001Okay. We ready? Good evening, everyone. Welcome. I am reconvening the meeting for March 10th. 2026, and we will stand or whatever you'd like to do for the Pledge of Allegiance. I have no report of action taken in the closed session. Uh, so our next agenda item is a public report. Sorry, the adoption and approval of the agenda. I want to recommend that we get a motion to pull 3 items. 14.1.1 superintendent contract. For obvious reasons. 14.1.5, the reduction in force classified staff from San Antonio. and the 14.1.6 freezing enrollment at San Antonio. Okay, I move to approve the agenda as amended. I second. I need a motion to amend. Yeah. I move to amend the agenda. I second all those in favor. Aye. Any opposed? No one's opposed. And so then we, as amended. Okay.
002I just want to take an opportunity to make a statement about the resolution and about the rationale of. withdrawing it at this time. Over many years, our district has created a system that persistently fails to adequately address the needs of our struggling secondary students and providing them needed adequate support and intervention. This failure can only be corrected with a comprehensive, collaborative strategic plan. To create a viable system of intervention and support that will be inclusive, equitable, and sustainable. This resolution was meant to begin this process. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons. including a lack of clarity on the goals of the Alternative Education Task Force. The misunderstandings and miscommunications and basic confusion that have surrounded the board and district's efforts to address this failure of our system. I believe that moving forward with this resolution
003at this time is impossible. Also, with the upheaval of the superintendent and cabinet levels. I do not think we can succeed with a plan. as stated in the resolution. Hopefully, over time. We will be successful in serving the needs of all of our students at earlier ages. and reduce the need for a continuation high school. which is my ultimate goal. But for now, I believe we need to pause. We need to reset. We need to reorganize the ALTED Task Force with clear goals and objectives and timelines. For me, consolidation and restructuring are all TED programs still need to be priorities in creating the strategic plan. My sincere hope is that such a plan will strengthen our board's primary vision for PCS. to provide all of our students with a high-quality, equitable education that leads to
004success throughout their lives. while also supporting the board's commitment to equity, responsible resource stewardship, and improved student outcomes. Does anybody else want to say something? You said it very well. I wanted to give any of our student board members, especially Ruby, a chance to say something before I did, if you wanted to. I know I'm putting you on the spot. Well, is that like the final decision that is being made? We are pulling the resolution from the agenda, so we will not be. It's at this point. Gone. So it's kind of just taken out of. Yeah. So we will not be. We will continue with the San Antonio and Carpe and Sonoma Mountain the way they are now. I cannot say anything, but that I'm happy for our students, and I'm happy that people are
005still going to get the opportunity to experience there, and… get the possibilities that they give there. Okay, thank you. Any other comments? Yeah, I just just a few things come to mind. I've just been thinking about that. This has really made it clear that the processes for our committees. It's not working and we just need more structure and clearer parameters for our committees. And I think more report outs. And even though we don't have, we don't currently have a communications person. It is very evident that we need to come up with a very clear communications plan, which I know it's something you've talked about for a while, President Cloud. Um, and even though we're not discussing this today or taking action, I think this does not mean that the original issues and and concerns don't
006exist. With the current structure of our alternative education system, they really need to be reviewed and addressed. We still don't have an early warning system for our students, for all of our students. We have no significant Mtss structure that people can name in. We just have no no plan forward, which I know that you spoke about very clearly and. I think that there's no reason for us not to have a plan, especially with all of the committee work that's been done. But again, if the committee didn't have a clear purpose or parameters, I understand. But I'm seeing that SCO is implementing a similar model on several school campuses with success would be great if we could. Again, reach out to them like I thought we were going to. And I just hope that this will
007be an opportunity to further. and have deeper discussion around systemic issues that do not uphold our mission, vision, and goals. So. Thank you. No. Okay, I move to approve the agenda as opposed. All those in favor. Aye. Any opposed? All right. The motion passes. Okay, um… We now have the introduction of the new Assistant Superintendent of human resources. Okay. Sorry, my voice is a little. I'm not feeling 100% here. I want to introduce our new assistant superintendent of human resources, Jen Hansen. We are pleased to announce Jen Hansen is our new assistant superintendent of Human Resources for Petal City Schools, a dedicated educator and respected leader. Jen brings more than 20 years of experience serving students, staff, and families across Sonoma County in both TK through 12 and community college systems. She is widely recognized
008as a relational, strategic, and solutions-oriented leader who builds trust. Advanced advances equity and cultivates positive, high-performing environments. Jen most recently served as Director of Human Resources at Santa Rosa Junior College, where she led equitable hiring practices, modernized human resources systems. Strengthen compliance processes and supported faculty, classified staff, and administrators. She also serves as faculty for the school employees association of California, SEAC. Coaching and supporting human resource leaders across the state in collective bargaining and labor relations. Prior to her work at the community college level, Jen spent 9 years in district leadership with Katady Rohner Park Unified School District, serving as senior executive director of Hr. And chief negotiator for certificated and classified bargaining units. As a member of the Executive Cabinet, she provided direct guidance to the superintendent and Board of Trustees on employee relations,
009collective bargaining, investigations, and organizational strategy. Jen successfully led traditional and interest-based bargaining processes, navigated complex labor negotiations, and strengthened district union partnerships through collaborative problem solving and shared governance. Jen's earlier leadership includes 5 years as principal of Evergreen Elementary School, where she supervised and evaluated over 60 certificated and classified employees, implemented restorative practices that dramatically reduced suspensions, authored comprehensive school safety plans. and led data-driven student achievement initiatives. She began her career with Santa Rosa City Schools, serving for 11 years as an educational specialist and assistant principal. In those roles, she facilitated IEP and 504 processes, led student intervention teams, coordinated school-wide assessment systems, developed staff professional development programs, and supported charter school operations and compliance. Jen earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine, where she was a student athlete.
010She holds an education specialist credential from Dominican University of California, and a Master of Arts in educational leadership from Sonoma State University. She also maintains her clear administrative services credential. Deeply rooted in the community, Jen and her husband are proud parents of 2 high school students who attend Piner High School. She continues to support youth athletics as an assistant coach for Piner High Piner High's track and field and cross country teams. Jen is excited to return fully to the TK through 12 setting and to support the strong foundation already in place at Petalum City Schools. Her extensive background in personnel management, collective bargaining, special education, equity centered hiring practices, compliance and organizational leadership will be invaluable as we continue advancing excellence in service. of our students, staff, and families. Please join us in congratulating Jen
011Hansen on her new role as Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources for Fed. Good evening. Thank you, Superintendent Harris, President Cloud and trustees. It is my pleasure to be here. Being an assistant superintendent of human resources has been a dream of mine for a really long time, and I'm honored to be here in Petalama City Schools to do that work. Um, I know we have a lot of transitions coming up, and I am here for it, and I just cannot wait to get here. My first day will be March 23rd, and I am really excited to work with you all, um, meet the community, and start building relationships with people. And, um, thank you for trusting me with this very important role, and, um, I'm just so grateful, and thank you again. Welcome. Welcome. Is this your?
