001Okay. Everyone ready? Okay. Hello everyone. We are reconvening to open session at 5:38 p.m. No reportable action was taken in closed session. Do I have a motion for action on student discipline cases number 43, 44, and 45? Second. Call for the vote. Heidi, yes. Did mine record? Yeah, okay. Thank you. Motion passes unanimously. Um please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Um trustee Coleman, would you lead us? Is there a motion for the approval of the agenda? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Call for the vote. >> I'm an aye, Heidi. Motion passes 4-0. Okay, moving on to showcase. Principal Knott? Is it good? Okay. Uh, good afternoon or good evening, everyone. Uh, it's my pleasure to uh, host the board meeting for the month. Um, today we're going to go ahead and get
002started with our showcase. Today our FFA leadership and activities are going to be representing us. I'm going to let the students introduce themselves. Uh, before I do that, um, I would also like to recognize the teachers that are here tonight with them. Just raise your hand in the back. Miss Core and Miss Stone are here with our students as well, but I'm going to hand it over to our student leaders. Who's going first? All right, go ahead. Hi, my name is Brooke Zhong. I am the chapter treasurer. Hi, my name is Victoria Petty and I'm the chapter reporter. Hi, my name is Abby Miller and I am the chapter president. Hi, my name is Jeremiah Kina Merino and I am Merced FFA chapter sentinel. To start off, I wanted to talk about project comp. This
003year we had eight individuals participate in the project competition. The project comp is where students get to showcase their SAE projects to judges. This year at the project comp banquet, we had most of our students receive gold and one of our students received the merit award. Our sectional and regional competition was held back in I want to say our sectional competition was held in Was it held in February? Back in February. And so we had a group of students from our chapter compete in various competitions, um, public speaking competitions such as the creed, impromptu, prepared, um, and it was definitely a really good experience. This is the time where we practice throughout the year in our public speaking skills and the competition is where we get to compete against other chapters in our section. Um,
004we did have two individuals move on to the regional competition, um, myself as well as another officer on our team did place, um, in sections and we got to go to regions and that was definitely a really cool experience to come and bring it back to the chapter. Okay, uh, BIG, formerly known as Best Informed Greenhand. It's a competition open to first-year FFA members where they learn the history of the FFA organization. They apply these skills on an objective test and what they learn is that the industry, this agriculture industry, that opportunity is provided as well as history of how this organization is run. The national FFA organization is student-led organization. These members contribute to that and now we look forward to seeing them in the future. For the welding team, I am personally a
005part of the welding team. Um, it It's It is new. We started last year. Um, we pretty much started in the classroom learning just basic welding skills, um, knowledge that we need to know that we could put towards tests in competitions and then we go out in the shop and work and learn different, um, processes, um, for example, stick, MIG, and TIG. Um, not a lot of students get to get to these, um, processes just because we don't do them in the class as much. It is a really good learning experience and this year I would say we've had a really good year with our students placing pretty high and a lot of more competitions have opened this year and I think um, in the future it'll be really well with, um, all the students
006that have been participating in the last few years or last year and this year and I think it's something that is really good that has opened up to the chapter. And then we also have our cotton team. Um, this is a CDE meaning it is like a judging team in our organization. And so it is really cool. This is a very new, um, CDE that we have inputted into our chapter. Um, basically what they do is selected students go compete and test the quality of cotton itself. Um, I know that they do various things such as, um, evaluating the cotton and how good its quality is. Um, this is a CDE that is held more towards the beginning of the year, so more towards the fall season. Um, we did have eight people on the
007cotton team and I know that they did really well and that they had a really good time in this new judging team. Moving on to our national FFA week. This week we celebrated, well, not this week, but our FFA week is about how we embrace our chapter and our goals and we include Merced High spirit. We planned activities and events. Two of them were Pay an Officer and Sip and Support. We introduced these events for our FFA members so they can celebrate and establish school spirit. It was a very successful one as well. Our dairy products team is also another CDE team that we have. Um, me and Brooke are both involved on the dairy products team. It is definitely something really cool, um, and something that I, um, advise other younger students to participate
008in just because, um, I find this one very fun. We get to test cheese ID, so we identify which cheese is which, testing, um, milk quality as well as like milk defects. And so we actually learn a lot about not only, um, dairy products but the dairy industry as well and how it is run. Um, this is definitely something new that we have inputted into our chapter, but it's really, really cool. We have had really good results such as placing high teams in such past competitions that we've been at. Um, we do have a competition held this weekend as well and we're really looking forward to it. And then we also have the PBL night and this kind of gives the school a chance to showcase, um, all the stuff that they've been working on
009in selected classes. Um, so it was really cool because we spent, um, some of our third quarter, um, kind of researching topics depending on what class you were coming from. I was in our vet science class and we did our project on the dog washing salon, which is what we are putting in our, um, our ag department and so that will kind of give us the opportunity to help take care of dogs and cats as well. So that was definitely really cool. But, um, we also did like marketing plans and how we are going to financially sustain that, um, business as student leaders. Um, and then more towards throughout the school, uh, I know that, um, in some of the English classes we worked on pieces with groups and we were able to showcase what
010we've been working on. For our live livestock team, we have 88 exhibitors that have the opportunity to show swine, rabbits, goats, or sheep. Um, these members get to keep their animal for a certain amount of time and they get to learn how to properly care for them. After the amount of time is over, they get to show and sell their animal at the county fair. This year our state convention was held for 4 days. Um, we were in Ontario, California and um, we took 24 members this year. Usually we only take around 16. Um, a lot of members were really interested this year, which I think is really good. Um, it really means like our uh, chapter is expanding and more people want to be involved. Um, we were able to be recognized for a
011few, um, awards. Our one of our teachers here, Miss Jester, she was recognized for the Star Staff Award. She was one of the six members in the state to be recognized for this award, which means we do get to move on to national, um, convention, um, this next fall and we are really looking forward to attending that, um, convention. It is something really big and not everyone gets to attend. And also our chapter, um, was recognized for the, um, national chapter award, which was for nationals and then, um, it was just a really great, um, convention this year. I think moving on to nationals, it'll be even better. The workforce grant is a grant that the ag department received. This helped our shop classes and we bought some of the machinery you see behind you
012on the board. This machinery allows the students to work efficiently and maximize their time. This industry allows all the members to participate with the machinery they will be fond with in this industry. On behalf of Merced FFA, I thank you guys, but I want to leave you guys with a quote for our shop classes. Apple co-founded go co-founder Steve Jobs said, "Technology is useless, but if you give people tools, they will make wonderful things." Thank you. >> [applause] >> Does anyone have any questions for the students? Did all of you get to go to state conference? And what was your biggest takeaway? I got to attend state conference, too, and that made me want to be a teenager again and join FFA. It was a spectacular event, and I and for those of you in
