[0:05] Okay,
we are a little behind, so we need to
[0:09] get started.
[0:13] » Like to call this meeting to order,
please.
[0:16] » Yeah, it is.
>> Yeah. Can you turn the volume up? Seems
[0:19] like it's really quiet.
Not too loud.
[0:24] Is that better? Okay. Good evening. I'd
like to call this meeting to order,
[0:28] please. Uh, it's September 24th. This is
the um
[0:34] October, no September 24th,
2026 meeting of the Lagouna Beach
[0:40] Unified School Board.
We're call to order at 609.
[0:46] Logan, can you please lead us in the
pledge of allegiance?
[0:49] » Absolutely.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:54] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
[0:59] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. Great. Thank you. We
[1:05] have no reportable action coming out of
close session. So, we're going to move
[1:08] quickly on to item number five, public
comments on items not on the agenda. Um,
[1:14] clerk Perry, do you have any speaker
cards?
[1:17] » Yes, I do.
>> Okay. Okay, if you have cards with
[1:19] student on them, please call them first
on each item and then go into the
[1:23] regular cards.
>> I do not have student.
[1:25] » Okay, great. Thank you.
>> Okay, so I will call the first three.
[1:29] Alexandra Holtz, Heather Hansen, and
Harpal Sadal.
[1:38] » Hi, my name is Alexander Holtz and I've
been a high school teacher in the
[1:42] district for 12 years. I proudly serve
my union as our site representative and
[1:47] have served on the negotiations team for
four years as well. I was compelled to
[1:52] speak here tonight due to the
inflammatory remarks of President
[1:55] Morgan. At the September 10th meeting,
there was a conversation regarding
[1:59] compensation for employees. President
Morgan ranted at length about taxpayers
[2:04] finances and their buckets of money,
implying that staff should have to worry
[2:07] about their expenses and incomes like
others struggling in town. The
[2:12] implication of that was that negotiating
fair and just compensation for staff
[2:17] directly impacts taxpayers disposable
income. I'd like to clarify how that
[2:22] actually works. Property taxes are
collected from home owners. A portion of
[2:26] that goes to the school district. Budget
meetings determine how that money is
[2:30] allocated and from that a percentage of
for compensation is determined and then
[2:36] during negotiations we determine how to
divide that money between salary and
[2:39] benefits. At no point does our
compensation increase taxpayers
[2:44] financial responsibility. At no point
does our salary affect the amount of
[2:48] money our school receives from property
taxes. What then is the point of
[2:52] implying that our salary detracts from
taxpayers? In my assessment, the intent
[2:57] may be to pit working people against
working people to offer a scapegoat
[3:02] scapegoat for individuals material
conditions or to shame teachers into
[3:07] asking for less. to be quiet and be
grateful. Working people should be able
[3:12] to afford to live in Orange County and
teachers are part of that community. We
[3:15] are professionals with years of
experience and education. Many teachers
[3:19] cannot afford to live in Laguna on the
salaries we are paid, but that does not
[3:22] mean we deserve less. To clarify, all
homeowners in the state pay property
[3:26] taxes that go towards their local
schools. As a community funded district,
[3:30] we exceed LCFF targets and therefore do
not require additional funds from the
[3:34] state. So while we might not pay
property taxes specifi that go
[3:38] specifically to our school district, we
pay towards our local schools wherever
[3:42] we reside. I will concede that we are
amongst the highest paid teachers in
[3:46] Orange County. I believe that our that
our compensation reflects what all
[3:50] teachers should make. In Orange County,
a single person household making
[3:55] $104,000
per year or less is considered low
[3:59] income. An income of $116,000
per year is considered moderate for one
[4:05] person, while a moderate income for a
family of four is $166,000
[4:09] per year. The average salary for a
teacher in our district this year is
[4:13] $158,000.
Most teachers in this district have
[4:17] families they provide for. Do we not
deserve moderate pay? Have we not worked
[4:22] hard enough to earn that? What we earn
will not change the tax responsibility
[4:26] of the residents of this city. Property
tax assessment and allocations to our
[4:30] schools are determined by county
assessors, not by our negotiations team.
[4:34] Our salary affects internal bud district
budgeting. Full stop. I am proud to work
[4:39] alongside all of the employees in this
district, and I'm proud to serve my
[4:43] colleagues as a as the union site
representative. All staff deserve fair
[4:47] compensation. Teaching and supporting
students is not an easy job, but we love
[4:51] what we do and we deserve and we have
earned the ability to afford to live.
[4:55] Thank you.
Thank you, Alexandra.
[5:07] » Hi. Um, Heather Hansen. I teach at the
high school. Um, I wanted to thank Joan
[5:12] and Jim for your always thoughtful
leadership. And I wanted to thank Jim
[5:16] for articulating what it felt like for
me watching the last board meeting. Um,
[5:21] and listening to everything that Alex
perfectly articulated and then hearing
[5:26] how much the board majority supports
staff and loves staff. Um, cuz that's
[5:32] not what it felt like. Um, and I, as a
history teacher, I appreciated that
[5:37] President Morgan said that multiple
things can be true at the same time, but
[5:42] we also cover in class that just saying
something doesn't make it true. And I
[5:49] think if the board majority continues to
say that they support staff and if
[5:54] teachers and staff overwhelmingly
show their dissatisfaction with the
[5:59] direction of this board majority and
overwhelmingly endorse a shift in
[6:04] governance, I think that this community
I believe that this community will trust
[6:08] the teachers.
[6:13] » Thank you, Heather.
[6:24] Good evening. My name is Harpal Suddle.
I'm here tonight as a father primarily
[6:29] to address board member Howard Hills.
This past Tuesday, September 22nd,
[6:34] during an official governance committee
meeting, Howard, you made a remark that
[6:37] I found deeply inappropriate,
particularly because it was made in the
[6:42] presence of my daughter, Seama. Samia is
one of this year's two student board
[6:46] representatives seated right here. At
hour one at 1 hour 33 minutes and 9
[6:52] seconds into the meeting. The discussion
turned to whether student board
[6:55] representatives should receive
compensation. You interrupted the
[6:59] discussion to say, "I really love this.
I've been wanting to have this
[7:03] discussion for 5 years. I'm really
turned on." Turned on here. You smirked.
[7:09] Others in the room shook their heads.
Board President Morgan responded, "Okay,
[7:13] Howard." And most everybody was deeply
uncomfortable in this moment. Howard,
[7:19] you may want to consider your remark a
harmless joke, but no, but words matter
[7:22] and context matters. And when an adult
serving in an official capacity makes a
[7:27] remark with an obvious sexual
connotation
[7:30] in the presence of a minor student, it's
entirely inappropriate.
[7:34] This was an official LBUSD meeting. You
were acting in your capacity as an
[7:39] elected board member. you were on
district property and the discussion
[7:43] itself concerned student board
representatives who themselves are
[7:48] minors.
My daughter was there to serve her
[7:51] school community to learn about
governance and to contribute her
[7:54] perspective as a student. She should not
have to navigate inappropriate remarks
[7:59] from the very adults who are supposed to
be there and model professionalism and
[8:02] respect. I am now the second father of a
student student board representative who
[8:08] has felt compelled to come here before
this board to address the conduct of its
[8:13] members. In March, John Dabs stood here
to defend his daughter against
[8:17] allegations concerning the independence
of student board representatives.
[8:21] So Howard, you have repeatedly called
for accountability and even censure when
[8:26] you believe your fellow board members
have acted inappropriately. So I ask
[8:30] you, what standard of conduct should
apply to you? I want to be absolutely
[8:35] clear. Our student board representatives
deserve to be treated with dignity and
[8:39] respect. They deserve to participate in
district governance without being made
[8:44] uncomfortable by the adults around them.
And they deserve to know that when a
[8:49] board member crosses a line, the adults
entrusted with their education will
[8:54] address the behavior immediately.
Howard, I hope you will reflect on your
[8:58] words, acknowledge their impact, and
offer my daughter and this community an
[9:04] apology. Thank you.
[9:10] » We're not clapping, please. Thank you.
We've come a long way. Let's not take a
[9:13] step back. Thank you.
>> Um, next, Ketta Brown and Lesie Elliot.
[9:24] » Good evening. Boy, am I glad the new
governance committee isn't ad hoc. This
[9:28] needs agendas and recordings. And wow,
Howard stating in a room with parents,
[9:35] staff, and wait for it, a student that
he was really turned on by the
[9:40] discussion was not just gross, it was
downright creepy. Add to that his oddly
[9:44] racist comment about blonde, blue-eyed
children, and the script writes itself.
[9:49] And Sherry's musings about getting
compensated just hit all the wrong
[9:53] notes. Can't wait for episode two.
[10:03] Lesie Elliot. First time doing another
show and tell. I want to show our
[10:07] family's long history of of protesting.
Here I am with my daughters at on
[10:13] January,
2016.
[10:17] Here we are at the uh what was it? March
for uh
[10:22] » it was the woman's march.
>> No, right. The first one was the woman's
[10:25] march. This is the the uh what was it?
March for our lives.
[10:31] Sarah in in uh New York, Lauren and
Graham in Washington DC, and Rob and I
[10:35] in San Francisco. So maybe because of
that, I think protest is a great idea.
[10:40] Uh, and maybe because I was born in
Berkeley, people protest because they
[10:46] believe that something is wrong and want
their elected officials to listen.
[10:51] Parents and community members show up
showed up because of your actions. The
[10:56] tipping point was the removal of Dr.
Glass. And yes, we directed our
[11:02] criticism at the three trustees
responsible. Calling that bullying
[11:06] doesn't make it so. I'm glad parents
brought their children. Speaking up
[11:11] teaches children that their voices
matter and that they can question people
[11:16] in power. They're watching you, too. How
you treat staff, handle criticism, and
[11:23] respond to disagreement is all part of
that lesson. Your investigation's
[11:27] purpose was obvious. To cast individual
protesters and community group as an
[11:34] angry mob and rude, undisiplined kids.
to find someone to buy.
[11:38] » Lesley, excuse me. We do have this item
later on the agenda. If you'd like to
[11:41] wait and speak to it then or if you
speak to it now, I won't call you to
[11:44] speak to it the next time. So, I just
want to make sure you're aware of that.
[11:47] » Yes. Because this is this is a little
bit different because I'm not talking
[11:51] about the safety part.
>> Okay. The purpose of this. Okay. Can you
[11:55] please add time to her clock or let it
extend 15 seconds beyond? Thank you.
[11:59] » Okay. Uh to find someone to blame for
allegedly not giving D a path to enter
[12:04] and allegedly hurting D. The questions I
was asked I was asked by the
[12:08] investigators were 100% focused on
non-safety issues. D. Had I seen her
[12:13] fall? No. Did kids have inappropriate
signs? Yes, a couple. And was it
[12:19] different than any of the board meeting
at the other board meetings? Yes. You
[12:23] spent more than $15,000 trying to prove
the to the community and their children
[12:28] that we were a bunch of lawless thugs.
You and your colleagues pushed that
[12:33] narrative on social media. Now that the
report hasn't supported those
[12:38] accusations, you're pivoting and
describing the investigation as an
[12:41] exercise in safety and preparedness.
Want to improve safety? Great. Do it. If
[12:47] the district lack procedures for
handling protests, address that. Setting
[12:51] policy is your responsibility. But don't
expect us to forget the wild accusations
[12:56] you made and the chaos you caused.
Reframing the investigation as
[13:02] preparedness doesn't erase how you
portrayed the community. Peaceful
[13:07] doesn't mean silent. People can be
angry. They can speak loudly and
[13:11] criticize your decisions without being
bullies. You chose to run for school
[13:16] board. Listening to people tell you that
you're wrong comes with the job. That's
[13:22] not bullying. That's democracy.
[13:27] » Thank you. That's the last comment.
[13:33] Great. Thank you for those comments. Um,
[13:39] okay. We're moving on to item six, the
superintendent um action item, approval
[13:43] of board visioning goals. Dr. Austin
will reduce will introduce. Go ahead.
[13:50] » Give me one second. I'm just pulling
something up here.
[13:56] There we go.
Okay,
[14:01] we are tonight um having round three of
our um visioning session. So, our our
[14:07] board goals are shaping up and we tried
to capture the feedback from the first
[14:12] two. Uh tonight, just to make it more
interesting and more fun, uh I have some
[14:19] guests here with us that'll be
presenting uh specific sections
[14:23] throughout the report. The full report
just for everybody is is attached and it
[14:28] has not only the paragraph goals that
you'll see projected in just a moment,
[14:32] but you'll see uh some of the uh metrics
that we plan to use and and uh some of
[14:38] the inputs and and uh hopefully on the
back end some outcomes. Uh each person
[14:45] tonight is only going to speak a minute
or so and we're not going through each
[14:48] bullet point. We asked each of them to
pick a pick a couple places of of
[14:54] emphasis and each of these uh guests
tonight has uh some real direct
[15:00] involvement expertise in the area that
they'll be presenting on tonight.
[15:05] So with that, let's start with Jennifer
Moss who's going to come up and and lead
[15:12] us through a piece of the Laguna
experience. that I will share before she
[15:16] starts that uh you know this this one
has evolved a little bit and it was
[15:20] actually a meeting with a couple parents
who came in to talk about their
[15:24] experience which really got us into this
idea of inclusion as part of part of the
[15:29] uh the total experience and and after
speaking with with Miss Moss thought
[15:34] she'd be the perfect person to lead us
through this piece. Jennifer, thank you.
[15:38] » Thank you Dr. Austin. Good evening um
President Morgan and board members. I'm
[15:43] speaking to the Lagona experience. The
Lagona experience goal reflects LBUSD's
[15:48] commitment to ensuring that every
student benefits from the distinctive
[15:51] opportunities available within our
schools in the broader Laguna Beach
[15:55] community. Building on a strong
foundation of student engagement,
[15:59] academic achievement, supportive
relationships, and community connected
[16:03] learning. The goal asks us to examine
more intentionally which opportunities
[16:08] each student actually experiences. The
key takeaways focus on four priorities.
[16:13] Building on our current strengths,
ensuring equitable access and
[16:17] participation,
creating an inclusive experience, and
[16:21] measuring the quality, reach, and impact
of these opportunities. Together, these
[16:25] priorities will move LBUSD from
identifying what is offered to ensuring
[16:29] that every student is connected,
challenged, supported, and included in
[16:33] the Laguna experience. We will build on
a strong foundation of engaging in
[16:38] meaningful learning. We know that LBUSD
currently provides a wide range of
[16:43] academic, artistic, athletic, civic,
service, leadership, outdoor, and
[16:48] community connected experiences. Current
student data reflects this strong
[16:52] foundation. 84% of our students report
engaging in relevant learning. 82%
[16:58] participate in challenging learning and
88% report having a trusted adult at
[17:03] school. Civic engagement is also growing
with 37% of our 2026 graduates earning
[17:09] the state seal of civic engagement.
We will also ensure that every student
[17:14] experiences the opportunities LBUSD has
to offer. The district will develop a K
[17:19] through2 Laguna experience map and
establish a participation index and
[17:23] examine participation for students
across schools, grade levels, programs,
[17:27] and student groups. The key
accountability shift will be not what
[17:32] opportunities do we offer, but which
opportunities does each student actually
[17:36] experience.
We will create an inclusive Lagoon
[17:40] experience. Every student should feel
known, welcome, respected, and connected
[17:45] to the LBUSD community. The district
will identify and address barriers to
[17:49] participation and design programs,
facilities, learning environments, and
[17:54] community connected experiences that
support our diverse students strengths
[17:57] and needs. Specifically aligned with
this goal, currently we are conducting a
[18:03] feasibility study to explore expanded
programming for our students with
[18:07] extensive support needs. The study will
examine options that could allow more
[18:12] students who are currently served
outside of the community to learn,
[18:16] participate, and build relationships in
Laguna Beach when appropriate to their
[18:20] individualized needs. We will also
measure the quality, reach, and impact
[18:24] of the Lagona experience. The district
will use participation, access,
[18:29] attendance, feedback, and belonging data
to increase engagement, reduce gaps
[18:34] among students, and align resources and
partnerships with the experiences
[18:38] envisioned for every single student.
[18:43] » Before we transition, I want to repeat
one thing that uh Jennifer just said
[18:50] because we're both pretty excited about
it. We're not the only two, but we
[18:54] really want to look and see
where the opportunities are to bring
[19:00] students back to Laguna Beach to serve
them here where appropriate. And again,
[19:05] sometimes if it's a a number so small
that we we really can't do service, then
[19:12] we have to look at options. But we think
that there are some opportunities to
[19:16] bring students back here. And I just
didn't want that lost because that was
[19:20] kind of a nugget that was in there. And
look at her smile. Come on. She's she's
[19:25] happy. All right, we're going to move
next to the next goal, mental health,
[19:30] wellness, and digital balance. And uh
Dr. Keller is going to lead us through
[19:35] here. But before he does, I would just
want to offer that uh spending time with
[19:40] Dr. Keller and and and the whole team
and seeing the support systems we have
[19:44] in place has been pretty pretty
exciting. and and we still even with
[19:49] everything in place think that there are
some places to grow and and evolve and
[19:53] everyone has just been so receptive
about looking at these things deeper. So
[19:58] Dr. Keller you
>> uh thank you very much Dr. Austin, uh,
[20:01] board president Morgan, members of the
board, thank you so much for your time
[20:04] this evening. I'd like to highlight the
mental health and wellness and digital
[20:08] balance goal. So, the board has been
committed over the past decade to build
[20:13] and strengthen a system of support
around mental health systems of care for
[20:18] our students and families. And I want to
honor the incredible team of experts
[20:22] that provide these services, including
our school counselors, our school social
[20:26] workers, school psychologists, teachers,
school nurses, classified team members,
[20:32] and administrators who support this
foundational work. The mental health and
[20:37] wellness and digital balance goal builds
on the long-standing board priority of
[20:41] ensuring that every student is known,
including their strengths, needs, hopes,
[20:46] and supporting their connections. It
calls us to support students in building
[20:51] healthy coping skills,
uh, instilling confidence, cultivating
[20:56] positive relationships that help them
thrive. There are multiple measures that
[21:01] stand out amongst the several that are
are subparts of this goal. But first,
[21:06] we'll periodically review student
wellness data as an ongoing best
[21:10] practice. And we've done that for over
nine years. And that will measure will
[21:16] measure student belonging, their
experiences with stress, their levels of
[21:21] resilience and access to trusted adults.
This helps guide our prevention work and
[21:26] ensures that we have robust timely
responses with qualified staff when new
[21:31] students need support.
And second, we'll be a more intentional
[21:35] we'll be more intentional with students
and families who are new to Laguna Beach
[21:39] Unified. We're a close-knit community,
which is a definite strength. However,
[21:44] entering an established community can
come with transitional challenges. We
[21:49] want to support new families with
expanded opportunities to build new
[21:52] relationships, understand how to get
involved with schools and with the
[21:56] community, and develop a strong sense of
belonging. Finally, the school calls us
[22:01] to promote age appropriate digital
balance and healthy technology use
[22:05] requiring requiring us to remain
vigilant and intentional
[22:10] um and useful using enriching technology
in our instructional design and
[22:15] supporting safeguards to reduce harm
wherever possible and increase human
[22:19] connection. Uh thank you for your
leadership in this important work.
[22:26] » All right. Thank you, Dr. Keller.
>> Thank you, Dr. Keller. Um next we have
[22:30] growth, challenge and relevance for
every learner. This is um you know the
[22:35] the internal working title on this is
you know the middle student but before
[22:41] Mr. Chris gets started I I do just want
to share my own thought on this uh
[22:48] calling it the middle student has some
danger and that I don't think that
[22:52] that's clearly defined and I don't
expect to do that tonight. I just think
[22:57] uh when we talk about middle middle
student for some people that means the
[23:01] student is getting C's. For some people
it means that student isn't being seen
[23:07] enough. For some students it's um
they're not in an honors level and the
[23:13] level that they're in is not challenging
enough. So I think at some point we need
[23:17] to do a little deeper dive on what we're
even talking about with the middle
[23:21] student. But that being said, uh we
definitely have enough to get started.
[23:25] But I just think uh precision matters
and we're not quite precise yet. But
[23:29] we've asked uh Mr. Andy Crisp to come
here with us tonight uh for a plethora
[23:35] of reasons. Um won a long career here at
Thirstston and now has a district lens
[23:41] uh district level lens in reach and I
think has a really good handle on this
[23:47] on this item. So Mr. Chris, thank you.
