comments from those um at the school sites that make this work possible and feasible and appreciate you bringing your story to the board so we can hear through your lens. Uh wanted to ask because obviously and can I co-sponsor as well? um because it is um um very important work that's going on at the school sites and wanted to know I'm not sure if there's someone that could answer answer where the investment comes from because I know this is a federal funded program as well but then the state give us dollars. So would we continue to get money from the state? So I can answer that board member. So we have right now currently most of the funding does come from our grants but we also have

146general fund dollars that we use to be able to pay for additional staffing for central office things like that but a lot of it comes from the grants currently and then we will continue to sustain that support through the resolution. And then wanted to ask is as we are doing the implementation what is our tracking mechanism for that implementation action as we approve this particular resolution. So I typically work with the department head lead on um key dates. For example, some resolutions have particular dates that we have to come back to the board or share with the board and update in 120 days or something. So we keep track of those kinds of actions and then they keep me informed so that way that we can inform the superintendent of the updates regarding the resolution

147and we'll circle back to the board if there's key actions that need to come to the board and usually update the sponsor of the resolution. board member sponsor because uh in our check-ins they'll bring up questions related to that as well. Got it. And then because this obviously is one of uh maybe the fifth resolution that we've brought to the board, have there been reports or any document already to the point that you just made for the other ones prior to this? Sure. So I mean there's examples of Exito to Promemesa. That was one that in November we we were required to provide an update to the board within 120 days. So we provided a BI to the a board informative to the board. Uh so those are usually how we typically do it and

148sometimes a board member may ask us to do a presentation at a cow or a formal board meeting. So those are typical ways that we circle back, but if there are requirements to circle back, we do uh include that as part of our action steps. Got it. Thank you. And I'd like to add also that we have um IAU who also submitted a a great report on community school. Okay. So talking Oh, I'm I'm sorry if I may. Yeah, I can go after any. Okay. Thank you. So, um I also support this resolution, but I have a brief concern regarding uh the economy and money. So with the uh federal government undoing funding and undoing grants that specifically support mental health resources, physical health resources and staff uh in related in related areas. Can anybody

149on the staff of the superintendent explain what happens if a community partner comes to us and says we will not have the money to continue operations or we'll have to scale down. So my questions would be how much advanced notice do we get if that happens and we must always consider that what makes a community school special is the concentration of resources from partners within the neighborhood. So, we need to have a plan in place to assist our students and our communities if one of our partners or many of our partners through no fault of their own have to close operations. So, what what what do we do um superintendent staff if uh that happens? I hate to put you on the spot, but uh I I can speak just briefly. You know, it it

150varies from partner to partner. Um there's no obligation in in most of ourus or contracts of a notification of ser services is going to terminate as a result of a lack of funding. Um but for the most most part we do get notification they do notify the site if services services cannot be rendered as a result of inability to sustain staff. Um when that occurs uh generally they'll notify our central office. Um, we sometimes assist with identifying another partner that can provide similar service. Um, but at times it's service that goes uh unprovided. I guess it's the timeliness of the reporting that really gives us a chance to uh look around for other community partners, right? Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks. My question also was on the funding side. Um, and I

151know we haven't gotten the full budget presentation yet, but in the budget book, um, I'm And so maybe this is a question for the budget team, not for the sponsors, but we didn't get a budget impact statement on this, did we? That I missed. It was included, I believe. I know that Sarah and others worked on it, so it should have been included. Okay. Then maybe someone can just clarify what the budget impact is, how much, because what I'm seeing is that this year we're estimating about 19 million for community schools. Next year 12.8, eight and then it increases the in the following out years. So, I guess my question is does this bring this back up to the 19? Is it about a $6 million investment that we had originally wanted to reduce for

152next school year? I'm just um trying to clarify the budget impact. I don't know if anybody from the team is in here able to make it down. Thought I can share what's in the impact. I can have the team follow up on that one. I don't believe they're in the room. Okay. Yeah, it would it would be helpful. Um, and we'll let others chat and maybe we can pull that number up of how much will this cost because there are specific positions named in here and so we should be able to say how much it will cost. Thanks. Ellie, go ahead. You can go. I was just going to ask for clarifying too. when you find out can you find out currently right now because according to the numbers what is the dollar amount that's

153allocated and then how much money is going to be spent from other funding sources to support this investment so I can actually speak to that just on the budget and funding impact statement it speaks to $250,000 per school for the 70 school sites um it's a total of $17.5 million As a followup though, that's the school site allocation. This resolution is also talking about the central staffing cost. So maybe there's a is there another figure on that piece? So central team, good afternoon everyone. Central team, it's 1.8 million uh for general fund. Um and just a correction um the community schools um initiative doesn't receive federal funds. It's state funds. Um, and most recently, um, the district was not awarded, um, the the, um, community schools grant. Um, we did apply, we did appeal, and

154we did not receive, um, the grant for this upcoming school year. Um, see what other questions did you have? I think you had a question about the cost per school or was it the answer? Okay. Other questions? No, I well I mean I think so the 1.8 million covers the the coaches. So it wouldn't include like the school site coordinator salaries. It's more of the central infrastructure that supports the implementation. That's correct. School sites. And this the central staff though does include the coordinators that go the the community schools um coach coordinators, the coaches that go out and support the schools. So that's those are c those at the central office, but they go out and support the schools at the sites. the sites um purchased their community school coordinator at their site with their

155allocation. Gotcha. Okay. Thank you for for clarifying. Um I those weren't I was just following up on the questions that other board members asked. Those weren't even my questions, but um I wanted to appreciate the resolution. Um I know it's it's a follow-up resolution from uh sustaining, deepening, and expanding the district's community schools initiative, which I brought in um June of 2021. Um, and I think at that time we were excited about all of the progress and momentum around community schools, but recognizing that we needed central support to ensure that the model was really implemented with fidelity and we could see that full impact on our students holistically. Um, I'm excited about the progress that's been made so far. Um, especially the results that are highlighted in the resolution around um, those initial community schools

156and the strides that we're seeing students make. Um, and many of those are in my board district. So, I'm I'm excited to see continued investment in our community schools. We know that this is a time of limited resources, but that this area is a priority for us as a board. Um, so just appreciate the resolution and love to be added as a co-sponsor. Thanks, Mr. Meline. Yeah. First of all, thank you to the the sponsors. I've been a longtime supporter of community schools. I think they're important now more than ever and um am supportive of the resolution. I guess to Miss Ortiz Franklin's question, Dr. Dr. Strada, I I can confirm the board did not get a budget impact statement. So, is that something that's going to be Can we wait to vote until we

157I just in light of the board meeting today specifically, we should understand the financial impact before voting. It seems like the board is supportive, but we would I just think it would be more responsible to have a dollar figure. I will confirm and get a copy of that for each of you. Okay. So that's so I'm I am supportive but maybe we can either keep the role open or I don't want to delay their time certain I mean or if that can be distributed to the board and the public quickly that could be helpful. So you're supportive, but you want to see is it once you get that is that going to change your mind or what do you want to No, I just think in the interest of transparency we should have a sense.

158We've heard a few different numbers whether it's one time or ongoing and would be helpful to see that. Um I don't know an alternative could be to raise it during the budget presentation later if we find the numbers between now and then just to help us you know in the fuller context maybe just that we're you know we're clear on it today. But I agree it's helpful information. And it won't change my support of community schools, but it it does help for the full picture of where we're, you know, adjusting investments this year. Yeah, it would be fine if we heard it later. Yeah, if the vote if the sponsors are ready to vote on it or we're going to get that information and we have the budget conversation, that could be a fair compromise.

159But um so thank you. Hi everybody. Uh I'm Sarah Shioalier, deputy budget director. I understand there were some questions about the community schools uh budget impact. I'm here and happy to help out. I'm sorry, I was running downstairs, so I'm not I might need the the question restated for me. So, the question from the board right now is we never got a budget impact or fiscal impact statement for this resolution. So, we're just curious. Dr. Bayas and Dr. Estrada were articulating some of the costs, which we know are minimal compared to many other things, but um what the costs of the resolution would be and whether that's a one-time or ongoing cost. Absolutely. And just so you know, Sher, we heard 1.8 8 million for central office staff, which is what I think the resolution

160is asking for. But I was also noticing in the budget book that we're estimating spending 19 million on community schools this year, but 12.8 next year. So that's, you know, it's a significant drop for next year and this resolution would maybe bring it back up a little bit or is it the full, you know, 6 million or so that would be adjusted and maybe that's explained differently elsewhere. Um, so that's a little bit more color to that. Okay. Yes, happy to help out. Uh, so the budget book pages are specific to the community schools grants. Um, so that's one aspect of it and that outlines the year-over-year spend. Um, in terms of the impact of this resolution, so the $250,000 that goes to each of our community schools is an ongoing allocation that's built in

161that we're we're already seeing. So that amount for the 70 schools is $17.5 million for next year. Um, and that's before any carryover since they get that as well. This resolution would uh really start hitting the uh the budget starting in fiscal year 27 because for next year the division of instruction prioritized finding funding for that central office component, but moving forward, we'll need to locate that $1.8 million. So, I'm not sure exactly what happened to the budget impact statement because I assure you all that we did have one that seems to have gotten lost in translation at some point, but uh on the on the whole, it'll be pretty similar language to what you see. Uh everything comes at a cost. So, if we secure funding for this, it will necessarily have an impact

162to wherever it is we're pulling those dollars from. So, we can make that happen, but that is the outyear impact. This wouldn't hit for next year, but the following. Yes. A follow-up question. The school site allocation, the $250,000 that's currently set, that's that's part of a contractual agreement though, right? As part as part of our CBA with UTLA. So that's not necessarily affected by I mean, we would need to fulfill that obligation regardless as long as that contractual provision exists. This is more a so the funding that we're talking about as part of this resolution would be the central cost. Yes, just to clarify. Okay, thank you. Absolutely. Bill, and just for clarification, because currently we were mentioned that the grant was not funded. So, there's other grants that are going to be taken into

163consideration for the community schools. Is that what you're saying? Cuz someone else mentioned that earlier. So, uh we I'll chime in on that. So while that grant was not funded uh and and Sacramento informed us that the reason why it was not because of uh our grant submission lacking merit. It was just they made a strategic decision statewide that they would disperse funds to districts that currently don't have any community schools. They wanted to see expansion in those areas first. Notw but sending that uh you heard that we did submit an appeal to the state. And in fact um last week uh I spoke directly actually with the with the governor and the first partner about the need for a second look uh specific to our our submission and the letter of appeal. So that

164would be the first target would be grants that are earmarked to support the community schools. If that fails and we do have some time since the fiscal impact would not be felt as you correctly said until FY27 would give us some time to seek other non-general fund support uh for uh for these liabilities. Anyone else? Okay. Now we've had uh public comment already. We've commented. So, is it time to vote? That's correct. It's time to vote. Okay. I'd like to uh be a co-sponsor, too, if I may. Thank you. Okay, I'll note that. So far, for co-sponsors, I have Miss Newell, Miss Gonz, and Mr. Okay, here's the roll call vote. Uh, Miss Newell, yes. Dr. Rivas, yes. Mr. Melvin, yes. Miss Grigo, yes. Miss Gomez, yes. Yes. M. Ortiz Franklin. Yes. For President. Yes.

165Seven eyes. All right. We have uh 18 minutes until the next 2 p.m. time certain. I think it would be a good idea to uh take the public comment on the consent calendar as there's only one one item on the consent calendar which sort of makes it almost a discussion item for there are 10 folks listed to speak under tab 3 submission of the 2526 consolidated application for categorical aid programs. I will again respectfully request that the folks keep their comments specifically directed to this item. Um I will first call the folks who are listed as being in person and then we will list then we will call on the folks who are calling in remotely. So the first speaker is Maria Daisy Ortiz. I think I saw you out there Miss Ortiz. Maria Daisy

166Ortiz. Okay. Marcela Garcia. Marcela Garcia. Charles McNeel, are you here? Charles McNeel. I think I hear Miss Ortiz coming. Please don't run. Yes, Miss Ortiz. Yes. Miss Ortiz is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English, please put on these translation headsets. And if you do not have a translation headset, put your hands up and we'll get you one. Okay, gracias. So after Miss Ortiz, it will be Marcela Garcia and then Charles McNeel. So please go ahead. Good afternoon Tarwin. My name is Maria Dei Ortiz and well honestly the resolution is really good. But what's happening is that it stays in writing on document everything that you say you're going to do it when the time comes you don't do anything. And I'm saying this because I

167had a daughter with dyslexia and you know Mr. got that my daughter had success but based on the resources that she received outside schools and if this resolution is implemented the way it's it is here this is something that will work because students that learn different ways have been assigned to a general class but if there is no alcom appropriate accommodations like when where children can learn then this is an designation and a violation of the rights of the students. This is why I suggest that they you create you do investigations and when you train personnel to help so that teacher resource teachers give this support in the classrooms there should be an implementation plan because many of the times yes they do get trained yes you do spend a lot of money on this

168training but there is no implementation plan who wants to implement this does it and who doesn't they wasted their time and money And the ones that are hurt are our children. But we need equities to reach all students because all children are intelligent. Whether they have even if they have different ways of learning, they need to have accommodations and appropriate ones inside the classroom. It is not about satisfying needs, adult needs because the professional development that you give these people many of the times is voluntarily and it doesn't reach everyone. Therefore, there should be this should be rigorous. It should be mandatory this professional development and instructional principles should give a report till they could know how this is being implemented. Uh professional development for teachers you waste so much money and nobody moni mon

169monitors the effectiveness and the implementation of it. More than anything, we need something. We need transparency. We need more evaluations, more inclusion, and we need we need uh we need to comply with the rights of all the students, especially exceptional needs students. Thank you for your time. Marcela Garcia, Charles McNeel, Keith Adams, are you here? Keith Adams. The rest are listed as call in calling in, but I do not have anyone signed in for tab three at the moment. So, I'll read through the list and make sure they're not don't happen to be here in person. Jorge Garcia, Pedro Garcia, uh Jasmine C or Yasmin C. Uh Laura Garcia, La Garcia, Thomas Agir, Thomas A. and Brandon Kamacho, are you here? None of those folks are here. So, well, actually, we've lost quorum, so we

170can't do anything until one more board member comes out to uh take a vote. The time is 1:47. All right, we have just made it back to quorum. It's 1:48 p.m. Thank you, Miss Gonz. Uh, board members are actually eating right now, which um they need to do sometimes to to to vote. Okay, so we'll take the vote on this item. Tab four. I'm sorry. This is tab three. The single item on the consent calendar. Uh, Miss Newell. Yes. Dr. Rivas, Mr. Melvin, yes. Miss Grigo, Miss Gomez, yes. Uh, Miss Ortiz Franklin, and board president Schmelson. Yes. Okay, that's four yeses. That completes the consent calendar. Uh we have a couple other items that we could probably take. Um how about tab uh four approval of fiscal year 2026 IG work plan. There's seven speakers

171to that and I believe Miss Grigo want to speak. Uh we do still have quorum and can I collect your vote Dr. Rivas for uh tab three the consent calendar? Yes. That's a yes. Thank you. And uh Miss Ortiz Franklin can I collect a vote for that calendar also? Yes, that's also a yes. Thank you. Okay, so tab four, we'll move on to tab four. Uh we have public comment. We have four folks here in person or five in person and two calling remotely. So I will call on the folks who are here in person and then we will go to those calling in remotely. Uh Matt R, Matt Rothl, come on down. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Then after Matt R is Belinda Ma and then Cozette and then Ulen

172Oliver, come on down. And I apologize for mispronouncing your name probably. I mean, I think actually Belinda Ma's on the phone. Okay. I if Belinda Ma's on the phone, I'll come back to her after. Okay. No problem. After those in person. No problem. All right. The two minutes is yours. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, good afternoon LUSD board members, superintendent Carvalio, and district management. My name is Matt Raithley, and I'm the father of a rising third grader at in the Manin immersion program at Broadway Elementary School in Venice. I'm here today to ask the Office of the Inspector General to open an investigation into why LUSD has failed to keep its promise to students and parents to keep classrooms staffed with credentialed teachers. Most recently, our Spanish immersion program suffered the loss of one of

173its credentialed Spanish-speaking teachers and failed to the district failed to find a credential replacement for at least two months. In the Mandarin immersion program, one of our second grade classes lost a credentialed English teacher and the district failed to find a replacement for at least three months. Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents. In both of these incidents that I'm citing, parents and principal were left to pick up the pieces because the district failed to provide a teacher instead of working with the stakeholders. The district again has their answer has been to scapegoat our principal Michelle Garin for something that was completely outside of her control. This is not acceptable and we as parents ask that bo the board not tolerate such reprehensible conduct by management. There is still time for this to be fixed and

174parents stand ready to work with the district and principal Garmin to help build a teacher pipeline for our unique programs so that this does not happen again. If the district continues to disregard the substantive issues facing Broadway in favor of taking the easy way out, the parents will avail themselves of other options in the interests of the student our students educations. I implore the office of the inspector general and the board to investigate the district region west's atrocious handling of this situation. Thank you all very much. Thank you for your time. I will call on Miss Ma. She is calling in. So I'll call her after I call on the folks who are in person. Cozette. Cozette, are you here? Come on down. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Thank you board

175for your time. My name is Cozette. My daughter is an immersion student in LA USD. When I attended LUSD, my parents pushed us to assimilate, speak English. That's why it's important to me that my daughter is in an immersion program. Agnes Camo told us equity means access to all. But our school's teacher recruitment scholarship was blocked despite having a teacher shortage, and a UCP complaint resulted in our Mandarin students receiving fewer resources than other students at our school. There are 174 Spanish immersion schools, only 21 schools teaching six other languages. How can there be such a disparity? With declining enrollment, opening classrooms without demand negatively impacts performance. Spreading resources too thin has harmed those 21 neglected immersion schools that are actually growing, proving the concept behind the growth trap. The district presented to our school

176in May. Parents were not allowed to speak. So, I researched administrators in attendance and found that Lydia Costa Stevens is responsible for our program. Though I was troubled to find that despite being found liable of multiple counts of discrimination in a California court, she remains in a position of power. How does that make sense? Someone named on record for trying to dismantle those 21 other language immersion programs is still in charge at MMED. How can we trust LUSD with our children's education when the district allows someone with discriminatory biases to manage culturally sensitive programs? In the lawsuit, the plaintiff was awarded 2 million. Can you imagine if that money went to the schools that were discriminated against? The work plan is about integrity in programs and operations. So I ask, who is overseeing the oversight?

177When someone like Lydia Costa Stevens has authority over multicultural education programs, there can be no integrity. How is it fiscally responsible that the people perpetuating these systemic inequities remain employed while our beloved principal Garmin has been scapegoed and removed from her position at Broadway? Please support the immersion programs that have been discriminated against by removing Lydia Aosta Stevens from MMED and LUSD because there's no place for bigotry in public education. Thank you for your time. Uh Yulan Oliver, come on up. You have two minutes to speak. And then after Yulan is uh Steve Sugarman. Good afternoon, Superintendent Caro and board members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on the OIG work plan. My name is Julen Oliver. I use she her pronouns. I'm a a sports agent, an expro snowboarder, and a parent at

178Broadway's uh dual language immersion elementary, uh LA USD's top 11th school. Like our superintendent, Broadway doesn't speak just one or two languages, but three. So there I was walking my daughter through the school gates. Uh colorful diia de los muertos and lunar new year decorations are up. More than 100 families are driving in from outside the district. Some more than an hour away just to be part of this school. And me I actually live next to the number one school in LA USD. Um but I still choose Broadway. L USD enrollment is declining but not at Broadway. Ours is growing. Teacher morale has never been better. Our principles know every child by their first name. Broadway is one of the only dual immersion schools in LA USD and in the top 11, only one other

179school has immersion and we have six classes per grade to their one. So, I'm mind blown that while there's a curriculum for the Spanish immersion, Mandarin has gone without a curriculum for 15 years. Our principal has had to pay teachers in their free time to build it from scratch. Please look into this inequity and end it for 2026. And now our principal is getting taken away and in what's been a pretty shady process while blocking the new free well free uh student teacher program that we built for 2526 with LMU which lacks both now that lacks both due diligence and budgetary logic. No better way to destabilize our greatest gem of a school and cause students and teachers to leave the district. So, in my closing request, if I may, please audit whether non- Spanish

180programs have been predictably left without curriculum for 15 years. Please audit whether black women principles on the black on the west side are being removed at disproportionate rates. Just looking at the job descriptions this morning, reinstate the free to LA USD LMU student teacher program. End the Mandarin curriculum gap. And please reverse the decision to remove principal Garmin. Replacing principles is not cost-effective. Thank you for your time. Thank you so much. Hey, Steve Sugarman. Steve Sugarman, are you there? Steve Sugarman, not here. Okay, Belinda Ma, I see you're online with us. Belinda Ma, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Belinda Ma. Good afternoon, Luc, Superintendent Kovaleo, and district managers. My name is Belinda Ma. I am a proud um um uh about to be

181third grade parent at Broadway Elementary, and I spoke uh I guess a couple weeks ago or yeah, a couple weeks ago at one of your board meetings um about our our beloved principal being removed. But this this opportunity I'd like to speak to today is to bring your attention to a highly concerning issue um that we look at uh we ask you to revise uh the fiscal work plan the work plan for fiscal year 2026 for the o to include an investigation into use resources to investigate uh the office of ci student civil rights and the region and region west for their um mishandling of a situation regarding the univers uniform complaint procedures case UCP-023-23-24. Um the it was a report dated December 1st of 23 and um this this report resulted in erroneous and

182completely fabricated fabricated material that has no legal precedent. The false conclusion that it came to was that a language that language um immersion programs are a protected characteristic. And this is a huge problem for the school district because you are you are creating a new class of protected um new class of protection that is not guaranteed by law. And this lack of impartiality and zero due diligence that resulted in this in this false uh false uh claim is is standing and and it hasn't been investigated. And so we're asking that you look into this because it shouldn't be allowed to stand or it's going to create a dangerous legal precedent which will be costly to the district and the taxpayers alike. The oid needs to focus on this problematic um finding which results in a

183highly a highly successful program in LA Unified losing our beloved principal and also having multiple problems now internally because it has been this um decision has been misinterpreted. Correct. Thank you for your time. Okay, we've got uh Mr. Sugarman is not here. Uh James uh Chortner, you're also supposed to be online. You are not there. Are you in the room, Mr. Chortner? James T, not here. And Mr. David Tokovski, you're signed up as speaking remotely. I do not have you online in front of me. Are you in the room, Mr. Tokovski? He is not here. Um so I believe this item was up for discussion uh by Miss Ggo. I have a question. Um so Miss Dangle uh earlier in the year you share that you were doing an investigation on special education or you

184were planning to so can you share about that because I did not see it in the plan. Yes, thank you. Good afternoon. Um so thank you for your question. First of all um special ed is not on our work plan for a couple reasons. One is that it is a general funded area. Um and as you all know um we have very very limited general funds um in order to do any audits related to general funds and this would be one of those. The second is we're in the midst of doing a very comprehensive audit um and lengthy audit related to special education specifically related to non-public schools. I anticipate that that audit should be released in the next few months. And that's the only one you're going to do on special ed for the

185for this upcoming fiscal year. Yes. All right. Thank you. Were there any other discussion questions on tab 4? Okay. Um someone want to move tab four for the vote? Move it by Miss New. Seconded by Miss was Miss Gomez. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Now the vote. Miss Newell. Yes. Dr. Rivas. Mr. Melvinne. Yes. M. Grigo. Yes. Miss Gomez. Yes. Mr. Ortiz Franklin. Yes. Or President Schmurson. Okay. Well, that's five eyes on tab four. Now 2011 or 2012. We have a time certain of 2 PM for tab number seven. Do not see Dr. Reebas in here right now. Wait one minute maybe for her to come in. I believe there's also speakers to the tab and I believe she would want to introduce the resolution. Here she comes. Thank you. Okay, ready. Tab seven. Hello

186everyone. Um, I am here today not just as an elected leader, but as a daughter of immigrants, as a mother, and as someone who knows that our schools must be places of safety and not surveillance, places of celebration and not fear. Today I introduce this resolution upholding our constitutional rights and standing with immigrant communities because in the face of injustice, we cannot look away and we will not be silent. At a time when federal hostility and anti-immigrant policies cast long shadows, LUSD stands at a moral crossroads. And we choose courage. We choose to lead with our values because every student, regardless of immigration status, deserves a safe, welcoming, and equitable education. In recent days, immigration enforcement actions have taken place near our school campuses right at right as our students are preparing to walk across

187graduation stages and neighborhoods all throughout our city and board district 2 from Bo Heights, Lincoln Heights, Pico Union, everywhere also in other throughout our city, other board districts, Huntington Park and South Central families have endured generations of struggle, resilience, and now are being met with helicopters, agents, masked agents, and fear. This is not enforcement. This is intimidation. This is not public safety. This is about power. And it sends a cruel message to the children to the child in the cap and gown that their joy is conditional and their dreams are disposable. We are here. We are here to say no more. Not in our schools, not in our communities, not on our watch. This resolution reaffirms that every LUSD school is a sanctuary, a place where students and families are protected regardless of status, language,

188or origin. It calls for the immediate removal of ICE and National Guard activity near our campuses. It denounces the criminalization of community leaders and union members who have stood up in peace and solidarity. And it demands that all levels of government honor the constitution and the humanity people that people deserve. To anyone who believes they are they can intimidate our students into silence or strip dignity from our families. We must all ble here be clear here in in LUSD. You may carry badges, but you do not carry justice. You may have power, but you do not have the right. And you may walk into our neighborhoods, but you will not define them. We believe in the promise of public education. We believe that every student deserves to walk across this the graduation stage without fear.

189And we believe that immigrant families are not a threat to be removed, but a gift to be protected. We see the toll that fear takes on our classrooms, particularly now in summer school, when parents are afraid to show up, when students carry the weight of anxiety, and when trust between schools and families is threatened. But we also see something more powerful. resilience, brilliance, and hope in our immigrant students and communities. This is not just about policy. This is about people, about protecting dignity, about ensuring that the promise of public education remains a promise kept for everyone. Today, we are joined by powerful voices who have walked with our communities, defended our rights, and stood firm when others turned away. parents and students who have experienced firsthand what it feels like to live with fear of

190immigration enforcement in our neighborhood and whose voices call us to action with moral clarity. First, I'd like to introduce some public speakers who are here to share their experience and also for us to hear their voices. I'd like to introduce Emma, a parent from a middle school. Good afternoon everybody. I come here to share my story uh from an immigrant community and in solidarity for the constitutional rights. On the 4th of this month, ICE came to knock on my door searching for my son and they asked me where he was and I simply said that he was in school and that and it did not give them an address. They asked me several questions and after five minutes they left. And so I want to tell all people who are watching me that this is

191the time to speak up. We are all fearful. My son has fear of going to school and right now he took uh summer school but he's fearful of going to school. So it is time to speak up. We are not criminals. We come with the plan to work, the plan to better ourselves. We don't harm anyone. That's it. Thank you. Next, I would like to call up for while we wait for maybe Stephanie if Stephanie is here. Stephanie's here. Um, good afternoon board. Uh, my name is Stephanie. I stand before you first as a proud daughter of Salvadorian immigrant parents, a proud graduate of the LUSD public school system, and a mother of beautiful school-aged children that now are attending a local school. I'm here today in hopes of being a voice for those that

192are being wrongfully silenced by fear and being wrongfully persecuted. On June 9th, uh a time when children, parents, and school staff would be celebrating the closing of another successful school year, our community was met with the presence of unmarked vehicles and masked agents that quickly caused anxiety, stress, and fear not only for the adults in the community, but also our children. These intimidation tactics, abuse of power over the people, and a constant disregard for all and all human rights is not new from our government. But how much more of this do black, brown, indigenous, and disabled community members must continue to endure before we all stand up and say enough is enough? Our communities deserve peace and our children deserve to attend schools without the fear of outside threats, especially being separated from their loved

193ones. All human life is valuable and how precious are the lives of our children. Living in a sanctuary sanctuary city and a city that is full of life like Los Angeles and being part of the public school system. This board not only has a moral obligation but also a responsibility to protect and create a safe environment for all our ch for all our children to thrive in. All our public schools should have an adequate number of staff and equipment where our kids can learn and play freely without fear and anxiety. Our communities should have the sounds of birds and children laughing and playing, not sirens and cries for help. Our schools and communities deserve protection of their fourth and fifth amendment rights because human rights should not be violated based on one's immigration status, the

194way we look or speak. Human rights should not be up for discussion and the safety and well-being of our children is not up for debate either. I implore all of you to protect the future, mental health, and well-being of our children at all costs before it's too late. With love, a member of the community first and foremost, the mother of schoolaged children. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Next, I'd like to invite Dashel, a a high school student or Dashelle. Good afternoon board members. My name is Desaw. I graduated yesterday from Bravo, Francisco Bravo. Now, we'll be attending UC Santa Barbara for pre-schyological and brain sciences at the College of Letters and Sciences. And as of four weeks prior, my father got detained and deported with no criminal record after attending a

195trial uh with lawful notice. And I am here speaking not just for myself, but for my mother and for all the Latino parents and immigrants who aren't able to speak out of fear of oppression, out of fear that if they ever speak up, no one's going to hear them. And it's been a very stressful time. Ever since my father got detained, he is our financial support. And I'm gonna be going to college. And without him, me, my parents, and my sister all worried about how am I going to pay. I'm worried for my sister because we can't go out there anymore. It's no longer safe. There is a lot of case of helicopters, a lot of vehicles, a lot of ice. And I'm worried that if I ever go out there Santa Barbara, two hours

196away from where I live, I'm going to have to hear the news that my mother got detained because I wasn't there. That she has to go to a grocery store or go do a laundry and she's met with people, with cuffs, with all this oppression. And so I just wish that we all can stand against this because this is just injustice. My parents came here 20 years ago. They crossed the border bravely and they've been supporting us. They support the generations that is going to help raise LUSD, that going to help raise Los Angeles, going to help raise our nation. And so, thank you for this time very much and congratulations. Next, um Stephanie, if we have Stephanie here. N okay. Well, um, for the speakers who did speak here, who were able to be

197here with us, I thank you for sharing your experiences and your powerful remarks. This is a resolution, one step forward in our march towards justice. I want to urge everyone, if you have a platform, use it. History will remember how we responded. Let it be said that we stood up, that we did not look away, that we showed up every for every student and every family with open arms, open hearts, and una unwavering commitment. It is a promise to our children, to our neighbors, and to the generations that follow. That we will defend your dignity, that we will protect your future, and that we will never let fear speak louder than love. Let's protect. Let's empower. Let's educate with justice and humanity at the center. Let us listen now to those who are fighting every

198day to make that promise real. And with that, I will turn to Mr. McClean. Actually, I will turn it to my co-sponsors if you uh would like to make some remarks. Please. Thank you. Um Dr. Rubas, thank you so much for bringing this resolution. As soon as I saw the language, I sent you a text right away and said, "Thank you. Thank you." Um because this is our moment to stand up unified as a board and a district uh representing we are one and we are safe for students and families. You know, many of our immigrant communities are facing the same fears they felt in their home countries. The fear of government disappearing their neighbors and that is terrifying. We have had our own children and parents um taken in really scary situations. some of

199us have seen on social media and many other scary situations that never get the light of day because people are too afraid to talk about them, to post about them, or to let anyone know. As a board member, it's nerve-wracking and scary when we get these messages of our own children and the experiences that they're having here that we would not wish upon our worst enemies. And so, I am grateful that we have this unification today and always that we are with our immigrant students and families regardless of status, legal or not. You are welcome here. You are safe here. You're protected here. And this is a further affirmation that we are asking the same of our government agencies, local, state, and national, to protect our children. Our children need their schools. They need their

200education to make this world a better place. They need their public schools for food, for connection. And we cannot take that away from them. LA Unified never will, and others are threatening to do so. But the more powerful we are together with community, family, and this school district, the better we can serve the children who are going to make this world an absolutely better place because we desperately so need their leadership. Thank you for bringing this, Dr. Rivas. I'm so grateful to co-sponsor. Thank you very much, Miss Gregel. Yes, thank you. Um, this is very challenging for all of us. Um, and um, you know, many of us know that I've I came here when I was 5 years old as an immigrant. My mom reminds me from El Salvador as well. And um, my

201mom always reminds me, you remember in the 80s when you know we'd be waiting for the bus and all of a sudden everybody was gone and then later on we'd hear it's because La Migra came by. and she always reminds me that you know what Carla this has happened and we were able to fight back. And so I appreciate all the language in here and I'm glad that we brought this but I also want to thank the people who pushed us to get here. Yes, it's the students who walked out, who demanded that we hear them, who told us, like Dash, who came here and told us that they were the voice for their families. When they were interviewed, why are you walking out? They said, I'm walking for my parents because they can't be

202here. and I've been attending standing side by side with many people who are opposed to what's happening right now in very peaceful demonstrations filled with love but also filled with rage at the injustices that are happening. So, like I told the students at graduations, I said, "You've got this because you are a generation that has so many high standards and such high values. You talk to anybody who is of this generation and man, they hold us accountable." And so, I know that they've got this. I know that young people are going to continue pushing us. And I ask you to keep push keep pushing us because language is not enough. Words, like somebody just said earlier, words are not enough. We need to back it up with action. And so I urge you to continue

203to push us to keep backing up what we are saying. These commitments and our empathy that we're showing with you, let us demonstrate that. and we have a week to demonstrate that. Thank you. Yes. Uh, I'd like to also acknowledge the hardship and the fear that is spreading across our communities in Los Angeles and across the country as a result of the ICE immigration raids and the mistreatment of our own California Senator Alex Padilla. What Senator Padia is doing is seeking answers on behalf of immigrant communities all over the country. So, as leaders in education, we have to raise our voices, protect our communities, and we must remember that young people are listening to our very words. They are also speaking up loudly and clearly, and they want us to listen. And this is a

204also a time to remember that famous poem from Nazi Germany. The poem is called First They Came and it's by Martin Nemo and it explores the consequences of remaining silent in the face of injustice and oppression. And it ends like this. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. So let's remember that now what we say and how we stand matters a lot. We must stand firm and with conviction. We must remember the words that inspired this country that all men and women are created equal. That all individuals are born with inherent equal rights. specifically life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We must also speak up to remind others that the Constitution is not a suggestion nor a list of wishes. It's the law. It's the law