012Yeah, this is your family. You have quite a fan base. And we have lots of fan bases here, so we have… we are going on to and welcome. Students of the month, and we'll start with Kenilworth. Thank you. Handleworth Junior High School is proud to introduce our March student of the month, Howard Lu. Hauer was chosen Student of the month because he has consistently impressed his teachers with his academic excellence, hard work, and exemplary citizenship. Power has excelled in all of his classes while a student at Kenilworth, including Accelerated Math 1, where he's earning an A. Howard's teachers describe him as friendly, dedicated, and who produces exceptional work. Ms. Callahan, Howard's science teacher, was eager to share that, quote, Howard is an amazing student. He is polite, responsible. respectful. Howard goes above and beyond expectations
013on all of his assignments. He gets along well with all of his fellow students and is a joy to have in class. I am so glad I had the privilege to be Howard's science teacher for both seventh and eighth grade, unquote. Not only is Hower outstanding academically, but he is demonstrating impressive design and craftsman skills in his woodshop class. Outside of school, Hauer is a member of the Colts Track and Field Team, and enjoys reading in his free time. After high school, Howard would like to attend a university and study to become an engineer. Junior High School is proud of Howard, and we are confident he has a bright future ahead of him. Congratulations, Howard. Congratulations, Howard. Can your family please stand up so we can recognize them? Are they here? Good job. Hi, my
014name is Ariana Gutierrez, and I'm here to introduce the second Kenorth Student of the month. Kenilworth Junior High School is proud to introduce our March Student of the Month, Nora Zanzi. Nora is receiving recognition as our student of the month because she is thoughtful, sweet, and brings everything… Brings meaning to all that she does. Nara has opted to take a rigorous course load, including advanced English and Leadership, and has maintained a high GPA for the duration of her time at Kenilworth. Nora's teachers had many great qualities to share about her. Miss Romano, Nora's history and leadership teacher says. Nora is incredibly kind, sincere, and hardworking young lady. Nora attacks each project and assignment with quiet zeal and confidence. She puts in maximum effort into everything she does. Her hand is always one of the first
015to go up when volunteers are needed. And no project is too big or small for her. Nora is always ready to work in the independently or with any student a teacher puts her together with. Nora excels both at school and at Redwood Empire Gymnastics, where she is involved as a competitive gymnast. Nora is also an important member of the Kenneworth Band, and has played flute for the past 4 years. Nora is excited to apply for ASB at Casa Grande, where she will attend high school, following what is sure to be a successful high school career, Nora is interested in attending San Diego State University. Cunnerworth is so proud of this amazing young person. Congratulations, Nora. Can your family please stand? Thank you. Oh, okay. So now we have Petaluma Junior High. Petaluma Junior High School
016is proud to introduce our March Student of the Month, Ravi Ban. Ravi was chosen as Student of the Month because, in addition to being an excellent student, Ravi is kind, accepting, and curious. Ravi cares for staff and students alike. You can always count on him to say hi and ask how your day is going. Ravi is also an outstanding scholar. He asks thoughtful questions and demonstrates a passion for learning in all of his classes. Ravi says that while he enjoys all of his classes, he particularly enjoys science and history. Ravi will miss the kind and helpful staff and exciting rallies at Pjhs, but he is looking forward to meeting new people and taking new classes in high school. Ravi aspires to become an engineer or a meteorologist, though he is not quite sure where he
017would like to go to college. Maria, Ravi's mom, says that Ravi is gentle and affectionate young man who has always been curious and eager learner. His family is very proud of him. Congratulations, Ravi. Congratulations, Robbie. Can your family please stand so we can acknowledge you? Good job. Petaluma Junior High School is proud to introduce our March student of the month, Emily Kennedy. Emily was chosen as student of the Month because she is a self-motivated learner who cares about her future. Emily puts in great effort to get all of her work done, regardless of any distractions. Mr. Lemansky said that while Emily is quiet in class, if you talk with her one on one, you find an individual who has a greater understanding of the world than most her age. Emily enjoys experimenting with different techniques
018in art class, reading fiction and nonfiction texts in English, and learning about the world and history. Emily is part of the photography club at school, and she also plays the piano. Emily is looking forward to the diverse course offerings at PJHS, or at PHS, as well as the opportunity to expand her creativity. Emily plans to attend a university on the East Coast and study archaeology or English, and then pursue a career in writing. Emily's mom, Lisa, said, Emily's dad and I are proud of her patients and hard work this year as we transitioned back to living in the US over the summer, and Emily entered Pjhs as her 6th school in the fall. She has always maintained a good attitude and compassion for others, even when she is dealing with her own challenges. We couldn't
019be more proud of her. Congratulations, Emily. Congratulations, Emily. Can your family please stand? There they are. Good job. Next is Pamela Grande. Hello! My name is Terry Hansen, and I'm going to introduce the Casa Grande student of the month. I don't know if any of them are here, but I'm still going to introduce them. Okay. They're sick. Hannah is a dedicated and accomplished high school senior who is consistently demonstrating excellence in academics, leadership, and service. She has earned an impressive 3.4.37 cumulative Gpa while challenging herself with several honors and advanced placement courses. Reflecting her strong work ethic, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to academic growth. Hannah approaches her studies with determination and balance, setting a high standard for herself and those around her. Beyond the classroom, Hannah is a two-year varsity soccer player. Where she has
020developed teamwork, discipline, and resilience. Her involvement in athletics has strengthened her leadership skills and reinforced the importance of commitment and perseverance, both on and off the field. She is also deeply committed to serving her community, having completed over. 350 volunteer hours through a variety of service opportunities that highlight her compassion and desire to make a positive impact. As the ASB Vice President, Hannah plays an integral role in student leadership. She helps organize school events, support student initiatives, and work collaboratively with peers and staff to foster a positive and inclusive campus culture. Outside of her academic and leadership responsibilities, Hannah values spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys creating meaningful memories, staying connected with those closest to her, and finding balance between her busy schedule and personal life. These relationships help ground her and
021motivate her to continue striving for an excellence in all that she does. Congratulations, Hannah. Well, tell her to watch this, and I congratulate her in the future. Okay? And then next is Bailey Guerrero. Bailey is a dedicated and well-rounded student who consistently demonstrates excellence both inside and outside of the classroom with a 4.7 Gpa. Bailey is enrolled in multiple AP courses and has a strong worth ethic. He's hardworking and committed to her academic achievement. Bailey approaches challenges with determination and balance, maintaining high standards while actively participating in school life. In addition to academic success, Bailey has been a member of the Varsity Girls Soccer team for 4 years. Through hard work and leadership and perseverance, Bailey has earned multiple awards for soccer and has contributed significantly to the team's continued success. As a varsity athlete,
022Bailey values teamwork, discipline, and resilience, all qualities that carry over into the classroom and community. Bailey is also committed to giving back through volunteering, including coaching younger athletes and helping at a local homeless shelter. These experiences reflect a strong sense of responsibility and compassion, as well as a desire to positively impact others. Bailey takes pride in being a role model for younger students and teammates by leading with kindness and dedication. Congratulations, Bailey. Thank you very much. I hope she watches too. Okay, next we have Petaluma High. I'm really sorry I just popped a hydropper. About time. Okay, this is, like, my best friend. Okay. Sorry. Hi, I'm Paige. I'll be presenting Kaya. Kylie Kircher has attended Petaluma High School all four years of high school. Stop. On campus, she's president of the French Club and
023founder and president of the school's tutoring club, which means twice a week after school. She has been instrumental in shifting the math department culture at Petaluma High and has changed the academic future for many students, including me. She tutors me. She has been recognized by the school and your book for her work with the math department and the difference she's made by partnering student tutors with 2Ds and dedicating numerous hours of after-school work to tutor students herself for 3 years. She has challenged herself for the school's most demanding AP courses, as well as a concurrent enrollment at the JC, and has maintained stellar grades. I have never witnessed a more patient or willing teacher. She truly makes a difference. One of our favorite parts of high school has been joining and working with ASB for
