001comment. There's a table right as you walk in with these cards, and I need you to fill out a card and bring it to me prior to public comment starting. The reason that's so important is because we divide time equally, and so I want to make sure that everyone gets the right amount of time. And then, hopefully, a lot of you are here for our site reports and our Students of the Month. Um, it is truly the best part of board meetings. We actually have a former board member here in the room. He can attest, it's the best part of board meetings, right, Sheldon? Yes, it is. Yes. It's really… we do a lot of important work here, a lot of fun work, a lot of gritty work, but it's such a great reminder of
002why we are all here, working in education and serving on this board, and so we really appreciate you taking the time to be here. I know for parents, it's just another thing. Um, to add to your calendar, but we're so glad you made time to join us. So, um, when we do our presentations, uh, when we call Kenilworth Junior High, everyone from Kenilworth, um, both the presenters and the students of the month, you're gonna stand up. You're gonna come up here to the front, and you're gonna face the board, and I know it feels weird, because then you're back. Is to everybody else, um, but we want the board to be able to see your beautiful faces. Um, so you're gonna come up, a picture's gonna show up here on the board, um, with your
003face, which is wonderful, and we're gonna recognize the student board members. So the order we're doing, um, Grant Elementary's presentation. Then we are going to move to Casa Grande, then Petaluma High, and then our students of the month. So if you have any questions, please feel free to come up and ask. I'm here to help, and we'll get started here in just a few moments. I can remember. No, I have a high level. Can't help herself. I'm the same way. It's amazing that I made it all day long in white. Amanda. Seriously, I'm impressed. I wear off my phone. I don't know why. wrote it out. That is a special thing for just this meeting. And so before we begin on public comment. I want to read our code of conduct for. for public comment
004under government code section 5, 4, 9, 5, 4.3 subsection A members of the public have the right to address the governing board on any items of interest, providing it relates to the subject matter jurisdiction of the school district. While government code allows speakers to criticize the district's policies, procedures, programs, services, and or employees, the district does not have a policy specific to does have a policy specific to complaints against employees. Should comments from the public pertain to a specific district employee, the board requests that the complaint first be submitted in writing to the employee's immediate supervisor for investigation. If the comment is about something that is not on the agenda, it will only be heard during the public comment on non-agendized items, period. Once that part of the meeting is over, comments will only be
005taken on agenda items during the discussion of those items. The board values public comments, and although we cannot take action or discuss items not on the agenda, we listen carefully and appreciate input from the public. Public comments are subject to a 3-minute per person limit, or a 20 min limit per subject matter. Okay, with that. I want to. Yeah, we'll start with the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay. Everyone, please rise. 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. Please be seated. And I would like to move item six to the end of the agenda. So I make the motion to move the public report of action taken in close vision. Okay.
006We will have a public report of action takes in closed session. We'll move it towards the end of the meeting, and we will, I think, officially vote on that motion when we approve the agenda. But first we'll go to special recognition reports and presentations. So, Matthew, I will turn it over to you if he is here, maybe Bree. Okay, so we are going to go out of order this evening. We have fantastic students from Grant Elementary here for their site report. So I would like to turn it over to student and faculty from Grant. All right. Good evening, Board of Education members, district leaders and members of our community. Thank you for the opportunity to share about our exceptional school Grant Elementary. My name is Christine McCullough. I'm the proud principal at Grant, and our
007school motto is, I'm a I am a promise. I am a possibility. And we are excited to share our story with you tonight, and so let's begin. So we will. Per slideshow. There we go. Our staff is the foundation of our success. We are highly committed, collaborative educators focused on meeting the needs of every learner and dedicated to continuous growth and improvement. Grant has a proud and enduring legacy. This year we are recognized as a 2025 Educational Results Partnership Honor Roll School, a statewide recognition based on student achievement and growth data that highlights our success in supporting all students to meet and exceed all expectations. This accomplishment is the collective work of our staff, students, and families. We recognize that from our custodians to our office staff. To our instructional aides, teachers, and specialists, that
008every role on our campus contributes to the strength of our community and the success of our students. If you want to go to the next slide, Cara. And that is a those are some photos of our staff together. And then… go back one to our students. student slide. Thank you. My name is Amanda Beavers, and I am a teacher at Grant Elementary. I teach 1st grade, and as students are at the heart of everything we do engage learners in classrooms that spark curiosity and creativity, supported in a safe environment where joy, belonging, and growth thrive. At Grant Elementary… pictures went away. At Grant Elementary, strong partnerships and meaningful engagement bring our community together, grounded and engaged family partnerships, and enriched by shared events and experiences, and supported by thriving Pta that sustains our theater programs,
009garden program, PE enrichment. An annual overnight field trips, as well as classroom supplies, ensuring an equitable and enriching experience for every student. So we are going to get started with our Tk. Slide our teachers put together. They shared that we're having a great year in Tk. We love letting our natural curiosity and inherent desire to play, lead our learning. Grant TKERS engage in interactive activities like building, sorting, art and sensory experiences. This approach encourages a love of learning, problem solving, and collaboration, and in a developmentally appropriate way. And the next slide is our kindergarten slide, and they have two videos that they made for the public to see, and our board of directors. So we will play those. This is kindergarten. That was our first one. We have one more. We have two kindergarten classes.
010If you go back one, it's the video with blue. Right there, the blue. Yeah. What I feel like most about the… Mm-hmm. Thank you. Market. kindergarten. kindergarten class. Tell me what you thought about kindergarten dancing? Because if they're playing on the snack. Thank you. And we are going to get started with some of our students speakers. So our 1st graders can come on up, and I will bring this down for you. Hi, my name is Ophelia. My name's Sophia. In first grade, we learned about our local watershed and the importance of keeping it healthy. Straw stands for Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed. And in early February, a scientist came to our classrooms. To teach us about how Strauss started, what watersheds are and how healthy watersheds help wildlife. On February 26th, we traveled to
011Mustang Acres Farm and worked in teams to help restore one such watershed. We worked with Point Blue Conservation's amazing scientists to plant. Hilk cherry trees, and elderberry trees. The. They taught us the correct way to plant so that the trees can become a healthy hedgerow. We had so much fun working together, digging in the mud and helping to restore a local habitat. after a nice rainy day that we went out there. And then second grade is not here to share, but on their behalf, they wanted us to say that second grade has spent time in the classroom on social emotional learning, quality time with their fourth grade buddies, reading groups with parent volunteers, and a walk to read program designed by their teachers for targeted reading intervention. Outside of the classroom, the students love spending
012time in the Grant Garden and on various field trips. Some of the big field trips this year have been taking the train to the ferry to decorate it for the holidays, walking to the local creek for science exploration and singing songs at the local post-acute rehab. The students also worked with a local program to raise endangered steelhead trout for release into the Russian River. And then Colton. So there's a second grade slide, and they have one more slide after that. And there's some more second grade activities. And then our next slide goes with Colton's presentation. There you go. My name is Colton and I am in third grade. It has been a wonderful year so far. We have experienced so many activities and presentations, including learning about city planning and map making, exploring Petaluma's history.
013Understanding water conversations. I mean, conservations. and enjoying author visits. Our classroom has new books, such as graphic novels. Made possible through the grant and Kiwanese. Kiwanas and root tree clubs. Thanks to our teacher efforts. Currently, we are preparing for state testing and more exciting field trips. Third grade has been an amazing year at Grant. Hi, my name is Nola and I'm in fourth grade. I'm excited to show you what we've been learning. In science, we became engineers and programmers. We built 3D models and learned how to code micro bits and dash robots. We also became new experts. We've been studying the Tolano Valley New and finding eco-friendly ways to help protect them. My class has made games, videos, and even full new costumes to share at the Future Fest in Petaluma next month. My group
014has made a puppet show in social studies. We research Native California tribes. I studied the Europe tribe. In this model. And this model canoe I built. We've turned our classrooms into a museum of native California tribes for other classes to visit. Thank you! One more minute. We also had our fifth grade who was unable to make it tonight, but they wanted us to share that it has been full of engaging, hands-on experiences. They've explored science and history through field trips, including an overnight living history program on Angel Island. In Science, they've investigated environmental topics such as water sources, compost, worms, and soil. Students made strong progress in writing, learning to independently complete 5-paragraph essays. They also built confidence in speaking through regular presentations, including Scientist of the Week. And sharing their own science investigations, real-world
015learning was emphasized through projects like planning a birthday party on a budget. Overall, students grew academically while developing confidence, independence, and presentation skills. Sixth grade has had sixth grade has had an exciting and busy year learning together. Highlights include dissecting a frog in science as part of our body systems unit, and learning in depth about ancient civilizations. And taking on the perspective of a character in order to participate in an interactive experience, walk through ancient civilizations. We dressed up and even acted out scenes from ancient times. We visited Point Reyes and to see elephant seals. Take part in their annual haul-out, and learned about how climate change is affecting their populations. Finally, we just came back from our highly anticipated trip to Westminster Woods 6th grade camp. We stayed in cabins with PHS. Cabin leaders
016learned about local ecosystem and watershed with the naturalist, and spent a day on the challenge courses, which included ziplining and high ropes challenges. It was so fun learning about our personal growth zones and how. To challenge ourselves. Learning outside the walls of a classroom brought us together, deepened our friendships, and will be something we will never forget. Oh, sorry. We look forward to a strong end of the school year, and all that our students will achieve. And thank you for your partnership and your continued support. We are so grateful for the opportunity to share our story. Thank you. Hi. Thank you, Principal McCullough and Miss Beavers and the wonderful presentation from the grant students. At this point, I would like to introduce and receive the the site reports from Casa Grande and Petaluma High School.
017Hi, my name is Peyton Horn, and I'm doing the Casa Grande site report tonight. Okay. Okay, so recently we've been up to a lot of stuff at Casa Grande, including big sports news, ASB putting on new events for our student population. We recently became a distinguished school with high honors. And we have also had many big performing arts programs at the school. To start off our sports track and field has done a great job this season and has kicked off with many wins for our students. We have many new meets coming up, including the Vival League meet and the VVAL Junior Varsity and Varsity Finals. One more, please. Yeah. Our tennis is also off to full swing, with the girls team performing very well as we head into the end of our season, and the
018boys team having a rough start to the season, but hoping to bring home some more victories for our school. Our JVM baseball programs have been doing very well, with both currently having an 11 win and 3-loss record, and both of them are hoping to bring a pennant home to our Casa gym. We want to give a huge shout out to 2 of our outstanding Casa Grande softball players, Abby McSweeney and Veronica Nunez-Miller, who both qualified for the prestigious Stampede game this past week, and they both play for our amazing softball team. ASB has put on many events this past semester, including the second annual Boosters Crab Feed, the Spring Fling Dance, the Spring Rally, Spring Club Rush, a voter registration assembly, the Spring Market, Wellness Week, and a visit from Karen Now on civic engagement.
019Through the RAB feed, it was run by our boosters team, and they hosted the second annual crab feed. It went extremely well, bringing the community and students together to partake in this amazing night. Our spring rally was one of our biggest events, where we hosted new games for our students to participate in, and even had a performance from our very own student band, Mad Fish, who played two of their original songs. We hosted our second biannual club rush in the Ole this past month, where clubs were encouraged to get students involved, and we have over 42 clubs at CASA, including Artists for Change and Debate, who were at tabling and having students sign up for their event. We wanted to bring the Youth Truth Survey results to you guys and show that we have growth
020in many new areas, including in overall student participation of 81%. When students were asked how many of your teachers connect with what they are learning in class to your outside life, we saw a big improvement in this area, jumping to the 66th percentile, which is far greater than recent years. Most students at CASA also feel that the discipline is fair up in recent years, having a growth in this area as well in the youth truth. Next slide, please. Next one, too. Thank you. The percent of students who feel they have a trusted adult on the campus has increased greatly from 40% in the previous years to 48% currently, a sharp increase positivity. We have had many much percent change and growth in the surveys in the student, family, and staff survey, seeing the percent change
021increase positively greatly. When learning English at CASA, we have very strong English learners with an increase of 9.4% making progress through our students' perspectives, Yangmi says that this program is really good for the Latina community because it helped. her English, and it gives them the support of a community. Alvaro also said the EL program is very helpful because t-shirts have patience, and he learns how other words that he didn't know. If he feels comfortable being around other people that are learning English too. Arlene said, if you have questions, you have a lot of staff in the library who are helpful, and many of them speak Spanish, all of which help in to make our English learning program at CASA even better. Recently, we got the honor of becoming a California Distinguished School, and we got
022this recognition due to our exceptional results in two areas, the Exemplary high achievers, which is among the highest in the state in academic achievement for all students. An achievement gap closes, which is schools that accelerating academic progress for two or more groups that have been historically undeserved. Casa is one of only three schools recognized for this honor in Sonoma County. We have many big events and things at CASA, where we had a civic engagement assembly where students and seniors could fill out voter registration forms. We also had Costa Grande sophomores dive into the youth truth data at a SCO workshop in October. And custodians Dion and Lynn were at our… one of our… part of our staff lounge grand reopening party, where we also became Blue Zones approved. We wanted to give a huge shout
023out to our Casa Grande Performing Arts program, where at the end of March, they had a very successful production of Carrie the Musical. Our program was so successful that it even got nominated in two categories in the Sarah Bareilles Awards, one for Best Overall Production, and one for Outstanding Lead Actress for Samara Castro. We want to give a huge congratulations to both. Recently, we also had our ENCR Happy Week, which is a program through our Environmental Conservation and Recreation class, which just finished, where Mr. Hubacher, the teacher, leads students to work together in daily challenges and events to practice survival skills and teamwork in order to survive the wrath of Father Nature. We want to give a huge shout out to our May students of the Month. Our first one being Dahlia Jen, who is
024a student who is actively involved in her community. For the past 4 years, she has worked as a Taekwondo instructor at Schaefer's ATA, helping younger students develop confidence, discipline, and perseverance. At Casa Grande, Dalia serves as the president of the film club. Where students meet up once a month to enjoy films together. She also directed a featuring documentary for a climate nonprofit combining her passion for filmmaking with environmental advocacy. In addition, Dahlia helped plan a park for the Petaluma River Park, sharing her commitment to improving her community and creating meaningful change. After high school, Dahlia plans on attending Columbia University and Trinity College, Dublin's dual BA in studying filmmaking or film studies. Our second Stew of the month was Kanisiva. Kanish is a senior at Casa Grande High School with a strong commitment to healthcare
025leadership and community service. He currently serves as the president of his school, hosts a chapter, organizing meetings, outreach events, and fundraisers, bringing together those alike him in. Interest in healthcare. Through HOSA, he has also participated in many state leadership conferences, leading projects such as his Men's Mental Health Project to the state level. Kanish has further developed his passion for healthcare by earning his CNA license. through this. He has gained hands-on experience with his patients while being able to build up time in real healthcare settings. Additionally, he served as a student board member for NARMI, helping promote awareness and reduce stigma about mental health in his community. Outside of healthcare and school, Kanisha's involved in sports such as track, and especially tennis, which he has played for 3 years at CASA. Kanish has done martial arts
026since he was 7, earning his black belt in Taekwondo, and currently training as a green belt in Kempo. Kinise holds a strong belief that. care should not come purely from books, but more so with compassion. As he continually strengthens his goals, he tries his hardest to bring up those around him as well. We also wanted to honor salutatorians and valedictorians. One of our salutatorians is Emily Benzic, who is a senior at Casa Grande. She is involved with the symphonic band Cross Country Track, and is a co-president of the French Club. She loves running and being a part of such a welcoming community. She also loves to read and spend time with her family, friends, and cute dog Muka. After high school, she has decided to pursue the study of physics at a four-year university, and
027hopes that she can use this to work on innovative projects in research and to better our understanding of the universe. Our second salutatorian is Lacey Carle Magno. Lacey is an accomplished high school senior and proud salutator. Recognized for her dedication to academic excellence and well-rounded involvement throughout her high school career, she has challenged herself with a rigorous schedule of honors and advanced placement courses. Demonstrating both discipline and intellectual curiosity. Beyond the classroom, Lacey is a committed athlete participating in three sports seasons each year, including basketball, softball, volleyball, and golf. She also serves as co-president of Interact Club, contributing over 300 volunteers. In her free time, Lacey enjoys hiking, visiting the beach, and spending time with friends and family. Olivia Kiss is one of our co-valedictorians this year, as she is a senior at Casa Grande
028High School, where she has been a decade member of the girls varsity soccer team throughout her four years. She is also a four-year varsity tennis player and currently holds the team's number one position. Olivia has been playing competitive soccer since the age of 6, and continues to pursue her passion for the sport. She aspires to study dermatology and plans to attend a 4-year university where she intends to continue her involvement in club soccer. Olivia is grateful for the ongoing support of her family, friends, and teachers as she prepares for the next chapter of her academic and athletic journey. Our other co- valedictorian is Izzy Bombers. Izzy Bomras has always been dedicated to academic achievement, finding learning to be one of the most intrinsically rewarding pursuits. Her favorite subject has always been English, with any science
029following Coastly, and particularly has an appreciation for how those fields intersect in searching for meaning. In her time not devoted to academics, Izzy spends time with friends and family, volunteers in the emergency department at Paluma Valley Hospital, works with a patient that had a stroke on her cognitive rehabilitation and additionally has hobbies including playing the guitar, reading. Writing, poetry, and baking. When Izzy graduates, her dream is to study cognitive behavioral neuroscience, as she has always been fascinated with the intricacies and nuances involved in how the brain functions. After receiving her bachelor's degree, Izzy will pursue a career in medicine guided by the passion that she has for helping others in the unique way that only healthcare workers can. Thank you for listening. Thank you very much for the Casa Grande. Now, Petaluma High School. Hi,
030I'm Paige. I guess I'm doing Petaluma High site report. I mostly did pictures so I can just, you can really visualize it. Okay, um, my first thing that I'm really excited to share is done at Universion, which is, like, the biggest event we've had from BSA, which is the Bilingual Students Association, and it was super successful. It was during advisory, so made it super accessible for students to come. They didn't have to find transportation to come outside of school. Sorry. And as you can see, there was dancing, food, there was a pinata that everyone's trying to get on the floor over there, like, it just brought together the whole community. They got a bunch of local sponsors from, like, in Petaluma, people came, brought food, people catered it, um, all the BSA members. Cooked things,
031brought things, it was, like, such a celebration, such a great time, and I think they'll continue to make it better every year, and, um, it's an awesome tradition, so I'm really happy that we're celebrating the diversity of Hello High. Um, next up, we have Trojan Quarterly, which was a huge success this year. We made a bunch of money for the senior class, which is significantly reducing our prom ticket prices. This year was T-Bird Takeover, so it was Greece-themed, Grease Lightning. And, um, as you can see, we had a bunch of different acts. It's like a talent show slash pageant, and then this is the, um… this is all the boys at lunch one day. You could pay $5 to splash them with a bucket of ice water, and it was a… Huge success. We made
032a bunch of money from that, too. So, um, all around, good fundraiser and a really fun tradition that, um, the senior class gets to do every year. Next up, we have Class Dodgeball, hosted by ASB. These are the winners. Every day at lunch, we have a different classical against each other, and then at the very end, we have the staff go against the winners, so another fun tradition by SB. Um, okay, this year's winter formal rally, well, winter formal, we had, but I didn't have many pictures, so I just highlighted the rally, and, um, we had played a bunch of games on games, so this was the TQ contestants, they went up, we celebrated them, we had the band performance come, everyone loves in the band play, so that was a great time. We played
033tug-of-war with contestants from different classes, and then overall just celebrated spring coming and Petaluma pride. I wanted to highlight this ASB training we did with CASA, which was really cool, so it's a really good opportunity. We, um, we're lucky enough to hire someone named Scott Bakovich. He kind of, like, is a trainer for ASB students. Mr. Harris was there. And so we met up with the Casa class. It was a really good way to, like, work with them on things and collaborate and share ideas, and then. I included something that we get in our emails, like, as an officer in ASB, we get in our emails this every single week, and it gives us, like, fun ideas involving, like, um, what an activity would look like, the process we would go through, and it's just
034an awesome thing that we have the privilege of getting new ideas, and. being in collaboration with other ASBs. I wanted to highlight the Ffa trip to Ontario. Ffa has been super successful at Petaluma High, so we made it to state and nationals. Um, they went to Ontario. These are some of our officers. Um, they competed at a high level. They heard speakers, they went up and gave speeches, and overall just showed. What they've been working on, and presented projects and competed in that way. Um, our French, Madame Lum, the French teacher, brought French students from levels 2 through 4AP. Once some of my classmates went to France. It was a really cool opportunity because each of the girls stayed at somebody's house our age in France. They went to school in France for a week.