>> Yeah, thank you guys. Um I want to just
[23:51] focus in mostly on challenge and
relevance in talking about this. So um
[23:57] we want challenge both within courses
and across courses. Within our courses,
[24:03] we obviously want students building
stamina and endurance around reading and
[24:08] writing primarily. Um but around
thinking and working through hard
[24:11] challenging problems more generally. Um,
we want to continue to provide
[24:16] opportunities, uh, challenging
opportunities for things like the state
[24:20] seal of civic engagement at the high
school, uh, the cool program at
[24:24] Thirstston, and things like the fourth
grade gratitude project where kids are
[24:29] connecting with, uh, other kids around
the world. Um, and then across courses,
[24:36] we obviously want to make sure that
we're reviewing any potential gaps
[24:39] between general ed course, general
courses, and AP courses. uh any
[24:44] sequencing and articulation gaps across
grade spans and subjects. Um removing
[24:48] potential barriers for course
availability and then continuing to
[24:52] provide opportunities for students
through tutorial and clubs um and other
[24:57] student driven interests that there
isn't a course uh equivalent or faximile
[25:01] for. Um, but that dovetales into
relevance. And one of the things that I
[25:05] am most excited about as it relates to
relevance is a new piece that we've
[25:09] begun incorporating into our our seminal
professional development, which is unit
[25:14] design. And that's working with teachers
to provide community-based learning
[25:19] experiences similar to what um, Miss
Moss talked about as a structured
[25:23] assessment component in teacher units.
So, I learned recently that the Latin
[25:30] for the word assess is acid, which I'm
sure I did not say that right. Uh, I
[25:35] don't speak Latin, but that literally
means to to sit beside. The word assess,
[25:40] the roots of it mean to sit beside.
[25:45] We want to sit beside our students to
learn what motivates them and continue
[25:50] to provide opportunities for them to
give feedback to push our existing high
[25:54] relevance uh student feedback closer and
closer to 100% and to use that feedback
[25:59] to continue to drive decisions. But we
also want our students to sit beside
[26:05] members of the community to learn,
contribute and take action
[26:09] and then use those experiences as an
assessment tool to measure specific
[26:13] competencies as we work towards compet
competency based assessment. So um our
[26:19] coordinators are a huge uh important
part of this and finding connections
[26:22] with the community to make sure that our
teachers and students have those
[26:25] opportunities. Um but those are my focus
areas.
[26:30] » Thank you Mr.
>> Chris. Thank you. Um, we were only
[26:34] joking when we told you that you had to
say something in Latin, but you know,
[26:39] good job. All right. And next up,
policy, governance, and organizational
[26:44] clarity. That one's mine. Um, already
starting work here. Um, we were able to
[26:52] work through some initial policies, had
some good discussion on another couple
[26:58] uh that'll be moving forward. also um
had agreement that things that are
[27:03] really truly routine, some of which were
backlogged on are going to come directly
[27:09] to the board and that will come to the
board from consideration after uh Miss
[27:14] Weber goes through these and looks at
the CSBA recommendations. We'll have the
[27:19] same notes so we can start knocking off
some of the uh I don't know, we're
[27:24] estimating somewhere in the 50s uh
50-ish policies that need a look and
[27:30] that the governance committee then can
take deeper dives on some of the bigger
[27:35] topics that have local uh implications.
But I think we're off to a good start
[27:40] here. uh making things routine and open
for people to uh weigh in are our top
[27:48] priorities. All right, Victoria. Next
one. Uh next we have reading and writing
[27:55] achievement and engagement. Before I
pass this off to Dr. Mayberry, I I'll
[27:59] say that uh uh my meetings with each of
the four principles has already provided
[28:05] evidence that they're taking it
seriously that they are building these
[28:09] goals not only into their their site
goals but their own personal uh goals as
[28:15] as principles and that will also become
part of their evaluation process uh
[28:21] which is the things that are measured
are the things that are done and uh
[28:26] they're already showing that they are
taking these great steps. I really
[28:29] appreciate that, Dr. Mayberry.
>> Thank you. Good evening. What I
[28:34] appreciate about this goal the most is
that it defines literacy as more than a
[28:38] test score. We absolutely want strong
achievement and growth uh in this area.
[28:43] But we also want students who have the
stamina, confidence, independence, and
[28:47] joy in reading and writing and and
communication literacy to engage with
[28:52] complex texts and communicate their
thinking clearly, whether that's through
[28:55] verbal or written expression. The
upcoming English language arts
[28:59] instructional materials adoption gives
us another valuable opportunity to
[29:03] examine this examine this work
comprehensively at across K12. It also
[29:08] allows us to clarify what students
should know and be able to do at key
[29:12] transition points.
uh while ensuring their reading and
[29:15] writing experiences become increasingly
rigorous, coherent, and developmentally
[29:19] appropriate.
I also appreciate the emphasis on
[29:23] explicit writing instruction and the
recognition or how it calls out that
[29:27] writing is not solely the responsibility
of English language arts teachers.
[29:31] Students should have meaningful
opportunities to write, reason, revise,
[29:34] and communicate across all subject
areas. Ultimately, this goal prioritizes
[29:39] developing engaged and empowered
readers, writers, and communicators.
[29:46] Mary, thank you very much. Uh, next,
visual and performing arts.
[29:51] And as Alexis Carol is coming to the
mic, uh you'll have another opportunity
[29:58] to hear from her. Uh I believe it's our
next board meeting uh where she'll be
[30:04] able to outline more about uh her work
in her new role as our coordinator. But
[30:09] Alexis, thank you for coming tonight and
it's all yours.
[30:12] » Good evening. As I step into my new role
as FAPA coordinator, I'm thrilled to see
[30:20] visual and performing arts. so
prominently represented in these goals,
[30:24] especially knowing that we have such a
strong foundation to stand on.
[30:30] Our annual stakeholder survey supports
this with over 90% of parents and
[30:35] students expressing positive or neutral
perceptions of access to high quality
[30:41] arts opportunities.
Something that really resonates with me
[30:46] here is the shift from asking what
opportunities do we offer to what
[30:52] opportunities does each student actually
experience?
[30:56] We already have many wonderful arts
opportunities across our schools. Our
[31:01] work now is to look at how those
experiences connect across grade levels
[31:06] and school sites, ensuring broad access
for all students while also
[31:12] strengthening pathways for students who
want to deepen their skills through
[31:16] advanced opportunities that reflect the
rigor of pre-professional study.
[31:22] And we have an incredible advantage here
in Laguna Beach. We are surrounded by
[31:28] working artists, arts organizations, and
a community that deeply treasures the
[31:34] arts.
I'm excited to continue strengthening
[31:37] those connections so we can create more
opportunities for our students to learn
[31:42] from and work alongside the artists and
arts organizations in our community.
[31:49] I'll have an opportunity to share more
about our VAP programs and the work
[31:54] we're doing at the October 8th meeting.
But for tonight, I remain encouraged to
[31:59] see visual and performing arts reflected
so clearly as a district priority.
[32:06] » Alexis, thank you.
>> Um, that concludes our presentation for
[32:13] tonight. Uh at this time, Miss Morgan,
we we will uh take take the feedback
[32:19] from the board and then if you reach a
place where you feel that you're ready
[32:24] to vote tonight, that's great. And if
you would like as a group to bring it
[32:29] back, we can do that also.
>> Great. Okay. Thank you for that
[32:32] instruction and thank you or the
direction and thank you so much for the
[32:34] great presentation. Um
very excited. Okay. Uh let's start with
[32:41] um board questions. I'll start with Dr.
uh with the student uh their students.
[32:49] No questions. Okay, Dr. Kelly.
>> No. Okay. Dr. Meski,
[32:54] » question.
>> Okay. Um
[32:57] Clickberry Perry,
[33:01] » I just wondered if if we were able to
add to the um visual and performing arts
[33:13] What would you like to add?
>> Uh oh, I thought I sent you something.
[33:17] » Oh yeah, I received your email today. Uh
if you why don't you if you can share
[33:22] that with the group, it'd be great. And
then that's easy to add and and to
[33:28] President Morgan. Um when we're done
here, if we have some revisions or some
[33:33] light editing, whatever it might be, uh
you at the end can move to approve with
[33:39] the revisions. So, we're happy to do
that. Do you have that in front of you?
[33:45] » Yeah, I do now. Um Okay. Yeah, just a
small part for um Lagouna Beach Unified
[33:51] School District will preserve and
strengthen a coherent TK to2 visual and
[33:57] performing arts program that provides
broad student access, advanced
[34:02] opportunities, strong public visibility,
adherence to California art standards,
[34:09] and meaningful connections with Laguna
Beach's art community. And then the rest
[34:13] all the same.
>> We have it.
[34:22] » Thank you. Do we have any further
questions about I know we're going to
[34:25] come back after we do public comment.
We'll come back around for com for
[34:28] comments. Okay. Because this is um an an
emotion if we want. Um Mr. Hills.
[34:37] No comments. Okay. I just had a couple
real quick ones on um since we were on
[34:40] the visual and performing arts and I
think Alexis did a great job of of
[34:44] hitting on this as far as or you know as
far as students having access outside of
[34:49] you know if they're on a math pathway
they have access to music or because
[34:54] music is a foundation of math right or
math is a foundation of music. I guess I
[34:58] said that backwards. So, I was just
wondering if on and I don't know if it's
[35:01] different um if it's necessary, but on
page 21 where you have the paragraph of
[35:06] visual and performing arts, could we add
outside of the pathway? Is that even
[35:11] makes sense to include to focus to
ensure that we're focusing on, you know,
[35:16] non theater arts? I mean, it's in the
presentation, but it wasn't in the
[35:21] final.
>> I Yes, I I think I understand exactly
[35:25] what you're saying.
>> You know what I'm trying to say and
[35:27] struggling with a little bit. Okay.
>> Easy easy addition.
[35:30] » Great. Okay. Thank you. Um, and then
[35:40] I think in the same thing and I think it
was just as I was reading through the
[35:43] report and then I was reading towards
the end um, reading and writing um,
[35:47] because we talked again about having it
be consistent across
[35:52] different subjects as well as vertically
and I think it's in the bullet bulleted
[35:57] items but I don't know if we need to
include it in the paragraph afterwards
[36:00] because I'm not sure what's appearing.
ing where so that's the only reason why
[36:03] I'm mentioning it um I am grateful thank
you for the student that's a comment so
[36:08] I'll wait um do we on the digital
balance is this an item that we need to
[36:14] have an involvement with governance
because we don't have we have been
[36:18] working on the ro on the we did a
resolution for screen time but I don't
[36:22] think we've addressed the policy and
then we have the whole AI and I mean
[36:27] certainly we're
addressing it, but I don't know that we
[36:32] are as in front of it as as a lot of
other districts across the country or
[36:36] even in our state. And I'm not trying to
race to get something just so it's in
[36:40] there, but I'm wondering if we need to
include that where we need to build
[36:44] build on our policies.
>> Um, I believe there's an expectation
[36:49] that those items are policy items. Uh,
so there's different components to it.
[36:55] There's a parent involved uh parent
education, student education, working
[36:59] with teachers and then there's an actual
policy uh piece. I would expect that to
[37:05] come uh through the through the
governance committee andor full board.
[37:14] » I just same thing on this this paragraph
part from where we come from the
[37:18] bulleted items on the Luna experience.
Um I think it's the third sentence. Uh,
[37:23] every LBSU student will experience a
school environment that is joyful,
[37:27] connected, challenging, creative,
welcoming, inclusive, and reflective of
[37:31] the distinct character of Laguna Beach.
All students will be treated with
[37:34] dignity and respect. We say every in the
beginning, but I would love to have all
[37:38] there. So, we just continue to
re-emphasize that what we're asking for
[37:40] is for all students. Just it's just
repetitive emphasis.
[37:54] I think those are my only questions, but
thank you. And observations, thank you.
[37:57] And I think I got all those in my
original questions, but uh I appreciate
[38:01] the time. Okay, let's move to public
comment. Uh Clerk Perry,
[38:10] » I'm sorry. No, go ahead.
>> My apologies.
[38:23] when we're looking at the mental
balance. Um I and that sense of
[38:30] belonging. What I hear from students is
that it's really important that they
[38:35] have a friend and a lot of them don't
feel they have a friend. they they may
[38:39] feel like they have an adult they can go
through to, but I would love it if we
[38:44] put something in here where you check to
see if they had a friend.
[38:50] So, I think that's I don't know exactly
how that would fit, but from a number of
[38:55] students I've talked to, that's where
they just feel lonely and alone.
[39:00] » Certainly. Um, that's an easy addition.
Um, along those lines, Dr. Keller and I
[39:07] have talked and just foreshadow a tiny
shift. Um the idea of asking is do you
[39:14] have a caring adult also shifting to is
there an adult who believes that you're
[39:19] going to be successful and we thought
that's just a it's a it's a different
[39:24] it's a gets it a different thing. So
your addition easy no problem.
[39:31] » Thank you very much.
[39:39] Yes,
>> Ka Brown.
[39:46] » Great goals. So well done. So well
executed. Well, we hope it's well
[39:51] executed. Please make sure you keep this
particular goal somewhere for quick
[39:55] reference. Sherry Howard and D. LBUSD
will maintain a governance framework
[40:00] through which the board establishes
direction and staff implements that
[40:05] direction.
[40:10] » Thanks. That's it for this one.
>> That's the only comments. Okay, let's go
[40:15] back to So, um staff is looking for
direction on if we'd like to approve
[40:19] this as it is or if we want to bring it
back again. Um, but let's start with um,
[40:24] so I would need a motion for that, but I
want to start with board comments. Let's
[40:27] start with the student board reps. Any
any further comments on the goals of the
[40:31] district? No. Okay. Um, Dr. Kelly.
>> Okay. Member Hills,
[40:39] » Dr. Monteski,
[40:44] » I agree. I think it's very well done.
[40:53] Um to Keta's point, uh these are
excellent goals. I appreciate you all
[40:59] the hard work that you all did on this
and I appreciate you all coming in. Uh
[41:02] this is something that as Dr. Austin
pointed out has been in the works and
[41:05] something we've been trying to bring
forward for the last two years and um
[41:09] I'm
super excited for um the swiftness of
[41:14] which you were able to capture what has
been discussed over the last two years
[41:17] and desired by this board to for our
students and for the direction of our
[41:20] district. And so I appreciate you. So
thank you very much.
[41:24] And I think with the Yep. Okay. I think
that's it. So do we have a motion to
[41:29] approve the goals uh as presented or as
revised?
[41:35] Okay. All in favor? Roll call vote.
Student provisional vote first.
[41:41] » Yes.
>> Okay. Yeah. Okay. Jim,
[41:45] » Howard?
>> Yes. Okay. Dr. Macheski,
[41:49] » yes.
>> Dean,
[41:50] » yes.
>> Okay. I vote yes. Thank you very much,
[41:53] Dr. Austin. Well done.
Okay. Uh let's move on to item seven.
[41:59] Sup. This is another superintendent
item. school board meeting safety and
[42:02] preparedness preparedness information
and discussion.
[42:06] Dr. Dr. Austin.
[42:10] » All right.
See, can we get our slide?
[42:18] I have a lengthy presentation.
It's one slide.
[42:22] Um,
[42:26] you know,
it's a topic we've talked a lot about
[42:30] with with our team and a couple things
just framing this up. Um, as our team
[42:37] looked at this and and went through the
report as well,
[42:42] um,
our lens is on
[42:46] the extraordinary events, the nights and
like while there's a lot of attention on
[42:52] on this particular one,
um, I've been here when we had other big
[42:58] ones and and had to move locations and
had
[43:04] had some spirited conversations.
Um
[43:10] the time to plan for these things
is when they're not happening.
[43:16] And so the recommendations from the
report are the only thing that we're
[43:21] going to present on tonight. Um there
are a couple things that aren't in the
[43:26] recommendations though. And and one
thing that's not in the recommendation I
[43:30] believe is the biggest thing and that is
if it is known that there is going to be
[43:38] a different size crowd than a standard
crowd.
[43:44] the step that just got missed and and
and just so everyone knows I've had this
[43:49] discussion with our full team and and
checked for my understanding because I
[43:54] wasn't here and and nobody disputes this
that for a variety of reasons
[44:02] there was no all hands on deck stop
everything you're doing let's get
[44:06] everybody in the room and talk through
everything that we might want to
[44:09] consider
in my estimation that's the most
[44:14] important thing that has to happen. Um,
you you just bring the group together.
[44:19] You bring you bring the staff together
when you know or when you suspect.
[44:23] And in my opinion, you plan for the
worst. You plan for everything to be the
[44:30] worst it can be. And you plan for that.
And then a lot of those things that
[44:35] might have happened don't. And more
often than not, it ends up a lot better
[44:41] than it could have.
So, out of all the recommendations,
[44:44] that's going to be my only editorial
comment is is that um you know, I think
[44:50] the entire team knows it doesn't have to
be the superintendent to to make that
[44:54] recommendation that we pull everyone
together. Um if I'm here, I'd certainly
[44:58] do it, but anyone can do it. Get
together, brainstorm.
[45:04] Otherwise, I'm not going to read the
bullets. If people are interested, have
[45:08] read the reports. They're up on the
screen right now. We don't have to go
[45:11] one by one. I'm sure there's going to be
questions uh questions and um and
[45:17] suggestions. We're going to take notes
as we go. Happy to respond as as we can,
[45:23] but I think this is really going to be a
board discussion with with public
[45:26] comment. That's all I have.
>> Great. Thank you. Um, okay. I want to
[45:31] start. So, I think what we'd like to
because I understand this could be a
[45:35] very contentious topic, but I think
we're trying to stay focused um on the
[45:39] report and uh the recommendations. Um
I'm going to go through and ask have
[45:43] everyone if you have any questions.
Okay? And then we'll go to board comment
[45:47] or to public comment and then we'll come
back through for board discussion. I
[45:51] would like everyone to keep in mind um
civility and let people speak. Don't
[45:55] interrupt and wait to be recognized.
Thank you. Student board reps.
[46:00] » The students have no questions at this
time.
[46:04] » Great. Thank you, Dr. Kelly.
>> Okay. Member Hills.
[46:13] » What's the status of the schools campus
uh camera videos? Have they been made
[46:20] available to the public?
the videos that have been requested have
[46:27] been uh provided. Yes.
>> So, uh just make sure that I understand
[46:33] something based on uh statements that
have been made in previous meetings
[46:37] about this.
Is it correct that or am I recalling it
[46:42] correctly that the principal advised
that he turned the campus over to the
[46:47] police at some point to sort of take
over because there was a transition from
[46:52] it being the school day when that it was
basically a school campus and then it
[46:57] became the site of a public meeting and
because of the fact that there was
[47:02] anticipated demonstration that he if I
recall what he correctly if I call
[47:08] recall correctly what he He then turned
the campus over to the police. Did I
[47:12] hear that right?
>> I believe the and I have some other
[47:16] people here that might weigh in on this.
Um
[47:20] there was a question about at what point
in time would the school no longer be
[47:26] just a school becomes a civic center.
And he gave the time of 3:30.
[47:32] » Right. Um, that's a I know this isn't
probably the purpose of your question,
[47:38] but that's a great example
of personally I don't believe the site
[47:45] principal should have been put in the
position to make that determination. He
[47:49] did and I I don't think there was any
harm in it, but that's a that's a great
[47:53] example. That should have been a whole
team sitting together having that
[47:57] conversation.