024the past 3 years. She campaigned as and won ASB Secretary as a junior, which was the first for the program, and runs school-led activities every single week. One of her favorite memories has been ASP camp, where the class bonds over the summer. Kaya, as a senior, is the president of Petaluma's senior class, and is currently working on the seniors' annual fundraiser at Trojan Quarterly. Another one of our favorite things about being in high school has been volunteering the past two years at Old Adobe School District 6th grade camps. She will be attending her final year next month. In her free time, she loves going to concerts, square dancing with her friends, and traveling. Her favorite location has been Maui. Outside of high school, Kaya dances and competes for O'Brien Center of the Arts. She's been
025dancing since she was 3 years old and will miss competing with her studio when she graduates. She's performed multiple solos this year and continues to excel in her dancing career, especially enjoying her ballet classes. When she's not at dance, Kaya rides and competes with her horse, Atlas, at MDM Farms in Katari. Although she's only had Atlas for 4 years, she's been riding for 8 years. She hopes to become a math teacher and is studying math and secondary teaching at a four-year university next year. She organized our senior trip to the Bahamas, not affiliated with Petaluma High. Anne is excited to spend time with her friends there. This trip this summer she has to soak up time with her family. Congrats, Kaya. Congratulations, Taya. Is your family here? We'd like them to see them, and congratulate
026them. I'm sad that I'm emotional. Garrick Pechtel, also my friend, he's in Trojan Quarterly, a senior at Petaluma High School has earned the recognition of Student of the month for his work ethic, positivity, and commitment to the community within Petaluma known by teachers as someone who strives to do his best. Garrick Pechtel has demonstrated responsibility, perseverance, and leadership. Born and raised in Petaluma, California, Garrick began to appreciate the value of learning from a young age at Grant Elementary, where he developed the ability to work in teams. It was at this age where he learned to set goals for himself and always shoot above and beyond. This allowed him to fully express his curiosity, which became an important tool for his learning. Whether tackling assignments or playing sports, Garrick approaches challenges with an open mind. At
027school, Garrick is known for taking his studies seriously and being an active participant in the classroom. He prides himself on learning new concepts and pushing himself to improve in courses in which he may be struggling. Teachers around campus may describe Garrick as being focused, respectful, and eager to learn, making them an example for all students across campus. Beyond academics, Garrick was a member of the Varsity football team this year, as well as captain of the Petaluma Golf Team. It is through these sports that Garrick has formed many meaningful connections, always searching for a way to support his peers and friends. I think he's had a golf thing right now. His friends described him as dependable, encouraging, and someone who helps create a positive environment wherever he is. Looking towards the future, Garrick wants to pursue
028a career in either business or economics, hoping to one day become an entrepreneur. His commitment to growth, leadership, and learning makes him a deserving choice for March Student of the Month, and a valued member of Petaluma High School. Thank you. Congrats, Garrick. He's not here. Congratulations. I believe his family is here to collect this. Thank you. Congratulate him for us. All right. Thank you. San Antonio High School. I don't think any of them came today, but I am happy to announce our 2 students of the month, Paula, our first student of the month. Paula Escalante Mejia. We are pleased to recognize Paola Escalante Mejia as one of San Antonio's Student of the Month. As of last Friday, Paola is also one of San Antonio's newest graduates. She transferred to San Antonio as a sophomore with
029the goal of regaining credits and earning her high school diploma. While attending Casa Grande, she has struggled with the large school environment, the heavy homework load, and eventually her attendance began to suffer. When Paola first arrived at San Antonio, she experienced a slow start. However, despite facing significant personal and academic challenges. She demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination in pursuing her education. Paola continued to push herself to attend school constantly and earn the credit she needed to graduate. Although there were ups and downs along the way, Paola adapted by taking advantage of every academic support available to her. She refused to allow setbacks to derail her progress. Her perseverance is reflected not only in her, the credit she earned, but also in the maturity and growth she has shown through the year. Paola shares that she
030is grateful for the second chance she received at San Antonio, where she was able to meet new people and build new friendships. In her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, reading, coloring, and spending time with friends and family. Paola plans to take a gap year before entering at Santa Rosa Junior College, where she will complete her general ed education before transferring to a four-year university. Her goal is to attend Sacramento State and pursue a degree in veterinary science. We are incredibly proud of Paola's accomplishments and confident she will continue to succeed in the future. Congratulations, Paola. Ruby, please congratulate her from us. Yes, we will. And our second student of the month. I'm not really too sure how to say his last name, but Daniel Koning. We're pleased to recognize Daniel Koenig as one of
031San Antonio High School's students of the month. We had the privilege of welcoming Daniel to San Antonio this past November when he transferred. From Petaluma High School. During the final two terms of his high school career, Daniel quickly distinguished himself through his maturity, focus, and strong work ethic. Although our time with him was brief, he made a lasting impression on our school community. Entering a new environment can be challenging, but Daniel embraced the transition and quickly became a valued member of the San Antonio family. In a remarkably short time, he earned 36 credits and successfully completed the requirements to graduate early at the end of the last grading period. Achieving this in such an abbreviated timeframe reflects Daniel's intent of organization and determination to reach his goals. Several staff members who worked closely with Daniel
032shared his reflections that speak to his character. One colleague noted, "Daniel is a respectful, mature, and intelligent young man. He rose to the challenge of transitioning to San Antonio and quickly earned the credits he needed to graduate early. He has been a joy to have on campus and will greatly missed. We are confident he will succeed in whatever he sets his mind to and look forward to seeing him pursue his future with determination and passion. His teacher, Ms. Grisbick, also highlighted Daniel's positive qualities, noting his kind heart, strong work ethic, and constant. effort to grow and improve both in and outside of school. She described him as a student who balances his academic and personal goals while maintaining a respectful and considerate attitude towards his peers and adults. Outside of school, Daniel enjoys working with
033his hands, especially tinkering with cars and spending time with friends. One of his favorite high school memories was the winter field trip to Luma Ice, which he described as a highlight of his first time at San Antonio. Reflecting on his journey, Daniel shared this senior quote: "I haven't always been the easiest to deal with, so I'd like to thank my family and friends and teachers for all their support. Now that he graduated, Daniel plans to pursue a career as a land man with PJ&E. Daniel, we are proud of everything that you've accomplished. Thank you for being a part of San Antonio's high school family. We wish you the very best and excellent. We wish you the very best in the exciting journey ahead. Congratulations. Thank you, Daniel. Daniel. Congratulations. Your friends and family. Can they
034stand so we can acknowledge you? You guys are all super impressive. I'll tell you. Okay, so we're gonna move on to our site reports first from Kenilworth Junior High. Canrol Junior High School never goes out of style. Kenworth is a place where everyone is welcome and included. Student students can choose from a wide variety of clubs and elective classes. We put that on display a couple weeks ago when sixth graders from our local elementary schools came to tour. One of the goals of our school is that when a student moves on from Kenilworth, they take with them positive memories that will last a lifetime. We invite you to watch our site report video. Kenilworth never goes out of style. Welcome to Timeless Kennel Work. No matter the trending styles or looks, one thing is never
035outdated. The Kenilworth community. We've been off to an incredible second semester so far. Let's rewind the clock and hear from some KJHS alumni. The teachers and staff are welcoming and supportive. Staff was so helpful and kind. The fact that the teachers were so open helping and knew if you didn't understand something, you could just go straight to them and they would help you. the teachers and the librarian. There's like good teachers. All the teachers are very nice and inviting to their classroom. Kenilworth's staff is what's trending. The way each and every teacher makes an effort to connect with their students clearly leaves a lasting impact. Here at Kenilworth, this culture will never fall out of style. Now, let's go hear from another one of Kenilworth's graduates. I am Ray McClintock, principal at Pelhaman Junior High.