013FFA for all four years, I think it's a tremendous experience to go to state conference, so glad y'all got to do that. You present very well. Thank you. Um so, aside from public speaking, what would you say is the the most important skill that you've learned during your time in FFA? I don't have any questions. They kind of asked them already, but great job. I agree with Miss Pickle that you guys are excellent presenters and speakers. And I thank the four of you, but I think the gentleman you're going to go a long ways with the way you you present yourself and and all of you, but I'm just saying the way you were presenting right now, you will all go a long ways, but you you have something special. Uh one more Yeah, one
014more. Really impressed with you guys always finding a new judging team or new activity or the dog washing station idea is fabulous. I'm pretty sure most of us dog lovers go, "Oh, that'd be a great idea." But the cotton judging team caught me because I never thought about it, but we are in this county a heavy producer of cotton. That would be one thing that we would probably be interested in. So, thanks for sharing that with us tonight, guys. Thank you. Make sure you guys get a van and make it like a big dog with a fluffy dog with ears, big ears. Thank you. >> Thank you. So, moving forward, yes, ma'am. Again, welcome to everyone to the board, to Mr. Peterson, and the rest of cabinet. Um I'm just going to just very briefly
015kind of take you back. This is our second time hosting this year, so we were back here in September at the beginning of the year. And these are some of the things that I talked about then, and so just to kind of update you on where we are at this point. So, what one of the focal points this year, probably the biggest one, um was for us to establish um some academic structures for collaboration and data analysis with our our staff. So, that has been in full swing this year. We've made great progress this year with our collaborative teams being much more data-driven in their instructional approach, um using assessments, common assessments, having data conversations to ensure that our kids are learning well. So, we are well on our way to accomplishing what we set
016out to do. Uh still work to do, but we're we're definitely on our way. Uh we also talked about campus culture builders, um our leadership program, our plus program, which is a was an alternative leadership program, our ag leadership with some of our students here has been working a lot in conjunction with our plus program, which is great. We love to see our our leadership programs working together. And then our staff uh leadership uh kind of activity-based program, our BSB, have all been very active this year putting on multiple events throughout the the school year just trying to build a stronger campus culture of belonging um and togetherness. So, that's been it's been super helpful this year to kind of getting us through the school year and making everybody feel at home at school. And
017then, of course, um we we have had another successful uh year out on the fields and in the pools and in the gyms. Um we had four section championships in the fall, which is was kind of unheard of. We hadn't had that ever. So, that was great. Um so far this year we've had five league champions, and we are currently leading the CCC Excellence Awards again this year, and also having a very strong spring. I think we have five or six teams in the running for conference championships right now, so um it's been successful year out on the fields as well. So, all all of that together has led to a pretty good uh feeling about campus. If you walk onto campus, kind of tell that that the kids and the staff are in a
018pretty good place so far. Of course, we're in the middle of the grind right now, so we're a little tired, but we're we're doing okay. Um so, moving onward, just looking at some of the goals that we have. Again, as I was talking about our PLC practices, collaborative practices, I want to give a huge shout-out to for actually diving into this. For the most part, you know, we always have stragglers, obviously, but for the most part our staff has really embraced this process, and they're really finding the value in working together as opposed to just working in silos, so I really want to give our our teaching staff a shout-out for that. Um and then our our instructional leadership team, Miss Smith, Miss Valenzuela, Miss Pedroza, our teacher librarian, they've all been working very hard.
019Miss Gibson, who is our induction mentor, to kind of lead this along with our guiding coalition, which is a group of teachers that have been at the forefront of leading this as well. So, Um one of our other goals was to increase the number of students who earned college credit and certification by 15%, which was a it was an aggressive goal. We recognize that. Last semester we were up 4%, so we still got some work to do, but we're we're getting better with that. And that was also you know, we have some data clean-up probably to do, too, but that was that's what was in there so far, but we are up from where we were and expect that to continue to rise as well. Hopefully, we'll get to that 15, but we'll see. Um
020the other thing was attendance. Attendance was a big thing for us last year. We had we were having a lot of trouble just with having accurate attendance Um Miss Catnessy came this year as one of our APs, and she took that bull by the horns, and super huge kudos to her and the attendance team. We have actually reached that goal. They have been on the attendance submission doggedly all year long, and they're doing a great job with that. So, even when we have people who don't do what they're supposed to do, she gets after them, and they get it fixed. And we all know the value of having accurate attendance all know the value of of co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Right now, 89% of our students have some sort of logged extracurricular club or sport
021or something like that. Um we want to get that up to 100 by the end of the year. So, that's what we're working on right now. We'll update that data as we go. But, all in all, you can see the quote that I have up there at the bottom. Um discipline creates freedom, and that's kind of what we're looking at. Really trying to improve processes so that no matter who's in what position, our school can just keep trucking along and doing the good the great things that we do here at Merced High School. So, anybody have any questions? There you go. Thank you. Thank you. So, moving on to um general public comment period. Um the meeting is recorded. Individuals addressing the board are asked to fill out a speaker card located in the back
022of the room. Complete a blue card to speak to an item not on the agenda, and a yellow card to speak to an item on the agenda. Please return the card to the administrative secretary of the governing board. Individuals addressing the board shall be limited to 3 minutes each with no more than 20 minutes per topic. During this portion of the agenda, the public is invited to comment on items which are not on the agenda, but are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees. The board will take no action at this time, but may refer the issue for further consideration. Individuals who wish to comment on agenda items shall be provided an opportunity to comment after the staff report and before the board's consideration of that item. Individuals who cannot wait to
023address the board when the agenda item is addressed may make their comments at this time. So, with that, I will go by All right. So, um the first speaker card is Gloria Sandoval. Good evening. I'm a past employee, 18 years Golden Valley High School as a counselor, a guidance counselor. And a few of you I still know. Some of you are kind of new. Um this evening I come because I I was concerned that there were some students that were um held to be truant during some of their expressions of um not going to school to learn other civic lessons in their community. As you may know, or hopefully you're you have noticed that our community, the Latinos, the Chicanos, the Mexicanos, have been under a lot of stress, a lot of worry about ICE
024coming to schools, to churches, to community centers, to courts, everywhere, and disappearing, or even shooting people. The most recent has been in our backyard here in Patterson. And that um right now we we are worried because a young man uh at least 36 years old with a little daughter of two-year-old daughter um had been uh shot six or seven times. There were alleged, you know, criminal issues involved, but uh he has a an attorney that's representing him. The reason I'm bringing this up is because I think it's important, you know, that all agree that you don't just learn in schools. You learn everywhere. Just like my mom used to say, God is everywhere. You don't have to go to church to pray. You can pray wherever you're at. I think the same thing goes for
025education. And you know, I I I really do believe that it's important to allow students, you know, I mean I was amazed, and I always have been amazed by the FFA. They have a very structured goals, but I don't think we do the same with regards to understanding, you know, our history, uh our our people feeling pride. I was a MESA advisor at Golden Valley High School for about 12 years. No pay, no had to do fundraising, had to pay for our own buses to go, but it was cultural. And and parents were welcomed. And I don't see that same thing now. Since 9/11, we've been treated as foreigners, even though we're born here. So, I'd like to, you know, consider a a wider, broader um reflection and of people young people that are in