035It was during our spring break, but it was just a normal school week for them. And so they got to, like, actually experience high school in France for a week, and so it was really good. So it wasn't just like a vacation. It was a… what's it called? Like, exchange. They're coming here, too. We had a career fair hosted by the College and Career Center, and a bunch of colleges came 110,000 degrees came, which helps us a ton with getting underserved students connected with community college, connected with classes, connected with counselors. Um, so that was a really cool opportunity. That was during advisory, so it was also very accessible to students, another perk of advisory. Um, the highlight of a lot of students' years is the Mars trip to Monterey. So Mars is our marine
036biology class, and the students get to go, they stay for, like, a full weekend, and they go kayaking, go to aquariums, do projects, learn about wildlife. So it's like. Bonding and super educational and, like, kind of, like, the final highlight of, like, getting through, um, this hard class. And then these are some things we're looking forward to. We have our spring market for fundraising clubs, so that's always a big hit. Classes, clubs go, they sell food, and… or, like, whatever they make, and it, um, usually is a good fundraiser for people. Super Spring Week is super exciting, when we have our senior rally, where everyone announces. Well, they're going next year, we celebrate the seniors, and then AP exams, obviously, and then I really wanted to highlight the outsiders. We're having a big school play
037on May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and you guys should come. Um, it's gonna be a great show. I know the drama teacher, and I'm proud of our… performing arts. So yeah, thank you. And then, Student of the Month is when it usually is after. Thank you. Thank you, Paige. Hey, Matthew, I'm going to go to the top of the recognition agenda and. Turn it over to you. All right. I have the pleasure of announcing our new Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services. Kirsten Grimm. We're pleased to announce Kirsten Grimm as our new Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for Petal City Schools. A dedicated educator and experienced systems leader. Kirsten brings over 2 decades of experience supporting students, staff, leaders, and school communities across California. She is known throughout the state as an equity-centered, data-driven leader who
038builds capacity in others, strengthens instructional systems, and fosters cultures of high expectations, collaboration, and care. Kirsten most recently served as an executive leadership coach with the San Diego County Office of Education, where she coached district leaders and principals across multiple systems to strengthen instructional leadership and MTSS, implement continuous improvement practices. and improve outcomes for historically underserved student groups. Her work has resulted in measurable gains in student achievement, reductions in chronic absenteeism, and increased student engagement for all student groups across multiple districts throughout California. Prior to her work at the county level, Kirsten served as a high school principal in Oakland, where she led a successful school turnaround. Under her leadership, 100% of students were accepted to college, with 79% gaining admission to four-year universities. She led the implementation. Yeah. She led the implementation of MTSS,
039professional learning communities, restorative practices, and data-driven instructional systems that significantly improved attendance, school climate, and academic outcomes for all student groups, culminating in a gold ribbon School Award. Kirsten earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Duke University, where she walked on to the women's basketball team and also was a manager for the men's NCAA Championship basketball team in 2001. She holds a multi-subject teaching credential and Master of Arts in Elementary Education from Loyola Marymount University. She also maintains her clear administrative services credential. Deeply rooted in family and community, Kirsten and her husband are the proud parents of five middle school-aged children and a 1-year-old. Outside of our schools. Now, she's got me beat out. Outside of our schools, you will find Kirsten in gyms and on fields loudly cheering on her kids, shooting
040hoops, or hiking. Kirsten's leadership is grounded in her belief that equity is love in action, expecting excellence of every student and building systems that provide the differentiated support necessary for each individual to thrive. She is deeply committed to fostering environments where students and adults feel valued, challenged, and supported. In her role as assistant superintendent of Educational Services, Kirsten will partner closely with site leaders to strengthen instructional leadership, ensure coherence across curriculum and professional learning systems, and advance equitable outcomes for all students. Her work will support Penham City Schools mission to develop effective communicators and critical thinkers who are prepared for success in college, career, and life. Kirsten is excited to join Pennham City Schools and to partner with staff, students, families, and the broader community to continue advancing excellence, equity, teamwork, and joy across the
041district. Please join us in welcoming Kirsten Grimm to Petama City Schools. That's a welcome. All right, I'll let you let you think. Good evening, and thank you, Superintendent Harris, members of the board and members of the community. I am truly honored to be joining Petaluma City Schools. From the beginning of this process, I could feel this community is deeply invested in our students, believes in what's possible for each and every one of them, and that's super important to me. what I deeply believe in is that equity. is love in action. It's about holding the highest expectations for every student. And then building the systems. Of support that help them reach those expectations. So what I am most excited about in this role is to partner with PCS principles, teachers, and staff in strengthening instructional systems.
042that lead to inspiring teaching and learning so that every student in every classroom experiences belonging and excellence. I promise to support, challenge, and make sure the adults have everything they need to do their best work. Because when the adults feel supported and valued. and clear about what the work is. Our students feel that. And they rise. So with that, I, um… I'm a former athlete, and I really believe in teamwork, relationships. And coming alongside and supporting one another. And I know that if we all are doing this as a team, I'm listening. I'm learning. And I'm working really hard alongside all of you that our students will reach their goals. So I just want to say that I'm super excited to join a community that is really committed to each student being seen. Supported and
043also challenged to be their best self. So I just want to thank everybody that's here, and I'm really grateful to be part of the community. Thank you and welcome. We are excited to have you. All right, back to you, Matthew. Kathy. Kathy Weiser going to come on up. Good to see. Okay, I am have the the honor of announcing Kathy Weiser as our new director of our South County Consortium within Petal City Schools. Kathy brings nearly three decades of experience in public education with a strong focus on district-level leadership in special education, student services, and system-wide program development. In her current role as coordinator of special services with Santa Rosa City Schools. She has led district-wide efforts in inclusive service delivery, program design, and compliance with state and federal requirements. She previously served for eight
044years as a program manager, overseeing highly specialized programs where she developed strong in-district services. To support students at their local school sites. Known for her collaborative leadership style and commitment to equity, Kathy prioritizes the development of inclusive systems that improve outcomes for students with disabilities. She leads by building strong relationships and developing high-functioning teams that effectively support students and families. She is deeply committed to collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement. Kathy's prior experience includes serving as a teacher, principal, and a director in both public and non-public school settings, providing her with a comprehensive foundation in instructional leadership, organizational management, and cross-agency collaboration to support students with complex needs. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Sonoma State University, and holds a clear administrative services and multiple subject
045teaching credentials. A longtime Sonoma County resident, Kathy lives in West County with her husband and near her extended family. She has been actively involved in the community through coaching youth mountain biking and enjoys cycling and exploring local trails with her family. Kathy is excited to join the South County Consortium team and looks forward to working closely with district leaders, staff, families, and community partners to strengthen systems of support, ensure responsible stewardship of resources, and build on the strong foundation already in place. Please join us in welcoming Kathy Weiser to her new role. Congratulations. Okay, okay, we'll take the time. take it down about a foot. Um, thank you, Superintendent Harris, members of the board, staff, families, kids. What a great day to be here with the student of the month and seeing kids. I started
046out as a fourth grade teacher, and my heart still goes there. So I'm so honored to be selected as the next. Director of the South County Consortium. As an almost lifelong resident of Sonoma County, I've long admired the equity work that I've seen this district do for special education students. I really look forward to, um. to listening in the next year, and to furthering the work that's already being done. So I just want to thank you again, and I'm honored to be here. Thank you. Thank you, and welcome, Kathy. We're excited to have you. Moving on. We are going to go to our presentations of student of the month from Junior High School. Welcome. Thank you. Kennerworth Junior High is proud to introduce our April Student of the month, Ellie Moore. Ellie was chosen student
047of the month because she's an excellent student, exemplary citizen, and a talented athlete. Ellie's teachers describe her as dedicated, hardworking, and who consistently goes beyond expectations. Miss Araya, Ellie's history teacher, enthusiastically shared. Ellie is the best. She spreads joy to everyone, and we all appreciate her positive energy. Ellie is a stellar student and gives her best every day. Mrs. Monaire's Ellie's math teacher, was also eager to sing Ellie's praises. Ellie is an excellent and accelerated Math 1 student. Ellie puts her best into every assignment and is kindly friend and kindly to all her peers. I enjoy having her in my class. Eliot is not only an exceptional student, but she's also an excellent athlete. Ellie has played soccer since she was in kindergarten as a proud member of the Petaluma Youth Soccer League. Ellie is
048also an important member of the Colts track team, as a sprinter and a shot putter. Ellie is planning on playing soccer and running track when she goes off to Casa Grande. When Ellie is not studying or playing sports, she enjoys painting and baking. After high school, Ellie would like to go to college and get a good paying job. Kenworth is proud of Ellie and will miss her when she leaves for high school. Congratulations, Ellie. Congratulations, Ellie, with Ellie's parents and friends. Please stand for to recognize them as well. Penworth Junior High is proud to introduce our April student of the month, Jade Pettibone. Jade has been selected as Kenilworth Student of the month because her teachers recognize her as respectful, motivated, and hardworking qualities. Jade is academically excellent, maintaining a 4.0 Gpa for both seventh
049and eighth grade. Jade is an outstanding member of the band program and brings positive energy to everything she does. Mr. Klemonog, Jade's band teacher, enthusiastically shared, Jade is an incredible musician. She came to Kenilworth as a trumpet player and will leave as one of the finest bass players Kenworth has ever had. Her sound and tone are excellent, and she's one of the best-cited readers in the 8th grade symphonic band. All assignments are turned in on time, and her work is on top-notch. In addition to playing the electric bass, Jade can also play stand-up bass. And she will be taking her talents to Casa Grande, where she will be playing in their ensemble. Outside of school, Jade has many interests, but notably, she has dedicated the past seven years to the Panama Panthers cheer squad, with
050her incredible skills, she will be planning to try out for the Gouchos. In the fall when Jade is not practicing or doing homework, she may be found drawing, painting, or enjoying time with her family, paddle boarding or kayaking in the Russian River. Good luck in everything you do, Jade. Kenilworth is proud of you. Congratulations, Jade. Congratulations, Jay. And when her parents or family and friends, please stand. Thank you so much. We will move on to Petaluma Junior High. Hi, I'm Avery Eberly. Paraluma Junior High School is proud to introduce our April student of the month, Damien Reed. Damian was a chosen chosen at student of the month as is enthusiastic and engaged learner who brings a genuine excitement for learning. into the classroom each day. In English, he's constantly demonstrates curiosity and positivity and strong
051commitment to his work. Damien is both creative and thoughtful. His imaginative doodles are just impressive, as his death of quality of his writing. His exhibits advanced critical thinking skills, making meaningful connections between literature and current events while clearly. Arcutatively his ideas. He is an active participant who contributes to often supports his peers and helps create a positive, collaborative. classroom environment. Beyond the classroom, Damien's positive attitude and love of learning shine. Learning shine through in all that he does. He has made many new friends during his time at Petaluma Junior High School, and truly enjoys being part of the school's community. His favorite classes include Miss Ozer's history. An intro digital media where he participates the opportunity to have fun while learning. Damien also. gives back by volunteering at Penn Grove Elementary. And in his spare
052time, he enjoys attending live shows and sporting events. While he has long been interesting in becoming a pediatrician, he has recently developed a grown passion for filmmaking and is excited to explore. That is in interest further. Over time, Damian has continued to mature. into a confident and responsible student. His family has loved watching him come home excited to share about his day, whether it's something to do as he learned in history or creative idea for the Bantam broadcast. He developed. a greater responsibility with the schoolwork and shows resilience by embracing challenges. Learning from mistakes and continue to try again. Damien's growth, character, and positive mindset has allowed him to truly shine during this time at Petaluma Junior High School. We're incredibly proud of the young person he is becoming and look forward to all his
053will. To all he will accomplish in the future. Congratulations, Damien. With Damien's family and friends. Please stand. Congratulations to you all as well. Great job. Petaluma Junior High School is proud to introduce our April Student of the month, Addy done. Addie was chosen as student of the month because she has dedicated and enthusiastic student who makes the most of her time, both in or out of the classroom. She is actively involved in FFA, where she enjoys showing pigs, and she values spending time with her family when she is not at school. Addie looks forward to meeting new people and exploring new classes, and she has already set meaningful goals for her future. After high school, Addy plans to attend SRJC before transfer. bring to a university to pursue a career in teaching. Addy is known
054for being kind, helpful and continuous. in all that she does. Miss Ernst shares Addie's incredibly trustworthy and dependable, often. taking initiative to care for the garden area and chickens when needed, confidently managing responsibilities on her own. She is also a natural bridge builder, going out out of her way. To support peers by helping them feel comfortable and included, especially in activities they may feel. Maybe an unfamiliar with. Ari Khan. Addy consistently gives her best effort and can always be counted on and contribute possibility to her school community. Over the past year, Addy has shown a remarkable personal growth. Her family incredibly proud of their confidence. She has developed. As she's grown from a timid 7th grader into a poised. and self-assured young woman. This growth reflects for her perseverance and the supportive environment at Petaluma
055Junior High School, where staff, especially those in the office, has become like a bantam family to her. As she prepares to further transmit transition to high school, Addy cares with her strong academic and social skills that will help this next step exciting and manageable. She will conduct herself with grace and dignity, serving as a positive role model for her peers, and we are all proud to see what she has accomplished. Congratulations. Congratulations, Addy. Well, Abby's family and friends please stand. So we may recognize them as well. Thank you. Congratulations to you all. Next up, we have Casa Grande. high school. So we will, we already read the bios of the students of the month, so please come on up and we'll do one more round of recognition. All right. So with Dahlia's family and friends,
056please stand. We also want to recognize them. and Commission with your family and friends please stand. All right. All right, and then we will move on to Petaluma High. Start with Chloe Boa. Chloe has been involved. Chloe has been an involved student since the beginning of high school. Chloe joined the associate student body class when she arrived at Petaluma High as a freshman, and this year she serves as ASB president and captain of her team design. Chloe enjoys ASB because it has allowed her to connect with so many student groups and with her school. She spends her time decorating the school, making social media posts, and helping guide the class in daily work. She's also involved in sports at school. She has spent all four years of high school on the soccer team, and her
057senior year as a team captain. Chloe also joined our school flag football team in the fall of her junior year. She participates in our school site council, NHS, CSF, Link Crew, and was president of the most popular club on campus, Crumble Club. Outside of school, Chloe continues to show her love for her sport as she continues youth soccer… as she coaches youth soccer every week. Chloe has coached soccer since the summer going into her freshman year. She loves coaching because she gets to help the kids get better and create a fun, welcoming environment for all of the children. Over the summer, Chloe was nominated to attend Ryla Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, where she got to develop her leadership skills with a large group of kids at a week-long camp. When Chloe has free time, she
058loves to go on hikes and be with her friends. She loves to listen to music and try new things. Chloe is proud to say she will be attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. Majoring in the history of policy, law, and Governance. Chloe has always loved history and enjoys being educated on the world around her. She gives special thanks and love to her parents who helped her get where she is today, and we're there to cheer her on through every achievement. Congrats, Chloe. Congratulations, Chloe, and with Chloe's family and friends, please stand. We also want to recognize them. Congratulations. Next up, I have Lydia Levier. After high school, Lydia plans to attend Williamette University in Oregon to study theater. In her free time, she likes to play music, writing songs on her guitar with the
059intent of releasing an album. She loves arts of all kinds, including embroidery and upcycling, collage, and a recent addition, balloon animals. Her dream is to become an actress, and she hopes one day you'll see her on the big screen. Congrats, Lydia. Congratulations, Lydia. And with Lydia's family and friends please rise. We also would like to recognize them. All right. Congratulations. Next up, we have Sonoma Mountain High School and Carpe Diem. All right. All right, here we go. So Carpetium High School is proud to present Daisy Estradas, our April student of the month. Jay-Z is an 11th grader who joined us at the middle of the 24-25 school year and has since earned excellent grades with us. She previously attended Two Rock Union Elementary, Petaluma Junior, and Petaluma High School, and her teachers unanimously selected her
060for this honor. Uh, history teacher, this guy shared that she's exhibited tremendous growth during her time with us. She's a great self-advocate, always checking in with teachers when necessary and does well with organizing her workload, accomplishing larger tasks systemically. uh, she's a very pleasant student to have in class, and a very strong role model for others at Carver Diem. Our math teacher, Miss Seely shared that Daisy is polite, respectful, and thoughtful. She works on her studies consistently and diligently, and has earned solid and excellent grades and enough credits to return to Petaluma High School and finish and graduate. Outside of school, Daisy enjoys baking and hanging out with friends. Following graduation, Daisy's interested in attending college to study sonography and become an ultrasound technician. Congratulations, Daisy. Congratulations, Daisy with Daisy's family and friends please rise.