>> Uh, yeah, I agree with the second part
[48:01] of your statement. And I don't agree
with the first part of it. Um uh I don't
[48:06] think it was a good decision, but um it
having been made, I just want to confirm
[48:11] that it was made because it has a lot of
implications down the road um looking at
[48:17] this. Um so what is the status of those
videos um that were made by the school
[48:26] cameras? because as as of 3:30,
if I understand it correctly, that would
[48:32] mean that uh the the Brown Act
provisions that protect the right of um
[48:40] the public and the right of people at
the meeting to videotape, photograph,
[48:48] and record whatever is taking place. And
you know, there's been some
[48:52] misunderstanding. And I have a legal
memorandum from our council right now
[48:56] about um accusations that were made
previously that somebody on the board
[49:01] had released uh student private
information and that the rights of
[49:07] students were being violated. One of the
points that the council makes is that
[49:11] under the Brown Act, the district is
prohibited by law to interfere with
[49:17] anybody's photograph uh or filming or
recording of anything that takes place
[49:22] in a board meeting. In other words,
there is no right of privacy. There is
[49:26] no protection for um differentiating
between adults, children, or what
[49:31] anything else. if you're in a public
meeting, as I understand what the Brown
[49:35] Act says, um, uh, that's a public
setting and there's no restriction. And
[49:41] so I'm just wondering if that Brown Act
rule that prohibits the board or the
[49:46] district from interfering with
recordings in a public meeting, whether
[49:50] that would apply to the campus at the
point where it had been turned over at
[49:54] 3:30 to the police. So that any
recordings that were made on the stool
[49:59] school camera after 3:30 would be
unrestricted and would be basically um
[50:07] any the normal school day require uh
restrictions on recording or whatnot. Uh
[50:14] uh would basically ended at 3:30 would
be kind of a logical way of you looking
[50:19] at it.
Um yes, that is our interpretation as
[50:24] well. And additionally um you may have
seen or everyone may have seen to make
[50:31] that very clear to everyone. We now have
large posted signs that our our
[50:36] information department put outside to
just make sure everyone understands if
[50:40] you're here for a public meeting. Um,
the actual kind of technical way of
[50:45] saying it is there should be no
expectation of privacy, meaning that you
[50:49] can be you can be filmed.
>> And I think that's really important to
[50:52] get that out because we had a couple
instances last year where um uh there
[50:59] was concern about who was taking
pictures of who and whatnot. And the
[51:04] reason why what you just said is so
important and that why I asked the
[51:08] question is that parents need to protect
their kids. Um if you're going to bring
[51:13] kids to a meeting where there's no
brighter privacy for the kids, the
[51:19] adults involved need to um make sure
that like some people tonight expressed
[51:25] the fact that they thought it was great
that the kids saw everything that the
[51:28] kids saw.
>> Keep it to questions and we'll come back
[51:30] for comments.
>> Okay.
[51:32] » Thank you. Um, so the the the point is
that the importance of my question and
[51:38] I'm commenting on your answer and that
is that it's really important that
[51:43] adults keep kids safe when there's an
event like that where there's no
[51:48] protection and no privacy.
[51:57] Do
>> you have any further questions? Thank
[51:59] you, Dr. Meski.
questions at this time.
[52:04] » Thank you, member. Um, clerk Perry.
[52:11] » So, maybe I maybe I didn't look at this
carefully, but I I didn't think I had
[52:16] access to all of these
videos. I do.
[52:27] » So, all all of the thirst and videos.
Okay, thanks. And all of the screenshots
[52:33] and the videos from private cameras.
>> Okay, thank you.
[52:38] » Who Who's answering the question?
>> Somebody from the community.
[52:42] » Can we confirm that? I just not that I
don't believe, but I think for all
[52:46] intents of purposes, it would be good
for staff to have to appro to
[52:51] » Yes, those are all
>> reaffirm what you just said.
[52:52] » They're all available. Yes.
[53:02] So is your question are the three videos
that are in the report included in the
[53:05] Google Drive with that which I think the
answer is yes but then you're also
[53:08] asking are all of the rest of the videos
in the drive as well and the question
[53:11] and the answer to that is also yes I've
not looked at that drive recently
[53:18] » I have not looked at the drive um and
the person that can answer that question
[53:22] had to step out so I'm I'm sorry I will
get you a confirmed answer when I can is
[53:28] my understanding though that everything
that we have is publicly available
[53:35] and clerk Perry if if I am wrong about
that I will correct that. Okay,
[53:41] » thank you very much.
>> Thank you. Um any other questions? No.
[53:45] Okay, that was actually one of my
questions because I have not looked at
[53:48] that. And so before I went back in, I
was going to ask if all of the items
[53:52] that are listed um
in the investigation are included in
[53:58] that drive. So, thank you for for that
and I'll I'll check it out, too. And if
[54:02] there's not, so thank you. Um I had a
couple more questions. Um do we have
[54:06] information on how far the public space
for the board meeting extends? Is it the
[54:10] entire campus and the parking lot or is
it a 50- foot perimeter around the
[54:14] library or how does it how is it
determined what
[54:19] area becomes the civic center where a
public meeting can be held? Is it a time
[54:25] issue or is it also a location issue?
I think it's a fair question. It it it's
[54:30] splitting hairs a little bit though.
Once a once a site becomes available as
[54:34] a civic center, I would call it the
entire site. Otherwise,
[54:40] um I don't know how we would be able to
distinguish between what's allowed and
[54:44] not allowed if we're dividing that up.
So, I I can say on that particular
[54:50] night, the determination was the entire
site was a civic center at 3:30.
[54:56] » Okay. And then I wanted to follow up
with that because I and one of the
[55:00] reasons why I asked that question is um
for a couple following questions. Um
[55:07] what protocols? So as we're looking at
this uh these recommendations,
[55:12] do you believe that there are or do you
feel that there are substantial
[55:15] recommendations to identify the process
of transitioning from a public space
[55:23] from a school ground to a public space?
[55:27] No, I think the recommendations are
largely silent on that piece about a
[55:32] transition from um a public school to a
civic center.
[55:40] » Okay. So, I asked that question because
I'm curious as to how we help our
[55:45] students understand the difference.
I'm pretty sure
[55:52] or I shouldn't I that would be a comment
but I'm there's I'm I would like to know
[55:56] how we are identifying the difference
and if we aren't that's fine that would
[55:59] just be something that we need to
include in the recommendation because
[56:02] the qu the fact that the question comes
up helps identify what other things we
[56:06] need to re what we need to identified
for recommendations.
[56:10] » Sure. I I think it's going to be at some
point in this conversation if we get to
[56:17] um
trying to look for the what which number
[56:20] it is, but the idea of moving the site
if we're anticipating a large group
[56:27] might make that that question moot and
um it would just be determined we'd go
[56:32] to somewhere that doesn't have that same
issue.
[56:36] » Okay. Thank you. And then um I think the
last one I had uh
[56:45] no I had a couple more. Um
so assuming it's so knowing that it's
[56:50] the entire campus that turns into a
civic area, how does our board policy
[56:55] 3515 which is campus safety come into
play? So there's also um ED code that um
[57:02] 32280
that outlines all of the details of like
[57:05] law enforcement, our security pro plans
which obviously are not part of of this
[57:10] discussion. But these these policies
outline campus security site level um
[57:16] plans and um as well as entire
institutional plans for the whole
[57:20] district. So how I'm concerned because
the report did not re did not reference
[57:26] 3515. So, I'm just curious if that was
if that would be I mean, I don't know if
[57:32] you can answer this, but having that be
part of the consideration as we develop
[57:35] these this these recommendations would
be campus security being brought in
[57:39] because if it goes from being a school
to a public, but it's on our campus.
[57:44] It's it's a civic center, but it is
still district property. So, I think
[57:49] that there's nuances there that I I'm I
have concern that it's going to be this
[57:54] gray area regardless, and I'm trying to
find paths and questions to help us
[57:59] delineate that so that it's a little bit
more black and white. So, there's not so
[58:02] much debate over is it allowed, is it
not allowed, what is this? There's too
[58:07] I'm trying to put some of these things
to rest so that we can keep moving
[58:10] forward in a positive direction. And so
this gray area of of how do we uphold
[58:14] policy if it's a becomes a civic center
but it's actually our campus and our
[58:18] property. So those are just some
questions that I have about the report.
[58:23] » Okay. I think I'm going to have to think
through that a little bit.
[58:25] » Fair enough.
>> Um the the one thing it is pretty clear
[58:29] in my head is the responsibility would
shift from a site principal if it were a
[58:36] school site
to the district that manages a board
[58:40] meeting. I I don't think it's fair to
have a site principal be in charge of
[58:44] that piece.
>> So that would be something great to have
[58:47] clarified, right? Because I think that's
also part of it was one of the questions
[58:50] is when did it get turned over? And so
if we and then who was in charge? So if
[58:54] we have that clarity, I think that would
really help.
[58:56] » Um so thank you for that. Um and then um
I think the last one was based on
[59:02] reviewing the district's agreement. I
think it's number five and protocols
[59:06] with local law enforcement. Um, that's
one that I would like to have that I
[59:10] would like to request comes back with a
little bit more um depth because I know
[59:15] we've talked about theou with the um
SRO's in the city and it's came back and
[59:20] has continued this year because we
didn't have we our meetings kept getting
[59:24] cancelled. Um, but this is a really
important topic uh because one of the
[59:28] items in the in the contract states that
the police officers up will not take
[59:32] direction from the board or the board
president, whoever it is, but they will
[59:37] uphold the district's policies,
procedures, and and ed code. So again,
[59:43] we have this interesting situation
because if we have a situation where
[59:46] someone needs to be removed
for various reasons,
[59:51] how do we how how do we approach that?
Right? This is a public setting. We have
[59:56] an agreement with our law law
enforcement there, but they won't help
[59:59] uphold the policies during a meeting.
So, what that role of the SRO's becomes,
[1:00:03] I know they're not in our meetings at
this point anymore unless they're giving
[1:00:07] a report, but they're a valuable asset
to our students and a valuable asset on
[1:00:12] campus. they they come to games and
things like that, but how do we
[1:00:16] delineate that? That if it's not if the
policies that we put in place are not
[1:00:20] going to be upheld in this room or
whatever room is the boardroom, what is
[1:00:24] our plan? So, I would like to see
something like that.
[1:00:28] Okay.
Yeah. Because I guess whose role is it
[1:00:32] to remove someone
>> is the question.
[1:00:37] » Additional question. Um,
[1:00:45] I think that's my last question. I think
my last comment on the last part was
[1:00:48] just a matter of how we can't pick and
choose, right? And I think that's that
[1:00:52] to create more problems as well if we
start picking and choosing when we have
[1:00:55] protection or when we uphold our
policies and when we don't. So, thank
[1:00:58] you. Go ahead, Howard. Thanks. Um, I'm
I'm going to touch upon this when we
[1:01:03] make comments, but I did want to just
pose a preliminary question about it.
[1:01:09] at the point where the site
administrator
[1:01:12] um turned the campus over to the police.
The police were here. Um I was here
[1:01:21] » 15 minutes before the campus was turned
over. Um
[1:01:27] what then is the role of the site
administrator after he's turned it over
[1:01:31] to the police? what is the role of the
police after they've taken the con and
[1:01:37] and have um control uh because um I
think what I witnessed was that both the
[1:01:45] site administrator and the police were
making decisions about how to respond to
[1:01:50] what was occurring. So there's a chain
of command issue. um if the site
[1:01:55] administrator turned it over to the
police and the site administrator
[1:01:59] continued to consult with um protesters
and consult with the police and and make
[1:02:05] decisions and give direction to
activities that were taking place which
[1:02:09] I observed um and the police did nothing
essentially um until um after uh there
[1:02:18] were some incidents. So would you agree
that um there's a chain of command
[1:02:24] situation that needs to be defined in
that in that context?
[1:02:29] » Yeah. And and in fact, one of the
recommendations is to identify that
[1:02:33] person. I think that's actually really
easy that that person's the
[1:02:38] superintendent and the superintendent
puts the team in place and say, "Okay,
[1:02:42] you've got this piece, this piece,
whatever it might be." Um and as far as
[1:02:47] the site is concerned, let let's just
say that that we had a similar thing
[1:02:52] that was still thirsten.
I might assign that principal a role,
[1:02:58] but the role would not be being in
charge of the entire operation. Does
[1:03:04] that make sense, Mr.?
>> Yeah, it does. Okay.
[1:03:08] Do you think it would be a good idea to
not have the board meet on campuses?
[1:03:16] » Uh mixed feelings on that. Um I
you know for for five years I attended
[1:03:25] board meetings in our little tiny
boardroom down at the at the district
[1:03:28] office.
That was certainly imperfect. Um but
[1:03:34] yeah, can make it work. This is
imperfect, but we can make it work. The
[1:03:37] space is, you know, it's a good size and
it it's set up for us now with the
[1:03:42] audiovisisual equipment. It still
presents challenges, but it's it's okay.
[1:03:48] Um,
I think if there's going to be an
[1:03:52] extraordinary meeting, yes, I do think
it's a good idea to move away from a
[1:03:57] school site. If if we have notice that
something's going to be really big, why
[1:04:02] not just remove a variable of of having
to worry about the students and um
[1:04:09] traffic if we have an acceptable place.
>> Thanks. Thank you.
[1:04:17] » Any further questions from anyone before
we go to public comment?
[1:04:21] Okay. You're not looking for a motion on
this tonight, right? We're discussing
[1:04:24] this and it's coming back again or as
part of the plan or it'll start
[1:04:28] appearing in part.
>> This is tonight is agendaized as
[1:04:30] information only with discussion and it'
be up to president and uh agenda setting
[1:04:37] to determine if it comes back. That's
that is completely up to the board.
[1:04:41] » Okay. But recommendations are are being
we don't need a you don't need a motion
[1:04:45] tonight for we can't give you a motion
tonight for for direction on
[1:04:48] recommendations. So it either needs to
come back or it can be
[1:04:51] » you do not
>> incorporated and we can just get a later
[1:04:54] report.
>> Correct. So you do not have to make a
[1:04:57] motion. Um does not mean we we can't
have a discussion where we take notes
[1:05:03] and say we can do all these things and
if if that satisfies the board then
[1:05:06] we're done. If you want like to
formalize it and bring it back or have
[1:05:10] us do additional work and bring it back
that's that we'll do that for you also.
[1:05:14] » Great. Thank you clarification. Um,
okay. Let's go to switch over to public
[1:05:18] comments. Uh, Clerk Perry.
>> Okay. Um, Ketta Brown, Heather Hansen,
[1:05:24] and I might not get this right. Aisha
Mahapatra.
[1:05:36] You can try to reframe this all you
want, but let's be clear. The events of
[1:05:39] May 14th are directly attributable to
abysmal board governance. The public was
[1:05:44] jerked around for months. Requests to
restore public comment to the beginning
[1:05:48] of the meeting fell on deaf ears. The
queries as to why there was ironically
[1:05:52] this evening a constant public employee
discipline dismissal or release item on
[1:05:56] closed session also never addressed. And
the cudigra was the cruel and heartless
[1:06:01] dismissal of Dr. Glass, the
instantaneous full-blown press release
[1:06:05] and the suspension of board policy 2120.
How much more was the community expected
[1:06:10] to tolerate without acting? The May 14th
event was an organic grassroots response
[1:06:16] to a board majority who basically
thumbed their noses at us at every turn.
[1:06:21] Our con our constitution's first
amendment allows for freedom of assembly
[1:06:26] and expression. And that is what we did.
Period.
[1:06:40] Hi. Um, Heather Hansen again. Um, I I've
found it so deeply troubling uh the way
[1:06:45] that the board majority has exploited
the events of a protest that was the
[1:06:51] direct result of the actions of the
board majority. And if there wasn't a
[1:06:56] superintendent there to oversee it, it
was because of the separation agreement,
[1:07:01] which was the protest what the protest
was about. And I see it as part of a
[1:07:06] pattern of disscent, a a a troubling
pattern of stifling disscent and
[1:07:10] chilling speech from Howard's ad where
he said that teachers who speak out in
[1:07:15] board meetings need to be disciplined
and retrained
[1:07:19] to reframing every critique of power as
an act of bullying. Um, as as Keta said,
[1:07:26] you know, these are expressions of
democracy and and school boards are
[1:07:31] laboratories of democracy and this is
unacceptable. And this is why you see
[1:07:37] staff saying that they're afraid to
speak out or you see, you know,
[1:07:40] concerned staff comments instead of
people putting their names on public
[1:07:44] comments. And it's just really
unacceptable.
[1:07:55] Good evening. Um, my name is Aisha
Mahapatra and I'm a parent of two
[1:07:59] students in the district. I'm here to
address the critical importance of
[1:08:04] constitutional free speech protections
and viewpoint neutrality, including our
[1:08:08] right to peacefully protest. Under the
Brown Act, the board is legally required
[1:08:13] to allow public comment. Courts have
established that this forum is a limited
[1:08:17] public forum under the First Amendment.
While you may enforce uniform time
[1:08:21] limits, you are strictly prohibited from
suppressing speech based on the
[1:08:25] viewpoints expressed. The act clearly
explicitly forbids you from prohibiting
[1:08:30] public criticism of your policies,
actions, or omissions.
[1:08:35] This protection extends to our school
grounds. The peaceful protest by parents
[1:08:40] and students on May 14th, 2026 was a
lawful exercise of free expression.
[1:08:46] Under the California Ed Code, students
have robust rights to peacefully
[1:08:50] demonstrate. Under the California
Constitution and Ed Code, parents,
[1:08:54] teachers, and staff possess a
co-extensive protections to assemble and
[1:09:00] advocate without fear of administrative
retaliation or exclusion. True civic
[1:09:05] collaboration requires trustees to
listen thoughtfully to dissenting
[1:09:10] voices.
Disagreement is not disruption. When a
[1:09:15] board responds to unpopular parental
viewpoints with dismissive behavior or
[1:09:20] premature gavlling, it erodess community
trust and risks violating federal and
[1:09:26] state civil rights laws. I urge this
board to approach all opposing
[1:09:31] viewpoints and peaceful advocacy with
the constitutional respect required of
[1:09:35] your office. Thank you.
[1:09:41] » Thank you,
Taylor Bennett.
[1:09:44] Danielle Rotor Sharmmer, Bana Heathcott,
and Meredith McMahon.
[1:09:55] Good evening. Uh, I'm Taylor Bennett.
I'm a district parent, and May 14th was
[1:10:00] my very first school board meeting. Uh,
tonight I feel utter disappointment in
[1:10:06] leadership. Um, attention has shifted
from the concerns that brought families
[1:10:10] here toward portraying those families as
the problem. Investigators concluded
[1:10:15] that the demonstration was an exercise
of first amendment rights. They found no
[1:10:19] evidence of criminal activity or intent
to physically harm anyone and concluded
[1:10:25] the meeting remained nonviolent despite
the disruption. Calling the protest
[1:10:30] targeted overlooks that criticism often
addresses officials responsible for the
[1:10:36] decisions. Asking them to answer is
accountability.
[1:10:40] I saw the board president recording
attendees and from my perspective
[1:10:45] smirking while walking through the
crowd. I struggled to reconcile that
[1:10:50] conduct with this gathering's portrayal
as a threat to safety. I also saw
[1:10:55] children holding signs. And do you know
what they said? Dr. Glass, I'm so sorry.
[1:11:03] From my perspective, this investigation
was unnecessary. It felt like an attempt
[1:11:07] to shift blame and create false
narratives. I support safe, orderly
[1:11:11] meetings. I also support standing up for
what's right. And Mr. Hills. You raised
[1:11:16] parents responsibility to keep their
children safe.
[1:11:21] I take that seriously. But less than 48
hours ago, you made a comment at a
[1:11:26] governance meeting in front of children
that I found inappropriate. If you're
[1:11:31] asking parents to consider what children
are exposed to, that standard must also
[1:11:38] apply to you.
Your credibility on this issue depends
[1:11:44] on holding yourself to the same standard
you ask of the rest of us. I ask you to
[1:11:49] look around the room and ask yourselves
how we got here, what role your own
[1:11:53] decisions have played. Rebuilding trust
begins with examining your own
[1:11:57] leadership as closely as you examine
this community's response to it. I came
[1:12:01] to my first meeting believing that
voices mattered. I'm standing here
[1:12:05] tonight because I still believe they
should. You have an opportunity to take
[1:12:09] responsibility,
to listen, to give this community a
[1:12:13] reason to trust you again. What you do
next will tell us whether you you're
[1:12:18] willing or whether you're not. Thank
you.
[1:12:31] By the way, this was to warn you that
this same smirk was showing up and it's
[1:12:35] going to be on camera, so I was trying
to give you a solid, so maybe don't go
[1:12:38] to Vegas.
Um, what I see here tonight is splitting
[1:12:43] hairs over hours, times of day, whether
it's the principal or the police putting
[1:12:47] up barriers. You all have completely
missed the point.
[1:12:52] We sat in the same room and we watched
the same documentary,
[1:12:56] watched board meetings where there was
actually physically aggressive behavior
[1:13:00] that took place. You have to look at the
fact that there have been contentious
[1:13:04] issues in these meetings before, whether
they were here or down the hill, bell
[1:13:09] schedules before Labor Day calendars
and no organized gatherings took place.