026your school. I am proud of those students. There may be some that just want to play hooky, maybe, you know? But, I think that most of them were sincere about standing up for their rights and complaining and and you know, wanting to participate in in saving or defending their community. So, thank you very much for listening. Next um next speaker card is Harlan Dymond. Hello. Sorry if I got your last name wrong. No, you got it perfect. Uh my name is Harlan Dymond. Um I actually drove in from Modesto. I'm an attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance. Um I'm not here speaking on behalf of CRLA, but um I did come in for a lot of education issues that do concern students here. Um you just heard from someone that was talking about the suspensions
027that happened at Modesto at Merced High School. Um four students were suspended after walking out. One student was um you'll hear more about this, hopefully, surrounded by adults and intimidated and pressed as to why he had walked out. He was told that he was being suspended for willful defiance. Willful defiance is not a legal ground for suspension and hasn't been since 2024. So, a lot of process problems happened, but I wanted to back up and give a little more information about the law that people are going to refer to. That's SB 955. So, SB 955 is the Student Engagement Act. It became law in 2023, and it says that students have the right to an excused absence for civic engagement. And then defines civic engagement very broadly. Strikes, walkouts, cultural events, um but the legislative
028history makes it clear that prioritizing student opportunities for civic learning and engagement is the purpose of the law, to encourage democratic participation, and to address what they call the civic engagement gap for minority students. Connie Leyva was the bill's author, and Senator Leyva said, "The future of our state will largely be guided by young people still in school today. It is vital that we get California students more civically involved in government and in their community." SB 955 prioritizes student opportunities for civic learning and engagement. It will help them gain a better understanding of how their involvement can help to change and improve the world around them. So, even if you disagree with what the students are saying, or how they're saying it, it's important that you support their ability to say it, to get their
029voice out. Um the stat- the statute also authorizes school administrators to offer additional days. It's one of the only statutes that says you can give more excused absences to students, but the the legislature wrote that out here. So, you can't offer less, you can't offer more. And this is a new law. So, I've been talking to school boards all over the place about this law. 1,200 students walked out in Modesto. Not one of them got suspended. A handful of students walked out in Merced. Four of them got suspended. Now, I understand that the vice superintendent has taken some actions to rectify what's happened, but I really want to push and say, like, let's hold up students. Let's hold up their rights, and let's show them what civic engagement can look like. Thank you. Next up
030is Salvador Sandoval. Uh good evening. Uh my name is Salvador Sandoval, and I'm a uh ph- physician. I semi-retired. And I also was health officer in Merced uh for 5 years. I'm proud to say that two of my uh children, the twins, graduated from Merced High School. And our youngest one graduated from Golden Valley High School. They also were involved in some walkouts during the 1887 bill uh in California when Governor Wilson wanted to exclude uh undocumented children from from classes. And they they did their detention uh all A students, but they did their detention along with everybody else. We're in very tumultuous times. Uh the the children that are uh in high school now went through a very difficult time uh when they were in elementary school and junior high because of the shutdowns
031with COVID the COVID pandemic. And trying to learn in school uh through electronic means. And it caused a lot of uh anxiety, a lot of mental health concerns. And coming out of that, what's happened is we have now a very tumultuous situation with uh children not feeling safe. They don't feel safe in the schools. They don't feel safe in churches. They don't feel safe in many places. So, I think when uh these walkouts happened, Minnesota was exploding. And I think you have to take all those things into account that the uh these civic engagement is is something that's really should be uh lauded. I I'm I'm proud of the the young people. I observed actually when uh they had the first walkout and there were no problems. I think the the the uh young people
032uh were very courteous and uh followed all laws. Uh I didn't see any particular problem with that. But I just wanted to make these statements because I feel that it's important that we look at the context and that we support our children, our young adults uh that are coming forward. Thank you. Um speaker number four, Amelia Johnson. Hello everyone. My name is Amelia Johnson. Um I live here in Merced. I work for the UC system. Um I went to high school in the '90s. Um so, it was before cell phones. We didn't have the internet. Um so, I'm here tonight just to encourage you to think about what it must be like to be a teenager right now. You know, um Dr. Sandoval mentioned you know, um that in his comments. And I just wonder
033like what it must be like to be seeing so much injustice in real time, on your phone, all over the place, and wonder like what you would do about it to feel called to express yourself and stand up for what's right. So, um I just encourage you to take that into account um with your students. So, thank you. Speaker number five, um Maria Elena Young. Hi. Good evening. My name is Maria Elena Young. I'm a resident of the city of Merced. I'm also a member of our local ACLU chapter. I'm here tonight, like so many of my my friends here, in support of the four students who are suspended for participating in the walkout. Um I'm proud to live in a community where the youth are taking the lead in speaking up about issues that
034are issues of injustice that directly affect our community, but also broadly more broadly affect our world. Um I'm really glad to hear that the um vice superintendent has met with the families and that there is a path forward for these students. But I'm here to really speak up and reinforce that the people of Merced want students to be leaders like this. Um and that it's critical that they are exercising their constitutional rights to express themselves. And I I want to encourage the Merced Union Union High School District to continue to support those students and ensure that their leadership um continues to be valued and not punished. Speaker card number six, uh Fue Xiong. Hello everyone. Um I'm Councilmember Fue Xiong, representing District 6 of the city of Merced. You know, as public officials, um it's
035important that we center community concerns and our youth. All right. In today's political climate with our war regression against Iran, uh the genocide Palestinians, um the state sanctioning of kidnapping of through ICE, right, of our neighbors, um the destruction of our planets, and the fact that nobody's held accountable for the crimes committed on Epstein's Island. Um I I completely understand the frustration that our youth has uh in this time. And I actually applaud them for the courage that they have to stand up and to fight for the change they want to see. We often teach our young people how that they should treat others how they want to be treated. And at the same time, we teach them that they should be the change they want to see. Uh and yet at the same time,
036we're punishing them when they take the lead. Um when they step up and challenge the way things have always been, and they try to build a future they again want to see, they aspire to be. Um and again, they're punished for this. And so, I get it that we don't want folks missing class. Uh but to punish them by taking away their education, it's not the right way. All right. Uh we we need to stand in solidarity with our students and protect them from ICE. Make sure that Make it clear that ICE is not allowed on campus and create the safe space that our schools are supposed to be for our students. Uh And a lot of that is letting our students know schools will always protect them. All right. And that there will be
037clear policy and training for staff to prevent ICE on campus. Uh so, rather than being reactionary, um as the adults that are in charge of our students, um it's important that we understand where our youth are coming from and their fears and uncertainties, and meet them where they are. All right. It It sends a strong message when our youth are asking to simply have a safe space on campus, right, to ensure that they're not going to face any sort of deportation at school through ICE. Uh And for our elected officials to come and align behind that. So, again, rather than punishing our students for taking the lead on this, I think it's important that we support our youth and ensure that reassure them of the safety that they have on campus. Thank you. All right.
