001President Davis, we're live and you may start the meeting. Thank you. Good evening and welcome to the March 18th regular board meeting of the Capistrano Unified School District. The meeting is now in session, the time is 5:00 p.m. Mrs. Swinkey, can you please call the roll? Trustee Castellanos is absent. Trustee Pritchard is absent. Trustee Zollinger is absent. Trustee Jones? Here. Trustee Adams? Here. Trustee Bullockus? Here. Trustee Davis? Here. Please note staff has revised the exhibit for items 13 B1, second reading board policy 3515, campus security, formerly school safety and security, and 13 C1, revised California School Employees Association salary schedule. Trustees have been provided with the revision and copies for the public are available at the back of the room and on the on the board agenda. May I have a motion to adopt the
002agenda as amended? So moved. Second. Moved by Trustee Bullockus, seconded by Trustee Jones. Mrs. Swinkey, do we have any requests to speak on the adoption of the agenda? There are none. Thank you. Trustees, we have zero requests. Okay, all those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries 5-0 to. Mrs. Swinkey, before the board recesses to close session, are there any requests to speak for a close session agenda item? We have zero requests. Thank you. The board will now recess to close session to address the following agenda items: student expulsion, three cases; conference with labor negotiators, CUEA, CSEA, Teamsters, CUMA, and unrepresented employees; conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation, one case; conference with legal counsel, anticipated anticipated litigation, two cases; conference with legal counsel, existing litigation, five cases; public employee employment appointment, one
003appointment, elementary principal, two appointments, K-8 TK through eight principal. Public employee dismissal, discipline, release. This item has been pulled by staff. The board will now recess to close session. President Davis, you may start the meeting. Good evening and welcome to the March 18th regular board meeting of the Capistrano Unified School District. The meeting is now in session, the time is 6:04 p.m. Mrs. Swinkey, can you please call the roll? Student board member Hanson is absent. Trustee Castellanos? Here. Trustee Pritchard? Present. Trustee Zollinger? Here. Trustee Davis? Here. Trustee Jones? Here. Trustee Adams? Here. Trustee Bullockus? Here. And Trustee Davis? Thank you. Here. Uh the Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Philippa Townsend. Thank you. Mrs. Swinkey, can you please read the report from closed session? On agenda item 4A, student expulsions, trustees voted 7-0 to
004approve staff recommendation on the following cases: cases numbers 2026010, case number 2026011, and case number 2026012. On agenda item 4B, conference with labor negotiators, trustees gave direction to staff. On item 4C, conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation, trustees gave direction to staff. On agenda item 4D, conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation, trustees voted 7-0 to approve staff recommendation on the following cases: ADR case number 20260209, and case number 20260211. On agenda item 4E, conference with legal counsel, existing litigation, trustees voted 7-0 to approve staff recommendation on the following cases: OH case numbers 2025030499M, 2025100076, 2025110082, 2025110155, and 2025110879. On agenda item 4F, public employee employment and appointment, trustees voted 7-0 to approve staff recommendation to appoint Juliana Matino Smith, principal of RH Dana Elementary School, effective July 1, 2026; Natalie West Odabunmi, principal at Las
005Flores TK-8 School, effective July 1, 2026; and Amanda Sobolewski, principal of R.Y. Nida TK-8 School, effective July 1, 2026. And >> [applause] >> and on agenda item 4G, this item was pulled by staff. This concludes the report. Thank you. We're really excited to have >> [clears throat] >> those three principals join join the principalship staff there, so it's exciting. Thank you. All right, and we're now moving on to public comment. The total time for public comment shall be 20 minutes. Mrs. Swinkey, do we have any requests to speak for non-agenda items? We do. We have We have six. Okay, thank you. All right, we have one student and five adults, so the time will be 3 minutes each. All right, first the student is Anthony Zampia, and then we have Katie Stewart, Andrea Manning, Rudy
006Craya, Lisa Myers, and Sarah Otaki. You may begin. I'm currently facing an issue with the principal at my continuation school who is refusing to accept me back despite prior assurances. I was originally told that if I experienced any difficulties at my home school, such as issues with my grade, I would be allowed to return. I also had a meeting with the principal and left on good terms with no indication that returning would be a problem. However, the principal is now denying my re-enrollment, citing the citing behavioral concerns, even though there is no record of any behavioral issues on file from the continuation school. This decision feels unfair and goes against what I was previously promised. During my time at continuation school, nearly all of my teachers can vouch for my behavior and work ethic, describing
007me as an excellent excellent student and respectful student. Members of the office staff can also confirm that I consistently conducted myself appropriately and followed school expectations. I am a visual learner and tend to get and tend to get distracted easily, which makes independent study difficult and not suitable as not a suitable option for me. Their support and learning and my learning needs both I thrive I thrive best in an in-person school environment. Thank you. Next, we have Katie Stewart. Good evening, board members. Good morning, Superintendent. Good evening. There we go, icebreaker. My name is Katie Stewart, I am the PTA president at Lobo Elementary. I'm here tonight representing our families and the PTA members. I wanted to share more with the community so they can understand what's happening at Lobo and across our district. In
008recent weeks, we've seen significant changes happen really quickly. While Lobo families are navigating a co-location proposal at our campus, other elementary schools are getting announcements that they're up for closure. We stand with those families in solidarity as our families understand what it feels like when they get that shock and the uncertainty that follows while they're waiting for answers. I want other schools that are on the DAC list for low enrollment to understand that our PTAs are getting connected. We're sharing information, we're supporting one another, and that our collaboration is powerful and our collective action is meaningful. United, we're asking the board for transparency, clear communication, and strong partnerships with our families. We want to be involved. Yesterday, we got good news that Lobo is going to keep our STAR students on campus for next year.