036I graduated from Kenneworth. 2002. And I think my favorite part was probably the sports. I did wrestling and track, and that's what I remember most about myself. What makes Kenworth such a good school to go to is because it has an amazing community program and starts learning. Athletes are really funny. All my teammates really helped me progress through my sport and are really supportive. Teamwork will always be cool. Kanwar started up their wrestling and track teams again. Let's go Colts! Let's continue to dominate the leagues with our outstanding athletes. Leadership is back at it, creating fun events for all students. They plan and execute amazing experiences that give everyone a place in our school. Students love coming to dances to hang out with their friends, participating in rallies to cheer on their peers, and coming
037to Fun Fridays at lunch to win prizes. It's kind of where it's a great place to go to school is that… It's almost like a family. There are great people here, I'm very friendly, and you can make friends easily. Lots of community the school has. The community. Recently, leadership took our incoming sixth graders on a tour of Kenilworth. It was so incredible seeing all the amazing future cults. Kenworth's culture is timeless, and we know it'll stay that way. We built the Cold History Book with each and every dance, event. Fun Friday, high five, and smile. Now, that's why Kenworth never goes out of style. Whether it's 1959 or 2026, Kenworth's style will make you smile. Sports, dances, fun Fridays, and our classroom experiences create a set of unique junior high memories for each student. The
038Kenworth community builds a sense of pride in every one of us, one that we look back on with fondness. Thank you so much for watching. For watching our video. Thank you. Excellent job. Okay. And then Petaluma Junior. With an alumnus from. They were not happy with me. Hello, my name is Aviana Zander. I'm an eighth grade, and I'm the ASB president at Petaluma Junior High School. My name is Jack Weber. I'm in seventh grade. My name is Avery Magahi. I'm in eighth grade. My name is Teen Kane, and I'm in seventh grade. My name is Lucia Martinez, and I'm in seventh grade. My name is Josie Strange, and I'm in seventh grade. If you remember from our last site report, we discussed our school goal of connecting trusting relationships to higher academic achievement. Well, for
039this spring semester report, we want to show you how much we've done this year in relation to that goal. Let's check out our results from this year's YouTube survey. Of course, with a little help from AI, we summarize the overall themes from youth truth that highlights what sets PJHS apart as a school and as a community. While academic challenge, student engagement, school culture and respect, and high school readiness were all really strong results in this year's survey. The strongest and most consistently positive theme is the student staff relationship. Let's check out a couple areas of key growth. Our school community is the thing that sets us apart, and students reporting that they feel like they're part of our school community has increased over 25% since 2024. Anyone that comes to PJHS can feel positive vibes
040as soon as you come onto the campus. Students feeling safe on campus continues to be a top priority at PJHS, and students reporting that they feel safe at school have increased from the 27th percentile in 2023 to a 40% jump. to the 67th percent this year, moving from elementary school last year, I was worried about coming to the junior high, but… But all the staff have been have made campus so welcoming and supportive. Students reporting that they feel that they are receiving a high-quality education at PJHS has increased from the the 32nd percentile from 2024 all the way to the 74th percentile this year. That's a 42% increase over 3 years. I personally love and feel challenged in all of my classes. And lastly, it wouldn't be a PGHS report if we didn't highlight trusted
041adults. Right? Well, as promised, we had another year of an increase in students reporting that they have a trusted adult on campus that they know they can go to when needed, going all the way back to 2022 PGHS only ranked in the 25th percentile. But year after year of building trusting relationships continues to pay off, and we are now in the 86th percentile. And guess what? Our family seemed to think that things are going great over at PJHS as well. Themes of engagement, culture, relationships, school safety and resources have all seen incredible growth over the last several years, with now 5 of those 6 categories ranking between the 82nd and 91st percentile nationally. Do you know what else all that data shows? Do we also know how to have fun at PHS. Let's check out
042what some of our bands back on campus have to say about this year so far. Um, my highlight of the year was making the volleyball team and making new friends from volleyball. My highlight of the year was making friends from different schools. My highlight of the year is meeting these two and other people. My favorite part of this year has easily been the rallies. Uh, my favorite part of the year has been Spanish class. Favorite part has been leadership. Mine has probably been history. Mine's probably been art or English. Part of the year has been probably B&TA. Yeah, me too, I like coping with the office stuff. When I first came, I came from the inside school, so I was really nervous about making friends, but the teachers community really helped me feel comfortable and
043everyone's so nice here. I think what makes this school special is the community and the staff and students, and. Uh, they're really nice and. Supportive? My highlight was making the volleyball team and bonding with my teammates. My highlight was history class, especially from all our engaging projects like the Revolutionary War. My highlight has been all of our rallies, especially the rivalry between our students and staff, and of course students are currently in the lead. My highlight was our basketball season and making a lot of new friends on the team. My highlight was our Colonial Literature Unit and Advanced English class. My highlight was helping out with all the 6th grade and parent tours all year, and being able to talk about how great our school is. And to finish, Mr. Harris, we know that this
044may be the last I report you'll see from PGHS. We want to thank you for all your support and selfies over the years. We'll miss you next year, but we will always know that we're your favorite. Well, thank you. That was great. Thank you. All right. Um… So I think we're going to take a quick break. So you know, all the students can, you know, get home to homework and, you know, making connections and all of that. We'll come back in about. 10 min. Yeah, 10 min. Okay, at about 7 o'clock. Yeah. Welcome back, everyone. We now have comments from the public on non-agendized items. I'm going to read our, um… Board statement about public comment. Under government code section 54954.3a members of the public have the right to address the governing board on any
045items 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 have a policy, BP1312.1. 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 be heard only during the public comment on non-agendized items, period, which is now. Once that part of the meeting is over, comments will only be taken 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,
046we listen carefully and appreciate input from the public. Public comments are subject to a 3-minute person limit per person limit. or a 20-minute limit per subject matter, commenters may not cede their time to others. First up, we have Courtney Lauer on bullying PD reflection. Is this on? Thank you. Okay. So I'll begin by saying that attending these board meetings has eradicated my trust in the democratic process. I'm reminded of Plato's indictment of politics, or probably more accurately politicians, only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it. Fresh off yesterday's professional development related to bullying, which, if you didn't already know, and apparently the district believes we didn't, bullying is when someone with more power repeatedly and intentionally says or does something to harm. Someone with less power, thereby violating their individual rights.