205of the land. And we have seen arrests of citizens, people with a legal right to be here, hardworking immigrants, all while pretending the raids are to protect us from violent criminals. We know that standing up matters. And despite this, to paint our city as a lawless place and yet the majority of the protests have been peaceful without serious incident. And I do thank Dr. Rivas for bringing this resolution and I will be voting yes and I ask to be a co-sponsor. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Melvin. Thank you, Dr. Rivas, for bringing this important resolution. I'd also like to be added as a co-sponsor. Um and similarly, my colleagues have been outraged by what's happening in our city. But um inspired by the defiance we've seen through folks just showing up to school, throwing up, showing

206up to work, and graduating. And as I think we all said to the graduates last week, what gives us hope is that they are the future of this country. And we're so proud of them and to stand with them. I also just want to say because I I like Mr. Smelson have been thinking about Senator Padilla. Alex Padilla is a is a proud LA Unified grad um San Fernando High School and talks a lot about Alex Resa who was his civics and history teacher and every time I've been with the senator he is proud to to talk about his time at LA Unified. So I also just want to give a shout out to the teachers uh and the support staff and the employees who are inspiring the next senator Padillas. Uh I think he

207also taught Congresswoman Rivas and uh and uh former Congressman Cardinus and others out in the valley. Um but uh I I was reminded of that and kind of as well the administration has forgotten um or has never really much cared about the constitution. Uh our students and our community who were protesting peacefully in exercising their first amendment rights this weekend have uh and our teachers who are inspiring folks like the senator are um are worth noting and elevating um as the real heroes over the last few weeks as well. So appreciate you bring the resolution. proud to co-sponsor um and uh also really appreciate the superintendent's leadership as well uh and the entire district our partners from our uh school police to our uh classified employees to our bus drivers to the folks providing food

208in these times. Uh and I'm grateful for the coalitions that we have built uh with other elected officials and with inter agency partnerships to find a way to support uh LA during this tough moment. So, thank you. Well, as the sentiments, I do want to say thank you um for bringing this to light and to have the opportunity to have a conversation to to know that we are in support and it's really important because as we watch on the news or feeds that show how our city is being depicted um and as a proud daughter of immigrant parents. I recognize the vital role that immigrants have played to the fabric of this country. And as an American, I'm I'm dedicated to ensuring that all of our individuals, regardless of their immigration status, are afforded the

209rights guaranteed by their constitution and the laws. And it is so important to see our young people, as mentioned, stand up and be a voice. and that we are here as a board district as well to support and as well to wrap our arms around especially during a time like this. Um it was heartbreaking to know that many of the families were separated during a time of celebration during graduation. Uh but this board district definitely stands with you and for you and wanted to also lift up our school police because we appreciate you and what you've done during this time as you were a buffer uh contrary to some comments made that you stepped in the gap between some of the spaces in which we know that there were entities outside and you were not

210supporting those federal uh agencies. So, I appreciate this and too want to be a co-sponsor. Thank you, Dr. Rivas. Um, I too am incredibly grateful for you bringing this important resolution. I Miss Ortiz Franklin must have beat me to the punch in test texting you to say that I wanted to co-sponsor. But um I think it's really important though this board has been on the record numerous times over the years um that we continually make it clear where we stand when it comes to our immigrant students and our families and um that we absolutely denounce everything that's happening in our streets. It is clearly about terrorizing our communities and the cruelty and the inhumity is intentional. Um, we know it's not about safety and we need to stand up at this moment um, both with

211our words and with our actions as board member Grigo said to ensure that our families get the support that they need and that we as an institution um, dedicated to supporting children and families that we do everything we can to stand up against the human rights abuses that we are seeing uh, affect our students and their families. Um, with that in mind, I do have uh some friendly amendments which I hope will be accepted. Uh the board has them and um they're in the on the disc. Um and essentially they aim to also include other um inhumane actions, separation of children from families. um the horrific practice of detaining and deporting um law-abiding immigrants who are attending their court proceedings, which has resulted in LAD families getting deported and detained or children being separated from

212their parents, as well as calling for enhanced coordination with our partners at the city, county, and community- based organizations level so that our internal communications infrastructure is really ready to continue to respond, notify, and support our families. Um, so I I hope those will be accepted as friendly and just appreciate the leadership um of the board members who have brought this resolution um and making it clear that we stand with our immigrant families at this time. Thank you. Yes, thank you for your amendments and yes, they were accepted. Thanks. Oh, and I'd love to be added as the co-sponsor. Sorry, it was implied but out loud. I think that is all unless Miss Superintendent wants to say some words. Yeah, I think uh as as a district and certainly I have personally been quite adamant

213about uh how strong this district is in in protecting its students and families, how strong this district is in standing united and unified uh and well grounded on our values and and principles and uh how forceful we've been in terms of not abdicating our moral and professional responsibility to protect our students, particularly during these dark uh times that we're all living through. This morning, we had an event where I recounted an interaction I had with a student at a graduation where somebody from the crowd that was walking through the venue um asked me to approach him and I did and and this person said, "Would you bring this picture to that student over there who's waving at you?" And I accepted this this framed picture of a gentleman. And I walked over to the student

214and uh and I dared ask the student, "Who is this?" And she said, "It is my father." I wanted my father to be here on the day of my graduation. Unfortunately, couldn't because of what's happening in the streets of Los Angeles. There's no place for Sophie's choices in our community or in our nation at this point. breaking up families, creating intimidation particularly around uh places and temples of inspiration is not something that any one of us should accept. So, thank you for the courageous voice and actions that you as the board continue to take in doing what is right. And I close by saying there are those out there that insinuate that we're breaking laws. No, we're on the right side of law. We're on the right side of the Constitution. We're on the right

215side of case law. We're on the right side of confidentiality and privacy laws, federal laws, and we are on the right side of history. Thank you very much, Mr. McClean. Yes. Public comment. Yeah, we had a couple folks ready for uh public comment. Uh Vicki Montes, are you here? Come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. and then Sam and then Keith Morrow. Greetings. Hello. I will try not to cry because after listening to Dash and listen to everyone's stories, right, this is emotional. But um I am a college adviser and I did want to share a couple things. Um you know at graduation practice I had several students come to me just asking how could we make sure it's safe because their families were really scared about coming. So we

216pivoted and we tried to put implement many things opening the doors early. We had our staff line the aisles and have them exit with them so they'd be outside with staff. Um, and we heard from our student body president during her speech that her parents weren't there because they were too afraid to come. And that was about the fifth student that I knew for sure their parents didn't come. And it's just the reality that our students are facing. At grad night at midnight, we were exhausted and I was talking to a few students and one of them shared he had to get up at 6 a.m. to go to work. I'm like, "You can't call in?" He's like, "No, he's he's driving his stepdad's landscaping truck while the rest of them follow behind in an

217unmarked car because that is how they need to keep making the, you know, their family's resources work." That was horrible. And he also said, "Yeah, if he gets deported, we've already decided that my mom and him are moving to Mexico and I'll be okay because I'll be at UC San Diego for 4 years." Like, this is what our students are having to make decisions about. Um earlier today I was running around Lincoln Heights and Elseno because we have reports of ice and I talked to uh a woman who said two cars pulled up, talked to her husband in the who was out in the front yard with their dogs just are you US US citizen? Yes. And then they took off but just happened to be on a corner at their house. This is real.

218So I appreciate the resolution. I appreciate what everyone has said but our students are are very fearful. Um I know my students 75% of them are of mixed status families. So they are affected by this and if they are too afraid to leave their houses then the administration trying to intimidate our city wins. So anything the schools can do especially in relation to the communities not just the school sites is going to be necessary for our families to feel safe. Um UTLA passed out a lot of our know your rights resources and the parents were so grateful they asked for more. So please support this resolution and appreciate you all. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Sam, come on up. Sam and then after Sam it's Keith Morrow. Good afternoon LA USD board members

219and superintendent Carvalo. I stand before you on behalf of Chira the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights in support of upholding our constitutional rights and requesting that you stand with vulnerable immigrant students and families. We need your unified support in this critical moment. In the past 12 days, we have witnessed federal immigration enforcement use aggressive and unlawful practices to tear families apart and inflict fear in our communities. Our community is under attack, facing racial profiling and detentions without judicial warrants. These are hardworking fathers, mothers, and children. The majority of our students from our programs are LUSD students and alumni. I myself am an LDU alumni and I will never forget the day that I started elementary school without my uncle having our family torn apart by deportation. I will never forget the day I came home

220from middle school to see my father's color washed out of his face because immigration attempted to raid his workplace. Currently, many detained families do not have access to legal counsel or fair due process. And some families have been unable to locate their lo their loved ones and have been detained. This federal administration must be held accountable. We urge the ALUSD board to support our efforts to protect our students and their families. Please denounce the ICE raids and condemn the militarization of immigrant communities. These attacks are not only affecting our students and their families, but the support staff as well. We know of people who have already been affected and have had to leave the workplace due to the fact that their loved ones, their spouses have been taken from them. And this obviously affects the

221kind of services and the kind of enrichment that our students deserve and need during this time. Thank you board member Dr. Rosia Rivas for your leadership and superintendent Carvalo. Thank you for your time. Keith Morrow. Keith, are you here? Keith Morrow. Okay. And then we have one remote caller listed as Jasmine. Jasmine, are you on the line for tab seven? Jasmine is not on the line. Um this so it's not time for a vote. Um this is also requesting a rule 72 waiver. I propose that we take them simultaneously unless there's objection. Okay. So moved by move it. Moved by Mr. Smurlson, seconded by Miss Gomez, seconded by Miss Gomez. And now the vote on tab seven. Miss Newell. Yes. Dr. Rivas. Yes. Mr. Melvinne. Yes. Miss Grigo. Yes. Miss Gomez. Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin.

222Yes. Board President. Yes, that's seven eyes. This is a class. Okay, now we will go to tab six. We have 10 speakers on tab six and that is um the resolution standing with pride. Do you prefer to intro or take the speakers first? Yeah, I'll intro it. Thank you, Mr. McClean. Um, and I am proud, no pun intended, but I'm proud to bring this resolution at an important time uh in our country's history to stand up not just for immigrant rights, but also for LGBTQ plus rights. And at its core, Pride Month is about more than just celebrating our LGBTQ plus community. It's about affirming the supportive, welcoming, inclusive environments where we strive to create uh uh that we strive to create yearround in our schools. And in my time on the board, this resolution

223has seemed a bit peruncter um over the years. So much so that actually this year June came uh and we didn't even have this on the agenda last board meeting and I actually want to thank the district employees who flagged that for me uh so that we could bring this important resolution. Um but we continue to see this administration weaponize public policy to sew hate and discrimination and thus it makes it all the more important for us to speak out against acts of hate and violence cropping up all around us. Lawmakers across the nation are passing bills to undermine gender identity, take away gender- affirming health care, and generally make the LGBTQ plus community less safe. These types of policies don't set the right example for our children and obviously don't uphold the promote the

224values that we uphold in our district. Um, I hope that seeing this happen across the country will shake us all out of our complacency. And while this is a celebratory resolution for the month of June, I want everyone to know that the district continues to back this up with action. And I trust that the superintendent will work with advocates and allies, including some who are here today to ensure our policies and practice support LGBTQ students and staff and schools. So, I'm grateful to my co-sponsors, Miss Gonas and Mr. Smearelson, and welcome other folks co-sponsorship as well. And maybe Mr. McClean, we can have co-sponsors speak and then board comments and then public comment. And thank you too to uh Judy Chiasin and Kristen Murphy and others who helped us get the uh pride flags and

225I think everyone has their um out for uh mine actually I think is eight eight years old out for safe schools badge and also uh pins and um and other ways to show our pride this month. Thank you. I'm happy to jump in. Uh thank you Mr. Melvin for um your continuous leadership in bringing this resolution. It is especially important at this time as um our federal government tries to erase queer and trans identities from public life that we choose a different path, one rooted in dignity, protection, and joy. We know that pride is not just about celebrating um all of the identities of our LGBTQ plus IIA community, but about standing up for their rights um their human rights and that pride has its roots in protests against state violence. And that's the moment

226that we are in right now as well. And there has been never a more important time to stand up for uh every LGBTQ plus student, staff, and family member to ensure that they are safe, seen, supported, and celebrated within our school district, not just um with this moment and this resolution, but every day in our classrooms and schools. And I'm proud to co-sponsor. Thank you, Mr. Mwin. Next, Miss Ortiz Franklin. I could tell. Oh, sure. Yes, please. I'd love to be added as a co-sponsor. And you know, I think it being missing from the agenda in June shows just how ingrained it is in our culture that we weren't sure that we needed to say something because we absolutely always celebrate Pride every year, but um to your point, some folks need us to remind

227them where we stand. and so grateful for the opportunity to uh remind folks that we are with our LGT LGBTQ plus community uh this month but all year long every year long whether we have a resolution or not we always are. So thank you Miss Grigo. Yes. Um I'm I would love to co-sponsor this um is possible. Um and I'm very happy as a mother of a queer student and also a sister of a of a queer man. Um, I'm very happy to support this and uh stand with our LGBTQ plus community. Um, we want to ensure that our LGBTQ plus students feel safe and that means that we also need to do our due diligence. We as board members, leaders of a school district have the power to ensure that our spaces and our

228schools are safe, that we successfully implement the Fair Act compliant curriculum, and that we provide the necessary professional development to our staff. and even parents have asked for uh workshops that we remove any barriers for our students to access genderneutral restrooms and that we consider prism training for our elementary school teachers as well. And as we do this, we need to visit school sites and continue to center student voices and experiences to guide implementation the expansion of mental health supports that our students need. Um, we need to look at that and ensure that our students and especially our LGBTQ plus students receive that. Uh, through the HRDE office, uh, we have several PSWs whose sole job is to support our schools with um, any issues that come up, including supporting uh, teachers with curriculum. And

229I want to make sure that we continue to support that. And so I support this resolution and I ask collaboration from the board and our superintendent in thinking about how we can continue to support our LGBTQ plus community in all of these spaces and in all these ways that I just shared right now. Thank you for bringing this up. Hey, Dr. Rivas. Yes. Um, thank you Mr. Melvoyne and co-sponsors uh for bringing uh forward this important resolution. Um I want to begin by affirming my full support uh for the spirit and intent of his resolution. It is vital that we as a board recognize and celebrate the contributions, dignity, and humanity of our LGBTQIA plus students, educators, and families. Not just during Pride Month, but every day of the year. However, I must also point

230out that recognition is not enough. This is a meaningful start, but we must push further if we are truly committed to equity and safety. We are at a moment where LGBTQIA plus youth, particular trans and non-binary youth, are facing relentless attacks politically, culturally, socially, and and in many cases right here in our very in our own schools. It is not enough to reaffirm values. We we must resource them. We must operationalize them and we must hold ourselves accountable to making real structural change. If you're serious about creating affirming environments, we must move beyond symbolic gestures and commit to tangible changes. As a Rainbow Education Coalition of Los Angeles, so powerful reminded us in their letter that was sent to us, more than half our LGBTQIA plus students report feeling unsafe at school. Barely half are

231receiving any instruction about LGBTQIA+ history despite state law. And across campuses, access to gender affirming facilities, inclusive curriculum, and staff training remains inconsistent and inadequate. These are not abstract concerns. They are daily realities. And while this resolution is meaningful gesture of solidarity, I believe we must go further. We need to ensure that our division of instruction delivers districtwide implementation of fair education act curriculum. Not just optional materials, but mandated integration into what every student learns. Our curriculum our curriculum must meaningfully include LGBTQIA plus voices and histories, not as an add-on, but as part of how we educate for equity and truth. We must guarantee safe and affirming a access to facilities for all students, including genderneutral restrooms that don't require student to ask permission just to be themselves. And we must prioritize training, especially for

232our elementary educators who are often left without the tools, the language, or the support to affirm and protect protect LGBTQIA students in their earliest years. This isn't just about equity. It's about safety. It's about mental health. It's about thriving. It's about acceptance, respect, and dignity. Visibility without action is just exposure. And visibility without safety is a risk. We owe our LGBTQIA students more than proclamations. We owe them protection, affirmation, and resources. So yes, I support this resolution wholeheartedly, but I also want us to be honest with this district and our communities. Our work is far from done. Pride is not just about celebration. Is it about struggle? It's about standing up. Not only when it's easy, it is nec but when it's necessary. And right now it is necessary that we move from statements to

233systems, from allyship to action to our LGBTQA students, employees, and and communities. You are valued. You are powerful. And you deserve schools that are firm your full identity. Not in theory, but in practice. Let this be the beginning of a broader, more urgent effort, not at the end of the convers, not the end of a conversation. Let's make this resolution not just a moment but a mandate. Thank you. And please add me as a co-sponsor. Thank you. Thank you. Um and as Miss Tanya Ortiz Franklin mentioned this month, as we should every single month, LUSD will live up to its high standards to make sure that all LGBTQ plus students and staff students and staff feel safe. feel heard and feel respected. As a teacher and a administrator and a counselor at school, it's our

234job to make sure that students are made to feel safe and respected at school. So, we commit to this proudly when it matters most. And as you know, when our students are facing mental health challenges, that is a really important time to make sure we stand strong with our students. I too Oh, Mr. Belvine. There you go. I I too would like to co-sponsor uh this um resolution. I'll double that. You got it. You got it. Uh Mr. Superintendent, thank you very much. Uh very briefly, thank you for a powerful message of unity. Once again, uh we are not one at Los Angeles Unified if we do not represent, affirm our values and protect all. And that includes standing with pride, honoring our LGBTQ plus students, our workforce, and our community at large, and reaffirming

235reaffirming our commitment to safe, protective, inclusive environments that honor all. Thank you very much. We have a full boat of public comment here. Uh let's see, I'll call on the people who are listed as speaking in person and then we'll go to the ones who are listed as speaking remotely. Let's see. Sikibu Hutchinson, are you here? Come on down. And then after Sikibu is Anthony Ayala and then Devontrey Farmer. Good afternoon board. My name is Sakibu Hutchinson. I'm founder of the Women's Leadership Project and the Black LGBT parent group and member of Students Deserve in the Rainbow Education Coalition. I'm also a member of the queer community. I appreciate your powerful words, board member Grigo as well as uh board member Rivas. And I am also demanding the district go further to put its money

236where its mouth is and fully protect bipok queer youth families and staff. I have a non-binary child at Hamilton High. They're on the honor role. They have benefited from BAP and queer affirming support. For years, I have initiated, fought for, and led professional development training in the district with resistance, most recently at Hammy High and King Drew Medical Magnet on the theme of creating safe spaces for black LGBTQ plus youth that utilizes the leadership and authentic voices of our black queer youth mentees and students. In this era of unrelenting fascist and white supremacist, MAGA terrorist militarized attacks on black immigrant, queer, and female identifying communities and individuals. Queer and trans youth are losing their lives. Black, queer, and trans youth are losing their lives. They are being targeted, silenced, and erased in many of our

237school communities. So, it is imperative the district step the hell up to ensure that there is mandatory yearround culturally responsive, queer affirming training for faculty and staff, resources for parents and caregivers of queer black students and bipok students and brown students and curricula that goes beyond tokenism. According to the National Black Justice Institute, nearly half of black queer youth experience harassment and bullying due to their sexuality and or gender identities. They are pushed out of school as a result of antilack, homophobic, transphobic violence, and eraser. I've seen personally how our black queer youth are empowered when they have supportive adults and affinity groups on our campuses. Action means stepping up. It looks like meeting the policefree LA USD school coalition demands to increase funding for BSAP, expand dream centers for undocumented students, expand HR to

238include PSWs, and require that prism training includes elementary school staff to paraphrase the great black gender expansive queer legal scholar activist Paulie Murray, who has been erased from our curricula whose shoulders we all stand on. The world is watching this district step the hell up, stop halfstepping against fascism and eraser and fully invest in the lives of our most vulnerable students. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Anthony Ayala Anthony A. Come on up, Anthony. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Thank you. Good afternoon uh members of the LUSD board and thank you Borrigo and Rivas for reaffirming your commitment. Um, so my name is Anthony Ayella. I'm the California statewide organizer um for Southern California GSA Network and I'm here to speak on the resolution. Um, so just stating off the

239top, uh, my support of the resolution is contingent on the promise of this board to go even further and commit to policy actions above symbolic gestures of support. To start, acknowledging Pride Month in this district is the bare minimum as it effectively only recognizes our LGBTQ students at the very end of their school year, but most of their peers are already out of school and most of the celebrations held for Pride Month occur only on an opt-in basis outside of structured school hours. This continues a dynamic where LGBTQ students remain invisibleized within the regular 8-hour school days and overall school year and their um peers miss out on an educational experience that dstigmatizes and clarifies misunderstandings about their LGBTQ peers which can reduce misinformation, harm, and hostility harbored towards LGBTQ students. Rather than stating support,

240this district must ensure that our LGBTQ students are incorporated everywhere on their campuses from curriculum to restrooms and changing rooms that align with their identities. I urge this district to work with the division of instruction and HRD office to expand implementation efforts around LGBTQ inclusive curriculum. Additionally, I urge this district to engage in compliance audits for each facility on our campuses to ensure that all queer and trans students have accessible gender restrooms and changing rooms that offer relief from the physical violence and harassment they endure in single gender facilities. This district has created many resources to support our LGBTQ students. But resources alone cannot substitute policy gaps in our district that continue to create unsafe and unforgiving learning environments for our LGBTQ students. Our LGBTQ students deserve more than a commemorative resolution as their current

241struggles with self-acceptance and bullying are exacerbated by attacks in their autonomy and right to exist at the federal level. The best way for this district to demonstrate support for LGBTQ students is to commit to ensuring that their classrooms and campuses will be reflective and protective of their lived experiences by expanding access to curriculums, bathrooms, and changing rooms that affirm and protect them 365 days a year beyond the 30 days of Pride Month. Thank you. Thank you for your time, Devantree Farmer. Devontre, Alejandra Marchki, Alejandra M. Laquan Muhammad, Lacoan, uh, Trevor Ladner. Trevor Ladner, come on up. You have two minutes to speak. Why don't you begin? Happy Pride Month everyone. Uh my name is Trevor Ladner and I am the director of education programs at One Institute where I oversee LGBTQ plus history initiatives for

242youth and K12 teachers primarily in LA USD. A former GSA adviser and high school teacher in DTLA. I also co-lead the Rainbow Education Coalition Los Angeles or RECLA. While my recckla colleagues and I are pleased that the board uh is commemorating pride month, we are disappointed that critical areas for policy implementation and resource expansion are not addressed. Our queer and trans youth, educators, families, and allies face dire circumstances under ongoing attacks by this authoritarian president, compounding already hostile school experiences, particularly for our black and brown queer youth. According to survey data from the Latino Equality Alliance, 53% of LUSD students report feeling unsafe at school and only 56% of students report learning about LGBTQ plus history. The Fair Education Act was enacted in 2011 because research is clear that LGBT inclusive instruction facilitates decreased bullying,

243better attendance, higher academic achievement, and greater mental health. More importantly, it ensures an accurate, inclusive study of our history and society. At a time when our nation's most powerful leaders seek to divide us and whitewash our past, RCA calls on the board to protect and affirm our youth by directing the DOI to provide fair act aligned curriculum and professional development which is not sufficed by supplemental materials from HRDE to assess and secure safe access to genderneutral restrooms and school facilities for all students and to provide districtwide training for elementary staff in the gap left by the required statewide prism training. Not unlike this board's brave opposition to the Briggs initiative in 1978, we need bold allyship now. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your time. Let's see. Gina Nanho, I see you're online.

244Gina Nanho, please press star six to unmute yourself. And you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Gina Nano. Ina, I see you're on the line with us. Can you please press star six to unmute yourself? And you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. can please go ahead. Hi, good afternoon board members. My name is Gina Nadano and I'm the parent in the Spanish immersion program at Broadway Elementary. I want to thank the board for making the decision to bring in new leadership and taking a muchneeded step in the right direction. Unfortunately, leadership alone will not be enough. The harm done by years of poor decision-making, inequity, exclusion, and poor campus culture cannot be undone without strong, sustained support from the district, especially for quality language instruction in both of our dual

245immersion programs. Unfortunately, our Spanish immersion program has long been marginalized on campus, and this was ignored by not only Principal Wong, but also principal Garmin and by the district. SI families have been shut out of important conversations and decisions. resources have been distributed inequitably while damaging stereotypes about our families, our children, and our program have become a discriminatory and false narrative. Meanwhile, a pay-to-play culture fueled by an unregulated booster club has deepened that divide. But let me be clear, we are not victims. We are advocates. We have found our voice. We are speaking up and we are fighting for what is right. Still, we shouldn't have to fight this hard just to be treated fair fairly in a public school. This is not what equity looks like. True equity means more than good intentions. It

246means strong, impartial leadership for both of our language programs with clear accountability and support from the district. It means both Spanish and Mandarin immersion programs are provided the staffing, resources, and attention they need to thrive, not just the program with a bigger bank account or the greater numbers. It means protecting all students right to learn in a respectful, inclusive environment, not separation based on language or the inability to play with the MI ball or the SI jump rope. The district's own master plan for English learners promises equity, oversight, and support for all language programs. That promise must be honored. Now is the time to rebuild not just leadership, but the trust, unity, and humanity on our campus and with the district. Our school desperately needs healing. We really hope the new principle is the beginning

247of that change. But I ask the board to stay engaged, provide experienced leadership with a backbone and moral compass, provide oversight, provide the instructional support that our students, teachers, and families deserve. Broadway can be a Thank you very much for your time. The rest of the speakers are also listed as being remote. Justine Gonzalez, you're not online. Are you in the room? Justine Gonzalez. Uh Keith Deakila listed as being remote, but I do not see him signed in remotely nor in the room and someone listed simply as Isabelle to speak remotely. Also not on the line. So that concludes public comment on the item. Can we have a move in a second to do the rule 72 waiver and the motion itself simultaneously? Move. Moved by Dr. Rivas seconded by Miss Gonomez and Miss Newell.

248Yes. And I want to be a co-sponsor. Okay. Co-sponsor. Dr. Rivas. Yes. Also co-sponsor. Uh, Mr. Melvinne. Yes. Miss Grigo. Yes. Uh, Miss Gomez. Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin. Yes. Uh, board president. Yes. Okay, that's seven eyes. Okay, we're going to move to tab two. That's application for exemption of the required expenditures for classroom teacher salaries. I believe there was a question or discussion on that. Tab two. Mr. Smearlson, would would it be helpful if staff presented because there were questions at the last conversation and there was up there were updates in the board materials regarding the historic calculations of this. Maybe it would be helpful to start with an explanation from the staff. That is an excellent idea. Thank you. So, we may need a little bit more time. We'll get them set up for

249that. They're not quite here, I think, for that presentation. So, they're coming down. While they're making their way down, we'll start seeing if there are folks here who to give public comment on the item. We have call in speakers and in person for tab two. I'll call on the folks who are listed as being in person. Juan Diaz, are you here to speak on tab two? Juan Diaz here. And this is for tab 2 application for exemption of the required expenditures for classroom teacher salaries. Um Brendan Bane, Brandon Bane, I'm sorry. Brandon Bane, Terrence Copeland, and I do not have anyone online to sign up for tab two. So, I'll read through the names in the event they're here in the room. Javier Molina, Javier Garcia, Donald Avery, Daryl Thomas, Hector Rios, Hector Rios, Melissa

250Rodriguez. These are all folks again who listed themselves as speaking remotely. and Gabriella Martinez. Okay, neither the in-person folks or the call-in people are here. And so now their staff here to present or should we? So it looks like we're still waiting for our rest of our budget team. I don't think they thought this was going to come at this moment. So if we could go to a next item, that's fine. So that's that was tab um two. We could look for public comment on let's see tab eight. Public comment on tab eight. Desan, are you here? Come on down. Um, apologies for this kind of springing quickly on you. This is tab eight budget based on equity and student need. And then after Desan will be Valerie Monzo and then Francisco Adato. Uh, do

251you think can I introduce if we're going to just shift? I'm so sorry. You could hang right by here. Um, if if you don't mind. Okay. Can I move the resolution? Okay. Second. Great. Um, well, as the board is well aware and as I assume many of the people in our audience are, um, today we are considering a fiscal stabilization plan and next week we will consider our budget for the coming school year. Um, the fiscal stabilization plan contemplates $1.6 6 billion in cuts over the next three years. Um, and as we've discussed in both the last two resolutions, we find ourselves as a moment where the most vulnerable in our communities are under attack. And so now more than ever, this budget's a reflection of our priorities um and must reflect our commitments to

252equity, to supporting our most vulnerable students, and to valuing the hardworking people, both certificated and classified, who provide services and supports to our students and families. Uh while recognizing the budget realities that confront us and many school districts in California, it's essential that as a board, as we are confronting these difficult decisions, that we abide by these priorities and ensure that unlike previous times of financial crisis where we saw historically underserved communities bear the worst of the financial impacts, we have to learn the lessons of the past and ensure that we do not lose sight of equity in our budget decision-making. Um now is the time to ensure that we are setting these guard rails so that no matter um the budget reductions that we are planning for that we ensure that our budget reflects

253these values and doesn't unnecessarily burden our highest needs communities, schools and staff members. Um so this resolution I believe is really about setting those guard rails and ensuring that these priorities um are abided by in our budget decisions both today, next week and through the coming months. Um, they are also about ensuring transparency. Our community should be an active part of any budget discussions and decision-making because these impacts will be felt at our school sites. And they deserve to be a part of a transparent two-way uh discussion and dialogue about the district's budget investments, any reductions, and what the future will hold for them. Um, so with that, I I know there's amendments potentially to discuss as well, but um perhaps we can hear from the public comment speakers now. Okay, Miss Sun, come on

254up. Thank you, board member. Um, good afternoon. My name is Dave Sun, senior manager of K12 policy at Catalyst California. And on behalf of the Equity Alliance for LA's Kids, which includes Community Coalition, Inner City Struggle, and the Partnership for LA schools, we urge LA USD to remain unwaveringly committed to equity in their budget. And that's why we applaud board member Gonza's resolution, budgeting based on equity and student need, which creates these equity guard rails for both the the budget and its decision-making process. Today, we face this moment of crisis as raids terrorize immigrant communities and attacks on an inclusive public education heighten. History has shown us that in times like these, communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted, if not outright targeted. Now is not the moment to back down from equity,

255but rather dig our heels deeper and live into the values we espouse. We call on the board to pass this resolution which centers students in high and highest need SEN and BAP schools in the budget. And further, we urge LUSD to maintain the 700 million SE seni allocation and protect SEN's full flexibility in the fiscal stabilization plan. We appreciate the district's protection of SENI for 2026. Nevertheless, any reduction significantly diminishes the resources and local autonomy critical to closing persistent opportunity gaps. We urge LUSD to use SENI, a research-based, community supported equity tool in its budget decision-making. Equity and practice means we center the voices of students and families who experience the highest needs, which this resolution supports. LUSD faces an opportunity to boldly champion equity and interrupt history. The district cannot and should not balance

256the budget on backs of highest need communities. We recommend a yes vote on this resolution, the protection of SENI and a process that authentically engages students, families, and community. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Valerie, come on up. And then after Valerie, it's Francisco Adoto. Um, hi, my name is Valerie Mons and I'm a sophomore at Mangle Community School and a youth leader with Community Coalition. Um, I just want to acknowledge board member Gonz for making an effort to make sure equity is centered at a time when equity is literally under attack. I believe equity is crucial in this moment because South Central students are in need of more support than students at schools in other areas. When my school doesn't get the support and resources it needs, students tend to disengage from school

257as a whole because they feel as though they are not important enough for these resources. Um, this lower this results in lower performance at school and higher dropout rates. Seni addresses this by providing extra support for English language learners and students facing violence including students facing vi uh violence due to their status, race, or skin tone. Given the current climate where we're seeing a violence against immigrant students and families at the hands of the government, undocumented students are living in fear because of the very real threat of them or their families being deported. Our schools are supposed to be safe and welcoming environments. By continuing to prioritize equity, we can provide resources and support system that provide protection and empowerment for students, including undocumented students. Just a few months ago, students were walking out in

258response to the ICE raids because our school wasn't doing a good job keeping us safe. We are already fighting for our safety and we need you to uphold the commitment you made to us and protect Senny. These funds are like a lifeline for our school, paying for things that help us succeed like counselors, tutors, mental health support, and amazing teachers. These resources are not essential. They are I mean they're not extra, they are essential. I'm demanding that you keep these funds coming because these resources are essential to success. Do not cut funding from these high need schools. I believe LUSD needs to keep investing in equity because it's the best way for every student to feel supported. Protects any funds to maintain resources that help students succeed inside and outside of school. Thank you for

259your time. Francisco, come on up. Good afternoon, members of the board. My name is Francisco Adalto and I'm here to address funding priorities for LA USD specifically specifically immigrant students and families. I appreciate passing the resolution to support immigrant students but real equity acquires a budget budgetary investments. I have the privilege supporting the dream center at Wilson High School through a community organization or visionaries and dream allies network where I help maintain a welcoming and supportive environment for the students particularly during lunchtime. The Dream Center at Hosen High School has become a vital space on our campus, offering students a safe, inclusive, and affirming place where they can express themselves, connect with peers, and access trusted adults to talk to, especially during challenging times in our community. The Dream Center has served as a sanctuary

260where students feel seen, heard, and supported. One powerful example of students engagement at the Dream Center was a recent week-long event titled Coming Out of the Shadows. During this initiative, students led lunchtime activities focused on immigrant rights and student empowerment. They distributed nor your rights resources, hosted interactive uh activities, collaborated with the school uh poetry club to share original works and organized a panel on Friday, which was able to join us during that time. Uh featuring school staff and community members who shared their personal experience as immigrants. Events like this highlights the importance of space like the Dream Center. They foster students leadership, cultural awareness, and emotional well-being. The Dream Center has made a significant impact at Wilson High School. And with continued funding and support, similar spaces could be established across other campuses, ensuring