009We really appreciate that. It matters to us. At the same time, we have a lot of unanswered questions about what co-location will look like day-to-day, and importantly, what the impact is going to be on our enrollment status, what our future looks like for our kiddos. We're hopeful tomorrow's meeting with Superintendent Brown will provide clarity so our families understand what that will look like a little more and can make those important decisions. So, anybody here tonight and those watching from home, I'm asking you to stay engaged, to get connected, and to keep showing up. Thank you. Our next speaker is Andrea Manning. Good evening. My name is Andrea Manning and I'm a parent of two children at Marblehead Flex Academy. I serve our campus as PTA treasurer, room parent, CAC representative, and a lot of other
010roles. I'm here tonight because I am deeply saddened and frustrated by recent budget cuts that eliminated two critical roles at our title one school. Our school both counselor, Ms. Lauren Peyton, and our bilingual community services liaison, Maria Gomez. I want to be clear. I really do understand budgets. I spent my career in asset management. I know that when resources are tight, difficult decisions must be made. But what I don't understand is how decisions like these are made without transparency and without clear consideration of the students most impacted. At a title one school, these roles are not optional. They are essential. Ms. Peyton is not just a counselor. She is part of the daily fabric of our campus. She supports students with emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and she works directly with students who would otherwise struggle
011to access learning in the classroom. She works alongside teachers and administration to support children who are struggling, including my own. As a parent of a child with an IEP and a child that struggles with regular anxiety, I can say first hand that she has changed our school experiences in ways that I cannot fully put into words. She has brought a light to our campus that is rare. She is a connector, energetic, empathetic, and deeply trusted by both students and parents. That kind of trust is not built overnight. It takes years. Which is why decisions like this raise an important question. Are we evaluating people based on tenure alone or based on impact? Because if we're asking who is truly making a difference, Ms. Peyton is that person. And Maria Gomez ensures that our Spanish speaking
012families, many of whom already face barriers, are seen, heard, and supported. Removing that role sends a message, whether intended or not, about whose access matters. Effective leadership isn't just about balancing numbers. It's about understanding people, impact, and community. When you remove supports like these, you are not just cutting positions. You are dismantling systems that help our most vulnerable students succeed. I ask respectfully for greater transparency in how these decisions are made and for a deeper consideration of the long-term impact on the students and families who rely on these services most. Because once these supports are gone, the consequences may not be temporary. They will be lasting. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Rudy Kraus. My name is Kraus. Rudy Kraus. The last time I was here, probably about 5 6
013months ago, I told you about the Muslim crisis in Europe. The Muslim takeover of Europe, Germany, Sweden, France. The Muslims have been raping all of Europe. Over a million rapes. Same thing's going on here in the United States. Look at Mondawmin, New York. So, before you had no knowledge, now you have knowledge. You know what's going on in Texas. Uh Abbott is saying, "Well, we're listening to Muslims." No. They've got 38 new mosques planned. I cited Valentina Gomez who's running for Congress there. She's a hardliner against Islam. Like a Brigitte Gabriel who's been warning about Islam for the last 30 years. She's the reason that the Muslim Brotherhood has been classified as a terrorist organization. Now, all I hear on the internet is rhetoric. Oh, the Muslims this and the Muslims that and the Muslims
014think this. They think convert or die. Uh this is going to be white genocide. They want to kill all of the white infidels. They want to kill all of the Christians. They're beheading everyone in in Nigeria. Even Trump has spoken about sending troops there. But no one has the answer. The last time I was here, I gave you the answer. You guys have to listen to me. I'm the only one in the world that is stating this. You're missing a step. It's going to go to armed conflict. It's going to have to go kinetic. But before that, the way to avoid that, the most rational solution is to set up the Muslim ideology trials. Congressional hearings for the Muslim ideology trials. This would be like the Scopes trials in in 1930. Remember creation and evolution
015when uh evolution won out. They called it the monkey trials. This would be the Muslim ideology trials. Like the Muslim monkey trials cuz they're throwbacks to the Middle Ages. This archaic thinking. This is a crime of the mind. These are the greatest crimes ever perpetrated on the history of the world. Islam is a crime of the mind. I run Cali CSI since 1990. It's when I started Cali CSI, crime scene investigation. I specialize on crimes of the mind. You guys are involved in perpetrating this crime of the mind. You had all the kids down on rugs. You preach Islam. That's wrong. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lisa Myers. Thank you. No. Next person is Sarah Otaki. I don't feel safe with him in the room. Um Good evening. On March 4th in front of
016Capo Elementary School, masked men wearing ICE jackets forcibly removed a parent from the school drop-off line in front of all of the children and families on their way to school that day. Can you imagine how the rest of that day went? How did it go for that family? How did it go for that school? Can you imagine how the children who watched that felt in their classroom that day? This has been and continues to be an ongoing concern of mine, the safety and well-being of the children of Capistrano Unified. I have repeatedly asked what this school board is doing to ensure the safety and security of the students of this district. Have you reached out to the our congresspeople? Have you pushed for ICE to abide by the sensitive locations policy where they could not
017conduct operations in a school area? Have you reached out to community groups to see what support they could use from you? How are you being an advocate for our children? Tonight, I see that the board and the district have come together to fight against a landfill expansion near San Juan Hills and are asking the county to consider measures to protect the health and safety of students, parents, and staff. So, when it comes to fighting against the county over a dump, you will speak up and are quick to speak up. But when it comes to standing up for our most vulnerable students' safety and well-being, you remain silent. For school board trustees who ran on a platform of working together to create a safe, supportive learning environment for every single CUSD student, that seems incredibly hypocritical.
018Thank you. >> [applause] >> I'm going to try one more time, Ms. Lisa Myers. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. All right. Good evening, President Davis, Vice President Bullockus, and trustees of the board. On January 30th, as I drove past San Clemente High School, I observed students milling about on either side of the road. One was holding up a sign through an open sunroof of a moving vehicle. I couldn't quite read it, but I thought, "Well, perhaps the students were having a fundraiser for their campus, for student activities for San Clemente High School." But on my way back, um I observed there were two police vehicles parked a distance away and now there are a lot more students gathered there. Some began to stand in the street and the vehicle to my right at the very
019last second had to abruptly swerve in front of me into my lane to avoid hitting the students who were standing in the street. They were holding a large flag which I didn't immediately recognize, but right next to the flag there were students holding handwritten signs with foul language, um which was very disheartening to see. Then the high school students began hurtling hard objects at the vehicles. You could hear as the objects ricocheted off the cars into the street bounced into oncoming traffic. Um due to the danger to students and the vehicles, I called 911. The dispatcher advised that they had received several similar calls just before my call. And then I thought it would be important that San Clemente High School would be aware of what I just experienced, but when I called I was
020told that there was no one available to speak with. So they said they would transfer me to an extension and I could leave a message, which I did. I left my cell phone number and my name. But no one returned my call to express any concern. Um and I would just love That's why I had to come this evening. Um if there is someone from the district or San Clemente High School that could reach out to me, I would really appreciate it. Also, um when it comes to the use of profanity, um when I think about in these board meetings for civility's sake and for good reason, we refrain from using profanity. In some of the past board meetings, I've become aware that some of the reading materials that have been selected for the children
021of the high schools, they're laced with profanity. And what kind of a double message does that send to our students if we're approving it for them to read in the classroom, but here in this board room, we don't allow it. For professional and what I I would love to see the same standards of professionalism that have been set in this board room that they would also apply to the classroom for the students' sake so that they would have standards that they could reach up to that would not drag them through the gutter in what they have to read in the classroom. Um because what I saw on those signs um was not necessarily what we would call the first-class world-class education that I know each and every one of you want to deliver. Thank you.