047So it might behoove the board to know that moving all currently enrolled students to an alternative placement may violate students with disabilities right to a free and appropriate public education. Each student with an IEP requires prior written notice to ensure no procedural violations occur. Iep meetings must be held to propose and discuss a change in placement or services, invite participation from students and parents, and avoid. predetermination. According to claims made by acting board members, Pcs does not practice involuntary transfers. moving students without consent is the definition of an involuntary transfer, and a timely example of people with more power harming people with less power. Thank you. Thank you. Dave, Shara. Well, good evening. For the record. I am Dave, Director of Learning Innovation Technology here in Petaluma City Schools. And I just wanted to take
048this moment to express my my gratitude to the entire PCS community for the opportunity to lead and learn. Over the past 10 years in this role, this will be my final board meeting in this particular position. I will be moving on to the director of IT Support Services at the Santa Rosa Junior College. Um, in just a short time. And over the years, I've had the opportunity to develop some really, really significant relationships and friendships, and I feel like I've been able to contribute to having a positive and meaningful impact on the students, and. And staff here in our district, and I just wanted to, um, you know, just… from the bottom of my heart, say goodbye, wish you all the best, thank you for your service. And I'm gonna be just right up the
049road in my hometown. And in here sometimes too, because, you know, we have a campus here. Um, and don't worry, I'll be back for graduation to make sure that the audio works seamlessly. Um, anyway, thank you for everything. all this. Oh. I'm I'm kind of sick. Dave. Dave, has it really been? It's really been 10 years. I just wanted to. Say on behalf of everybody here, you're an incredible leader. We've been so… So blessed here in Pelham City Schools to have you as a leader for everything from, I think, about just all the educational technology that we've done in this district from coding robotics clubs and the equity work that you've done around that. to one-to-one devices, to making sure, you know, the work over at… just recently over at San Antonio that you've done
050leading your team. You're beloved by just about everyone. I've never heard a negative comment about you. I just, yeah, we're it's a huge, huge loss for our district and a huge gain for the for the junior college. And I'm just I'm I feel. I'm so happy just to know you and have gotten the chance to lead with you over the last 10 years. So thank you, Dave. Thank you. Yeah. I think I should use these 15 seconds. I met Matthew when we were principals at clearing our admin credentials. I remember teaching you how to make music on the ipad. Do you remember that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was like 15 years ago. Yeah. So thank you. Thank you, Dave. Well, I know I really appreciate your tech skills and and your sense of humor and
051your patience and your wonderfulness. So thank you. I'll miss you. I also appreciate your patience as someone who is technologically. inept. I really appreciate all your help. So thank you. Moving on. Oops. Sorry, mistake. Trying to get organized here. All right. We're going to move on with reports of activities and correspondence of school board members and student school board members. you're gonna do it at action. We're gonna well, yeah, but it was. So we can do it now if you want to. I don't care. We'll do. Yeah, it's not on the agenda. Let's do it now. Let's do. Right? Starting out stuff damn it. Take that away from me. Uh, Melissa McGarry. Okay, I'm a little squeaky. I think we've determined it's allergies because this is 3 weeks of this. So… I am very grateful
052that you removed that resolution. From the agenda. And what I wrote is is still applicable because I don't think. I don't think this is over, right? I know, um… The district is trying to figure out how we can help students better. I keep hearing this little phrase, wait to fail, the wait to fail model that this consultant that we hired pointed out. It seems that he's determined that our system is set up so that students fail, and we don't do anything about it until junior year. I keep hearing we need interventions in place earlier so that we're not waiting until students are so behind in their junior year, and that we need to tackle the root causes in our system. I totally agree with this. We've done this deep dive, we've collected all this data
053before. We did it in the 2019-2020. CSI report. I emailed that slideshow to most of you last year in an email. Everyone except Orion, because your email wasn't posted on the website yet. Um, so… Systems. There are root causes that are in our control. There are things that we as a district, as educators, can do something about. So if students in our district have weak foundational skills. Math, reading, English proficiency. These are all academic skills. We can do better with these, I believe. There's things we can do. We can hit them earlier. However, there are many things that we can't do anything about, or we can only influence. So when we talk about root causes being systemic, we need to remember that some causes are outside of our control. We have students, many students, that
054come from outside of our district. All these weird little districts in Petaluma. We have students transfer into the junior highs. That's why at 7th grade, we all of a sudden see them failing. Um, they come from out of state, they come from other countries. That's out of our control. We have students with mental health issues, anxiety, depression. Drug use, lack of sleep, poverty, immigration status, housing. I would love to live in a utopia where students didn't face those problems. It concerns me that this consultant said that with interventions, we'll no longer need alt ed. We're always going to need alt ed. You cannot remove the life raft before everyone's swimming. We, as a staff, do something at San Antonio that 2 teachers in seventh grade cannot accomplish. And so I really hope you take this
055under consideration. Thank you. Nikki Jackson. quite a bit shorter than Melissa. Okay. Hi, I'm still Nikki Jackson, licensed marriage and family therapist. And despite my hatred of public speaking, speaking at the board has apparently become my new hobby as I'm a passionate defender of our students, I also am grateful that. Um, it was removed from the agenda today. Um, but I just want to say that in all of the sudden and extreme conversations around closing San Antonio. I still hate public speaking. I have not heard anyone make a case for what is best for students' mental health, or even take that into consideration. At all of our alt ed sites, our mental health team sees a significant majority of the student population. Our students have, on average, 4 or more ACEs, Adverse Childhood Experiences, which
056is clinically significant. We work very closely with students who deal with significant mental health issues from depression, anxiety to bipolar to psychosis. We are engaged in suicide and threat assessing on a regular basis for our students. We help to maintain safety, not only for our students, but for the entire campus. Our students deal with unbelievable life circumstances like you would not believe. And are the most amazing and resilient humans. And to watch them soar is second to nothing. To quote one of my dears, San Antonio gives kids a chance to succeed in life and be able to have the same opportunities as other kids. It's the best opportunity we have. Another student said San Antonio literally saved me in so many ways. An intervention in junior high, as has been suggested as a solution, is
057not going to mitigate the need for specialized support for a number of our students. I also just want to add about the, um, it being thrown onto the agenda on a Friday afternoon that I feel disappointed and shocked that a decision to close a school site could be slipped into an agenda. for the board to discuss on a Friday afternoon. It's a huge decision that deserves open conversation, and yet again, I feel like I need to advocate for student voices. Our students have been silenced enough, and they deserve a chance to talk about it. Thank you. Thank you. Dave Anderson. All right, good evening. My name is Dave Anderson. I teach at Carpadima Stone Mountain High School. I will try not to be too long, because everyone's probably heard enough of me at this point.
058I originally had a lot of other stuff I was going to talk about. I'm not going to go into that. I want to focus on a couple other things, though, that are important to me. And I really want to talk about kind of what Nikki said regarding… Student voice and student choice. I'm incredibly proud of Carpadium and Sonoma Mountain, but I acknowledge that every year we have students who come to our program that end up finishing at San Antonio. Um, one of them sits right there. Uh, Ruby, I took Ruby in as a sophomore a few years ago. She went to Sonoma Mountain, and then she chose to go to San Antonio at the end of that. And she's doing amazing, and that was the right choice for her to make. And she would not
059have had that choice if we were the only alt ed site in town. One of the previous San Antonio students of the month I had last year sitting on my history class and he was not successful. He went to San Antonio, and he's doing awesome, and I'm really proud of him. Um, on the other hand, we get students from San Antonio every year that we graduate, that they know clicks when they come to us. Sometimes it's just about finding the right fit and the more we reduce that, the more we restrict choice to either the big high schools or a potentially seriously compromised and overloaded adult ed site. And the more we do that, the more kids we lose. Students that come to us in Alt ed tend to stay until graduation. We average one