061We also would like to recognize them. Congratulations. All right. Geo couldn't make it this evening. But I'm still going to read about him because Geo is awesome. So so Snow Mountain High School, which is also me, is proud to present Giovanni Batista as our April student of the month. Gio is an 11th grader who joined us the middle of the 24 25 school year. Uh, where he's demonstrated himself to be an exemplary student, consistently attending school and earning high grades in his classes. He previously attended McDowell Elementary, Kenilworth. And Casa and his teachers also unanimously selected Gio for the award. Um, I shared that Gio's good-natured, responsible, and a great role model for his peers. He is also uniquely himself, with an affable demeanor and a positive attitude that could be infectious. During his time
062with us, he has not only succeeded academically, but has been a positive influence socially, and has been someone I can rely on to model the right thing. Um, he's a lot of fun to talk to, and asks very interesting, very insightful questions. Missile also shared that he's a real character and a lot of fun to have in class. He is motivated to succeed academically and has the talent and perseverance to meet the challenge. Previously, Geo has been our. Speaker presenting our set report to. Um, outside of school, Gio enjoys hanging out with his friends, playing with his cat, and cooking at home. After high school, he's interested in going into a trade, either plumbing or auto body repair. Congratulations, Gio. Congratulations, Geo. And one final round of applause for oh. Oh, there we go. Right.
063And a final round of applause for all of our students of the month. We're going to do a 5 min break. I would like to invite all the students of the month up to front. Well, we're going to do a group picture, and then we'll reconvene in 5 min. Yeah. I'm going to get out of the way. Please buy a real quick. Laura. Yep. It was his team won the championship and. And I sat with him. Congratulations to you. Where are you going to school? I love you. Congratulations! Yeah, very, very proud. Thank you. Hi, I'm Giovanni. Oh, nice! Nice to meet you, and Kevin Jackson. I teach government. All right. Thank you. And I I've heard that Panama High School has. Well, I don't help. The middle school where your belonging scores of like
064really with adult, trust adults. They like to brag? How long have you been at, uh, there? My fourth year experience. I was there. There's no harder job that I've ever seen on the daily right on the on Daisy. I know what it's like. Yeah. Four years. That's better. You get to keep your trauma. All right, I'd like to call the meeting back to order at 718. Can everyone please retake their seats? Alright, next on the agenda, we are, um… going to receive a presentation of the Citizens Oversight Committee Annual Report. Is this Amanda? Okay. All right, Amanda, the floor is yours. Thank you so much. Good evening. I'm here tonight with Phoebe Ellis, who is the chair of the district's Oversight Committee, and tonight we will be presenting on the fiscal year, or the 24
06525 school years annual report. I'm Phoebe Ellis. Nice to see everyone. Thank you again for all of your service to our community. Appreciate all that you all do. And yes, we've had a successful year with bond projects here at Petaluma City Schools. So we'd like to share that with you. So it does just a little history. It works retroactively. So we're we're looking at 2425. projects and funding. Um, and just a little plug for the bonds, uh, we are very lucky in this city that our community supports all of these bond measures and parcel tax, so… Really would like to emphasize the seriousness of this committee, as well as this bond money, and just to emphasize that we're, you know, ensuring that the taxpayers' money is spent in accordance with what they voted for. Um,
066and another little plug, there's always positions available on this committee, always, so… People in the community were always looking for members. It's, you know, a pretty easy gig, but very important, so reach out to Amanda if you're interested. We really need good, involved community members, so thank you. All right. Perfect. Well, I think that is our first couple slides. So this was our membership for last year. And as Phoebe said, we do have some vacancies that we'll go over at the end of the presentation. Just a quick note, the bonds that are part of this audit are from our 2014 election, though we did pass and. sell our first bond series of measures A, A, and Z. Yes, um, we did not spend them in last fiscal year. It's okay, no problem. Actually, we have
067it right. We'll just luckily, it was posted, so everybody can follow along. Just that the annual report is submitted to the Board of Trustees by the Petaluma City Schools and the district's oversight committee as required by law. All right, we're back up. And then do you want to go over just the audit summary? Right. And you just basically that there was an audit done by Negro, and is that you pronounce it? Nigro and Nigro. And they did not have any findings outside that. all of the monies were spent in compliance with, as approved by Measures E and C. They did a sampling of $2.1 million and found compliance. They also last year the district, or excuse me, the board passed a resolution combining our separate parcel tax. committee and our bond over committee oversight committees
068into one oversight committee. So this also was audited, was measures D and E, and also no findings in those. Now on to some fun pictures. You want to go ahead? Okay. So. as part of the 2014 bond, we were able to install new bleachers at the Casa Grande. gymnasium. So there's pictures from before. During and after, has anybody had an opportunity to sit on them? Are they better? Yeah. Here are some pictures of our brand new TK building at McKinley Elementary School. and their playground. And then these are our current vacancies. So we're looking for an individual from a taxpayer organization representative. High school PTA or site council representative. That is for the high school district. So that does include Mary Collins and a high school representative. So if anybody knows anybody is interested in
069the audience, you can reach out to me, Amanda Bonevert. That would be lovely. And also just a shout out to Lisa Davis, who has worked very hard as the project manager keeping all these projects in line and the obviously reviewing funding and keeping everyone on target. So big shout out and to Amanda as well. It's really Lisa. All right. And that is it later on this evening under action, the actual report. These were the highlights will come to the board for approval. Are there any questions? Now at this moment. Thank you so much. Thank you. Alright, moving on. I think, uh, let's see here. Amanda, I believe you are back on deck for item number 7, the fiscal crisis and management assistance team, fiscal health risk analysis final report. Yes, thank you so much. I'd
070like to introduce Jeff Porter via Zoom from FCMAT, who will present the fiscal Health Risk Analysis for Petaluma City Schools. It's an independent review of our fiscal condition and practices. This analysis was required after our first interim was designated as qualified by the County Office of Education. I'm pleased to share that our second interim report has since been approved as positive, and I'd also like to know a little blurb from. Scoe's letter, and this is in bold. It's beautiful. It says, the county commends the district's budget advisory committee for its work in identifying necessary reductions, and the district's demonstrated commitment to fiscal solvency. The work is critical and must continue to ensure the district maintains long-term financial stability and meets its ongoing financial obligations. So that is where we are today. The report from Jeff.
071solely focuses on our first interim. So hopefully… He is ready. Good evening. Can you see? Can you hear? Are you able to put them on the screen? Kara? I don't think we need to review the report. Though you should all read it. It's 34 beautiful pages. Can you hear me? Okay, can you see me? Yes. Yes, we can hear you. Almost. Almost. Almost. Is that just a picture of me? My camera is on. I'm sorry if I'm not coming through. Is anything more than a picture. But that's okay. I don't have any type of Powerpoint or anything like that. So as long as you can hear me that should suffice. All right, Jeff. Well, we can hear you. Why don't you continue while we continue working on the it issue on our end. Okay. Yeah,
072my, it's telling me that my video has been disabled, so that's okay. It doesn't matter that I look very similar to my picture that you might see in front of you, and I don't have any more hair than I do in that picture. So. Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening, trustees, Superintendent Harris, staff, and community members. Again, my name is Jeff Potter. And I'm with an organization called FCMAT. You may already have heard that acronym that stands for the fiscal crisis and Management Assistance Team. For those who may be unaware, FCMAT is a program funded by a state appropriation through the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. I'm actually not located in Kern County, which, for those who don't know, is Bakersfield. I'm actually speaking to you this evening from Dublin.
073And those are our headquarters, our main offices in Bakersfield, but we're effectively a government agency, no different than a school district. And we provide fiscal and operational assistance to school districts, charter schools, community colleges, and county offices of education throughout California. As Amanda mentioned, this evening I'll be presenting a report that was prepared for Petaluma City Schools called a Fiscal Health Risk Analysis, or an FHRA. The FHRA is performed most often at districts showing early signs of fiscal distress. And this was the case at Petaluma City Schools. The district was identified as needing an FHRA after the county office. change the certification of the district's first interim financial report from positive to qualified. And that was based primarily on the district's ongoing deficit spending. and an inability to meet the district's required minimum reserve in
074all three years of the multi-year projection at first interim. So. Because we engaged the district at first interim, we subsequently use the district's 2526 first interim report, and the multi-year projection that's included with it is the basis for our review. Uh, before I proceed any further, I would like to remind the district that this study was performed at no cost to the school district, and also at no cost to the Sonoma County Office of Education. The scope of our study included conducting an analysis using the 20 factors that you'll find in our FHRA tool to identify a district's risk for fiscal insolvency. It includes about 140 questions. Each one is a yes-no question relative to each functional area. And the report that hopefully you've seen or have contains the results of this study for those
075who might be interested. The tool itself that we use. is also easily readily available on our website, figmat.org, for anyone who might want to review the tool or even use the tool to do a self-assessment. Our study team consisted of 4 people, my colleagues, Elizabeth Dierstein and Marcus Weiriewic, myself, and one of our writers at our home offices in Bakersfield. His name is John Lotz. The report that hopefully you've seen. It's a result of extensive documentation provided by the district, and we thank them immensely for all of their efforts in getting us everything that we asked for, as well as our interviews with district staff members. Uh, that includes district leadership. When we visited the district back in February to conduct our field work. I should mention here, too, that we initially had hoped to
076present this report at your last board meeting, but the timeline. Following our field work was extremely aggressive. We had a total of about 2 weeks from the end of field work until the March board meeting. And as I learned, it's that's really not possible to get a report. not only written, but internally reviewed and finalized in 2 weeks. So but so because of the timing, it's also it's always possible that some of the concerns that we outlined in the report. Uh, may have been, or perhaps are in the process of being corrected or addressed by the school district. Along those same lines, I'll also point out that since our review focused primarily on the first interim report, it doesn't include any fiscal developments that occurred subsequent to that reporting period, and that's very significant in
077this instance. Because I know the board did take some action subsequent to the 1st interim to help reduce some of the concerns surrounding both the deterioration of the ending fund balance, as well as the district's reserves. Before I go into the results of our analysis, I would like to extend a big thanks to the district staff for their assistance and cooperation throughout this study. I already mentioned how accommodating they were with all of the documentation that we requested. And we certainly appreciate all of their assistance. And I'd also like to thank the Sonoma County Office of Education for their support during this process as well. This was certainly a coordinated effort, and we appreciate everybody's dedication and support to our project. Moving on to the report itself. Feel free to stop me at any time
078if you have any questions. I'll certainly take questions at the end as well. I'm assuming that most of you have had an opportunity to review the report, but if not, feel free to stop me at any time, and I can certainly go into more detail if you'd like. Um, it's report… it's important to remember that FCMAT reports, for the most part are written in what we call a deficit model. This means that we don't identify areas that are not currently in need of improvement. So we don't write glowing reports on everything that a school district is doing well or correctly. Rather, we focus on areas where the district can improve operations in its fiscal outlook. The report is divided into really into 3 sections, the introduction and the background. The report summary, and then the
079actual questions. Fhra questions that support our analysis. Again, I won't cover the report in its entirety, but I will will focus on some of the more notable findings. Um… Oh, I have video now. Can you see me now? Yeah, we can see you now, Jeff. Can anybody can anybody see me? Can you raise a hand if you can see? Oh, oh, wow. Okay. I can't see me, but if you can see, and I I might maybe be able to, but I'm glad that my voice has finally connected with my video. So… The report itself, the FHR is a checklist of questions. It's used fairly extensively statewide statewide. We developed the questions to assess the financial risk of a school district. at a single point in time. So each question helps to determine the district's risk
080for potential insolvency. And when we're done with an FHRA, it results in an overall score indicating the potential risk of a district at that point in time of insolvency. And it's scored similar. To, like, golf a lower score is therefore more desirable. The overall score, as indicated in the report for Petaluma City Schools was determined to be 34.6. Just to give you some context. Most of the FHRAs that we perform for K-12 or TK12 school districts score in the 20s and 30s. Um, I have had a few in the 40s. I've never seen one below 20, but that's just in my experience. Um, so a score of 34.6 is well within sort of the median range that we typically see. But you will notice in the report that we classify the districts overall risk as
081elevated beyond what 34.6 might indicate. So, for instance, 34.6 using our rubric. Indicates a district with moderate risk of insolvency. However, you'll notice in our report that we indicate the disk has a the district has a high level of insolvency only because. Some of the material weakness questions related to things like. The deficit spending or a district's inability to meet its required minimum reserve. Those questions were triggered, and. So I can speak more about that at the end of the presentation, but when those indicators are present in a school district, we consider that to be a high risk. And so even though the score may indicate moderate. the existence of certain material weaknesses elevate a district to high. But before you get too concerned, let me continue with our analysis. It's important, too, to note
082that all of the questions are weighted. We consider some of the questions to be more important than others in identifying potential risk. And so behind the scenes in our calculation and the formula behind the tool, the questions are rated. And so are weighted in such a way that once the tool is completed, it results in a score. I don't ever focus on any individual question, and I would encourage the district to do the same. We don't always have access to all of the information in all instances to answer every question with absolute certainty. So it's possible that where we answer a question. With no response, it's possible we simply couldn't verify the information, but it's fine if a district says, well, we have since either corrected that weakness, or we have since located documentation that
083could have resulted in a yes score. And so, the district is certainly free to make those adjustments going forward. We make judgment calls when we complete this tool, where we, like I said, where we can't verify something, we'll often say no. Um, but, um, I would keep in mind more of the underlying themes of an FHRA report, as opposed to any individual question. Because the report, all of our FHR reports. FHRE reports tell a story. And the story here is the district was deficit spending and demonstrated on the multi-year projection at first interim an inability to meet the required reserve in all years of the multi-year projection. Without, um, some significant budget reductions. Um, there was a $5 million necessary reduction in both 26, 27 and 2728, which prompted the county office to alter or
084change the district's certification at first interim from positive qualified, as I mentioned earlier. Um… So the primary areas, then, that you'll notice in the report where we've identified areas of improvement, deficit spending, the restoration of the general fund balance. Again, at the time of our field work, the district did not have a formal board of. approved plan to balance the budget and resolve any deficit spending that was occurring. We do recognize, and I know I've already mentioned this, that following first interim, the board did take action, uh, through a resolution in January, and maybe additional resolutions since that time. To begin correcting the deficiency, so we were pleased to see that. And along with the deficit spending, again, the district was unable to meet the minimum required reserve for economic uncertainties without those large reductions
085that I mentioned. Um, but again, if the district has taken steps to adopt and make permanent those $5 million unidentified reductions at first interim, then that's a huge step in the right direction towards mitigating the issues that are identified in this report. That's about all I'll say about the report itself, unless you have any questions. Again, remember that only the no responses are areas of deficiency, and only the no responses in the report are where you'll find. explanations on why we answered a question with a no. We don't provide explanations for questions where we answer yes. And sometimes I kind of wish we did, because there are plenty of instances where I wish I could say yes, but, um, but we don't have that flexibility with this tool. Um, we only provide explanations where we
086say no. And so, just keep that in mind as you look at the report. I generally recommend that the districts focus in the coming months and even in the coming years on those areas identified in page 10 of the report. Which are those areas where there are a significant number or the largest number of no responses, because those are what's causing the score. Each time a no response is provided, the tool. increases the score. And so, on page 10, you'll see a summary of each section and how many no responses each section has. And I think it's a really good starting point if you're going to tackle this report and use it sort of as a roadmap going forward on how the district. intends to prioritize some of the improvements that are identified in the
087report. And I also, when you look at the report, I suggest, you know, attempting to, you know, it's not possible to improve or address all of the areas that are identified as having weaknesses all at once. Instead. I usually recommend developing a plan to address those, like I said, maybe a priority list. And then what the district is, you know, any district is able to do is 6 months from now, maybe a year from now. The district can use our tool again. Uh, and like I said, it's right on our website to do a self-assessment. And we will not re-engage the district on this. We won't come back to determine, you know, a progress, you know, to monitor progress. It would really be up to the district to determine progress on the areas identified in
088the report, and that can best be done through a self-assessment. The only thing I'll tell you about a self-assessment is it's really important that a district be brutally honest with itself when it does a self-assessment, because that's how we complete the tool. It's really important that you answer yes and nos as honestly as possible at that point in time. Beyond that, uh, I know I said a lot in a short amount of time there, but if the board has any specific questions on any items in the report, I'm certainly happy to address those at this time. Thank you, Jeff. I'd like to Amanda, is there anything you wanted to add to what Jeff commented before we ask questions? Yeah, thank you. First, I wanted to thank Jeff and his team for the work that they
089did on this, and as he. Previously mentioned, um, that the goal was to have this align with the second interim report. So we had. Yeah, it's a lot. It's. I believe about a week to get… maybe Jeff can remember the number of documents that we had to, um… to supply. So, um, though I wasn't surprised by anything in the report, um, there were a few things that we had a couple conversations about, because we maybe couldn't provide all of the information, um. In the timeframe needed, so… that's just about it. All right, I like… Yeah, just to give some context, the district provided hundreds of documents to us, and we can't thank you enough for doing that, and sometimes I really feel bad about, no, I always feel bad about the list that we give
090you. Um, because I know that does take district resources to compile, but the district was really quick and thorough in getting us those documents. So thank you so much. I really appreciate that. All right. Thank you, Manny Jeff. I'd like to turn over to my colleagues for any questions. I don't really have any questions, but the report is really helpful in helping us figure out what to do next to get. in an even better situation. And some of the changes look pretty straightforward. Maybe not easy, but straightforward. I'd like to turn to my colleagues who are on Zoom. Does. Trustee Cloud, our Webster have any questions? Okay, while we wait for them to potentially, you know, raise their hands. Jeff, I have one one thing that was kind of caught my attention was. Item 13.7.