022Thank you. Okay, thank you. At this time I'd like to open the public hearing regarding resolution 25 Just one moment, please. Well, welcome student board member Hanson. We'll go ahead and interrupt right here and we'll have you go ahead and share your comments. >> I have to come in late cuz I come from my CCA class, which I love. Um I just wanted to uh touch on a couple things. Um this month I attended the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council, which our superintendent so kindly hosts. And we've had um multiple of those, but I thought this one was especially um just a really good um meeting. We have lots of different students there, high school students um from all the different schools in our area. And for about an hour, our superintendent just sat in or
023he stood and he just answered dozens and dozens of questions. It was super helpful to uh hear all the things he um helped us understand as students. He touched on a lot on our budget and financing, which is something you'd be surprised, but a lot of students are really interested in how um our budget works and what goes to maintenance and what goes to funding certain programs and even the recent layoffs and how that all kind of works. Students are interested in hearing that. So that was great to hear. And then uh he touched on the CAST testing and how that is affecting our schools and our how we should take it seriously, all the things like that and how that um impacts us. And then also the new grading system, the evidence-based grading. Um
024he helped clear up a lot of things on that and it was great to have everyone being able to get their questions answered and kind of see where we are in uh the progress there. Um so that was a really great experience. I'm great grateful I get to participate in those and really grateful for our superintendent for reaching out to students and making that a priority. Um and then one fun thing I wanted to touch on I almost made it to it, but I couldn't last minute, the uh Capo um Capo's air guitar event was really big last week. It was really exciting. They perform all these skits with different teams and it's uh this big tradition that they've been doing for years and I know several people who have participated in it and they
025put a lot of work into it, planning and practicing and I saw them rehearsing several times. Um and it was just I saw videos from it and had friends there and they just said it was so awesome, filled with so much school spirit. So it's great to see our students getting to do something so fun and engage the community um with other people coming in from other schools and then parents and other community members. So that was so cool to see that happen over at Capo and that's all I have this month. Thank you so much. Thank you, student board member Hanson. Thank you. Now at this time I'd like to open the public hearing regarding resolution improv- approving an increase in statutory school fees imposed on non-residential and commercial industrial construction pursuant to education
026code 17680 and government code 65995. The time is now 6:26 p.m. Ms. Wing, do you have any speaker cards for the public hearing? There are none. Thank you. Recess. Okay, the public hearing is now closed and the time is 6:27 p.m. Moving on to item 12A, we have a motion to approve updated elementary boundaries to accommodate the repurposing of Del Obispo Elementary School. So moved. Moved by trustee Adams. Second. Seconded by trustee Zollinger. I'd like to recognize Clark Hampton, deputy superintendent to present this item. All right, thank you, President Davis, trustees. So at the last board meeting uh we did an information item on the repur- purposing of Del Obispo Elementary School. And to recap what we discussed, we talked about um the the repurposing of the school starting uh at the end of this
027year. The early childhood center then relocating uh from RH Dana to Del Obispo Elementary School. And uh affirming that students who reside in the RH Dana um attendance boundaries who do not wish to attend to the immersion program would be then um their home school would be the uh Kinoshita Elementary School. And then reassigning the Del Obispo Elementary School boundary to merge with Kinoshita. And then um the Kinoshita Elementary School boundary would then accommodate the new enrollment for the en- entire area for both schools. So just to give a quick review of the boundary, it's combining the Del Obispo boundary with Kinoshita to become one uh single Kinoshita school elementary school boundary as depicted here. And again to recap, the secondary school boundaries would not change. Both schools were boundary to Marco Forster Middle School.
028That would remain the same for the new boundary. And the high school boundaries would stay the same as they were. The uh portion of the Del Obispo boundary was uh for Dana Hills High School and the other portion was San Juan Hills High School. So that would remain the same. And so this is the staff recommendation, repurpose Del Obispo Elementary School beginning July 1, 2026. Students residing within the RH Dana Elementary School attendance boundary who decline participation in the immersion program are assigned to Kinoshita Elementary School. And then merge Del Obispo Elementary School boundary with Kinoshita Elementary School boundaries depicted in this presentation to become the new Kinoshita Elementary School boundary. And these This, if approved, would be then reflected on the school district's uh website uh beginning as soon as the um demographic company
029can update the website. So staff recommends approval. Thank you. >> Trustees. Trustee Jones. So I'm I'm not going to object to this specifically, but I would like to make a request regarding school of choice. That when uh any student whose school previous school, the school that they that they would have attended prior to it closing, um be granted first choice in school of choice for the next I'm going to propose 3 years. So let's say my school closed, but maybe I don't have a kindergartner yet. Um maybe I've got a 3-year-old. I I think that in my area, I should be and I and I'm not talking about myself, obviously, but people in my area should have first right to school of choice for any other school in the district where it's appropriate. Um obviously,
030they can't go to a high school if they're in second grade. Um I just think that helps a little bit with the kind of soft landing for those whose schools are closing. Um and accommodates people who don't yet have children or don't have children that are quite old enough, but they will in a few years. So I just like to propose that. Uh I don't know that we would have to do it today because it needs to be >> to bring it to next month's board meeting? We could do that, but I I wanted to bring it up here because I think that it is something that we need to make clear to uh we we need to offer this to parents and I just like to advocate uh for it for parents all over
031the district who may have their schools closed or or uh there's very little that we can do about schools closing. We're in declining enrollment in this district and in all of California and the United States. Um but uh but we can help those whose schools are closing or have closed or are about to close. And and that also um would go in line with um schools that things are changing like Lobo that will be co-locating. I know we opened up the school of choice window um to extend that for this year, but um I think Superintendent Yeah, so when I meet with these affected communities, that is one of the things we talk about. We haven't gone as far as 3-year-olds, but we have gone for upcoming TK um through currently and and what we
032said is that when they make a school of choice, they also are their particular location gets their family gets re-boundary to the school choice so they don't have to choose every year. Even if they have a future child that that child would be boundary with their choice of their current child at the school. So the head of school of choice and I have a a standing meeting that we're going to be having to talk about what that looks like since we have this, but we have been offering that like for so for example for Del Del Obispo parents um when we opened up the priority choice window both 2 years ago and this year um they were given priority to go anywhere with the exception of Esencia cuz Esencia cannot take um and the unfortunate
033fact is that pretty much all of our schools have room um because we're in declining enrollment, so uh parents have have got a pretty good choice, but we are doing that. So we can look at adding the the 2 years of TK. We can talk about that in the school choice meeting, uh but we are already doing that up through incoming TK. >> Okay, I appreciate that. And I clearly nearly all of our schools are open in nearly every grade. I think there may be a few uh schools other than Esencia that can't take you know fourth graders or whatever. Uh so I understand that. I just want to make sure that we are doing what we can for those families uh because that's it's it's very hard. >> trying to make it as easy
034as possible when it it obviously is never going to be easy and can't be easy. Uh but that's why we we have the policies of of not making them re-choose every year and they can um Yeah, so so if I have a kinder at at your first grader at Del Obispo and I get priority choice and I choose some other school other than Kinoshita Ambuell and then I have a 2-year-old that kid's already boundary to Ambuell. Like my my choice extends down. We've already given that to our those families. And I and I just want to make sure that we're sharing that out and it's on the website and it's on the elementary sites websites and any of our school websites so that families are aware that that is an option. For impacted For impacted
035schools, absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Any anyone else any other comments? Um Clark, would you mind sharing about the declining enrollment and what that looks like and where we get our information? For example, we get our information how to know how to staff and how to prepare for our upcoming TK and kindergarteners from the hospitals and >> Okay. share a little on that. Thank you. >> So it's primarily uh so the the the two big reasons why the school district is in declining enrollment is simply aging out of uh homes where families with children moved in. Now the children have matriculated up through all the grades and the parents are still there and they for some reason stop having kids. So uh that's one that's one reason for the decline. The other one is declining
036birth rate. The birth rate used to be over 5,000, now it's around 3,000. So uh we're seeing that now move through the system as well. So the way we do our projections is we look at those demographics babies being born now and then when they they should be showing up in 4 to 5 years and that's how we track our incoming and then once they are with us, then we have we base it on historical uh information that we have on how the students matriculate through our system. One of the things we tell parents is is in our area used to be almost 6,000 births per year and so we would know that 4 or 5 years later we would get 56, 5700 kinders and now it's just under 3,000 births per year in our
037area. So we only get like 2700 kindergarteners the 5 years later. So you don't see it as much in high schools cuz those kids were born 18 years ago and there was more of them being born. Um but the 5-year-olds there was far fewer of them. So even at our elementary schools you'll have a school that has nearly 50 kids in fifth grade and 22 kids in first grade um because of that declining birth rate. It's happening nationwide. It's more exacerbated in California and even more exacerbated in Orange County. We've declined from 52,000 students to 40,000 students. We expect hopefully Clark and I disagree on this number. We have differing opinions of the projection, but probably to level out around 32,000 students. Um we were the largest in Orange County at 52,000. We're the largest