261that all students have access to to the resources, support, and sense of belonging they deserve. I encourage you in your funding decisions to support dream centers by dedicating real resource and support services for other imaginalized groups like black students through the black student achievement plan. Thank you for your time and continued commitment to our students well-being. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Stephen Ortega Steven Ortega. All right, come on up. You have two minutes to speak. Why don't you begin? Good evening board members and superintendent. My name is Steven Ortega, youth organizing director at Inner City Struggle and alumni from LA USD. I am urging the board to fully fund our communities by protecting the student equity need index and its carryover dollars for high need schools and to fully protect our black, brown,

262queer, trans, and immigrant students by investing in BAP by hund00 million, $10 million to student success centers, and including queer affirming spaces in all our schools. This past year has been tough. Consistently hearing that our public education is under attack. Queer and trans people's lives being taken away by just being their true authentic self to seeing ICE kidnapping and separating families within our communities while we are trying to celebrate our graduates. It is community, not police, who have truly been keeping us safe, creating ICE watch networks to inform people by knowing their rights. At ICS, we have been checking in with our high um with our high school students that reside in the east side. We have been hearing how our parents and youth are scared to go outside. Young people fear their parents go

263to work due to ICE raids. And some even go to work with their parents for protection. And now we are also seeing our streets empty. Our district and schools must lead by example, showing the country what true protection looks like through community-based safety, not policing. LUSD can be a model by fully investing in our young people and ending the school to deportation pipeline. Thank you, Superintendent Carvalo, by being one of the only superintendent speaking on protecting our immigrant students. We hope part of that commitment includes investing $10 million to student success centers. As a sign for solidarity for Pride Month, I also urged the board um to invest in queer affirming spaces in all our schools. And lastly, the district should fully fund our communities by investing $100 million to BAP and protecting our highnee

264schools and protecting the $700 million for Senny and years to come. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Malia Posie Malia Malia Posey Damia Fields. Uh, Jonathan Rodriguez, Daisy Ortiz. Now, there's a Maria Daisy Ortiz, but this is listed just as Daisy Ortiz, and she's already spoken. Is there another person named Daisy Ortiz in the room? No. Okay, I'm going to see who is signed in to speak remotely on tab eight. Uh, Christian Flag. Christian Flag. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Christian Flag. Hello. Can folks hear me? Yes, sir. Uh, greetings board superintendent. My name is Christian Flag, uh, director of youth organizing with community coalition, uh, core partners in the equity alliance as well as the police free LUSD coalition. And I

265want to say that, you know, a person's true character and and their values can really only be measured when you're going through the challenging times. And we know that we're coming up against some really challenging times as a district with declining revenues. But this is going to really test and measure the character of this district. your character as leaders asserting that we have to fight and make equity real. Right? I want to commend board member uh Gomez for introducing this right as an effort to ensure that equity is inserted throughout the fiscal stabilization plan. and want to remind folks that we've only recently begun to actually uh operationalize a way to ensure more allocations and funding are going to highend and highest need students, our most vulnerable student populations. We've only began to allocate a

266fraction of 1% of the district's overall budget to try to address the racist policies and practices that have harmed black students for decades. Right? We must not abandon these things. Um, I I will acknowledge to you, Superintendent Carvalo. You have been uh responsive to a degree to what the community is asserting knowing where we want to prioritize investments, making additions to BAP, making additions to the uh student centers. But I want to be clear that we were demanding a hund00 million for BAP to ensure the full package of BAP resources are going to the majority of black students in all USC. We said $10 million for the student uh centers because we need to have expanded resource centers across every region and to even include new resources as the the attacks become more um intense

267on our immigrant brothers and sisters. We said expanding the LGBT Thank you very much for your time. Thank you for your time, sir. Okay. Uh Norma Gonzalez, I see you're on the line. Norma Gonzalez, please press star six to unmute yourself and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Norma Gonzalez Good afternoon. My name is Norma Gonzalez and I want to express my disagreement for this resolution. Even though this proposition is talking about and it prior gives priority to the vulnerable students, I worry that this is not being considered. the importance is not being considered the impact that this would have at other schools and other communities and that also have challenges. We can fall into the lack of helping others but not the others. Also all of our schools need support, resources

268and sufficient personnel to offer a dignified education. Aside from that you also mentioned the transparency and the participation the community participation. But the reality is that many of the families aren't being informed in a clear way or a direct way especially for the students. And this is why we need a true public consultation where we honestly have pa spaces where the families are being heard, school personnel is being heard and the parents and it also worries. It is also worrying that for this resolution it is important because this resolution doesn't offer something clear a structural way of the district. We cannot continue to make decisions important decisions in a realistic plan and long term. It is not enough to say that they will protect work or essential services. You don't explain how you would do

269this and where this would come from. And in the future of our students cannot depend on cuts, bad formed cuts and insufficient promises. We need responsible decisions equitable and sustainable that will benefit all the school communities. Thank you. information about tab eight. Oh, I'm sorry. That was tab two, but I've already spoken. So, if other I don't other board members want to speak on the item. Uh, thank you, board member. Gonz for introducing this thoughtful and timely resolution. Um, as soon as I saw um the content of your resolution, I reached out right away to co-sponsor. Um, but um I want to add some comments here and I also introduce um or submitted some amendments um for your consideration. So um just want to say that as we confront a projected structural deficit and prepare

270to adopt a fiscal stabilization plan, it is absolutely critical that we have a clear, transparent and equity centered process guiding our decisions. I fully support this resolution and uh please add me as a co-sponsor. In recent weeks, I've heard from educators, families, advocates across the district who are concerned not just about what we're cutting, but how these decisions were being made. They've called for transparency, consistency, and meaningful engagement, especially from communities that have historically been underresourced and disproportionately impacted by budget decisions. These voices are not just valid, they're essential to this process. And I also want to mention that these were also um transparency and consistency and engagement was also echoed um by myself and other um colleagues of mine. So this resolution is essential because it helps establish a baseline set of values and

271protections that must guide our work moving forward. But I also believe we can and we must go further to ensure that our commitment to equity is not just stated but operationalized. That's why I'd like to propose friendly amendments that I hope uh board member Gonis will accept in order to strengthen the resolution's impact and accountability. Specifically, I recommended added uh language to uh two resolves. One was require an equity impact analysis to assess the potential consequences of proposed budget reductions on high need student groups and schools, particularly those served by Senni uh and BAP, the Black Student Achievement Program and our community schools. And the second amendment is direct the district to conduct a department level review of consulting contracts, those professional contracts, administrative overhead and central office expenditures, and present concrete options to the

272board for rep prioritization before any reductions are made by school sites or equity focused programs. These additions are grounded on what we've heard from our community and advocates and they reflect a shared understanding. We cannot close budget cuts by undermining the very programs designed to close opportunity gaps. This is not just about fiscal management. It's about moral clarity. We must center our most vulnerable students, protect the supports that are making a difference, and work in authentic partnership with the people most affected. And I thank you, board member Gonz, for this resolution. I look forward to working together to ensure that equity is not just a lens, but a filter for every decision we make. Thank you, [Applause] Miss Newville. Yes. uh had a a bit of concern just that for this type of resolution as

273mentioned by my colleague here the transparency and having a rule 72 I'm not sure if this would be um obviously the topic is significant and um it needs obviously some time to flow through the process and if it would be recommended to not approve a rule 72 but to bring this resolution back for action in August so that we would have time to process through it. Well, I think it's urgent that we address it now because we're voting on the budget next week. So, waiting till August would mean that these priorities and guardrails are not set um until August, which feels too late to me. Um particularly if we're planning to have committee of the whole meetings in the fall, we need to plan in advance for those to happen. Um, so that's why we

274that's why I included the board rule 72 waiver because it's directly relevant to the fiscal stabilization plan and the budget which are in the next we have to vote on before June 30th. So that's why yeah just wanting to be able to go through it because I know we're getting these amendments as we are speaking now and wanting to have a a fluid dialogue with it and be as transparent with such a topic as this because it is important. I'm not saying it's not important at all and we know it's very very important and we have talked about it and I've talked to many community members as well. So that's the only reason why I'm mentioning that. Ortiz Franklin. Yeah, maybe I can offer. I I had a similar thought, Miss Newell, about um time

275for the board to discuss, but I think what helps me um say yes on the uh waiver of 72 is that um the values I think are values that we have all expounded for many years. The the focus on students at school sites, the focus on equity um and considering you know all employees uh both certificated and classified. And I think this is the sort of bigger picture of the why and then the fall sessions will really help us figure out the how. Um and so I think you know we'll get into more of that with the stabilization. But I think for me um it it would help to kind of reaffirm is what I was hearing in a lot of the language when I when I read it the first time from Miss Gonz

276is um not new values for us but kind of concretizing them um in in advance of voting on the stabilization and going through the um hopefully many sessions we will have about the concrete details of the specialization plan but we won't have to raise the issue of equity every time or we won't have to raise the issue of student centeredness every time because the superintendent's team as I presume that they are already thinking about this but you with the um solidification of this with the rest of the board, you know, would come with those um to those discussions rather than go a little bit slower in the fall. I think this might uh make us a little bit faster in the fall. That's how I was thinking about the rule 72 consideration. Anyone else? Elvo.

277Well, can I just ask I don't if Miss Gomez is going to accept the motion from Dr. Rivas is friendly or I I don't know if we Yeah, I'm working on so um in my organizational thinking about the resolution the top section is kind of the guard rails and then the bottom section especially the final resolved is how like what are the the procedural next steps for how it would be operationalized. So I was just handing writing because because of the it's probably good to say because of the Brown Acts I couldn't look at or respond to any of the amendments prior to today. So, um I'm just writing like a summation of Dr. Rivas's uh amendments to add to the to the end of the last resolve. So, as I am physically writing right

278now, I'll have it ready to say out loud in 30 seconds or so. I'll fill your 30 seconds by just appreciating some of the particular callouts here. Um you know, it was very early in my board tenure when we brought the resolution accelerating achievement through equity and action and I hope my colleagues have seen the result of that in every board report. um particularly when we have investments. So procurement is usually where they are. We get a rubric from the staff an analyzing um how this impacts our highest need students um sort of considerations on the full budget as it relates to a vision of equity. Um, and so I I think it's been helpful for the last couple of years and I appreciate, you know, raising that in in the where's. Um, and I

279also appreciate a recognition of avoiding, you know, past harms like after the great recession when several of our schools, you know, two really hard hit in my district were disproportionately impacted by layoffs. Um, and the district has more discretion to, uh, you know, protect schools that have historically struggled more than others. And so again, I just appreciate the callouts for those in the whereouses. Um, and I I think the the values that are espoused here really are things that this board has been talking about since we have been together in December, considering this board has just been together for December. Um, and so, you know, prioritizing Sunny High and Highest, our BAP schools, our community schools. Uh, I I think we saw, you know, today and throughout the last several months that these are pillars

280that this board really believes in. And so um this I think will help guide some of those uh particular conversations. And I do appreciate Miss Gonza's mentioning you know committees of the whole town halls like the functional places where we will have these discussions um because sometimes things get caught up in our calendar and we intend to meet in April and it ends up being in August. And so uh hopefully we'll be able to calendar Mr. McClean if this passes some of these things early on so we can put them on our schedules sooner rather than later. So, I hope that gave you some 30 seconds of filler. Finish. Yes. There you go. And I uh just to give you an additional 20 or so seconds, I do want to thank Miss Gonz for bringing

281this. I think um since my time on the board, we've long been advocating, Miss Gonzas and I who have been here the same amount of time, but I think all of us on a more transparent budget process and also more equity. And we've done that through open data portal and changes to the budget book itself, which I know a few people read, but that's a lot more digestible and uh the LCAP and our budget transparency tool and Morgis Franklin and my resolution. And so, you know, we're getting there and I appreciate the editor of process. Um when it comes to making really hard decisions that will impact kids over the next few years, uh we need to have more thoughtful and clear decision-m um and we heard from our committees earlier today. um and uh

282appreciate that this is just I think another um improvement and and marker in that process to get to a more transparent process while also putting some guardrails around the substance and I agree with my colleagues this the the guard rails here around centering students needs around equity um the ones that Dr. Rivas is offering. I would also add, and I won't add it as an official amendment to the resolution, but I'd hope that we really do prioritize school site decision-making, understanding that our school communities, and we talked about this in the community schools context, but our schools know what's best for them and what's needed. And so, making sure that we're thinking about both equity, but also um uh school autonomy and and discretion and the the unique circumstances of each school. Um, so, uh,

283I appreciate that. I also think the big thing, and I'll save some of these comments for the actual budget and the fiscal stabilization plan, but one of the things that I think Miss Gonas' resolution will get us towards hopefully, is it's one thing when we can disagree on opinions about our budget, um, you know, how to cut $und00 million or how to spend $100 million. It's much more difficult when we don't agree on the facts. Uh, are there hundred million? Are there $6 billion? Are there $4.2 billion? So that's where I also think we need to get to a point and I know our colleagues have spoken about this and with advocates as well which is I think we can have honest well-intentioned tough conversations in the years to come um once we have the

284solid set of facts but we're still in a environment where we hear different facts about our numbers and we'll talk about that more with the budget and the fiscal stabilization plan but that makes it much more difficult because if somebody is saying we have to cut uh for carryover and someone else is saying we don't have to cut we actually have a surplus you of5 billion dollars, then why are you going to even cut $1? And so I just want to call that out too as part of the need for some of this and appreciate the iterative again process and the budget workshop and the retreats, but the more that we can do this and build credibility with our partners, the more then we can have hopefully productive debates on the the opinions with our

285budget and and dispute uh far less frequently the facts. So that was more than 20 seconds, but back to you. It's good. So we have Dr. Rivas followed by Miss Newell. Just really quick just to I know that you you were uh considering my amendments, but the reason I I um introduced that second amendment is because and I know I was going to mention this at at tab one and um the the fiscal stabilization plan and also the budget, but you know there are other measures that we need to look at or other um operational savings that we can look at because the budget um does not is not taking into account the labor cost projections. As you all heard earlier this morning, um you know, we are in contract negotiations with our labor partners

286and um and the the budget and the fiscal stabilization plan um doesn't necessarily does not account for the you know the um the increases in in and wages that we want to consider and and that they that they deserve as well. And so um that's also being irresponsible because we don't have the full picture. So I wanted to add another amendment. So there were there are other measures that we're taking into consideration to also free up funds that don't impact our schools or equity programs um but also provide some you know some space and you know some some wiggle room um to provide those uh wage increases that our labor partners deserves which is why I introduced that second amendment there. So, I just wanted to put that out there. Miss New Bill, I just

287wanted clarification because I know I mentioned August 5th and is are we having a meeting next week that this can be an agenda or not? We we are having a meeting next week, but it's not up to me to to put this on agenda. And I could I could give some clarity on rule 72 is it's in our board rules. And I'd love to respond to Dr. Rivas, but you need to go first. Miss Con has already alluded to it. Um, board rule 72, notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that a board member wishes to introduce a time-sensitive resolution, this rule may be waved and the resolution may be introduced and acted upon at the meeting at which it is introduced subject to the open meeting laws and applicable board rules so that it was

288noticed properly and um it's apparently timesensitive in connection to the budget. Yeah. Yeah. And I guess I will just say um I know that there have been changes to the fiscal stabilization plan which I was made aware of during this meeting. But my reflection is despite these being long-standing values of the board that the proposed fiscal stabilization plan that we received prior to this meeting is not in alignment with those values. That's my perception. Um I think that again not setting aside any changes made today proposed a $200 million reduction in Senny which is our only equitably determined funding stream. Um it the reductions in unfunded positions as is described there would mean layoffs of almost exclusively classified staff. um and numerous other measures would affect all schools in exa in exactly the same way

289rather than taking into account the needs for equity and our board priorities of equity. So the reason why I felt that it was necessary to take this up at this meeting is because despite conversations um and these proclaimed values that we have had you know it's not in the written documents that we see I think it is missing. So we need to take action now to ensure that the budget that we consider next week actually reflects those priorities. Um otherwise it's just a lot of talking and and not acting in accordance with our values. Um and then I'll just on Dr. Rivas's point. Thank you. Thank you. Um I'm totally with you Dr. Riva. So my my edits then to to reflect the resolution um will be adding it as a final resolved sorry to

290reflect the amendments and so and be it finally resolved that prior to the fall committee of the whole meetings because we want these analyses to be done before then and we want to set a timeline for them. The district published an equity impact analysis in accordance with resolution 0032122. That's the equity and action resolution. Um that includes the equity analyses that we see um for board items to assess impacts to high need student groups. And then I've named some student groups. So emergent bilingual, students with disabilities, black students, unhoused students, LGBTQIA plus students and students in foster care and school types, highest high seni BAP, community schools, priority schools, and I've also added link learning and CTE as I know that's a board priority and publish a departmental department department level review of consulting contracts,

291administrative overhead, and central office expenditures and present options to the board for rep prioritization. So, I just wanted to make sure it's in the right place and that it these are public documents that are made available. Does that sound good to you? That sounds great. And yes, the this is exactly what the committee of the whole is is to have these discussions. So, I appreciate that you added that and I appreciate your co-sponsorship. Yes. Is there a way that Oh, sorry that like maybe as other people are commenting some you could get that and we could share it andor project it and or say it again for the public in the interest of transparency. Despite being a teacher, my writing is really poor. So, sorry. We can work. We can try to type it. Yeah.

292Um, thank you for saying all that you just said because you're right. I do think that when we are talking about budgets, sometimes we only think about the numbers and about balancing and we forget. Well, maybe we don't forget, but it sounds like we forget that we are talking about our students and all of the things that allow them to thrive and the things that we have fought hard for, right? Um and so we must we must be grounded as we're entering this phase and these conversations. We want to make sure that we are grounded in these values. And so thank you uh Dr. Rivas for the amendment. I think it is um addressing the concerns from community members. It is naming it. And so and thank you for bringing us back to grounding us

293to why we're doing this and why we're here. Uh my only amendment is that we add that instead of having um two or uh public meetings, two town hall meetings, that instead we have at least one town hall meeting in each board district in collaboration with the board member offices during the fall. Um and I've shared with some of you that I held some budget conversations in my district. We had five of them. We had over 600 people attend in person and we had a total of almost a thousand responses uh both in person and via survey. So that shows me that people want to be part of this conversation. They want to share what is their priority and frankly a lot of the things that came out of these conversations are very much aligned

294with our values. They want safe schools. They want to feel like they belong. They want uh access to enriching curriculum. They want affirming spaces. They want uh safe spaces for immigrant, LGBTQ plus, and and black students. All the things that we stand for. And so, I want to make sure that as we're doing this next year, which I'm very excited, that we do it in every uh board district. And I know my office would be more than glad to partner with district staff to help make this happen. And in fact, I would even invite that we include community organizations who do this kind of work on a daily basis, mobilizing and bringing people together. So, thank you. And I accept that amendment is friendly. I think it's a great suggestion. Thank you, board member Grant.

295I did send it. So, it should be in your inboxes in 20 seconds if not soon. It's there. So, so I'm going to I'm going to read out loud slowly and uh we could post this also for everyone uh in the public to see. So, um board member Grigo's friendly resolution was accepted. It's in blue. but we've posted it online and those words are uh the last resolve district staff to hold at least one town hall meeting in each board district in collaboration with the board member offices during the fall. Um and then the language in the re the resolved um that's been accepted is that prior to the fall committee of the whole meetings, the district publish an equity impact analysis in accordance with resolution 0032122 to assess impacts to high need student groups

296emergent bilingual, students with disabilities, black students, unhoused students, LGBTQIA plus students and students in foster care and pren and school types such as highest, high, seni, BSAP, community schools, priority schools, linked learning/CTE, etc. closed PNS and publish a department level review of consulting contracts, administrative overhead, and central office expenditures and present options to the board for rep prioritization. So, that's what's being voted on. The first thing that needs to be voted on is the rule 72 waiver. We're going to take this one separately since there was a question about it. So, um, I didn't quite get a move in a second for the waiver of board rule 72. I'll move it. Moved by Miss seconded by Dr. Rivas. Uh, Miss Newell. No. Dr. Ivas, yes. Dr. Ivas, Mr. Melvin, yes. Yes. Uh, Miss Grigo, yes.

297Uh, Miss Gomez, yes. Uh, Miss Ortiz Franklin, yes. Um, Mr. Board President Schmurson, yes. That's six eyes, one no for the rule 72 waiver passes. And now we will vote on um what I guess would be effectively version three of what I've just read into the record. So can I have a move in a second for tab 8 version three? Move it. Moved by Miss Gomez. Seconded by Dr. Rivas. Uh Miss Newell. No. No. Dr. Ivas. Yes. Yes. Mr. Melvin. Yes. Uh Miss Grigo. Yes. Miss Gomez. Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin. Yes. Board President Schmelson. Yes. Okay. That's six eyes and one no. And that's the end of tab eight. It's 3:45, which means we're 45 minutes late for our approximate time for public general public comment. Um, which we will begin now. Um, I'll call

298on the folks who are listed as being in person and then I will transition to the folks who are remote. So, Ma Tjo, are you here? I'm almost certain I saw Mr. Tjo. Okay, thank you. And then and then Marquius Moore and then Jordan Tess Famarium. I'm really my time to Mai. Come on down, Mai. All right. Hello, board members. My name is Mai Draper, a now Dorsy alum and a proud leader in students deserve. I know you've seen what what's going on outside. I know you've watched the news and heard conversations about the attacks that are happening in this country. We have families being stripped apart and military forces being used as weapons against our people. Our people are under attack and we are yet to hear about what exact actions you will all

299take as a unit. We need our we need we need not your silence, not your neglect and not your complacency. Undocumented students are losing family left and right, and some people are being snatched off the streets, from their homes, from their workplaces, and being taken to god knows where just because of where they were born. Black students are facing more hate crimes than we've seen in recent years. Queer students are being demonized more than ever. What we need is a public acknowledgement of these issues. What we need is for you to publicly fight against this dictatorship that is now running America. What we need is for you to vote on a budget that stands for something greater. I have now graduated and I'm still coming here after two years asking for the same things in

300this new budget plan that you all will be developing and voting on. Los Angeles needs you to do some things. Fund and uplift undocumented students by allocating $10 million to dream centers and protections. If not now, then when? Next week, vote is the perfect chance to say that you stand with the people by standing with those who are protesting just a few blocks away. Fund BP by an additional $100 million annually. You guys have already watered down what BAP was. We need you to restore and then some. Fun and support queer affirming curriculum and programs. At a time when this group's existence is under attack, be the ones who educate and support, not erase. If you are truly for the students and stop sitting on the wrong side of history and fund, support, and stand

301with your district like we've been begging you to do in this budget that is based on equity and student need. Actually fund the students, not conservative ideologies. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Quas Moore. I'm yielding my time to Ka. Come on down. Ka. Sorry, not with half the board leaving when I'm coming up. All right. Good afternoon, board members, Mr. Superintendent. My name is Kai Bailey. I'm a BAP PSA counselor at 107 Street Elementary School in Region South. I'm a licensed clinical social worker, proud mother, and part of the police free LUSD coalition. 107th is a BAP group one school, priority school, and one of the highest need school in the district. I'm here to demand that this board put forth a budget that affirms the futures of our most vulnerable yet amazingly

302talented, bright, creative, and loving students, our black, undocumented, and LGBTQ plus students. No more talking action. Last year, I was on maternity uh maternity leave for seven months. So, I had a lot of work to do coming back. We ended this school year with a 10% reduction in chronic absenteeism at our school for black students. Reflecting with a colleague humbly, I dismissed our gains, saying, "You know what? They didn't have me for most of the year last year, so there was a lot of room to grow. But you know what? That is the point. Without someone like me in my position, there's no focus, no emphasis, very little bandwidth of staff to improve tangible outcomes for black students. I did that. I did that. I expect a budget that adds a hundred million to BSAP,

303not just 25 million. Not only do I expect equity in this budget, I expect a surplus that has reparations level funding. It is clear that the impact is with BAP staff and the work that we do. An additional hundred million would expand BSAP teams, increase staffing for PSA counselors at secondary schools. This LCAP goal, the LCAP goals related to attendance, etc. They're laughable without this level of investment. Furthermore, looking at this projected deficit, I want to demand that BAP must be allowed to keep all unused allocations and instead hold district leaders accountable for hiring those vacant positions and leave Senny alone. Finally, this district needs to show real accountability with a formal apology to black students for decades of policies that denied equal education. This is an urgent moment. The gaps are not closing fast

304enough. I demand the needs of black, undocumented, and LGBTQ students be centered, not pushed to the margins. These are the voices of our future. Thank you for your time. Gordon T. Jordan Tesamarian. Hi, my name is Jordan Tesmorarium. I'm a nth grade at May Arts High School and a youth leader with Community Coalition. At Mayor Arts, there is not enough educational support for black and brown students. We often get overlooked when it comes to extra extra academic help and it feels like our needs aren't being prioritized. We also face a serious lack of teachers, which means larger class sizes and less one-on-one support. On top of that, we don't have enough working computers, so it's hard to finish assignments or do research during class. Sending funds could help close these gaps by hiring more teachers,

305providing targeted supports for students of color, and making sure we all have the access to technology we need to succeed. These students often face systemic barriers and need add additional uh resources like mental health services, after school programs, and language support to s uh to succeed. Without SNI, we risk widening opportunity gaps instead of closing them. Protecting this funding model ensures that all students, no matter their background, get the support they need to thrive. I yield my uh the rest of my time to Anna. Hi, my name is Niga Johnson. I'm a ninth grader at Mango Arch High School and a youth leader with community coalition. Lau must protect any funding beyond next school year. Without the right support, school becomes a place where we're expected to succeed but not given the tools to do

306it. That's frustrating and discouraging. When students feel unsupported, some might even some might stop trying. Some might even stop showing up to school altogether. That kind of neglect can lead to higher rates of chronic absentism and lower academic performance. It can also damage our confidence in our future. I know what it feels like to attend a school without consistent teachers and student support. I've even attended a school once that didn't have a principal. It felt like students were being left behind. Sending funding can change that. It gives schools like mine the resource to provide stability stability support and real opportunities for success. continue to fund Cine so students who attend high need schools have the same opportunities to to succeed as anyone else. Thank you for your time. Ian Kirxy Ian Kirxy and then after

307Ian is is Sakura Singh and then Channing Martinez. Ian. Hey there. I'm going to yield my time to Indira. Hello fellow board members and superintendent Carvajo. My name is Endura Partida. I just graduated from Dorsy High School on Monday the 9th and I will be attending Sea Sun in the fall studying political science and I'm also a leader in students deserve. It has been a whole month since I stood here last time before you guys and I'm and I still have seen no change in our schools. I am standing here today to again speak on the immediate action that needs to be taken for our black, undocumented, and LGBTQ students. Our communities are being attacked and we are demanding that LUSD act swiftly to protect these students, especially our undocumented students. Because of the Trump

308administration and its new immigrant policies, aka mass deportation policies, parents and children alike are be are being taken from elementary school graduations, from their workplace, and in the streets. And it is utterly and completely unacceptable. ICE was literally across the street from my graduation at USC. Because of this, there are children afraid to go to school and parents who are scared to send them simply because of legal status. ICE has been raiding warehouses and farms and taking people off our streets. And L USD is taking no action to protect these students. Children have spent their children who spent their whole lives here. Parents who came here speaking seeking better opportunities and futures for their children are being told they don't belong here when we are all living on stolen land. The Trump administration the Trump

309administration has made an already vulnerable community even more vulnerable with these policies. And that is exactly why LUSD must fully fund DR dream centers by $10 million all over the district, especially in this time of need. These centers provide crucial sanctuary protections and support for undocumented students and their families. This also means to end the school to prison to deportation pipeline by not criminalizing immigrant students anymore. Immigrants are whom this country was built on and they make our schools and country better. Undocumented and immigrant students deserve to feel safe and protected as schools because that's what everybody deserves. Our people have been flooding the streets fighting for the rights of immigrants and I am here fighting for the protections and the rights of our undocumented students. and I will not stop until our demands have

310been met. Thank you for your time. Takur Singh Takur, please come on down. You have two minutes to speak. Why don't you begin? And then after Mr. Singh is Channing Martinez and then Dominic Gera. Good afternoon. I'm Thakur Singh, a member of the superintendent student advisory committee, a former student board member candidate, a resident of board member of TS Franklin's district, and a virtual academy student. As I'm sure you well know by now, students from the virtualmies have been coming to recent meetings to speak about the same issue. I appreciate what the board has done in terms of climate and protecting students. However, the policy the policy implemented this recent school year has contradicted these efforts. Many students at the virtualmies have experienced challenges like homelessness, health issues, disabilities, transportation barriers, lack of citizenship, or

311bullying. I have experienced homelessness and transportation struggles myself. That's why virtual learning is so important for so many students. Formerly, our teachers were able to provide significant amounts of one-on-one amounts of one-on-one support. We also had many clubs. This most recent year, however, we fell to just one club because our teachers are stressed, exhausted, and just don't have time to spend with us as they are now forced to spend up to 4 hours in traffic daily in gas guzzling vehicles. That's because of the board's decision to require virtual academy teachers to report to in-person campuses, which are often far away from their homes, simply to open their laptops and power up Zoom in a classroom with zero students. Zero. That's wasted money while we are in a deficit. This also means that many of your

312teachers have been many of our teachers have been resigning. You are losing teachers to other school districts. Please consider that as well. There are there are constant background noise as teachers are required to share spaces. There's al there are also constant internet struggles to poor Wi-Fi on these campuses. These challenges take hours away from students like me. We have been consistently coming to recent meetings about these pol about this policy. As you know, I'm not sure what all of you think of our concerns. And by the way, I would love to have a conversation with any of you about this. But we feel as though we have yet to be heard. A meeting was recently organized with two of our programs directors. I'm guessing you organized that meeting, which I appreciate. However, it was not

313very helpful, and we have yet to hear any updates about this policy. This policy has no benefits. All negatives. more emissions, less one-on-one time, fewer clubs, a lack of privacy, constant distractions in the classroom, poor workspace for teachers with rodents and rodent droppings, resigning teachers, etc. I ask that you please change this policy. Thank you. Thank you for your time, Mr. Martinez. Channing Martinez. And then after Mr. Martinez is Dominic, then Angelo. Good afternoon. Channing Martinez, co-director of the strategy center. Um, just reminding you that we have the long view and while the district is not perfect, uh, at least in LA area and LA basin, it has been one of the most progressive uh, entities in the area, right? Uh, you know, no other county or other entity in the nation returned military-grade weapons.

314And in fact, in a meeting among the Obama administration, I witnessed a police officer from a different m municipality trying to justify keeping a tank um for when ICE um vehicles are stuck in the mountains and other ridiculous crap like that. Um, you know, to the board member, uh, Melvin's po Melvoy's point about clarity, uh, the district is sitting on $70 million that it's paying for police. And for me, I think that's a problem because, as you see, there's a whole coalition of police, LAPD, LA Sheriff's, ICE, uh, Homeland Security, FBI, and so much more all gaining up on undocumented students. But not just undocumented students. If you have any uh buyer's remorse about voting for Trump, if you have any resol res uh disagreement with the Trump administration, um we understand that they're coming

315for us as well. And so this is a impass that we're at. We've been asking you every single time at an impass to uh pass different things. We asked you to pass the school climate bill of rights. We asked you to get rid of uh the willful defiance. Now, we're asking you to stop defunding the school police and actually fund black students. I think you know what we want. We want $100 million for black student achievement. We want $10 million for immigrant students. We want $3 million and maybe even more for LGBTQ students. It's great that the superintendent is the only elected official right now that's speaking out against the Trump administration. Uh but as my, you know, family says, words are cheap. Thank you for your time. Uh Dominic, Dominic G, come on down.

316Hello, my name is Dominic Gara. I am a leader at Students Deserve and I'm here to make sure you understand that students want LUSD to protect black, undocumented, and LGBTQ students. We need action, not just words. We love this fight now. As you prepare the 2025 2026 budget, it's time to step up. We distributed over 17,000 stickers and info sheets at 50 plus schools. We want your support. We demand 10 million in Dream Center funding. It is unacceptable that we only have four dream centers across LSD in a sanctuary city. We want more know your rights workshops. We demand the abolishment of school police millions in criminal police criminalizes black and brown students. We want career affirming spaces and hundred million invested in BP. You should be funding real curriculum and community based safety programs

317like Safe Passage. Now is the time to be bold, adopt a budget that reflects our needs, our safety, and our futures. My name is Vanessa. I'm an 11th grader at Miguel Conturus and a leader with Student Deserve. Right now, students across Los Angeles are living in fear. Just today, there were reports of ICE raids happening in our communities. Families are being separated. Students are afraid to walk to school or go home after. How are we supposed to think about our future when we don't even feel safe at our schools because our communities are being targeted? I'm seeing people all over LA show up for each other. Students are marching. Teachers are organizing. Families are speaking out. We are doing our part now. L USD has to do theirs. We are demanding 10 million in the

318budget to expand and fully fund Dream Centers in our schools. Not in just a few schools, but in every in our community. Dream centers are a safe space. Right now, too many students are suffering in silence. That is not what Sanctuary District looks like. If LUSD is serious about protecting us, then we need to see that reflect in our budget. Not just in words or resolutions, but in dollars. That's why you must also fund BAP by 100 million and fund LGBTQ plus affirming training and staff. The time is now for L USC to take a bold stand to protect undocumented black students and queer students. I urge the board to create a budget that protects and supports undocumented students, black students, and queer students. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Uh, Kenetta Gray, Kenetta,

319are you here? Come on down. You have two minutes to speak. Once you begin, good afternoon, you guys. My name is Kenyatta Gray. I'm a proud mother of six LA USD students at 49th Street Elementary School, Carver Middle School, and soon to be Santi High School in the board district 5. Like many parents, I'm just started to learn how the district budget works. And I was so excited when Carla Gergo, thank you, came to our local district and actually listen to our priorities. First, I want to talk about the Black Student Achievement Plan, our BAP. This isn't just a program. This is something that parents, students, and community members fought for fought hard for because for too long, black students were being left behind. Carver is a tier three BAP school, and many of us

320parents didn't know much about the program. My kids often tell me they feel lonely or like they're earning enough spaces for them at school. That's why BAP is so important. When it's done right with full funding, the right staff and programming that centers black students, it can make a real difference. We need to dis We need the district to fully invest in BAP so it can live up to the promise we all fought for. Second, I want to talk about community based safety. At Carver, we're dealing with the real issues, bullying, fighting that have impacted our own children. But the solution is not more police on campus. That doesn't make our kids feel safe at all. It just makes them very scared. What we need are trained counselors, restorative justice programs, and staff who reflect

321and understand our community. Truly, safety means care, support, and respect, not punishment. Our kids deserve better, and we're counting on your priorities. These solutions is the budget. Thank you. Remember, no child left behind. Thank you for your time. Angel Caro, Anel Caro. And then after Angel is Joseph Williams and then Katherine Ailles. Hello. It's nice to meet and speak with you today. My name is Angel and I'm a nth grader at Fremont High School and a youth leader with community coalition. I want to share my demand for Superintendent Carvalo and the LD school board. Protect Sydney funding beyond the next school year so every student has a fair chance to succeed. Senny has played a a big role in helping me and my peers. I come from a low-income family, and Sunny has made a

322big difference by providing the resources I need to learn and grow. Because of Sunny, I've been able to stay on track with my A throughG requirements. It has given me access to academic interventions and programs to help close opportunity gaps. But if those resources disappear after next year, students like me, especially those from low-income backgrounds, will be left behind. We'll struggle to catch up, and that's not fair. LGD needs to continue investing in equity. Sine supports students who need it most. Lowincome students, foster youth, and students experiencing homelessness. Without this support, our futures are at risk. I don't understand why we even have to fight to keep something that clearly is helping us out. Sydney is critical for students like me to succeed and be a part of graduating class of 2028. If my demand

323is met, we'll have more support, more resources, and more opportunities opportunities to succeed. I love watching my peers thrive. Who doesn't? So to so so to the superintendent Carvalo and the school board, I'm asking you to protect any funding, not just for me, but for my siblings, to my classmates, and every student who deserves a fair chance at success. Thank you. Thank you for your time, Joseph Williams. Yes, sir. Thank you. Come on up, Daniel. And then uh after Daniel is Katherine Navil. Hello. My name is Daniel Sierra and I'm a leader at Students Deserve and a student at Roy Ball Learning Center. For the past week or so, my family and I have lived in fear. We're afraid to step out of our apartment in Korea Town. I'm sure the school board knows why.