038Um next speaker card is Jazz Diaz Shane. Um Hello, Council. Um so, I'm here today. I am a step parent to Addison Shane. And I met um earlier today with um the vice superintendent. And I just want to say I do appreciate the time that you took to meet with us, to communicate with us, and to bring some clarification. Yes, these kids were not um in suspension. It was an IC. But the reason that this was a specific event that happened here at Merced High School, where this was a national walkout in the United States. And if yes, it was in response to Minneapolis. It was in response for the students of Minneapolis walking out. And it was also in response to someone who was killed by ICE. Students came out. They practiced their civic
039engagement. And it was these individuals, including my stepson, that was singled out. And it was to the discretion of this principal to um kind of rather than this be a teachable moment, um punish. And so, we are here wondering, how did we get here? My husband's not going to be able to be here because he's at work. He couldn't get time off. He did get an extended lunch to meet earlier today. And we're missing the point. The fact that the school also just sent out a message that's saying, "Hey, ICE is not on campus." And that was their response to what had happened. We're missing the point. The point is that we should be supporting, like all the community members that have spoken up before, is that we're missing the point that we need to
040support these students' civic engagement, and also that they know their rights. The fact that the fact that our our kid was put aside, and was just a phone call to his mother. It wasn't put in writing. And it wasn't also a parent-teacher conference that should have been held after that, before it even got to an IC. And so, at this moment, we are moving forward on looking at this as a big picture. And so, I urge you that at this council, that we just not just support these four individual students, but that we look at this being a teachable moment that what are your ICE protocols in school? Is it just an email? Um I was looking on your website. It is not there. I have seen that Merced City School District does have an
041immigration resource and guidance. And we also asked for that your staff get training on this. Um and so, like you said, a lot of schools nationwide, and currently, there was a walkout today in LA in regards to students supporting the teachers' strike. So, are you ready to support your students? Thank you. All right. Okay, moving on to speaker card number eight. I have Allison Silva. Good evening, uh Mr. Superintendent Allen Peterson, members of the Board of Education, district leadership staff, and community members. I first off like to say is um equity in HR isn't just an administration goal. It is a student success issue. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm here to raise concerns on my own inferences about inequities within the Human Resource Department at MUHSD. This is not just MUHSD. This
042is MCSD. These are This is about This is all the counties that I am addressing, um which I will be going to each board meeting. So, I'm not just singling you out. Um When hiring and advancement processes are not applied consistently, or when there is a perception that personal connections can outweigh qualification, it damages trust. In public education, trust is not optional. It is the foundation of effective leadership, fair employment, and healthy school environment. In Merced where unemployment remains roughly 8 to 10% there is no shortage of qualified individuals seeking work. That reality makes it even more important that hiring is transparent, competitive, and based strictly on merit and professional qualifications. We also we are also using temp agencies to fill some of these roles, which is a little bit disheartening. At the same time,
043this disciplinary data across schools shows concern continued concern with suspension rates in some programs reaching around 11 to 12%. These figures represent lost instructional time, disrupted learning environments, and students who are not receiving consistent support. We also cannot ignore the role staffing plays in this issue. The adults placed in classrooms shape daily structure, expectations, and behavior outcomes. Substitute staffing in particular has a direct impact on classroom stability. When substitutes are inconsistently selected or not adequately prepared, it increases disruptions, weakens classroom management, and contributes to higher disciplinary referrals. This is not just hey, this principal wants to hire these people, my grandma, my aunt, my cousin who just finished the CBEST. No, these people need to be screened. These people need to have real-life experiences. They're going into the classroom and they're going to be with
044students that think they can run all over them. So, they need to be aware of that. They need to be aware of these students. They need to to they need to be aware of what school they're going to, and they need to survey the area before they get there. Why This is why human resources practices must be strengthened. We need a hiring system that is more structured and more accountable. No single individual should be responsible for screening or selecting employees in isolation. Instead, hiring should involve multiple trained professionals working together to ensure fairness, reduce bias, and maintain consistency. Also, principals should not have excessive authority over recruitment and hiring. I understand the concept when a CEO has his people, they're going to take all their people with them. Thank you. Can I go again? For
0453 minutes? No, that's >> get back in line? No, um No, here's 3 minutes per uh speaker. Okay. Yes. Not not even if I use another card and come back for the remaining 3 minutes of my speech? Hm? You could email it to us. I can just hand it to you or Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, um moving on to Scott Lennox. Hello. Uh my name is Scott Lennox. I'm here in support of the uh four students that were uh disciplined for uh being uh walking out in support of uh what was happening in uh Minneapolis. Um I've uh been a resident here um for 50 of my 62 years. Uh went to the Burbank, uh Tenaya, uh East Campus, and Merced High School. I eventually uh went to Merced College and
046uh transferred to Cal, came back and got my teaching credential here at Merced High School with Lori De Elly. Um And then I uh taught for 12 years at Los Banos High School as an English teacher. Um and uh I did that for 12 years. I was worried that I was going to get burnt out, so I uh took up a new career and became a nurse and worked in the ER at Mercy Hospital uh for 7 years. And um you know, I I really felt that you have to feel that teaching is a calling uh and that you really value uh the students. And I was worried I was going to be burnt out, and so I I left. And um I think it's important that we uh we look at what we're doing
047with the students and why we're um why we're doing it. Um we have to protect them. There should be clear policies uh about these things that people others have spoken about, uh about keeping ICE out of the schools and protecting the vulnerable populations. There are people that are being scapegoated right now. Um and these students I think when I when I was working with the students, I I noticed that teenagers have a really uh strong sense of uh the hypocrisy of adults, the adults that are around them. Um and uh you know, they they call it out, and uh I think they see that what's going on in our society right now. Uh there's a difference a disconnect between the morality and the legality. I mean, currently uh you know, the Supreme Court has ruled
048that the president is allowed to commit all sorts of crimes and bribes as long as he can make a case that it's uh for his uh within his his job description somehow. Uh that uh people are that corporations are people, that money is speech. And so, I'm not surprised that the young people are looking out um and uh and wanting wondering what's going on. And uh I don't know how much of it's being taught here in school, but I think as others have said, uh it's important for them to learn out in in in the world also. And uh we want them I think not just to uh to learn, but also to contribute to our community, uh to our nation. And um I mean, you you see something like in Texas where they're trying
049to pass a law that immigrants uh shouldn't be allowed to attend public schools. So, we would create a whole new uh class of serfs a serf class a multi-generational surf class if we did something like that. of what I think we're supposed to be doing here. And um I I I think here in this room, I think I I have a lot of people that uh you know, do value their students and uh trying to do the right thing. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Warwick, have we exceeded the 20 minutes for this Okay. All right. Um Addison Shane? Hi. Thank you for having me. My name is Addison. I'm a student here at Merced High School. I'm one of the four people who uh got suspended or got sent to IC here at the last