038in Orange County at 40,000 because it's continuing this way. Um and so those are what's happening in our local demographics and and people are staying in their houses as they should um and they they're not having second families, so here we are. And that's why I'd like a t-shirt that says get married and have lots of babies. So keep having more babies. We can't produce those as as trustees, so um so thank you for sharing that information as well. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. And with that uh Ms. Franky, do we have any requests to speak on this item? There are none. Thank you. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries 7-0. Thank you. And that's also with the preferential vote by student board member Hansen. Thank you. Next item
03912B, may I have a motion to approve the certification of the 25-26 center second interim financial report moved by trustee Zollinger. Second. Seconded by trustee Adnams. I'd like to recognize Clark Hampton to introduce the item. Thank you, President Davis, trustees. Uh before I begin, I'd like to thank uh the person sitting next to me, Philippa Townsend, assistant superintendent for fiscal services and her staff uh for the work they do. What we see is kind of the tip of the of the iceberg of the work that's done throughout the district of I mean probably millions and millions of transactions that come through the system and then roll up into these numbers that you see in our um interim in our adopted and interim budgets. So uh with that So the governor this is our second interim
040report. We're required to do two through uh during the year after our adopted budget and this is the second and last one for this year before we get to our adopted budget and we start with what the governor's proposal is in January for what what we're looking out for the future for uh when we get to June and we adopt our budget for next year. And so these are the proposals that the governor has put in to uh his budget for next year and then the process goes to the legislature. They do their work up in Sacramento and then they negotiate and come to a uh to a um an agreement and then uh the legislature passes the budget and the governor then uh uh signs the budget and then we move on to the
041following year. So the impact of the governor's proposal for Capistrano Unified for uh next year is that um the COLA would be 2.41%. So now the COLA is a uh number that's based on I think seven calculations. There's like seven items that are calculated to give the COLA and then the um uh but it was lower. So once they got the final COLA, they reduced the amount. So what we what we're projecting is now lower, so that's why the number is red. It reduced our out year revenue by 2.7 million. Then the governor is proposing increasing special ed which gives us the green numbers of 2.6 million. So now we're still behind 0.1 million if you're doing the math. And then also he's proposed a one-time discretionary block grant of about 19 schools and for
042Capistrano over the next 2 years would be 2.5 million. And uh he's also um the uh state is projected to enter into some deficits uh in the following year so that there's going to be a little bit more of a rocky economy what they're projecting. Uh but of course anything can change. And so the governor is proposing to hold back 5.6 billion dollars. He did a hold back uh for this year and uh the hold back is larger for next year. Uh so it'll be interesting to see how the legislature deals with that if they decide to give uh more ongoing money and the governor agrees to it or they keep it status quo. So that's kind of where what we're looking out for the future and those are all factored into our multi-year projection
043when we provide the interim reports to you. So we show you what our current year is looking like and then the following 2 years. That's the um the purpose of these interim reports. And so these this all gets factored into these out years. So now with that uh I'm going to turn it over to Philippa to go into all the uh gory details of the second interim and So to go into more detail on the 5.6 billion dollars because that is an important point. In the proposed budget, the governor only provided 116 billion dollars for Proposition 98 in the current in in the current year instead of the calculated level of 121 billion. He refers to the approximately 5.6 billion dollar difference as settle up. The rationale for creating the settle up is to mitigate
044the risk of potentially appropriating more money to Prop 98 than is ultimately available at the end of the year. The governor also did repay as Clark mentioned the 1.9 billion in settle up that was held back from us last year but then immediately turns around and withholds 5.6 billion for this year. Use of the term settle up is misleading because it was previously used to describe a situation in which the proposition 98 was under appropriated compared to what revenues actually came in as at the end of the year. With this new settle up there is also no clear schedule for repayment. So we don't know there's no rule saying when we get the money back. But since this 5.6 billion has already been given to the non props 98 side to spend any money to
045to repay this 5.6 billion would only come in if more revenue came in to the state than was previously estimated and the problem with that is any money that comes into the state 40% of it already comes to us. So you can see there's going to be a problem repaying this money. This next slide Excuse me. Yes. May I interject for the audience since trustee Jones and I have been working with legislators this first part of the week for everyone to know that 5.6 billion dollars in the state of California represents $900 per student for all of California. So that's a very large sum of what we would lose per student $900. Thank you. Thank you. So yes, that dollar amount is $909 per ADA which if you did the math >> [laughter] >> That
046was my big point I was so excited about. We always defer to trustees [laughter] just so you know. So this would be over $30 million for CUSD. However, if by some miracle we do get the money in it at the state level and it does get passed through to us it would be passed through to us most likely as one time funds not as ongoing funds. So moving into the development of CUSD's budget we include this slide not only for your information but also for the Orange County Department of Education so they know what assumptions we use when we're developing our budget so that they can see if we're using reasonable assumptions. I'm comparing here the first interim and the second interim budget so you can see what changed when we were developing the budget
047and as mentioned before the COLA estimate for 2026-27 and 27-28 is lower at second interim than it was at first interim which results in less money in our budget and the California's consumer price index or CPI is higher meaning the estimate for the amount of inflation for supplies and services is higher so that would also mean less money for our budget. Next slide, So enrollment trends we've talked about that already but this is our 16th year of declining enrollment before that it was a increasing in for 30 40 years but this declining enrollment is 23% since we started declining. A 23% drop from 52,000 students and so we're constantly looking at these numbers to try to gauge how fast it's dropping and what we should use for our upcoming multi-year projection estimates and we use
048the services of a demographer and so we get that data in December or January and we use that to revise our estimates for the next three years of how many students we're expecting and then we adjust that again in September once we see how many students actually start school that year. Next slide. In the multi-year projection we have to include the three years the current year and the next two years. As we come up to the 26-27 budget we will need to move our multi-year over one year so that's why 28-29 is included on these two graphs showing ending fund balances. On the left hand side you'll see the first interim multi-year projection we were obviously showing a negative fund balance in the fourth year in 28-29 which is why we've been working on reducing
049our budget because if we go into 26-27 with a negative third year we will have to declare that we have a qualified budget to the county but since we have looked at our budget made some budget reductions for the second interim on the right hand side you can see that we will have a positive above 2% fund balance in the third year of the multi-year once we get to 26-27. Slide, please. So this is where we are in our budget cycle. Um immediately we finish the second interim we start work on the budget that we will present to you in May and June incorporating any new information that comes out in May. We will not have 26-27 final state budget information but we will have everything else in the budget at that point. We will
050bring the budget back in May and then for in June for adoption and after that point we will revise the budget in September with the final state budget information and also present an audited actuals for 2025-26. So we are presenting this budget and recommending a positive certification of the second interim financial report and we also recommend a continuation of our looking at our budget and making reductions where necessary to ensure we continue to maintain a positive budget in the future. And with that if there are any questions we'd be happy to answer. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Swinkey do we have any requests to speak for this item? We do have one. Thank you. Um Luca. Good evening. Uh as you discussed the second interim budget I want to take a moment to highlight the
051ongoing fiscal challenging facing public schools across across California. The governor's proposal to withhold 5.6 billion dollar in proposition 98 funding with no clear timing for release is beyond frustrating. In fact, it's infuriating. We should all be outraged. Let's call it what it is. It's not a delay, it's a cut in everything but name. Proposition 98 is not extra funding. It's not optional funding. It's the minimum funding owned to our schools and districts. And when the funding is uncertain everything becomes uncertain. Staffing, program, support for our students. Capistrano PTA stands with the California PTA and the education coalition in urging legislators to reject this proposal. But this is not stopping Sacramento. This is where our community steps in. We're asking everyone to take action. Send a letter to your legislators urging them to vote no on
052this proposal. Our advocacy team has made it easy. Go on our Instagram account at Capo_A_Team and scan the QR code. One gives you a ready to scan letter. The other helps you find your legislator. And here's how we show our strength as a community. Take a picture of yourself sending your letter and post it on Instagram with hashtag protectthebase. Let's make sure Sacramento sees us and hears us. And keeping with our mission impossible tradition and theme this is our mission possible moment. Your mission should you choose to accept it is to send your letter to your legislator asking protectthebase. This mission will not solve this tract but your opportunity to do so meaningful right now might. Thank you. Thank you. Trustees? >> [applause] >> Trustee Volkes? I just want to say thank you to Luca.