060student between the two small sites per year that goes back to the big high school. I feel like that's something that's overstated, the idea that kids come to us and then go back when they come to us, they want to stay, and I'm speaking for San Antonio, too. I believe. you know, they've had a handful over the last few years, and that's it. We send a lot more students to San Antonio than we send back to the big high schools, in fact. And it's because students enjoy our programs. They feel… community there, and they feel like they like to learn again. And we should be proud of that in Petaluma. We should be proud that we give our students multiple alternative high schools. We should take pride that we prioritize student voice and student choice
061that we have different things for them to try until they flourish. Of course, we need to adapt. We need to change. We need to analyze the issues that we have, and we have issues in alt ed that we need to fix. We absolutely have to prioritize and fix the demographic issue. That needs to be something that we spend a long time on. We need to explore ways to get students more college and career ready. We need to coordinate better with our big high school partners. But we can't do any of that if we reduce the option to just 2 small sites, and we just turn into a credit factory because we're the only show in town. As someone that's been to every second. All the task force meeting. I am going to continue being in
062those and be the first ones there and trying my best to advocate for our schools, but also acknowledging the work that needs to be done and all that stuff. Thanks. Appreciate it. Thank you. Tiana Gerzpic. Did I say that right this time? Then we were going to do just on student voice. So I have Jessica Marilla up here as well. So we wanted to. Yes, thank you also for removing the resolution, giving you more time to think about it. The importance of student voice has been touted by this school board, by all of our district, and it really is important. So we wanted to make sure when we talked with our students who weren't able to be here for various reasons, that they were heard. So we are going to read what they wanted to
063say to you in person, if they could be here. So I've got 2 now. The 1st one is from Shelby Owens. Before coming to San Antonio, I was failing and hated being at school. When I came to the school, I felt inspired by my older brother, who was homeless and couldn't go to school for more than 2 years. He was told that he wouldn't graduate until he was 20. He then came to San Antonio and graduated on time. He now works in construction and is doing very well. I now go to San Antonio. I've been going through things at home for a while, and San Antonio has made it possible for me to keep straight A's and to do my best to try to do my best to be at school every day, as often
064as I can. The staff have been so helpful and supportive in my struggle. I am now going to be able to graduate early as a junior next year. with the fine help and motivation of San Antonio and all the people I have met there. Yeah. I I have a letter here from Jackie Quintanas, who handed this to me with a big hug and said, I hope it makes a difference tonight. I want to talk about how switching to San Antonio changed my life. When I was at Casa Grande, I was constantly skipping school, leading to me failing my classes, and ended up having to attend truancy court. When I was at CASA, I felt unheard and was really depressed. I felt like I wasn't going to succeed, but then I heard about a meeting to
065learn about San Antonio. There I met Mr. Stevenson, and I enrolled, and that was the best decision of my life. On my first day, I got along with all of the teachers and students for the first time, they were all really respectful. Before, there was always conflict going on, and you couldn't really build a bond with your teachers and some of the other students like you can at San Antonio. I got to build a bond with Miss Gresbick, Mr. Smith, and Ms. Marilla. They pushed me to do my work and succeed. I got so close with them that I would get excited to go to school the next day for once. where I felt like I fit in. I also want to thank my principal, Mr. Stevenson, for making sure that I have everything I
066needed at home, and being there for me. Same with Mr. Shinsato. He made me feel heard. He would see the slightest bit of absences, and he would start to ask how I was doing and check in. Thank you for listening, and I hope you reconsider changing your minds and continuing to help students that need the extra help like me. And the last one that I was just handed student Ashley here who thank you for putting up my quivering voice. I told her I'm so nervous and that she should, but I will try to do her proud in what she wants to say to you all. Okay. I, as a former student at San Antonio, I think is a big opportunity that all high school students who struggle should have at the big schools, like Petaluma
067High or Casa Grande. I say it from my own experience. San Antonio gave me the sense of belonging. It gave me the chance of graduating on time, but with adults that make me… make school more enjoyable. I want to say thank you to Ms. Grisbick for always being there and making me. Smile. and being that adult in school that I can trust a lot. And Mr. Stevenson for giving me the opportunity, and not just me, but every kid that has and wants to recover credits can… that he gave them that opportunity, and myself that opportunity. I want that opportunity also available for any student who has that feeling that you want to belong and that you do belong, and people care about you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, now we're going to report on activities
068and correspondence of school board members. and student board members. We had board member go to Petaluma Blacks Community Development Black History Month celebration. The day of action, which was a nationwide rally in support of public schools. Read Across America. We read to second grade. Sorry, I read to second graders at McNear in the lovely new library garden. and agenda review. Ellens. Ellen spoke to the PHS government class. Safe schools action. That was the what you just mentioned. Oh, okay. Yeah, public schools. Yay. Pangrove office hours and the pride flag discussion. Right. Well, Ellen, you undersell Pengrove office hours, because it was the 100-year anniversary of Penn Grove, the celebration. Um, it was a wonderful event. Matthew, uh, and others were there. We saw old faces, saw the fantastic staff, and just want to say thank
069you to the Pengrove PTA for all that they do and the fantastic event that they put on. And it was packed. I've never seen so many people at an open house. It's great. Anything else? Anybody want to? Yeah, please? I read the second grade class, too, and I almost didn't cry. I made it to the very end of make way for ducklings before I cried a little bit, and one of the kids asked me if I knew any ducks, and they were amazed that I did. Um, so it was a really great experience. So yeah. I read a book called Maddie's fridge. It was very fun. Okay, so our student board members are going to report on their activities. Ruby, you want to start? Okay, I'll start us off today. So I would like to
070congratulate our 4. I said this last time, but I would like to congratulate our 4 graduates from last grading period that just passed because… We need to give them another celebration. So clap to them. We actually had 2 of them today, or one of them today, but 2 of them are 2 student of the month for our graduates. And we also had our school-wide barbecue for our grading period last Friday, and. I also want to say that I'm going to be trying to attend some field trips with San Antonio. I'm going to try to work my schedule around them, because I want to be more involved with the school. I want to be more with them. So I'm going to be attending a field trip March 20th. I was going to attend one this Friday,
071but I ended up being a little busy. I have an appointment, so I can't make it, but… Another. We're going to be going to the Warm Springs Hatchery with Miss Marilla to release steelhead fish. I actually did it last year when I was with San Antonio, and it's going to be a little memory doing it again. And we also have a great news. Our tech internship students have repaired over 120 Chromebooks and saved the district 12,000. So lots of guys. and also on mentor day last Wednesday they had a hike to the streamer landing on the Petaluma River. Thank you. Wonderful, Jessica. Wow, you have been busy. Casa Grande. They just had kind of spring fling week. We had a spirit week, which was a huge hit. There was Jersey Day, Pastels Day, and like
072dynamic duo Day. So it'd be like Batman and Robin or something like that. So very. Very cool. And then on Friday was our rally, and we had so many fun games. And then what was new is we have a student-led band. So they also played during the rally, which is the first, and they were really good. So it was really enjoyable. And then on Saturday night was the spring fling dance, and it was so much fun. Um, I loved how it was filled with actually a lot of line dancing, so it got really everyone out there on the dance floor. Got some cute pictures. It's definitely very fun. And then, yeah, and then I also for ENCR Hatchery, I went to the creek and I was just learning about one more. Releasing the steelhead trout,
073which is happening currently, um, and all of those things, so I've been really enjoying the class, and I love how hands-on it is. It's really been amazing. Excellent. Okay, Paige. Well, majority of my time has been TQ, our annual fundraiser. So we have 4 h rehearsals every night, this 7 days, so I'm going there after this. Um, I'm personally invite of all of you. It's this Saturday night at 7pm, you should come. It's gonna be a really good time. Um, it's like a really big like pageant talent show dance. I don't know. We've been doing it for like five months, so it's going to be good. Besides that, um, I'm talking, um, I think, with Alan and Caitlin tomorrow? Is that tomorrow? I don't know. I'm talking with someone tomorrow to the Gov classes, um,