[1:13:15] Hm.
That means you need to be introspective
[1:13:19] and look at your role in the genesis
that created that gathering in the first
[1:13:24] place.
What you are doing is trying to deflect
[1:13:27] away from your personal responsibility
on what made people in this community so
[1:13:32] upset and compelled to gather in the
first place.
[1:13:37] Now I'm talking to you. I appreciate
your poker face, by the way. I
[1:13:39] appreciate that you stay neutral for the
whole meeting, Mr. Hills. However, words
[1:13:43] matter. You need to stay out of
commenting on somebody's parenting. You
[1:13:48] are so far out of your lane. You wonder
why you don't draw crowds at events. And
[1:13:54] it's moment like this that make you not
a welcome in most places anymore.
[1:14:00] Honestly, you owe every parent in this
community an apology whether their
[1:14:04] children were here or not, which mine
weren't, by the way, cuz they're grown
[1:14:08] and on their own. So, I'm speaking for
all of them.
[1:14:12] You don't decide what's appropriate for
a parent for their child. That is not
[1:14:17] your job. Whether they want to bring a
child to a first amendment exercise or
[1:14:21] not, not for you to say or comment on.
You may choose to judge, but that's when
[1:14:28] you close your mouth and you keep the
thoughts inside. You don't criticize
[1:14:32] other people's parenting. Would you like
me or anyone else to come up here and
[1:14:37] review your parenting? I don't think so
because none of us are perfect. I'm sure
[1:14:43] we all have moments where maybe we
raised our voice, lost a little bit,
[1:14:47] maybe punished a little bit more than
the actual event called for. We don't
[1:14:52] want it reviewed upon by anybody else,
let alone in a public venue on a
[1:14:58] transcript available forever. So, would
you want that to happen to you? I don't
[1:15:03] think you would.
So maybe you should extend the same
[1:15:08] courtesy to everyone else.
[1:15:25] Uh Brianna Heathcott, I was going to try
not to speak tonight. Um I I don't
[1:15:30] believe in wasting my time if I don't
think that my words can make a
[1:15:33] difference. I really am am just hoping
that the three of you will reflect on
[1:15:38] where we've gotten to. The most
troubling thing about everything that's
[1:15:43] happened since May 14th is that the
board majority still does not seem to
[1:15:47] understand what the public was trying to
say. You investigated the meeting. You
[1:15:52] investigated the crowd. You investigated
security. You spent months discussing
[1:15:57] conduct, civility, procedures, and how
to handle this if something happens
[1:16:02] again. Who? How are we going to throw
someone out? Is it the cops? Is it
[1:16:05] security? We've missed the plot. Okay.
Where is that same level of examination
[1:16:12] of what brought people to that point?
Because May 14th did not happen in a
[1:16:16] vacuum. People did not suddenly wake up
one day angry at the school board. For
[1:16:21] months, members of this community had
been writing to you, speaking at this
[1:16:25] podium, questioning decisions, asking
for information, and telling you that
[1:16:30] they did not feel heard. And instead of
recognizing that as a warning about the
[1:16:34] relationship between the board and the
community, the response after May 14th
[1:16:38] has largely focused on the reaction.
That's backwards.
[1:16:43] The investigation concluded that there
was no evidence that protesters intended
[1:16:47] to physically harm anyone. D, I'm so
sorry that you felt that way you did
[1:16:52] that day. I cannot imagine walking up
and feeling that way. I also believe in
[1:16:56] accountability. You made a decision. you
upset the community and there is
[1:17:01] accountability for your actions. I would
never want anyone to feel that way, but
[1:17:06] it it's accountability. You make a
decision, you ran to be elected on this
[1:17:11] board and know that some decisions
people aren't going to agree with. It
[1:17:15] happens, but you have to deal with that.
After all of this, after the
[1:17:20] investigation, the attorney, the
meetings, the security discussions, and
[1:17:24] the recommendations, I hope the majority
will finally ask the question that
[1:17:28] should have been asked from the
beginning. Why are so many people angry?
[1:17:31] Not whether you agree with them, not
whether you like their signs, not
[1:17:35] whether they express themselves in the
way you would have preferred. Why do
[1:17:38] members of your own community, people
who voted for you, people who supported
[1:17:43] you, show up in force because that was
the only way that they thought you might
[1:17:47] listen?
Because you can adopt every
[1:17:50] recommendation in the report. You can
change security. You can change meeting
[1:17:53] procedures. You can change location. You
can change how people enter this room.
[1:17:58] But none of that repairs trust. And none
of it fixes the fundamental problem if
[1:18:02] people continue to believe that
decisions are already made before they
[1:18:06] ever reach the podium.
Public comment is not something the
[1:18:11] board simply has to endure before moving
on to vote. It's supposed to mean
[1:18:14] something. The lesson of May 14th should
not be how to control the room the next
[1:18:19] time people are angry. The lesson should
be figuring out why your community had
[1:18:23] to get that loud before you notice them
at all. Thank you.
[1:18:35] Hi, Meredith McMahon. I want to correct
the record about May 14th. I organized
[1:18:41] the protest independently as a parent
and community member. The rumors about
[1:18:46] fuel or shaheen shakes it all per
planning it are false. I stepped off the
[1:18:52] fuel board nearly 10 months earlier on
July 16th, 2025.
[1:18:57] I emailed every board member when you
announced the investigation and told you
[1:19:01] directly that I organized it. The report
notes that I declined to be interviewed.
[1:19:06] What it doesn't explain is why the ACLU
had sent a demand letter on my behalf
[1:19:11] challenging the legality of an
investigation and demanding that it be
[1:19:15] halted. I was not going to participate
in investigation. I was simultaneously
[1:19:20] challenging through counsel. Now that
the investigation is over and the report
[1:19:24] is public, the facts are clear. There
was no evidence of criminal activity or
[1:19:28] intent to physically harm anyone. May
14th was loud. People were angry. Some
[1:19:33] board members felt intimidated. Those
feelings are real, but discomfort is not
[1:19:38] danger and criticism is not a threat. My
family and I have po protested alongside
[1:19:45] President Morgan in the past when we
both understood that peaceful protest
[1:19:50] was a legitimate way to speak out. May
14th simply put us on different sides.
[1:19:55] The principle shouldn't change because
you're now the person being protested.
[1:20:00] That brings me to Sherry's public
Instagram post after the report was
[1:20:04] released. In that post, she referred to
the person behind the ACL filings as a
[1:20:09] quote fuel founding member. I assume you
were referring to me. Why is my former
[1:20:15] affiliation with Fuel relevant? I
organized the protest independently. You
[1:20:20] knew that because I told you myself and
your own report does not conclude that
[1:20:25] Fuel organized the protest. So, if you
disagree with what I did, say my name. I
[1:20:30] can defend my own decisions. from
Sherry's same post. What is even more
[1:20:34] troubling is her characterization that
it was a missed opportunity to teach
[1:20:38] students how to behave when they don't
get what they want rather than protest.
[1:20:43] I fundamentally disagree. Peaceful
protest is not misbehavior. It is a
[1:20:47] bedrock principle of our democracy. In
fact, the demonstration was an exercise
[1:20:52] of a fundamental constitutionally
guaranteed right of public display of
[1:20:56] free speech. I am proud that this
community did not miss an opportunity to
[1:21:00] teach our children to use their right to
free speech. In fact, the real missed
[1:21:04] opportunity is on the part of the board
majorities failing to heed their
[1:21:07] constituents voice. We should teach our
children that they can peacefully
[1:21:11] assemble, speak out, and criticize their
elected officials even when those in
[1:21:14] power disagree. Dissent is not a threat
to leadership. It is a check on
[1:21:18] leadership. When those in power use
their authority to investigate or
[1:21:22] discredit people for peacefully
protesting them, we should all pay
[1:21:26] attention. And that is a lesson worth
modeling for our children. They should
[1:21:30] know that having a voice means being
willing to use it, even when it makes
[1:21:33] people in power uncomfortable. Our
children are watching. Let's make sure
[1:21:37] that what they see is democracy and
action. Vote on November 3rd.
[1:21:49] Thank you for our speakers. I'm going to
open it back up to uh board comments.
[1:21:53] I'll start with our student board reps.
>> I have no comments at this time.
[1:22:00] » I as well have no comments at this time.
>> Great. Thank you.
[1:22:05] » Member Kelly.
[1:22:09] » I want to congratulate and thank all the
parents and citizens who came and spoke.
[1:22:14] Um you make me so happy. Uh four years
ago, I begged you to run for the board.
[1:22:19] Uh I went to every PTA meeting. I begged
you. I begged individuals, individuals
[1:22:25] who's sitting there in yellow back there
to run for the board. None of you did
[1:22:29] because everything was going okay.
Democracy
[1:22:34] has to be protected. You just can't sit
back and allow the fools to take over.
[1:22:39] And I just want to thank you all.
[1:22:48] Member Hills,
>> I'll just start on the other end.
[1:22:52] » Member Maleski.
[1:22:57] » Yeah, I'm just going to start with a
couple of short comments that are a
[1:23:01] little bit redundant to what's been
said, but um uh I'll share them anyway.
[1:23:06] Um so first of all um and I'm going to
have comments about the recommendations
[1:23:11] later but just on the initial
presentation
[1:23:14] um what what I want to restate that what
was missing from the recommendations
[1:23:19] understandably is what the board could
have done to prevent such a protest. I
[1:23:24] find it shocking but not surprising that
the board majority has demonstrated no
[1:23:29] ability to be reflective about the
events on May 14th or to think deeply
[1:23:33] about how their actions contributed to
what followed. And it's entirely
[1:23:39] laughable for any board member to claim
that they were targeted. People
[1:23:43] protested board members who made bad
decisions. It's not bullying. It's the
[1:23:48] reason for the protest. I'm also deeply
disturbed by comments about how to keep
[1:23:53] our children safe. I just want to
reiterate what I've said at many
[1:23:57] meetings. I am so thankful that students
are learning about civic engagement by
[1:24:02] attending these meetings and that
includes my own child and it includes my
[1:24:07] own um experiences of having attended
many protests. Um Alexis Dtoqueville
[1:24:13] talks about the power of association.
It's important to democracy. There's no
[1:24:17] better exercise of democracy than
students watching these meetings so they
[1:24:22] can see democracy in action and they can
learn how to evaluate democratic
[1:24:26] leadership in good form and in bad. You
have to watch it to understand it.
[1:24:33] It's what we're here for. Educating our
children. The problem with regard to the
[1:24:39] photos is not that legally, because that
came up as if having our children here
[1:24:44] and getting photographed was bad
parenting. The problem is not that
[1:24:48] legally they can be filmed, but the glee
I feel from board members because
[1:24:53] they're allowed to use them to publicly
shame the kids who were here and from
[1:24:58] what I heard on the deis to also
publicly shame their parents as if they
[1:25:03] did something wrong by allowing their
children to attend and protest. I would
[1:25:07] like to congratulate parents who decided
to exercise exercise their first
[1:25:12] amendment rights and encourage their
children to attend to exercise their
[1:25:16] first amendment rights and let their
children know that right in our local
[1:25:21] district up at the school or whether
it's down at the city council chambers.
[1:25:26] You can watch democracy in action. There
is no better moment right now nationally
[1:25:33] in the state and locally than to
understand what democracy is about. And
[1:25:38] the idea that anyone on this day would
criticize parents or students for trying
[1:25:44] to engage to be civically engaged in
participating in our democracy and to
[1:25:50] learn about how to exercise it is just
so disappointing to me. So, I just want
[1:25:56] to voice my strong disagreement to that.
And that's all I'm going to say for now.
[1:26:05] » Perry.
>> Clerk Perry.
[1:26:08] » Thank you. Um, I definitely believe in
everybody's first amendment rights. I
[1:26:15] love that we have passionate parents
here who care very much about their
[1:26:19] children.
What bothers me bothered me is the hate
[1:26:24] signs. I hate Sherry. I hate D. I hate
Howard. We have a whole program called
[1:26:30] No Place for Hate. We spend a lot of
money on social emotional issues and we
[1:26:35] have people come up and say, you know,
you have no friends. We don't like you.
[1:26:39] I would never
I would never allow that in my classroom
[1:26:44] or with my own children. I would never
allow them to come and tell people that
[1:26:50] they hate them. And I could see the
anger in people's eyes and that was
[1:26:55] really really concerning to me. This is
a community that I've loved very much
[1:26:59] for many many years and I've done
I've done
[1:27:06] a lot. I've used my own money for a
lawsuit for special ed children. I've
[1:27:11] done a lot. and to have people just turn
all of a sudden turn and be so angry and
[1:27:18] hateful. I thought this investigation
was about
[1:27:24] safety and
don't laugh. That's what I thought it
[1:27:29] was about that we would have safe
meetings. And I worry because I know how
[1:27:34] passionate parents are not
I I wanted us to talk about and I've
[1:27:40] asked this for a long time about having
um metal detectors and I'm afraid of a
[1:27:47] shooter coming up here because people
get crazy about things like books that
[1:27:52] their kids are are reading or um you
know girls and boys and bathrooms. I I
[1:28:00] would like us to practice here. What do
we do if a shooter comes in? Do we duck
[1:28:04] under? Do we try to attack them? Do we
run out the doors? I am truly worried
[1:28:09] for kids safety. And I was I'm hoping
that we will do more about that for
[1:28:17] everybody's safety, for children's, for
the audience, for staff, for everyone.
[1:28:22] And I know um it was I I they didn't say
it was a peaceful protest. It was a
[1:28:30] protest and you had that right.
Absolutely. But as I walked up, I could
[1:28:36] not get to the door. I could not I went
to the side and I was hoping that
[1:28:42] » Quiet please. um a couple of people that
maybe despised me, but I was hoping
[1:28:48] they'd let me get to the wall and they
didn't and came at me and startled me.
[1:28:53] And I said right away,
>> "Please, please."
[1:28:56] » I said right away,
>> "Excuse me."
[1:28:58] » And I I wrote Ketta that night that no
one pushed me, no one touched me. I
[1:29:05] didn't want anyone blamed for anything
like that. I fell or
[1:29:11] dropped my bag myself on my foot, which
was very swollen and and bleeding. But
[1:29:18] that was that's on me. That's on me that
that happened. I don't
[1:29:24] I just don't feel like this was um a a
safe situation
[1:29:32] because of all of the anger. If you're
just if you're just protesting because
[1:29:37] you don't believe in an idea, that's one
thing. But to um attack and discuss
[1:29:44] ideas respectfully,
I I have never screamed and at you guys
[1:29:51] and called you hateful. I just wouldn't
do that. And I'm really disappointed
[1:29:56] that that's the example that's being
given to our students.
[1:30:08] I'm pretty sure we were respectful when
you all were speaking. I would like to
[1:30:11] ask for the same. Thank you.
[1:30:21] I have a couple of comments. I have a
couple of comments. I'm sure we'll come
[1:30:24] back around. Um I appreciate this item
coming forward and giving everyone the
[1:30:30] opportunity to address it.
The report and the scope of the
[1:30:34] investigation was very clear. It's about
evaluating the events and safety
[1:30:39] protocols associated with the
demonstration. This includes assessment
[1:30:43] of current procedures and
recommendations to strengthen safety
[1:30:46] protocols while preserving public access
to compliance with first amendment
[1:30:51] rights and applicable laws. The
investigation was not about pe people's
[1:30:55] f first amendment rights. And there was
no investigation of people and who was
[1:30:59] here and how they behaved. It was about
the safety.
[1:31:04] I don't believe that we need to do
another investigation regarding the
[1:31:08] impact that this situation may have had
on our students,
[1:31:13] our staff, or our community. We have a
social emotional team with exceptional
[1:31:17] abilities and a robust budget of over $3
million to address this with.
[1:31:26] I can wait. Okay. I do not I say this
because the opinion of those that
[1:31:33] participated is not the feeling of the
entire community. To accuse this board
[1:31:38] of not listening to you all is not true.
And I've said this before. We do listen.
[1:31:44] But there are many voices involved in
all of this, not just yours. And I don't
[1:31:50] know how else to express that to you all
other than to share how we're getting
[1:31:54] complaints that people feel bullied if
they don't support this effort. Um, and
[1:32:00] we'll call it fuel. Um, there are
screenshots that are in the report that
[1:32:05] should be in the file of other members
that helped coordinate the meeting.
[1:32:10] There are screenshots of letters from
from the unions encouraging people to
[1:32:15] show up. So to say that one person
organized it is not true. It's a lot of
[1:32:19] energy coming into the same place.
All of our speakers have mentioned that
[1:32:24] we're not listening. I've already said
that. Um and not hap and many in the
[1:32:28] community are not happy with what they
saw. The actions of those that
[1:32:32] participated are not what many in our
community wish to see on our school
[1:32:36] campuses or from our students. We have
been here and protested the calendar,
[1:32:40] but we didn't protest and scream with
pompoms and signs. We all met down in
[1:32:44] the library and everybody was yelling
and it was a very very difficult
[1:32:48] meeting. At that time the board
president referred to the parents that
[1:32:52] were quite upset and 54% actually did
not want the calendar changed yet they
[1:32:56] moved it anyway. So when we start
talking about who's listening there's a
[1:33:00] history in this community of of
information being not skewed the
[1:33:04] direction that you want. And at that
time the president would call everyone
[1:33:08] angry parents. And maybe none of you
remember that, but I do because I was
[1:33:12] here in this room with you
asking for things to be different. I
[1:33:18] have protested with all of you down at
Maine Beach, not in this room.
[1:33:25] So, as I said, the actions of those that
participated are not what many in our
[1:33:29] community wish to see in our school
campuses or from our students. The
[1:33:32] protest was deemed angry, intense, loud,
hostile, and targeted. Targeted.
[1:33:38] even confirmed by a participant online.
Targeting is defined as spe as a
[1:33:44] specific process a bully uses to single
out an individual to abuse, harass, or
[1:33:48] marginalize them. This is true whether
it's cyber bullying or imp or in person,
[1:33:53] facts matter. And this is a public role.
You're right.
[1:33:58] Whether you're elected or appointed, we
have an obligation to this community.
[1:34:03] And as citizens in the community, your
rights are extended because yes, you're
[1:34:06] right. You can be hostile
when you protest.
[1:34:11] But whether we are elected or appointed,
I think what's missing from our
[1:34:16] perspective or my perspective at least
is that not only are we elected
[1:34:21] officials up here that have to and
uphold first amendment rights. Not even
[1:34:25] have to. I love First Amendment rights.
I've been down protesting as you guys
[1:34:28] all said. I think it's really important.
The pro problem I have is how
[1:34:36] we are not only elected members of this
board, but we are your neighbors.
[1:34:41] We're your neighbors. We're taxpayers.
We're parents. We're grandparents. We
[1:34:46] have businesses. Some people are
employees. We're friends, former
[1:34:51] friends, parents of kids that your kids
know. And I think that's the thing that
[1:34:59] keeps being missed.
[1:35:03] We are longtime volunteers and we
continue to volunteer to sit here today.
[1:35:07] I'll wait.
I'm not done. I'm waiting for the room
[1:35:12] to clear.
Have a nice evening. Drive safe.
[1:35:24] It is
[1:35:29] longtime volunteers
who continue to volunteer as we sit here
[1:35:33] today. As it was clarified, we are not
paid.
[1:35:38] Collectively, we have an average and I
think Howard, you actually skew the
[1:35:41] entire time. So, I put some of the years
to you, Dr. Malchesky, but I think we
[1:35:45] have over 50 years of residency and as
stewards of this community. Kids that
[1:35:50] day were watching and were participating
and they were learning from what you
[1:35:54] what they saw. You're right. But that's
not the behavior or the manner in which
[1:35:58] I believe our district encourages us to
resolve differences, disagreements, how
[1:36:03] we build resilience, grit, or
determination. It was still targeting.
[1:36:07] So, I am concerned that while some
parents believe they're showing their
[1:36:10] children how to stand up for their
rights and exercising their first
[1:36:13] amendment rights. I have done that. I've
done it at Maine Beach with a sign with
[1:36:17] other people united as well. But at
Maine Beach,
[1:36:22] once a protest becomes targeted, whether
it's online or in person, it's
[1:36:27] frightening. Targeting is frightening.
It's intimidating and it's harassing.