053Trustee Jones and I were on a Zoom meeting behalf of California School Board Association with Assembly member Laurie Davies today and that is exactly what she recommended. Um Parents seem to think that if one elected talks to another elected you know maybe we'll get something done. But I can tell you that constituents who vote for those people are the ones who get it done. When they start getting besieged with people demanding and you know stating this is corrupt. This is unconstitutional. This prop 98 is a part of the constitution. So as many of our 40,000 students families that can write as Luca was recommending use the PT A website to to help in that. This is what we need. Because we're talking about it, but it's so much more meaningful if it comes from parents
054and comes from tens of thousands. Thank you. Thank you. Trustee Jones. Um Yeah, first can you go back to the fourth slide? I know it said four at the bottom No, three at the bottom. Sorry. There. Yes. So, um I just had some questions here. Um there's So, you refer to a settle up and I think we have called this a deferral. Would you say that's the same thing? Usually the deferral refers to a cash flow deferral, which we've been doing that also at the state level. That doesn't impact our budget, it only impacts our cash balance. Okay. All right, but I think I think this is what in when we go to meetings, we hear Am I correct, Dr. Brown? They talk about They often call this the budget maneuver. The budget maneuver. Yes.
055>> is the term they use because the argument is that it is unconstitutional in the state of California that that theoretically for the legislature to underfund Prop 98 based on where it either test one, test two, or test three calculation falls in. They actually have to take action to suspend Prop 98 in the constitution. They can and they did under Governor Schwarzenegger, I believe. So, they have a history of doing it. Then they have to create a plan in that suspension for paying that back. Um this is not This is sort of one-time legislative action to just not pay the money that the constitution says they have to pay. So, they've been calling it a maneuver. Settle up is how the governor is using it. I think he feels like a better word for him.
056Um but the CSBA calls it the budget maneuver. It It's depending on how the money gets paid back or if it gets paid back, it's worse than a deferral because what happens is it comes back as one-time. When realistically Prop 98 doesn't go down, it goes up. So, it should be ongoing. And so, what happens is it's going to have to grow every year. So, last year it was 1.9, this year it's 5.6. >> Six. 5.6. But but the only way to pay it, like Philippa was saying, is if revenues are higher. Well, if revenues are higher, they owe us more. And and so, they owe more than 5.6 because they're pulling that off of a lower calculation. So, it's It's a very interesting budgetary maneuver. maneuver is is how CSBA phrases phrases it. It's
057almost worse than a deferral. Cash deferrals we usually get in the next budgetary year. Yeah, the deferral is they're paying you what they've, you know, they're obligated to pay you for Prop 98. This is just literally paying us the money. >> This is This is This is an unnamed cut. Right. >> Because cuts are hard. And some of us has been doing this for a quite quite a while, but I think our new board members and members of the audience may not understand that when when an unconstitutional maneuver with Prop 98 is done, that resets Prop 98 for next year. So, let's say that we're going to give you a million dollars. Well, they're only going to give you 900,000. That means that the calculation for next year is not based on that million that
058it was supposed to be, it's based on the 900,000. That's the worst part of it. Is that it's kind of a secret cut because they are going back and stealing money from us that they not only didn't pay us, but they didn't pay it back and now they think it's almost like a reversed interest rate. Like you would pay more and more interest. Your impulse compounds. This is like taking it away. It's just it is a nightmare. Well, and it's interesting if they give us a loan because we were to go into receivership, we do pay interest. But when they don't pay us, no interest on the loan that they're basically taking from us. Absolutely. I I I want to also thank Luka Greco for bringing this up and I do like the protect the
059base. Um and I do not want to take your thunder, but I also want to say that I have I've maintained for some time a list of legislature legislators in the California Congress, Senate. I've just added the board of supervisors. They don't help us really, but just and and the members of the assembly and the Senate education committees and all of their staffers. So, if you would like to email me, my I'm going to do my little salute, [email protected]. I will send you that. And I can try to send you some additional information. I can I can send you some additional information. But if you're in if you will follow what Mrs. Greco said, I think that's great as well. We just It's true. People say to me, "Oh, well, you're a school board member.