050walkout. Um I wanted to say thank you to the vice superintendent for meeting with my stepmom and my dad earlier today and, you know, talking about the policies that we want enforced like later on after this mix-up that happened. Um I feel like this me us doing this should um hopefully it will like push you guys to um have policy education on the correct policy for civic engagement in students. And uh I'm mainly here for the future potential activists in the Merced like high school district who maybe would be scared seeing that people got suspended to not go into further action. Cuz I I was already seeing after we got suspended, we were trying to do further action to the um war in Iran that happened after the first killing of Renee Good in Minnesota,
051and people didn't want to um protest because they were scared that they're going to get suspended. So, I'm mainly here for them. And uh I just hope that this motivates you guys to to have further education into um be more motivated to not seek that discipline um on the you know, principal's discretion because the discretion was as Harlan said, was um willful disobedience, which was outlawed in 2024. So, I feel like um students shouldn't fear unlawful um discipline from civic action and for speaking out for their rights. Thank you. All right. Thank you to everyone who came out today. We will now move on to item number 11, which um it we have reports and it's discussion only. So, for 11A, Dr. Weimer on board bylaw. Good evening. This is a uh bring back item
052from last meeting. And so, many of the slides are pretty much the same. I'll I'll Wait for Yeah, I'll wait for a second. I'm used to it. Do you know who these are? Adult with shorts? And flip-flops. Okay. >> Oh, yeah. Shorts and flip-flops. And a beard. Okay, so this is a uh bring back from our previous meeting. Um I'm not going to go through all of the slides. It gives you the background of the passage for the uh bylaw 9250. Um gives you the background on why the legislature did what the legislature did, tells you what our current board policy was, which that was the sample policy. We have the policy that says each governing body each governing board may receive the maximum monthly compensation is provided in Ed Code. So, that is what
053our current board policy is. And so, basically that was adopted back June 27th, 2007. And we need to know if anyone is interested, the staff recommends that taking input, which we did last meeting in this meeting, the board provide guidance if they would like to change or update board bylaw 9250. Any questions? Okay. If there are no questions no comments, then that would be it. And I'm next, so I'm Yes, so 11 11B fiscal and facility master plan, Dr. Waymer. So, this is a again a continuation. This is an ongoing theme for this particular year because we are having the conversations of the bond. But the facility needs and security topics for the facility master plan update. Some of our key timelines, things that are going on. We have the completion of the business park
054right now and apparently we need to go a lot faster because we're going to have a luncheon there pretty quick. And and so, we need we need to be ready for that. We have the CTE facility grants that we're going to be providing matching funds if they do get approved and we have the Golden Valley High School pool renovation, which is still in the design phase getting ready to go to the DSA phase for approval. March the district administrative meeting, we reviewed timelines and processes with the principals. We reviewed evolved security screening, which is an AI security system that does single point of entry screening. Reviewed gathering input and facility needs for principals throughout April and into early May. April and May sites are going to take input from stakeholders on the facility needs for
055their campuses. May board meeting, we will have a review of those and then May or June board meeting would be a time in which we would need be making a decision cuz we will come to an August or an early August timeline to put anything on the bond. We would rather not do it at that first meeting in August, which is like a one day before the the timeline that that doesn't give us any room for error. And so, we would be looking at May or June board meetings for making a decision on whether or not we were going to be putting a bond on the ballot for November. You have the November 3rd, 2026 election and then December, we do get the state results on whether our CTE grants are going to be funded
056and if they are, we do need to match those particular funding amounts. Yep. Yes. I will reach out to the principals and and see. Yep. I will see what dates I can get for you, yes. Included in the site facility needs assessment CTE facility grants again have already given some input. We're in the process. July is the next step for them to go through and us to provide the needed requirements for those and then again December is when the timeline which they will tell us whether those are going to be funded or not. Near term infrastructure mean needs estimating about $2.5 million per site for roofs, HVAC, concrete concrete repairs, electrical upgrades, those types of things that nobody likes to do, but they need to get done. They're not things that are flashy and showy,
057but they are things that keep our students safe and keep our schools operating. Access control needs would be things like the card key access control, security screening, single point of entry, audio enhancement for classroom speakers and displays. Those would run around 1.75 to 3 million dollars per site. District facility standards and then site identifying needs. And so, you will see for each campus, they're putting together an identification of each of these different components. This one is the Merced facility standards. You probably have seen this before. I think I've had it up once or twice over the last couple of years. The hope is to turn as much of that green as we possibly can. The areas that are red are areas in which we have standards in the district and there's one or two campuses
058who are not at those standards. And so, this identifies what those projects are and again those tend to be 10 to 12 million dollar type projects. And again, those will be shown on each site as identified as a facility standard that they are missing or something when they come up with their lists. So, prior to even the conversations that are going on on the sites right now the CTE match would be 15 million, basic infrastructure 17.5, access control 21, facility standards 40. We're at 93.5 million dollars of needs before we even ask anybody for input. So, we will be getting a wide variety of input from the sites and we are and they're in the process now and I've got questions from them on, you know, what do you think this is going to cost?
059What would you know, so we can start putting those types of things together for those discussions. But we're at 93.5 before that even starts. And so if we're debating on whether or not there's a need. And so, that just gives you a little bit of an idea of what's coming up. And again a large part of those conversations will be done before the May board meeting. So, we'll be able to give you another update at the May meeting that doesn't just have the basic stuff on it, but what the different sites are looking at and requesting. And again, it's not a static static document. It will be things that they will continue to take input on and continue to tweak throughout the next couple of months and into the early fall. But we'll have most
060of the information by the next board meeting. Questions? Timelines. I would be interested on the the May versus June kind of guidance on on what we would be thinking on. And then we would need a little bit of guidance. You're not making any decisions right now. You're just having conversations on the facility districts versus the bond as a whole. Those those are the two, May June facility district versus bond as a whole that we need to kind of have conversations about or at least be thinking about. Because if we're going to do a May or June board meeting, we would need to be ready for those presentations. And and that was the path that the board was going down the last time before COVID and everything took us off the rails. We already have the
061SFIDs created. They were created by the board at the last time we were looking at this. So, those are already in existence and ready to go if we decide to use those. Well, actually I guess we already got a little bit with the surveys, but we want stakeholder input on on on that on which way to go? We that was specifically asked for on the survey. And so, I could be wrong, but I want to say it came in about 10% higher. >> 10% higher in each district. Yeah, I remember by doing it that way. Yeah, I do remember that, but it was not a not a large amount of people that took the survey. Yeah, it was like 800, I think. Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Waymer. 11C dual enrollment Ballenger and Tiffany Gong.