[1:36:33] It is not any of our place to judge or
criticize how someone feels based on our
[1:36:38] actions. And I'm really glad that
somebody said that earlier. It is not
[1:36:42] our place to judge how our message is
being delivered to someone else. I am
[1:36:46] listening. I hear what you guys are
saying. I understand you're upset. The
[1:36:49] problem is nobody will come and talk to
me about it. They just want to yell and
[1:36:52] scream. I have said many times I am
available. Let's talk.
[1:36:57] It's not our place to judge or criticize
how someone feels based on our actions.
[1:37:01] It's not our right to determine if
someone feels intimidated, frightened,
[1:37:04] or afraid as a result of our actions
actions. It is our place to control how
[1:37:09] we react, respond, demonstrate empathy.
Have we asked questions? Are they are
[1:37:15] those questions able to be answered? We
cannot discuss personnel issues that are
[1:37:20] done in close session. It is not legally
allowed. So to insist that there are
[1:37:25] details that we are withholding from
you, we are upholding the law.
[1:37:32] Have we tried to work together? We have
a whole department in our schools
[1:37:35] designed to address the address this.
The district's social and emotional
[1:37:38] programming budget is over $3 million
and we should be doing better. People
[1:37:42] were people were heard, but as I've said
it before, it's not just the loudest
[1:37:46] group. I listen to all people and not
everyone's going to like the outcomes.
[1:37:49] Think of the pool. That's a great
physical example. People showed up
[1:37:52] there, but they were civilized and
that's a $25 million flex of their tax
[1:37:57] dollars. I've mentioned before that
while some call the experience, the
[1:38:01] children present that day an exercise of
their first amendment rights. I am
[1:38:05] concerned, as I expressed earlier, that
these young students will feel that it's
[1:38:08] normal to target people if they don't
get their way. In some ways, it's like
[1:38:12] prohibited content on the internet. If
our kids come across something, even
[1:38:16] without an awareness, they can't unsee
it. I express this concern as it is the
[1:38:22] role of the board to protect our
students. And I bring this up again as a
[1:38:25] prelude to my to my request on some of
the directions that I would like to
[1:38:29] bring to the board because not only have
I stated this concern, but Tuesday in
[1:38:33] our governance committee, we opened the
discussion for policy on student board
[1:38:38] reps. Samia was present. How are they
elected? What's the process? What does
[1:38:43] the statute say? How are the youngest
students, the ones that were here
[1:38:47] present on on May 14th? How are the
youngest students represented? What's
[1:38:52] the discussion as it how what's the
discussion as it relates to their
[1:38:56] concerns? Is it more crayons, longer
lunch? Is there in in an elementary
[1:39:01] school? Those are some of the topics
that come up. How are the youngest
[1:39:05] students represented as it relates to
electing and relaying topics of interest
[1:39:10] was one of the questions. The statute
does state that it has to be a high
[1:39:13] school student. So that was an easy one.
And I mentioned this because it I
[1:39:16] because I made some interesting
observations that reinforced my concern.
[1:39:20] As the student board rep, how do they
represent the middle and the elementary
[1:39:24] students? As I said, we joked about
crayons and longer lunch. But the point
[1:39:28] that Samia made and goes back to the
very concern of the actions that day,
[1:39:33] and I thought it was really well stated,
so thank you. Young students do not know
[1:39:38] that there's a school board. They do not
know what a school board rep is.
[1:39:44] I'm sure they don't know what a school
board member is. So, if all of those
[1:39:48] kids that were here on this campus
were sat down and given a civics lesson
[1:39:53] and said, "Now, let's make it real
clear. You are at a public space. You
[1:39:57] will be recorded. We are protesting for
our first amendment rights, but there
[1:40:01] are young children there. And our
student board rep, who is elected to
[1:40:04] represent the students, made it very
clear. These students do not know what a
[1:40:08] school board rep is and I would not have
expected it either. They have elections
[1:40:14] starting in fourth grade to answer your
question. Uh they do and that is all
[1:40:18] part of that process. So they start to
get experience with it. But I'm pretty
[1:40:22] sure because I know my daughter did it
and I know she was an officer. They
[1:40:24] didn't have conversations about now this
is where you can protest and this is
[1:40:27] where you isn't you can't. So, I'm I'm
guessing it's pretty safe to assume that
[1:40:33] these young students do not know what a
schoolboard member is responsible for.
[1:40:37] They don't know the difference between
it being a school setting or an open
[1:40:40] public space where they can and will be
photographed, videoed, and taught that
[1:40:43] this is how we respond when we don't
like something. So, I would like to
[1:40:47] request the following for just for the
staff to consider. I would like to see
[1:40:55] staff include a process for follow-up as
incidents such as this occurs. It can be
[1:40:59] an incident if there's a social that has
any type of a social and emotional touch
[1:41:03] point. Programs we have in the past
reflect on what bullying looks like,
[1:41:07] what intimidation looks like, and what
targeting looks like. Yes, our first
[1:41:11] amendment rights, but our students
probably don't understand that there
[1:41:15] should be be no cost to this district
for this exercise because we already
[1:41:18] spend $3 million in our social emotional
programming and have excellent staff. So
[1:41:23] based on the activity of May 14th, I
would like to recommend that we rethink
[1:41:27] our approach. Finally, I am not
responsible for the actions of others.
[1:41:32] I'm not responsible for the actions of
the people in this room or the people
[1:41:35] when they protest. That is your
responsibility. I am responsible for how
[1:41:39] I respond. I am responsible for my
actions and my votes. Since this whole
[1:41:44] thing circled back to a protest I
identified as being triggered by a
[1:41:47] mutual separation,
I think it's important to mention that I
[1:41:52] am responsible for upholding the law,
protecting close session discussions in
[1:41:55] all places applicable, as is my
colleagues, whether they are just
[1:41:58] starting or ending their time on the
board. Adults need to take the lead, and
[1:42:02] we need to say to say to trust that
there was something else or something
[1:42:05] going on that we weren't privy to.
We can wish everyone well and move
[1:42:11] forward. That action would indicate to
me that our district and our students
[1:42:14] are not being politicized. That we are
working to ensure that we raise
[1:42:18] politically minded students, not
students that are bullying, harassing,
[1:42:21] or intimidating others whether they're
aware of it or not. And I don't believe
[1:42:24] these kids were aware of it. So, I will
state it again. I'd like to see
[1:42:28] something added to this effort that
addresses our social and emotional
[1:42:31] well-being follow-up. I know so far I've
mentioned only one person has asked if
[1:42:36] we were okay after all that and how did
we feel cuz it was frightening.
[1:42:41] only one person.
So,
[1:42:46] I will leave it up to staff to frame
that and I look forward to understanding
[1:42:49] how this can be improved.
>> Thank you.
[1:42:54] » You can move I'll go around again for
comments.
[1:42:57] » Can we make our comments before or would
you like to go Mr. Hills? I didn't know
[1:43:00] if you were trying to go last. That's
the only reason I asked.
[1:43:03] » I know, but I just was wondering because
you'd asked to go to the other room if
[1:43:06] you wanted to.
>> No, I mixed it up. I made a comment
[1:43:08] next.
Okay.
[1:43:12] » Uh yes, me will go first.
>> Okay. So, first of all, I'd like to say
[1:43:15] that um being a student in LBUSD is a
privilege, right? We have endless
[1:43:19] opportunities, incredible staff. I'm
pretty sure all of us have at least
[1:43:24] found one great friend and teacher we
can turn to for um support and advice
[1:43:28] whenever we need it. I know Logan and I
can relate when we say we have the same
[1:43:32] teacher in mind. Um teachers also
encourage individualism. They encourage
[1:43:36] us to express our thoughts, our
concerns, and speak our mind when we
[1:43:39] feel that there's something unjust. If
protesting is the way that students feel
[1:43:43] is necessary, then it should be
encouraged. I would also like to define
[1:43:48] what a peaceful protest is. So, it's a
public gathering where people use
[1:43:51] non-violent methods to express their
views, share a message, or demand social
[1:43:54] and political change. Key features of
this are no violence, unarmed, and in
[1:43:59] public spaces, which when the school is
turned into a civic center, it becomes
[1:44:03] public property.
And common methods of this are marches,
[1:44:07] rallies, signs and banners, boycots or
sitins
[1:44:11] in terms of so I also don't necessarily
appreciate my words being taken out of
[1:44:16] context and used against what I believe.
Okay.
[1:44:18] » Um so I would like to set the record
straight as to what I said in the
[1:44:22] governance committee.
>> When I said that students don't
[1:44:25] necessarily know what a school board is,
I didn't mean that they didn't know what
[1:44:30] they were protesting for. I'm sure all
the parents here correctly educated
[1:44:34] their kids on what was going on and why
coming to a protest would be meaningful.
[1:44:40] I also want to make it known that as
most of you or all of you here know, Dr.
[1:44:44] Glass has kids. So most some of those
kids must have been friends with him and
[1:44:49] friends with his kids and must have seen
the unjustice that their friend's father
[1:44:54] was facing. And I also believe that
first amendment rights were taught at a
[1:44:58] very young age. For what I can remember,
fourth grade is when I started learning
[1:45:01] about my first amendment rights. Right
in the same time that elections were
[1:45:03] happening, I was my fourth grade class
governor. And then co hit so I could
[1:45:06] unfortunately not, you know, continue on
my time as a officer to the fifth grade
[1:45:14] class. And also many students have come
and spoken at board meetings whether
[1:45:17] that be regarding the pool or stating
that they love their teachers. So I
[1:45:20] don't think it's fair to say that
students did not necessarily know what
[1:45:22] they were coming to speak for. If I
don't know if you have heard that
[1:45:27] parents have forced their kids to come
and protest for something they were
[1:45:30] unaware of, I think then that's a
different situation. But saying that
[1:45:33] kids were, you know, didn't know what
they were protesting for and don't know
[1:45:37] what a school board is, I agree. A lot
of students don't know what a school
[1:45:40] board is, but I think the students that
were here know what a school board is
[1:45:43] and most of them have been to a meeting
and have public commented before. So, I
[1:45:46] just wanted to make all of that very
clear.
[1:45:49] As for my comments, I mean, I think what
Sumia has just talked about in relation
[1:45:53] to it being factually true that uh young
students in the district are aware of
[1:45:59] what a schoolboard is and what school
we're members of, I can personally
[1:46:01] attest to this that I during my
freshman year and into my sophomore year
[1:46:08] taught a LBHS mUN program at the high
school or at the UW, excuse me, with
[1:46:14] fourth and fifth graders where I was
asked questions all the time about what
[1:46:18] was a school board member that we had
the then school board member Carter
[1:46:22] McKenzie and um Kate Hennessy speak to
them so they could get a better
[1:46:26] definition of the role. They was
actually offered to have a potential
[1:46:29] field trip to the class to go to a board
meeting so they could better understand
[1:46:32] civic engagement. And I think that's
just something really important to clear
[1:46:37] up is that beyond whether it's factually
true or not, whether students are aware
[1:46:43] of what a school board is and what a
school board member is. I'm really
[1:46:48] really concerned with your remarks,
President Morgan. It's so dimminionative
[1:46:52] to insinuate that kids, it's not even
insinuation. You're just flat out saying
[1:46:56] that little kids only care about crayons
and that's the only thing that's
[1:46:59] important to them in a district. You
know what's important to them in a
[1:47:02] district when they're constantly seeing
leadership change, when they're
[1:47:05] constantly seeing unrest in schools,
when they're hearing teachers talk about
[1:47:09] the inappropriate actions of the board.
The fact that little kids are even
[1:47:14] remotely aware of it just completely
gives more insight into how the board
[1:47:20] majority and you in particular refuse to
have any level of introspection about
[1:47:25] maybe we're doing something wrong that's
causing the community and kids to react
[1:47:29] in this way. And
the other thing is this is a clear path
[1:47:35] to why protests happen. You described
the protest as angry and hostile.
[1:47:39] Protests happen and this particular
protest happened in particular in
[1:47:43] relation to the students because they
felt like their voices weren't being
[1:47:46] heard. They felt like their voices
weren't being heard about graduation
[1:47:49] when the board blatantly disregarded or
the board majority I should say
[1:47:53] blatantly disregarded a survey where
students clearly expressed their views
[1:47:57] about the desired outcome that they had
which related exclusively to them
[1:48:03] and the board completely disregarded it.
Students at this meeting and at the May
[1:48:07] 14th meeting spoke about how they had
felt like their voices were not being
[1:48:10] heard. And
you know the another definition that I
[1:48:15] would like to add on is the definition
of targeting. Targeting is the act of
[1:48:20] focusing an action, message or resource
on a specific person, group or
[1:48:24] objective.
>> In this case, the target of the protest
[1:48:28] is the board majority because students
in particular, and I can't speak on
[1:48:31] everyone's motive for going to the
protest, but this is what students have
[1:48:34] expressed to me as their representative
because they didn't feel like their
[1:48:38] voice was being heard. And this is ev
this is so clearly evident in the
[1:48:42] district. It's seen at all levels.
Whether it's someone who's in fourth
[1:48:46] grade or whether it's someone who's in
12th grade. It you cannot just
[1:48:51] characterize little kids as not knowing
what schoolboard members are
[1:48:57] because it's just it's not fair. It's an
insult to their intelligence. And on a
[1:49:02] second uh note, they may not know what a
school board member is, but they
[1:49:07] certainly know what unkindness and abuse
of power looks like. It's one of the
[1:49:12] number one things that's taught in
history classes. It's one of the most
[1:49:15] commonly things talked about in America.
You go in any place anywhere in the
[1:49:19] world. The only place where we have
conversations about, you know, liberty
[1:49:24] and freedom as commonplace as we do is
here. It's such a fundamental part of
[1:49:29] not only our democracy, but it's a part
of our culture. And I I just feel like
[1:49:35] this is such a testament to members of
the board majorities being blinded by
[1:49:39] righteousness where there's such an odd
sentiment about how they're they're
[1:49:45] being wronged somehow by students
wanting to participate in our democratic
[1:49:50] system. And then to talk about how
parents are not correctly managing their
[1:49:56] children's behavior simply because they
disagree with you. I don't I didn't hear
[1:50:00] anyone talking about how parents are
mismanaging their students when we had
[1:50:05] students who were sending nasty comments
to fuel members on Instagram.
[1:50:10] That there was never an address or an
addressment of of that. So,
[1:50:16] I I just think this investigation
does not have to do with safety. I think
[1:50:21] it has clearly an ulterior motive. And I
think just doing my job and duty to
[1:50:27] represent to the students, it just needs
to be spoken about how unbelievably
[1:50:32] unfair and insulting it is to have the
continued remarks. I remember there was
[1:50:37] a time last year when I was speaking to
you directly, President Morgan, about
[1:50:41] how you had insinuated that my views and
the views of my then colleague and
[1:50:45] student board member Ivy Dabs were some
fuel proposed, you know, facts that we
[1:50:51] were just being told what to say. It's
ridiculous. It's insanely insulting and
[1:50:56] it's just the word I love the words that
Miss Hansen used. It's unacceptable.
[1:51:00] It's not something that we stand for in
this community. It's not something we
[1:51:04] stand for as students and it is
certainly not something that we should
[1:51:07] stand for as Americans.
[1:51:14] » Did you already speak? You already
spoke.
[1:51:16] » You did. Okay, Howard, I'm sorry. Your
It's your turn
[1:51:22] » on this
>> first part.
[1:51:26] » Okay. So, then you want to have two
comments?
[1:51:28] » She said she was going to go around
again. That's
[1:51:30] » Howard, you have the floor.
I'm I'm out of sequence of what I
[1:51:34] normally do and that's my apologies.
>> Yeah.
[1:51:36] » But it's you have the floor.
>> So I was just trying to establish am I
[1:51:40] the only member that hasn't made
comments yet?
[1:51:42] » Yes.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[1:51:45] » Well, uh, a lot to unpack here. Um,
want to clarify a couple of things.
[1:51:52] One is that uh
you know I was really glad that Joan
[1:51:57] mentioned toqueville and and uh I agree
with you Logan. I nothing you said that
[1:52:03] I don't agree with. Um in fact I don't
agree I don't disagree with anything
[1:52:08] that I heard anybody say tonight. Uh but
um it's interesting because
[1:52:17] the uh you know I've always quoted the
saying that uh it's in the clash of
[1:52:21] opinion that freedom rings and we want
protest and we want and I just want to
[1:52:28] clarify my comments were not critical of
the parents that were here that day. My
[1:52:34] comments were exactly what I was saying,
the same thing Joan was saying, although
[1:52:39] he said it differently. I'm saying if
you bring your kids, you know, make sure
[1:52:44] they know what the what the I used to
participate. I used to march with Martin
[1:52:50] Luther King, Caesar Chavez before he
became uh politically controversial. Um,
[1:52:55] and um, I've been involved in civil
rights demonstrations for 50 years. And
[1:53:02] one of the things that when I was a
teenager here in Lagouna Beach and we
[1:53:06] were going to go do a demonstration, um,
you know, the the adults got everybody
[1:53:11] together and made sure everybody
understood what what to do and what not
[1:53:15] to do and how if things get out of
control, how to handle the things and um
[1:53:20] and so that's very much a part of it and
that's what I was speaking to and I was
[1:53:25] asking questions because I wanted the
school to do a better job of making sure
[1:53:33] that people in the public who are
protesting so that they can exercise
[1:53:37] their rights, they have an orderly
situation and they have a predictable
[1:53:41] situation. And um so that's what I was
commenting to the superintendent that we
[1:53:47] need a chain of command so that um there
can be predictable outcomes for
[1:53:52] predictable behavior. And that's a way
of actually I mean if you look at how
[1:53:56] this is done that's the way you protect
the right to protest and you Yeah. So
[1:54:01] anyway I won't belabor me for I do have
a couple comments I want to make. Um
[1:54:06] first of all
uh
[1:54:09] the by board bylaw uh 9124 and education
code section 35204
[1:54:18] specifically authorized district council
and designated advisers to provide
[1:54:23] precisely the kind offormational and
advisory report that was was requested
[1:54:28] and and um and prepared. So this was a
very routine thing to do and it could be
[1:54:35] and it has been done and it will be done
in the future with regard to matters
[1:54:39] that are completely non-controversial
uh and and as well as uh issues that are
[1:54:45] controversial. Um the board action on
September 10th releasing 10th releasing
[1:54:51] the report did not adopt or ratify its
findings, conclusions or
[1:54:55] recommendations. Rather the board
decided public's discussion of instance
[1:54:59] in incidences at thirst middle school
should be informed by many facts
[1:55:04] documented in the report.
Uh the board will deter determine how
[1:55:09] the district should address issues
arising um from the report if any. Um
[1:55:16] the I think one thing I would observe is
that we can say that the rights of the
[1:55:22] protesters were respected. I was here
and I was glad to see that freedom of
[1:55:30] speech was respected. The protesters got
to do what they wanted to do in the way
[1:55:35] they wanted to do it and they got to
express themselves and that was good.
[1:55:40] But one of the things that um Joan
mentioned when she was talking about
[1:55:44] Dtoqueville is associative rights and um
that's what was not protected on Mayuh
[1:55:52] 14th and um associative rights uh are
embodied in the first amendment with
[1:55:59] equivalence with free speech. So, you
might not want to listen to this, but
[1:56:05] this is where I'm coming from and came
from from on the day that this occurred.
[1:56:11] You have free speech under the first
amendment. You also have freedom of
[1:56:16] assembly and the Supreme Court has
interpreted that to be associative
[1:56:22] rights and it involves the rights of
labor unions. It involved to to
[1:56:26] associate and to assemble peaceibly.
Just as the right of freedom of speech
[1:56:33] has to be it has to be possible for you
to freely exercise it without being
[1:56:38] impeded. The right of association and
assembly is has is an equivalent right
[1:56:44] in the first amendment. And that's where
we had a breakdown on May 14th. So I'm
[1:56:49] very critical of the report. I think the
report missed missed the uh the point.
[1:56:55] People talk tonight about missing the
point. I think the investigators missed
[1:56:59] the point and that is that the the
difference between freedom of speech and
[1:57:06] freedom of assembly and respect for both
uh broke down at a couple of different
[1:57:12] points. It broke down at the point where
you have a situation where the report
[1:57:19] says that D had five feet separation
from the crowd.
[1:57:25] So okay, so 5T separation of the crowd.
So they use the wrong standard of proof.