060You should be speaking out." I speak out, but I am only one voice and I I'm not taken more seriously than than anybody else is. It's really important that the public do something about this because it's going to hit us hard and all of the things that that are being talked about about layoffs and school closures. Well, it's it's very sad. Thank you. Other trustees? And most importantly, we need to continue to raise the base, which Luka's also been working on tirelessly. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries 7-0. Thank you both. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to item 12C. May have a motion to approve board action to adopt district's initial proposal to California School Employees Association Capistrano Chapter 224 for negotiations for the
061'26-'27 fiscal year and California School Employees Association '26-'27 initial reopener contract proposal for the district. >> So moved. Moved by Trustee Bullockus. Second. Seconded by Trustee Zollinger. I'd like to recognize Dr. Bob Presbie, Associate Superintendent, to present the item. Thank you, President Davis and trustees. Staff presents item 12C, our initial proposals from the district and our CSEA Chapter 224, also known as a sunshine proposal. This action is required before the parties can come to resolutions on contract negotiations for the '26-'27 school year. We're excited to get started with our CSEA labor partners in negotiations. We recommend approval. Thank you, Ms. Swinkey. Do we have any requests to speak on this item? We have none. Thank you. Trustees? Okay. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries 7-0 with a preferential vote
062of I from student board member Hanson. Moving on to 12D, may have a motion to waive the second reading and approve first reading board policy 0450, comprehensive safety plan. So moved. Moved by Trustee Adams, seconded by Trustee Bullockus. And I'd like to recognize Dr. Greg Marwin, Associate Superintendent, to present the item. Thank you, President Davis and trustees. This is a first reading of a new board policy 0450, comprehensive safety plan. This policy clarifies the timelines and requirements regarding school safety as defined by California Department of Education and also Ed Code. We're happy to answer any questions you may have. Staff recommends approval. Thank you, Ms. Swinkey. Do we have any requests to speak for this item? There are none. Thank you. Trustees? I would just like to thank Daren Gindra for all of the work
063um on this and for um for our recent workshop where we had another run-through. Um it's always just a good reminder of what we need to do. And so appreciate um your expertise. Thank you. Thank you. Trustee Jones? Yes, very quickly. The spreadsheet that I have now does include the board of supervisors. We're represented by Don Wagner by in part of the district and Katrina Foley in part of it. If you'd like to write to them, I have their information. Thank you. Other trustees? Okay, thank you. Thank you. Ms. Swinkey, can you please call the roll? Student board member Hanson. Trustee Castellanos. I. Trustee Pritchard. I. Trustee Zollinger. I. Trustee Jones. I. Trustee Adams. I. Trustee Bullockus. I. Trustee Davis. I. The motion carries 7-0 with a preferential vote of I from student board member
064Hanson. Moving on to 12E, may have a motion to adopt resolution number 2526-22 of the Board of Trustees to approve submission of a comment letter to opposition in opposition to the increase in maximum daily operations at the Prima Deshecha landfill. So moved. Moved by Trustee um Adams, seconded by Trustee Zollinger. Ms. Swinkey, do we have any requests to speak for this item? There are none. Thank you. Trustees? Okay, I know that there's Oh, I'm sorry. I'll Trustee Zollinger, please. Yeah, this is another thing that we can write to our local legislatures about this because it's very concerning. I talked to somebody that works for Katrina Foley last night and she said that Katrina Foley wasn't even aware for a while that this is She's kind of blindsided by that by this whole increase in capacity.
065It was just kind of quiet. So, I think if we all only have until tomorrow to oppose this, the public comments close tomorrow. So, this is your opportunity to send a message and I think I wish I had the information. I bet Gila does. >> [laughter] >> I have it at home. I just don't have it readily for you, but again, if you reach out to me, I would be able to. But if you remember um if you're reaching out to Gila, ask her if she can include that as well and I can share it you. But, I already sent some emails out today. It's it's frustrating. It's not just the increased capacity, but it's the increased gases that our kids are breathing at San Juan Hills. And a lot of people will argue, "Well,
066you knew the dump was there before um when you bought a home." I moved to Ladera Ranch 22 years ago. I was aware that there was a landfill there, but I was not aware that they could just increase double the capacity. And that's doubling the capacity of large trucks driving on our roads, where our new drivers are. And if you've driven by San Juan, I've had three graduates there. I have someone there currently. It is a I have a child there currently, should say. Um >> [laughter] >> it is very congested, and I'm really grateful that this letter addresses this. So, I appreciate this letter a lot. I read through it today and um appreciate it. So, please reach out. This is a time it took me probably 2 minutes to to send a letter.
067Yes, I've I've done some letter writing and some reaching out to um our county supervisor with no success on a return call, so um I'm hoping some others are getting some more information there. But, they're they're looking to bring in waste um from out of the county, and our concerns are traffic, dangerous place to have students transported with all landfill trucks, water waste, dirtiest [clears throat] beach for decades is Poche Beach, and it's potentially due from the seepage from the landfill, and there's many, many, many issues that are big concerns, and they're looking at doubling it. So, this is definitely a concern for our families in obviously in Ladera Ranch and in San Clemente as it borders that and um and our San San Juan Hills High School. So, please make sure that you reach
068out as well. Thank you. Any other comments? Okay. And all those in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 7-0 with with a preferential vote of aye from student board member Hanson. We'll move now move on to consent calendar. Mr. Swankey, do we have any requests to speak for these items? We do have two. Thank you. I will call those speakers forward. We have Lynae Bergman and Jen Mouw Ford. Hello, I'm Lynae Bergman, and I'm the library media technician at Tesoro High School. And um I wanted to explain a little bit about fees that we collect at the end of the year mostly, beginning of the year some, but most at the end of the year. Uh so, during registration at the beginning of the school year and textbook collection at the end of
069the school year, high school libraries receive a large amount of textbook and Chromebook debt payments. Last year, Tesoro collected about $10,000 with an average payment of about $50. In order to process those payments accurately and in a timely manner, the library media technicians rely on the library media clerks to keep the library open and lines moving while the library media technicians process these payments. The payment process involves several steps to complete as libraries only take cash or checks for textbook debt requiring writing up a receipt in a receipt book, recording the payment into the computer, collecting said cash or checks and locking them up safely. If the library media clerk is not assisting, the line of students will come to a halt and a bottleneck will be created, which will frustrate parents and students. Also,
070in making deposits to the district, the library media clerk is invaluable as they watch the circulation desk while the library media technician is securely counting out of view of the public. Library media um clerks are also a valuable second set of eyes to recount deposits to make sure the library media technician was accurate in the first place. Please reconsider eliminating our library media clerks as they are essential. Thank you. Our next speaker is Jen Mouw Ford. Hi, my name is Jen Mouw Ford, and I am a library media technician at San Clemente High School. I'm here today to talk about the Williams legislation, and it's great that all the schools have passed. That means all the students have all the materials and credentials, teachers, and safe facilities that they need to succeed. Really important and
071wonderful work. I am concerned about the future years though because of the proposal to cut the high school library clerk position. Um the high schools have the highest enrollment per school, and CUSD staff is now proposing that the thousands of books required right now we have 12,000, but that's just a moment in time checked out to our students um will be managed by half the amount of staff. Uh these are important materials to um have the children have what they need to access their curriculum and have passed the Williams legislation, uh comply with those requirements. Um so, the library staff uh let's see. I'm urging the board and the CUSD staff to reconsider cutting the library clerk position in the high schools in order to continue fulfilling equal access of materials to CUSD for CUSD
072students, including all the Chromebook work we do. The students cannot access their curriculum without their Chromebooks, and that includes troubleshooting, it includes um password resetting, it includes assessing whether there's damage. Um so, the library staff are the service desk for the students to have access to those materials. Also, the high schools are the last place to feel the declining enrollment. Um my high school has seen a 10% decline in enrollment and since its high 10 years ago. So, why not adjust the staffing based on the decline, not just wholesale cut the staff entirely by 50%? Just cut it by 10%. Um so, we're I'm really urging you to consider the risks involved to the compliance as well as the potential workman's comp claims with all of these thousands of books, you know, being handled by
073one person now. Um I appreciate your consideration. Thank you. Do we have any trustees that have any consent items they would like to pull? There being none, we have a motion to approve the consent calendar. Oh. Oh, sorry. I I didn't know my light was on. Uh I sure I'll move the item. Perfect. Okay, moved by trustee um Perfect. Jones and seconded by trustee Zollinger. Mr. Swankey, can you please call the roll? Student board member Hanson. Trustee Castellanos. Aye. Trustee Pritchard. Aye. Trustee Zollinger. Aye. Trustee Jones. Aye. Trustee Adams. Aye. Trustee Bullockus. Aye. Trustee Davis. Aye. Motion carries 7-0 to approve the consent calendar with the exception of the items pulled. I mean, >> [laughter] >> with no exception. Thank you. Uh Superintendent and board members, do do we have comments? All right, I'm going
074to start by saying I did not pay student board member Hanson to talk about the superintendent's advisory group. Uh but yes, I have a great time when I get to talk to students, um and they ask tremendous questions. They really, really want to know, and these are mostly juniors and seniors. I mean, for most of these kids, they're not asking for their own self, but they're asking for the future kids who are coming up. They're, you know, some of them months away from graduating. So, it it's really awesome to see that our our young people are taking such an interest in what we do and how we do it. Um and they ask questions. They definitely had me a few times on like, "Okay, I got to really be careful, mind my p's and q's."