091According to interviews and documents, the district does not charge the full indirect cost rate to the special education program. Can you explain that finding? Yeah. Actually, it's not uncommon for us to encounter districts that don't charge the indirect cost to special Ed, and just for everybody's benefit for those who don't know what the term indirect cost means. In the private sector, we typically would call it like overhead, right? So it's the cost of things like, oh, I don't know, utilities and, um… facilities and custodial services, and HR and payroll and payables, and all of the all of the expenditures that are very real expenditures, but that aren't always included or easily identifiable or quantifiable when it comes to certain programs. And so it's really important that districts record the full indirect cost or overhead, if
092you will, to all of their programs. And that includes special ed. And the reason many districts. Don't charge indirect costs to special ed is because, as we all know, special ed is an underfunded program statewide, nationwide, right? It's an underfunded program, and so I think a lot of districts. Assume that charging an indirect cost to something that already has insufficient revenue doesn't make a lot of sense. And at least using that argument that's true, except for one thing. When you don't charge indirect to all of your programs, including special ed, even if that program is not self-supporting. Then, you lack the ability to determine how much that program truly costs the school district, because you haven't charged all of the expenditures that you should. And so I think really in more a broader sense, a
093more macro sense. We like to see districts always charging the indirect to special ed as well, even though it may increase the contribution from the unrestricted to the restricted side of the house. We like districts collectively to know how much special ed is costing. So that we can… Rachel. So that we can try, over time, to address the gross inadequate revenue that we get. for special. So does that help? That is helpful. Thank you, Jeff. Amanda. There is one finding that the Lcc. F. projections were off by approximately $600,000. Can you talk about how that occurred, and then has that been corrected for a second interim? Great question at first interim that the county looking at their projections, they thought we over projected. But back at second, or when we presented second interim, we actually
094saw a small increase to our Lcf. Funding and calculator. So we did update our calculators as part of second interim, and the trends did show similar to what we initially projected. I'd say part of that is something we've talked about a lot in our district is our attendance. orchestra. So… Secondary. Excuse me, our attendance rates are quite a bit lower than the state average. We're also in an odd situation that our secondary has higher attendance rates than our elementary. So I think when you. Lakers. Look at those, but it's been accounted for, and we do update our Lcf F calculators at each interim. There was not any feedback in the second interim letter from the county office suggesting that we needed to change our calculators. Thank you, Amanda. Trustee Pun. I actually did have a
095question. I wasn't going to bring it up until later. But since Ryan brought it up, it was along the same lines as special ed. It was 20.6. It was a finding that we have a higher rate of identified students with disabilities. Can you talk about why that's a finding on this? Yeah, good question. So for the section on special Ed, one of the things we tend to look at again, because that's a program that is so underfunded statewide and a very in many instances. One of the. One of the programs that most districts dedicate the most funds to, especially unrestricted dollars. We like to to to track and test whether or not a district's identification rate. falls in line with both county and state averages. And so we look at the district's number of students
096that are identified for special Ed. as a percentage. It's just a simple formula. And then we look at the same number as a percentage for county and for state. And and really, it's it's nothing more than a formula. And we look to see if a district's identification rate is at or below. the county and the State, and and if it exceeds it, that's where we'll call that out in that question, because the district in those instances may want to look at areas if it can, where cost savings might be a possibility. And so that could be a special ed study. It could be things like, you know, instead of using third party contractors for so many of the services, potentially, if a district is large enough and some aren't. providing some of those services in-house.
097And so, you know, ways to try and manage the special ed contribution from the unrestricted side of the house, because it's such an expensive program for so many school districts. Which is fine, the problem being, of course, is that it lacks sufficient revenue to cover the expenditures in pretty much every district we go to. So that's why we focus on identification rates. So if a district is really good at identifying students with disabilities, they're basically being penalized for it. Um… Well, that's an interesting way to look at it. If a district is really good, I suppose that could be an explanation for no answer in that question. But I think probably more commonly, the mo the reason a district might have. An identification rate that exceeds the county or state averages. It could be more
098often that a lack of controls over the identification, right? The lack of processes, a formalized process may be documented process that a district is following such that. Maybe, you know, an over-identification is happening at the district without, you know, without the district realizing it. And I've seen districts really go up exponentially in the number of students that they've identified. And on one hand, you could say, okay, well, maybe they're getting much better at identifying those students, but it also the reverse could also be true that maybe they're no longer using appropriate tools like decision trees and things. To review special ed services, and maybe they're being too flexible, um, or too accommodating with certain services that might not be necessary in all instances. And so I think that's why we look at an identification rate.
099Is at least sort of one, you know, benchmark, one data point to determine if a district maybe is way off the charts compared to the averages, both countywide and statewide. Thank you, Jeff. Again, want to see my colleagues online if they have any questions. I have no questions. All right. Thank you, Trustee Webster. I can. We can't hear you, Trustee Cloud. I have a question. Can you hear me? Oh, excellent. I have a question about budget development and adoption about. Mm-hmm. That the, uh, does the district develop and use written budget assumptions for their multi-year projections that are reasonable or aligned with county superintendent of schools instructions and are clearly articulated. Um, so, um, it mentions here that you were unable to determine if assumptions were clearly articulated to all district education partners. I was
100just wondering from you and then also to emphasize this for Amanda. Um, the importance of having assumptions in developing your budget development. There's a lot of… Fantastic. Yeah, so when it comes to assumptions, there are… there are a lot of different assumptions. There are universal assumptions that we call them universe, like, things like, you know, what's the cost of living adjustment going to be next year? And, you know, what other revenue factors has the state communicated? We can assume, uh, for, uh, for the out years, right? For the future? But then there's local assumptions like enrollment and attendance and things like that. And in some instances, we… and it's not uncommon for us to be unable to determine exactly what assumptions. A district used throughout a multi-year projection. We might see things like, you know,
101a common message or, um, you know, some kind of a dartboard with a certain, uh, you know, maybe a COLA assumptions, things like that, LCFF assumptions, revenue assumptions, but where we're unable to to. Simply. identify all of the assumptions used. We'll often say we simply couldn't identify what the assumptions were. And that can be in many instances, simply a function of being able to more openly or outwardly intentionally. communicate assumptions that were used throughout at every reporting period that were used throughout not only the current year's budget, but a multi-year projection as well. So, you know, and I think in this instance, that's exactly what happened. We couldn't identify all the assumptions used. And I know. The county office may have alluded to that in some of their oversight letters in the past. And it
102also could be assumptions that are used that might be somewhat overstated. So, for instance, you'll notice in the county offices. first interim letter. They had some concerns. I know this is already mentioned about overly optimistic ADA projections, for instance. And so, wherever assumptions are used like that. Like that, I would… I would encourage the district simply to make sure that with with the multi-year projection or a board presentation or any accompanying document that those assumptions are clearly articulated. for everyone. Great, thank you. Thank you, Jeff. Yes. All right, thank you, Jeff. Yeah, thank you. So as a district, we do use the county office's common message, which is generally attached to the board backup and the school services dartboard as part of our budget presentation at each interim. We do have a slide that shows.
103The, um, assumptions that were used. Maybe we did not provide them to Jeff in a timely manner. Thank you. Okay, with that, I don't believe I see any more questions for my colleagues. Jeff. We want to thank you and your team for the work, the recommendations. This report is extremely helpful in identifying some of our weak spots to ensure again. That we are on the right road to fiscal health. So Amanda again and your team, thank you for all the work that you put into this. Again, this is incredibly helpful and we will be utilizing these recommendations moving forward. Great, thank you. Appreciate the opportunity to present it this evening. Okay, well, Jeff, thanks again. And then we have one more agenda item, and we'll move on to number 8. So Matthew, is this you?
104This is the California State Seal of Civic engagement. I'm going to invite. Dr. Osterman up with his team. Yeah. Hi, good evening. Dan Osterman, College and Career Pathways Coordinator for the district. I'm joined here by 2 phenomenal educators. We have Miss Lisa Kane from Casagona High School, Kevin Jackson from Petaluma High School. And we're going to give you a very brief overview of an exciting pilot of an adoption of this California State Seal of civic Engagement that is happening in our schools and give our educators a chance to provide some additional. context of how it's going and what to see looking ahead. So we're just waiting for the presentation. and then we'll begin. Alright, here we go. The State School of Civic engagement is a recognition conferred by the State Superintendent of public instruction for
105California public school students in grades. It actually should be my apologies for the typo 10th. 11th and 12th, who demonstrate excellence in civics education and participation as well as an understanding of the United States Constitution, California Constitution, and the democratic system. of government. And so just a quick overview of the statewide criteria. This is the first slide. This is includes the first 2 criteria. Students participating in the Lea must number one, be engaged in academic work in a productive way. Number 2, demonstrate a competent understanding of United States and California constitutions. Functions and governance of local governments, tribal government structures and organizations, the role of the citizen in a constitutional democracy and democratic principles. concepts and processes. And third criteria participate in one or more informed civic engagement projects that address real world problems and
106require students to identify and inquire into civic needs or problems, consider varied responses, take action. and reflect on efforts. And number four, demonstrate civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions through self-reflection. And finally, number five, exhibit character traits that reflect civic-mindedness and a commitment to positively impact the school. classroom community and or society. And so just to round us out here with student eligibility, any grade again, grades 10, 11, or 12 students can begin working on towards the State seal in grade 9. And it's included in all schools and participating LEA. Two students must demonstrate attainment of all five statewide criteria, as well as any locally adopted requirements to be eligible. And students may not earn the seal before grade 10. However, LEAs are encouraged to develop local means for recognition for younger students as a pathway
107to earning the state seal. And here is the actual seal. And and our plan is to affix the seal much like we do for the state seal of biliteracy. And there's lots of other exciting work around this happening in the state. And we have at this point, I just want to go ahead and turn it over to our guests here, so… last we, our meeting gets even longer here. So who would like to go first? Hi, thank you, everybody. Thanks. Great to see all of you. Great to meet some of you. I am the guy from the emails that's asked you to come to my classes this year. But yeah, what I've done is kind of built a project around this that I think would fit these criteria. And so, actually, later this week, my
108government students will be presenting out what they've done over these last few months. And you know, I've… Very, very strongly encourage them and to really focus on civic engagement and civic action over these last school year, really. And so I'm excited to see what comes from it. Some students have really jumped right in and found some of that they're passionate about and are jumping in. Um, but moving forward, yeah, we'll see kind of where things go. I'm both excited and terrified. Yeah. Thank you, at least a high school. I had the pleasure working with Kevin and Dan on this and getting it to move forward, and hopefully we will move out of a pilot program into a more full fledged, rounded out program. Um, I am working with students who committed their summers, some of
109them with, um, boys and girls, um, state, and working with, uh, fundamentals of government and, you know, mock trials and mock government. Um, and as we flesh out this program and verify all the pieces and parts of it, um, we hope to solidify this piece that fits with Casa Grande's. graduate profile of civic engagement, so I look forward to continuing to build that out. Thanks. All right. Any questions, comments. I'd like to open up to my colleagues. Any questions from Trustee Cloud or Webster online? I think it's a, go ahead, Ellen. I'm just… Well, I just wanted to say that I've had the pleasure of talking to Mr. Jackson's students, and so I'm really thrilled to hear about this. I think it's going to be great. Thank you. Yeah, I echo that. It sounds fabulous.
110Thank you. All right. Well, thank you, everybody. I feel like you guys are here for 2 h. I at least have to ask a question. I'm going through anyway. Go ahead. So what do you envision coming out of this? That's missing right now from your classrooms or with your student engagement like, I guess. What are your dreams, or what are you hoping to see as a result of this? Big question. I mean, I think it can be absolutely transformative for our district. I have friends throughout the country who work in this doing these things and and thinking of a friend specifically, she says when she goes from schools throughout the country. You know the schools and the districts that have a commitment to civic engagement and civic action, and you know the schools that they're
111just kind of coming through and floating by. So no, this is so much bigger than than my class or what Lisa's doing over at Casa. It it needs to. grow both vertically and horizontally. About a year ago, I got to go to a two-day conference in Sacramento, where fourth grade students from Southern California proposed civic action on how to deal with. beach, uh, trash and issues. that backed up to their campus. And so these are things that we can do, yes, in our in our high school courses, but things that I think we need to look to integrate vertically starting as early as possible. And I would love for this to be kind of the crowning achievement of. 13 plus years of being engaged, being active. I could say would hope that it would build
112out, and for our new assistant superintendent to say, come to a school district that people are engaged, that this is going to foster our students to be more students on the school board, more on oversight committees, that this is what we do here in Petaluma City Schools. My question is, have we spoken with our other jurisdictional partners at the county, at the city for again opportunities to engage the students either in like in small projects or like, you know, a walk in your walk in a day of the shoes kind of for for folks in in certain positions. We're getting there, and that's why I've sent all of you emails, and that's why I've sent every city council member emails. And so, yes, part of the the rollout of this project is I have people
113like you come in and talk about your role here, so that if a student has an issue, whether it's site-based or even district-wide. Um, who are the people that they can reach out to to help make those things happen? And so, you know, for example, I think one of the projects that some of our students have really kind of run with is, can they decorate their cap at graduation? And they have done so much to. Uh, you know, reach out to their fellow seniors, but then also reach out to us as staff members and say, hey, here's our proposal. What do you think about it? And what can we do to build consensus? And so something that many of us might consider quite trivial, I would assume Paige is, you know. far more passionate about
114than the rest of us here in the room. Um, but, you know, this is something that matters to them, and I've been so encouraged to see them. And, you know, looking behind me, all these people that want to come and participate and speak in public comment here momentarily. These are the things that warm my heart, so if we could bring some of that to our sites district-wide, and, you know, we start here, and then let's grow it vertically and horizontally. Okay. Well, thank you. Thank you all for the work. We're excited for this program. And to recognize our students who are, you know, getting more engaged in community and civic life. Thank you, Dan. Thank you. All right, with that that brings us to the end of the reports and presentations. Um… So right now
115I will open it up to comments from the public on special recognition, recognition reports, presentations, and non-agendized items. Right now I've received 2 cards. and 0? Okay, well, one second. If you are online, please raise your hand and notify the host. If you would like to make public comment. I will get to you after in person. Uh, let's see here. First of all, I got Kristen Nichols. Oh, sorry. Take underneath. Okay, so type in your name into the chat feature if you would like to make public comment again on. reports, presentations, and non-agendized items. So hi, this is a non agenda item. Items, and we have 3 min per speaker. I'm Christine Nichols. I am working in architecture for a firm called architecture. We are specialized on designing schools. And I'm also a Valla Vista
116parent. As you know, while it was will get new TKK classroom buildings. And me together was like a little group of parents. as Janine, Destin, Madari, and Cindy, we. we we wanted to come and we wanted to talk to you that we started wondering, how can we ensure that these buildings are made with healthy building materials. How can we ensure that these are truly sustainable buildings? I remodeled my house to a green building standard that is called the Living Building Challenge. It basically takes a deep dive into seven petals. The water, the energy. Health and happiness, materials, equity, and beauty. So and when when reading like your climate action plan, it talks about prioritizing climate innovation and school facilities. It talks about sustainable practices, including energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, outdoor learning spaces, school
117gardens. and sustainable water management. So pursuing the living building challenge would like give you all of that in your in your built environment. Just to give you like a very, very simple example. If you just go by building code. There's a requirement to not exceed carbon dioxide levels of 1,100. That's when like an alarm goes off. That's actually a level when like it's proven that it's not healthy, like test scores are low and students can't really focus. So it's the living building challenge requires carbon dioxide levels of now more than 600, which is a very healthy environment in which like students can thrive. It's not hard to do, but without a standard that actually asks for that, it's not going to be done. So what we are actually hoping to do is we were wondering
118if we are allowed to give like a detailed presentation. about the Living Building Challenge and like to list all these advantages that you would see for the students for the school district, but also for the community in general. During one of your next, uh… meetings. I've made a little handout. It has like an example school on here. This just by building the school here. it creates a super healthy environment because it's mainly made of natural materials. And at the same time it literally reverses climate change because it sucks carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Because it's insulated with straw. So. Definitely. Thank you. You have 30 seconds left your time. Well, thank you again for the opportunity to speak up here. That is. a very, very meaningful topic for me. Oh, the the handout also
119has my email address and the website to my own building project was a link to an article in Sonoma magazine that was published about our project. Thank you so much for speaking. we have Angel Carlos. All right. You have 3 min. All right. Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Carlos Linus. This is Andrew Mana, and we're both seniors at Casa Grande High School. So we're here to talk about introducing grazing on Casa Grande High School's campus. Uh, when we talk about grazing, we're referring to the use of animals, typically goats or sheeps, to naturally manage vegetation. Instead of relying on machines or chemical herbicides, grazing uses these animals to eat excess grass, weeds, and brush. This practice has been used in many communities as an environmentally friendly
120way to maintain landscapes, reduce overgrowth, and help prevent wildfires. Raising is not just about cutting grass. It's a sustainable land management strategy that animals fertilize the soil naturally, reduce invasive plant species, and can help maintain healthier ecosystems overall. Schools, parks, and cities across California have already adopted a grazing programs because they are effective, low impact, and educational. For example, cities like San Francisco have used goats to clear vegetation in high-risk fire areas, while Caltrans has implemented grazing programs along highways to reduce dry brush. Santa Rosa has also used targeted grazing as part of its wildfire prevention efforts, especially after recent fire seasons. Bringing grazing to Casa Grande would not only help maintain our campus, but also connect students to real-world environmental practices in a meaningful way. We believe grazing would benefit Casa Grande in 3
121key ways. First, it would improve campus safety by reducing fire risks. Petaluma is an area where dry grass and overgrown vegetation can become a hazard. especially during fire season. Grazing animals can clear this vegetation more thoroughly than machines, helping create a safer environment for students and staff. Second, grazing is environmentally friendly. Unlike gas-powered equipment, it produces no emissions and reduces the need for chemical herbicides. This supports sustainability efforts and helps Casa Grande model environmentally responsible practices for students. Dirty provides educational opportunities students could learn firsthand about agriculture, ecology, and sustainability. Grayson could even be incorporated into science or environmental studies classes. Giving students a unique, hands-on learning experience right on campus, as well as grazing would also be in line with the city of Petaluma's goal. of being carbon neutral by 2030. In conclusion, grazing
122offers a safe, sustainable and educational solution for campus maintenance. Thank you for your time and for considering this idea. We appreciate your attention and commitment to improving our school. Thank you. All right. Checking one more time. Is there any anyone online for public comment? No, we do. Okay, so moving on to adoption and approval of the agenda. All right, we are going to take a 2-minute break. We're going to reconvene at 822. Thank you. Moving on. Oh. Okay, we'll get back. We'll get started again in about 1 min. 1 min. Please retake your seats. Okay, we are reconvening for our short break. We are reconvening for our short break. Please retake your seats. Next on the agenda is the adoption and approval of the agenda. Trustee Quinn, I'm going to recognize your motion to amend
123the the agenda at this time. Cool. Does anyone want to second my motion? Perfect. Okay, the motion is to move item number. clicks to the end of the agenda. Item number 6 to the end of the agenda. That's the public report out on actions taken in closed session. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. All those opposed. Hearing none. The item passes. The agenda is amended. I move to approve the agenda as amended. I second. Any discussion? All right. All those in favor. And. Aye. These guys. Okay, I. All those opposed? Hearing none. The agenda is amended. Um… and approved. So… Next is… The report out on activities and correspondence with school board members. I don't have anything in writing from, but does anyone want to make an announcements for the past couple of weeks? I
124know we had spring break, but. Okay, Trustee Webster. Um… Sure. I, you know, I went to a lot of meetings, but… Um, and I talked to Kevin Jackson's class, but the most important thing I did was I attended the CSBA sponsored legislative session. And first I want to thank Damon Connolly for actually showing up and not sending an aide. Um, but it was… I found it really interesting. there was a lot of, um… talk about budget, especially the deferrals, um, and the hope was that the legislature would. deny those deferrals, and that would. That would be… That would help a great deal with budgets. And there was also… another thing I wanted to mention was the CSBA bill, it's called SOS for Student Achievement. And basically, what they're challenging the state do is close the
125state achievement gap. And focus on state-level plans to close to close the achievement gap. They talked about clear, measurable state goals, annual benchmarks, and transparent reporting, a public state of the gap dashboard. Um, alignment of the state budget with… with a unified strategy. Basically, the money should follow purpose, not politics. Um, the other thing that I thought was really interesting was the paperwork reduction act. And I'm sure everybody in the district office can testify to this, but there's so much overwhelming paperwork that the total it takes in staff time is about 170 days. out of a school year. Um, so I don't know if that's going to pass or not, but I thought that was pretty interesting. Thank you, Trustee Webster. Anything else? Yeah. Yeah, I went to a few things. Srjc. Roundtable was great.