062Yes, good evening. I'm following up on Stacy Cool's board report on the college math bridge dual enrollment course from last month. We wanted to share a more comprehensive overview of our dual enrollment opportunities. Leaning into the MUHSD vision that includes every student graduating with college credit we have started and implemented a dual enrollment program that attempts to meet the needs of all students and provide them opportunities to expand their college course experience. Merced College has been an important partner in this work and we appreciate their support and their willingness to work with us on some of our crazy ideas. I'd like to introduce Tiffany Gong, K-12 pathway coordinator to share more information. Thank you, Mrs. Ballenger. Good evening. Nice to see you all, board members and cabinet members. I'm honored to be here again this
063evening to present wonderful information about our dual enrollment program in Merced Union High School District. A comprehensive K-14 system has those four components in order to make it successful. First, it needs to ensure that we have access for all students and this really focuses on underrepresented populations and non-college bound students. Uh it's important in order for our system to maintain college level rigor and I will share how we monitor that and ensure that that happens in all of our courses. We strategically plan for pathway alignment, so I'll explain how we use that philosophy in order to choose which courses are we put up for dual enrollment with Merced College. And then of course we want to promote multi-year growth for all of our students. The three ways that students can earn college credit with our
064district and Merced College are up there on the screen. C-CAP, dual enrollment, and concurrent enrollment. C-CAP stands for College and Career Access Pathways and that's also the name of the grant and partnership that we have with our community college. C-CAP courses for us are the most accessible option for our students. They are online and there are no fees associated with those courses. Dual enrollment courses are inside our school day. They're aligned with pathways that exist on our campuses, which you're familiar with. Those are our 38 pathways that align with the 14 industry sectors that we offer here in MUHSD. They take place on campus and again no fees associated with those courses. Concurrent enrollment, there are fees applied to those. That is because those courses occur on the Merced College campus. Those are by Merced
065College staff. They take place on nights, weekends, summers. So these are courses that students choose on their own along with probably their parents and families. So that's the reason why those courses aren't a part of C-CAP and dual enrollment options. Um concurrent enrollment also, that's not that doesn't fall under the College and Career Access Pathways umbrella dictated by California Colleges. So that's not dictated by us. That's a part of the bigger picture plan. So again, as Mrs. Ballenger described, our C-CAP and dual enrollment courses are in partnership with Merced College. Tuition is free for all students up to 11 units. And they're again aligned to our general education, CTE pathways, and then transfer pathways. And transfer pathways we also look at pathways with UC Merced since that's a another local entity and we want to
066promote that option for our students as well. So here outlines the differences for you visually. Again, C-CAP courses are asynchronous. That's that online detail. Those are taught by Merced College instructors. They provide broad access and of course flexibility for students because there isn't a dictated timeline in which students need to log on. Of course beginning and end of semester apply. And then that allows expansion of college offerings without those staffing constraints. Dual enrollment are teacher led model. Again, those courses taught by our staff. There is a process in which teachers excuse me qualify to be dual enrollment teachers. They have to meet minimum qualifications as dictated again by California Colleges. There's an application interview process by Merced College they take part in. And then there's a course submission that needs to happen along with a
067syllabus and I'll go into detail a little bit more in a minute about that. Again, those courses are within our school day and align with our CTE pathways. The enrollment process for students is um outlined on the Merced College website as well as our own. It isn't a special place for high school and it also includes directions for middle school students. So they apply to Merced College. There's a parent consent and K-12 permit form for those of you who are parents of students who go through this process. And then they register just like any other student would. That is just openly going to Merced College to um apply for classes. There's a one-time one-time application. They may have to reapply if there is a lapse in um admission and attendance in courses at Merced College.
068After they've completed the enrollment process, then the permit process. Student completes forms. They're routed for approvals and they're registered for courses. And I'm I'm outlining this for you because our staff takes a big part in ensuring that students in complete this process accurately and successfully. Our district employs pathway counselors who are already existing counselors at our sites, but they apply to be adjunct staff with Merced College, go through the interview process, and then have this added responsibility and they are they fill out time cards. And so this is an addition to their workload that they do here with us daily. They support students and families with enrollment. They provide course guidance. And then also a big piece is the monitoring student work and that 11 unit criteria for students not to go over because it
069has happened where students enroll and they think, "Oh, I'm in 14 units." Well, we don't want them a family and a student to get a bill, you know, for a college course that a student has taken. So it's really important and we put more emphasis on that monitoring. Our pathway counselors have access to a shared workbook and that is also shared with a staff member at Merced College. And they're actively monitoring the permits, the rosters, the course sections. They're also looking to see if a certain site has 20 seats allocated for a course, but another site only has five seats registered, then they are really good about sharing to ensure that we are totally utilizing all seats allocated to MUHSD. Pathway counselors also reinforce the student expectations and the academic impact that courses have on
070students. FERPA does apply and so sometimes for families they don't realize that their student is the only one that can communicate with a professor or with a college staff member. So that's an important piece for families to understand. The pathway counselors are responsible for the communication, email, and deadlines. They're responsible for letting our students know that they are responsible for those items in order to be successful in the college courses. And then of course having them realize that these um credits are permanent on their college transcripts. These courses and credits do impact their eligibility in financial aid. So for example, if they take a course their sophomore year and receive a failing grade, that's going to be on their college transcript once they get to Merced College or whatever community college or UC they attend
071or CSU. Um and then that could impact negatively impact their financial aid. So again, our pathway counselors are really key in making sure that everyone understands the impact of college courses for students. And then also to uh communicate the withdrawal deadlines so that students don't miss that opportunity in the event that they're not being successful, that they don't miss that opportunity to withdraw. So here are our C-CAP. Again, these are the online courses that are offered traditionally during fall, spring, and summer um semesters. They are consistent in content areas. They are sequenced. So as you can see as you look down that list, they are intentionally sequenced and offered English 1A, English 1B, History 17A, History 17B, and so forth. They are based on student in interest and enrollment patterns and each of these courses
072also exist on our equivalency list. So for example, History 17A and 17B. Um and it is still up here Poly Sci 1 and Econ 1 even though Econ will be going away. Those courses satisfy our graduation requirements. So that's why those are always on our C-CAP offerings list. And others meet elective credit requirements here for MUHSD students. In terms of dual enrollment, so remember these are the ones that take place in our classrooms with our staff members. They are direct directly connected to our pathways. They reinforce sequence to make sure that there's continuity. And then the courses also build on the alignment piece to ensure that what our teachers are including in our courses then front load or our springboard for the course content that students will receive at the college level. So our students
073in order to become an instructor at at Merced College, again, transcripts, resume, diversity statement. They go through an interview and then they are either approved or not approved as an instructor of record. In the event that they're not approved as an instructor of record, there are times where disciplines allow for teachers to apply and qualify under equivalency. So that is where when teachers apply, they are in constant communication with myself in this position so that I can communicate with Merced College and ensure that then I can support the teacher in the equivalency process to get that teacher hired. So once an instructor is hired, before, during, and after the semester, and most of our dual enrollment courses do occur in the spring with the idea that the fall semester we're front loading content to then
074prepare the kids for that college level rigor in the spring. So our instructors are expected to monitor student rosters and there is a Merced College portal which our teachers log into. They are responsible for the instruction and the student monitoring. And then the final grades as well. Um for us, our cap is 50 seats. However, you know, that doesn't match our classrooms traditionally. So, Merced College does ask that we have at least 25 students enrolled in our dual enrollment courses in order to maximize the spots and the offerings. Uh the course rigor is a is a really important expectation. Um we need to ensure that the rigor is aligned to that college level. We need to maintain the college integrity. We need to ensure that the assessments are at the college level and then again,
075that's why that syllabus is required. We have gotten better and we've implemented a a more detailed system in order to monitor this because again, we never want a teacher or student to think, "Oh, you know, because this course is qualifies as dual enrollment right now, can I slack off? Can I just It is super, super important that we maintain that academic integrity and that the rigor remains throughout the course." So, the evolution of dual enrollment here in MUHSD over the last 3 years uh looks as the following. In 2023-24, um dual enrollment courses were offered at all high schools. There was a wide range of courses across multiple sectors and implementation varied by site. Um at that time, there was a goal of let's get some courses dual enrolled. In 2024-25, we were able to
076strengthen key pathways and be a little more strategic, especially with our health science and public service pathways. And this is an important factor because health science and public service are one of our top two um areas that areas of need in our community according to labor market data. And last year, when I was here in September, I shared that there was increased collaboration between our high school teachers and the Merced College faculty staff. So then, leading into this year, we were able to increase our number of staff applying for Merced College. And here, when I was here in September, I reported that we had about 32 teachers that were adjunct staff and six pending. We have heard back that three of those qualified, three did not, and I'm working on equivalency with those other teachers.