324Ice rates have gone rampant all over Los Angeles County. On Burlington and Wilshshire, there was an ICE raid on innocent, hardworking immigrants, WCando Chamba, as they say, which means to look for work. My father and I have been to that Home Depot a number of times to buy what we needed for his work. It saddens me every time I pass by to see so many people waiting for someone to offer them work. Now, it saddens me even more that ICE is targeting these people and not violent criminals, as they say. One of these workers could have been my dad. On Beverly and Chemmore, there is a bakery called the Walt Malteka. It's walking distance from my home. Allegedly, there was an ice raid in which workers were taken from their jobs. Me and all of

325my family have been there at least once to buy bread or food. One of the customers during the the raid could have been my mom. This sad this is the sad reality of the current situation here in the city of Angels. I urge Superintendent Carvalo to expand Dream Centers by $10 million. Dream centers provide support for undocumented families when they need it. Now in current times, it is almost a necessity to have that extra support that comes with dream centers. Let us not stop there though because we also demand to add a hundred million to BAP and other 5 million for LGBTQ staff and curriculum. We must not forget that everyone is valued in LUD schools. So we must support them as well. I also have a special request of adding a dream center to

326Royal. At Royal, we have a a high number of undocumented families who have been affected by current situations. These times call for assistance and you all know this. So, we urge all of you as well to help us. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Katherine Ales. Katherine Ales. Good afternoon board members. My name is Katherine Nabilas and I am an incoming senior at MSMA located at Roosevelt High School and a youth leader with Inner City Struggle, a part of the East Side community of Boil Heights. I'm here today as a student to express my concerns over the district's budget stabilization proposed plans, including cuts to Senny for the 2027 school year. The uncertainty surrounding the future of education for students is a concern that stems from the current federal dismantling of public education and

327the district's budget stabilization plan. Schools and students should not have to be at the expense or bear the brunt of budget cuts. I'm here to demand for no cuts to be made to Senny and for the full 700 million. The money provided by Sunny was made to help schools support their students, teachers, and provide opportunities to other education professionals. The additional funds that Senny provides to schools has supported the school's administration and principal ability to prepare students in their educational journey and beyond graduation. However, as of late, the concerns over education and the investment that can be made to students has raised questions for myself and my peers. Investments on behalf of LUSD towards students have been provided through Senny, which has undoubtedly improved students and staff's ability to support our academic journeys. Like many

328others across LUSD, I experienced the benefits of Senny firsthand. The most notable being through the Seni funding for my AVID class, which I have been able to reap its benefits through its preparation for higher education. Furthermore, SNI funding has provided teacher training and development programs which have not only improved my teachers development as educators, but the students learning abilities within the classroom. Seni has also helped fund field trips ranging from allowing students to go on college tours and trips that have helped students engage in social emotional learning that contribute to students mental health and overall student development. These activities and resources show oh made possible through Sunny funding showcase one of the many examples of Sunny's full benefits and how they have significantly helped not just me but many other students preparedness for further education

329and personal well-being. Therefore, I call to you board members to not only protect the 700 million for SENI but to protect all carryover dollars. Maintaining the SENI budget for future years is crucial for students development. As school board members, it should be in your best interest to protect students lives within schools and ensure that they are provided with the maximum in a time like today more than ever. Protect Senny, our immigrant families, black and LGBTQIA plus communities. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your time. All right, Kim Abina. Kim Aina and then Dian Guen. Kim A, are you here? Aina, thank you. And then Danna Guen and then Maria Ruiz. So, Kim A, please. Emily Baltiera is taking the place for Kim Aina. Good morning, board members, superintendent, and members of the community.

330My name is Emily Baltiera. I'm a junior at Roosevelt High School and a youth leader at Inner City Struggle. I come here today not just as a student, but as a voice for my classmates, my teachers, my family, and my community. We're today because we care about our education. But can we But how can we succeed when the very programs that help us thrive are constantly at risk? Right now, I'm worried. I'm worried about the future under the proposed fiscal stabilization plan. Programs that provide us with counselors, mental health support, tutors, and staff who actually care. Without these, it's not just our grades that suffer. It's our mental health, our motivation, and our futures. For many of us, especially in hiding schools, there aren't extra services. They are essential. So, I'm here to ask, don't

331take our dollars away. Protect the full 700 million from sending from sending under the proposed fiscal stabil stabilization plan and protect the carryover dollars that our schools have saved. That's our money. Taking it back would be like steely from our future. I also want to talk about BAP. I've seen the differences it makes with black studies, mental health staff, and culturally re relevant education that makes us feel seen. But LUSD stripped race from as a factor for BAP as it as if four years of support somehow erased decades of injustice. We need BAP extended expanded by at least 100 million a year. And we need the district to put the black back in BAP. Finally, I want to speak for those who voices whose voices are often ignored. Our undocumented students, our trans students, and

332queer students, our disabled peers. These students deserve safety, respect, and the same opportunities as everyone else. This means sanctuary protections, fully staffed dream centers, queer affirming spaces, and a commitment to ending the school to prison to deportation pipeline. That means no more school police and a real investment in community- based safety with trusted adults in our neighborhoods, not armed officers. To the board and the superintendent, this is our chance to show us that equity is not just a word you put in your powerpoints. It's a promise and we're here to hold you to it. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Again, come on up. or is it going to be okay? Yes. So, folks, please uh if you need simultaneous translation, Miss Gin is going to speak in Spanish. If you'd like to hear

333what she's saying in English as she's speaking, please put your hands up so we can get you these headsets for simultaneous translation. Okay, gracias. Good afternoon, members of the board. My name is Diana Gillen and I am representing the parent network for school safety and I have been listening what they've been saying here about dream centers, but the parents have not been told what that means and how this will benefit our students. I am also seeing that you're advocating for the immigrants or you're saying undocumented. That's something very aggressive for those that are not. Those are those are people. We are not indocumented. We are beings because here you do the same thing for all of the immigrants here that you're all saying for us that you speak for us. But you don't are not

334listening to us. We parents have come here to speak to be supported to be empowered so that we are able to defend our own rights and our own interests which youth say that is the same you is yours to better our students education so that our students can speak English in a way that is effective but what happens you're only reclassifying very few students and you're not listening to us miss new bill I would like you voted no on something that they did not give you enough information on and to reaffirm what was already been reaffirmed. So I think that we are concerned about the budget. There will be cuts and here I'm just seeing the agenda of UTLA because it wants to create more positions even if it's not for education that is for

335all the dream centers so that they have a coordinator there and that coordinate there it's just aligned with um their people at UTLA and they can charge 1,200 so that they can finance the campaigns of any one of you. So, I do not think that we should play with our immigrant population to come to speak here and say that we support them, but to take action and not to say here, oh, undocumented. They are human beings. They're not undocumented. Thank you for your time. Ruiz Maria Ruiz, come on up. You have two minutes to speak. Why don't you begin? the parents for educational justice and inner city drug organizations. I am proud mother of three children who graduated from the partnership Los Angeles schools schools uh Roosevelt High School Mendes High School in Bo Heis.

336My son Ugo has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California Riverside. My son, Angelo, obtained a bachelor's degree in history from California State University, Los Angeles. My youngest son, Eduardo, just graduated this month from California State University, Los Angeles with a major in political science. I am sharing my children's success stories because that is possible when LUSD invests in our children's education. I am thankful to the L USD board of education and superintendent Carvajo because since 2014 when the student equity need index was approved as Seni more students are graduating from high school and are college ready. Now we are living in hard times in our schools and our communities are in need. We know that you have to make hard decision with the LUSD fiscal year budget. It is very

337important that our highest knee students are not affected. Many students are already suffering the consequences of the President Trump terrible decisions. The government is supposed to be there to serve and protect our families, but it's failing us. LD board members, please don't fail our highest need students. Our school really needs any funds. We need to continue the commitment and the hard work for LED highest need students. Also don't take away the decision making with any funds in our local schools. Schools need to to to need schools keep having flexibility in how to spend funds. School administration, parents and the school community must stay involved in the decision making process. We had to be strong. No cats on any fans just on equity at high need schools. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Okay, we're

338going to transition to folks who are signed up to speak remotely. Alex Halo, I see you're on the line. Alex Halo, please press star six to unmute yourself. And you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Alex Halo. Hello. All right. Good afternoon. I'm Alex Halo and I'm a recent LUSD graduate and a resident of board member Kelly Gonas's district. You may you may recall me from past meetings. I am back again today to talk about the same policy. Remote teachers in school buildings teaching remotely. Although I recently graduated and beginning my college journey, this issue this issue is still impacting thousands of virtual academy students because it has yet to be changed. Prior to this school year, the hundreds of remote teachers working for the virtualmies taught from home. This gave virtual students

339significant one-on-one time. We also formally had many clubs, something that is incredibly important for social and emotional wellness, especially for virtual students. This school year, teachers at the virtualmies were required to report to in-person campuses. They now spend hours commuting in LA traffic daily to go to classrooms with zero students actually present simply to open a laptop for Zoom meetings. I would understand this policy if there were at least a few students present but there are zero. This is totally unnecessary for a fully remote program and has led to more emissions, more overhead costs for LA USD. Meaning the money of everyone here listening is being wasted when it could be spent on your kids and students instead and less time and support for virtual academy students, many of whom have faced homelessness, health issues,

340and or bullying. We ask that you please reverse the policy. Let virtual academy teachers work from home again. Right now they are being forced to go to empty classrooms just to open a laptop and teach on Zoom. It's wasting money. It's wasting time and it's wasting energy that could be spent on the next generation. My senior year was already hurt by this policy. Please don't do that for do please don't do that for next year students. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Lupita Varela, I see you're on the line. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Lupita Varela. Hello. Hi. Can you guys hear me? Yes, we can. Just make sure to speak slowly and loudly and turn off. If you're listening to the

341meeting in the background, you should shut that off because it'll be very confusing. Okay. Hello everyone. My name is Lupita Va. I am a resident of board member Franklin's district. A couple of weeks ago, I officially graduated from LA USB after 12 years of learning. Despite this, I find it incredibly important to continue coming to these meetings to keep this issue fresh in your minds because it is impacting my friends and other students just as it impacted me. Thousands of virtual academy students and teachers face struggles that they did not before this policy was implemented. This year, LUSD decided to send virtual teachers on campus just to still teach entirely remotely. L USD is making many teachers drive over an hour every day to school in LA traffic just to have to drive back home

342in some more traffic. LD has been very vocal about their stance on climate change. If this is true, let's look at some statistics. The school year consists of 180 days. Let's imagine that a teacher drives to school every day for those 180 days with a nonV car. That's roughly 60 pounds of carbon dioxide produced each hour they drive. This teacher drives two hours each day to and from work. That's now 180 pounds each day. 180 lbs has turned into 900 a week. In a year, that is 32,400 lb from just one vehicle. You heard that right. 32,400 lb of carbon dioxide being produced from one vehicle just because LD decided to force remote educators to teach on an in-person campus entirely remotely. This is only adding onto the already extreme global climate change problem. When

343you multiply that 32,400 by 300, how much do you get? 9,720,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. These are astounding numbers. These changes have led to virtual teachers spending hours in traffic in gas guzzling vehicles only to go to an in-person campus with zero students present simply to open a laptop for Zoom. Forum members Don Franklin new Dr. Rivas Meline and Grigo. I am urging you to please rethink this policy. We can be smarter, we can be kinder, we can do better for teachers, for our environment, and for students like me. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your time. Okay. So, I have a caller signed in as Jamila, but you are not on the line. Jamila, are you in the room by chance? Jamila is not here. All right. Um, the next remote speaker

344is Christopher. Christopher, I see you're on the line. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Christopher, hello. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay. Hello and good afternoon everybody. My name is Christopher Estella Torres and I will be a junior at the leadership of a service virtual academy. Coming from a low-income household having traumatic problems and suffering from financial problems, the virtual academy brought a safe space and an opportunity to learn without experiencing transportation or inerson problems. And this provided more growth and less challenges. However, this year one continual problem that I refuse to overlook is that numerous teachers were reassigned to physical campuses even though they are teaching online. The fact that teachers have to drive up up to hours to go to work or

345home brings problems such as wasting time adds pollution and puts more drivers at risk on the road. Even worse, many teachers are now facing the sufferings of having their rooms being trashed, being unsafe in the school, and experiencing car crashes. If this doesn't raise concerns, I do not know what will. This action of having teachers to work in schools affects us students as well. Many teachers are now in a share room. makes it much more common to hear other classrooms or announces such as fire alarms, earthquake drills in the background, which is extremely distracting, even worse to raise privacy concerns by having other individuals hear private discussions with our teachers. That doesn't even feel like a safe or focused environment to learn in. There needs to be change. Teachers should have the option to choose

346between working remotely on campus, but as close of location to their homes as possible. However, many locations are packed together and are far. is simply ludicrous. Many teachers already work at locations outside of the main welcome tenders. There should also be a rotating on campus schedule to end the daily distractions both we as students and teachers have to face in the classroom. Although we may be in summer, we are here today to speak on the injustice of this policy. Having teachers to work in person while driving or out of work is absurd. I am here of many because this matter means so much to us. Thank you for your time and goodbye. Thank you for your time. Isabella Gonzalez, you're signed up to speak remotely, but I do not have you signed in right now.

347Are you in the room? Isabelle Gonzalez and Cassandra C. Cassandra C, you're signed up to speak remotely, but you are not signed in. Are you in the room, Cassandra C? Okay, that's no. So, that concludes general public comment. for that. Um the order of operations now is we are going to enter into the public hearing stage for the um budget and the LCAP. So there are 45 folks signed up to speak to that public hearing. First we will hear a presentation uh about the the budget and then the public hearing will take those comments and then the board will discuss and uh I have a statement to read about the public hearings which I will read right now. So this is for tabs 9, 10, and 11. the adoption of the proposed 2526 budget. Adoption

348of the 2025 LD LUSD local control and accountability plan and presentation of the 2025 state accountability dashboard local indicators file and tab 11 adoption of the 2025 LUSD affiliated charters schools local control and accountability plans and presentation of the 2025 state accountability dashboard local indicators for affiliated charters. This constitutes a public hearing for those three items that I have just read. A maximum of 45 individuals who wish to address the board on these items will be heard. Each speaker will be able to make a twominut presentation. Those who wish to speak should sign up online. And we have the speakers fully signed up. And now we'll transition to the presentation. So, I think we're ready to uh present to the board uh some some highlights of uh budget considerations. s as well as the fiscal

349stabilization plan that we discussed at the top of the meeting hours ago. Uh Mr. Chris Mount will detail what this budget includes, what it does not include, the principles and values based on which this budget is being advanced. He will attempt to um convey to the board and the community that for fiscal year 26 there are no envisioned reductions of any kind. No furlows or reductions in force contemplated, advocated or recommended under this budget. The state of California requires the submission of budget projections based on three-year increments. So even though for fiscal year 26 there are no reductions envisioned based on current projections for the outer years. There is a recognition not only of a structural deficit but also a precarious position in those outer years that require under law the submission to LEO of

350a fiscal fiscal stabilization plan. meaning the steps that would minimally be required to bring stability uh in those outer years. I want to be very clear about one thing. The stabilization plan uh which uh as I said earlier reflects some late morning adjustments amendments is but a blueprint. I've heard the board clearly and this administrative team embraces the principles of equity in everything we do. The way we budget, the way we support, the way we advocate, the way we protect, and certainly the way uh we administer programs within our school system, that reality will be extended, no doubt, as we approach those outer years. Um, a lot could change between now and then. There's a great deal of federal uncertainty. Uh massive reductions have been promised. We do not know nor can we anticipate whether

351or not they will materialize and to what extent uh they will materialize if in fact they do so. The anemic performance of the state's economy particularly when it comes to the cost of living adjustment is something that we have to consider as we move forward. But regardless, regardless of the circumstances or the cards that we are dealt, we will not abandon the basic principles and premise of equity as we make decisions. Uh I heard earlier about ongoing discussions about the true fiscal position of this district. Uh, I will convey to you that who in the world would want to sit here month after month and take insult and being punched if that were not the truth? I mean, who in their right mind? The truth is what the auditors verify. And the auditors verify that

352in fact the district is under a structural deficit. We are spending more money than we take in. And for a while that is okay because you do have reserves. But if you continue to significantly spend more than the resources that are provided to you, eventually your resources, your reserves are depleted and then the harsh reality comes. Preparing in advance for that eventuality prevents greater loss and greater pain. That is why this team has fashioned a set of budget recommendations that follow certain guard rails but are also flexible. Budgets are not inflexible instruments. They are flexible instruments that are adaptable to changing circumstances and economic realities. We know that. That's why we revisit the budget periodically throughout the year, even after adoption, because circumstances and conditions statewide vary and they change. So, these are people of

353high integrity that try to be as exact as they possibly can be in recognizing the cards were dealt and then making the best of that set of circumstances. Mr. Mount will also not only detail for you what the budget does, what the budget does not do, he will articulate uh in essence the fiscal stabilization plan. But he will also be very clear about the timelines and about the fact that maybe some of those elements that at this point are reflected in that stabilization plan may not come to pass because we are literally two years out and a lot could change. So with that said, uh Mr. Chris Mount, our chief financial officer. Thank you, Superintendent. Good afternoon, superintendent and board and community. Uh we actually have a presentation. I don't know if it's going to

354jump straight to budget. I believe LCAP also has local indicators to review. Uh and and so uh I would like to make sure that Bill is invited up uh to begin the LCAP overview. Yeah, I'm going to start by reading the entire LCAP to the group. Thanks. Oh, just kidding. Um hello. Uh William Johnston, a senior executive director of strategy. um here to present the uh 2526 LCAP and then we will shift over to the budget conversation um thank you. Okay. So, the LCAP as as many of us know is a is a statemandated three-year plan um that is actually updated then annually during that three-year cycle. And so, we are at the conclusion of year 1 of this most recent three-year cycle. So, 2425 was year was year 1. And the LCAP that is

355being discussed today is a reflective document looking at 2425 and also a forward-looking document looking ahead and looking at goals for 2526 moving forward. The LCAP describes our goals, our actions, services, and expenditures in support of all students with a particular focus on low-income English learners and foster youth. Uh the LCAP team engages with educational partners um and various offices around the district in the development of the LCAP. And as I mentioned, it is a it's a three-year cycle going between 2024 and 2027. 2425 was that first year. Um and this is specifically around um allocations and expenditures and actions related to LCFF local local control funding formula. Um that funding is us around 69% of the total district budget but that is the again the focus of the LCAP per state mandate that that

356we do and uh today's um presentation emphasizes that this is a this is an alignment of systems and processes around the district. Um obviously one big piece of this is um the the alignment with budget development processes uh that you know we we will be talking in in tandem uh with the budget and LCAP. This is also grounded in engagement with various communities um and we will talk a little bit more specifically on some of the engagement activities related to this year's LCAP. And of course it is aligned with the strategic plan goals and it communicates the the funded programs for this upcoming year. Um and so the engagement piece in a little more detail um is essential to the development of the LCAP. Um as a part of LCAP engagement cycle, the LCAP team

357each year engages with educational partners including student focus groups, district level parent committees such as PAC and DAC that we heard from earlier today. Um community partner meetings, district team meetings, labor partners, and regional parent engagement meetings to inform the district LCAP as a whole. Um throughout all those meetings and ongoing throughout the year, we have a uh a district-wide thought exchange that is a that is an open invite to solicit um open-ended feedback um and solicit responses. And we've had approximately 17,000 participants, unique participants to the LCAP this year, around 9,000 over 9,000 family or parent um participants and over 3,500 student participants in the thought exchange this year. Um, and these the comments that are in that thought exchange are are are analyzed, ingested, analyzed, themed, encoded, and are are are interspersed throughout

358the LCAP, organized around the goals in the LCAP itself. And so the meat of the LCAP itself um is organized around eight goals. Um, as a part of the district's emphasis on building coherence and streamlining initiatives, the LCAP is aligned to the five strategic plan pillars you see there in goals one through five. Um, and in and in recognition of the voices and input of our communities, the 2526 LCAP also continues to highlight English learner supports and black student achievement plan implementation as separate LCAP goals. You see there in goals six and seven. And finally, goal eight is a statemandated accountability goal based on the use of what is called the equity multiplier fund to address student needs at 98 eligible district schools this year. Um, additionally, affiliated charters um in LA Unified submit their

359own LCAPS um and which are all available online for those individual schools. And so just a just a note then on on the the structure then of the LCAP. Uh I'm not going to read the whole thing. Um uh this is organized around metrics and then actions and expenditures. Um and so just for an example, goal one around academic achievement has 28 specific metrics that are reported and tracked in the LCAP. It also has 32 specific actions. So goal actions and that's how much of this is organized for everyone. Um and and that that continues on down. So again, 32 specific actions for uh goal one, 15 for goal two, and so on and so forth for all eight goals. And then within each of those goals, the actions and expenditures are are described to

360the extent to which they are again funded by LCFF funds. Um since that is the focus of the LCAP. Um the 2526 LCAP includes targets for both statemandated and local metrics. Um and uh the um open data um all of these metrics and our tracking are available on the open data LCAP dashboard um which is available to the public. Obviously, the LCAP itself is available through board materials. Now, um in addition to the metrics contained within the LCAP, the district also reports local indicators um which are again a state mandate and this is uh for inclusion in the California school dashboard. Um and then as I mentioned, there are 51 affiliated charter schools in Los Angeles Unified. Um here's just a quick uh snapshot on where they are around the district. afflated chart schools are

361required by CDE to uh file their own LCAPS um and those are again available online um for the public and so as I just mentioned uh local indicators are a part of the LCAP me um are a part of the LCAP as well um and these are then these eventually are reported on the California school dashboard um district and school performance in um in the LCFF priority areas again there's 10 LCFF priority areas some of those are reported using administrative data that is official data from the state such as student test scores and so on. Um those do not have to have a local indicator um sort of dimension to them. But there are some aspects of of uh of the LCF priorities that do not have sort of administrative data that that the state

362uses statewide. And so there is an onus on districts to self-report and define and then self assess what are called local indicators. Um and those you see here. So um there are five in particular. Um and we um we can provide details on the specifics of the the rationale and the determination for us um you know self self assessing that we do in fact meet these uh criteria. Um and then we you know we can we can give ourselves met not met or not met for the past two years for each of these local indicators and these are only applied at the district level not school by school and not by student groups. That's one uh difference with how the dashboard is reported otherwise. And the standard for the local performance indicators are based on

363whether we you know whether we are able to measure our progress on these on these matters. And um and then we report the results to our to our board of course. And then um and then that the same is done for our affiliated charters as well um as mentioned here. And so without further ado, I think we're going to get to one of the more interesting topics which is the budget. Um and we will be standing by for questions on the LCAP um as they come up during discussion. Thank you. Great. Thank you. So, uh, we're going to start in just a moment with a short video that was developed by our communications team to to put into context, uh, the current status of the budget. Uh we will be going through the overview of

364the proposed fiscal year 26 budget uh as well as additional investment highlights uh sustainability in Los Angeles Unified and how we look to to achieve that as well as a budget overview and multi-year projections of course required by law and a proposed fiscal stabilization plan uh because of the status of our budget also uh required by law and then looking ahead. So, that's a broad overview. And then if I can get the tech team to begin, uh, this is where I'm supposed to pause for the video. This is Linda. She and her husband are raising three kids while juggling long hours and a tight budget. Every dollar is budgeted, every hour accounted for, and every year the cost of living rises. Groceries, gas, rent, everything. Linda and her husband start dipping into her savings. Just

365a little at first, then more each month. After Linda's husband was injured on the job, the family received a workers's compensation settlement. $25,000, a one-time windfall. Just like the federal COVID 19 relief funds our schools received during the pandemic. With its savings, Los Angeles Unifi hired more staff, expanded student wellness, and created spaces for students to recover, reconnect, and thrive. But just like Linda's family, it now faces rising costs and shrinking resources. Because one-time funds were never meant to last forever, the savings that once felt like hope is now almost gone. Now, Linda and her husband are asking hard questions. What do we cut? What can we keep? What happens next? Los Angeles Unified is facing similar hard choices. The district is doing everything it can to protect what was built, using reserves to retain

366staff, maintain stability, and keep students supported. But just like Linda's family, the district is approaching a crossroads. One-time funds are running out and the next decisions will shape the future of public education across our city. And the choices we make next will shape the future of thousands of children across our city. It's time to decide together how to protect what we've built for Linda, for her kids, for all of us. So just to remind the public and the board, the guiding principles of budget development is of course that we have to align with the uh strategic plan. Uh empower student achievement of course uh 95 to 96% of our budget is spent at school sites which is appropriate for a public school district. Uh budget with equity and urgency. uh invest in our workforce uh

367both their recruitment uh their retention as and their development and finally and probably most salient at this point sustainability. Uh we are at a point with deficit spending that we have to look over the next two to three years for sustainability as we are spending uh as indicated by the superintendent in his in his introduction. We are just currently spending more than we take in. We are currently spending our savings account which we accumulated with the additional monies coming in uh during co. So this budget does not for fiscal year 26 which is July through of 25 through June of 26. It does not reduce senny uh it does not reduce BAP. It does not reduce arts funding or transitional kindergarten uh supports. It does not for the third year in a row uh lay

368off any employees or what is also called a reduction in force. It does not reduce English learner supports or community school investments or mental health supports uh for fiscal year 26. So even though we're deficit spending and even though you have a fiscal stabilization plan as required by law, we have built in two years, the current year and next year that we knew that we were deficit spending. We would be spending more than we were taking in in revenues so that the board could, as it articulated earlier tonight, thoughtfully plan and consider where it's going to adjust its spending to better align with the revenues that we take in. So next year will be our second planning year as called out in the stabilization plan investment highlights. So uh these were the invest in amended

369investment highlights uh that the board uh got this evening. And so even in a time of fiscal difficulty it doesn't mean that you don't invest in anything. It means that you select the priorities that you want to invest in and you continue to invest more highly in those areas. So for fiscal 26 uh the BAP program uh which is annually funded at 125 million has an additional uh increase next year of a total of of 50 million uh for fiscal year 26 arts and schools we're further augmenting uh next year for 26 million uh in additional investments in arts in our schools that is uh TK through 12 uh seni commitment continues to be maintained uh that includes includes the $400 million of augmentation that we implemented during co with additional funds. So next year

370Senny is maintained at $700 million of investment. Transitional kindergarten we are at full implementation. Now remember the district implemented before the the state required it. So we've actually been at the concept of full implementation for years. This indicates that the state is actually finally funding that implementation. We had taken that on ourselves. Uh so that implementation at the full level means an additional $186 million for our TK program. Student centers, additional $4 million in student centers throughout the district. Protecting investments. This is very specific. This is a one-time uh board commitment of $46 million as a set aside to protect federal program investments. This is based on the skinny budget uh which which I know the board members have all received copies of the federal skinny budget which calls out reductions in some of our

371grant programs specifically some of our adult ed grants some of our uh pre-ol trio some of our gear up grants some of our social emotional well-being grants and so we've aggregated that amount and we've put it aside in the budget because we know that that cut could come during the fiscal year and you can't adjust the budget especially where personnel services are concerned after the fiscal year starts. And so we've set that aside so that the board can continue the program that those grants support through the end of fiscal year 26. Workforce protection program that is so that the district does not have to do any layoffs. So, we have $60 million of positions that school sites have chosen not to necessarily fund next year, but instead of conducting a layoff, we've continued to keep

372those folks assigned to school sites, but we're just paying for them again out of more of our savings. Uh, and then greening. We've already invested a lot in greening, but it is a hot topic. And so, we also have an additional $1 million per year on top of everything the board has already approved for the next three years uh for greening. So those are all investment highlights of what this budget adds to uh the baseline of fiscal year 26. So we've heard a lot uh and the community is accurate in talking about the fiscal concerns of the district. What this chart illustrates is compensation. That's all salary and benefits paid to all of us that are employees of the district, teachers, uh classified staff, uh everybody in the district. All of their salaries and benefits

373are depicted here in the orange and revenues are depicted in blue and you can see that and we have fiscal year 20 here because that's a precoid fiscal year and that is a sustainable year that refle reflects what a school district looks like to be sustainable. So what does that mean? That means that you have to have enough to pay all of your employees and have enough leftover to pay the utility bills, the school buses, anything else that is not an employee expense. So you can see in fiscal 20 we had 83% of our revenues that we were paying out in compensation. The state rule of thumb is that 85% or lower is sustainable because usually that other 15% keeps the lights on, keeps the water flowing, all of those base needs. Uh so all

374compensation was 83% precoid. Now here's an interesting number. Notice how compensation goes down. How is that possible when we hired so many more employees? Because look at what happened to revenues. So what you are seeing in those giant escalations of revenues, those are the federal and state emergency COVID dollars that we got in. So even though we spent more on compensation, it was a smaller percentage of the entire budget. Now we are in a postco environment. So fiscal year 25, which is what you see up there, and it's almost completed. So these are almost finalized actualized numbers. This year we're spending 91%. The reason that number is in red is because if all we had to pay was compensation, then we're still okay, but we don't have enough left over time to keep lights on

375and to keep the the water bill paid or to keep basic services going if we go above that 85%. Next year, indeed, we're at 93%. So, we haven't dramatically added to staff, but every year all of us become a little bit more expensive to maintain. The cost of our benefits go up. the cost of our retirement systems go up, etc. And you can see that just pretty much remaining the same from one year to the next, the the total percentage that is compensation goes up, right? That's with fewer positions because remember centrally we eliminated vacant positions this year to try to mitigate how that was going up, but it's still going up a little bit as far as our revenue percentage. a different way of looking at it. This is what we're referring to as

376the deficit. So, what is a deficit? It's when you spend more than you take in. Very similar to your household budget, right? So, if you have $1,000 a month to spend, as long as you're $1,000 or less, you're at a balanced budget. And hopefully, if you spend less than $1,000, you're putting it in your savings account, right? And that allows you to do what we are doing now, which is to spend more money than we're taking in. So, the last year that we had federal funds to spend and that we still spent less than we took in was last year. And you can see that we put $900 million more in our savings account last year. This year, fiscal year 25, you can see how far our expenses are now exceeding our revenues to the

377tune this year of about $2.2 billion. You can match that up with cash. What does that mean? So when you're in a real deficit, you actually monitor your cash. And indeed, this year we are spending 2 billion, that's a B, more than we are taking in. And that's how you verify that something is a genuine deficit. Now, next year is a planning year, fiscal year 26. Again, there are no reductions. Second year in a row of deficit spending with no reductions. So that deficit's going to remain the same. And so we're spending down an additional $2.2 2 billion of our savings so that we don't have to make any cuts and the board has time to thoughtfully consider what it's going to maintain and what it's going to reduce for sis fiscal sustainability in the

378future. Now earlier you heard some and I was very pleased and I I always appreciate our labor partners calling out uh that we had a huge savings account. We had a huge fund balance at the end of 24 with that addition of $900 million. It was almost up to $7 billion. It was about 6.8 8. And indeed, you heard tonight somebody call out that it is now down to 5.9. That is also correct because this year we spent 2.2 billion in meeting those expenses by using our savings account. We will do the same next year. If you just do straight math, you can quickly find out that you're down uh to just a little bit above two. And most of that is in commitments or restricted funds. And so you see that deficit stabilizing for

37925 and 26. Now 27 and 28 you see it suddenly going down. How is that occurring? Because these projections tonight include that you pass a required fiscal stabilization plan. It is not my requirement. It is the state's requirement if we are deficit spending and not able to meet our financial obligations in the current plus two years. So you see that the that the stabilization plan has the deficit go down to about $1.4 billion. it goes up a little bit in the following year as our revenues continue to decline slightly because we are in a declining enrollment position. Uh and so that means that we will have to stabilize that year as well and out until we hit balance. The current budget current year plus two years out to fiscal year 28 does not achieve a

380balanced budget. It just balances enough so that we can meet our obligations. It does not eliminate the deficit. it's only enough to meet obligations. So what does that look like over time? What have we done so far? So starting with this year, uh I know that the board has heard about our strategic uh budget stabilization that we that we've gone through this year. that included in all central offices. That it means offices and and operations that are not directly at a school site. That any positions that weren't being filled, that were vacant in a timely manner, we eliminated those positions and we took the money back to help us fill in our deficit. Right? We did that all year long. We also tried to better spend restricted money. You always want to spend restricted money

381first because it's the hardest money to spend. It leaves us with our easiest money to spend which is unrestricted general fund and we were able to uh reduce the deficit marginally over the year by the tune of couple hundred million dollars in the existing year and then that allows us to reduce it in the outy years as well. Uh but that does mean that tonight's hearing is going to present to the board as we have messaged in open session that you will be adopting a qualified budget which means that in the current or the two years that we have to look out in one of those years or more you will not be able to meet all of your expenses. Currently it's in fiscal year 28 and the cause of that is because of the

382level of deficit spending that we're doing. Fiscal year 26 next year is our second planning year and it's time for the board and the district to take steps to address its expenses in fiscal year 27. So for two in two years from now because that's the year that we don't have enough money to continue to operate like we are now. So it's an additional planning year for folks to thoughtfully decide and implement what is really going to be reduced to balance the budget. In 27, the actual first implementations have to begin in order to be able to meet all of our expenses. And it will continue again in 28 because the fiscal stabilization plan only addresses the amount that we need to get through that year. It does not address the entire deficit. Is the

383board allowed to do more than just meet the minimum of what it takes to get through the the next year? Yes. But a fiscal stabilization plan only requires that we address that difference. Whoops. There we go. So, what does this next fiscal year look like as far as all of the different budget actions? You've heard tonight that we will be holding uh town halls in in the regions as well as uh participating in cows. We did that this year. Uh the board will recall uh that I also meet with each of you in ones and twos every month uh to make sure that folks have opportunity to ask questions and uh we've met with with the board monthly to provide data all year about a lot of the items being discussed tonight. But for this

384coming year, we will continue that and we are at the the the board's uh disposal as always my team to do analysis and and provide feedback on on what items would save. In September, we will be presenting unodudited actuals for the year that we're just about to to end at the end of June. In December, we will present the first interim. Now, this is important to note. The fiscal stabilization plan is a plan. The budget is a plan. We discussed all this last year. Hey, Chris, the numbers keep changing. How is that? Because every time we make a decision, the numbers change. Every time I can find a savings, I take that savings for the for the board of like a vacant position that we don't need to refill. So the numbers will always change

385and the plan is a plan. The board can change the plan at every interim report throughout a year. And that's not just in the first year, it's each year of the plan. What the county is going to be looking for in its oversight function is are you making progress to sustainability? So you can change the plan in whatever way you want to, but you have to be making progress. So the first opportunity to change that plan will be in December when we do the first interim and we will do our first progress check on any stabilization. And then of course in January of 26 we will start the fiscal year 27 budget with the January's uh governor's budget proposal. In March you'll have the second opportunity to change the plan as we do the second

386interim. And then of course it will be May and June and we will be doing this process over again which is a budget uh for at that point which will be fiscical year 27. So what are the assumptions that underline this budget? It preserves unfunded positions because we've made the decision again for the third year in a row uh to not conduct any reduction in force or layoffs. We maintain the board's reserve in fund 17 of 5% at fiscal year 26. And yes, we'll look at those amendments that we have in just a minute. Right. The June adopted budget will be qualified. Los Angeles County Office of Education as the oversight agency on behalf of the state requires that we have a fiscal stabilization plan that we approve in tandem with the June adopted budget.