126The PEF scholarship reception was wonderful to see all the students receiving scholarships. within this past Saturday I was at the butter and eggs day opening ceremony, where Connie, one of our retired librarians, is was crowned the good egg of Petaluma this year. So everyone's here. Did she get like a crown or something? I don't know. She'll be at Butter and eggs, but I just thought that was great that one of our. Librarians was being recognized, and then I saw Amanda there, and I was like, I will offer her the space if you'll allow it to talk about another individual that we talked to. at the the ceremony. Yeah, through the chair. Yeah, thank you. It was wonderful to see Connie recognized, and where they spoke a lot about her time at Kenilworth and Petaluma High
127School. But I had the opportunity to meet Heidi Kuhn, who is this year's grand marshal. And the founder of Roots for Peace, an organization dedicated to transforming former conflict zones into thriving farmland and gardens, and she is interested in partnering with Petaluma City Schools and the food service department, so… Looking forward to a great new partnership. That's fantastic. Well, thank you for the report outs. Um. Okay. With that, so I will move on to. public comment from the public on consent items. Do we have any? Okay, so if you would like to make public comment online, please raise your hand. That feature is now functioning. We'll give it like 5 seconds here. Has anyone raised their hands for on consent items? Okay, we have one member. You have 3. Please introduce yourself, and you have
1283 min for. public comment on a consent item. We are going to unmute you in one second. Okay, so being clarification. So that so. on consent items. Matthew, how you'd like to handle. 3 column one one on one. Okay. Is there anything? Oh, sorry, actually. It's a consent… a consolidated motion. Consolidated motion. Is there any questions on the consent items? and there is no public comment. Anyone? Okay. Then I will move to approve the consent agenda by consolidated motion. Second. Amanda. Sorry, one second. Yeah, this is a different item. Okay. All right, all those in favor. Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Aye. Hearing no. that didn't register a vote for Trustee Cloud. Trustee Cloud. Can you register your vote? Yes. Okay. All right. Motion passes unanimously. We are now moving on to comments from the
129public on action items. we have right now 8. Please raise your hand online if you would like to comment on any action item. Right now we have. 8 members of the public that wish to make public comment because we limit each subject matter or section of the agenda to 20 min. We are going to reduce the time as of this moment to 2 and a half minutes per public speaker. So can we get a clock for 2 min, 30 seconds on the board? Do we have any public comment online at this moment, or requests to make public comment online? No. Okay. So we're gonna lip. So I will call speakers up, and then we will have 2 and a half minutes for each speaker. 1st person I have in my list is Sage. Hi, my
130name is . Hi, my name is Sage Kelly Kusumano. I'm a non-binary. Thanks. I'll just restart this. Hi, my name is Sage Kelly Kusumano. I'm a non-binary sixth grader at Grant Elementary. The school has been very supportive, and Miss Mack has led the way with this. The teachers and the students have been really kind and supportive of me. They changed how they use my pronouns, and. Without an issue, and they love me for who I am. To me, the progress flag symbolizes acceptance and progress through a more inclusive world. If I got to see the flag at my school throughout the year, I would know that for certain that the school was on my side. As a member of the schools, I accept my schools to be inclusive, not exclusive. Please consider flying the Progress
131flag all year. Thank you for your support. Thank you. Apologize for like Mielle or am I EL? She had to step out and do pop her to the back. Okay. Okay, Sarah Sebastian. Hi, everyone. Good evening. It's good to see you here again. I'm. commenting here for you all. 1st of all, I wanted to thank you all for taking the time over the last handful of months to deeply consider what it means to have symbols of inclusion and and equity in our schools. I know that this board. has time and time again spoken up and made policies and practice in our schools and in our community to be inclusive. I really appreciate that and I commend it. Thank you very much. I also really understand the depth at which you all have gone through this
132process to get to this point, and I appreciate it, and I support the flag 1,000%. I do have question and concern about one part of it, and it's the piece that's up in highlighting that where it talks about whether or not we might have, um… Other symbolic flags flown and that the board may authorize through board resolution the temporary display of other symbolic flags for a defined period of time, during which such authorized flags may be flown in place. of the progress flag at district sites. I'm concerned about this piece because I think that it inherently goes against the idea of inclusion. If you're going to have the progress flag up all year round, and then have another flag come up that may be equal… that obviously is. As important as the pride flag, it
133creates a competitive situation where it puts different communities at battle because it would be one or the other. This does not protect our students that are represented by the progress flag. It also doesn't. Protect students that are represented by, um, you know, the Juneteenth flag, or a flag that may come out for, um, Latine Month or Native Americans, or any other community that might have a flag that they want to fly. It creates holes and does not create a durable resolution for, um, for this type of inclusion, and for the symbol to actually have, you know, some meaning. So I appreciate it. I want it to pass. I would like you to consider changing that clause. So that it is more durable and inclusive. Thank you. Thank you. Jesse. If we can do is we'll
134provide fun guys. All right. Hello, I'm Jesse Redfield, Petaluma High, English journalism GSA Advisor. I'm happy this is back on the agenda. I've been waiting the months for it, um, and the kids have been asking me if we had heard anything, and if anything had happened. And something that just keeps coming up is normalizing. We need to normalize this, that this is an expectation on our campuses that. pride and equality and love are what we offer and what we give. Um, and just a reminder that we probably don't need in this current world that silence is loud. And that complacency is compliance. Like, this is our chance and our reason and our time to stand up and support everyone. Um, when we waiver, when we go back and forth, we're offering opportunities for hate and
135for people to pick us apart in our weakness. And we're leaving those openings that will weasel their way in and make it harder to keep this going. I don't know if you've seen the news lately that Phil's Coffee, a San Francisco-based company, just decided to remove their pride flags. For, quote, a more streamlined aesthetic, and to maintain a, quote, welcoming environment for all customers. It is not a more welcoming environment when we don't welcome everyone. What we are doing is saying we don't accept hate here. And I think having the flag year-round offers our students the opportunity, as Sage so correctly put it, to see that they are welcome and loved without us having to say a single thing, without anyone having to mention it on campus. For our students who aren't out and who
136aren't able to feel proud and loud, and it also offers an opportunity for the adults to remember every day what our expectation is. If we fly that flag, we are required and expected. to be protecting our children and to love everyone on our campus. Um, I want to close with some words from our GSA president, Donnie. Joining PHS GSA has really helped me feel like I have a place at this school long before I found other things. While I don't always feel like I'm ready to take a leadership role, I never feel that there's any pressure put on me by other members. I would like to request that the pride flag be kept up year-round, as I believe it would make students feel more accepted and more like they have a voice here at our
137school. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Lydia. Hi there. My name is Lydia Louvier, and I am a student at Petaluma High School, and I am the secretary of the the GSA. Um… It is very difficult sometimes to be loud and proud and… queer and out. And while I am so grateful to be who I am, um… There are oftentimes people are unkind, and having the pride flag flown year-round is an expression of support, um, and love. Um, and it makes me feel safer at school. Um, there was an incident last semester when a number of students, um, bombarded me with slurs and called me a dyke, over and over and again, just, um, because I am who I am. And… it is imperative that we show every student that they have a place
138to belong, and that they are valued and they are loved. Despite what sets them apart. So, I would urge that you consider this and, um… Please, fly the pride flag year-round. Thank you. Thank you. Justin. Yeah, Justin. Hanzel Durbin. Yeah. Thank you very much for letting me come in here and speak. My name is Justin Hansel Durban. My pronouns are he, him. I'm a parent of a third and seventh graders at Cherry Valley. I'm also the tide co-facilitator there. I am here today to speak for not only myself, but all the many people and students and families who can't come today due to whatever is in their way, but they've definitely talked to me and shown their support. So I'm here to speak for myself and them. And to urge you to support this resolution
139and pass it, and we can be on the right side of history on this one. So thank you very much. The resolution will help Petaluma City Schools become a safer place for this community and the LGBTQIA plus students. where they can be their authentic selves. It's very important. It makes them feel safe. Where they can learn better. I've personally spoken with a bunch of families at Cherry Valley, and they specifically called out the pride flag as something that was welcoming to them. It made them and their families feel safer and more comfortable at the school, made them feel like they had an ally. in the trusted adult for their kids at the school. I know that's a key thing for Petaluma City Schools to increase the trusted adults for every student. When students have that
140trusted adult, they feel safe, their minds can open up to learn other new things. That feeling. will cascade throughout the school. I've seen it, and it is provides more positive outcomes for all the students in the school. So thank you. I really appreciate that this school board has been so open and able to have these discussions. It's not everywhere in the state or in this country that we can even have the conversations. And work collaboratively on these sorts of inclusive measures and resolutions. So I just really want to thank everyone here and everyone who's listening for having this opportunity, and please vote in favor of this resolution. And we look forward to working on more. resolutions and inclusive actions for all communities that are marginalized in our community. So thank you very much, and have
141a great night. Thank you. next we have Nathan. Hi, everyone. Nathan Labkap, teacher, librarian at Casa Grande Gsa advisor Casa Grande, resident parent Petaluma City Schools. We celebrate diversity as an asset that strengthens and enriches our learning community. By embracing the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and talents of each student and staff member, we are working to create inclusive environments where everyone feels valued and respected. This diversity enhances our educational experience, preparing our students to thrive in a global society. It can be found on the front page of the Petaluma City Schools website. Um, as one of our core values. Petaluma City Schools has spent a great deal of time and money supporting professional development for our educational leaders and learning how to help operate or create classroom environments that make every student feel supported, welcome, safe,
142and therefore in the optimal conditions to learn. An expectation that every school site displays the progressive pride flag will be an action directly in line with these words. By making this decision as our school board for the past how like almost half a decade, probably longer. You have made it the focus, in my opinion, appropriately, of educating our educators to create in our classrooms and learning spaces a place where everyone is welcome. Leaving this decision up to school sites would have meant leaving or would mean leaving the school administrators to address this decision if the school site decided to fly the flag or not, it would be the school site administrator who would field the most questions and bear the largest burden of a community decision. By making this decision. As a school board, you
143will be honoring your own words and convictions in material form. You are signaling to every student and teacher and community member that every school in Petaluma City Schools is for every person. The bar has been set so, so, so, so, so low. To show support for a diverse, pluralistic, democratic society right now. Encourage you to make this very important decision to show that Petaluma City Schools doesn't just display our core values on our website, but at our schools every day for everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Emily. Hi, my name is Emily Vaquero. I was here at the last meeting where we talked about this. So some of this may be a repeat for some of you, but it's important. I am a student advisor at Mary Collins, and I'm the advisor for Amor Paratos, our
144middle school's Lgbtqia 2 plus affinity group. I'm a scout leader and mom of two at Cherry Valley. I'm telling you this so you can see how many of my roles are student-facing. Um… Before our last meeting, I asked my total students how it feels when they see a pride flag flying in front of the building, that they are entering, and they said lots of different things. It makes me think that I will be supported. happy that the community I'm entering will support me. Super welcome. More appreciated. I would feel like this place is inclusive. It makes me feel relieved. I would know I am safe there. So our focus must be on the safety of the kids flying the pride flag at school every day represents safety as well as inclusion. Schools should be a
145place where every student feels protected, supported, and free to be their most authentic selves. For many students, safety is not guaranteed, and the Pride flag can be a visual sign that their school is a safe place for them. The flag reassures students that there are adults like me who will stand up for them, because feeling safe. Is essential for learning. Flying the pride flag doesn't exclude anyone or force beliefs. It shows that our schools value respect, care, and safety for every student. I hope you consider that when you make your vote tonight. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Is it meal? Yeah. My name is Mielle Louvier, and I come to you tonight as a longtime resident of Petaluma, a businesswoman in this community and children who have gone all the way their entire school
146careers, 2 of them through the Petaluma City Schools. Um… some really amazing, very, uh… Eloquent things have been said, and and what I have to say, I just want to go on record, so it's not quite as eloquent as as some of what we've heard. But, um… The pride flag to be displayed on school grounds is essential because it fosters an inclusive and safe environment and signals to Lgbtq students and and and everyone that they're welcome, accepted, and protected. The display of these flags improves the mental health and emotional well-being of these students and youth as well as adults. And serves as visible supportive symbols of diversity and equity in academic spaces. And that's what we do in Petaluma, right? That's what we do. My kids have come through this system. I've been a part
147of this community, and I know that that's what we do. And so this seems like a very logical a logical step. Um… So I we fly a flag, a pride flag on our porch, and recently conversing with a stranger in our neighborhood, someone that I had never met, that I encountered while walking my dog, but outside my house, and he shared with me that seeing the flag on my porch made him feel safe. and welcome that he felt safe on my block, because he saw that flag on our porch. And so I encourage you to extend that feeling to to the entire Petaluma City Schools community. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, with that, I will turn it. We will go to action item 15.1.1. Luan. This is the approval of criteria for the Pcs. Superintendent
148search. Great. Thank you. So. Let me try that again. Thank you, Trustee. So tonight we bring to the board for your approval the next superintendent criteria, and you have a draft that was online, and then a slightly updated version that paper version that is in front of you here, and I thought it might be easier for you to take a look at this, too. A couple updated comments talking to our trustees who are at home. And so those are in red, and I open this for your conversation about the criteria, and. In developing this criteria, we actually had a great response from the community. We had 356 community members, teachers, students from seventh through 12, parents. We made a big outreach, and we got 356. comments, which was great. And then also Hank Harris held
149stakeholder engagement group sessions. And so we had a lot of good feedback from there. And then he and I talked to each of our trustees asking for the criteria they wanted to see in place for the next superintendent. And then this criteria will be used to develop the questions that the board will use interviewing candidates. And so it's important that we capture what the board wants on this item, and then we'll update it and ask for your approval. So I'm I leave it to you to kind of start the conversation, and happy to make any adjustments. I'm pretty happy with it as it is. I appreciated the changes you made in red. Thank you for doing that. It… it seems to be a reflection of both the community and the board of what we would
150like to see in our next superintendent. So. I think it… I like it. I think it… It fits, it suits what our needs. Thank you, Trustee Webster, Trustee Pond. I have a couple questions about number 10 and number 12. I just. you know, is an equity driven leader. I mean, we hear the word equity all the time, and I know it means something different to me than it does to other people. So I guess how are we going to define that? and then that's number 10, and then number 12 brings lived experience. I don't. know what that means. Are we looking for someone brown? Are we looking for someone that's. because it says lived experience. So that person's from a diverse background. That's what it looks like, or or what? If they're not. Brown, or
151any type of melanated. Yeah, if you… so what I would appreciate is if you feel that there are different words we can use, or if you have a recommendation, this was again just culling all of the data that came forward. And I think one of the processes that Hank uses is to really meet with the board members to really, um… flesh out the questions that you feel. meet this criteria. So honestly, it will be up to you to work with Hank and with me to come up with those questions, but if you feel that these. Criteria need to be adjusted, or we don't like any words in them, we can… easily adjust that. I think I would just want to know when it comes time to review people's applications or what we're looking for as
152a board to understand what we. think equity driven means. But then I think also like putting this on the same line as students in alternative education, because, you know, I've have a problem with the segregation that I see in our alt ed programs. And so it feels like we're continuing that. narrative in a way. Do you know what I mean? Do you have a recommendation, maybe, about how we can reword that separate them out? Maybe it's just separate out the alternate education portion. I don't know how everyone else feels. about that. Any thoughts? I mean, if they're coming from a place that doesn't have alternative education. Adam. But since that's like the one of the biggest things facing us right now is how we're going to restructure that. I mean, I understand that. Yeah. I
153mean, I think you could make a case to break out all of those different things and add more. things, so I… I don't mind removing that or having another thing that's about. in re-envisioning alternative education or something, but I don't think it's a bad thing to have a leader that wants to seek out the voices of the students who are currently in all dead. And that's how I read it. Okay, I read it as two different like that's one part, and then the other one felt like something else like we're perpetuating the narrative that that's where our students end up. in the district. that, again, my opinion, we can keep it if it's… if I'm the one person. So helpful. That's just. My feedback. Trustee Cloud or. Do you have any comments? Um, I… I