075Um The other thing that happened last week that was uh excellent is we had six schools be named California Distinguished Schools. Uh that brings our total to over 80 86 actually honorees in the history. Um this is a big county. We have 28 districts in this county. Only 42 schools in the county were California Distinguished Schools, so you can kind of do the average and realize that six is above the average. But, our six distinguished schools uh are Arroyo Vista, Bernice Ayer Middle School, Capistrano Valley High School, Las Flores Middle School, Marco Forster Middle School, and Tesoro High School. So, those are great accomplishments for those schools. And and the used to be you would apply, but now the state assigns categories, and the categories this year were were three categories. So, it was high
076academic achievement for all students. It was closing the achievement gap for underserved students and for being uh beacons of opportunity for Title 1 students. So, really they look at the scores at the end of the year and how students are doing. Um and those schools have have really moved the needle for their students while maintaining high levels of of uh rigor. Um we also have two big, exciting, awesome events coming up. So, March 30th, we'll all be together to celebrate our teachers of the year uh at the um I believe we're at San Juan Hills High School celebrating uh all the teachers at all the different schools that were recognized by their colleagues as to be teacher of the year. And then the following night, we'll be at the honors concert at the Segerstrom Concert
077Hall in Costa Mesa uh watching our incredibly talented secondary school students uh play for us. It's it's one of the better nights in terms of the night events. Not that other nights aren't great, they are, uh but this is one that that my wife requires to be invited to cuz it's so much fun. Uh looking on forward to my calendar, if you want to interact with me like the student uh advisory group gets to, we have a coffee chat on Friday, April 3rd at RH Dana at 8:15 in the morning, and then for those who aren't early risers, we have an evening forum uh at Don Juan Avila Middle School on Monday, April 13th. And that concludes my comments. Thank you. Trustees, Trustee Adams. Okay, yes. I have a couple of fun things to talk
078about tonight. Um last week Trustees Davis, Zolan, and Trustees Davis and Trustee Zollinger and I attended the um College and Career Advantage board meeting and we just continue to be so impressed with what is being offered by our CCA. And for those that maybe are listening and aren't aware of what CCA is, um it's a joint partnership of the Capistrano Unified and the Laguna Beach Unified School Districts providing high-quality, relevant, and engaging career technical education across the region preparing students for career and academic success. Um we this program offers so much. We have investigation labs at all middle schools and we have CTE [clears throat] classes at all of our high schools. Excuse me. We also have a regional afterschool We have regional afterschool courses and all of these are amazing and they cover such
079a wide variety of careers and options for students. Um it ranges from auto mechanics, business management, dental assisting to fashion design and uh urban farming which sounds super fun. Um I just want to really urge middle school and high school families to check that out and don't forget that that is available to your students. Um there we our goal here is to prepare students for the life that they're going to have after they leave here and for some it'll be college and for some it'll be straight to a career. So, the College and Career Advantage program is amazing. I highly recommend all parents checking it out. I want to give a thank you to our executive director, Chris Carter, and his entire team, Kim Thomas, Nicole Berkman, Dominic Villanova, um Kathy Strucksma, and Joel Pedron.
080They all do an amazing job. And speaking of College and Career, um I also attended on Monday the College and Career Day at Shorecliffs Middle School and it was so fun and it was so well done. Um the Avid class at Shorecliffs hosted it. So, the students put it on. They came up with the questions. Meg Irvis Dr. Irvis and I were there together. It was so fun. Um and incidentally Shorecliffs is our only middle school that has an Avid class has Avid classes. So, parents, if you're looking for that in middle school, check out Shorecliffs. Um the students hosted the guests. They helped set up a lunch. They even and the lunch even included um desserts from our culinary class. And they just asked amazing questions. We had um industry leaders from all sorts.
081Like we had landscape architects. We had a guy who owns a burger place. We had a pilot, member of the armed forces, newscaster. That was one That was the kids' favorite. They were like, "We really like that news lady." Um and a variety of others giving all of our Shorecliffs students just a great view into potential careers for them later. I did talk to some of the kids. They loved the gal from KTLA. They were And by the way, these kids in these Avid class, they were so articulate. They were eager to come up and talk to me. They had answers to my questions. I was so impressed. They loved the KTLA um news reporter. They also mentioned Some of the girls mentioned they loved the gal that owned her own skin care business. And
082it was just a great day. So, huge shout-out to Principal Josh Wellickson, Assistant Principal Stephanie Bartlett, and our two amazing Shorecliffs Avid teachers, Robin Carter and Sarah McQueen. There are tremendous things happening at Shorecliffs Middle School and I really want to encourage parents when you're considering your middle school options, go check out Shorecliffs. Um great things are happening there. And the last thing I wanted to just highlight is that we are hosting a parent workshop a week from tonight, March 25th, in this room from 6:00 to 7:00 and we're going to go over how to use AI and digital citizenship and tips for students and parents. I love that we are offering these workshops to parents and again, I really want to encourage parents take advantage of this. These are great resources. It's a great
083way to stay connected um and to just learn. There's a lot that our kids are facing and we want you to come and get equipped and take advantage of these of these resources. So, that is it for me. Thank you. Thank you. Trustee Bullockus. I just want to take a brief moment to do a shout-out for San Juan Hills High School and Capo Valley High School. If anybody happened to see the Orange County Register uh yesterday, there were photos of our students and we had um nine students from San Juan Hills and seven students from uh Capo Valley High School that were nominated for the Judy Moore Award dance uh for dance. And um I wrote to congratulate the the teachers and Christine Calder from uh uh San Juan Hills let me know that um
084so, we had a total of 16 from our two high schools, the only high schools in CUSD, out of 107. Well, at San Juan Hills, the finalists, they have four out of the 16 finalists. So, if I can give a shout-out to um Ella Smallwood, uh Devlin uh Smart, Harper Hottinger, and Alicia Arum Barry. And if I mispronounced, I'm sorry. Um again, I've gone uh and expanded my performing arts performances and now have seen dance and um I highly recommend on Friday and Saturday, May 22nd and May 23rd, San Juan Hills High School will have their annual Choreographer's Choice uh dance concert. Um and so, it starts at 7:00 like at most performances. So, congratulations to all those students um who were nominated and made it to the finals. I think that's wonderful. Thank you.