077We've had addition of new courses in agriculture and education. And then, we've had an increased emphasis on student access across across sites. So, what we've done is I am meeting with dual enrollment teachers and monitoring student progress more frequently than in the past to ensure that if students are in a class that is dual enrolled here at MUHSD, let's make sure that student is earning a C or better and reporting that to the college so that they have that on their transcript. Here are the dual enrollment classes that are current for 25-26 and the data there spanning back 3 years. So, number of dual enrollment courses, 12, 15, 17. Pathways, 10, 10, and 11. And then, you see the pass rates there down at the bottom. Now, it's important to note that the number of
078courses and pathways, even though it says 10 pathways, 10 pathways, 11 pathways, that doesn't necessarily mean that they were the same pathways cuz again, the courses have to be revisited and we have to make sure that the content remains at that academic rigor and still qualifies to meet the dual enrollment requirements. And this is why too, why we meet with Merced College faculty because if equipment has changed or if industry needs have changed and Merced College has made an adjustment on their end in a course, we need to make sure that we're making those adjustments as well. One thing new this year um in building early college access is the implementation of a course in our ninth grade health class. Uh Management 52, Foundations of Wellbeing. We piloted this last year with two sites and
079now this year, we've rolled it out to all six comprehensive sites and Sequoia since Sequoia is the only one that offers health, not Yosemite. It is taught in partnership with Merced College. It is dedicated Excuse me, it's delivered through a dedicated college level Canvas course that they specifically designed to meet the needs of ninth grade students so that it's accessible, but the content is college level. And then, this provide has provided our students with a first college credit experience. Um in addition to that, enrolling this out, we've been very strategic in how we've rolled it out on each campus to ensure that it is successful. So, we have now 20-plus teachers who are familiar with the dual enrollment process because and they weren't before, our health teachers. They are now talking college credit and college
080experience with ninth graders. So, we're ensuring that access is there for all of our ninth grade students. We also have included instructional coaches in this process. So, they're going into classrooms and looking at the college content and supporting teachers. So, what this has done has is just expanded the college credit experience for teachers, pathway counselors, administrators, students, and families. So, there are growth in enrollment in college courses. Our fall, you see there, there was a 26% increase though from the year prior to fall 2025. And then, you see the enormous jump in our spring and that reflects that increased access for our ninth graders now being enrolled in the online course during the school day. So, moving forward, we're going to continue to expand access, strengthen pathway alignment, and ensure every student has the opportunity
081to participate. And I'm here for any questions. Thank you for all this and for all the the work and um you know, developing it, further developing it, and making it even better. I know in the past, we've um talked a little bit about the concurrent enrollment. >> Mhm. Um and how our students are, you know, considered Merced College students, so we don't really have any visibility on whether or not they're struggling, you know, and then it ends up on their transcript and can't do anything after the fact. Um is that improved at all with, you know, the ability to I I guess have some visibility or the communication so we don't have any kids in that situation? Yes. So, that's what this Management 52 process has provided also. We are learning how to better partner
082with Merced College. They have also um hired a classified person that is assisting the Dean of Dual Enrollment. So now, like I mentioned those workbooks and the spreadsheets, now we are actively monitoring and communicating. So, yeah, you know, so-and-so, they haven't logged in yet. All right, so now I can call the instructional coach because now they're on board. Um I also checked the Merced College um board agenda this week and I saw that they were um someone was presenting on the EAP, the early alert program. And we, as our our um CTE and college and career team, we do meet with the Dean of Dual Enrollment monthly. So, we ask about that each time and so, they're improving their process. So, we're aware and we're putting things in place in order to try to prevent
083those things from happening. >> Which is which? Yes, I know there are limitations there. So, thank thank you. >> Mhm. Is there something on their portal that alerts them of that they're a high school student because there are other students as well or how No, nothing. >> No. Okay. Well, all all the C CAP classes Cuz all just high school students, yes. Okay. Mhm. Okay. The 11 units is how many classes? So, usually three units is a class. Mhm. >> So, that's an odd number. So, are there labs as well? I'm sorry, can you repeat that? So, 11 units, if three units is a class, that's an odd number. Are there labs as well um or is it just classes? No labs? It doesn't matter what kind of class it is. Um you know, cuz
084labs though can be one or two units. Right. We were just discussing another class that is three units and two units. So, it right. And I think the 11 units, I think it's very strategic in that a kid doesn't take three three-unit classes because that might be too heavy of a load. In one semester. >> Correct. >> Okay. Okay, thank you. And then, how many uh total units do they need to take to get an AA? If a student decides to pursue their AA um concurrently with their high school diploma? Yeah. >> Oh, okay. So, if it's just a regular gen sci- general science kind of is it 60? I you know, I don't know. It again, it varies by discipline. Yeah. Yeah. Cuz I think um and I I don't know if you mentioned
085that or if it's mentioned to the students. Some sometimes, if they exceed the number of units they're allowed, they can very easily become a transfer student instead of a freshman. Yes. And if if that happens, and even if they you know, do the paperwork for being a freshman, they lose dibs on any freshman scholarships or anything like that. And I, in all of my conferences that I've been going to as K-12 pathway coordinator, I know community colleges are attempting to put more supports in place to monitor that specifically. So, it's because they also want to encourage the transfer process. All right, thank you. Any other questions? Thank you, Tiffany. Appreciate it. Thank you. All right, moving on to agenda item 12, employee associations comment period. Do we have anyone here from the DTA or the
086CSEA? No. Okay. All right, cool. Thank you. All right, moving on to um item number 13, the consent agenda. So, um Is there a a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Do I have a second? Second. Okay, all in favor? Oh, Trustee Pickle, would you like to um acknowledge the donations? Yes, absolutely. The board would like to thank the following for their donations: Greg and Anita Bell, Pamela Brewer, Powder Pig Foundation, Merced Elks Lodge 1240, Yosemite Farm Credit, County Bank, Merced River Ag Boosters Association, H&W Family Drive-In, David Bettis, Mechanics Bank, Food Grade Solutions, Merced Sunrise Rotary, Five Rivers Indian Cuisine and Pizza, Rebecca Jackson and Trevor Jackson, Ridnik Math Learning, Fraternal Order of Eagles, and Raymond Fitchett Scholarship. Thank you again. Are there any questions? Okay, call for the vote, Ms. Wilson.