154don't… I understand what you're saying, Joanna. But I… I'm gonna kind of pass the buck a little bit here because I also agree that I, because we're having. a crisis with it, or, you know, whatever you want to call it with our Alt Ed programs. Um. That it would be… that I kind of read it as somebody who has experience with those programs, kind of like what what Caitlin said. Um… Oh, but I would not be opposed to cutting that out and adding it as a separate one. I think that would just highlight it even more. I think it's really important that. One of the criteria is someone who has had experience with all ed programs. since we have several, I think that would be a really important, uh… criteria for anybody we interview to
155have. And then would we want to add something about alt ed to maybe item 2? I mean, if we're talking about. as a qualification. the like 7 through 18 sound more. vague and aspirational on what we want them to do while we're here, versus now it sounds like we want to make sure that they might have experience already, and that's what 1 through 6 feels like to me. So I don't know if that's… what I'm hearing. Yeah, no, I just see I'll add as a at least in our district as a systemic issue, as we've been talking about, you know, starting from earlier ages. Well, you know, agents. Yeah, I'm at from Echoing really. Okay, just because I see it as a systemic issue and not necessary like it just feels like number 10 is
156like, let's put all of the equity type of words into one sentence. instead of separating them out. Okay. I agree. I agree. we should come up with a. A recommended change then. Okay. Me too. While you're thinking about that, I'm going to retake the floor and say, for number one. I do not want to put off candidates that potentially come from larger school districts. So I do believe it is a limiter at this moment in time that we say experience in districts of comparable size. I would like that change to comparable size or greater or at least. Number one. So let's see, multifaceted district of comparable. comparable or greater size. Yes. Okay. Nice. Yes. I agree. Great. Okay, great. Me too. Okay. We have a straw poll agreement on that one. Um, is there anything
157else while we are thinking about the proper revision to number 10. Same one. Want to flag anything else. Students with disabilities. trying to think. Joanna, can you give me a little more on that? Like, what are you? Would it be a leader who has experience? Help me with that. I didn't know I was going to have to rewrite it in real time for someone to come up with something, so I don't know. All of us. I'm actually asking, um, you know, all of us to think about that. I mean, I like Caitlin's suggestion just moving it up, someone that has… Nikki. history of working with alternative education, and I think if we can talk about some type of root cause analysis. I don't know, that might be a whole other number. But if we could
158just… not put it with all of the other black and brown students, because that's our problem right now. Yeah. Let's see. Has a history of working with just a simple sentence has a history of working with alternative education students? Yeah, because the goal is for us not to be segregated anymore. So I don't want to. It should just be alternative education. Alternative programs. Right. And also… I… You know, but along with that, am I on? Sorry. Um. Yeah, yes, Maddie, we can hear you. Yes. Sorry. I'm doing this on the phone, too, so… I would like somehow, once again, like Joanna, I wasn't prepared for rewriting this in real time, but you know what we're trying to do is. to have a systemic change with our alternative education so that our alternative education is not
159just 11th and 12th graders or 10th, 11th and 12th graders, that we address. Um, you know, the student achievement at much younger ages, and so that we have intervention. Um, and, um… Support programs from the time when they're, you know. Enter our schools. Can we do that along with, you know, along with having experience with alt ed programs? Okay. Make change programs. Okay, here's a possibility. for everybody to come up with possibilities. History of working with alternative education programs, including interventions and systemic change programming. Early intervention over early intervention? If I can sense it? from… I would… But what Maddie mentioned was… elementary school as well, so should we make that K-12? Early… intervention. history of working with alternative education programs, including. early intervention. Including early intervention. How's that? Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, that
160works. Yeah. I was trying to fit systemic in there, but it's too complicated. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. History working. Well, and also those… those can be questions that we can ask. Perfect. Right. Sure. Right, exactly. Yeah. Okay, I'm going to make that number 11 and move everything else down. Okay. History of working with. Okay, so we… the changes we've made is the first one has proven cabinet level or superintendent leadership experience in a multifaceted district of comparable or greater size. Uh, number 10 is, uh, is an equity-driven leader who actively seeks out voices not traditionally heard, particularly Black and Brown families, English learners, and students with disabilities. Yes. And our new edition is History of Working with Alternative Education Programs, including early intervention. Yeah, thank you. Sounds good. Sounds good. Great. Okay, now back
161back to the old number 12. Yeah, it sounds really good. Thank you, Luan. Yeah. What do we mean by this? Oh, bring to my next question. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, brings lived experiences. Um, that comment came up, interestingly, it just came up repeatedly in the the survey comments, and it may have come up with a trustee comments, and I think that. I can't put my finger on it specifically, and I think when we come together to write the questions, maybe that is something that we address. And if we feel it's too vague, we can… We can change the wording on that, too. Um… I think the idea here was that we wanted a leader who recognized the… I feel like a little bit, like, recognized the power of diversity in the community that we have
162here in Petaluma. And so, maybe we need to capture that in a different way. Well, the way you just put it sounds much better. That's something different than what's written, though. Okay. recognizes the power of diversity reflected in the Petaluma community. Okay. But is that addressing with whoever talked about lived experience? Like, if that's what people were saying, I guess I I mean, that's not what I said, so I I don't know what was said, so… I don't want to also negate people's input either, if they were talking about bring lived experience. So are we looking for a non-white person? Is that what that's saying? Or are we looking for a white person that has lived experience with brown people? I guess is the so when I'm reading this, I'm not sure what we're looking
163for when I read number 12, just at face value. I think that trying to. I like the idea of if the board is comfortable with recognizes the power of diversity. Um, reflected in the Petaluma community, that may capture it. And when we meet to talk about the actual questions, I can go back and look at the survey results and look for. the specific comments that might help us when we're actually looking to do the questions. if that's helpful. and I, you know, I'm interpreting it as best as I can, too. So I may be interpreting it in a way that is different than even maybe the commenter was making. Hmm. But I get Joanna's question. making the the recommendation. who made the recommendation? The recommendation who wants to speak to it? I want to make
164sure I capture whoever, you know, spoke to this. Not on. Yeah, I… to me, it seems rather vague. Oh, okay. Um, but I don't know if it's meant to be specific. That's, I guess that's what I'm wondering. But if it's not clear based off the survey results, then. I mean, I worry about getting too prescriptive on… Like the race or gender or anything of who we want to hire. Yeah. Yeah. So I feel like this one does need to be intentionally vague. Maybe I'm missing something. so that we need to make it more vague? No, I think I don't. This to me is very specific, though, to me. This is not vague. Number 12 is not vague to me. Yeah, I didn't think it was that big, but Ellen made a comment that it was
165big, so I'm just trying to… Can you say more, Ellen? Um, can you read it to me again? Yeah, it's brings lived experience that reflects the diversity of the Petaluma community and the global society. So, what kind of lived experience? I guess that's my question. Yeah, I know that's, I mean, that's what we're all kind of having a minute about here. I mean, one thing that came up for me when I was talking to Hank and Luan was like how great it was that Tony was bilingual and had lived in Vietnam, how great it is that Matthew and Esmeralda can speak Spanish, like… There are lots of different ways, or yeah, so I… I don't have a problem with the way it's worded. I… I think when you think about it that way, that is…
166that is probably what that was actually capturing, right? Just the diversity of people's lived experiences and what they can bring to the superintendency. So as I'm kind of going, coming full circle on it, I'm thinking of those exact examples. I think you speak Spanish, but it's as a black person, I'm not going to say that you have like any type of idea of my lived experience. So I think that that's and I'm just picking on you because she said your name. Um, but I think that that's very different. Like, someone that has maybe some type of… I'm just saying that that's an example that… Oh, yeah, like, cultural competence, I think, is what you… maybe you're… How about brings cultural competence? I like cultural a bit better than that, yeah. Oh, I like that, because
167if we keep it like this, I'm looking for a non-white person, I'm just saying. Yes. How is that? Brings, um, brings cultural competence that reflects the diversity of the Petaluma community. Yeah. Okay. Sorry we have to wordsmith on the spot, but got to get it done. Mm-hmm. I think that sounds better than… Trustee Cloud, is that okay with you? Yes, that sounds good. I would like to remove global society, but. That's just a quibble. Well, the Petaluma community is. very white, so I don't think we want it to only reflect the Petaluma community. So you're saying that by adding the global community, it makes it sound more. diverse. That's fine. That's fine. I just hear it as… I just hear it as a buzzword, so it's fine. the the global majority because our student population.
168I have no objection. So brings cultural competency that reflects the diversity of the Petaluma community and global society. Okay. Okay. We have agreement there. nice job. Are there any other additions? Yes. revisions. removals. Going once. Going twice. Okay, we have an amended. criteria for the next superintendent. I move to approve the criteria as amended. I second. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor. Please say aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed. Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Moving on to agenda item 15.1.2 approval of the contract for the assistant superintendent of Education Services for School Year 25 through 27. Uh, the floor is, uh… yours, Jen. I can take this one. So the the we this you guys got a chance to meet Kirsten Grimm. I heard about her background, her experiences. She's
169gone through our our hiring process, paper screening, 1st round first round interview, second round interviews, and she was by far our top top candidate. So I'm bringing this contract for the board to approve the contract for Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services. Thank you, Matthew. Any questions? I have some concerns about how we're going to pay for this, because we did do a hiring freeze. and… Yeah, so that that's my question, because we've been doing a hiring freeze. So how are we going to pay for this? We also just approved another semi-larger contract that we had not planned for. So I just want to know where the funds are going to come from, because I do have some hesitancy about this. About when you're talking about particular the May 1st start date. The May 1st start
170date. As I outlined. So we have. in the educational. So, as you guys remember, recall back to Tony Hua, our former assistant superintendent of educational services, who left in August. We've been without a permanent assistant superintendent since August. And so we've been cobbling things together to get by. We've had Amy Fidegi, who left communications, went in as a kind of co-director with Gloria Luann, who has come to step in Carla, we've been piecing things together as best we could. Um, we… in my mind, it's sort of this this gift where I get to have a couple months with a new assistant soup of Ed services. When it comes to the costs, or when it comes to the the amount of money from the the May and June. We have recently lost our director of technology
171and innovation. We've backfilled with about a 2 day a week consultant. It's going to be a savings for the rest of the year that we hadn't counted on. about $35,000. We had some time between when our assistant soup of HR left and our new Assistant Super HR started about to the tune of about $5,000 in savings. And then we're once, um… Kirsten starts. Carla, who's been doing some of our LCAP and CIPSA work, will be… we'll be dialing back her contract to a savings of about $12,000. So we have. Well, about 50. $2,000 of administrative savings because we haven't had… that's just in this semester, let alone the savings that we had from not having an assistant superintendent all year and the loss of a communications coordinator. This allows some. historical knowledge to pass on,
172ability to pick up the CPSAs, the LCAP, all that work. So there are savings in not having the administrators that we've… haven't been… we've been without for all, um, without all year. Did you want to add anything to that, Amanda? That's not right. I still have concerns. I mean, yeah, we're gonna have a technology consultant, and I know we had talked about, you know, really looking at consultant contracts closely. That was one of the things that we talked about previously at special board meetings regarding budget. and to have a tech person just 3 days, 2 or 3 days a week, but was it 2 or 3? 2 or 3 doesn't. Yeah, it doesn't. feel like enough. And so you know, I'm it's. Yeah, I don't know how much to say out loud in public. I'll
173just say it because I'm on my way out too. So I just feel like, you know, when we are continuing to be like we're in a budget crisis, budget crisis. And then we can find pots of money places. It feels like. you know, that's like what we're always accused of doing is like finding money. and I understand the importance of the continuity and. I just still have concerns about it, and I know other folks seem to know this was happening May first. I did not. And so. I knew that we had offered a contract and hired someone. I didn't know about the May 1st start date until very recently. So that's why I have concerns about it. It's nothing personal. I know we always say it's not. It's not the person. It's the position. So
174I have an issue with. with how we are potentially funding it. and that's just the timing of everything. So that's that's just my piece about it and my concerns. Thank you, Christy Quinn. Yeah, I just remember that when. Miss Fadeji said that she would be leaving. That was something we were discussing was that we wanted to find someone who could, if there was a magic unicorn who could start before July 1st, that that was a priority, despite the hiring frost. So I don't… I don't know if you weren't there for that or something, but. Yeah, I remember that. Do you have any questions for Matthew on this? No. Trustee Cloud or Webster online. No. Uh, no, I'm… I'm fine with it. Trustee Webster. I'm okay, I understand Joanna's concerns, but… I think we need to
175get someone in there sooner rather than later. Okay, so I want to follow up on Trustee Pond's. I think very like. real concerns. We have gone. We have asked a lot of different departments to sacrifice on campuses. you know, I know we have administrative savings over this this semester, but those savings also translate to like a full-time position on a campus for next year. And that's very real, right? Matthew, like, you know, I also. I'm a… you know, and seeing people enter into new roles, you know, I feel like it really does take like 3 months for someone to get comfortable and having that that learning curve. And again, the digest and feeling comfortable and getting, I would say, like, you know, feet underneath you and building the relationships. Having that occur where they can
176thrive in the next school year because we will need, again, we have a lot of things on the to-do list. So what makes you again? I want to be a little bit more specific. What kind of. particular projects. Do you see the assistant superintendent tackling with the May 1st start date versus May 15, June 1, June 15, July 1? Where should I start? I think the I mean, just thinking in the short term, the site plan, the single plans need to come forward from all the school sites that thinking about the LCAP. How does that lcap look? Here we are in year 2. What's year 3 as we start planning for a new 3-year cycle? Thinking about the the um. just all of our sites, I mean, not having had someone in Ed Services has
177been such a struggle and not not having an assistant superintendent of ed services this year, a permanent one has been such a struggle. It's it is. It's aligning with our school science is. It is starting to get some of that historical knowledge with. We have a big turnover happening here in the district administratively. Having somebody who can kind of carry the torch and add services. In my mind, it's just it's an invaluable gift that we've been given to find somebody who can start in May. Thank you. Yeah, any other questions? Okay, I will take motions. I move to approve the contract for the assistant superintendent for school years 2025 through 2027. I second. That was Trustee Cloud. Okay? We have motion. Second any discussion on the motion. Yes. Very disgusted. Okay. All those in favor.
178Please say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed opposed. Okay, motion passes. Thank you, Matthew. Moving on to. No. Item number three. approval of assignments outside of credential area. Jen. Hello. This is my first agenda item, and it's about credentialing. It's my life. Um, so this item is something that is brought to the board every year. This is outlining teachers that are working outside of their credential areas in various assignments throughout the district. Sometimes we have classes that are taught that there's no credential for electives are a great example of that. Sometimes we have teachers teaching in an alternative setting, which is like a core setting. The list of teachers working in these capacities are outlined on the attachment. And this is something that you see each year. So, looking for your approval on this.
179Thank you. Sure. I have a question. Um, so I noticed that a lot of those, uh… Assignments outside of credential area are just renewals. Um, but there's several that. Our new teachers, are they… new to the district, or are they new to teaching, or… How do you assess the criteria to make… Make that okay to teach outside of the credential area. That's a great question, and I'm still getting to know our teachers and why they are on this list, and why they've been designated in this area for some that I see that I do know, it might be like they are a middle school teacher at one of our K eights. And they have a multiple subject credential, but they are teaching in a core setting. So they're teaching English and history primarily, or they're
180teaching math and science. So that could be an example of that. It also could be someone that has a single subject credential, let's say in history, but they teach in a course setting, and so they have a they teach history as well. I would have to really dig into every single person. And this this is this has been happening all year. So these are these are teachers that have been working in this assignment for the 2526 school year. Does that answer your question? And I don't know if there's more, if anyone else can add. Well, no, I just was wondering… you know, like, if they're brand new to teaching, and then we're putting them in an assignment outside their credential area. Um, I just had questions about that. That's all. Yeah, it's it's not ideal.