[1:57:32] They said that they use the
preponderance of the evidence standard
[1:57:36] to evaluate whether D was prevented from
exercising her right of assembly. In
[1:57:41] other words, De had a first amendment
right to get out of her car and to walk
[1:57:47] in here and participate in the meeting
like she's done for 12 years. That was a
[1:57:53] constitutional right of protected just
as much by the first amendment as the
[1:57:56] freedom of speech of the protesters. So
the question is why did the
[1:58:01] investigators use a preponderance of
evidence? That's the wrong standard. The
[1:58:05] correct standard of proof is the but for
standard. And the question is,
[1:58:11] would D have had a problem
getting here and exercising her right to
[1:58:17] freedom of assembly freely,
but for the crowd that made it
[1:58:22] impossible for her to do that, at least
for a period of time. So, you could say,
[1:58:26] well, okay, she was detained. She was uh
she was delayed. she was not she wasn't
[1:58:32] able to freely exercise her right of
assembly but it only lasted for you know
[1:58:36] a few seconds and then she was free to
go. So then you ask yourself is that our
[1:58:41] standard is our standard that uh if
somebody was wanting to exercise their
[1:58:46] right of free speech and I came up to
them and shouted them down so that they
[1:58:51] couldn't exercise their right of free
speech, would that be interfering with
[1:58:55] their right of free speech? What I'm
saying is that it would be and you have
[1:58:58] to be able to freely exercise your first
amendment rights and D was not freely
[1:59:03] able to exercise her first amendment
right to freedom of assembly. Yeah, it
[1:59:07] was that the detainment did not go on
and on. She eventually got in her but I
[1:59:12] videotaped her being carried through the
door by uh Ketta Brown and I went up to
[1:59:16] Ketta Brown and thanked her for helping
de get out of that situation that she
[1:59:20] was in.
[1:59:24] And um
[1:59:28] so
[1:59:32] and I I would comment if you would need
to conceptualize that more. Imagine if
[1:59:39] there were a meeting here of trans
students and trans parents who were
[1:59:44] trying to come in here and have a
meeting and and or a meeting uh where
[1:59:50] people of color in the community were
trying to assemble to address their
[1:59:54] agendas and and and there was a a crowd
of people that opposed them and
[2:00:00] prevented them from freely entering the
building. um that is uh you know an
[2:00:06] analogous analogous situation that could
have occurred and if it did I think that
[2:00:10] we would recognize it as such and I just
think that we need to recognize that
[2:00:14] de's freedom of assembly was um was
interfered with. I also want to uh add
[2:00:22] that um some of the comments that were
made tonight.
[2:00:28] You know, it is true
that we uh have a contract with Dr.
[2:00:37] Glass.
Uh we have an agreement with Dr. Glass.
[2:00:42] And it sets forth the mutually agreed
terms under which he left. And one of
[2:00:47] those mutually agreed terms is that we
can't make disparaging comments about
[2:00:52] him. We can't talk about uh what we um
uh what was meeting our expectations and
[2:01:02] what wasn't meeting our expectations. He
can't talk about what was meeting his
[2:01:06] expectations and what wasn't meeting his
expectations. Um and so it puts us in a
[2:01:12] difficult situation when we're told you
were cruel to this person or you you
[2:01:17] were you know you you were acted in a
way that was unjust. Um, I don't believe
[2:01:22] that we acted in a way that was unjust.
I don't believe that we acted in a way
[2:01:26] that was cruel. Um, I think he was not
fired for cause. He was not um
[2:01:32] terminated without cause. Um, his
employment ended based on a mutually
[2:01:36] agreed terms. And um, so we have a lot
of um, a narrative going uh, that u puts
[2:01:45] us in a situation where we can listen to
the community, but we can't necessarily
[2:01:49] respond. Um and uh that goes to a lot of
issues. Um at last at the last meeting I
[2:01:56] called in and I talked about the fact
that um uh for example
[2:02:03] uh it was characterized that Dr. Glass
did not refer the audit report to the
[2:02:11] DA. I read his December 13th email in
which he explained that he had um
[2:02:19] referred the um uh the audit report to
the DA. He did did it by himself
[2:02:25] unilaterally. It wasn't in conjunction
with the board president or the board
[2:02:28] majority. Um and I read his email in
which he was fairly blunt and accusatory
[2:02:35] about the audit being uh recognizing a
problem. I just want to read to you um
[2:02:41] very briefly. Um
>> this is not on the agenda.
[2:02:46] » Well, what's on the agenda is the same
thing that you talked about.
[2:02:49] » It's the May 14th protest.
>> Well,
[2:02:53] in that context, um you raised issues
about um whether or not we are
[2:02:59] communicating to the public on matters
including uh the subject that was
[2:03:05] protested on May, which was the which
was Dr. glasses termination. So this is
[2:03:09] germanine to the
>> but that doesn't mean you get to go in.
[2:03:12] » It is gerine to the agenda item control
of the meeting.
[2:03:16] » I Yes, I do. As long as I can have you
respectfully wait to be recognized, then
[2:03:21] I will also have control of the meeting.
>> And let me and let me let me
[2:03:24] » Howard is asking to address it. Um the
investigation was based on um the mutual
[2:03:31] separation. This report is about the
safety.
[2:03:33] » That's what the May 14th protest was
about. safety let me the safety excuse
[2:03:38] me the safety
and procedural aspects of the meeting
[2:03:42] are the topic of the re of the report
I'm sorry we have all we have all
[2:03:47] contributed comments that are beyond
that that are relevant to the event in
[2:03:53] and of itself so because everyone has
made those comments I will allow Go
[2:03:57] ahead
>> well I'm sorry but my comments
[2:03:59] » move the agenda move the agenda is there
a second
[2:04:02] » so the second we need to vote on that
>> okay all in favor on moving the agenda.
[2:04:06] » I
>> I
[2:04:07] » All opposed.
>> I No.
[2:04:10] » No. Thank you.
>> We didn't do the student vote. Um it's
[2:04:13] » pro provisional vote.
>> I
[2:04:17] » thank you.
>> So,
[2:04:19] » please continue. Howard.
>> Yeah. Uh
[2:04:24] this this my comments right now are
gerine to the subject because audience
[2:04:30] and other board members and the topic
itself relate to the termination of Dr.
[2:04:35] Glass. We clarified that. Go ahead.
Justify this.
[2:04:37] » We've clarified that. Go ahead.
>> What I want to comment is that while Dr.
[2:04:41] Glass
uh sent the audit report to the DA and
[2:04:46] um stated that um I'll read it. This is
Dr. Glass to the DA uh to D explaining
[2:04:53] what he said to the DA. Um
I identified myself as superintendent
[2:04:59] and wrote that our healthc care spending
exceeded the level specified in the
[2:05:03] bargaining agreement and our
associations
[2:05:07] uh accumulating uh over $1 million over
several years. I reported that we
[2:05:12] completed an internal investigation and
con consulted with counsel and was
[2:05:17] advised to report the issue to the
district attorney's office. I also said
[2:05:21] we were available. So that's what that's
what Dr. Glass said to the DA and I just
[2:05:26] want to read what um
>> keep it on May 14th. So I
[2:05:29] » Yeah. No, I'm coming back to that. Okay.
um uh the the the communication that
[2:05:35] went from the board president to the DA
after the board president found out that
[2:05:41] that um Glass had sent it on his own
without consulting with the board
[2:05:45] president. The board president then
wrote to the DA and said this. The
[2:05:51] content of this referral is not in the
nature of allegations, but information
[2:05:56] intended to support impartial and
competent assessment of this matter by
[2:06:00] duly authorized state or federal
compliance and enforcement.
[2:06:05] And it goes on to say that we make no
assumptions about the legal implications
[2:06:11] of the reports, audit reports, findings
and related communications. So the point
[2:06:16] is u there was not an injustice or there
was not a a roughshot treatment of um
[2:06:22] the superintendent. And the last point I
want to make is this. Member Malchesy
[2:06:28] uh talked about being condescending and
and uh arrogant or inappropriate or
[2:06:33] whatever for um uh uh for me to suggest
that parents need to understand the
[2:06:39] rules so that they can properly uh uh
enable the students to participate in
[2:06:47] protests. And um yet when there was a
controversy that involved her and her
[2:06:54] family, she filed a a furpa uh complaint
against people for violating the rights
[2:07:01] of uh students and the board council
investigated it and the board council
[2:07:07] reported there was no furer violation.
So on one hand, she's in here saying
[2:07:13] that we shouldn't advise parents that
they need to get educated and understand
[2:07:17] and competently protect their kids and
make sure they can participate in
[2:07:22] protest and do it safely. Uh when she
was the parent involved in that
[2:07:27] situation, um she filed a complaint
because she didn't understand what her
[2:07:33] stu her her students rights were. And so
here I am saying parents need to
[2:07:38] understand their students rights so they
can protect those rights and enable
[2:07:42] participation in protest. And when she
was when the shoe was on the other foot,
[2:07:47] she um
>> Howard file he's wrapping up and then it
[2:07:51] will be your turn.
>> I I suggest that you stop talking about
[2:07:54] this.
>> Thank you.
[2:07:55] » Well, I know you've always suggested
that you talk about everybody else's
[2:07:58] personal situation, but you never want
anybody to talk about your
[2:08:02] » because you're not going to like the
response. This is I need both of you to
[2:08:05] contribute to the solution of keeping
this meeting under control. Howard, I
[2:08:08] need you to wrap up because you are
starting to deviate a little bit even
[2:08:11] though I understand your perspective of
how it's all entertained.
[2:08:14] » I'm just trying to get some material on
the record which I've done and
[2:08:19] » thank you very much. All right. So,
we've gone through one pass on comment.
[2:08:23] Uh I will start again if anyone would
like to make a final comment before we
[2:08:28] move on. Stu, I will start with the
students first.
[2:08:35] No. Okay.
>> You don't have any. Okay. Um, Dr. Kelly,
[2:08:40] » I don't know why the investigators did
not understand what they were supposed
[2:08:43] to do, Howard, because you took half of
my time. So, you had an hour and a half
[2:08:47] to to explain to them. I had 30 30
minutes
[2:08:51] » and it is the building. Okay. Howard and
the building closed at 4:00. I was on
[2:08:57] their clock. I didn't set the clock. I
responded to their questions and when
[2:09:01] they were done with me then they excuse
me so my I didn't interfere with your
[2:09:06] » Mr. Hillsation
that I
[2:09:08] » Mr. Hills
>> interfered with his
[2:09:10] » point of order please.
>> Thank you.
[2:09:12] » President concerned about you continuing
to go on about the $3 million that we
[2:09:17] invest in social emotional and that
somehow that social emotional folks are
[2:09:21] responsible for not keeping under
control the children and the
[2:09:26] demonstration. I mean, uh, I I think
it's just outrageous for you to keep
[2:09:30] doing this. Uh, that $3 million is so
important for everything that we do in
[2:09:35] this district, and it's been so
successful. We have not had a suicide
[2:09:39] during the period of time, the seven
years, eight years I've been on this
[2:09:42] board, and we've not had a major
altercation. So, we need to invest the
[2:09:47] $3 million and even more so. And and you
need to keep doing what you're doing.
[2:09:51] Um, thank you.
[2:09:56] Thank you, Dr. Maleski.
>> So, again, I want to reiterate a couple
[2:10:01] things. Um, the concerns that every time
a child expresses something you don't
[2:10:06] like, you deny their agency. It's been
going on for two years. It's so unfair
[2:10:10] to our students. You should also not be
surprised about the response from
[2:10:14] students at this meetings. At this
meeting on May 14th, many of those
[2:10:19] students were friends with Dr. glasses
children who went to school here at
[2:10:23] Thirstston and you should be sympathetic
to that and I'm sorry de that your
[2:10:27] feelings were hurt but that is why it is
important for students to protest and
[2:10:32] exercise their dem democratic rights
because with free speech rights comes
[2:10:37] responsibility and our job as a board
should have been to turn that into an
[2:10:42] important lesson by talking about how we
reflected on what students said, how we
[2:10:49] thought about the fact that there was
protest, how we wanted to have
[2:10:53] conversations about how that protest
could be heard and processed and we
[2:10:58] could acknowledge what the students did
in terms of exercising their free speech
[2:11:03] rights. That would have been a beautiful
lesson in democracy. And instead, this
[2:11:08] board majority instead of having an
educative moment, launched an
[2:11:13] investigation that was targeted toward
parents, students, and staff. And it was
[2:11:17] not about safety. And finally, Sherry,
you're using the wrong definition of
[2:11:22] targeting. In its ordinary meaning, to
target someone simply means you direct
[2:11:27] an action statement or criticism toward
that person. So like you have four kids.
[2:11:33] If one of the four does something wrong
and you discipline the one, you're not
[2:11:38] going to discipline all four of them.
You're going to discipline one of them.
[2:11:41] That's not target that's that's
targeting them in a particular moment.
[2:11:46] But an angry protester can direct
comments at an individual. That's not
[2:11:51] bullying. You are confusing being the
target of a particular act and targeting
[2:11:57] as a pattern of conduct, which we use in
psychology. Two totally different uses
[2:12:02] of the word targeting and an
inappropriate use of it. It wasn't
[2:12:06] bullying. It was targeting your actions
specifically because they were wrong.
[2:12:12] Finally, you can claim that this
investigation is about safety, but this
[2:12:16] the community has seen the Instagram
posts and anger is not bullying.
[2:12:23] » That's it.
>> Thank you, member. Uh, Clerk Perry,
[2:12:30] » I truly thought it was about safety and
it wasn't my feelings that were hurt. It
[2:12:36] was my foot.
Um I and what really bothered me was the
[2:12:42] hate signs. Not people being upset about
the decision, but the hate signs. I just
[2:12:50] was really hurt that that was what
people
[2:12:54] had out there and having having children
hold.
[2:13:01] » Thank you, Clerk Perry.
[2:13:05] I've got any final comments. I've got a
final comment then we're going to move
[2:13:07] on.
>> Yeah, I I have one additional comment
[2:13:09] that is that I agree with.
>> Hang on. I did not recognize you. I will
[2:13:13] recognize you next.
>> Student board.
[2:13:16] » I think if we're talking about examples
that are being set for the students, I
[2:13:19] think the consistent need to regulate
the actions of some board members.
[2:13:23] That's more of an example than parents
encouraging their kids to speak up for
[2:13:26] what they believe in.
>> Thank you.
[2:13:31] Member Marshall.
>> May I just cover what I was going to
[2:13:33] talk about?
I'm sorry. What?
[2:13:37] » Samia just did a great job. She covered
exactly what I was going to say.
[2:13:39] » Thank you, Clerk. Um, member Hills,
[2:13:44] » I'd just like to say that um, in the
prepared remarks I had that I didn't get
[2:13:48] to, um, the uh,
uh, I've been a civil rights lawyer for
[2:13:54] 50 years and I believe that everything I
heard and saw from the protesters on May
[2:14:02] 14th was um, consistent with their
rights of free speech. I didn't see
[2:14:08] anything or hear anything um that I
heard obscenities. I heard some
[2:14:14] profanity. Um I did have comments that
were directed towards me that were
[2:14:20] extremely vituporative and and um but
that's all freedom of speech. Having
[2:14:26] people say things that are upsetting to
you or that are offensive to you or that
[2:14:30] hurt your feelings or whatnot, that's
part of free speech. And so I agree with
[2:14:35] uh Joan about that. I don't think I I I
I already had in my prepared remarks
[2:14:41] that I thought um everything I saw and
heard was was consistent with the right
[2:14:46] of free speech. As I stated earlier, I I
saw things and and recorded things that
[2:14:53] were not consistent with the right of
freedom of association and freedom of
[2:14:58] assembly. And I think those were
concerns that the investigators missed.
[2:15:02] I also think that the investigators were
offt target um with respect to how they
[2:15:08] described the role of staff and whether
or not staff had responsibility. Um uh
[2:15:13] although we have said that the campus
was turned over at 3:30, um the fact is
[2:15:19] that the site administrator uh stayed
involved in uh communicating and
[2:15:24] coordinating with um uh people involved
in the protest and there was no
[2:15:30] coordination with members of the board.
members of the board did not know what
[2:15:34] they were walking into and other people
including people on the staff did know
[2:15:38] what they were walking into. And it
would have been good if the board had
[2:15:42] been advised of what they were walking
into. If if the staff uh and the
[2:15:47] district and for that matter the police
had communicated to board members what
[2:15:52] they knew and were communicating with
each other. the whole problem um of uh
[2:16:00] uh freedom of assembly being interfered
with would not have occurred. And so
[2:16:04] those are things that I think need to be
part of the record of this discussion.
[2:16:10] » Thank you, Howard. Before we move on,
any last final comments? Okay, I would
[2:16:15] like to make a couple of clarifications.
Um I uh I appreciate everyone's
[2:16:21] comments. Um, I think that it's awfully
assumptive to assume that I don't
[2:16:25] reflect. Um, I think that it's also fair
to say that as I've said before, um, we
[2:16:32] represent the community, not just the
people in the room. Um, I am a parent,
[2:16:39] so I take this stuff pretty seriously.
Um, when we talk about the students that
[2:16:45] were there and they were aware of what
they were there for, I agree the fourth
[2:16:48] and fifth graders might have had a
decent idea, but there were small
[2:16:51] children there. There were young
children there. And as a board member, I
[2:16:56] do have the ability and the right to
express my concern with what perception
[2:17:00] these students are seeing.
That is the role of the board. So, I am
[2:17:06] exercising that by stating that I am
concerned with some of these students
[2:17:09] that will think that this kind of
behavior is acceptable.
[2:17:12] We've decid we've determined right
frontal cortex development. What is the
[2:17:17] interest of young children? Some
children are more advanced, some aren't
[2:17:21] to try and politicize and then blow up a
comment. I I find very um unfortunate
[2:17:28] because I do feel that we have gotten to
a point where we can't even disagree
[2:17:33] civily. And I think that's the
underlying concern about this whole
[2:17:38] thing is that I have been in this room
wherever it was for 15 16 years. I've
[2:17:44] never seen anything like this. And we
have had serious issues like not opening
[2:17:49] our schools, the calendar and what the
community is asking for the two the 2x3,
[2:17:54] the 4x4. I've said all those before. Um
that does not mean I don't uphold
[2:18:00] people's first amendment rights. It
means that I think as a very small
[2:18:04] community, we are too small to be this
divided and the energy that is coming
[2:18:10] out of May 14th and into the community.
Hey, political season, I get it. Um, but
[2:18:16] it is really disheartening on all sides
to see um the effort and maybe it's not
[2:18:22] the people sitting here directly um but
it's certainly people out there that
[2:18:26] support either side and to say that it's
this board majority's fault. um is not
[2:18:32] taking responsibility for the adults in
the room to come together and say how
[2:18:36] can we resolve this and I have asked and
I have offered. So that's my final
[2:18:41] comment on that. Uh moving on to item
7B, draft of 2027 board meeting dates.
[2:18:46] Dr. Austin.
[2:18:51] » Yeah, just so we're all on the same
page, this is not an action item. Uh it
[2:18:55] will not be an action item until
December. So, um, right now we're trying
[2:19:00] to again provide a long runway, make
sure that, uh, we capture thoughts now,
[2:19:08] uh, for board meeting dates that, uh,
will will be held in the future. Um, we
[2:19:15] thought giving everyone a look right now
might, uh, avoid some conflicts. If you
[2:19:21] if anyone sees things that are uh either
personal or group or whatever kind of
[2:19:28] conflict might exist or if you have
thoughts, this is the time to share
[2:19:31] them. And I asked Miss Weber to walk us
through because there are some some uh
[2:19:37] some changes, some different looks if if
it's a direction the board would like to
[2:19:42] go.
>> Thank you. So, you'll notice first off
[2:19:46] that we don't have um any recognitions
listed. We're looking at changing that
[2:19:50] process. Again, we do have two meetings
listed in January with the second
[2:19:55] meeting in January being held for a held
for a study session. There is no topic
[2:20:00] listed with that as of yet. And if there
is nothing that needs to be brought
[2:20:04] forward, we may request um cancelling
that meeting or changing it to a regular
[2:20:08] meeting. But at this point, uh there may
be a need for a study session. One
[2:20:12] meeting in February as always, two in
March. The April meeting is held uh
[2:20:18] scheduled for the third meeting in
Wednesday in in sorry the third
[2:20:23] Thursday due to Passover.