087And I'm an aye. Please. Okay, motion passes. Moving on to um item number 14, the action agenda. Um we have 14A, approval of the AP World History contract, Ms. Ballenger. Is there a motion to approve? I'll make the motion to approve. Do I have a second? Second. Are there any questions? Call for the vote. And I'm an aye. Motion passes. Item 14B, Edmentum contract, Ms. Ballenger. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Is there a second? I'll second. Are there any questions? I have one. Is there um any part of their curriculum for the uh credit recovery and or the independent study that doesn't involve Edmentum? I mean, are they doing anything that's offline? Okay. Thank you. Call for the vote. And I'm an aye. Please. Okay. Motion passes. Item 14C, Panorama Education contract
088renewal, Ms. Ballenger. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Do I have a second? Second. Are there any questions? Ms. Ballenger, what do they use this one usually? Right. Thank you. Call for the vote. I'm an aye. Motion passes. Item 14D, resolution, Day of the Teacher, Mr. Nicholson. Good evening. Tonight, I bring before you the resolution 7-25, proclaiming May 6th, 2026 the as the Day of the Teacher. So, the resolution highlights that teachers play the pivotal role in shaping the daily education experience of the young people who attend our schools. And teachers give of themselves with mind, heart, and hands in their effort to make that the daily experience meaningful and productive. Teachers put in many hours of their own time to make amplified, person- personalized learning experiences possible for all students. Uh
089no other profession touches as many people with such a lasting effect. And excellence in our district begins with our teachers. Um we appreciate and value the skill and commitment of our teaching staff and wish to recognize the tremendous importance of their contribution. So, the superintendent recommends that you adopt resolution 7-25, proclaiming May 6th as the Day of the Teacher. Do I have a motion to approve? I'll make the motion to approve. Is there a second? >> Second. Any questions? All right, call for the vote. And I'm an aye. Motion passes. Item 14E, excuse me. Classified School Employee Week 2026. All right. Tonight, I also bring resolution 8-25, proclaiming May 17th through the 23rd as Classified Employee Week. Uh classified professionals provide valuable services to the school district and students of Merced Union High School District.
090Classified professionals contribute to the establishment and promotion of a positive instructional environment. And they also play a pivotal role in providing for the welfare and safety of our students. Classified professionals employed by our district strive for excellence in all areas relative to the educational community. Excellence in our district relies on the support of our classified professionals. So, the superintendent recommends that we approve resolution 8-25 proclaiming May 17th through the 23rd 23rd as classified employees week. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Any questions? Okay, call for the vote and I'm an eye. Motion passes. Moving on to 14 F, MHSC and CSEA initial proposal for the 2026-27 negotiations. Mr. Nicholson. Thank you. Yes, tonight I bring back to you guys the initial proposal for negotiations for CSEA and
091the district for next year. So, the education employee employment relations act requires the districts and its bargaining units to sunshine their initial proposals prior to commencing negotiations. Last month, I brought before you the initial proposal for public comment and tonight I bring before you the uh bring it before you for approval. Uh the district is is seeking language to update language on leaves and health benefits and the CSEA is looking to update language on reclassification and defining extra hours in the contract. So, the superintendent recommends that the Board of Trustees approve the proposals as sunshined for the 26-27 negotiations process. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Any questions? Okay, call for the vote and I'm an eye. Thank you. Motion passes. Item 14 G, Sierra Vista Child and
092Family Services contract with Johnson. The services provided by Sierra Vista assist Merced Union High School District to deliver mental health related services at each school site to special education students required to have therapeutic services in their IEPs along with serving general education students that have a social emotional need or crisis intervention related to their educational development. Sierra Vista provides therapeutic services in a tiered manner. In addition, they provide family and parental support to address the individual student needs. The superintendent recommends the board approve the Sierra Vista Child and Family Services contract. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Any questions? Okay, call for the vote and I'm an eye. Motion passes. On to item 15, superintendent's report. Thank you, uh President Jayasinghe. Um to uh Tiffany and Mandy on
093the dual enrollment presentation, uh couldn't be prouder of the path we have uh swathed and uh continue to refine it and make it better every year. So, thank you. Um Tuesday, May 19th, board members, please put on your calendars. It is our salute to service luncheon. And Viviana is working hard on that. And we have senior feedback lunches coming up in of April and May and I will get those dates out to you. Cheryl Garman and I had a chance to spend a few days at sort of cutting-edge conference that kind of brings business, higher ed, K-12 um together um to look at ed tech applications uh across the spectrum and um I won't get into all of it. I'm just going to say that industry is moving very very fast and rapidly around AI
094and it's going to be uh quite a lift um here the next few years to um create a a framework and a structure that um will work for everyone. So, it's important we stay on top of that one. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you, superintendent. Item 16, board communications um Trustee Pickel. I just like to um thank everyone for the presentations, reiterate what um Mr. Peterson said about the CTE um and continuing to refine that and make it even better uh for our students and um looking forward to it. It's a busy time of year. Things are are going to happen very quickly, but looking forward to the end of the year festivities and um upcoming graduation ceremonies. So, thank you. Trustee Coleman. Yeah, when Alan Bencher and I you know, I salute
095to service is very important to me personally. I have two members um in the United States Navy right now, so um they're doing their part. Uh I can't be in communication with them because they don't answer their phone or whatever they tell me, but uh just thoughts and prayers for all the service members that are out there in the middle of our world conflict. Uh I did have a chance to work with some assembly members and some state senators on some key issues uh that we have for CSBA, but also some personal ones that I reiterated, personal being district personal um concerns that that were well received as well. So, again, working with that group and then next week I have a conference I'm going to with uh with our law group, AALRR. Thank you.
096Trustee Valdez. Just always thank you for everyone for what it what everything you do for the for the district. And uh this year the year went by fast it seems like to me, but anyways, we're getting towards the end again, but all I want to say is thank you to all and of course always to everyone who stays till the end. Troopers. Thank you, Principal Nott, for hosting us this evening. Great presentations. I always enjoy hearing the FFA students speak. Um I did with everything else that was mentioned by uh my fellow trustees. Thanks to everyone who's been here um this evening and um thank you to everyone in the district for what y'all do for our students. Um I did um have a chance to attend the FFA conference um this year as a
097parent um and I'm so glad I did because it was just a tremendous event and I wish I could had gone before um but I had to do it this year as uh the parent of a senior. Um just everything that um that organization represents and our students are exposed to, I think it's just amazing. So, I would encourage um all students to take a class or or or compete. Um there are many uh different ways to compete, but I also want to recognize all the ag advisors in all our schools for their tremendous commitment um and all um that they do with their mentorship and uh they truly dedicate themselves to this um to the students in FFA, especially those who compete. Um so, I want to give a special shout-out to all ag
098advisors um and everyone associated with FFA. Um I have to say it was truly um very a key experience for me um listening to teenagers um our state officers give farewell addresses. So, um I'm a huge fan if people don't already know, huge fan of FFA and then all that our teachers do. So, with that, um thank you again to everyone in our district. Um any other comments? Anyone has any last thoughts? I would uh love to send any board member in the future that would like to go to the FFA conference that has not been um uh be happy to send you. Uh it's it is happy to everyone needs to experience. Yeah. So there I have the state offices farewell speeches. I don't think I've heard adult speak as well and as eloquently
099as those and they're they're still probably late teens or maybe even 20 but so articulate and then the accomplishments just blows blows my mind so anyway with that it is now 7:20 and I hereby adjourn today's board meeting. Thank you all.