181I mean, definitely with a new teacher, you want them teaching in what they've been to school for what they are actually credentialed in. But sometimes there is just like a like a particular situation where. We had an opening, a vacancy for that particular class, and they were available to teach it. and and also just, I just want to add. These are when I look through this list, it's mostly these are a lot of veteran teachers. Jen's right on when there's a lot of some K eights who are, you may have a multiple subject credential. You may have a single subject credential, but you're also teaching an elective. High schools. middle school, junior highs and high schools, a lot of these teachers are potentially having English credential or potentially have a science credential, and yet they're
182teaching robotics. There may not be a robotics credential they're teaching under a science credential, but we're giving them. It's ed code 44258.7. It's under elective. Some of our teachers here are our alternative education teachers. For example, Carpe, San Antonio may have whatever their credential is and they're teaching in alternative setting. So there's lots of various reasons why teachers would be. need this. This is something that we bring every year, but it is teachers who there's a there's a general credential that they have, and they're teaching even either an elective, an alternative setting. Does that answer that, Ellen? Yes, it does. I was just… because I saw so many of them were renewals. Yeah, there's a lot of a lot of veteran teachers. Which I had no problem with. I was just wondering about the ones
183that are doing this for the first time. That's. I mean, it makes sense what they may be teaching. I was just wondering… the criteria… That was… Was the criteria just that we needed someone to teach this class? Or did they show… I'm just wondering what the criteria was. They may not be a new teacher. They may be just teaching a new class in a new course right? It's it happens a lot in K. Eights in the course setting in middle school. And then also that kind of orange column, those are the alternative setting. So those, you'll notice are San Antonio and Valley Oaks teachers. And so really to work in Alt ed, there's a lot more flexibility as far as credentialing, and so we just have to notate that. So it's just kind of any
184teacher that's teaching in a capacity that doesn't just fit in the neat, clean box of exactly what their credential is. We just need to bring this to the board. Okay. and as a preview, you will see this again very shortly at our August meeting. I'll be bringing it to you for 2627 in August. So you'll be seeing this back pretty quickly. So we have it at the beginning of the year moving forward. Thank you, Jennifer. Thank you, Matthew. Do I have a motion? I move to approve assignments outside of credential area. I second. Any discussion? Hearing none, I'll call a question. All those in favor. Aye. Aye. Aye. I. All those opposed. I think I heard five motion passes. Hmm. On to action item 15.1.4. I will introduce Matthew. Then I will ask Trustee Quinn
185to read the resolution. Great. Just want to give. I just want to get kind of give some background, some structure, some kind of where we've been, where we're at. Are we going to have time to ask questions? Okay. Yes. So the the situation here. So Petama City Schools is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and welcome welcoming environment for all students, staff, and families, including those who identify as LGBTQIA+. Districts has a long history of affirming this commitment, including the adoption of an annual board resolution. I'm directing all district sites to fly the Pride flag from May 22nd to June 30th each year. Government code requires that the US flag and the California state flag be prominently displayed at every public school during business hours. Board Policy 6115 further states that the board may authorize
186the display of symbolic flags or banners through the adoption of a resolution in support of specific. Awareness months or causes. And that's been the board policy that we've used to adopt the fly in the Progress Pride flag from May 22nd to June 30th. At the last board meeting at the board's direction. I recently met with Trustee Quinn. and Trustee Webster. Along with two of our two of our three student board members, Paige Ledesma and Jessica Dobson, to evaluate our current flag flying practice. practices and to ensure a unified district-wide approach. One of the things that we talked about was just, um, we are one unified district, like, let's whatever's flying here and whatever site as opposed to letting the principals be the the ones to figure out, figure this out on their own and how
187deal with all the things. As a board, let's make a statement as a board, make a statement. During that meeting, the group, we discussed 3 different options. The 1st option was status quo, continue flying the Progress Pride flag from May 22nd through June 30th each year. Another option was a dual recognition period. So flying the progress pride flag during October. And then we heard some speakers talking about how October is LGBTQI plus History Month, and it's also Petaluma's Local Pride celebration and parade. And then also, again, from May 22nd through June 30th. And then, um, lastly, we discussed year-round visibility, flying the pride flag every school day while school's in session. After thoughtful discussion, the two trustees and our two student board members agreed on option 3 flying the progress pride flag each school day.
188They thought that best reflected the district's values and provides the clearest, most consistent expression of support. for LGBTQI plus students, staff, and families. That's the option that's being brought forward to the board for approval. Additionally, this policy designates the progress pride flag as the district's default symbolic flag flown each school day with the understanding. So here's where the I think there are some questions around. The board some the board may authorize through a board resolution. The temporary display of other symbolic flags for a defined period of time. We didn't want to shut that. We didn't want to shut that off. We wanted to allow for other flags as well to be flown. So by adopting this revised resolution, the board affirms June as LGBTQI plus Pride Month, October as LGBTQI plus History Month, and Harvey
189Milk Danmark on May 22nd, while also directing all district sites to fly the Progress Pride flag each school day. It actually reinforces the district's commitment to equity and inclusion, and sends a consistent, visible message of support to LGBTQI plus students, staff, and families across Petalum City Schools. Thank you, Matthew. And at this point I would like to call on Trustee Quinn to read the resolution, and then we'll have time for questions from the board members. I don't feel the need to read out the whole resolution unless there's someone who really wants that. Okay. I just wanted to say that as the person who's been driving this and who authored the highlight, helped author the highlighted a met. addition. I'm very open to changing it to be in addition to instead of instead of or in
190place of when we met to discuss this on Thursday. It sounded like. Logistically, physically, there could only be room for three flags. And it sounds like that might not be the case. So I don't know if you can speak to the physical logistics of flag flying. So currently. I don't want to speak. I don't want to say every single, but I believe the way that the flagpoles are designed right now is is that you have there's space on the flagpoles for 3 flags. Not to say that we couldn't modify or change them. We could. But currently, the way that they're set up is at the school sites and here at the district offices, you can fly. So government code is fly the US flag, the state of California, and then any other memorial, you know.
191commemorative flag, right? Or for a pride. It could be anything that you guys designed. Decide. So that's why I think this was in there, because the board members saying, Well, what if we what if there's we wanted to fly a different a different flag as well. And so we kind of talked through. what that could look like, like, well, we can't. Can we fly 4 flags? Not currently, but could be figure out a way to make that work. We could try, we could look into it. Yeah. Yeah, you know, I… Okay, real quick. So yeah, so we'll we'll start doing questions, and then and then so we'll start with Ellen, and then we'll rotate around. So I'm… I'm all for flying that flag. all the time. However, um, when we talk about. safe spaces, um,
192and equity. I would really like to see the Juneteenth. flag flown. That was a tongue twister. So if there's a way that we could do that and have four flags. That would be great. That's, you know, because I think our students of color have faced a lot of discrimination, and… name-calling, and… other forms of abuse, um, so that we need to give credence to that as well. I would also love to fly Juneteenth flags, and I'm happy to help co-author a resolution to make that happen. I felt like just tacking on. something like that at the end of a different resolution was more of a disservice to that community. I could be wrong, but that's what it felt like to me, and so… If, I mean, if that is what helps this get passed, I'm
193more than happy to vote to add. flying Juneteenth flags on Juneteenth, or during Black History Month, or whatever makes the most sense to the community, but I feel like it would be more valuable to have a separate resolution, and ideally both flags can be flown at the same time, and that would be amazing, and. Then we can have the discussion of which flag goes higher above the other. Like, there's always going to be something, um… No, but Caitlin, I really appreciate that, and, you know, um, if Matthew or… whoever could look into the ability for us to fly. four flags. God, that's too many F's. Um, that would be the best, I think. Because I'm… I love the resolution, Caitlin. I think it's, you know, it's well written and inclusive, and it's something that needs
194to happen. I would just like to acknowledge other communities that have been marginalized. Thank you, Trustee Webster. Trustee Cloud. So, um… Uh, you know, hearing you explain about, um… The the rationale for not including the Juneteenth or any other. Into this particular resolution makes a lot of sense, Caitlin. To me now. Um, and a separate resolution, but what I… what I would like to… Uh, kind of task with Matthew and the administration is I think we need an AR to kind of designate how this whole thing happens. Um, you know, the process for creating the resolution, if we get. You know, 10 requests. for resolutions for different commemorative months or groups. how do we deal with all of that? I think we just need to have something that's more, um, systemic and not just… 10
195different resolutions. How do we decide on those? I mean, we can't, of course. Um, fly 10 flags. I mean, I don't know, I, I think that's why just that part of it needs to be more fleshed out more regular, you know, more like an AR, so that we understand exactly. how this whole thing works. Does that sound okay to you, Matthew? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It refers to it. So, what you're asking… what I just want to make sure I understand. So you're asking for right now board policy 6115. So this is this is a board resolution. But it does. It does mention it in accordance with board policy 6115. Right. Essentially, Board Policy 6115 says that the board may authorize that we fly the Us. Flag. We fly the California State flag, and then the
196board may authorize at the board's discretion with through board resolution, the temporary display of other symbolic flags for a defined period of time. So the AR would. So that's what the board. That's what the board policy says. The ar you want to know sort of if there are more than because this this was the I think, when Caitlin when Caitlin, Ellen, I met with Paige and Jessica, it was. Yeah. I think there was just sort of a general understanding, at least I'll speak for myself, that the flagpoles right there. You typically see. I don't know if I flag etiquette. I'm not. I wasn't a Boy Scout, but flag flag etiquette is, um… us flag. Then the State of California flag. That's government code like for all government buildings. And then there is space for a
197third flag with the board resolution. So you're wanting to know if there are more than 2, or if there's more than a. than three flags. What do you want? What do you want in the which one comes first, or you want to? What… Which one comes… well, and then how do we decide which ones… are actually going to be approved for a resolution. I mean, there needs to be some kind of process. Yeah, that's right. The other thing. Thank you. Bree just brought up is, if we have, if we're flying at half mast. You're gonna have flags, like… on the ground when you have 4. Go ahead. Yeah, I was going to say there are requirements for half mast. The Us. The top of the flag has to be halfway down. Flags cannot be at
198risk of touching the ground. There is no State mandate for. how high the lowest flag needs to be, but it should be. at least it should be 10 feet off the ground. And we also spacing becomes an issue. It needs to be 6 inches to one foot in between each flag. So it could potentially be a matter of are our flagpoles actually. tall enough, um, and then if at any point the district opted to have more than one flagpole, the. US flag and the California state flag must be flown together, and other flags could be flown on a second pole. Can we do that? Can we have… We can also always add a line that says, when the flag is at half mast, we don't do any of the commemorative flags. Yeah. That would probably
199work. I think that's just the easiest. Yes. So would that go in the BP or the AR, the half mast ar. It sounds like this. This is all a conversation for a future AR. Yes. So so what I'm hearing is. Yes. to avoid to avoid the situation, the situation where if we had four flags, if… if we had a presidential decree or a governor's decree to fly at half mast, we would only fly the US flag and the state flag of California to avoid any issues there. So we put that. We can put that in the air right? Okay. Yes. But then, is there a way to have. a second flagpole that could… I don't know. I'm just… Everything's possible. Everything's possible. That's funny. I did look at the price of flagpoles and they are
200expensive. So. Well, yeah, yeah, and, you know, they don't just sit on top of the ground. Where are we putting? Right. So, um, so Matthew, luckily, you know, you do have a Boy Scout here, um, and, uh, uh, if. I can't believe Matthew was not a Boy Scout. I'm sorry to disappoint you. I do believe there is a logistical way to solve, potentially, you know, for flags at once. We also could look at, and this is something where I would like for you to check in with appropriate other directors and staff and principals. But whether. Um, you know, potentially this the commemorative flags are slightly smaller, so look, you know, instead of 4x6, it's 3x5 flags. Um, but at the end of the day, adding in new brass clips. Very easy. Something that we can
201do right? So, and it's like $5, 5 min. We can do it. So, Ryan, could you explain to me how that works? You just loop in the brass ring using a sailor's knot. Yeah. Yeah. So I adding that piece of it. It's the actual physical height of, and they're not all the same. So if I will work with my team to figure out the height of each of the flagpoles, and. with spacing. How many flags? could appropriately fit. Right. So there is that logistical question, and then there is the logistical question of, again, if there is not space, is it more appropriate for, like, a wall mount at the entrance of the school on a flag, you know, as like the ceremonial spot. But. It's something where I think an AR resolution will kind of
202answer that as you talk to staff. But I think at the preference of the board is it's on a flagpole. But if it's logistically impossible, let's… And then is it also the preference to have the commemorative flags be small, slightly smaller than the. I would say, like, you know, the default is whatever we have right now, which I think everything's the same size, but if… It is the only logistical way to make it happen, then let's raise that, you know, issue and and see what the board thinks at the next meeting, if that's your recommend… I would like for you to come with a recommendation. For an AR on how to implement this. Yep. Although I would like to vote on this resolution, I think it's. It's been a while, it's time… it's time, and
203I have no problem with voting for it. I just want to figure out a way. to honor other marginalized groups. Such as the Juneteenth flag. Are there any more questions? Yeah, I mean, I've… It's not a surprise. I said, if we ever were to amend the flag policy, I would want us to fly a Juneteenth flag, but I don't like one of the other public commenters, I don't want to get into, like, a turf war, like, well, it's Juneteenth, it's June, I want to fly it, but that's traditionally when we fly the pride flag. So I don't want that to happen either. So then how do we work that out? And I think that's also why other folks said it's good to have the AR along with this, so that we don't have to get
204into those types of battles. Also, we're only going to be here for a few more months. So then. I like Maddie's idea of like codifying. How do we decide what you know, at what point, like, what's the tipping point? Is there like a certain number? Or I don't know when we have a new resolution with a new symbolic flag. Um, because… it. I did not expect it just to say one flag at a time, and I think if we're going to amend it to say multiple. I would prefer that, because I agree with everyone else about inclusion, belonging, trusted adult feeling safe and protected, especially with folks wanting us to alter our ethnic studies right now. And right now, I feel like that's the only place for Black, Brown, Indigenous. Folks are being seen and
205represented. And so if. that is taken away, then I mean, because that was a big part of the discussion last time. I was not talked about at all with this discussion. And so I would like to see… You know, if we're gonna change, I want to see the Juneteenth flag, too. But I also don't want to take away from what we've already been doing in June. So. Those are my thoughts on it. I will move. Joanna, can I just. I'm trying to capture what you said as far as the AR goes. What are what is the… what am I? What do you want me to? It was basically what Maddie said. I was just echoing that. about what's the process of having a new. of bringing forth a new resolution with a new commemorative commemorative
206flag, because the way it reads right now is that if we have a resolution, let's say in September, we're flying some type of commemorative flag, then that flag would fly. for whatever period of time. in place of the pride flag. Right. But it sounds like we want to fly 4 flags instead of the 3. So then, if we change the AR at some point, do we need to revisit this and just amend that to say more than one? Or I think you had had a different, um. Different wording. Unless you want to take out the highlighted part and. I can put that into the into it. As part of the AR, so that it's. I think, Caitlin, you had some different wording for that right for the highlighted. Yeah, just tweaking. that during which such
207authorized flags may be flown in addition to the progress pride flag in district sites. And then, yeah, it does sound like we need an AR, because we are spiraling about logistics. So I'm very I'm in favor of an ar. I'm in favor of flying more flags. I'm not in favor of tabling this resolution for the millionth time. It feels like I know I'm just telling you I'm not in favor. I agree with you, Caitlin. I don't want to table it either. So, in other words, but the the change you're asking for is maybe flown in instead of in place of in addition to. Yeah, I would move to replace in place of with in addition to. that motion. That's a motion. Is there a second? I think there's motion and second. Any discussion on this
208amendment. I second. Hearing none, call the question. All those in favor. Aye. Aye. Aye. All right. The motion is amended. Is there a motion on the floor on the resolution as amended? I move to approve the… The resolution as amended. I'll second. Okay. I will take this moment to. I second. Or just… for discussion. I do want to thank Trustee Quinn and Webster for all their work, along with the student leaders and the community for showing up. I know you just went through a logistical question, but I am excited about this resolution. I want all our students. Staff and families to know that we support the LGBTQ plus community. Um, we strive to create an environment where all students feel safe and supported and where the school district prioritizes their emotional well-being. The pride flag
209symbolizes the district's core principles of equity, and this is only going to positively impact our students and school sites. So I'm excited, and I'm proud to support this resolution. And with that, I would like to call the question. resolution. I… Aye. All those in favor. Aye. Aye. All those opposed. I think I hear 5 motion passes. Chair 5. Congratulations, Caitlin. and moving on to the exciting item of business services. Approval of capital facility contracts for April 2026. Thank you. I always go after the exciting stuff. So tonight we bring forward about just over 3 million dollars of projects that are part of our new implementation of our new bond measures. Things. high things of note are we had an assessment done on the Petaluma High, both Petaluma High School and Casa. turfs and Petaluma High
210School, though it is two years newer, is at its end of its useful life. So we're bringing forward a contract to replace the turf with a new. um, type of pivot turf that will no longer need to have the infill like our current. TERFs do and make… repairs. There is some splitting and. unevenness on the track, so we'll be able to do that all at once over the summer. They are like-for-like projects, so we can move forward with only DSA access for those projects. We will also be doing infill at Casa Grande, their turf, and the team believes that we'll probably get two more years out of that, which is great news because that is the field that we thought was. ending near the end of its life. A lot of starting to see some
211remediation and repairs from. Storm damage over the years. and then on here, the other thing is, I wanted to point out, because it might seem a little odd is we have some staff computers and some student Chromebook computers, which is. part of our bond implementation tech plan. There was a question about did the district consider the new. I can't remember what they're Neo, and yes, we did take that into consideration. I do want to point out that we. previously had MacBook Pros for our staff, and we are going to MacBook Airs, so there is going to be a difference there, and the new… the Neo's operate more like Chromebooks, so… and they don't have the storage. capacity in the RAM that we feel like we need for our staff. Any questions? Possagan. Oh, finally. One