074about the school board and political actions like that. That's exciting. And then, um, I also have… I started a yoga club at my school a year ago, and it's super exciting. We have a shout out Miss McClellan, she's a licensed yoga teacher, and so we figured out a way to have real yoga classes for an hour at advisory at Wednesday and Friday once a month. And, um, a lot of kids are coming. We got MAT donations, like, tons of mats, we got wipe donations from the community, so thank you if you donated. And, um, it's just been really good for, like, everyone's mental health. We do it on the field now because it's nice out, so that's been, like, really grounding, and I think it's helping kids with stress, so… Yeah. That sounds… can I
075come? Okay, thank you. Thank you. Guys are awesome. All right. On to comments from the public on. What? Anything on consent items. I didn't get any card for consent items, so we will move on to approval of the consent agenda by consolidated motion. I move to approve the consent agenda. I need a second. I will second. Thank you. Any comments about the consent agenda. All right. All those in favor of passing the motion. Say aye. Aye. Any notes? Good. Okay. The motion passes. Comments from the public on action items. We've already gotten rid of 3 action items. We've had comments from the public on the one that was removed the resolution. Are there any other action public comment on action items. All right. Our first action item 14.2. One, sorry, 14.1.2 is approval of the
076contract of the assistant superintendent of Human Resources. for school year 2526. I move to approve. I second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed motion passes. Next, 14.1.3 approval of resolution 2526-36, declaring the month of April as Arab American Heritage Month. Okay, um… I will. Go ahead. I'll go ahead and read it, because you're I was going to say, I will read it. Thank you, Maddie. Whereas April is recognized as American. Sorry, Arab American Heritage Month, established by the United States Congress to honor the more than 3.5 million Arab Americans whose diverse cultures, traditions. and achievements have enriched our nation and advanced the enduring principle that diversity is one of our country's greatest strengths. And whereas individuals of Arab heritage have been part of the fabric of the United States since its earliest
077days, bringing with them a rich range of languages, faith, customs, and perspectives, and have made significant contributions to the history and progress of our nation and the sciences. arts, government, commerce, education, and Public Service. And whereas Arab Americans have contributed to every aspect of American society and are recognized for achievements in education, social services, public safety, healthcare, business, fine arts, entertainment. science, politics, law, engineering, technology, and many other fields. And whereas, despite these contributions. Arab Americans continue to experience bias and discrimination, including harassment, hate crimes, racist rhetoric, and acts of violence. And whereas the core values of Petaluma City Schools affirm that all students reach high levels of achievement. Through rigorous and culturally relevant curriculum, and that diversity is an asset that strengthens and enriches our learning community. And whereas the Petaluma City Schools Board
078of Education recognizes the importance. and providing each student with opportunities to understand the shared humanity of all people to develop pride in their own identity and heritage, and to respect and value the identities and heritages of others. Now, therefore, be it resolved that this Petaluma City Schools Board of Education hereby proclaims April as Arab American Heritage Month, and encourages schools throughout the district to celebrate the history, culture, and contributions of Americans. Through educational programs and activities that promote inclusion, understanding, and respect. I need a motion. I move to approve. Need this question. All those in favor. Aye. The motion passes. Now, 14.1.4 approval of resolution 2526-38. reducing or discontinuing particular kinds of services by an additional 1.5 FTE for the 26-27 school year. Thank you. The following particular kinds of services. The Pks is a
079reduction in certificated positions. To maintain a continuing positive budget certification over the next three years, we need to eliminate approximately $6 million from our operating budget. Um… And I bring forward this additional resolution to reduce certificated positions based on input from the Budget Advisory Committee and Alternative Education Task Force. So we've had. Both meetings in February, we were brought significant amount. This is the the remaining pieces that needed to come from from human resources. Okay. All right. Any discussion? Do I have a motion? I move to approve. I'll second. All those in favor. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. 14.2.1 approval of the Petaluma City Elementary joint unions, high school district second interim report. for 25, 26. Yes. to Florida. 0.5 and 6 was taken up. Yep. Can you leave quietly, please? Thank you. Thank you.
080Tonight I will be presenting the 2526 second interim financial report. The purpose of this presentation is to review changes since first interim and to confirm our fiscal outlook. Our mission focuses on providing high quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all students. These values guide our decisions as we develop and manage the district's budget. Our goal is to ensure that our financial planning continues to support. Student success in the district's priorities. California Education Code requires districts to submit two interim financial reports each year. First interim covers July through October, and second interim covers July through January. These reports provide updated financial projections for the current and two subsequent. The board must also certify whether the district will be able to meet its financial obligations for the current and two subsequent years. Based on the information available
081today, the district will certify positive, indicating that we will meet. Our financial obligations for the current and to subsequent years. This slide represents the annual financial reporting cycle for school districts. We adopt the LCAP and budget each June. During the year we provide updates through unaudited actuals, first interim and second interim reports. The governors May revision will provide additional updates to the state budget, which will then inform our planning for next year's adopted budget. This slide compares revenue projections from first interim to second interim. Overall revenues increased by about 2.37 million since first interim. The largest increase incurred in other state revenues, amounting to approximately. $1.69 million. This is primarily due to an updated per-pupil rate for expanded learning opportunities program funding and the final allocation of the student support instructional. success block grant, excuse
082me, the student support. block grant Federal revenues also increase primarily due to updated grant allocations. Local revenue increased slightly due to updates in parcel tax revenue donations and interest. Lcf funding remained relatively stable, with only minor adjustments. Before we walked through the changes of expenditures, you will notice that I separated unrestricted and restricted expenditures beginning with this slide. We have been focused this year on monitoring the unrestricted budget because it supports our ongoing operations and is where we need to maintain our required 3% reserve. When unrestricted and restricted expenditures are combined. The increases can sometimes appear more significant because restriction restricted programs are included. Many of those restricted increases are tied to grant or program-specific funding and do not impact our unrestricted reserves. By breaking them out, it allows for us to focus first on
083the unrestricted budget, which is the area where the district has the most control. Now moving on to the numbers. Overall, unrestricted expenditures increased by 1.13 million since first interim. Certificated salaries increased roughly $396,000. Primarily due to staffing adjustments and updated sick leave costs. Classified salaries decreased by about $236,000 due to position adjustments and vacancies. Employee benefits also decreased slightly, which is tied to the staffing adjustments. The largest change is in services and other operating expenditures, which increased by about $1.3 million. This includes adjustments to our utilities of about $500,000. Adjustments to our insurance of close to $500,000, too, and other operating costs, including the November election. We did receive the final invoice from. Sonoma County last week, and the November election was roughly $350,000. So it was… we didn't know at the time with… it
084was more, um, I… I… think that's because looking at, since it was the special election ballots. For Proposition 50? Yes. Um, there was probably a larger turnout for that election, and when we are on the ballot, we do pay printing costs. mailing cost, all of the costs, so we knew that this could fluctuate, um, and we wouldn't have final numbers for quite some time. So that is the overall picture of our unrestricted expenditures. Moving on to our restricted expenditures. As I mentioned on the previous slide, restricted expenditures often show larger changes because they reflect adjustments to grant funded in program-specific budgets. These funds are restricted for specific purposes and must be used to support the programs for which they were allocated. They cannot be used to support the district's unrestricted operating budget. Since first interim
085restricted expenditures increased. Just over $4 million as program budgets were updated and finalized. The largest changes occurred in services and other operating expenditures, supplies, and capital outlay. These adjustments reflect updated program budgets and expenditures tied to the restricted funding sources. Some of the adjustments include updated program budgets for expanded learning opportunities program. We saw the revenue increase on a previous slide. We now need to adjust our expenditures to offset the increase to revenue. This means we're actually able to serve more students in the program this year, so this was great news, um, at the beginning of the year, we were not sure that we would have the funds, um, because we received a reduced rate to actually offer. Before and after school care and the extended school year to all of our students who qualified.