085Other trustees? Trustee Jones. Well, first I have to take issue with Trustee Adams saying that Shorecliffs is the only middle school that has Avid because Marco has had Avid for a long while. You were lied to. I want to know who did it. >> [laughter] >> Uh but on a more serious note, I I think a lot of us who uh look at social media at all, particularly if you have a a community group that you follow, there's people who go out in public and often they're masked and they are taking videos of people, women, and children. And um uh what's all it it's gets posted look this person was doing this thing, it's so horrible. And people always say, "These are social media auditors or first amendment auditors, I'm sorry. And don't give them
086the satisfaction. Don't talk to them. Just ignore them." I think we get social not sorry. We get first amendment auditors in this boardroom. And um I don't like it any more than you do. I think the best thing to do is as we did tonight, just ignore them. Thank you. Trustee Castaneda. Yep. Thank you. Um I'll be brief tonight, but when resources and information come my way, I like to pass it on. And so, I have some information that I think might be helpful. Um but first before I before I start that, I just want to thank tonight um Lobo PTA president came and spoke and Marblehead PTA treasurer came and spoke and I am extremely grateful for your advocacy for your schools. It's important. And um your voice is valued. And so, I appreciate
087you coming tonight and speaking up for your schools. Um there is a helpful resource out there. Um I printed it. You don't have to print it. Um you can just view it online if like to. It's called the 2026. I'm sure they do it annually. California Children's Report Card. Um and so, it gives an overview. It actually grades the state on how on its ability to support better outcomes for kids. It covers everything from health education, family support, child welfare. Um it does cover education. And so, um it was interesting to note that um education funding gets a C. Not sure I would give the state of California a C as a grade, but um they got a C. Uh for several reasons, they noted in the report that as we've all stated here tonight,
088um state underfunding our public schools, obviously. Um the expiration of our COVID funds was is was a huge impact. And then I think, you know, we've gone over it quite a bit tonight about declining enrollment and how that's drastically affected um funding. It also gave a quote that I thought was interesting um that you may find um noteworthy as I did. If California funded um education at the same effort as New York, our state would have 43 billion more per year for public schools. So, just think about that. Um we definitely could do better in the state and we don't. And it's frustrating to sit on a local school board and not feel like my state supports public education. So, we could do better and we should do better. Um so, that um is out
089there. Please feel free to check it out. It's It's a good read. Um and then in February, I had the opportunity to go to Ledge Con with PTA. Um you heard Lucas speak tonight and also other parent advocates who are in the room. Um it's great to go up there. You learn a lot. Although, again, um as you all probably know, it's extremely depressing um the the state of uh public education funding. And then, of course, the next several years that are coming down the pike, it's it's not getting any better for us. Um we talked about it a lot tonight. I was going to chime in, although I was going to talk about it at the end. So, again, the big advocacy push up there was the 5.6 billion dollar delay, or as we've
090stated tonight, cut um from public education that's guaranteed under Prop 98. Um I did meet with Assemblymember Davies well up there. Um she is supportive uh with our advocacy work up there. Um I do think I want to really reiterate what Trustee Bullockus and Trustee Jones stated tonight, that uh we have a voice. Um but, your voice matters. And your voice matters because you are in numbers and you're voters and you're their constituents. And um please reach out to them. We advocate I advocate every day, and it's a brutal job to uh as Luca can probably and um all the advocates that are are in this room, that every day it feels like you keep pushing and you keep talking and you keep having meetings. And sometimes we feel like we're going in circles. But,
091if we would all come together and create one voice for public education and and funding, then we might be able to get somewhere in this state. So, please please continue to use your voice and reach out um like uh GI Jones said down there, um she has the contacts for you. And but, it is extremely valuable. It is always reiterated to me when I go up there that they want to hear from their constituents. So, they they're more than happy to meet with me and they want to know the state of the district and how it affects us locally, but they love and they they value your opinion a lot. And and your voice matters. Um and then um there is um coming down the pike um Prop 55 um extension. And so, right now,
092they're just in the very beginning stages of collecting signatures. So, you may be out there and be um talked to about signing. They're trying to get it on the ballot. It is something that currently stands um and then it does expire in 2030. And so, again, we're looking at another funding that is set to expire for public ed. And so, we are looking to get it on the ballot so that uh uh can be can be extended. So, there's lots of things going on out there that directly affect our our local school districts. And um funding is crucial. And as you know, we are significantly lower funded than most of the schools in California. And so, we need your help. So, thank you very much. Thank you. Trustee Trustee Bullockus? Yeah, if I could just
093dovetail on that and ask a question in regards to I felt the California School Board Association, I think we both agreed, really did some excellent talking points that we've been using when we've been meeting with legislators. And then, there was an article, was it EdSource or EdWeek? I think it was EdSource that wrote a really terrific article that um Trustee Jones and I we've been thinking about printing out to have. Would it be possible if I shared that that we could put that on our website so that parents could then refer to those and see what we're talking about? Because besides the Prop 98 and this 5.6 billion, um California School Board Association is putting forward four assembly bills that essentially as I was explaining when we were on the calls, if your business is
094off um and you're struggling, um just to continue to run your business in the same way um is not really a good plan. You have to rethink uh about productivity and what is effective. And so, what we are saying to our legislators and to our government is that we cannot keep going this same way. We need to be effective. We need to measure um our effectiveness and quit cramming more unfunded mandates, more reports that we have to fill out. We have three full-time people in CUSD. They do nothing but fill out reports. We've put together They put together CUSD a document called Drowning in Documentation. Uh they didn't do anything about it. They had a deadline to review the reports to see which ones could be eliminated. And so, now we've got another assembly bill
095that's going in to try and um point that out again. So, anyways, if we can put that on um I think it would be better explained and give you some talking points if you want to pick up and phone your your legislator or use in your your emails or your letters. So, um look for that in in the days ahead. Thank you. Thank you. Other trustees? Oh. Okay. And I'm going to add on to that. I was able to be on the call with um Trustee Bullockus and Trustee Jones today with Tony Strickland's office and um and CSBA. And I appreciate the work that you guys are doing to really advocate and to work with our legislators. Um and I spoke with Lori Davies about some of these bills as well. And it really is
096important that we um keep moving forward and keep working on each and every bill because it is critical that we help protect public schools because it means everything. Um I just like to highlight just a couple of things um Trustee Bullockus and I were able to go to the San Juan Hills High School spring concert um last week and it was just fantastic. And the men's choir that he takes these young men and and they just do such an incredible incredible job there. Um the spring performance of Grease >> is coming up at San Clemente High School, April 16, 17, 18 and April 23, 24, 25. And it's up on upper campus and it is incredible every single spring. So, put that on your calendar and see if you can make it. Um Trustee um
097Castianos and Superintendent Brown and I were able to see the Disney's collaboration with Segerstrom at The Lion King, which was performed at Wood Canyon Elementary School. And they were fantastic. I mean, the costumes, the acting, the songs, it was just absolutely incredible. And um we were able to go and Joy and Superintendent Brown and several others were able to go and recognize um our Teacher of the Year at San Clemente High School, Kristin Curry, uh couple weeks ago. And it was just I mean, her husband and her children and her her sister was there from Canada. Um and it was just a a really special day to um celebrate her and support her. And um she's an incredible teacher and she um uh does just a great job for us. So, it's incredible to be
098able to highlight some of the some of the great work in um in our schools. And um I'll add on to Superintendent Brown's in the recognition of our California Distinguished Schools. And um Bernice Ayer Middle School is a three-time recipient, I believe. So, great work is happening everywhere. And um if there's no further business before the board, if I could please have a motion to adjourn the meeting. So moved. Moved by Trustee Bullockus. Second. Seconded by Trustee Adams. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 7-0 to join the to adjourn the meeting. The time is now 7:28 p.m. Thank you and have a great night.