Two meetings in May going back to that
[2:20:28] schedule to prepare for the LCAP
meetings in uh LCAP and budget meetings
[2:20:33] in June. The June meeting being held the
first week due to school graduations and
[2:20:39] propo promotion and other end of school
activities. The second week we are
[2:20:44] proposing a no meeting or dark month for
the month of July.
[2:20:51] August would be August 12th prior to the
first day of school and an if needed
[2:20:56] meeting in August the 2nd for the second
meeting. We generally only have one
[2:21:01] meeting in August. Uh so that meeting
may not be needed. Two meetings in
[2:21:06] September and October as usual. the
third
[2:21:11] week for November due to Veterans Day.
And then because next year is not an
[2:21:17] election year, the December meeting
would be back on schedule and could be
[2:21:20] held the second Thursday of the month
for December 9th.
[2:21:25] And that's it.
This won't be brought forward for
[2:21:30] approval until the December 15th meeting
during the annual organizational portion
[2:21:34] of the meeting. So this is just for,
like Dr. Austin said for the board to
[2:21:38] review, see if you have any conflicts uh
coming in the future that you can
[2:21:42] discuss um in December.
[2:21:47] » Great. Thank you. Are there any
questions from the board? Starting with
[2:21:50] the student board reps,
[2:21:54] » Dr. Kelly,
[2:21:59] » member Hills,
Dr. Machoski.
[2:22:04] Um, first, thank you for making a
manageable schedule. What are you doing
[2:22:09] about recognitions that are different or
we we're not ready to talk about that?
[2:22:13] » Not quite ready.
[2:22:18] » Clerk Perry.
No. Okay.
[2:22:22] Okay. Are there any public comments on
this item? Okay. Um, all right. I think
[2:22:28] I just had one comment. Um, and I can go
back around if there are any comments. I
[2:22:31] appreciate uh the schedule. Um, I
appreciate that we have a governance
[2:22:36] committee where we can do some of the
work that needed to be done in meetings
[2:22:39] that were scheduled this year because we
were unable to get governance meetings
[2:22:42] last year, which has now resulted in the
fact that we have the 50 plus something
[2:22:46] that we're actually behind on. Um, so
that was unfortunate that we couldn't
[2:22:50] get some of that stuff done. Um,
otherwise I have no I think I see a
[2:22:56] couple of conflicts but I can address
them later. Um, okay. Any other comments
[2:23:01] on the calendar? Okay, great. Moving on.
[2:23:07] Uh, we're on 8A, the uh, reports for the
bargaining units. And I'm realizing we
[2:23:12] never took a time stamp of when we were
going to finish. Missed missed
[2:23:16] opportunity.
Okay, bargaining units. Uh, CSA, please.
[2:23:22] » Good evening. We're finishing our survey
and sunshine process so we can start
[2:23:27] negotiations in November, way ahead of
our usual time, which we greatly
[2:23:32] appreciate. Our staff has been very busy
supporting students on a daily basis in
[2:23:39] every aspect of the students school day
from academics, mental health, safety,
[2:23:44] and nutrition. Our special ed are
receiving their CPI training on
[2:23:49] deescalation by our own Jay Lynn. Our
classified staff are showing up and
[2:23:54] giving 100% every day for every student.
We are dedicated. We are essential. We
[2:23:59] are CSEA. Now, on to the bigger issue.
At the last board meeting, Sherry stated
[2:24:05] that only 15% of our staff live in
Lagona Beach and pay property taxes
[2:24:10] here, implying that the voices of the
remaining 85% should carry less weight.
[2:24:16] I do not know the source or accuracy of
those figures. I'm using them only
[2:24:21] because Sherry public stated them. That
implication is not only insulting, it is
[2:24:27] also false. Where employees live does
not determine their value, knowledge, or
[2:24:32] commitment. Our teachers and classified
employees educate, support, protect, and
[2:24:37] care for Laguna Beach students and
families every day. They are a big part
[2:24:42] of the fabric of this community
regardless of their home address. Our
[2:24:47] schools are not supported exclusively by
local property taxes. The district also
[2:24:52] benefits from state funding, including
Proposition 28 for arts and music
[2:24:57] education, as well as federal funding
for special education, nutrition, and
[2:25:01] services for English learners. Those
public dollars come from taxpayers
[2:25:06] everywhere, including the employees
whose voices are being discounted.
[2:25:10] Public education exists because society
has made a shared commitment to educate
[2:25:14] children. Just as public revenue
supports police departments, fire
[2:25:18] departments, and other essential
services,
[2:25:22] public schools are not owned exclusively
by local property owners, and staff
[2:25:27] expertise does not become less valuable
at the city boundary. Imagine if members
[2:25:32] of the city council told our police
officers, including the SRO's who serve
[2:25:37] in our schools and our firefighters,
that their voices mattered less because
[2:25:41] they did not live in Laguna Beach. Would
we question the commitment of a
[2:25:46] firefighter who risks their life
protecting a Laguna Beach home simply
[2:25:50] because that firefighter goes home to
another city? Would we dismiss the
[2:25:54] professional judgment of a police
officer who protects our community and
[2:25:59] schools simply because that officer
commutes to work? Of course not. We
[2:26:04] recognize that their service,
experience, and commitment are defined
[2:26:08] by what they do for this community, not
by their home address. Where they live
[2:26:13] does not diminish the value of their
service. And the same is true for our
[2:26:17] teachers and classified employees. Using
property tax status to determine whose
[2:26:22] voices deserve to be heard is both
unfair and illogical. Renters,
[2:26:27] homeowners, and staff members all have
valuable perspectives.
[2:26:32] A property deed does not create
knowledge or commitment or a deeper
[2:26:36] understanding of our schools. Those
qualities come from showing up, doing
[2:26:40] the work, and serving our students every
day. No one is claiming that
[2:26:45] non-resident employees have the same
voting status as residents. The point is
[2:26:50] that voting residency does not erase an
employees standing as a stakeholder or
[2:26:55] diminish the value of firstirhand
professional knowledge. Staff members
[2:27:00] experience the effects of board
decisions every day. Their perspective
[2:27:04] is not outside interference. It is
essential information that responsible
[2:27:09] leadership should welcome. This board
must stop treating dedicated employees
[2:27:14] like outsiders while relying on their
skill, commitment, and labor every day.
[2:27:19] I am asking this board to reject this
argument publicly and affirm that every
[2:27:25] employees experience and professional
voice are valued regardless of where
[2:27:30] that employee lives.
and Sherry. Only 15% of our staff may
[2:27:35] live in Laguna Beach, but 100% of them
serve Laguna Beach students and families
[2:27:40] every day. So, please stop the nonsense.
[2:27:48] » It's the Buffas. Um, we'll come around
for comments or
[2:27:51] » I just want to say that um I think when
uh union representatives are addressing
[2:27:57] the members of the board, they should
use their names and not their first
[2:28:00] names. And the same thing would say the
the CSEA U representative frequently
[2:28:06] refers to the superintendent by his
first name and I don't think it's
[2:28:10] appropriate. Um and uh I would like to
make that uh point for the record.
[2:28:16] » Thank you.
>> Miss Bum.
[2:28:22] » Good evening. First hello from one of
the VIP 15enters sitting here uh because
[2:28:28] apparently I happen to be one of the
educators who both works in this
[2:28:31] district is a parent lives and yes owns
votes pays property taxes in Laguna
[2:28:37] Beach. Over the last several days there
has been considerable public commentary
[2:28:41] questioning the significance of our
teachers union's endorsement of
[2:28:44] schoolboard candidates including
commentary pointing out that as Thesa
[2:28:48] said approximately 50% of our staff live
in Laguna Beach and therefore a vote in
[2:28:51] this election. I think it's important
for our community to understand what
[2:28:55] teachers union endorsement actually
means. An endorsement is not an attempt
[2:28:59] by teachers to choose the board for the
community. The voters do that. An
[2:29:03] endorsement tells the community
something different. These are the
[2:29:06] candidates whom the educators working
inside this school system believe will
[2:29:10] best represent the values and priorities
they identified through their union's
[2:29:14] endorsement process. We continue to hear
publicly about the support the board
[2:29:19] provides its employees. our salaries,
our benefits, our class sizes, and most
[2:29:23] recently the suggestion that our
teachers in other districts would
[2:29:25] question what we possibly have to
complain about. But our members concerns
[2:29:29] have never simply been about whether
Lagouna Beach teachers are well
[2:29:32] compensated.
Compensation is not the same thing as
[2:29:35] respect. Benefits are not the same thing
as trust. And approving a contract does
[2:29:40] not by itself demonstrate a healthy
relationship with the people who work
[2:29:43] under that contract.
So, I think our community deserves some
[2:29:47] context about what that support has
actually looked like from the
[2:29:49] perspective of the employees represented
by our unions. During bargaining, our
[2:29:54] represented employees were presented
with 3% in available compensation. Our
[2:29:58] members did not receive that 3% as
salary. We received 1% salary increase
[2:30:03] while the equivalent of 2% was directed
toward increasing the district's
[2:30:07] contribution to the health and welfare
cap. We agreed to that because health
[2:30:10] care costs matter to our members and
because we were told that fiscal
[2:30:14] responsibility required difficult
choices. After we bargained in good
[2:30:19] faith, management received a full 3%
salary increase with none of that 3%
[2:30:24] required to go toward the health and
welfare cap.
[2:30:28] Let me say that again because the
distinction matters.
[2:30:33] Represented employees received 1% in
salary with 2% going toward the health
[2:30:37] and welfare cap. management received the
full 3% in salary. We are not raising
[2:30:42] this because we regrudge anyone fair
compensation. We are raising it because
[2:30:45] when our members hear publicly that this
board has been exceptionally supportive
[2:30:49] of employees, they are entitled to look
at the actual decisions being made and
[2:30:52] ask whether the support has been applied
equitably.
[2:30:56] Approving a collective bargaining
agreement is not a gift to employees. It
[2:31:00] is the board fulfilling the agreement
reached through the bargaining process.
[2:31:04] So when people ask what's the real
issue, this is part of the answer. The
[2:31:08] issue is trust. The issue is whether
what employees are told about shared
[2:31:12] sacrifice is reflected consistently in
the decisions that follow. Teachers and
[2:31:17] staff occupy a unique position in a
school district. We are in classrooms
[2:31:21] every day. We implement district
initiatives. We experience the effects
[2:31:24] of board decisions. We work directly
with students and families, collaborate
[2:31:28] with administrators and support staff
and understand in a very practical way
[2:31:33] how governance ultimately reaches our
classrooms. 87% of the members who
[2:31:38] participated in our endorsement voted
unanimously to endorse Joan Shaheen and
[2:31:43] Kimberly. 87%. That number deserves to
be heard for what it is. It means that
[2:31:48] among the educators who participated in
our union's endorsement process, there
[2:31:52] was overwhelming agreement about the
direction they want to see in district
[2:31:55] governance. Whether an educator lives in
Laguna Beach, Alisa VJO, Irvine, Costa
[2:32:00] Mesa, or somewhere else does not change
what that educator knows about working
[2:32:04] here in LBSD. It does not diminish their
professional experience and certainly
[2:32:08] does not make their perspective on the
governance of their workplace
[2:32:11] irrelevant. happen to be in that 15%.
But my voice should not carry more
[2:32:15] weight within my profession simply
because my home happens to sit inside
[2:32:19] Laguna Beach city limits. I hope we can
stop debating whether our educators
[2:32:22] voices matter because of where they
happen to live instead become curious
[2:32:26] about something much more important. Why
did 87% of the educators who
[2:32:30] participated in participated in this
process come to the same conclusion? I
[2:32:35] believe that is the conversation worth
having. Thank you.
[2:32:40] » Thank you Dr. Austin.
[2:32:45] Yes. Um
I I rarely try to correct anything, but
[2:32:51] I do have one little piece for u and I I
don't think it was done intentionally.
[2:32:56] It
management is a bigger number than the
[2:33:02] contracted managers that uh management
positions that received the full 3% that
[2:33:07] was actually three employees. So, I just
want to make sure that we're not um
[2:33:13] we're not making it sound like it was
all the principles, assistant
[2:33:16] principles, court uh directors that was
they they received exactly the same
[2:33:21] settlement. So, we're really talking
about Mr. comment. I'm just making sure
[2:33:24] I've I've got this correct that it was
the three assistant superintendent that
[2:33:29] that did exactly what you said, received
the 3% in salary, which is different
[2:33:34] than everybody else, but I just don't
want that to be um u looking like it was
[2:33:40] all of management and um that was it.
And um nothing else on on that topic at
[2:33:47] all. Um in fact, in the interest of
time, I I think I've spent enough time
[2:33:51] speaking tonight about other items. So,
I'm going to wave the rest of my report.
[2:33:58] » Thank you. Um, student board reps.
[2:34:04] » So, I'm going to kick us off talking
about uh El Mororrow. Uh, El Mororrow
[2:34:08] has some announcements where they
announced its 26 and 27 PAL students.
[2:34:13] The students are really really excited
about their kickoff for
[2:34:19] um the annual Boo Blast t-shirt contest
where the winner will be featured on a
[2:34:24] very special 75th anniversary edition of
the Boo Blast. They also named their
[2:34:29] first semester sealine senators and are
excited for these students to meet with
[2:34:33] our superintendent uh Dr. Austin for a
student focus group next month. At TOW,
[2:34:38] students held their first official
monthly activity for to's newly formed
[2:34:43] Good Vibes Club. The Good Vibes Club is
a fifth grade initiative to bring
[2:34:47] together our general education students
with special needs for an inclusive
[2:34:50] activity. The September activity was a
LEAF project led by uh Mrs. I hope I'm
[2:34:55] not pronouncing this wrong, Walsy, and
will go on a display in the NPR. Fifth
[2:34:59] graders are also participating in a
fantasy football league along with staff
[2:35:02] members. It has generated a lot of
interest and excitement among boys and
[2:35:05] girls alike. and Mr. Turner is on team
Haley and they could use some help at
[2:35:10] wide receiver if anyone has any tips in
the crowd.
[2:35:14] » So Thirsten ASB students helped lead a
successful club rush giving students an
[2:35:18] opportunity to learn about existing
clubs, connect with peers who share
[2:35:21] similar interests and explore how to
start a new club of their own. In
[2:35:24] recognition of suicide prevention month,
ASB is hosting a stress less tutorial
[2:35:29] focused on positive mental health
strategies. And students will decorate
[2:35:32] stress balls and participate in an
interactive review of healthy ways to
[2:35:35] manage stress and bring more positivity
in their lives. Students are also
[2:35:39] creating a wall of hope by writing
encouraging messages for classmates who
[2:35:42] may be experiencing a difficult day. The
counselors recently visited classrooms
[2:35:46] to provide lessons focused on student
well-being, school connectedness, and
[2:35:50] helpseeking. And at LBHS, as we
mentioned at the last meeting, our
[2:35:54] annual club rush took place with over 80
clubs in attendance, and it was a huge
[2:35:57] success. In college and career news,
we're also hosting our passport to
[2:36:01] college event with many colleges coming
to LBHS to answer student and parent
[2:36:05] questions. Additionally, the editor and
chief of the Princeton Review will be
[2:36:08] coming as a keynote speaker to kick kick
off the event, excuse me. Dr. Esparonza,
[2:36:13] our new athletic director, has been
working hard to increase our social
[2:36:16] media presence both on main the main
LBHS athletics account and the
[2:36:20] individual sports accounts. He has also
redesigned the athletes of character
[2:36:24] program and turned it into the selfless
exceptionalism accountability student
[2:36:27] athlete leadership team or sea salt. Um
there has also been something
[2:36:32] implemented on campus called super fan
games where a game is selected during
[2:36:36] the week and the student body as well as
the sea salt members focus on increasing
[2:36:39] the presence of students and school
spirit to cheer on that team. So huge
[2:36:44] shout out to all the work he's been
doing as of recently and we can't wait
[2:36:46] to see what else he can bring to LBHS.
And finally, homecoming season is
[2:36:50] officially upon us. ASB has selected the
theme of Avengers for the student body
[2:36:53] this year and our homecoming football
game is and the second annual school
[2:36:57] power homecoming huddle are happening on
October 16th and the dance happening on
[2:37:01] October 17th. Thank you.
[2:37:05] » Great. Thank you. Great report. Uh Dr.
[2:37:09] I'm just going to concentrate on one
thing tonight and um there's a lot of
[2:37:14] show and tell that I could do but I'm
con concentrating on trying to get
[2:37:18] something on the agenda and I'm not
going to talk about the item. I'm going
[2:37:22] to just talk about the process that I
went through on the 13th of September.
[2:37:27] Uh which was a Sunday. I emailed or I
text the superintendent and asked him to
[2:37:33] put this on the agenda. On the 14th, I
got a text back from him who because he
[2:37:39] wanted to know exactly what I was
requesting. So, I consulted with some
[2:37:44] people to make sure my English was
accurate and then I sent back to him
[2:37:47] with a copy to Mrs. Morgan on the 15th
as far as asking my request and uh I
[2:37:54] have 10 different responses back and
forth, but needless to say, my request
[2:37:59] never got happened. Um, and on the 18th,
the last uh comment that I got from the
[2:38:06] superintendent was, "As previously
established, the board president
[2:38:09] determines the agenda." And this is
where the confusion is. Mr. Hills was
[2:38:13] kind enough to say that everything's
working great. That really the
[2:38:17] administration does the agenda and the
president approves it. Well, as
[2:38:22] previously established by the board
president determines the agenda. As a
[2:38:26] practical matter, the request came on
September 15th. No, it came on the 13th.
[2:38:32] Uh, at that point the agenda had been
set by the president. Additionally, all
[2:38:36] items had been submitted by the staff,
reviewed by our whole team, and the
[2:38:40] revision process had begun. The agenda
is posted in a few minutes. I don't want
[2:38:45] to be in the middle of these issues. The
board took a great deal of time on the
[2:38:50] topic a year ago. I have provided
information on each request from board
[2:38:54] members. Everyone has the best
information we have. If an item appears
[2:38:59] in the future, it will be through one of
two avenues. The president can place the
[2:39:03] item on the agenda um by uh number 9322
board policy um or it is completely is
[2:39:11] appropriate meth mechanism. The
information I sent to the board is not
[2:39:15] confidential. So that's why I can read
this to you. But I was I've only asked
[2:39:20] for one item on the agenda since the
majority took over and you can see what
[2:39:25] I've gone through and my item did not
come on the agenda and I was kind of
[2:39:30] accused of what I was trying to do as
far as with this item. I had no ulterior
[2:39:34] motives. There was a lot of
miscommunication in the in the
[2:39:37] community. A lot of people got to me and
I thought it was that this should be an
[2:39:42] item on the agenda that should be openly
discussed.
[2:39:46] So, you wanted me to turn it over to you
as far as how you wanted how you're
[2:39:50] going to do with deal with this.
>> Do you want to say what the item was?
[2:39:55] » No, I I I was just talking about the
process. I think that I think that if if
[2:39:59] the superintendent and president want to
talk about what I asked for
[2:40:04] and and my I have all my 10 uh texts are
available so you can see the date and
[2:40:09] time. These are all requested and what I
got back.
[2:40:12] » Yeah, they're working on that. So, um,
the the policy cited and the directions
[2:40:19] back were that you would bring it up
here. I clarified that it did not have
[2:40:23] to be previously agenda. So, one thing
that was requested was to agendaize an
[2:40:28] item to ask for, I'm paraphrasing, but
agendaize an item,
[2:40:34] asking the board to vote to place an
item on an agenda. And I clarify that's
[2:40:40] actually unnecessary. And in fact, um,
practically speaking, and I did some
[2:40:46] research on this, that could be blocked
by a president, which would keep you
[2:40:52] from doing exactly what you're asking to
do, which is to have it heard for the
[2:40:56] board. So, in that case, I I I uh
clarified that you could bring it up
[2:41:03] here. Does not have to be
pre-aggendized. You can tell everyone
[2:41:06] exactly what the topic is that you would
like on the agenda, but there could not
[2:41:11] be a substantive discussion about the
underlying pieces of the uh the item
[2:41:18] that you'd like. Is that fair enough? So
in doing that uh if we just followed our
[2:41:25] own procedures uh you would state the
item um as as concisely as you can can
[2:41:31] to capture and then the board would take
a vote to place on uh an upcoming
[2:41:37] agenda.