086Um, other expenditure increases were part of career technical education and the strong workforce grant. Um, we had unearned revenue that has now been budgeted. Athletics, teacher stipends, and updated staffing. costs. This is an area that it's really hard to tell by looking at the financials. We do see an increase to certificated ex… Salaries, because we had some vacancies that, um, we had to contract out, so we had removed the vacancies from the budget because we increased our 5,000th to offset those. We've now hired staff. Was mostly in December and January, so though you see an increase overall to our services and operating, there are some decreases that come into play. So, um, the increase to some of the salaries was actually offset by a decrease. to other operating expenditures. These increases that I presented are
087all tied to restricted revenue sources, and therefore do not impact the district's unrestricted reserves. This slide combines the two previous slides to show the general fund expenditures for both unrestricted and restricted budgets. Since first interim, total expenditures increased by approximately $5.4 million. As we discussed. Most of the increase is related to adjustments within restricted programs, such as grants, budgets, program expenditures that have now been finalized. This slide shows the district's multi-year projection for the current and next 2 fiscal years for the 2526 school year, we are projecting a change in fund balance of approximately $11.2 million dollars, resulting in an ending fund balance of about. $13.6 million. In the following two years, the deficit spending decreases as adjustments are incorporated into the district's financial plan. Beginning in February, the district made several budget adjustments that
088are reflected in the out years of the multi-year projection, and allow the district to maintain the required reserve and certify with a positive budget. These adjustments include reductions in certificated and classified staffing, including secondary teaching positions associated with Bell's structure. Bell scheduled restructuring and alternative education. Elementary teaching positions to right-size classes based on enrollment. And program adjustments, including music and reading specialist positions. In addition to staffing adjustments, the district has also included operational reductions and a reduction of approximately $500,000 to site discretionary budgets. These adjustments are incorporated beginning in the 26-27 fiscal year, and help align ongoing expenditures most close… more closely tied with projected revenues. This slide shows the district's projected reserves over a 3-year projection period, and separates restricted and unrestricted balances. The total reserve percentage begins at approximately 19.4%. In the current
089year, and gradually declines in the out years as we use reserves to support ongoing operations. It is important to note that a significant portion of those reserves are restricted funds. Restricted funds are tied to specific programs and cannot be used to support. The general operations. When we focus specifically on the unrestricted reserve, which supports the district's operating budget, you can see that we remain above the required 3% minimum in each of the year projections. The unrestricted reserve is projected at approximately 3.73% in the current year. And increases slightly in the out years as adjustments made in February begin to take effect. Maintaining the unrestricted reserve above 3% is one of the key factors that allows the district to certify a positive budget. This slide shows the ending balances for districts other funds outside of the
090general fund. These funds are restricted and must be used for specific purposes. Examples include adult education, cafeteria, facilities, funds, and self-insurance. Because these funds are restricted, the balances cannot be used to support the general fund operations. The balances simply reflect projected activity within each fund for the current fiscal year only. I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the work that goes into preparing the financial reports, the second interim report reflects the year-round collaboration of many people across the district to ensure that our financial information is accurate and transparent. I want to thank Helen Miller, the Director of Budget and Accounting, for her work preparing the financial reports and supporting the development of the multi-year projections. I would also like to thank the Budget Advisory Committee for their time and thoughtful input as we continue
091to work through the district's fiscal planning. Thank you as well to Cabinet for their collaboration in aligning our financial planning with district priorities and student needs. And finally, thank you to the Board of Education for your continued guidance and support throughout. The budget process. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions. I just also want to say thank you to Amanda. Thank you. It was a great presentation. very clear and I appreciate all the work to get us from a qualified status back into positive. I mean, that's huge for our district. Yeah. So thank you for all of your work on that. So thank you for making it so clear and easy to understand. It's greatly appreciated. I finally got rid of the red negative. So I didn't say red meant we increased expenditures,
092which is maybe not the best, but. The black is decreases, unfortunately, where we are fiscally, we're always looking for cost savings right now, so… But thank you for making it so clear, especially the reserved versus the unrestricted. Yeah, thank you for that. It's always been a source of confusion to me, and then also those differences in reserve. And you know. So I really appreciate that you, you know. took the time to really show that and explain it also. That was really, I really thank you for that. Any other questions? All right. Thank you. Thank you. That was excellent. I move to approve. I need to I'll second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. We have a second interim. Let's hope that the county comes with our certification. They'll keep it up.
093Okay, 14.2.2 approval of the resolution 2526. 37 district-wide paint standards. This will be interesting. All right. Thank you. This resolution establishes a district wide paint standard using Benjamin Moore products and specified application methods. Benjamin Benjamin Moore has demonstrated a strong track record. Of honoring warranties and supporting its products in other local school districts, and the company works as an agent of the district rather than the contractor, establishing a consistent paint standard will improve maintenance efficiency, reduce product incompatibility. And streamline inventory and management. The products are also readily available through Peterson Paints, a locally owned Petaluma supplier that supports our maintenance team's operational needs. This came about previously, we… You Sherwin-Williams paints, and we had a painting project ready to go at Casa Grande about 18 months ago now, and went to buy paint, and the
094store had closed overnight. And… Yes, so this allows this now is a new standard, and it also gives us a local, um. place to purchase them. Thank you. explains it. Does anybody have any question? All right. Got one question. Are we limiting our purchase of Benjamin Moore products to just the local that one local location? Or are we still going to go and oh bid for it? Yep, we will, as always, with our products. We look, we do. 3 quotes and look for the least expensive. Alright, thank you. Okay, I move to approve. I second. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. Motion passes. Okay, on to 14.2.3. approval of capital facility contracts for February 2026. Thank you. I wanted to point out a couple of items on the spreadsheet. First of all,
095we have our notice of completion for the Casa Grande bleacher and press box and scoreboard project, so. That means we are through Dsa, and the project is complete. So that's exciting. The other contract up for tonight for approval is with Motive Studio Architects. This item is an agreement with Motive Studio for architectural services to begin preparing the design and bidding documents for the Performing Arts Center. This work will move the project through the required design phases and develop the plans needed for DSA approval and the bidding process. Motive Studio will coordinate with engineering consultants and regulatory agencies. and assist the district during bidding. The project has an estimated construction budget of approximately $36 million. The architectural services agreement is not to exceed $175,000. And construction is anticipated to. Begin in roughly 2 years from now
096for breaking ground, so I didn't want everybody to get too excited, but what this does is our goal is to take this project as a progressive bid. design, progressive design bid project, meaning rather than recently we've done some lease-leaseback projects where we hire the architect and we hire the contractor, we put everybody in the room, and. They duke it out, you know, for months on end. Doing it this way, um, out contractors and architects, they formed their own teams, and it's about a 6-month process where they go through, we give them… these are bridging documents, and then there will be a whole. There will be community meetings, committee meetings, and essentially a team is picked that they have built themselves. One of the great reasons to do it this way is that our sole person
097that we contract with. Is with the contractor, all other services are, um… sublease through them, so we… we only contract with one entity. That gives us greater accountability. We can hold one person at one firm accountable for that. So this just begins the the process for that. Is Van Pelt involved in this? Yes, it is. Are they the contractor? No. So they're involved in getting. So Van Pelt are, um, they are the management team that makes sure that we don't break any rules when we. Try new processes, and we follow all of the laws. This is very exciting. That's all I have to say. It's been a long time coming. All right. Any other questions about contracts? All right. I need a motion. I move to approve the facility contracts. All those in favor? Aye.
098Any opposed? All right. The motion passes. Thank you, Amanda. Excellent as usual. 14.3.1 overnight field trip requests. This is the best. Good evening, Trustee. I am here to present a request for approval for Valley Vista Public Waldorf School to do an overnight field trip to Samuel P. Taylor State Park. We've got a combination of… so it's a two-night trip, hiking, camping. being on a boat. They're gonna be on a boat with life vests. They're gonna learn knots and sailing is great. Yeah, it's a great opportunity. I really appreciate the fact that. There's no cost to the students. That's great. Go ahead. I was just going to. Oh, I was just gonna… so I know that it's covered by the foundation. So, um… It's 100% of the cost of this is going to be through the
099foundation. Correct. Okay. All right. Thank you. I move to approve the overnight field trip request. All those in favor. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That's so exciting. I hope they have fun. Nothing will. All right. We have no discussion items. And so we will go on to future business. Is there any future business? Yeah, except the same thing as last time. The plan that was presented last board meeting for alternative education doesn't seem like a real plan. So I would like to know what we're going to do. Moving forward. Right? The. verifying resolution coming up with the next party. Go ahead. Would you like to? What is the timeline for bringing back the cell phone policy and the data and. From the first year of implementation, because we have to finalize an update for next
100year. Yes, we are actually planning a visit to Sonoma Valley High School to look at their off and away policy, since we aren't doing pouches. So that's coming up at the end of March. And so I anticipate. by May, I can come back to the board and give you an update. Okay. Any other? Okay. I believe that we are going to adjourn to continue. Closed session. So… I believe we will close to closed session. Um… Now. Okay, thank