387Now, a couple of board members have asked me, well, what if we don't what if we don't approve that? What happens then? Well, it's up to the county. They might say through lack of action, we're actually going to move you to a negative certification. So that's a higher level of oversight. The other thing is that remember that I am going on behalf of the board to sell judgment obligation bonds June 1st through 3rd in the public and our ratings were already put under negative watch. So if we don't pass a plan, that might be at risk and we might also lose the concurrence that is required from the county to sell those bonds. Right? So that sale is also based on making sure that we are operating in a fiscally responsible manner so that everybody

388approves what the board has asked me to do on behalf of the district financially. Okay. The budget also includes funding to protect against federal uncertainties. That's that $46 million set aside. That's our current analysis. We will change that at the interims based on different uh budget actions taken by the federal government. It also includes already the lower cost of living allowance and TK augmentation that was presented in the governor's May revise. Of course, in July, if the budget changes again, we will bring those those items back uh to the board. So, this is another way of looking at next year's budget. Uh it does illustrate some interesting points. So the blue illustrate the revenues that we'll have for all of our main operating funds. Our two biggest operating funds are the uh unrestricted general fund

389and the restricted general fund. And the orange is all of the budgets that have been submitted by our schools and our regional offices and all of our departments and the district office uh aggregated into one. Right? So I actually don't write the develop. I pre the budget. I present it to you. This is what everybody submitted. And remember 93% of this is staff salaries and benefits total compensation. So they don't have they only have the flexibility of the other uh 7%. So you can see that in the unrestricted general fund we are going to have about $5.2 billion in revenues and the spending plan to maintain all programs is at 6.4 billion on the restricted side of the general fund. And restricted means that it's money that we can only spend in a particular way

390because the money is given to us for a specific purpose. Remember that's your title 1, two, three, and four funds. It's your ELOP. Uh so it's anything that's restricted because we have to spend it in an exact way. It's your Prop 28 arts funding. And so we will get $4.2 billion of revenues on the restricted side. And the budgets submitted are for five billion. Adult education will be getting 165 million. They've submitted a budget for 178 million. Child development, that's our early childhood programs. We'll be receiving revenue in 200 in the total of 242 million and budgets submitted for 287 million. Cafeteria fund 514 in revenues and a submitted budget of about 520. And then internal service fiduciary. Why are we including that up here? These are the liabilities. Uh and this is a separate

391fund that we use in the district. This fund does not get revenues except from the general fund and this is to pay for the items that we transact on behalf of the board and the public. What are those things? Certificates of participation and judgment obligation bonds as well as any other outstanding items for liabilities that the board decides to settle on which I then have to make payment on as the agreement that the board approves. That's where this goes through. I just want folks to pay attention. That is a fund that just has increased pretty dramatically because of all the liabilities and activity. So I want to make sure the board is aware of it. Where does the revenue for that internal service fund come from? That is general fund money paying those bills. Please

392note, and this note is on a lot of slides. None of tonight's discussion include things that I'm not allowed to include yet. So for example, there is nothing reflected here as far as any additional negotiated agreements. In California, we can't put a negotiated agreement cost in the budget until it's settled on. This is a stacked bar chart which shows the carry fords. These are the fund balances. Frequently people are calling them reserves. We call them fund balances because this is what is left and accumulated from prior years. This is this money accumulates when we get more money in than we spend and we can add it to our savings account. So, at the end of last year, fiscal year 24, if you add all, excuse me, all of those numbers up, pardon me, uh you

393will see that indeed we had carry forward or fund balances of over $6 billion in the district. You can see for this year that we have spent all of those different little bands down because we were doing that deficit spending. And you can see for next year, we contemplate the same thing. So, you can see all of our different operating funds. They are color-coded. And you can see how quickly we are spending them over time. In fiscal year 27, if we if we continue on the same path, notice that we are still solvent in 27, but our unrestricted general fund only has 15 million left out of a multi-billion dollar annual budget. So that's barely sustainable. 28 is the reason that we are currently qualified. And you see that the shaded section goes under the

394zero line, which means we no longer have enough cash to pay all of our bills. That is the reason that we are adopting a qualified budget because in our third year, so our current year that we're adopting is 26 plus 2, 27, 28. In our third year, we are showing that we cannot pay all of our bills, which is why the board is needing to adopt a qualified budget. So what is a fiscal stabilization plan? It is a required plan that the county on behalf of on behalf of the state in its oversight function requires that a district fills out to say you can't not meet your obligations in your current plus two years. If that happens then you have to give us a plan of how you're going to meet those obligations. Right? So

395that's what the plan does. You'll see that it equals exactly the same amount that we are not able to provide for payments in fiscal year 28. It is oversight designed to make sure that we can actually pay all of our expenses. And when you say, well, which expenses? Well, if 93% of what we're spending is staff, that's payroll, right? People, our employees and our colleagues like to get paid, right? So, we have to have enough cash to make those things happen. We can't pass a bud budget and then not be able to pay our expenses. We have to maintain minimal reserve requirements for LAUSD. We are the only district in the state that the statutory reserve is 1%. The board has a discretionary 5% that they can act to move on, but the statutory requirement

396is 1%. And we have to meet all of those multi-year commitments. So the actions are a blueprint. It's a plan. We still have one more planning year in front of us before we have to take action for fiscal year 27 and 28 to meet all of our obligations. This is a required aspect. It is not optional. Uh if we if we don't have one, then it actually could further hurt our status which would mean more oversight rather than less. So we have to we have to show fiscal responsibility by passing a plan which meets our obligations. So this is the proposed and this is uh the amended version uh which we've gotten in here for everybody to look at. You can see that in fiscal year 26 uh that the savings are zero. Why is

397that? Because again it's a planning year. We have not cut anything for next year. I'm going to start by pointing out at the bottom, right, that we still have fund 17, the board's reserve, and that will uh this changes that a little bit. Uh but it also doesn't include any uh negotiated agreements. So, I'm going to walk through these and the estimated savings. The savings are denoted by fiscal year. The total stabilization plan only accounts for 1.6 billion. If you're thinking, "Wait a second. If our current deficit is 2.2 billion, why does the stabilization plan only call for 1.6?" Because it only calls for the minimum that you cut enough that we meet our obligation for that third year. Right? So keep in mind the true deficit right now is 2.2. The plan only fixes

3981.6 billion of it. Right? So the first line item, fund 17, 10% reduction. That would give us a one-time injection into fiscal year 27 of $50 million uh roughly from the board's uh strategic reserve. Right? It would decrease that that 5% reserve down to about 4.5. Reassess school carryover policies by need for fiscal year 27. So annually we have money that schools have not spent that remains at school sites. uh annually. That's anywhere between 250 to 350 million. Uh and we leave that money, some of it at sites, others comes back. But to solve the deficit and make sure that we can pay folks, uh we're asking uh the board to re-evaluate a carry forward policy. The reason that there's a savings again in 28 is if we change the policy, there would be a

399smaller ongoing savings annually. The next line is targeted funding allocation reductions in FY27. So whichever programs that comes from. So this this one before for 27 and this is where some of the conversation was about SENI. It used to be 200. You see it goes up to 200 still in 28. Now remember the board can change this but that means making savings in other areas because we still have to meet the reduction plan. Reduction of unfunded positions. These are positions that as we've decided not to conduct reductions in force and we keep everybody on staff, we have to pay for them even if they haven't been picked up by their office or their school site. This year's amount is 60 million. That amount is relatively stable. We have about $60 million worth of positions annually.

400That's positions with with people in them that don't get funded. And so that would have that practice would have to stop as well if we can't afford to fund the unfunded. We need help funding the ones that we do fund. Consolidate the district footprint. This is campuses and programs. And evaluate the academic return on investment. This is in reference to our campuses and our our declining enrollment for the last 20 plus years. Uh we are now around 400,000 students down from our high of of of a little bit over 800,000 if you go back to the 90s. And we are still operating the majority of our campuses. It's time to do an analysis of that and see what makes sense as far as creating savings by evaluating the footprint. The planning figure in here of

40130 million. I've been asked what does that contemplate? I have to put a planning figure in. It contemplates 10 campuses of our 900 and however many there are currently open. Uh reassess the effectiveness of earmarked unspent investments though. So these are assignments uh that the board has put aside or investments into academic programs that it wanted to make. The board has asked for an evaluation, a return on investment that would be done uh collaboratively by our instructional and our strategic initiatives departments to tell the board whether those investments are yielding uh the their desired outcomes as well as any assignments that are left uh in the budget. strategic closure of vacant school positions annually in February. Um, and I would like to point out this is strategic sweeping. It's not closure. What does that mean?

402So, typically what we see in positions that the district assigns to school sites and funds is that if a position isn't filled by February, remember that's seven months into the year, that it typically stays vacant. And that's because they can't find a person to take that position. What does this propose? this proposes it doesn't impact any people because those positions are vacant is that for the remaining of that school year we take the money out to pay the deficit expenses for other positions in the district and then those positions reappear again in July and we continue to try to fill them as a system but currently we're just leaving the money sit in those positions when we have deficits to pay the rule of the state is you have to budget for every position whether

403it's full or not but if we in Feb February say, "Well, it hasn't been filled. We indeed have to rebudget it for our budget adoption, but we can take that money and apply it strategically for for deficits that are showing up in the district." The next line brings students closer to their school of residence. This contemplates moving programs that we are busing students long distances for and having those programs open at their local school sites so that we aren't spending a lot of time and money transporting students very large distance uh distances. We're a very large district. Some of those distances are significant. Uh, and that is going to have to be a collaboration, again, a planning figure for instructional services and special education. They're going to have to plan and report back what they're

404actually able to do. Central operations, non-school-based reductions. Uh, that's uh basically central cuts. That continues cuts to central offices and operations. These are nonschool-based operations. And there's currently a planning figure in 27 of 200 million and then a savings again in 28 of 125 million. Uh I've been asked by the board to say, well, what percentage is that? That's that's currently between uh 37 to 39% as an average. I'd just like to chime in on this line for a second because this was one of the lines that was amended late. Uh and there's a reason for that. Um we certainly have been working with the team to expedite um to a certain extent some of the elements that the board via resolution today voted on um a review and revision of all cost centers. And

405by all cost centers, what that means is schools are cost centers, but we are exempting those all cost centers outside of schools, regional offices, central offices, every single division, every single office, every single department, including uh the superintendent's own discretionary budget. Um, but I want to be very clear with the board. Um, I certainly have advocated with staff the fact that I believe I believe that the central office uh in this district and its expenditures are largely attached to personnel. They're not consultant contracts or anything. They're personnel. Vast majority labor represented personnel. I want to repeat that the vast majority of the budget in central office and regions uh is attached to members of labor groups. Correct. They're not district representative. In fact, you could cut all of the district represented personnel, all of the

406senior management. And you don't get to make a little dent uh on fixing this deficit. With that said, as I stated earlier, I believe in leading from the front and we need to set examples. That is why we're declaring a bold stab at central office liabilities, expenditures. And yes, there will be ample review of consulting contracts and you'll be surprised, if not shocked, over how little that does to address the problem we're facing. I do believe fundamentally, professionally speaking, that we do not need the current footprint of out of school expenditures we have. And both things are true. We're still going to do that, but it's not going to fix the problem. But I believe in doing that. And I appreciate the fact that the question was asked. You know, what does $200 million represent?

407Yes, it's close to 40% 40% of what is spent currently in central office. I've tasked the central office leadership with delivering on these reductions. And by the way, these are not cuts across uh the board of equal size and impact by every division because not every division produces work that is directly or indirectly impacting what happens in schools. So these are going to be surgical uh reductions. They're not going to be percent across the board reductions for every single division. The one that will be is my own office. You know, I did do some research. I look back at a decade worth of, for example, superintendent's discretionary budget and those have been in the multi-million dollar level. Uh my own right now isn't, but I'm still going to reduce it by 50%. We will bring

408to the board since you asked for it and I think it's a terrific idea not only an office by office all offices from the first through the 29th floor every single office the budgets but also the comps by function to comparable districts to see where we not only are compared to ourselves but how we compare to the expenditure levels in other districts once adjusted for population size. I think that is important to be done. So, we have absolutely no problem with advancing with this $200 million. The $75 million in the targeted funding allocation reduction if it comes to pass. Again, this is about two years down the road and there's a lot at stake. Federal issues. What will California's own budget be like next year? And how effective will we be in advancing some of

409these aggressive reductions through efficiencies between now and then? It certainly it is our wish not to target these areas at all. But there's a reason as to why that 75 is there at this point. That 75 is there because in essence it reflects the same amount of SNI investment once you account for reduced population. We are a district in declining enrollment. So if I say if I said 10 years ago or five years ago, I'm going to give you $500 million for X number of students, but then you're losing students progressively. The per pupil investment may still be the same. We hope to reduce this to zero. This is nothing but a plan at this point. But this plan as it goes to LEO needs to carry some degree of believability. Otherwise, it will be

410rejected. And LEO knows where the money is. If we were to say, let's cut $800 million from central office, Lake would laugh because they know that there aren't $800 million in central office. It is a plan that will morph and change based on conditions. It is also a plan that follows the discourse that I heard from the board today in terms of equity. Yes, the areas most distanced from schools are the areas that are being targeted for the greatest reduction such as the 40% to central office u administrative uh costs at this point. Thank you. Please continue. Oh, and for context, uh I was also asked where does that fall in with strategic budgeting? This is after strategic budgeting, right? So, this is after the reductions we've already done uh in central office. So, this

411is our fund balances uh with and without the strategic plan uh for 27 and 28. So you can see again and these are all colorcoded so that that the board uh can get an idea of of how those balances sort of shift. So notice in 24 we had committed we had commitments all over the place in the budget. And so one of the first things we did this year is release many of those commitments so the board and the public could see more transparently where those fund balances lay. And so although we had significant uh general fund fund balance, this is now just general fund, not all operating funds. This is restricted and unrestricted general fund. Uh we released those commitments so that we could see more accurately where things lay. So this year we

412had about two billion in unrestricted uncommitted general fund, about 1.4 billion in restricted general fund. And you now see the call out of the board's 5% reserve. That's that sort of I'm going to call it sparkly blue because that's what it looks like to me right here. And then we have the 133. That's the 1% state required reserve that we can't spend but it is part of fund balance. You can see by the end of this year how we have spent each of those categories down right and you can see that next that the year after in 27 so next fiscal year uh without the fiscal stabilization plan there is no light green left. The light green is your unrestricted general fund. It is the fungeable amount of money that the district has. Uh and

413if it goes to zero, we are considered not to be economically viable. And so the fiscal stabilization plan gives us some viability by making reductions so that we still have money in our unrestricted general fund. And then the second round of reductions provides enough relief. But notice in 28, the only thing that's left is the 108 million that we're not allowed to spend, the 1% statutory requirement and the board's 5% reserve. And remember, the deficit's not solved by these reductions. It just gets us through 28. So this is $1.6 6 billion of reduction, but the deficit is still 2.2 currently. So that means that implies that in 29 the board's going to have to continue the exercise uh at this point. Um remember this does not account there's the note again. It does not account

414for future negotiated labor agreements and it yields an estimated ending balance of $6 million in fiscal year 28. What does that mean? Well, in a uh $12 billion annual budget that the only money that we have left that's not being paid out is $6 million. Uh you the percentage is so small I can't even I mean can't even measure it for you. So it makes it really lean for the board. But this is the path forward at least for the current plus two years. Chris, can I just clarify the on that former slide that this does not reflect the updated fiscal stabilization plan with amendment on fund 17? It actually does only because we've moved the amounts around from the different categories, but the math is the same. So, the fiscal stabilization plan has to

415account for the deficit in fiscal year 28. So, the numbers add up to the same, but the category amounts were changed. But like for FI27 where it's five the fund 17 is 534 million that is the same as the old version before. So when one one second because I know my team's behind me and and I'm going to look at the person that does the calculation really quickly and find out. Where is she? You just shake your head. You're fine. You don't want to just shake your head. Okay, come on up. I get that the end balance would be the same, but I'm just curious like for that FY27 with S FY27 with FSP, would that 534 be 54? Got it 80. So, so what you're seeing there is you're correct. So, you're now remember

416the 5% first of all, two things. The 5% goes down a little bit every year because we recalculate calculate it based on 5% of your expenditures. So, as our expenditures go down, the 5% goes down, right? But we have not yet reflected the contribution of $50 million for fiscal year 27. But it doesn't change the ending balance. We will change that for your first interim report. Distribution, correct? Liability is different. Just since we're asking about this, what about the new investments that are suggested for FY26? Are those reflected on this chart? Still reflected. Okay. Now uh of course the salient point of this chart this shows you next to each other with the fiscal stabilization plan and without here we go things that are not included in this. So I'm going to start with a

417positive one. Uh somebody pointed out you didn't include us figuring out new revenues for the district. That's correct. So there are no new revenues on here. I cannot reflect revenues until we actually have the high likelihood of receiving them as communicated by the state or whatever the funding agency. But this does not include any new revenues. Uh it does not include I know I'm repeating myself but future changes in compensation. It does not include any additional loss of federal funds that I have not yet reflected in here. So the only ones we've reflected are the ones that we think are likely for this coming year. It does not reflect any new major pro programmatic investments that are made. It does not reflect any claims that we might settle in any of these years because I

418can't reflect the claim until the board authorizes a settlement. It also does not include except for fiscal year 26 any increases in the cost of providing our benefits because we don't get the new rates until right before budget adoption for the next year. So those things are not included in today's budget. Looking ahead, of course, the final budget for the state comes out in July. We at this point do not expect big shifts. The state is in a bit of a fiscal strain as well. Um, however, any shifts that we do get, of course, we report out to you in August. Contingent upon approval, we will begin the action steps for the FSP uh immediately starting in July and the board will start working on them in August. And we will continue to monitor our

419concerns about the fiscal budget and the impacts that that will have on the school district. Appreciate it. And any questions, uh we'd be happy to answer. President, but when you uh when you say you're going to surgically cut uh positions in um central. So there's different bargaining units in central, right? Are we going to try to be fair to all the different bargaining units? Because when I think of Bodri right now, I think of lots of clerical and I think lots of skilled clerical, which would be um CSEA. I think that they're a large group in in our uh downtown district. So, are we gonna surgically cut making sure that everybody gets Yeah. So, I'm I'm sure I will because the fiscal team will need to monitor that we're cutting appropriately as far as what

420we're yielding from it. But remember, the the fiscal team doesn't necessarily operationalize these things. So, that'll be collaborative uh throughout whoever the executive cabinet assigns it to. And I'm sure that there will be an analysis and the board will know how it's being done. So, so it's actually not me doing it. I will be counting the beans for you to make sure that we're saving enough of them, but but the actual cut pattern is not mine to determine. Thank you. And what I would add, because it's a it's a good and fair question, is that again, nothing no reductions going to FY uh 26. This is a year and a half, two years out. Uh so we have that that amount of time to plan effectively. And you're right. I don't believe in across the

421board reductions. They're strategic. They target first contracted u contracted values meaning whether they're consultants, goods or services. Secondly, vacant positions and then thirdly thirdly u positions that may be occupied. That is the measure of last resort. We have a year and a half to plan before uh any implementation. And again, as as Chris said, nothing in the outlook right now looks positive, but we have to be optimistic. Maybe the state's economy will turn around. Maybe uh federal funding will not be will not be impacted. Maybe we don't have a massive coming together of uh of court judgments against us as a result of AB28 uh coming within the same fiscal year. So these are very volatile moments but I promise you that we will apply justice and fairness uh as we apply necessary reductions but

422not going into next year. Nothing is happening in FY26 which puts us in a very very different position than most districts around us that have already had to take the tough pill going into this coming year. Hi, you just mentioned that you cannot put in any money that has not come in yet, right? Any revenue, but I'm wondering, can you share with us how much we received this past year or the past couple of years if you have that in terms of block grants or any other revenues? Uh so we in the uh the one slide I'm going to go back to it uh because it illustrates it over time the best. Uh board member Grigo uh sorry I'm flipping back. So this is our revenues over time, right? So in the current year, we're

423in fiscal year 25. You can see we took in 10.7 billion. Now, what is not included in this chart? This is all of our main operating funds. The only thing that's not included in here are restricted capital funds because they're not operating funds of the district. So what does that mean? That means like the the bond program, right? But other grants, any blocket one-time monies are included in that. That's all right there. Yep. Unless it's capital only, right? for building. Okay. And do you know I know that's the total amount, but I'm just wondering if you know the amount for for those revenues that were not accounted for the previous year. So like right now we're not accounting for any upcoming revenues next year, but we might get some other money, right? We we account

424for all the revenues that we have a significant likelihood of receiving, which is a way of saying if the state tells us we're getting it, then it's in there. currently if they say we're not getting it then it's not in there right that's how we build the majority of the budget so this is accounting for everything that we know we have a high likelihood of getting right so there's nothing in here that we have been told is going away that we we wouldn't put that in here okay in years past that's how it was yes but the board members right I mean should we land competitive grants of sizable value right uh they will be included correct what an assumption that we're making speaking about grants is you know the biggest grants we get are

425from the federal government $1.2 2 billion worth title 1 2 3 4 IDA nutrition services nutrition services we're making the assumption actually on the positive we're making the assumption that there are no reductions in those federal grants there is a significant chance that there will be reductions based on the narrative that we have heard but so we're straddling the line right on the massive grants we're making an assumption that in fact they're not going to be touched and that will happen if Congress in fact stands hands up to the whim of the administration because they ultimately approved the budget, right? Uh on the other hand, uh we're not necessarily booking the smaller grants. I mean, and by small, I mean, you know, singledigit or even double digit millions of dollars grants that would come in

426competitively because we don't know whether or not we're getting them. But we're making a positive assumption against a reality that could actually be quite negative going to next year. Miss Gomez. Yeah. Just a followup question on on the federal funding piece. Um because I think Mr. Mount you had said uh that we're including the the cuts that we are that we expect are likely. So if you could just help me un So I know that there have been some grants that had have already been cut. That's one. And then you're saying that there's a group that are likely and then what I heard from the superintendent just now is we're anticipating no changes with regard to the large grants. It would just be helpful to fully understand like what is the assumption on the federal

427funding piece. So, uh, just so you know, we've, uh, we've done eight different scenarios that we've planned out. We've done those collaboratively with with OGC and government relations. Uh, the board's going to be hearing more about that. And so, we do what we call likelihood planning. It's probably not a very elegant title, uh, but we look at the likelihood based on the current proposal in front of Congress and the current support levels of the likelihood of something going away or not. and if we think it's going to go away or be reduced, the timing of that. So, it's a fairly complex analysis. So, we the ones that we included in the 46 million either we have seen preliminary notifications of grants going away at some point during the coming fiscal year or it appeared in

428the what was referred to as the skinny budget which was proposed to Congress. Now, there are additional threats. You know, we will we will hear occasionally about more of title two or title three or reductions in title one, but there's a lot to consider in that for fiscal year 26. So, for example, those are all acrruelbased accounting programs that have a different fiscal year from us. So, will it be would it be a total loss even if tomorrow they set an end date? The answer is no. Right? So, we're we're modifying that. We're monitoring it. And when it becomes more likely, if it becomes more likely, we will be coming to the board and saying, "Now, this is going to be more likely. Here's the time frame that it'll happen, and these are the reductions

429that we would see." Uh, but we don't want to put that as a as a negative assumption, assuming that it's going to happen until we actually get more clarity on it. Have we worked those scenarios out? Yes. So, currently, the likelihood of the current fiscal year is 46 million, and we will update that at each interim. Also, the board will have some other uh briefings on the topic. Yeah, I think that that's worth lifting up because it sounds different from our historical practice where I I think, you know, we haven't necessarily accounted for changes unless we knew for sure that they were happening. And obviously this um administration is quite different from previous ones. Um, so I don't think we typically would have included something in a proposed budget as as necessarily happening, but I

430just think it's it's worth raising for public uh conversation about the very real impacts of any revenue reductions from the federal government. And it's specifically because those funding streams are also directed at our highest need students, whether that's IDA or title one or title three. um and that those would would have direct impacts on the services for those students which is why we're all monitoring them closely and we will come to you with any other developments and I understand that the analyses are complex. I think however we can lift as part of you know this ongoing public discussion and it it just may be worth providing some sunshine on that so folks can understand what those assumptions are that we are making. Sure. Can I just ask two federal follow-ups and then I know we

431have comment and then I'm sure all of us have more questions but thank you. That was one of them just the eight scenarios aggregated to get the 46 million. So my first question is given that we might have some unrestricted unrestricted general fund left over why make the commitment when we're kind of committing to fewer commitments um from a flexibility perspective I guess given's point that it's not you know the the federal cuts haven't happened yet. So that's the first process question and the second one is just can you update us and the public on FEMA reimbursements? Sure. And how that I'll take that second one first. I need you to be able to repeat. I didn't quite catch what you wanted me out of the first half of that. So, so we're making a

432commitment of $46 million. Correct. But we've also said we were trying to have fewer commitments so that we have funible and flexibility and we will have some um unrestricted funds available at the end of the year. So why not use those to fill in the gap as opposed to another commitment? Right. So what the commitment it's actually it's actually uh insurance for the board and for the programs affected. Right. So, uh, why would the board need insurance or a place to pay for something? Because currently, if it's not in the budget and funding goes away during the fiscal year, we want a place for the board to be able to pull from. Also, because you can't unwind the program in that time frame, right? So, you're going to need a place to pull from in

433a in a program or a grant that we know is likely to be discontinued or cut, right? Um, and our analysis of that, it's it's a little bit uh uh the 46 is actually a fairly small figure compared to what a lot of folks are are saying, but that's because they're grants that we are already seeing letters come out to states and to agencies that they want the carry forward back or they want the balances back or they want to stop services. What we're saying to the board is you can't functionally stop services after January, February of a year for the next year. So even if even if you said we do want to stop it if it's not funded, we can't. We don't have enough time to wind it down. So we need to

434put the money there so that you have someplace to pay for it from. And so it is it is the only commitment in the the the board book right now. The assignments, remember, are are looser and there's far fewer of those as well. So if one of the scenarios materializes where there's $22 million in cuts or whatever, the board would then vote to put 20, you know, 44 back 24 back in just the general the board doesn't have to vote because the commitment is for a single year, right? And so if we brought it back next year in board adoption at a different amount covering different things, it would change, but this commitment is for a single year for those programs. Yeah. I think it merits being said that the 46 million it this is

435just truth in reporting and transparency the 46 million in in federal investments which we are booking as a a federal program reserve are tied to programs that although not yet approved there's been a lot of conversation Congress and notices have been provided to the nation to the districts. So there is a strong possibility that these reductions will in fact occur. We need to declare that we are earmarking these dollars into sort of replacement funding because there are people currently uh under these programs. There are salaries being paid uh with these funds. So we don't want to be in a position should the funds in fact be removed strong chance of that happening of us having to scramble to cut something else midyear to uh to fund it. Your question on FEMA reimbursements. We have been

436fully FEMA reimbursed for previous liabilities and we hope that that is a box that's sealed, closed, buried. Correct. There is a lot of conversation at the federal level. Well, you've heard the headlines that the the most uh interesting headline was that FEMA will go away after the next hurricane season, which seems interesting. Seems like FEMA is an account, federal account only for East Coast uh you know, states. Uh earthquakes and fires don't don't seem to register. Uh but that that does bring about some degree of concern as we have literally hundreds of millions of dollars in a queue specific to uh you know fire mitigation and the replacement of those schools. So we are processing as quickly as possible uh to ensure that we are first in line. So um regarding the unfunded positions, so

437my understanding is that those are positions at a school site and they are predominantly classified positions, right? That are the larger percentages. Yeah. But but there's both. Yeah. Uhuh. But those are positions that the school site perhaps did not have the funding to purchase, but then the maybe that position was there last year. Let's let me give you an example. A community rep, a community rep was funded the year before last year and um then the new budget came in and they didn't have the money, enough funding to support this community rep. So they couldn't purchase the community rep, but the person was there. So then the district centrally funded that position, right? The next year comes and that school gets even more reductions. So again, they're in the same place where they cannot fund

438the community rep. That is an unfunded position. That that is one scenario, right? And there's and there's factors as you know, board member Grego, all happening at once. So the school might have fewer students, which means they get less money. The cost of each of our employees doesn't doesn't matter what. All of us go up in cost every year uh because cost of providing insurance and benefits and all those things they don't ever go down they go up and so the positions become more expensive. Our enrollment at sites is declining so fewer students and so your buying power as a principal does change yeartoyear based on those factors. Now, on top of that, there's so but there's also other things. You might get uh and we see this a lot. You get a new principal

439in so a change of administration and that principal has a different staffing pattern that they want than the prior principal. So, maybe they wait a year or maybe they do it their first year and they hire different folks because we leave all of those choices up to our school sites. But that means the folks that that they change in their pattern, we try to find other homes for in the same classification. But if there aren't enough enough of them, then that is also a way that we create unfunded positions. Uh same things happen to a smaller extent in district offices. Same things, right? Because our budgets don't go up annually either. And so it pays for less and less over time. Uh and so both of those things happen. It really depends. And I can

440show you 10 schools and the patterns and how they're choosing to spend money and it will be 10 completely different stories. And remember, we have 900 and however many. So there's no just blanket this is the way it's happening everywhere. That just doesn't happen because we have so much local control. So every school's budget actually tells a very different story. And one of those things for those of you that are interested in money-telling stories is remember the transparency tool goes live July 1. And you can look at all of your schools, how they spent money yeartoear, what positions were funded, and it's broken into two parts. the discretionary, so that's entirely up to the school, and the non-discretionary, which is what we give annually. And so you can look at them both side by side.

441You can compare, you can contrast, but you can actually see that story in that transparency tool. I think one thing that I do want to add and distinguish is that there are unfunded positions that come as a result of school budgets being determined as part of budget development. And then we have another universe of positions that over the last three years we built up with ESSER and when you look and that those were centrally funded and assigned and provided. So that's federal COVID funds for those of you. And so those are positions that we've continued to fund this coming year that don't really have a dedicated fund source nor have schools opted to actually support those positions. And so we need a strategy to help land resources for those positions, right? And and find either

442identify budgets or convince schools that, you know, those are priority positions. Um, but those are very much driven by the initial investments that we made with the ESER COVID funds. Okay. Thank you. And then I just have a question. I'm sorry. Just one more question about um I was looking at the board book and I looked at the where is it? I have it here on page 251 and I was looking at the OPED liabilities and then the contributions and then the cost of OPED benefit. and I see the contributions going up every year, but the the cost is actually a lot less, right? And I'm wondering a couple of things. One, has that been the trend of of making that uh contribution so high and so vastly far apart from the cost? Has that

443been the trend before 2025? Uh no. So uh when you started saying a page number I was like oh gosh which topic I know in OPED inside and out. So just high level for everybody because we're we're talking in code here a little bit which means you've been here long enough you're talking the code right so uh other postemployment benefits. So these are benefits that we're providing for retirees after they separate from the district for themselves and their dependent. And that's mostly health care benefits, right? And so that's what it's called. Currently, the district does what we call pay as you go. So the general fund every year picks up the full cost for paying for those retirey benefits. It's about I'm going to give you a round number about $300 million. The board set

444up a trust with Calpers, which a lot of districts do, to also set aside money so that instead of continuing to pay more and more out of the general fund every year, which we're supposed to spend on this year's students, we can set up a trust, earn interest, and eventually the idea was of the trust, have enough money in there that the interest that it yields every year pays for those retirey benefits. So that's called the OPED trust. It was set up, I'm just gonna say a long time ago because it was long before I got here with the idea that the board would put enough money in there that it would pay it at some point instead of paying it out of our general fund budget. So the amount that you see as the

445contribution, right, is not just what we're doing as pay as you go. There's an actuarial study that comes out every year for the board that says this is how much you have to put in the trust to reach your goal of having the trust pay for your benefits instead of the current year general fund. That's called the ark. So you'll hear something called the ark. That's the annual required contribution for having enough in that oped trust. Currently what we do is we do a small payroll assessment for every employee that can earn that benefit to put into the trust. That's currently about $40 million a year. And then the rest of it we budget centrally to pay whatever the rest of the ark is to get us to enough money to pay for that expense.