212more Casa Grande. High school will finally be finished being painted this summer. It's been a two year project. This summer. All right, someone online unmuted. Trustee Webster or Cloud. Good. We're good. Okay. So, Amanda, I was the one that raised the Apple computers. You know, I saw the… I think we all were bombarded by advertisements with their new again, like you said, MacBook. It's about the technology would be equivalent to a MacBook Air from 5 years ago, but it is half price of what. you know, a MacBook Air right now is. But again, I am also concerned about the RAM space and whether that would limit. Um, again, ability to run multiple programs and web browsing at the same time, so thank you for looking into that. I definitely believe the MacBook Air is completely
213fine over the pros, so I'm glad that we are. downgrading on that front to save, again, I think $400 or $500 per computer. With that, is there a motion? I move to approve the capital facilities contracts for April 2026. Second. We have a. 1st and second any just other discussion on this? Hearing none. I'll call the question. All those in favor. Aye. Aye. Right. All those opposed. Hearing none motion passes. on to business services. Item number 2, approval of resolution. 25, 26, 4-1. Thank you. Tonight we bring forward resolution 2526-41 of the Board of Education of Petaluma City Elementary and Petaluma joint Union High School District in support of Tk 12 adult education. support of TP12. The State of California has designated April 19th through the 25th as Adult Education Week to recognize the impact
214of adult education programs statewide. Petaluma adult school serves a significant number of adult learners annually. Providing programs, including English as second language, high school diploma and equivalency, workforce training and citizenship classes. If you're wondering why I'm bringing this is adult Ed does report to me. So there's that. I don't know if a trustee would like to read the resolution or if you would like for me to read it. I can read it. Thank you. Yeah. Whereas the first recorded adult education class in California was held in 1856 in the basement of St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, authorized by the San Francisco Board of Education to teach English to Irish, Italian and Chinese immigrants, and taught by John Sweat, who later became State Superintendent of public instruction. and whereas founded in 1919, Petaluma Adult School
215emerged as a community response to the growing need for practical education among working adults, offering evening classes in basic literacy, citizenship and vocational skills to support employment opportunities and civic engagement as the region developed through agriculture and local industry. whereas over 49% of adult learners enrolled in adult schools across California in 2024 to 2025 are between the ages of 25 and 54, making them very likely to have children in our public school system. The impact of adult education is felt across generations. Particularly for early childhood learners who've been identified as a priority by the governor and legislature. Okay. Whereas Petaluma City Schools effectively serves Petaluma and surrounding communities through strong partnerships with local community colleges and community-based organizations within its adult education system. Petaluma Adult School served 2,414 students in the 2024-25 school year and
216has served 2,002 students to date in the 2025-2026 school year. We'll provide those types of programs. Whereas Petaluma Adult School provides a wide range of programs and services to meet the needs of Petaluma and surrounding communities, including career technical education, such as construction, cosmetology, barbering, phlebotomy, and medical assistant training, job preparation, high school diploma and equivalency programs. Yes. English as a second language and citizenship classes, early childhood education for children ages 0 to 4 and a half, parent education, community interest classes and services through the family Petaluma Family Resource Center. Whereas Petaluma Adult School continues to provide critical education and services to adult students and their families, including literacy, basic skills, job training, parenting, education, and community-based learning, thereby strengthening the Petaluma community, supporting Sonoma County and contributing to the success of both adult learners
217and Tk through 12 students in Petaluma City Schools. Oops. Whereas the State of California will proclaim Adult Education Week during the week of April 19th through April 25th, 2026. And whereas the Board of Trustees of the Petaluma City School District strongly supports adult education as an important part of Petaluma City Schools. be it resolved at the Petaluma City Schools hereby issues this resolution in honor and recognition of April 19th through April 25th as Adult Education Week, and therefore be it resolved that the Petaluma City Schools Board of Education strongly urges the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and the California legislature to recognize the important role of TK through 12 adult education in addressing the needs. Of our communities in the short and long term, and to increase access to programs and services for the most
218in need and not yet reached members of our great state. Cool. Cool indeed. Are there any questions for Amanda? Hearing none. Take a motion. I move to approve resolution 2526-41. We have a motion. Second any discussion. Second. I'll call a question. All those in favor. Aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Hearing none, motion passes. Aye. Thank you, Amanda on to. approval of California Environmental Quality Act consultants, pre-qualification pool. Thank you. The district requires qualified California environmental quality act consulting firms to support environmental review and compliance for projects identified and measured AANZ implementation plan to ensure timely and efficient project delivery. The district issued a request for qualifications to establish a pool of pre-qualified CEQA consulting firms. Three firms submitted statements of qualifications and were evaluated based on demonstrated experience. projects. Technical expertise and capacity to
219provide SECRA-related services. We have determined that all three firms meet the qualifications necessary to support current and future district projects. So our ask is that the board approve the pool, including all three firms, for future CEQA work. Thank you, Amanda. Are there any questions? Any questions from our members online? hearing none. Is there a motion? I move to approve the CEQA consultants pre-qualification pool. I second. We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. I'll call the question. All those in favor. Please say aye. Aye. Aye. All those in all those opposed. Please say nay. Hearing no opposition motion passes. Onto item number 4, approval of the lease lease leaseback contractor selection for Pjhs. Thank you. The Petaluma Junior High School Courtyard improvement project supports the it's this is the last of
220our measure. E projects which. Okay. That's the last step. It's kind of… I know, it's really been weird to spend down the 2014 bonds and start implementation. So this project will be based off of the renovations and improvements that were completed at. Petaluma High School, um… Two things of note are that we are able to change the ramp. Right now it's a very hard. Bye. Sign. ramp to use for if anybody needs additional support, the new ramp design will… it's like a down curve and a back out, which will have a better slope, and then we will be able to add some stairs down the middle. Okay. So our district, our site administrators don't try to double walk the. down the not-stairs stairs. So it's an exciting. And the project is their perfect size. Yeah.
221For anybody outside of Matthew, they are not stairs. And the project will take place this summer. Thank you, Amanda. Are there any questions from the board? End of an era. Yeah. Man. Yeah. I have moved to approve the lease leaseback contractor selection. Okay, we have a motion and a second? Any further discussion? Second. Hearing none. I'll call the question. All those in favor. Aye. Aye. Those opposed say nay. not hearing any opposition. The motion passes. Thank you, Amanda. On to the next one. Approval of the Citizens Oversight Committee Annual Report, which was mentioned earlier this evening. We're going back to you. Thank you. So this evening the chair of the Oversight Committee and I presented a consolidation, consolidated presentation of the reports itself. So what is being presented for approval tonight is. The… bond citizens
222oversight annual report for the 2425 school year. Okay. The citizens Oversight Committee report for both of. Sorry, each of our. outlines that part. Parcel taxes. I apologize. They are in the future, the reports likely will be all combined, but this… The committee changed halfway through the year last year, so we wanted to honor the old outlines of the reports. Also included is the letter to the board from the auditor, saying that they reviewed the bond engagement as an additional engagement, because it's outside of our general fund. Okay. Okay. And that there were no findings. The parcel tax, because it is in our general fund, is part of our general audit each year. So we did post those just because they give back up. Awesome. Okay. Thank you, Amanda. Are there any questions? Are there any
223questions? One more second question from Trustee Cloud or Webster. One more second. Nope. Okay, I'll take a motion. I move to approve the Citizens Oversight Committee Annual Report. I second. All right. Folks have done, and it's… I second. All right. Is there any discussion? I mean, I want to again thank you and the Citizens oversight. This is a lot of extra work that folks have done, and it's incredibly important. So thank you to you and your team, and to the members of the community who helped produce these reports or. Reviewed them and. you know, brought them to our attention tonight. So thank you for that. Thank you. So with that, I'll call the question. All those in favor. Aye. Aye. All those opposed. Hearing none motion. I… Are you done? Thank you, Amanda, on to
224educational services, overnight field trip requests. We respectfully ask the board to approve the field trip request. Wait. It's an item, right? Field trip request. Yeah. Yeah, we'd like you guys to approve them, please. We're happy to go into details as much detail as you want. We're ready. If not, just like it is 1005 Pm. So we appreciate the brevity on this issue, and knowing that, you know, we had the opportunity to review them earlier. But is there any other questions from the board? On the field trip requests. Trustee Cloud or Webster? Nope. Okay, with that, uh… I move to approve the overnight field trip requests. Second. Okay, we have. We have a motion. A second. Is there any other discussion on this item? Hearing none. I'll call the question. All those in favor. Aye. I…
225Bye. All those opposed? Hearing none motion passes. Thank you. Yeah. Okay, we're moving on to discussion and information only. Is there any comments from the public? on these or on these items. Are there any comments online? or a request for comments, I guess. Okay, hearing that, I will turn it over to. Um, we will look at item number 17.1.1, the Williams Settlement quarterly report. So this is our quarterly report for Williams Uniform Complaints, and we have no complaints. The third quarter. Thank you. Are there any questions? Yay! Nope, you did great. Thank you. Hearing none. Is there a motion? It's not an action item. that's right. All right. There's no discussion on to the next thing. Okay, we will go to 17.2.1, the child nutrition Wellness Plan. Thank you. I wish mine items didn't need.
226background, like Luann's field trips. So tonight we are bringing forward. Child Nutrition Wellness Plan, the district is presenting this new plan to align with board policy 5030 and address areas where we were not fully compliant with our current state and federal requirements. for part of the National School Lunch Program. While policy 5030 provides broad wellness framework regulations require more specific, measurable, and. nutrition standards. This plan clearly defines those requirements, strengthens accountability and ensures consistency across all school sites. We are required to implement these elements to meet the California Department of Education's. Administrative review standards and to align with statewide best practices while continuing to support student health and access to nutritious meals. Thank you, Amanda. Are there any questions? Amanda, I just want to be clear. I know we've talked. We've talked about this. It
227says 2627. So this is goes into effect July 1st, correct? Yes. Thank you. So. Oh, gotcha. Never mind. I retract that. Um… So thank you for the work to the SNAC committee. I know this is a long time coming and to update our internal policies and on this. So can you, you know, one of this, this will, I think, you know, impact some. Preconceived notions from parents and administrators. So, you know, as we go into the summer, you know, I want to make sure that this is, you know, briefed, you know, and also, you know, parents are made aware of the change, and, you know, that. This is due to change in Federal. you know, law, uh, and then we have to comply accordingly. Because obviously, you know, people, I think one of the big
228changes is, you know, if you're going to bring a snack item for like a celebration, you gotta have a healthy food item as well. And we don't want, you know, we don't want… anyone's cupcakes be taken away. Yeah. So so I'll make sure that everyone knows what's, you know, expected of celebratory events. And then, you know, we don't have any mishaps. Yep, we definitely can send out or will send out a communication. And this has gone through a lot of iterations, making sure that we meet the 2019. standards. And also making sure that our schools can still celebrate in a way that follows the National School Lunch Program requirements. Thank you, Amanda. Are there any questions? Hearing none. Oh, it looks good. Okay. Are there… is there a motion? Oh, no, it's discussion item. Fantastic.
229All right, we'll move on to again last call for questions. Okay, we'll move on to future business. I would like a Juneteenth resolution. The flag. Number one. Do you want to be one of the people that? Sure. Write it, or… Just change the paragraph. Perfect. Okay, Ellen, I heard interest from you. Do you want to work on it with me? Sure. Thank you, Bree. Bree is the the gatherer of so much good information. So I don't. I don't want Trustee Webster and I to take credit. It'll be a lot of breeze hard work. That's very true. Yeah, I'm very open to whatever the community wants. If anyone wants to write in with when they would like to see a Juneteenth flag. Flown, we would love to hear it. My instinct would be like February and
230June. But… I'm not black. But I'm not black. refer to the black community. Yeah. Okay. I also want to have a discussion about ethnic studies. I don't want it to be shortened. I'm starting to hear people asking for it to be shortened from a year. Trying to hear. or I don't know if it just needs to be discussion. I don't know where this is coming from. I know it was mentioned by a public commenter a couple months ago, and then it came up again last week. So is this being said in the community? Is it someone said it was being told by district staff? I just want to make it clear. I'm not in support of shortening the ethnic studies class from a year to a semester. I agree. I don't know if it needs
231to be part of the agenda, but that's just what I'm saying. I don't want that. I think it should be under discussion, at least. Okay. Maybe we can get an update on. ethnic studies, and what classes are being taught at the same time. It feels like it's been a while since we talked about it. Yeah, I agree. So an update on ethnic studies too. Okay. Yeah, I think an update would be very important to any discussion we have. We'll try it. All right, for this more towards Amanda. Some stuff that we've talked about. Penn Grove Elementary and the wonderful and awful traffic issues surrounding that. I would like a kind of follow up to some of the items that I flagged for you. The potential to outreach to, again, the Caddy Corner lot that. Thanks,
232Sue. Two is… Seems that will be vacant. This does seem to be like if there's won't be any development on it for a while, and I sent the email with the contact information for the owner that potentially we could partner with. Um… That's number one, and then number two is beginning the outreach and feasibility of potentially to do a trial run of a bus, more a am only bus from Roanoke Park to Penn Grove Elementary. Uh, to see if we could remove a couple dozen cars off the road, um, and see if there's interest from parents, and whether we can partner with the county, Scta, or other, um, you know, again, localities on. on that. So you want like a city bus or a Pcs bus from Rohner Park to Petaluma. That would be a
233Pcs bus. Oh, okay. Just because you mentioned SCTA, so I didn't know. Yeah. Let me create better. Like how we have, you know, the certain buses for the students in the morning, the students only. So I didn't know if that's what you were referencing. Our wonderful parents, I think, create quite a traffic jam through Penn Grove, which implements a lot of morning work traffic as well. So I think there'll be other interested parties to see if we can do things to. Hi. we resolve that or and to lessen some of the stress and burden on our parents. Okay. And it and I'm going to add on that. And if it's some type of cost savings, or if it would make sense to also add in Casa and or Kenilworth, because I see a lot of
234those parents taking that back road also from Roanert Park. Yeah. I see a lot of them. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. So a central location from Runner Park that hits Pen Grove, Kenilworth and Casa. If that's the right order. Justin Martian. Just the A. Yeah. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Last call or future business. I'll save my. Trustee Cloud. Oh, I've got one. I thought you were gonna call on me. I know, I thought we were done. Almost. Take me two seconds. Um, I read a fascinating article, um, I think in the New York Times about how there's a lot of regret about one-to-one Chromebooks being assigned to students. And so, um, and that one of the things they found was that when they had Chromebook carts in every classroom, it, um, cut down, first of all,
235on the expense of having to replace Chromebooks on a regular basis, which we actually have on our. Agenda tonight. And, um, so I'd like us to look into moving from one-to-one Chromebooks. Uh, devices, whatever you want to call it. Um, and start moving towards having carts in every single classroom, at least in secondary, probably, I think we already have them, I think, in elementary. I'm not sure. I think that it would eventually be a cost savings and I know that it would be, they'd be better used in the classrooms during class time. And it would support our new no cell phone policy that's supposed to be implemented in August. And so, it's kind of like, to the point that we've talked about before, about the cell phone policy, that it's really hard when they can
236access their. Texting and everything else on their own devices, or, um… And so, if we just have carts, then we don't have to worry about that part. Although, they will still have their phones on their arms. But anyway, I just, um… It's something that I always wanted to do when I was teaching, and I think that, um, we should look into it. So, that's just my future business. Yeah. Maddie, I also read an article and I totally agree with you. And I've been in plenty of classrooms where it's like, okay, close your computers. Close your computers because there's something else going on, and it becomes as much of a hassle as the cell phone situation. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Yeah. Maddie, I'm so glad you brought this up. I didn't mention during the when we
237were approving the Chromebook. It is for a pilot program to at the, I believe first through. I am. Third grade. 3rd grade, um, going away from the iPads that we currently are one-to-one, and doing the Chromebook model. It's something that the Dave was working with the Learning Innovation and Technology Committee. Is that the. Okay. Cool. Yeah. Thank you. So I will. I know they're kind of at an impasse right now without the director of technology. But I will reach out to the committee and see if we can bring an update to what they've been working on. I think will be a perfect. Yeah. That sounds great. way to start the conversation about. Wonderful. Thank you. Thanks, Amanda. Wonderful. Thank you. and one hopefully small thing. I think this would be an Amanda thing. If there's
238a way to incorporate grazing without subverting CSEA jobs. I don't want to take away jobs from our maintenance team. But if this helps. It's awesome. And then we can just mess it up in summer or something. Perfect. Like, maybe we can discuss that in the summer or something. I had already a conversation with the 2 gentlemen and the teacher. We do have the facilities at Petaluma Junior. We were trying really hard to get our own goat herd because we do have areas within the district. Ethics. So… that the team, they… it's too dangerous for them to get to, so I am working on a plan with those young gentlemen already, so wonderful. But I will come back with an update. Perfect. The FFA kids and the 4-H kids can help take care of the goats.
239It'll be perfect. It'll be great, I love it. Well, on that front, then I also would like for you to check on potential grants from measure H from the county. a brand from. uh, wildlands. That was passed to… Two years ago and provides some funding for wildlands pressure and clearing. And so there's potentially other grant money for it. We received some funding last year. Mm-hmm. maybe what you're looking at. I thought it was from the maybe it was from something else, but definitely we will into that and report back. Great. Thank you. Look it up. I definitely… Okay, you thought we were done, but we're not. the engine. Closed session. Um, so we did amend the agenda to have the readout from closed session in the meeting. So that's what we will be doing right
240now. I have something a pre-written statement for. The action that was taken in closed section. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9. 9. conference with legal counsel. The board voted unanimously to approve settlement case number SS2526-04. And with that. meeting adjourned. All right. Meeting adjourned. Yay! Yeah.