446We have never made the ark. So in the entire history of the OPED trust, even though we budget for it and the board wants us to eventually fully fund that trust to pay for that expense, the reality is is it's the first thing that goes when we need more money. So we came close in one fiscal year. I think it was two years ago uh in meeting a larger contribution, a little over 200 million, and that's the highest we've ever gone. So in the history of the district, even though the intent of the board and it's a great intent is to fund that liability, we've never been able to do it. So we always budget for it and it's always the first thing to go. But by budgeting in that line, y doesn't that take

447it away from other lines? Well, like we end up redistributing it. So uh on paper it does, but then we end up using it. But then that does contribute though to to us increasingly building this deficit when we're doing that. So So yes, and and here's the way to stop that because it's a little maddening for fiscal people to have what we call competing intents. So if we establish the trust and we're told to fund it, then we'll fund it. So if the board wants to say, you know what, we don't want to fund the trust that we told you to fund anymore, then the b then the board has to actually say that and and make it so. Right. So was it always that amount though? 662 million or 600 I can't even see.

448Is it 62 million? So the amount was the current amount in the trust to pay for retirey. I'm going to say it's 800 million, but I need to check behind me. I got the contribution. I'm saying the contribution budgeted contribution. contribution for the current year was 40 million and for next year the total of the ark is I want to say it's 289 5B says 662 million. So we've sent the report out to the board but I I don't want to get it wrong. So I I I know it's okay it the arc is higher than what we pay because the idea is you put more in you earn interest and then eventually that interest pays for the expense. But we've never been able to do that. So Carla, let me just interject because I

449know Mr. Melvinne has questions and Miss Gomez has questions, but we also have 45 people sitting in the audience who are waiting to ask questions, too. And I just want to be fair to everybody. Yep. Is that okay? People in the audience. Okay. Yes. Okay. So, let's do that. Mr. McClean, I guess we'll have to meet oneonone again because I'm still confused by that. Always happy to meet oneonone. And And we did send you the actuarial report as well. Oh, you did? Yep. Okay. I'll get Thank you. Okay. Uh let's see. Maria Louisa Palma. So now we're doing the public comment portion. This is the public public hearing portion of the budget and elicant presentation. Um we'll take all the public comment folks that are here and then the board can re-engage in discussion after

450that. Correct. So Maria Luis Aalma, come on down. I see you're coming down. Adriana Alvarado and Raphael Dominguez. I'm just reading three names in a row so that you can be ready when your time comes. Welcome, Miss Palmer. Two minutes is yours. Good evening. My name is Marua Palma. I'm speaking on behalf of Olada Inc. Let me tell you the size of the book that I could write with the information that this district does not tell the parents. You don't tell the parents their rights on how to or how to exercise them under the law. You don't tell the parents how much money were spent at their schools or in the district. That's clear and understandable to them. You don't tell the parents how the bond program works and who pays for the bonds. You

451don't tell the parents that the LCAP and the budget are way already cooked by the time we get to today to the public hearing. You don't tell them about the financial documents and how those all work or why you didn't respond, Mr. Carvalo, to last year's formal motions of the parent advisory committee. the the parents do not get told that the only reason by law that all of these committees exist is actually for parents to have the opportunity to criticize this district's decisions and the results. But what you do tell the parents is that uh you give them a data dump of information to the committees as you saw this morning. And by the way, the committee's documents are still here. No one's picked them up. you I've shown a number of you the big

452giant sheets that we got from at the parent advisory committee with LCAP information. No one has been able to decipher for me what that information is. So look at the comments from the committees on the LCAP. And let's look at what those comments don't say. There is no data in those comments. There's no dollar amounts in those comments and no criticism about what you did or didn't do. Why? Because the parents don't know what you did or didn't do. They don't know what was effective or ineffective. Therefore, will those comments have any impact on the LCAP and we see year after year that the responses from the superintendent usually come back with statements like we already do that. How many of those comments on the LCAP are going to come back saying that? I I

453really want to see those. I know that this committee this uh the parent advisory committee asked when those comments the responses were coming out but please pay attention to the information that the parent committees get. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Adriana Alvarado. Adriana, come on up. You have two minutes to speak. Why don't you begin? My number is good afternoon. My name is Adriana Alvarado and I have been a parent volunteer for the district schools for more than 25 years in the area in the east. First I was a volunteer for my children and I continue to be a volunteer for my granddaughters because I also have a daughter who is a teacher at Elizabeth the Learning Center. I come from Kareahi and one of the reasons I am here is because I

454come to advocate for students so that they are able to have more opportunities and empathy in their future. I think that the dual dual language helps the students quite a bit. In the case of my granddaughters, they're learning not only English and Spanish, but also learning Arabic now. And I would like for the dual language program needs more support and resources so that the program can continue forward and does not stop and for parents to have workshops so that they get to know the program and support it. Two to learn two or more languages and different cultures help students and parents to have more compassion for others. This is necessary specifically especially in these times that many students are in danger in our country due to their identity. The second reason is to talk about

455the community rep position. This position is very important because it's the connection between parents and school through workshops and events. It also helps parents to get to know their rights and how to advocate for their children in the school. I worked for Park Avenue for five years as a community rep and I was paid only three but I worked six because the work of a community rep you cannot completed in 3 hours. You need more time. So the work is a lot and you don't pay well. I would like for the district to take charge of that committee and for the district to pay not the school because the school sometimes pays very few hours. As a mother, I did my work and I hope that you more than I do the work as well

456for the children. And these are my certificates for 25 years of work that I have completed. Certificates and diplomas. Everything I have it here. 25 years. I did my job and the members of the board of education do as well. Do it as well. Okay. Okay. Raphael Dominguez, are you here? Raphael Dominguez, come on up, sir. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. We're do. Um, and when you have people that believe in you, anything is possible. I have two people here that believed in me. Miss Mary Helen Torres, I believe she's in the back. Also, Mr. Enrique Perez over at Central Wally Central. Um, when this position was created, they were the first ones to reach out to me and said, "This job's for you. You were meant to do this." Um,

457I've been blessed to have the opportunity to work with amazing opp uh amazing administration that believe in what I do. I was able to create two different clubs. One of them is the breakfast club over at that started at Roosevelt High School. Um that program alone went from two students to 56. Not only we impacted the Boheis community, I mean the Roosevelt community, the Boa Heights community, we made it into a nonprofit in the last three years. We have blessed uh over 26 of our students over $30,000 in scholarships. Um I transferred over to Jefferson just two years ago. I brought in the Breakfast Club, too. This year I also started another club called Forging the Future for a young black man to help him transition from the young adulthood to to manhad that's also

458been super successful. We also got picked up um by PBS. We have our own documentary that's going to be coming out pretty soon. So I hope you guys um can look out for that. But again, I stand here because someone believed in me. Uh, not too long I had my um my banquet with my kids and I had parents and students to tell me, "You saved my life. If you weren't here, I I don't know if I would be here." So, I tell you, and I stand here not only to represent myself, but everyone that's actually doing this job before you make that decision to make those budget because I encourage you to come out to my school. I'll give you a tour and I'll ask my kids, what is it that we do? And

459once you hear from them, you see the impact that we're doing. And when again when someone believes in you anything is possible. So I stand here because people believed in me and uh so yeah. So thank you. Appreciate you guys. Thank you for your time. Okay. Selena Agira, are you here? Selena Agira, come on up. Selena A. Maria Daisy Ortiz. I think I saw you out there. Maria Daisy Ortiz, are you here? Come on up. You have two minutes to speak. Once you begin, Miss Ortiz is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English, please put on the headsets for translation if you have them or put your hand up if you need one and do not have one. Maria deto. Good afternoon everyone. My name is

460Maria Daisy Ortiz and really truly this is the result of the misuse and abuse that you have carried out with the budget because when you have money you create all these positions that you don't even monitor and I have so much time here in this district doing budgets I have found principles administrators having positions those positions and you don't notice that. I see you now here concerned who will you cut but I don't see you concerned about the results that our students are having because our students are not having the results that are needed so that they are competitive because you have positions that you don't even monitor. you have programs that someone wants them to bring them here because they have an economical interest in them, but there's no evaluation. And another thing that

461doesn't exist is parent inclusion. This information does not get to the schools, but of course they're saying that you are informing. I don't know how many people you have consulted with. It's just inflation just like you are. You are liars because if it was up to me, I would fire all of you because you're incompetent and here is a result that you have it in deficit. All that money that you have misused miss is taxes that we have paid in which you don't like to answer when you are asked why our children are not having uh proficiency in academic. Mr. superintendent has as a goal academic exc excellence academic excellence graduating students 86% but the majority of them more than 50 of them are with a D you call that academic excellence or you're cynical

462or that you are truly are way more corrupt of our corrupt in our government thank you have a nice afternoon Kyla Bailey are you here Kyla B Daniel Sierra And normally we we would have Daniel here to to give his time, but since we didn't have a speaker show up, I believe there would be space for this young man either way. passionate advocate for our black students who have been long been subjected to inequity in our educational system. We cannot continue the systematic challenges that have been that have hindered the potential of our black students in LSUSD. It is a time for change. I urge you, Carvalo, to recognize the transformative potential of the black student achievement plan and take immediate action to strengthen it. BAP is having positive effects on black student achievement in

463LSUSD. Yet, we must acknowledge that these gains, while important, are not enough to fully close the gaps in school experience and achievements that have existed for far too long. This is not a matter of if we can make the change. It is a matter of when will you f finally step up and support our students with the resources they need to succeed at the highest level. We know that our black students face unique barriers. They face systematic racism in schools, a lack of representation, and a limited access to high quality academic support. We need an increase in funding 100 million. Oops, skipped a part. This is why I am here today to ask for more than just protection for BAP. We need an increase in funding, 100 million, to ensure that black students are not

464just given a seat at the table, but the tools to excel, to lead, and to make a lasting impact in our communities. But funding alone will not be enough. It is time for real accountability. Carvalo, I ask that you apologize to black students for the decades of discriminatory policies that denied them as an equal education. Our students have been denied the opportunity to succeed at the same levels as their peers. Their apologies is the first step in heading the wounds that have been inflicted on generations of black youth in this district. This must this moment cannot be filled with empty wounds. It must be paired with a longtime commitment to undo the harm caused by these policies. Thank you very much. It must be backed by actions. actions that reflect the true intent, dismantle the

465barriers to black student success, and create educational environment that is equitable, exclusive, and empowerance for all. Thank you. Thank you for your time. I am Keshan Hamler, a graduate of Hamilton High, and this is my last time speaking here for students deserve. Thank you. Thank you, Keshan. [Applause] Okay. Ital Himenez, are you here? here. Itel Himenez, Anel Rodriguez, uh, John Paul Arcenga, Amamir Casemir, Amir Casemir, Jerry Yang, are you here? Jerry Yang, Diana Guen, I'm almost certain I saw you, Miss Guien. Come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Miss Guen is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English as she's speaking in Spanish, please use the translation headsets that you already have or put your hands up if you do not

466yet have one. It's your time to shine, Miss Ken. Once again, I am here to speak with you guys in regards to ELCAP. This is a very important document where well as you checked before and you've said that there will be a lot of cuts. Honestly like the previous person mentioned parents the only thing we're asking for is for our students to do better and with all the funds that you had with uh all the funds from COVID you couldn't you couldn't better our students education. you did a bad job and our children are failing. They are gra the majority are graduating with a D and you are still here and I want to ask you all if there are negotiations from the teachers union where they still want to ask you 22% of pay

467increase. Are you going to give it to them? That's something that we want to know. And also SEIU wants a raise and they don't care if our children fail. They don't care to give a better benefit for our children. They don't care to for our children to have a better education. They're even thinking and and even if if they have a D, they're going to give them a C so it can look nice. But honestly, our children are not passing the test scores. They're not passing I ready. They don't want to give the information. UTLA is the one who doesn't want parents to know how the students are doing academically. This is why they're protesting against the superintendent to tell them to tell him to remove I ready because it takes a lot of time

468of instruction when they don't even give instruction. They don't fix their classrooms. Children are receiving class uh are receiving lessons that don't work and you're monitoring us. We want parents to be part of that monitoring sessions. But you need to train parents. You need to give the parents the sessions and the training because you don't have the capacity to do it. I am monitoring this. I brought the documents that they've left. They you guys forgot about them in regards to tutoring where you spend $400,000. Uh where is that academic progress for the students with the $400,000? We have not seen it. Thank you. Emanuel Noalozi, Emanuel N, are you here? Emanuel, Anthony Ayala, come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak. Once you begin, Anthony Ayala, good afternoon once again, LA USD board. Um,

469just as a refresher, my name is Anthony Ayala. I'm the California statewide organizer for Southern California at GSA Network. Um, and I'll be speaking on the budget. So, just in light of the issues that board members Grigo and Reva so ugly outlined earlier, um, funding should be allocated to expand access to inclusive curriculum in this district from history and social studies to age tailored sexual health curriculum. This this district has remained largely in compliant with the Fair Education Act of 2011 and California Healthy Youth Act 2016, furthering the knowledge gap that exists for LGBTQ students trying to come to terms with with themselves and their identities as well as their cisgender and heterosexual peers who equally benefit from this education to destigmatize, humanize, and better understand their LGBTQ peers. I urge this board to allocate

470funding to the distribution of fair and chia aligned instructional materials so that teachers can directly receive materials that are needed to teach this education and call for the expansion of professional development in prison trainings throughout grade grades K through 12 so that all teachers feel better equipped to teach this sorry to teach this material and support our students in a culturally competent way. Secondly, I urge this board to allocate funding to convert some existing facilities into gender neutral restrooms and changing rooms or stalls. Despite any reassurance that every school in this district has at least one gender neutral facility on their campus, LGBTQ students frequently report that these restrooms and changing rooms are inaccessible. Individual school administrations often lock these restrooms or designate them within staff spaces, requiring our LGBTQ students to have to further

471out themselves and advocate just to get a key to unlock the restroom or gain permission um from school personnel to access a restroom within staff space. The conversion of existing single gender restrooms into gender neutral ones can include ordering additional signage and converting one or two existing restrooms per campus to unisex or gender neutral restrooms for easier student access. Um, lastly, I urge the board to dedicate funding to GSA clubs on campus. They're unique and that they're often created out of student need and stand as the only recognition of LGBTQ student presence on many school campuses. Um, so it's really important and thank you for all you do in the district. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Mai Draper. Mai Draper, are you here? Alejandra Huarez. Alejandro Huarez. Samuel Pake Heints, are you here?

472Let's see. Jayla Nunley. Jayla, are you here? Ashley Les. Ashley Lades. Serena Elkins, are you here? Charlotte Kman, Charlotteman, are you here? Charlotte C. Ryan Chu, Ryan Chu, are you here? And Ma Tjo, I think you're still here, sir. Ma Tjo, come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Awesome. Cool. Good evening. Good afternoon or good afternoon. Uh my name is Ma. Uh I have the privilege of working with young people across LA USD um with students deserve in the police for coalition. Um I'm mainly here um having worked uh this last year with students in board district 1, board district 2, um board district 5 and seven, I've seen the ability of students to be able to advocate and make policy changes um through just supporting them through supporting them

473through their ideas through their thoughts through their planning. um students in um board district 5 actually planned an entire assembly in their school to teach people about their rights. Um in times when the ICE rates first started to happen in their schools, they took it upon themselves to do that. Um in board district 7, I've seen students not only advocate for mental health services enough to move a UTLA contract in a district to ensure that more uh school um services are are put in to support students. um and so many so many other opportunities. I'm really here to continue to demand and make sure that as you all make budget allocations, the investments in care and students are a priority. How you all continue to invest $84 million in school police is absurd. um how

474you all choose that safety in the time of ICE raids and sheriff departments and LAPD departments um working together to deport and detain people it is absorbed to choose LA school police to keep us safe right outside this building there's about 6 to8 officers just sitting around why is our money going towards that type of spending when we could be spending on a child we could be spending to ensure that our facilities at schools are adequate that our curriculums reflect the needs of our students students who in different classes have been asking teachers, hey, is there ice rate around the school when they don't have access to their phones? As a safety schools task force member, I'm also appalled that the recommendations to bring back metal detectors were recommended, that the recommendations to put school

475police back on campus um through the use of crime data was recommended. when we know that crime data in black and brown communities particularly in South Central and the east side uh east side are rooted in anti-black practices. So when you all make these investments in the school school board budget I implore you to choose students first. Choose black undocumented native and and LGBTQ students first. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Uh Brook, are you here? Brook, are you here? Francisco Adato, you were here earlier. Francisco A, are you still here? Lel White, are you here? Lel White. Tanya Taylor, you here? I think you were here earlier. Do not see her now. Indira Partida, Indira Partida, are you here? Let's see. Juan Jose Mandi, I see you're back there. Please come on down.

476You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Mr. Juan Mandi. Good afternoon. I think it's beautiful how we're talking about money. This is beautiful just just hearing like gods in the Olympics all the this multitude of people, right? That you see things like this and you know if it goes whatever I know of a literature that talks about of legends, a book that has to do with how the the economic political interests are affecting what supposedly they're supposed to be supporting. And in this case, we're talking about improvements in education, graduating kids with XYZ. And we are doing this too with LGBTQ putting XYZ and I don't know what else first. That's what's in called inclusion. So if we're thinking that way, knowing this is important, thinking of children, especially in marginalized areas as

477Hispanics, because the fight against illegal immigration is against Hispanic people. This is a this is about racism. And still when African-Americans asked help from Latinos with George Floyd, the Latinos supported. So now I want to ask, how many African-Americans are supporting the immigrants to stay here and to have reforms so that we can be incorporated? we're owed because meanwhile we're here with them and a lot of the leadership from the African-American groups aren't with us. So here love is separated and the marches we've had more solidarity from white people than African-American African-Americans knowing we're the most uh the group of people that are most behind. So, we need to recognize that African-Americans and Latinos must have something and the leaders that divide us learned that we need to collaborate together. Have a good afternoon. Uh,

478Christian Flag, you listed as Carin, but I see you're here. Are you going to give comment? Come on up, sir. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. All right. Uh good evening folks. Christian Flag with Community Coalition. Um I work directly with you know close to 100 young people in South Central LA alumni of South South Central LA schools and I want to lift up a few things. Um, one with the projections, the the LCFF funds seem to be stable and flat, $6.5 million billion dollars over the next three years. One of the few funds that's going to maintain with that the supplemental and concentration dollars, right? state mandated to serve the foster youth, English learners, low-income, all schools where uh the highest need students are right. We I am a part of

479the equity alliance that built out the equity tool that went deeper, did deep community engagement to even further refine the best ways to target those dollars, right? And from my calculations, at $700 million, that's only half of the dollars that are really designed to target those student populations. So, even though we're we're seeing a reduction in the cut that we're proposing, ultimately, we're saying there should be no cut and we should still be seeing all of the Cine uh excuse me, all of the SNC dollars allocated through Cinei. um the the proposed fiscal stabilization plan. Again, we have a tool, a actual thing that exists that has been used. We want to see Cinei called out in one of these things, right? In all of these things. So, that the board resolution that uh board

480member Gomez put forth is getting there, but the actual thing. And just lastly, the carryover dollars. We shouldn't see any carryover sweeping until we see the implementation supports. BAP understy under spent because they haven't been supported in actually utilizing these transformative and innovative programs. So whatever the process and planning, let's see those supports put in place before we can call out what this number is going to look like of 360 million. We need the carryover to go where it was designed to go. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Eloa Galindo, are you here? Eloa Galindo. Not here. Melissa Palasios up. And after Miss Palasios is Mr. Tokovski. Hi respected board members. My name is Melissa Palasios. I serve as the community schools manager at Promesa Heights, a program of Projectto Pastoral deores mission and

481I'm here uh with the equity alliance for LA schools to uplift the need to protect high uh need schools, semi black students, brown students, queer students, trans students, and immigrant students. In a time when budget cuts are affecting our schools in the community and which create uncertainty and worry about the success of the students futures, protecting SEI means helping students succeed inside and outside of the schools. Um, I appreciate the lowerment of the Seni cuts from 200 million to 75. Um, and I have a lot of things written, but I think that there's nothing that I can write that will convey the essence and the urgency of this budget decisions other than to look you in the eyes and speak from the heart. um our communities, our black communities, our undocumented communities are in a

482big crisis right now. And while I appreciate the resiliency that we continue to show crisis after crisis, um it does feel like things out of out of our control. And right now, your decisions to, as we learned today, onetime funding are not meant to last forever. your decisions to commit to support the students and our communities full-time and in a long sustainable way are a way that you can show us that there is control and that there are institutions that actually do stand with us and support us. You just heard multiple messages today. And while there's um in instances of division and trying to jeopardize and put our communities against each other, um as someone that comes from a predominantly immigrant community where we are scared and where we don't feel like there is any

483sense of hope and control, you have the power and you have the control of committing and stating your unwavering support to these communities. And that has to be beyond uh statements which we appreciate. It has to come with funding. Not a one-time funding that will it's not meant to last and that will go away, but a sustained plan that looks beyond what is given and what exists and that looks on what could be provided and what could be committed further. So, I hope that you stand in the on the right side of history and that you know that we are seeing and we will remember who stood with us and who didn't. So, I hope that you stand with us. Thank you. Thank you for your time. David Tokovski, there you are. Come on up.

484You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you as a former board member and concerned citizen. Layoff notices will be 187 days from today. Let's be very clear. Board members who received layoff notices know that March 15th comes in February. You learn early. I happen to learn that when I got a pink slip. Uh, it was the same day that Richmond Unified School District was going bankrupt. It was the same day that AB1200 was created. So, I got a ping slip from the governor having effect on the superintendent, but I also saw a school district go under. So, please read AB1200. Don't just take it as the FSP or the BFD. You still have 47 trillion of land. It is a lot of money. It is

485never mentioned as part of your assets. Elon Musk has total net worth of all his companies of only 1.7 trillion. Behave thoughtfully and positively. The state was the fifth largest economy when Superintendent Carvalo started. It's now the fourth largest. That means the revenue in the state has grown. The enrollment may be down, but when the revenue grows, I think you can do numerators and denominators and know that in fact you're getting more money per kid. you should invest in your inspector general's office. This is an office that I helped design and that office has a return on investment. It has very little money from you as the board and general fund and therefore it can't look for uh places in the district that more money could come into you. Learn the personnel commission. If all

486of you board members have met the three commissioners and the director, then you'll learn that all classified in California is a different way of doing things and you can learn from them. And so, finally, start to look for revenue. Don't just spend a billion dollars again on the Bank of Can Canada. I mean, when you imagine when this when the when the president finds out you're investing in Canada. Thank you for your time. Let's see. The remainder of the folks signed up to give comment for the public hearing are remote. So, I'll read their names as listed and we will go through that list. Kayla Lawrence, I see you're on the line with us. Kayla Lawrence, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Kayla Lawrence.

487Kayla, I see you're online with us. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Hi, my name is Kayla Lawrence and I'm a member of partnerships policy and advisory equity chant board and a recent graduate now alumni from Jordan High School. Throughout my four years of high school, I've experienced the funable joy of Sennai but also the felt bulk. I saw my unique school yearned for more and cut by force. I myself lack normal A throughG subjects due to previous cuts of teachers and struggled with college support as a senior because of the unfair ratio of counselors to students. Budget cuts brought many of my peers families together stepping into help and participate by filling in for missing staff. Everyone worked together to make the best

488of what we had. I am now seeing the same community dealing with the housing insecurities, rising inflation costs, high employment and ice rates. You shouldn't have to carry the largest share of budget challenges as in addition while dealing with undergoing threats. Senny should stay fully funded. Senny should stay in school so principles can invest in what their students and communities will need. Any changes to it should only be made after truly listening to the voices of those most affected, students, families, and educators. As someone who lived through the impact of underfunded schools, I know firsthand how important these resources are. I believe we cannot afford to take any step backwards with our funds to study. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your time. Shante Hines. Shante Hines, you're signed up to speak remotely,

489but I do not have you signed in online. Are you in the room, Shante Hines? No. Norma Gonzalez. Norma Gonzalez, you're signed up to speak remotely, but I do not have you signed in online. Are you with us, Norma Gonzalez? No. Marcella Garcia, I see you are online. Marcela Garcia, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Marcela Garcia and Miss Garcia is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English, uh, use the translation headsets or put your hands up in case you need one. Good afternoon. My name is Marcela Garcia. I am against the lack of respect from the district to the parents because you're going to approve LCAP knowing that this information does not arrive at

490schools and much less to the parents. We know and understand that LCAP has that not even you understand it because it's more than 400 pages. This LUSD plan unfortunately will be approved just for the funds that maintain your positions. Even though our children are falling behind academically, we you we ask that you make proactive change and listen to us with parent communication and stop repressing us. since I repeat us parents we do not have the type of information that is essential. So stop failing our kids and us as well. Also, I want to say that when we have our kids in the hospital, we're told that the first five, the first five years, and I say too, the first five years, first, second, third, fourth, fifth year. Why do you use why do you have

491combined classes? Have you thought about doing something about the combined class? Because it's our kids that are behind the first five years of their education and their academic success that they should be having not in a combined class because you only to try to fill a space or a class if you so a combined class gives way to a limitations with middle school and high school for the child. because you don't want to pay teachers when there is a class for fewer children than you can deem let's say 25 20 kids and you don't want to pay for a teacher why to speak once you begin science who has joined us instead of Isabelle Gonzalez Good afternoon. My name is Jubia Science. I'm a member of PAC and I've heard in the presentation that there's

492a deficit spoken in a in a student population and cuts that were spoken about but not talking about the real problem of why the students are leaving LUSD. parents, we are the parents of the students. Obviously, I'm going to take my child from the district. If in the school I'm not treated with dignity and respect, if every time I'm going to the school with a complaint, I am being given every barrier possible to not provide a resolution or a solution to problematic behavior. So, it's been a failure. This safe passage program, it's been so many years already that they've tried this experiment. All you're doing is risking our children's lives. If we're being given all the barriers possible to not be provided the students that have IEPs services, but they're still graduating with B's or

493less and not good study habits for their preparation for universities and beyond our and especially now that our communities are being attacked in the immigrant community and we're having to being forced to go to our countries of origin and these I have seen organizations that say representing students. I haven't seen UTLA doing this great big march the way they did three years ago to ask for their raises. Are you sure you want to approve LCUP in the way that it is currently if it doesn't provide the programs that truly have an academic impact onto the students? Thank You for your time. Erinda Morita, I see you're online with us. Erinda Marita, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Erinda Morita. Good afternoon. My name is

494Arinda Morita. We want transparency in LCAP today. We need more funds for the school police. We need immediately safe schools to avoid drugs, weapons, bullying, and all these other threats that affect academic studies. We need a safe environment that benefits the students and there and with the academic things we need teachers that are preparing our students for their future in colleges and work and universities and not miss out due to good academic preparation. We need transparency. We need parent involvement to be educated not just with words but to practice what you're preaching. Please do and listen to our voices and respect our and our students rights. Thank you. Okay, we have do we have Chitlali or Sidli? Are you in the room? You're signed up to speak remotely, but I don't have you signed in.

495Okay. And our last signed in speaker is concerned parent. Concerned parent, I see you're with us. Please press star six to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. concerned parent. Good evening board members. Um I want to just briefly deviate to um address two things. One, the Brown Act states that um board members have a limited times limited times on how many times they can uh be present at board meetings virtually. And number two is that we briefly keep having um not keep having quorum because more than three more than three members are not present in the boardroom. Now what is the outcap? It's a three-year plan that outlines the the goals, actions, and expenditures to improve student outcomes. While the graduation rate is 87% at LUSD, I ready scores

496and state assessments show that more than half of the district assess students are performing at one or at one or more grade levels behind. Today, we've had discussions about increasing funding budget discussions, but as usual, there is very little data that shows true student achievement and outcomes. board members, parents need to know where our students are, where do we want to go, and most importantly, what do we want to achieve, who is responsible for tracking progress, and where is the accountability? Now, I want to move to parent involvement and family engagement. a requirement of the ALCAP per EP code. Outcomes are best achieved when families and schools work together collaborative collaboratively and an ongoing partnership that is focused on supporting improved learning and development outcomes. However, today's report did not include student outcomes and the

497reports from parent committees today and throughout the school year show that this board is potentially anti-parent and that parent involvement is not wanted or valued at this district. Board members, is this the culture you want to continue to foster in this district? Do these actions align with your strategic plan? And most importantly, does it comply with Ed Code? And lastly, despite your efforts to push parents away, parents continue to be committed to be involved and we will not go away. Thank you. Thank you for your time. That concludes the public comment for the public hearings for tabs um 9, 10, and 11. And following public speakers, I must read this statement. The board will be taking action on the proposed Los Angeles Unified School District 2025 2026 budget, the 2025 LUSD LCAP, and the affiliated

498charter schools 2025 LCAP at the June 24th, 2025 board meeting. Uh, charter petitions denied may be submitted directly to the Los Angeles County Office of Education or directly to the state for action. So, that concludes the public hearing on this. Um, but discussion. Okay. Uh, Mr. Mount, would you return to your your spot? Thank you. Mr. Sure. Okay. Thank you. Um I forget where we left off, but just a few questions. So one, um on the fiscal stabilization plan, um excuse me, I guess can you um how many of these are one-time versus ongoing savings? And I asked because while this helps fill the gap for the next few years, I'm curious how it kind of reduces the slope of the deficit beyond. Um and so some of these like fund 17 is one time

499carryover, you know, potentially, but um the uh school consolidation would be an ongoing cost. So is there can you help us understand? Yeah, they're they're each individual depending upon the cost savings. So you picked it out exactly. So if you see an amount that then goes down the next year, it means that there was more in year one and then there's a smaller ongoing savings. If it's a consistent number projected out over time, then we anticipate it would be an ongoing year-over-year savings. And have you mapped out because I don't think we've seen like based on this what that does to the ongoing structural deficit. So the current structural deficit is 2.2 billion. This addresses 1.6 billion in a combination of ongoing and one-time functions. And so technically what you're asking is what does the

500deficit look like in 29? So currently it's $1.2 billion. 29 29 it um and then one of the questions I don't think we've had answered I know there's conversation in advocacy around seni is if we were to go back to the largest investment the board approved for seni but on a per pupil basis oh um and uh and kept um like how much would be funded right now because that's I know a question m we would have to do that calculation it's not how the board proceeded with senny the The board started with a per pupil allocation that they then translated into an annual flat dollar amount, which is what we've been carrying out, but we we would have to go back and do that calculation from the first first time that the board allocated.

501Um, I'd be curious about that. I mean, I appreciate as you walk through the plan that you articulated what each one of these means. um and one of them was seni and so understanding what the pure pupil fund or like allocation would look like would be helpful and then I think you talked about the reduction of un so they're doing the calculation behind me it would be an ongoing savings of $60 million if we went back to the original per pupil that was augmented by the federal funds during co would be a savings of 60 billion annually and Then I want us you you went through the reduction of um or explain unfunded positions. I guess the I know you talked about articulating a plan for reassessing effectiveness of earmarked unspent investments but um I

502am curious like who's doing the study when will that be finalized because that's something we've been asking the program evaluation piece for a long time and I think it's been very easy to say like oh we'll we'll figure out what's in effective and then cut it. Sure. So given that it's a significant amount of savings, 115 million. I'm curious for some that's a placeholder. So I believe uh it was communicated to the board that that would be done collaboratively between strategic initiatives and instructional services, right? And then any savings that the board directs be made I'll capture in in the actual amount. Currently it's a placeholder figure. I get that. I think a lot of these are placeholders, but so strategic initiatives and who was the other instructional services. Instructional services. And do we have

503any of them here to speak to? Yes. So we're currently working with Carolyn and her office to determine what are the main priorities for an to determine the impact of those investments. So a couple things for example, tutoring would be one. Another one would be interventionists. Uh so investments like that are things that we're taking a look at in partnership with them to determine did we actually see the impact that we wanted to see. We have general data that we use I already espa data to determine if something's working for us or not. Hence why we continue to invest. But I think the board's been looking something for a much more comprehensive assessment. You know what what are things we factors that we can control for to be able to isolate for tutoring and so

504on and so forth. So that's that next phase that we're working with them on to identify. The other the other thing that I would add is also the AIR study on Senni is is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 26. Um that was something I know that the board has had strong interest in seeing what what are the outcomes tied to those uh particular resources and help inform you know the fiscal stabilization plan at the time. Okay. Because I know like tutoring is one of the things you mentioned is cut in the budget. That was actually one of my questions prior to the study. So I guess can we have a date by which we will have the plan for the um effectiveness of earmarked unspent investments? I'll work with Carolyn to

505identify for the main she did get from us what are the key areas we want to invest uh not investigate but assess further and so she I'll work with her to get some dates attached to that. But please know that for tutoring as as was articulated previously, we have made an initial investment of the 50 million based on what we know we will probably need to adjust as we keep going forward. But because of ELOP funding being one in which it's a large amount, some some of our programs spend that money, some don't. It's dynamic budgeting which is something that the budget team has helped us to be able to do this year is to be able to throughout the year be making adjustments on where dollars are being aligned uh within ELOP that we

506are seeing that you know the the office is just not able to spend or it just didn't become an interest for some of our schools the way we thought that they would be. So then we make adjustments as necessary. But it's not really and there it's an evaluation of true spend and demand, right? And right sizing elop budgets to actually reflect what the true demand is in schools. It's not so much an evaluation of effectiveness. Um that is kind of the next tier of investigation around a lot of our programs. Yeah, I just think we've been hearing that for a while. Um and so it would be helpful. I understand that it's there's it's costneutral next year because of the way this plan works. So, it's not something the board would need by next Tuesday

507to approve this, but it would be very helpful because I think we've been talking very vaguely about effectiveness and all that. Um, which is important. Uh, thank you. So, the question I'll ask at every board meeting, which is to skeptics, some who may be watching this meeting who say the fourth year never comes or the third year never comes. What are you doing? and and we have had in my first few years on the board, we did pass fiscal stabilization plans and had qualified budgets and then the COVID, which is probably going to be your answer, but the one-time master funds, but just again like why why is it different this year? Why are why should we be convinced that we need a fiscal stabilization plan? Couple of things. Uh first of all, uh it

508it's not me that has to convince you. The auditors have come back and indeed uh the county has said that you need one, right? You cannot meet your obligations. So we don't have the cash. So we are matching this with cash. But the other thing is is but to show to clarify Chris the Mr. M the county has said we need a fiscal stabilization plan. Correct. Correct. So that's part of their oversight duties when they see us adopting a budget that we don't meet our our obligations for the current plus two years. It it's required in their oversight function. Right. Uh so they are now going to be watching the health of our budget which is what their oversight function is. But the other thing to do is is don't conflate the idea of the

509third year never coming. If you are doing your job as a board, then the third year is not supposed to come. If the third year comes, you go into receiverhip with the state and the board loses its authority. Right? And so the idea of the third year never coming, that's why a fiscal stabilization plan is required. And it's why if you if we don't follow it, we would go into a negative certification and then they would start telling us that we have to do it by certain dates. And then if we don't do that, then they actually take our decision-making ability away, which we've seen with districts like Englewood, Oakland. There are currently a number of of districts in receiverhip currently San Francisco. Oakland's just getting out, but yes, districts move in and out whether

510they whether they're able to follow their own plans or not. Um looking at some of the assumptions in the budget, our enrollment decline um in 26 27 and 2728 goes to 3% where this year we expected closer to 2.3%. And I'm curious, we had talked about like stabilizing, not not no decline but like a more stable decline. And I'm curious where the assumptions um and the projections come from in that 3% number. Yeah. So we get that from our ECAST department um who is who is doing the forecasts. Uh and so we are starting to decline slower. In other words, it's starting to level out. Uh however, we still anticipate slow declines for the next decade or so. But I want to be perfectly honest and clear about this. Um it's difficult to tell right

511now. So we're looking retroactively what at what's happened. So there was a slowing of the decline. But in light of immigration enforcement policies, we are aware and this is anecdotally conversations with principles that families are leaving and in some cases they're leaving with the kids. So we are going through a period of uncertainty right now where projecting true enrollment is very difficult. Very very difficult a great deal of uncertainty. So we'll have better numbers actually uh as we've entered summer school. We want to see uh compared to last year based on uh students who enrolled for summer school how many showed up right and throughout these 30 days to have a better assessment about what next year uh may hold for us. The reason we're projecting higher declines than we have this year or the

512year prior is just because of that uncertainty. Great deal of uncertainty but there's science behind it as well. But yes, this is already adjusted to a certain extent for some of the factors that I just described. Got it. One thing I noted too, I don't maybe just and I don't know if they're watching, but one of our labor partners, CSEA, had sent a budget analysis that had a figure of like 6 and a half% ADA decline that they that I think is erroneous that I don't know where they got, but just if they're like maybe someone can chat with them. Um, ADA is actually up. uh our ADA is back up to prepandemic levels. Enrollment uh continues to go down. But yeah, so that was our our budget document and their analysis of our budget

513are are off. So I don't know if anyone but just for for them and the public. Why um are our Kalpers uh contributions going up continually and is there a limit like and do we do you have a cost or does someone have a cost per employee? That's a that's a great question. So Kalpers and Calsters are two significant retirement programs. Kalpers can technically go up without limit, right? So they will assess districts based on what they the needs of their current retirey pool is. And so that is an unlimited potential liability. Uh they give us a current plus two-year estimate of increases, which is what we base the budget on. Those are statewide. They're released statewide. It's part of the DART board that you can see on either FickMat uh or SSC's page. And

514that's what all districts base their assumptions on. Uh Calsters is a little bit different. They actually have a maximum uh that they can assess and I will tell you they are close to it. Uh so so when they hit the maximum technically uh unless they pass rule changes they are not allowed to go up anymore. And so just for the public so basically the state says you have your district has to contribute more money to employee retirement. Correct. and they there's no guiding principle or there's no outward parameter on that and then we just have to incorporate that into our budget and and to be clear classified stirs certificated right certificated is capped classified is not and so if there were advocacy that districts wanted to do to stabilize that number it would have be

515in Sacramento or it would be with it would have to be but their formulary is to be able to pay for the current retirees benefit as well as the people contributing their future benefit and so as long as their uh returns and their analysis says that they need more they are allowed to increase. Do you have off the top of your head or your team the cost per employee of the Kalpers contribution? It's a percentage based on uh the actual payment to the employee, right? So the employer pays a portion, the employee pays a portion and it's based on how much you earn. So the more you earn, the higher the contribution. Uh so on average our employees earn a little bit more every year. So we it goes up every year. Uh so if

516you wanted we could give you an example of an employee making a certain amount of money what the contributions are. Yeah. Maybe as a followup and this is an item that you know we brought up in 2014 um during the PEPA reforms. This was a major shift when it came to the employer contribution and the authority to actually increase the rates. And so very early on we identified it as a growing liability. Um at the time it has it was going up to $250 million and the state was budget like balancing their budget by increasing the contribution rates for from school districts. Yes. Um two final questions and then maybe for another round. Um we one of the things that we've heard in public comment and from our labor partners is about outsourcing from professional

517consultants. um as evidenced by the increase in professional services, consulting services, operating expenses. Um can you share what's within that category and why we are seeing that increase? So that's in what you what we call the 5,000s in the budget, right? And so it's broken down into the different categories. So you can actually see for professional services and all others. However, as has been presented to the board before, uh some of those outsourcing uh items, for example, have included deliveries by UPS and FedEx to campuses, which you know that's not from what the district sees as outsourcing because we don't do uh delivery of of items, right, through through uh express delivery, right? So, uh it really depends upon what the definition of outsourcing is. Um, so so it sort of depends on on the

518view, but the 5,000s are all of the categories that we spend that are basically for professional services. The vast majority of those in your budget report are at school sites. So remember, most of the contracts that procurement brings to you, non-f facilities contracts are bench contracts that are accessed by our schools for different types of services, whether it's services in the art or enrichment or science or steam. I mean it's all stuff that they can access for both during the day enrichment as well as after school enrichment through ELOP. So it's actually that is the the vast bulk of it. Uh and and that's what we want. We want our that's what a lot of the the money that we've been discussing tonight is spent on is those enrichment and additional services. So when schools

519contract with a vendor for an afterchool program that might be listed in this it's not might be it 100% is and those are the types of things I know I think you followed up with the board but with open data I've heard from some labor partners that they're trying to get this information through public records requests but it should be my hope would be with the transparency resolutions of the the board has passed that these are the ones that you know you could go to those I guess what you said 500 categories and click down and see those because I think it clarifies a lot but you can see how much each school is spending on those items versus uh like maybe an additional employee. You can't go down and look at each school's individual

520contracts because there's just so much data there that we can't usefully sort of show you that. But you can see how much each school is spending on it. And then another thing where it seems and this goes back to my comments earlier on Miss's resolution about just shared facts, but um we we hear and we talk about uh belt tightening here at Bodri um up to $7 million was an amount we heard last year and then we're seeing the the 40% cut, the $200 million in the fiscal stabilization plan. But in our budget, the general administration item for the 7,000s object code has gone up to nearly a billion in this year from much lower amounts in previous years. And so how can you help us like circle that square? How are we saying that

521we are belt tightening and cutting central administration and yet those those object codes are ballooning? So I I know she's behind me. So I hope she's still behind. Nu, do you want to come up and and break out what's included in the 7,000 series and and basically too as you're doing and that's the specifics but for the public because I don't want to talk in object. We'll just talk in big just how you know how we have people saying that the central administration is bloated and is going up every year and then we're saying it's going down every year. So are people looking at different numbers? Right. So indirect costs are charged to our grants and the what if you're seeing a larger indirect cost that means we have larger amounts of restricted funds and

522those charges to those grants are then used towards our general administration towards supporting those grants. So for example, it goes towards the payroll um it goes towards any reporting function or um any centralized function that is uh coordinating with those grants. So it's not necessarily that our central office is increasing. It's just that we have these larger grants that we are obligated or we are allowed to charge indirect costing. So so to also help clarify right because we do bureaucratic speak pretty well, right? So, an administrative indirect cost is not for an administrator, meaning a manager. It's for all of the functions that support that grant. It could be HR, it could be utilities, it could be personnel commission, it could be custodial. It's all of the things that have to go into that grant,

523but we don't charge directly for it. We charge an indirect cost and then that's how we pay those support services. And you give a couple examples of those types of grants and how they're helping schools and students. Correct. So ELOP for example on the ELOP page you'll see a line item for indirect cost right similarly um Prop 28 we're allowed to charge a 1% indirect cost for that grant title one all the title programs also incur indirect costs um so historically even our COVID grants all of those we charge indirect costs as well those just as an example if we got $100 million in Prop 28 or grant and 99 million is going to the schools. 1 million is going central to administer that grant. And that's showing as an increase as not just central.

524So also for schools, it pays the indirect costs, right? So if we don't list the custodian, but we pay that custodian's portion of time at the school to support the program, right? Or to open and close the gate or to make sure that it's cleaned up at the end of the day. So we don't necessarily charge those things directly to the grant, but we have to recover the cost because it's still a cost to the district. So when those are all rolled up, they you're getting close to this uh nearly $1 billion, but they're rolled up and it looks high, but it is not cost of humans in this building centrally administered. No, administration in this term is the general term. It doesn't mean management. It means services to provide for the support of the

525grant. So it could be a portion of a principal's time. It could be classified staff at the school site. It could be somebody processing their payroll here. So, it's a general term. I don't I'll pause and let colleagues ask questions and then maybe we'll do another round. So, as we know, Miss Gomez was next, but she's driving. So, uh we're going to have whoever has a next question. Go ahead, Rosio. Been waiting patiently. Um I just have a few questions and I was you know trying to listen very intently so I don't ask ask something that you already had but um really quick question. So um I'll start with um seni or or equity um investments as we look to make you know some difficult uh decisions to cut proposed um 75 million in targeted

526funding allocation reductions for fiscal year 27. Can you provide a clear crosswalk or decision matrix showing um which listing of program with a listing of programs such as SENI BAP community schools, student wellness positions and others um that are explicitly protected and the projected impact by student population groups of SENI. Uh no, so BAP. So what we do uh for fiscal is that we norm positions. Uh so if it's normed, it means it's called out by the contractor by law to be provided. If it's in a discretionary program, that program sort of decides their own norm or hires what they want. We monitor it, but we don't require it, right? So we don't say you have to spend it on XYZ because they actually have the right to spend it on whatever they want. And

527so that's actually done in aggregate. We just count everything that's done in the whole district and we report it out. But we don't actually tell people what they have to do with the exception of when a a restricted funding source says they have to spend something. So like Prop 28, we make sure that sites spend 80% on staff as required by the law. And we just do that by restricting it so that everybody has to spend 80%. But we don't tell them how to do it. They still get to choose how to do that. Um and and to follow on uh Borman Melvoy's point regarding contracting and I understand that this may include a vast array you know of external contracts and from schools or you know um our our bench vendors contracts but can

528the board review a list of service services outsourced by central staff to work um that could be performed internally? Can we get a list? Uh and this can include contracts for advisory services or support for submitting grant applications, data analysis for submitting um dashboard development, project management. I mean different we can we can try to look at the contracts they run through our system. We can look at them but there's so many thousands. I mean, we'd have to think of how do we figure out how to look at those uh because even the ones that we do centrally. So, for example, I know I've brought many bench contracts to the boards that are for our school sites and we don't differentiate like we just our job is just to get the contract done so that

529people can use it, but I don't think that we classify them in the system in that way. But I can ask procurement and see what they can see what they can do to come up with categories for the board. I think that would be great in order for us to see disagregately what is school-based, what is from a division, but I think that's sort of confusing because it's sort of all conflated into one. It's all procurement. Yeah. Right. So if I mean it would be ideal within this next year before you know we start moving ahead for fiscal year um 27 just to kind of have an idea. can have uh our wizard Tony put his head together with Matt and see what they can sort of pick apart in that database. I I just

530can't answer it off the top of my head and it won't take a year. Let us let us see what we can do. Um we haven't looked at that idea. Yeah. And um and also on that line, could we conduct a semianual audit of all central office contracts over 50,000 to clarify to identify services that overlap with internal functions or roles? uh we we can't necessarily tell overlap, but we do monitor every department's including the board office. Everything you put out for contract. Occasionally, there's overlap. So, for example, I just brought the the board's contract to do the analysis of staffing patterns. I did that because somebody had to do it, so I just did it. So, it's sitting in my department, but it's owned by the board. So, we have to crosswalk some of

531those things. Uh but we do actually track by individual departments and sponsors. um the vast majority of them are done by instructional services for use by the schools. Uh but we do track those. We can give the entire export. It's just a lot of data for folks to comb through. But yes, we we do. Now, when you say overlap, uh so for example, I know that the board uh just on my experience with y'all in the past couple of years has said, well, why are we doing four different case management tracking systems, right? because we use a separate one maybe in OIG and OGC and the police department and from the the high level it looks like they're all sort of the same but each one has a different function that they specifically need it

532for. So is that overlap that's sort of in the eye of the beholder and and and would need more interrogation by uh the the owner of the contracts. Right. Okay. I mean, I'm just, you know, really trying to brainstorm on different ways that we can really be able to see the data, you know, as we're making decisions. So, I'm just I can certainly provide the data. I can certainly provide the data. Figuring out maybe what you want to do with it. Uh, we're going to need to sort of work on that together, but happy to dive into the data as we go through the strategic budgeting process in the fall. And as the superintendent noted, you know, there's the prioritization. It's looking at exactly that. you know, where are there contracts where there is duplication

533of effort? As we're streamlining budgets, you want to touch those contracts first before you start then touching vacant positions and then people in positions. And so that first pass is actually going to be doing that. It's really thinking about what is the function that that contract is performing. Can district personnel actually do that? And it gives us an opportunity to look at reductions in a different way. Thank you. And one last question around this line. Um, could you be able to create a public-f facing dashboard tracking contracting trends and benchmark benchmarking uh progress by category, cost, and department since we're doing all these different dashboards? Could one be created for um contracts? So, uh we can we can look at it. Uh if you want to give us some inputs and sit down, we could

534see what we could model. Uh we just haven't we haven't done that, right? It's but but they're all in the same database. So we we would have to look. Yeah. Love to explore that further, see if if it's useful. If not, then at least we tried something different to sort of create some transparency. Okay. So the next one um has to do with labor negotiations. So the budget reflects increased retirement contributions but includes no placeholder for ongoing future labor negotiations. I understand you mentioned that you cannot include it per state law, but can you say more about how the district is preparing for anticipated cost increases tied to current and or upcoming labor negotiations with all of our labor partners? We are not. Right. So, uh well, no, I say we because the district is

535not it's not just the fiscal department, right? So, we account for known costs. So until the board approves a negotiated settlement, we can't account for it in the budget system. Right? That's that's the thing. We can't guess at what it's going to be. We have to wait for you to act on it. Then we have to account for it and and and tabulate what the cost will be. And that's actually called the AB1200. I heard it referenced here tonight. Uh and so the AB1200 will give you the exact cost over one, two, and three years. And then the board has to certify how they will pay for that cost, which I then make sure is a true accounting for it and a true payment for it. If the board can't do that, then I'm not

536allowed to sign the AB1200. Right? So in a deficit situation where we're already spending more than we're getting in and AB1200 becomes a commitment that the board has to make publicly if they are going to give increases to reducing uh and they and it has to be it can't be a plan. It has to be specific reductions. Um, all right. So, um, moving I know we had a discussion on OPED, so I just want to come back to that. So, I don't want to belabor the the topic, but I guess I will have to just to get some some some clarity on that. So, since, you know, sitting here as a board member, I've seen a really drastic fluctuation between the contributions. because it was 34 million and 40 million and it was going to

537be extended over 30 years and now we're going back to drastic increases on that. So, I know you mentioned the ARC and the question um came um was brought up, but as I'm looking here at um at some information, it says that under GSBA75, it is not required that entities actually pay the ARC each year, but it does need to be calculated and disclosed to the public. But the point here is that it doesn't actually have to pay each year. That's correct. Um right. And so this year we're making huge increases. So I just want to be able to understand that we went from 34 to 40 and now we're increasing it. Um so we we always try to plan. So uh of course because my hardworking folks heard a question they already sent me

538the data. So the trust was developed in 2013 at the request of the board of education. We had made no contribution in 13. Between 13 and 17, the highest contribution we made annually was 78 million. In 18, we made a contribution of 120 million. And then from 18 to 24, we made zero dollars per year because of a fiscal stabilization plan that was required at that time and that was part of the way that the that the board decided to make up for it. In 2024, we contributed for the first time in six years and it was 244 million per the instruction of the board of education. This year, we're on track for 40 million. The total contribution since it's existed is the 616 that board member Grego cited earlier. So, that's the total of

539all contributions since the origination by the board of the of the trust. Right? So, we always again, we budget for it, but it frequently goes away. We just don't get to it. So now that we're going to make these two contributions, how much will it increase now? Almost a billion or so. Well, we we also get interest every year, which is the benefit. So So the total that the district has contributed in the lifetime of OPED to the trust is 616 million as of this week. That's the total. However, the current balance is 897 million because you have acred the interest in there. to fully fund it is between eight and nine billion and that's the point where it would generate enough interest that it pays the 300 to 350 a million that we're paying

540out of the general fund every year. So that's the concept in big picture of of the trust uh that the board originated in 13. So that money that's in there, how much can estimate or thing, how much would that cover from our retirees if we were not to touch that that money right there? Just what we have right now? Just leave it there and not touch it. Um so or make sure that it's accuring interest and we're investing. But if if that if that money doesn't isn't touched, how much of the retirees would it cover? Uh if we just were to so the way I think about it is if we were just to spend at all it would cover three years of op. It would be three years. Okay. So we're covered at least

541for that without making these these next two um correct. Your trust stays in place even if you say we're not going to fund it anymore. The money doesn't disappear and we also don't use it. Right. So the idea of the trust is you don't use it until it's funded to cover the expense. But could we reduce the amount that we're con contributing now? Yep. Just because of what we're facing right now. And I know it's we can decide that. But it just seems like it's huge. It's a huge chunk. It's a huge chunk, which is probably why we've never actually achieved it. So let's say we do half of what we're deciding, we're still going to be okay. Well, no, it just means that you will instead of it being funded in 15 years, which

542was the original plan, we're we're way far away from that. uh it might take 20 or 30 or 40 years to actually fund it. Right. Right. And that's what I heard last year as well that yeah, we're going to reduce it and next year it just means that it takes longer be okay and now we're back to it's not going to be okay. We need to put in some money in there. It's it's going to be okay because if it doesn't fully fund, we just pay it out of the general fund, right? So we still have to pay it from somewhere. So that is an area that we can at least if we want adjust and amend the budget we can say you know for this year just to have some extra because you know

543I do want to be considerate of the fact that we have you know labor negotiations and we would be able to you know give a fair uh wage increase and if we can save some money there um at least for now then I think so that's what I'm sort of trying to to help to understand um I don't want to see if I've already asked a question. So I guess this is a probably on the same line. Has a district explored any phase or alternative um preunding models that still meet actuarial obligations but reduce immediate pressure on the general fund. So that's what I'm trying for the OPED. Uhhuh. Yeah. That's what we do. That's why we actually never make the contribution. We we always just sort of back out of it because it's always

544it always is too much. And h do you know of other districts that have adopted graduated contribution strategies and can a district model the approach to preserve equity investments in the short term? Yeah, there's actually it's interesting. So, uh the serp which is the part of Kalpers that that runs all these trusts. There's actually a lot of districts that are fully funded, right? They don't pay for the retirees anymore, right? Because they committed to and fully funded within a 10 or 15 year period. And so, a lot of them are already there. It takes that discipline. And it's the same thing like investing for your retirement, right? Sometimes you don't invest as much. Maybe you have kid expenses that unanticipated or you have so maybe you don't invest as much. So maybe you have to

545spend an extra five years working because you don't invest as quickly in your retirement. And then there are those that have that discipline regardless. You know, come hell or high water, they're going to invest and get there as quickly as possible. So it really depends upon the district. There are a lot of districts and municipalities that have actually gotten to a fully funded status. Yeah, I will leave it at that. I had a few more questions, but I think I got my point across. Okay, thanks. Next, we have Miss Newil followed by Miss Gonz. Go ahead, Miss Newil. Thank you. Um, had a few questions on the consolidating of the district footprint. I know we talked about uh come the report said 10 campuses per year and it's it's 10 campuses one time. One time

546ongoing savings, but 10 campuses. Yeah, 10 campuses one time. But here the estimated savings is projected for FY27 and FY28. That would not mean 10 that year and 10 another year. It'd be 10. And then what would be the length of that? Would it all be in one year? Because it said a year per year. So we had to put in a planning figure to to meet the required stabilization plan amount of 1.6 billion. And so we had to put a figure in there. That figure is based on an estimated savings if we were to close 10 campuses. Uh and so 30 million once we close them, the assumption in there is that we don't reopen them or use them. And so that savings is every year we get that savings. So this is projected

547for FY27 in order to get these savings is to close those 10 schools. Correct. And so is there this is so with the savings that's included in this proposed cost does that include transportation or other expenses that may be associated with moving the students to other campuses. Yeah. So it it took it takes what we call direct savings as well as incremental savings. So direct savings would equate to for example FTE or closing off a utility bill. we're not providing uh you know bi-weekly gardening services uh for 10 campuses and the savings because we wouldn't need as many gardeners. Same thing for you know one fewer plant manager, one fewer principal, one fewer nurse per campus. Uh it takes in all of those and then it takes on also incremental services. So for example uh

548many of you know this but a lot of our public probably doesn't. I have a tractor trailer that goes to every school every single day in the entire district. Right? That's one of my departments. And so if we had 10 fewer routes that we had to run every day, how many fewer tractor trailers would I have to run? How many fewer mail couriers would I have to run? So it takes in the direct savings as well as sorry about that. The indirect savings for decreasing by 10 sites that I would have to service through our logistic services which is which is in my umbrella of services. Got it. Now, how long would it take to conduct the program analysis to assess to determine how and where these consolidations would occur? That again, this is just

549an estimate. So, that consolidation uh would is is would have to be by strategic initiatives as well. And so, that's the planning figure can go up or down depending upon how successful we are with that initiative. So, if we aren't successful and we don't yield 30 million, then the 30 million has to drop to savings elsewhere. If we exceed it then it saves savings elsewhere. Exce meaning after those 10 schools would you say? Yes. Yeah. So like that's why it's a planning figure. It just is an estimate so that the that there's some sort of target and will the board have the opportunity to review those and provide some input? So, I'll speak to this one because I I think it, you know, understanding the topic is there's more discussion to be had on these

550and and when you look at the different elements of the fiscal stabilization plan is we're talking in broad strokes about how we would address a multi-billion dollar deficit. All every one of these line items is going to require engagement, strategy, criteria. You know, when you're talking about school consolidations, it's not something that you just do the in one day. It requires community engagement, requires establishing the effective criteria for which schools you would even consider. Um, so that's that's work. That's real work and it takes time to get there. Um, so we're putting targets out there. I said we it's our job to come back and and actually outline what the strategy will be and what the time will timeline will be to actually achieve something like that. Um so I think the team isn't ready

551today to talk about what the steps will be or any other No no no and it wouldn't be our work for sure. Right. And I know it's not the work but I think the public needs to know because it's in this plan if we're not discussing to say that it's going to take x amount of time. This is not happening overnight. school closures is a big issue to this district. Um, and if we're not going to mention it and say what that entails and not that we're doing the work tomorrow, but that we're voicing that concern today because it gave a specific number which was 10 campuses and I'm not sure how we got to 10 campuses equaling 30 million. I'm not sure how we got there. So, was there a a formula that gave

552us that? I know. Yeah. So, we calculated all those savings for a single campus, right? And then we just said, well, what what would we save if we were able to close 10 campuses? And that's that's exactly where the planning figure comes from. So, I mean, I think the public needs to know that because it's important to know if we put this dollar amount out to say, and we're talking about next year, this process has to start at some point. So um and then I guess just I mean obviously as we conduct the work to do that um and obviously our voice would be heard in saying where these schools would be and whether the savings would amount to this 30 million is going to be the end result. So correct. I think that's all

553I had on that. Thanks. Okay. Before we get to Miss Gonzette, you know how people get when they hear their favorite elementary school is closing all of a sudden. Okay, so we know. All right, go ahead, Miss Gonz. I think everybody knows. Yeah, that was a Thank you, Mr. Smurlson. Um, thank you, uh, Mr. M, for your presentation and the opportunity to ask some questions. Um, I will just note that I have more questions that I'll I'll wait for next week as I'm still digging through all the budget and LCAP documents. Um, in terms of my comments on this, obviously this is a really challenging uh plan. Um, you know, we know public education California has faced decades of underfunding of our public schools. Um, and now that our CO emergency dollars have expired, we're

554facing fiscal constraints that that we knew would likely come at this moment. Um, and that school districts across the state are also facing similar challenges. Um, as I've learned in eight years on the board now, we know that it's hard to predict what conditions will be like three or four years from now, the situation could improve or it could get worse, particularly given all of the instability at the state and federal governments currently with regard to our budget. Um, what we do know is we have to legally balance our budget for three years and that requires us to contemplate reductions and changes. And given that 90% of our funds are spent on people, um, though those people may be located in different places, there's no way to look at reductions that don't have hard choices

555included. Um, that being said, as I have shared in previous public conversations on this issue, um, I would say for at least the last year, I'm I'm looking for greater clarity and specificity in this plan to ensure that our communities really know and understand the impacts of the plan that we are contemplating and any reductions that they might expect. Um, which obviously was was included as part of our discussion and the approval of my resolution earlier today. um in terms of uh questions. So I wanted to ask a couple on um the updated documents that we received today. Um if you could share, Mr. Mount, so one of the changes that was included is an additional $75 million reduction to central operations, which is a one-time savings of 75 million. Um and apologies, I was

556in commute to get to my children, but so if I missed someone asking this question before, I'm sorry. Um, but if you could share what's contemplated in those cuts since they are one-time and not ongoing, what is that $75 million estimate based on? Uh, so board member Gonz uh those were my recommendations. So I I'll take it and I can speak to all three modifications in that uh in that recommended uh stabilization plan. I am a believer uh based on trends for this school system, based on administrative to school budget, uh based on per pupil funding versus uh administrative uh liabilities associated with that at central office as well as regional offices that there is an opportunity to significantly significantly curtail administrative expenditures on the basis of both contracted services uh goods consultants etc. but

557also um a really deep look at uh positions um based on redundancy duplication of effort uh both at regions as well as central office. Uh the initial recommendation was at 75 million for the initial year. I believe we can be bold in preparing over the next 18 months for a much more significant reduction at non-school sites to the tune of $200 million in total. Um so not 75 million but actually adding 125 million to that leading to the FY27 uh budget year. The details of this obviously I mean remember as we're advancing the stabilization plan this is what would be declared to LEO. The details of exactly what that massive $200 million reduction would mean are going to be worked out over this year, the remainder of this year, next year, and would be reflected

558in the budget recommended to the board for FY27, but it would be a combination of contracted services as well as positions. still a significant number of of vacant positions even though we have been reducing those fairly aggressively. But uh it would definitely impact a number of positions. Ideally for a number of individuals who currently have positions in central accounts uh as vacancies in schools open up as a function retirement. there would be a transfer of talent from central office to schools to avoid true reductions in force to the extent possible. And just on that point, and we may not have these details yet, but do we have a sense of the current amount of vacant positions that exist in the central office and you know what number of FTE reduction might be required to achieve

559a $200 million savings? Do you have that? Yeah. So the number of the number of FTE for for 40% I'm going to look behind me they're looking it up right now it's and again this is on a basis of we're not there are two math problems here that need to be calculated first is a deep review about consulting contracts services and goods um we're in the process of doing that right now we're going to expedite that but again we have a year a little over a year to do that That's the first cut. Second cut is the transfer of individuals from C central office positions to vacant positions elsewhere particularly in schools to the following obviously labor contract regulations. Um only then we would would we move to the actual reduction in force to the

560extent necessary. So I I I hesitate in terms of providing a number of positions without first going through the first two necessary steps of identifying contracts, reducing contracts, identifying vacant positions based on what is a fairly healthy attrition retirement rate in this district, over 2,000 positions annually, uh and finding, you know, places for individuals who are currently in central office. But there are a number of limited areas where reductions can be made. And I do believe that our rate of spend uh in central office which is around uh $800 million annually u central administrative uh cost centers that includes regions and all contracts and there are some contracts that are negotiated and are centralized but the services are actually and the deployment is actually at schools. So we need to do a deep deep examination

561of that before we go into an actual count of positions. Thank you. I well I appreciate you providing the overall um annual cost of the central office because I think that's important in terms of understanding the type of gap that we are facing and the fact that even if we were in a hypothetical world to get rid of the entire central office that doesn't solve these problems necessarily. Um but I'm interested in understanding what impacts would that ha would these changes have on services to school sites. We know that um different central programs support uh students and families at schools. So um I understand that that's not available today and I appreciate the um in-depth review you all have promised of the consulting and other professional services. Um I hope that in our upcoming conversations

562at some of the fall committee of the holes we can get a sense of what level of central um FTE reductions would be required. I would further ask if you could do an analysis on what um impact on school site staffing that might create because of bumping. You know we know that some folks who work in the central office have return rights due to seniority to um maybe it's a teacher position um maybe it's a principal position at a school site and I would like to understand um what impacts that what kind of downstream impacts that would have on staffing as well. Certainly. So all of those are are very very important and very powerful uh statements and comments and I promise you that between now and the budget recommendation uh which is a year

563from now that would actually actualize uh these broad brush strokes uh under the fiscal stabilization plan. All that will be provided after much consultation with the board, after much consultation, town hall meetings with the community before this is really fleshed out. But I think we've been pretty adamant about minimizing the impact to the workforce. That is evident in terms of last year's budget, this year's budget, and the budget that we have prepared going into next year. No layoffs, no rifts, no furls. I keep saying that's not the condition that many districts around us are in. Uh we will continue to elevate that as a high priority being fully cognizant that anything we do needs to follow uh labor uh stipulated contractual provisions and we are fully cognizant of the fact that bumping rights could have

564some direct or indirect impacted schools. We will account for all of that before we move in any one direction. Last point is, as both Chris and I have mentioned a number of times, this fiscal stabilization uh plan is merely a plan. Uh if in the process of this year-long evaluation, we feel that it is not prudent to book a $200 million reduction at the central level, then we're going to come back to the board and and say we need to alter this. any alteration this plan is absolutely feasible and possible to the extent that it is communicated to to LEO. What is not acceptable is us moving forward without a plan that invokes some significant consequences upon this district. But we hear you loudly and clearly. We have a responsibility to this board, to our

565workforce, and to the community at large to minimize impact particularly at the school level, but also to recognize the impact on the workforce, recognizing bumping rights as stipulated in in the existing contracts. Um, and just thank you. Um, and I appreciate knowing that we'll be getting more information on this and a sense of what is feasible and what's not. As part of it, it would also be helpful to understand, you know, how essential central functions will be preserved, including like payroll, for example. Obviously, everyone is dependent upon payroll um to function in order to get paid for their for their work for the school district. Um and I know at times in the past when some central functions have been reduced that that leads to maybe more challenges at the school site, whether you're thinking

566of something like risk management. Um I know the translation unit was raised today by one of the parent presentations. So um some assessment of those essential central services as well um would be helpful as part of that. Um and then I I wanted to understand a little bit more. So I appreciate um the change to restore um some funding for SENI in FY27. If you might be able to share a little bit more about um that $75 million figure. Um, what would that mean in terms of the sunny allocations that school sites receive? Actually, uh, good question. As I stated earlier, the way we arrived, at least the way I arrived at that $75 million potential potential, uh, reduction was by in essence calculating the per pupil investment specific to Sanne over years and then

567adjusting it for declining enrollment. Um, pure and simple. uh because if you are just working with a fixed amount and enrollment continues to decline but you do not change that amount in essence you're actually seeing a per pupil significant increase annually the reason why I mentioned the word potential is because again this is a plan you know I'm listening carefully to some of the ideas that the board has mentioned we do not necessarily have the authority to um to modify board policy and board policy applies to everything. It applies to BAP investment. It applies to SNI investments. It applies to the board's reserve. Now, I've heard some conversation. It also applies to fiscal prudence, right? Um there was conversation about, you know, you know, postretirement benefits that we extend to our eligible retirees. Um we

568are evaluating, it's not lost to us. We are evaluating not just the fiscal impact to the district should we decide to reduce the multi-year allocation but we need to consider uh what does that do to our credit rating? Uh what will the credit rating agencies and the bond market say about the fact that one of the biggest liabilities of the district once again is going underfunded? Could we float and sell our judgment obligation bonds? It's a balance because if we don't then we may in fact reduce our contribution to OPED by let's say $50 million or $75 million but in the process of doing so compromise our ability to sell $500 million worth of general obligation bonds and that is a a possibility a true possibility. So it's a balancing act. That's why today's conversation

569was that important. But to simply a answer your question, it was a calculation. How can we preserve minimally the per pupil funding that SNI uh provides based on historical funding considering or adjusting it for declining enrollment. Uh from last week to this week, I think we made a fair trade-off that benefits school sites by significantly reducing central office spending. And yes, we owe you a lot of information on that, a lot of detail, but then reinvesting some of these dollars into um into into protecting Senny. Did we go down to zero? No. uh because as I said 700 million has been has remained stable over a number of years despite significant reduction in enrollment but on a basis of today's conversation uh we're still thinking you know I would hope that the board recognizes that

570we moved in a direction that clearly signals were adamant about protecting equity and we're adamant about protecting school site investments those that are directly impacting our kids and workforce or indirectly doing so. Nothing prevents us on the basis of trend over the next few months or by December when we get uh additional information from the state from yet again adjusting the fiscal stabilization plan based on the information that uh is brought to us. Thank you. And like I said, I do appreciate the um the shifts that have been made. Um, I think, you know, there are other items that raise concerns for me that aren't as uh aren't as clearly artic I mean, I think the presentation by Mr. Mount addressed some of those concerns, but in terms of what's written on the paper, um,

571I think that the the true impact of those um, particularly in our classified staff remains concerning for me. Um, one of those line items is the reduction of unfunded positions. Um, and I know Mr. I think earlier you said that it was a mix of certificated and classified positions. Could you share what is the breakdown of those? I know we don't have the particular classifications of what those positions are just yet, but what's the split between certificated and classified positions currently? Yeah, we don't know. Um, and actually we've we've we've shared that with the board previously at your request, so I don't know that it's changed much. I know that there's currently the equivalent of I want to say 13 or 1400 FTE but that's classified. Thank you. The vast majority of the vast majority

572of the FTE over 90% are classified. So uh the rest are certificate. Yeah. Of of 1300 FTE and remember we're uh sorry consolidating partial positions into full FTE. So of the 1300 200 are certificated and 1100 are classified. Right. So I think it's just important to to highlight because I think you know what was described in the public conversation before was that it was a mix but it is uh the vast vast majority almost entirely is is classified staff and um as I said previously I would really like to understand what particular positions we're we're talking about because you know these are essential services at school sites whether it's campus aids who provide for supervision and safety of students um on campus or uh parent representatives who engage with community reps who engage with our

573parents and do parent engagement work. Um so I think that that that is significant that will be a a very large loss at our school sites. Um and that's even before talking about the impacts of the loss of school carryover which we also know is current while I know it's not approved by the state. I know Mr. Mount you you you definitely remind us of that often that that's not a state approved practice. Um, we do know that carryover is used by school sites to pay for positions that they don't necessarily have ongoing funding to cover, which in large part is classified positions, maybe it's class size reduction teachers um that they don't get norm funding or normed positions for. So, I just I think that there's a lot of school site impacts that are

574maybe not uh entirely clear just by reading the document um that will create negative conditions for our students and families at our schools. So, those remain concerns for me. Yeah. And and and and I appreciate that. And I'll I'll just sort of reflect and I've done this work in a lot of districts, but remember I'm a teacher and a principal. It's my first 15 years of my life. uh there isn't anything that you will reduce at my school site that I am not going to feel but the reality of our fiscal situation with the size of the deficit that we've created uh we have to touch things and it is going to have impacts on our schools right we we cannot have a $2.2 billion deficit and not impact our schools our businesses schools $2.2

5752 billion is 25% of what we're spending right now. It is going to have impacts. So, so we will not be able to cut $2.2 billion without having impacts. Uh notice that 40% of central operations is only less than less than 10% and that's cutting 40% of all central operations. And those cuts, you're correct, will have impact. So, so I don't want to create a false equivalency for the board of find $2.2 billion and don't impact schools. If we were spending that $2.2 billion on something extraneous, I'm sure it would have been pointed out at this point. So, so you are correct in that statement and and and that is always the difficulty when a district finds itself in a position where it needs to cut because what services or people are we going to

576say are not providing impact positively uh for our students. So it is a matter of what is the least worst bad decision as I remember former president Goldberg saying what is the the least bad thing but none of them is great. So we do know that and I will say that as an educator I get that. Uh but you have to choose the least bad. Uh that that that is going to boil down to the board's responsibility. Okay. Miss Gonz is that okay? Sure. We can leave it there. Okay. I saw you had your hand up. Charlotte, I just wanted some clarification from section 2 page 12 and I know we talked about central administration and it shows FTEES here in year 2425 at zero and then year 2526 in two categories there's an increase.

577Do we know how do we get to that increase and where does that come from? How do we get that? Sure. You're looking at the yeartoear report. Uh this is a report that was developed in LA uh with the new transparency tool. I'm not sure it'll be useful anymore. You can look at it real time, right? But what it does is it compares last year at budget adoption and this year at budget adoption. What is the dollar amount in each of your departments that has changed up and down in our major cost centers and what are the FTE changes from year to year. So how do you see an increase? So you see an increase because maybe last year they were hiring and in between last year and this year they have hired and so

578they have more positions filled. Uh you can also see and you see a lot of decreases because a lot of positions were being left unfilled. So you see a lot of big negative numbers in some of those departments and that's because remember we closed and swept those long-term vacancies. So will you be able to give us an analysis of how we got this particular because like we're talking about central administration correct and where we're looking at particular line items like talent and labor relations right we look at that particularly how do we get and actually that report covers the entire district school sites included so that but a lot of what you're looking at right now like talent and labor relations I believe that that's uh associate superintendent Murphy's department and so that tell shows

579you the net change in her funing from year to year as well as FTE. So, we can give you each each one of those because I monitor positions, but the why it happened, I'm sure it'll be an individual department by department story. Oh, so you scared me board member that increase for talent and labor relations is because that division did not exist. So, a lot of the pluses are actually realignment of uh departments across divisions. So for example, we had a student health and human services division. Uh that division split up uh during the course of the fiscal 25 school year. It was realigned. Similarly, um you'll notice there's some minuses in budget services and accounting, some pluses in other areas. That's because we had an alignment of staff. So we can give give you

580the notes, but the big increase you're noticing is clearly because of a creation of a new department where we move staff around with individuals coming from other existing departments. And that's helpful because when you see a zero and then it goes to 42, you're like, how did it get there? You don't know how it got there. So the notes would be helpful. Yeah, I I I get that. But we the notes would be helpful. Okay, we're ready for Miss Grigo. Yeah, in the budget book uh section 4 in the general fund unrestricted and restricted expenditures there's several areas where you lines where you see instructional materials and supplies and it has the actuals 2122 actuals 22 23 actuals 23 24 25 and then 2526 final budget and On page 23, section 4, it goes from

581the estimated actual of 362.7 million, right? Those are in millions to 1.368.2 billion. Is that am I reading that correctly? I I have to look at the reference the the page you're referencing. Could you give me the the page again? Page 23, section 4, and then also page 24. again page 26 in it's that line instructional materials and supplies. So our head of budget's going to come up and and answer it for you. Thank you. Hi board member. Um so this is I'm looking at the instructional materials and supplies um sachs object general fund restricted unrestricted. So that uh even though it's called instructional materials and supplies, our schools and offices often use that object to park funds before they while they're planning to determine what exactly to do with that. So we can help

582unpack what is in that 1.368. But in in many cases when schools receive a carryover or an allocation while they're planning and determining how to align or budget they park it in that loca that object if that makes sense. So do you understand what parking this is? Yeah. Yeah, I do. But is this um is what I'm looking at right now though the districtwide right. So it's the district that's doing that. It's not the schools. So it includes our school accounts also. So you got all the school accounts that had instructional materials and supplies and then you put them into this. So it appears again in a lot of areas. What's So when they don't spend that money, what happens? Because that's a difference is a billion dollars. So, so a board member, when the

583school year opens and they receive the balance of their carryover, many of our schools just then go about figuring out how to spend that money and then they move the dollars out of that object to other objects. So for example, a school may decide I now that I have my carryover, I'm going to purchase another teacher or I'm going to purchase, you know, a instructional aid and then they move the amount from that object to another object, which is why you see a swing from the estimated actuals to the final budget because they in many cases they just haven't decided how they're going to budget that fund those funds yet. So, okay. So, whatever money is is all of this money is going to go back to school sites. That's what you're saying. The money

584the money hasn't left school sites. So, you are seeing an aggregated number, right? And what what Nero is saying is since they haven't decided how to use it, when they get back when school reopens, you're going to see it quickly redistribute out to what they actually want to use it. But actually, it's not going back out to schools. It's in schools. Oh, it's still in school. So it's it's in school budgets as part of budget development. You commit dollars to different things. What a school decides to do. They say, you know, we don't have a decision to make today. They put those dollars in instructional materials as a hold. And we have to and we require that they have to budget all the money we give them because they can't just say you gave it

585you gave me $100,000, but I'm not going to budget it. They have to budget it to something. And so that's just a placeholder until they decide where they want it. And so what you'll see reflected in the budget on that page is right now schools as a aggregate have $620 million assigned in the kind of that holding account. But when you look at the true spend around instructional materials and supplies in the prior years, it's it ranges from 108 million to 147 million in actual expenditures on instructional materials and supplies. the other dollars get released to other accounts or to other object codes which are usually staff or other commitments that they've made throughout the year at the school site at the school site. Okay. All right. And then um regarding this section in the

586um fiscal uh stabilization plan just um the part that says bring students closer to their school of residence. I understand that's going to impact um students with disabilities who have to travel to go to another site that offers their their program. Right. So I'm wondering does this mean though that the program will follow them or are we going to cut programs? How do you visual I mean when this conversation happened? What was the vision you all had regarding? Well, this conversation actually happened with the board uh a little bit prior to you getting here, but then it continued afterward. The concept is the board was concerned that there are so many students being transported long distances. Why aren't we hosting programs closer to their home schools instead of paying extra not just to transport them

587but create regional centers that are not going to least restrictive environment that are not going to inclusion and we would also save on the transportation costs if they were closer to home and it would take less instructional time just to drive students very long distances. And so this is a is a planning figure to see what those programs to can do to open up those services closer to home for the students. right? What will the actual savings be? If it's eight million instead of 15, then we have to find seven million somewhere else. If it's 16, then we then we can take a million out of another category. So, it really depends upon how they're able to implement and then report out to the board of what it looks like for that year. And just

588to be clear, it it it is also this is Carla back here. Uh um I do think board may important to note that the important things that uh Chris is saying here about it may is because it's still an IEP team decision. And it is not just moving a program and then a student moves. No, it is an IEP conversation. But we're also making sure that we're distributing our special education programs with their homeschool in mind and not overwhelming certain schools just because quote unquote space like how do we make sure that student services follow the student and it should be closer to home. But again, this is still an IEP team decision. And so this is why the May is a very important aspect of this. But we continue to plan and adapt as

589necessary. Thank you. Yeah, I think it's important. I think for all families who have children with disabilities, the fear is losing their program, right? If it's working for their child. And I think that that's I understand the motivation because I do understand that there are some schools that are highly impacted with a lot of programs and um and students are traveling far for a long time. So, I support that. But my concern is that I don't want children's programs to change because of that. So, it is an IEP decision and I'm hoping and I trust that even that with all the trainings that we're going to be doing on how to run IEP meetings and you know empowering parents to ask questions that they will be empowered to ensure that the program that is best

590for their child um continues to be the program that they have and not just move because of other reasons. But Carla, let me just add that these programs are moving all the time. I received notice that there's only two or three kids left in this program and they need it in another area. So, the whole program moves. So, somebody always has to move somewhere. But the idea was to keep them clustered together. I get that. I get that. No more questions from anybody. They're they're worn out. No more questions from anybody. Okay. Where are we, Mr. McClean? I know we're in the boardroom, but where are we on the agenda? Still in the boardroom. Still have two items on the agenda to work work through. We have uh tab two we took the public comment

591on. So there is still tab two discussion left. Um I believe there was some inquiry on tab two. I don't know if the board is up for that. And then there's also tab one has not yet been moved, seconded or um discussed. So, would someone like to move uh either tab one or tab two? Tab one. I'll move tab one. Tab one has been moved. Do I have a second? Okay. Seconded by Mr. Melvinne moved by board president Schmeerlson. I have to check in on the public comment. Uh there are eight folks signed up. I'll read through the list of folks who are here in person. Maria Louisa Palma, are you here? No. Um Elizabeth Hernandez. uh Maria Ruiz and then we have uh folks signed up to speak remotely. Angelica Salazar, are you on

592the line? Angelica Salazar, I see you're on the line. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Angelica Salazar. Good. You hear me? Yes, we can. Please go ahead. Okay. Hi. Good. Uh, good evening, Superintendent Carvalo and board members. My name is Anhalika Salasad with the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools and the Equity Alliance. It is a difficult time for our community and for LUSD, and it has been truly moving to see you embrace immigrant families during our country's unprecedented militarization. Thank you for standing up for and with our people. All the while, the hard work of budget development continues. The fiscal stabilization plan you are about to vote on is inextricably linked to the budget and the LCAP. It was helpful to change the original

593order of business today and hear about the SSP with the budget. Why not address and incorporate the questions and feedback on both and then vote on the stronger on a stronger budget and SSP both on June 24th. Doing so is closer to the spirit of the state law that requires you to discuss the budget and vote the to discuss the budget and vote um on the budget at two separate meetings. The decision to vote on this FSP in advance of the budget was not transparent to us and it is misaligned with true community engagement. We are also very concerned about the potential changes to SENY's program structure which the SSP is not clear about. Since its creation, SEI has been primarily about equity and flexibility. The idea to cap and norm send any funds would

594undermine both. As we understand it, capping and norming is based on student enrollment. A set number of students at any two schools generate the same number of a certain position. That sounds like equality. And we know that the needs of 100 students at a high need school does not equate to the needs of 100 students at a lower need school. For example, last year when the number of assistant principles of Captain Norm, higher need schools were disproportionately impacted as they support a higher number of new teachers who need numerous hours of observation, coaching, and mentorship for which APS are crucial. We urge you to continue championing Denny by supporting schools site leaders in assessing and budgeting for the unique needs of their students. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you for your time. All right,

595Leah Driscoll, uh, you're listed to speak remotely, but I do Oh, there you are online. Leah Driscoll, please press star six to unmute yourself, and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Leah Driscoll. Hello. Good evening, Superintendent Carvalo and board members. My name is Lerisco Garcia and with the partnership for Los Angeles schools, a core partner of the Equity Alliance for LA's kids. I want to start by thanking Dr. Rivas, board member Artis Franklin, and board member Grego for the resolution standing with immigrant communities. In this moment of tragedy and fear, I am grateful that our representatives are ensuring the safety of our schools and communities. I'd also like to thank board member Gomez for her resolution emphasizing the importance of centering student needs and prioritizing equity for our highest need schools. Equity

596as we know it is being dep prioritized and dismantled in the fiscal stabilization plan. While today's presentation has emphasized that Senny is not being cut for fiscal year 26, you are voting to cut crucial funding from the SENI in fiscal year 27. For the past 11 years, the Seni has provided schools with the funding and flexibility needed to invest in the academic and social emotional needs of their individual students. the proposed cuts to the proposal to cut $75 million from the Senny in fiscal year 27 and $200 million in fiscal year 28 along with a complete removal of carryover will deeply impact the highest need schools that rely the most on these resources and that's why just last year you used a differentiated approach when making reductions to seni because equal cuts do not have

597equal impact ld should not solve its budget challenges by cutting resources from the schools that need the most support And at a time like this when policies promoting equity are constantly under national threat, LUSD must serve as a leader by setting the example that we prioritize equity for our highest need students by continuing to fund the Senny at $700 million. Maintaining the Senny's funding beyond next year is critical to protecting the past 11 years of progress and reaffirming LUS's commitment to educational justice for black and brown students in high need schools. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Uh, very briefly, uh, board rule 55A says that if a regular board meeting is going to go past 8 PM, we need a twothirds vote to continue the meeting past 8 PM. I know we're only

598going to go for a few minutes, but since that is a rule, we ought to take a vote needs to pass by 2/3 to continue past 8. The reason for the rule is that so no minority of the board keeps people here all night long. Yes, they the two members appearing remotely, one childhood exception and one is appearing remotely at the field office. that is open to the public. Um, we need five votes for a 2/3 majority. 2/3 of seven is 4.6. So, we can't have a six of a board member, so it goes to five. Um, so I'll call the role and allow him to continue the meeting past eight. Um, and uh, then we'll just keep going about our business. So, Miss Newell, yes. Dr. Rivas, yes. Mr. Melvin, reluctantly, yes. Miss Ggo,

599yes. Miss Gomez, Miss Ortiz Franklin, uh, Miss Board President Schmuren. Yes. Well, we have the five, so the meeting may continue. The next caller is Shante Hines. Shante Hines, are you on the line? Shante Hines is not there. Uh, Diana Deator, I see you are online with us. Diana, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Diana Deator. Good afternoon, Superintendent Carvalo and members of the board. My name is Deator. I'm senior manager of collective action at GPSN. And before that, I taught at Augustus Hawkins High School in King Drew Magnet. I speak today on behalf of over 80 nonprofits in our collective action group, organizations united around one mission, catalyzing excellence in LA public schools so every student can thrive. Yesterday, more than 30 of

600those groups joined GPSN in sending a letter to you about the fiscal civilization plan and the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, which calls for cuts for the to the student equity needs index and capping on staffing positions and vacancies. We appreciate the announcement today reducing the proposed cut to Senny from 200 to 75 million. We urge you to reconsider and protect all of Fenny as we know it. Senny as we know it provides vital discretionary funding to schools to provide tailored resources and supports to students. At the same time, freezing positions during an era of wildfires wildf fires, pandemic recovery, and immigration rates risk leaving schools dangerously understaffed when our communities need them the most. We urge you to use a scapel, not an axe, in making these cuts, prioritizing schools and neighborhoods that have

601long been underresourced. We recognize the immense challenges LA USD has faced, financial constraints, pandemic recovery, wildfires, and immigration crisis, and we deeply appreciate your efforts, especially your leadership, Superintendent Carvalo, in navigating these hurdles while supporting students and families. We hope that the commitment to care and safety extends into your upcoming fiscal decisions. We also encourage exploring revenue generating strategies to shore up the district's re resources rather than relying solely on expenditure reductions. California has shown its commitment to students by preserving K12 funding despite fuel uncertainty. We ask LUSD to mirror that resolve. Balance the three-year budget without disproportionately burdening the same schools we rely on to lift every child toward success. Thank you for your leadership and for keeping our students well-being at the heart of your decision. Thank you for your time. And the

602final remote caller is Roberto Gomez, although I do not have him online. Are you in the room, Mr. Gomez? Here. Okay. So, that concludes the public comment on tab one. Um, tab one again is adoption of the 202526 fiscal stabilization plan. And, uh, as Mr. has noted a lot of discussion has just happened on that topic. Hearing no other desire for further discussion, I'm going to go ahead and take the role on tab one. Uh Miss Newell. Yes. Dr. Rivas, I did have some comments um on this really quickly. Um sorry, I went by a little quickly there. Um, you know, I I do appreciate the changes the superintendent uh made and all of the explanation here that reflect our concerns that are being heard at this time and I remain but I at the

603same time I remain deeply concerned about the proposed cuts on seni and other critical programs and also some possible um you know uh layoffs of of classified particularly um and other critical programs that direct directly serve our highest need students. I also want to thank board member Gonz for her resolution and through her resolutions there will be more transparency and more input um from all levels of all stakeholders and I look forward to its implementation and I believe it offers important guard rails as we navigate this process. I do look forward as well to receiving detailed information um requested of Mr. round including a full list of professional consulting pro uh contracts and central expenditures and everything all of the questions that we asked today. Um, if we are to move forward responsibly, we need

604the surgical precision the superintendent referenced and we need to continue these discussions transparently and partnership with communities. And um, having said that, I am um, and I totally, you know, completely understand why we need to submit this plan to LEGO uh, for fiscal management. Um, but um, having said that, I'm going to abstain. I have a question. Do we have to vote on it today or can we vote on it next Tuesday? It you could vote on it next Tuesday as well. Uh it's the the issue is going to come up is if you fail to vote on it before we submit the budget regardless we have to vote on it but we c we don't have to do it today. We can still wait till next week. Okay. I would point next right. Okay.

605Yes. Well, he didn't say yes. No, he's not saying yes. I'm saying Oh, okay. So, we you're done with We have a yes. We have an abstain. Okay. And you're continuing. Yes, sir. I'm sorry about that. Dr. Three of us here an abstension. Mr. Melvin. Yes. Uh, Miss GGO. Well, the I'm not ready to vote on this today. I I really wanted to hear fully process the comments, hear back from people. I'm sure people will be responding during the week. So, I was hoping that we could postpone it till next Tuesday. I know we have to vote on it, but I just wanted another week to think it through. And so I'd like Is that um I don't know. Is that something that I can Is that what you're saying? No, I don't I don't

606I want to postpone it. So how do I do that till next week? The the mo well the the I I believe procedurally the moment to remove this item has passed. It's been moved and seconded and the vote has begun. Um once once that happens, there are some procedures maybe after that, but the vote needs to be taken once that's set into motion. Oh, okay. Well, um Okay. So, may I suggest Yes. May I suggest something? I I think I understand uh sort of the the position of some of the board members. Your vote on today's fiscal stabilization plan does not prevent the administration from bringing uh alterations or recommendations that would edit the plan going into next week. And I think on a basis of what was discussed here, there is a strong possibility

607that that would be the case. So it does not prevent from any edits to this particular plan even though we're voting on it right now. That is correct. So both Mr. Mount and I, Mr. Mount and I a number of times we've said that the fiscal stabilization plan, it is so broad and so general and so far in advance of that action. And by the way, I want to make one thing clear. The state, unlike school districts, the state budgets on a basis of year-to-year appropriations. School districts have to declare three-year uh projections. Uh so, consistent with the state, we're not making any reductions going to next year. The stabilization plan may kick in going to FY27, which is 18 months away. So my comment stands, your vote uh and certainly the possibility of an

608approval of the fiscal stabilization plan today does not prevent us from bringing modifications to the plan itself whether is next week, next month, at any point in time uh based on comments that we've heard and additional input from the community. Right? So remember the the stabilization plan is the board's once you pass it you can modify it at any time and we have to report those modifications at the first and second interim report to the county. Uh it's a plan but it's your plan to change. Uh when when you vote on it uh and after you vote on it, it is that's precisely the the idea. Um so you could pass it and amend it next week if you wanted to. Um but that's it really is up to the board. you just need a

609majority of the board. Okay. Thank you for that um clarification. Um you know, it's just I I feel like there were a lot of changes today um happening today and um and that's and I I am struggling with making a a quick decision today, especially if we don't have to do it, if we can have another week. So, um, yeah, I can't I'm not ready to vote on this. So, I guess I'm going to abstain and then hopefully we can amend or continue having more discussions. That's an abstension from Miss Grigo. Miss Gonz, are you with us online? Miss Gomez. Miss Gomez. We'll record that as absent. Miss Ortiz Franklin, are you with us? Also absent. And board president Schmurson. Yes. Okay. So, I'm going to read aloud the tabulation. Um, and we'll report out

610on that. So, Miss Newil was a yes. Dr. Rubas is an abstension. Mr. Melvinne was a yes. Miss Grego was an abstension. U Miss Gomez and Miss Ortiz Franklin are absent and Mr. Schmurson is a yes. So that's three yeses and two abstensions. Um abstensions are functionally a no. Not that they're saying no to the thing, but in the same way as a vote. So that's uh three up and four down because of the two absences. So um this doesn't pass and it can certainly be be brought back. I'm sorry, it doesn't change the majority. No, no, we would need a four. We would need four votes to approve, not not a decreased majority when when folks aren't aren't here. We could hold the roll open and I could see and there's another item. Yeah.

611Okay. So, we'll hold the roll open there and take tab two. I also need to collect some votes. So, um Miss Grigo on the consent calendar. I'll come back to Miss Grigo. Um Dr. Rivas on tab four, I need to record a vote for you. Yes. Yes. And board president Schmurson on tab four. That was the working. Okay. Yes. And Miss Ggo, on the consent calendar, I need to record your vote. That was really just um item three on the consent calendar. I just need to collect your vote on the consent calendar. Tab three. Yes. Yes. Okay. So, we have uh Miss Gonz back with us uh for tab one. Miss Gomez, thank you for Thank you for joining us, Miss Gomez. Um, would you like to recall your record your role for tab one?

612Yeah, I'm a no. Say no. So, the vote changes uh from absence to a no for Miss Gonz. Okay, we can hold the role open further for Miss Ortiz Franklin before the meeting adjourns if you like. Okay. Okay. So, on tab two, can I have a motion to take tab two? Move it. Moved by board president Schmearlson. Need a second. Seconded by Mr. Melvin. Uh, we took public comment on this already. So, Miss Newell, this is for tab two discussion. Just straight up straight up. Well, I thought it was a discussion. That's right. There were discussion questions. In fact, there was a presentation, I believe. Yeah, there you the board had requested for additional information on temp 2. We're waiting for him to say something. Oh, this is just the resubmission of the waiver for

613fiscal year 24. uh that audit uh finding with the county of course was that we did not meet the 55% expenditure. I think what added confusion the last time the board considered this was that I pointed out to the board that actually uh in hearing their discussion last year I checked the formula and that the formula had been misapplied and indeed uh we have been meeting and exceeding the 55%. However, because the audit has closed and that fiscal year's books has have closed the county still requires that the board approve a waiver. uh we've corrected it by training staff to make sure that they're up to date and uh moving forward it is. Um but okay so Mr. Now I don't see the actual new accounting of it. What I saw in the book was

614the same that we got last week. Is that so there was no it was just the same form as if we did not meet the requirement. So I'm confused. So the audit finding and and accounting is what it is which is why we need the waiver. We cannot reopen it. uh we pointed out where it was done incorrectly for you in the analysis and what the actual numbers would be, but we cannot go back and change a closed fiscal year in the closed audit. So, we're orally saying that we did it correctly, but the paper the the actual documents show that we've done it yet we have not met the requirement. That's correct. Is there any way that we could submit uh maybe we can't open up the books again, but can we submit something

615that says we actually did it? We made a mistake. And because it just feels, if I can just share, it feels a little strange to me to to agree to do something when we're saying that we actually did not do it, that we were doing it correctly, but we're submitting this paperwork that says that we did not meet that requirement. So that that's very conflicting to me. So is there something that we could say that we you know how in taxes you have an addendum or you can you can go back and and change things? So technically we could reopen the fiscal year and redo the audit. It's going to come at a great deal of time and expense to the district to do so. So you're asking the same questions I asked when I

616was informed that uh which I had asked Chris to relate to the board again. you know, this team detected for the better part of a decade uh the way the district was calculating um these expenditures was incorrect and and I heard from last board meeting that you know how could this be? Well, I cannot tell you why the practice started decade ago. And usually, you know, after 1 2 3 4 5 6 years of incorrectly processing or calculating this ratio, you just accept that it's that it's okay. You know, uh, you know, nobody would ever think that Chris upon taking the position or myself as superintendent would go about verifying every single formula that the district uses. Um, I did ask that question. uh the fact that we now know better, can we just not

617amend this? Can we not uh revisit the audit? And what was conveyed to me is that we would have to recommission a new audit, which is a very costly endeavor to prove what we now know. Um the easier way, but you're right, it seems a bit odd. The easier way, but still a very honest way, is to submit the waiver with a commentary that explains um why we're submitting this waiver. Even though we recognize and know that in fact we are compliant, we're submitting the waiver because it is a requirement and we do not want uh to to incur an additional liability for an additional audit uh on something that was previously done uh you know uh to comply with these with these regulations. So, we're going to wait for your vote, Dany, in just

618in a minute. Okay. No, I asked Tanya to wait till we were able to get her vote. Yeah. So, I would I would if we were to submit this waiver, I would want it to be done in the manner that he the superintendent just described where we actually say what happened. I I don't feel comfortable voting for something that we are saying that it's not the case, but we're saying that we're going to submit this. So, and I know it's not due till August. So because of that or September, it's not due till September. So because of that, I would like to see it with the language that he just suggested where we actually put in writing that, you know, we're submitting this and we understand that D. So we can do that with the

619county and the county is aware. Their form will not allow a narrative, but they are under they are aware of our situation, right? So, I can I can share a separate communication that I will send to the county uh to accompany the waiver. That's not a problem, but the the waiver doesn't allow us to create a narrative around it. Well, I'd still like to postpone it if that's okay with the group until at least next week. And I'd like to see that. So, how do I do that? Do I make a motion? So, I don't I don't know how the others feel, but I know for me personally, I am not comfortable go voting for this knowing that it's not correct. I mean, it's correct according to an incorrect audit, right? So, I don't feel

620comfortable with that unless there is language that says that explains that. But didn't Mr. Mount say that the county is aware that there was a miscalculation? Is that correct? But that's it. It doesn't cost us any money. Okay. Well, I I I would suggest that we vote. How far do we get to the voting? None at all. Oh, okay. We're just asking questions. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Just one second. I'm conferring with council for a second, please. Breakfast. Just want to clarify the board report um that accompanies this particular item actually speaks to um the variance in the methodology. Um so as you take an action that actually goes on the record and it's a public document that uh conforms with the narrative that you'd like to see. U Miss Grego Oh, I was just

621sharing that the board report for item two actually includes the narrative that speaks to the change in methodology. So, when you approve this item, you're actually approving that board report. Um, and it includes that narrative. Um, it is a public document. It goes on the record as part of the stent uh business um items. And for for procedural clarification, once the motion has been seconded, it's uh past the time to withdraw. If it if someone wishes to withdraw after the motion, first motion is made. Yes. But once the second is made, it's on the table and action action must be taken. So while you're looking I just have a question on tab two before we vote. You do also and you have comments and questions. Okay. So um many uh aspects of our funding are

622going towards speech pathologists, interventionists, PSWs, etc., etc., etc. Since the state does not count these towards the inclassroom salary expenditures despite the crucial role that we have for these uh just people. How do we manage to balance the books while expanding our strategic hirings of these workers? Is that going to be a tough situation? It it it complicates it certainly. So the only path that's left to correct that is advocacy is is advocacy for the formula to change. Okay. It's one of the things I would say is in 2013 the state changed our financing mechanism you know to LCFF establish new accountability requirements around chronic absenteeism investments in school around school climate and culture. the more I would say antiquated statutes that have sat in law since the 60s and 70s were not updated to

623reflect the new accountabilities that we have today. And so I think you rais a very good point in that um there's there's opportunity for advocacy here um to think about what should be included in the calculation. Okay. Thank you, Charlotte. I just had a question as we were talking about the um the professional development that went into this. Are we now sending our staff on regular intervals to receive the um requisite professional development so that we don't or we can continue to be apprised of new reporting requirements? Yes. Uh we've actually opened PD for all fiscal staff uh through school services and CASPO both online and in person. uh and rates of attendance have been going up ever since we've offered it. Uh we also do spot training like this when we discover something that

624is not being done correctly. Uh we take the appropriate action which we've done and we make sure that all the staff that monitor the calculation are trained on best practice and that they then have to refresh it to make sure that new staff coming in are also trained appropriately. Go ahead. Um so given what you know what we've been discussing thus far I know this didn't happen under your watch uh Mr. mount and you know you superintendent you also you know raised some issues here as to what happened. Um but I just need to express some serious concern um about this item. There has been ongoing confusion uh which is why we're here now. Uh lack of clear background information and critical details have been shared late or you know sometimes not at all. Um,

625so this is not how we should be making decisions, which is why I'm feeling very apprehensive about this. The fact that we had to catch and correct a major error makes it clear that this item is not ready to vote. Um, moving it forward now after so much confusion and with incomplete context undermines transparency and and public trust, which is why I'm my for my serious concerns here. We know that the actual submission deadline is September 15th. There's no justification for rushing it through today, but um but given the disorganized roll out and insufficient information uh which now we were provided more information, but I I you know and it's too late to postpone this. Um I I just wanted to express my serious concerns and apprehensions about this knowing that we've been doing this

626for four consecutive years um since you know fiscal year 21 um and now we're here and just the calculations were just done erroneously. I I think it was it's not something the second largest district should be doing. Um, and I'm just really um just dismayed at at to this whole situation. So, I just wanted to to raise those concerns as to and also you'll know about my vote later if we vote on this. Any other comments? Okay. Yeah. I just I don't know if anybody else does. No. Just Okay. Yeah. I I did read what you um said uh Pedro and it does it does explain what happened uh the background um but like you know Dr. Revas just said it is it is really concerning and I and I'm telling you this knowing that

627this is you know this was done in the past and I know that but um especially when we're trying to build trust with the public and when we're trying to build trust with labor partners and that we found out about this mistake the day of the board meeting last time and that's really concerning. So I'm glad your staff got professional development on this and that moving forward we will when we get the materials if you know the calculations are are are done correctly and if not then we go back and we revise and then we take our time um until we we know we've done it correctly and and we feel we've had all the processing time. Um, so yeah, that's all I want to say. Just I hope it doesn't happen because it is

628it did if I did not read that narrative, it was going to leave me not feeling very comfortable voting on this. Okay, so now we're back to Tanya patiently waiting for us. Okay, Miss Ortiz, can I Miss Ortiz Franklin, can I collect your vote on tab one before we before I forget? Yes, please. I'm a yes and I'm at the Gardina address on the agenda. Okay. Thank you. So, how many So, yeah. Item one. I'm going to read through tab one again. I'm sorry to put a flag in it, but we're going to go back to it. So, tab one, uh, that's a yes from Miss Newell, abstension from Dr. Revas, a yes from Mr. Meloyne, an abstension from Miss Grigo, a no from Miss Gonz, a yes from Miss Ortiz Franklin, and a yes

629from board presidentson. those four eyes. It does pass. So, now we're ready to vote on tab two. Everyone has spoken. Okay. Okay. So, tab two. Uh, let's go. Miss Newell, yes. Dr. Rivas, no. Mr. Melvin, yes. Miss Grigo, no. Miss Gomez, yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin, yes. Um, board presidentson. Yes, that's five of eyes. I heard someone from the audience say, "Where is she located?" I believe referring to Miss Gomez who has uh made the child care exception. And under that exception um under AB2449, you need not actually list your address. So, um thank you very much. Okay, that concludes all our business. All right. Any uh closing motions from anyone? No. No. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you everyone. Time is 8:19. I'm sorry. Time is 8:30. [Music] Oh yeah. [Music] All right.