[2:41:41] you can make the motion, but I told I
can go through the communications as
[2:41:45] well because one of the processes that
we changed you you I did receive your
[2:41:49] email um asking for the item. I we were
also told that we would be giving that
[2:41:54] information the next day in a report. So
I mistakenly assumed that by getting a
[2:42:02] report that had the information that you
were seeking that's that sufficed the
[2:42:06] request that you were making. I did not
understand that you still wanted it
[2:42:11] agendaized because I also believe that
this information is coming out on
[2:42:15] Friday. I could be wrong. Um, but the
item is graduation and the cost and the
[2:42:20] cost difference. Correct. Because there
was a couple different things that were
[2:42:22] being discussed. And so I have no
problem with it being on the agenda. You
[2:42:26] can ask for a motion if you want, but
I'm happy to tell Dr. Dr. Austin, please
[2:42:30] have it on the agenda on the 10th
because I had no issue with it. But hang
[2:42:33] on. when you mentioned it again on
Friday because the process has changed
[2:42:38] under Dr. Austin's leadership. I had not
seen the agenda from since two weeks
[2:42:43] before until I sat down for a final
review of the agenda. I don't might have
[2:42:48] been t I can't even remember what day
that was Tuesday. It was like last week,
[2:42:51] Sunday. But anyway, it was posting on
Friday. So when I got your next email
[2:42:55] saying I want to make this sure this is
on. Why isn't it on? I'm I I will say I
[2:43:00] was a little surprised because as I
explained in my email, I thought the
[2:43:04] information on Wednesday was what you
were seeking. So, I didn't really
[2:43:07] revisit it and I don't sit on my emails
all day. So, I apologize. But by Friday,
[2:43:12] they had the binders done. They had the
agenda printed and it was going to be
[2:43:16] released within minutes of when we re we
you and I were exchanging emails. And
[2:43:20] so, I told you then, I am happy to have
that on the October 10th meeting. I have
[2:43:24] no problem with it. There was no issue
that you brought it up. It was just a
[2:43:28] miscommunication of timing and what the
intention was because I thought the
[2:43:31] report was what you were looking for,
not that you wanted to have it out
[2:43:34] publicly and open and debate because
everybody can access the report. It's
[2:43:37] not a that's not a problem either. It's
just a little complicated because I
[2:43:40] think as Dr. Austin said he had to kind
of go through and make sure it was
[2:43:43] » first have to apologize that Friday I
was in pre-op when I was basically
[2:43:48] continuing all all this stuff and then
my last email was I was in posttop. So I
[2:43:54] was full of a lot of drugs as far as at
that at that time. Uh but uh my last
[2:44:00] communication to you was that in the
past we have put uh we've changed the
[2:44:05] agenda on a Monday uh and that met the
legal qualifications and that was that
[2:44:11] was where it ended and then I got the
superintendent's response that I had
[2:44:15] done this on the 15th. I did it on the
13th and again I have all of the text if
[2:44:19] anyone wants.
>> Yeah, I'm happy with that. I also want
[2:44:22] to remind you that we we announced a
while back that we were going to start
[2:44:25] releasing the agendas on Friday because
one of the concerns that Dr. Malchesky
[2:44:29] had indicated is that there wasn't
enough time to go through the binder. So
[2:44:32] Dr. Austin and I came upon his
commencement of his position and with
[2:44:37] working with Victoria established a new
process that we have upheld now for
[2:44:41] every meeting that we've had since Dr.
Austin has been here. Every agenda has
[2:44:44] gone out on a Friday. So yes, previously
it was on Monday. There's a lot of
[2:44:49] different reasons about that and that
we're off topic and not and it's not
[2:44:51] agendaized. But again, I am you can make
a motion if you want, but I'm happy to
[2:44:56] put it on October 10th. Not a problem
whatsoever. There's absolutely zero
[2:44:59] question in my mind. Great. Okay. Who's
next on the reporting? Uh Howard, uh
[2:45:05] member Hills.
[2:45:11] » Okay. Um
[2:45:17] I uh first thing I wanted to say is that
uh I was very inter interested in the
[2:45:22] report by the by the Laboufa
representative, but I guess she's gone
[2:45:28] about the uh the salary matter that the
superintendent addressed. Um, I'm going
[2:45:34] to have to research this, but um I
didn't understand that the the uh that
[2:45:43] the
that the unions got the array of salary
[2:45:50] increases that was described
uh including the u I think it's a one 1%
[2:45:57] bump up if the revenues are sufficient.
Um, in other words, I thought the
[2:46:03] management I thought the assistant
superintendent were getting the same
[2:46:06] deal that the union was getting. And um,
>> what's that?
[2:46:11] » What was the me too? We took that out.
>> Yeah. Well, no,
[2:46:15] we took the me too out so that it wasn't
mandatory that it be the same. But that
[2:46:21] doesn't mean we can't by our own
valition make them the same. And I
[2:46:28] thought we were treating them the same.
And um I'm concerned because to the
[2:46:33] extent that they're not the same
um
[2:46:38] you know the deal that the union
accepted um uh reflected the uh
[2:46:46] priorities that we had and the resources
that we had uh including after we
[2:46:52] legalized the um healthc care payment
increases that began in 2021.
[2:46:59] Um and uh so I just I I wish that the um
the BUFFA representative was still here
[2:47:06] because I was very interested in her
remarks and appreciate her report and um
[2:47:11] I want to look at that some more. Um I
also um wanted to point out that we did
[2:47:18] have a good governance meeting. Uh I was
very um happy to see uh the people that
[2:47:25] turned out for the governance meeting
and I was very pleased with the
[2:47:29] discussion. There was only one item on
the agenda that was an item that any
[2:47:36] board member proposed and that was the
item related to the student
[2:47:40] representative representative. All the
other items on the agenda were staff
[2:47:44] proposed items and um that includes both
um uh matters that the staff determined
[2:47:52] were legislatively mandated and it also
included matters that the staff
[2:47:57] determined were um recommendations of
CSBA that should be considered. And so,
[2:48:03] um, when we get those, um, items in
through the staff process for, uh, bylaw
[2:48:11] revision, um, that represents the, um,
the, uh, selections of those items made
[2:48:18] by the staff. And, uh, I thought it was
a very productive meeting. Uh, I I I
[2:48:24] don't think that, um, other than did we
pass the 2110 thing about the
[2:48:28] superintendent's roles and
responsibility? Um I can't remember. Um
[2:48:35] » I believe it's moving forward for a
first reading at
[2:48:38] » Yeah. So anyway, um I thought it was a
very good good session. Uh I do want to
[2:48:45] um unfortunately I would prefer not to,
but I think I'm compelled uh as a matter
[2:48:51] of honor to respond to the some of the
comments that were made tonight.
[2:48:57] First of all, um I was just looking at
um from last April 25 um an email that
[2:49:05] was posted um on a fake Instagram
account um uh referring to um or
[2:49:13] implying that uh there was some type of
a
[2:49:17] well frankly uh it was a Instagram that
indicated that um I was um stalking
[2:49:27] students in the high school and that I
was um and that warning that I'm going
[2:49:35] to be getting into sex education classes
where I'm going to in some manner uh
[2:49:40] behave inappropriately.
Um and that um the board council
[2:49:46] reviewed that and determined that I was
being I'd been slandered and that I had
[2:49:50] been accused of being a pedophile. And
that Instagram account was sent to all
[2:49:56] my grandchildren uh as well as my
children and my friends and my clients.
[2:50:01] And um pretty aggressive tactic. And um
I frankly um I'm going to go back and
[2:50:10] look at the video of the um the meeting
that we had uh two days ago. But um as I
[2:50:18] just want to say for the record that as
I recall it, I was at that at the point
[2:50:24] in that discussion uh I was addressing
and responding to um uh a couple of
[2:50:33] gentlemen on the board. Um I don't
believe I was responding to or
[2:50:37] addressing um the student representative
on the board, but I'll go back and look
[2:50:42] at it. I want to go on record saying
that I could have said, "Hey, I'm really
[2:50:48] stoked about this because we're finally
getting to do this." I could have said,
[2:50:51] "I'm really jazzed about this." Um, when
you're 74 years old and you say, um, and
[2:50:58] you're doing something that is in the
nature of a policy wonk, um, uh,
[2:51:03] discussion about, uh, you know, arcane
legal issues and you say, "Boy, this is
[2:51:10] the kind of stuff that really turns me
on here now. I really like I really like
[2:51:14] these issues and I'm glad we're
discussing it. Um uh it did not for me
[2:51:20] subjectively have any kind of a sexual
connotation at all. When when Sherry
[2:51:25] reacted to it as if it might have a
sexual uh connotation, I was very
[2:51:31] offended that she would react that way.
And I'm very offended that um uh uh that
[2:51:38] it was characterized as a certainty that
that I did have uh that was making that
[2:51:44] connotation.
What I don't want what I hope is not
[2:51:47] happening is I hope that this is not a
continuation of the politics of personal
[2:51:54] destruction and character assassination
that were represented by the um fake
[2:51:59] emails from last April. And um and so um
I'm going to have to review the video of
[2:52:06] that. Um because uh this has been uh
this has been very uh painful for me
[2:52:15] since last April when those accusations
that the board council determined were
[2:52:20] slander um and advised me to um take
legal action which which I decided not
[2:52:27] to do. Um, so I can't allow um the
statements that were made here tonight
[2:52:32] to go unanswered as much as I'd prefer
not to respond to them. And um
[2:52:39] after I review it, I may have more to
say about it, but um I I know that um uh
[2:52:46] that I I was responding to the fact that
um there were several uh people in the
[2:52:53] meeting who were really digging in on
the issues and we were breaking new
[2:52:57] ground. And I was genuinely, exuberantly
excited about the progress we were
[2:53:02] making. and um to suggest that I would
make an inappropriate remark to a female
[2:53:09] student uh you know or have any kind of
an intention along those lines uh is
[2:53:16] imponderable to me and so um I just want
to state that for the record. Um
[2:53:23] I also uh want to respond to a few
remarks that were made tonight. First of
[2:53:28] all, Ketta Brown correctly cited the um
the language in the visioning remark uh
[2:53:34] document that said that the board
directs and the staff implements. And I
[2:53:41] think that's obvious. I think anybody
that knows how um schools uh business is
[2:53:46] conducted know that that's the case and
it's certainly the case under our
[2:53:50] bylaws. And I think um Logan, you I
remember said uh recently you said that
[2:53:57] the the board decides what and the
superintendent decides how. I I believe
[2:54:02] is what you said if I remember
correctly.
[2:54:06] » Uh I to be honest I'd have to check the
record. I don't believe those are exact
[2:54:09] my my exact words.
>> Gentlemen, can we keep this to board
[2:54:12] reports and and keep moving along here
shortly?
[2:54:14] » Yeah, keep board reports.
>> Yeah. Um,
[2:54:18] so your remark is true. Keta's remark is
true, but it oversimplifies
[2:54:27] because um I would urge Keta to take a
look at section 35161 of the education
[2:54:35] code because we had this discussion
during the governance meeting. Um and
[2:54:41] what it comes down to is that um this is
not when you talk about the board
[2:54:48] directs and the staff implements or the
board says what and the superintendent
[2:54:54] says how
that is oversimplifying because it
[2:54:59] suggests that there's a separation of
powers and there is no separation of
[2:55:04] powers. what every power that the board
the staff has um is delegated by the
[2:55:12] board and once the board delegates the
board then lives with that delegation
[2:55:17] and accepts exactly what Kata and you
were saying and that is that the board
[2:55:22] directs and the staff implements.
But the other aspect of it that makes it
[2:55:29] um a functional system is that the
bylaws also require collaboration. And
[2:55:36] we hear a lot of use of the word
collaboration around. And the bottom
[2:55:39] line is that the system works. The
delegation system works only when after
[2:55:46] the delegation has been made,
the superintendent and the staff and the
[2:55:52] board um are collaborating in the in
areas of shared powers. And the shared
[2:55:58] powers include the use of legal counsel.
The shared powers include
[2:56:02] communications. The shared powers
include agenda setting. the, you know,
[2:56:08] Mr. Kelly was talking about agenda
setting. The statute and the bylaw are
[2:56:12] very clear. It says the president
works with the superintendent to develop
[2:56:18] the agenda. The noun is the president.
The verb is develop the agenda and the
[2:56:26] um the the condition of it is that um
the president will work with the
[2:56:33] superintendent in doing that. So it's
when collaboration breaks down that you
[2:56:39] then have problems. But if collaboration
continues uh and the system is meant to
[2:56:45] be collaborative but ultimately it is a
delegate system of delegation. It's
[2:56:49] there's no inherent power in in staff um
and um the board is not intended to
[2:56:56] administer. The board is intended to
delegate so then the staff can
[2:57:00] administer. And I just think that um
we're talking past each other when we
[2:57:05] make um oversimplifications about that
process.
[2:57:07] » Can I ask you to collaborate with me and
help me move this meeting along?
[2:57:10] » Yeah.
>> And wrap up your report. Thank you.
[2:57:14] » Do you have any final comments? Are you
done?
[2:57:16] » Uh I just want to make one reference and
that is I recommend that everybody look
[2:57:20] at the um the California schools
quarterly by the CSB CSBA. It's got an
[2:57:28] article by CSBA
CEO and executive director Vernon Billy
[2:57:32] about reciprocal accountability. And
that's really what I'm talking about.
[2:57:36] The there's changes going on because
they're recognizing that there's a
[2:57:41] disconnect between the executive and
administrative functions and the
[2:57:45] legislative functions in the whole
California school education system. So
[2:57:49] what I'm talking about now is not Howard
Hills just making this up. This article
[2:57:54] by the CEO of the CSBA is about the fact
that we need to do it differently
[2:57:58] because we've gotten too
compartmentalized and separated where
[2:58:02] the staff is going and doing its thing
and the the the the legislative bodies
[2:58:08] are going and doing this thing and
they're not having reciprocal
[2:58:11] accountability. They both want to assert
their prerogatives but they don't want
[2:58:16] to have accountability between one
another. So they talk about um
[2:58:20] collaboration, they talk about trust,
but there can never be trust without
[2:58:24] accountability. That's what I've been
saying for a couple of years and that's
[2:58:27] what the CEO of CSBA is saying right
here.
[2:58:30] » Thank you, Howard. That's a interesting
point. Can't have trust without
[2:58:33] accountability. Thank you. Uh me Dr.
Meski.
[2:58:39] » Okay. Um I spent almost entire an entire
day at the high school last week. It
[2:58:45] started with the breakfast for mentors
who will be involved in this year's AER
[2:58:49] program that stands for authentic
exploratory research an important or an
[2:58:54] independent research course designed for
students to explore passions and career
[2:58:58] pathways. I really love this program
because it fosters intellectual
[2:59:03] curiosity and the independent pursuit of
knowledge. And I'm very excited that I'm
[2:59:07] going to mentor a student who is
interested in studying the effect of the
[2:59:11] Cold War on higher education policy and
funding in the United States and the
[2:59:15] former Soviet Union, which is just a
great way for students to pursue their
[2:59:19] interests. And I'm um excited to be able
to participate. I then visited a
[2:59:24] journalism class, the journalism
classroom, and got to hear this year's
[2:59:27] student journalism leaders introduce the
agenda for the day. And then I was
[2:59:31] interviewed, and um they tried out some
new podcast equipment. They asked some
[2:59:36] follow-up questions to a survey that was
done last spring of all board members
[2:59:40] and the work that we do on the board. I
was incredibly impressed by the
[2:59:44] professionalism of these two students
and the scope of our journalism program
[2:59:47] at the high school. I was also happy to
end the day in a conversation the school
[2:59:52] day in a conversation with Glenn Warren
about reading and writing initiatives in
[2:59:56] the district. I know our librarians and
our teachers have been thinking about
[3:00:00] developing a culture of reading and I
was particularly grateful for Mr. for
[3:00:04] Warren's suggestions about how we can
incentivize reading and writing. In the
[3:00:09] evening, I returned for the high to the
high school for back to school night.
[3:00:13] Um, we were just so impressed by the
program and the presentations of each of
[3:00:18] the teachers that we saw. So, this day
just really demonstrated for me in
[3:00:23] multiple dimensions the great work our
teachers, administrators, and staff are
[3:00:28] doing at the school sites. Um, and I
love any opportunity that we can have to
[3:00:34] get that information out to the public.
We have programs and classes that are
[3:00:38] truly impressive. I'm grateful for the
educational expertise and and innovative
[3:00:44] student focused work that's going on in
each of our schools. That's it.
[3:00:49] » Great. Thank you, U Clerk Perry.
[3:00:56] » Thank you. Um, I just wanted to address
member Hill's comment. Um, I'm of that
[3:01:05] age where, uh, when you say something
turns you on, you would say like math
[3:01:11] turns me on. And I just looked it up in
the dictionary. And it means keenly
[3:01:15] aware of, and responsive. The adjectives
are hip, groovy,
[3:01:22] cool. Um, and that's what I know it as.
So, um, also I
[3:01:32] met with or spoke with the
president of the Chamber of Commerce and
[3:01:40] I'm happy to report that Hogue is our
official inaugural healthc care partner
[3:01:46] for the for our new futures program. We
will be meeting in early October to
[3:01:52] hopefully set dates for the 2027
semester when it will start. So that
[3:01:57] will give a lot of opportunities for our
students in the healthcare industry. Um
[3:02:04] well that's all I'll say.
>> Thank you, Clerk Perry. Um okay, I just
[3:02:11] have a couple things. Um but I do want
to circle back and I am glad that um the
[3:02:15] unions brought up the 15% comment. Um, I
also was not going to comment on it, but
[3:02:20] since they brought it up, I thought it
would be good to address that. I if
[3:02:24] there was some interpretation that my
comment about where our property tax
[3:02:30] comes from, um, that was that was my
intention. Um, then I'm sorry. Um I you
[3:02:37] know we can say what we want to say and
somebody else can turn it and turn it
[3:02:42] into something else but if you don't
actually talk to the person you're
[3:02:46] making assumptions of what somebody
means without validating if it's true
[3:02:51] and I do find that that's happened quite
a bit. Um I think to the same point if
[3:02:57] um I would love to know where and when I
have made a comment that stated that
[3:03:02] because our staff doesn't it may not
have the same zip code that they are
[3:03:07] devalued. Um I don't recall ever saying
that if that is um and for somebody to
[3:03:13] say well it was implied. Well implied is
not a fact. Implied is somebody's
[3:03:17] assumption that something might be
meaning that but maybe we could look at
[3:03:21] it and discuss and analyze. Right? I
have not had that conversation with
[3:03:25] anyone. So I was merely the point of
that whole conversation was um
[3:03:34] the concerns that have been expressed to
me from community members about their
[3:03:39] perception of the finances of this
district. So I'm not going to go much
[3:03:43] more into that than that. But I will say
um I thought some of the comments that
[3:03:46] were interesting um because I do
appreciate um that someone said I think
[3:03:52] it was I'm not sure which union member
it was um who pays more doesn't matter.
[3:03:59] Property deeds they talked about if you
have a deed doesn't validate your your
[3:04:03] your your
voice in the school district. And I find
[3:04:07] that to be really interesting because I
know when we first took this seat, one
[3:04:11] of the comments made, and I I have to
say they're a few members, so it just
[3:04:16] kind of all goes together, that they
bought their house more recently than
[3:04:20] the elder people that live in town.
Therefore, they pay more property tax,
[3:04:24] therefore their voice is more important.
So maybe that was not what that implied,
[3:04:29] but that was said in this room at that
microphone. So I and I don't agree with
[3:04:36] that. So if I don't agree with that, if
I agree that everyone's voice matters,
[3:04:39] that includes our staff. The point of it
was merely of the percentage when we
[3:04:44] start looking at logistics and I it
started two years ago when I said hey
[3:04:48] it's important because one of the things
I'd love to see is is working with the
[3:04:51] city on the housing and can we offer
teacher housing and that's what's
[3:04:54] prompted that conversation which turned
into the best teacher housing is housing
[3:04:58] that you build on your properties and
the only property I think we even have a
[3:05:02] remote possibility would be the canyon
bus depot which is not even remotely
[3:05:07] poss right so it started a conversation
that I was able to pursue down a path
[3:05:13] and that is what the intention of it was
to imply anything else is someone else
[3:05:18] trying to put words or or a definition
to what I said and that's not accurate.
[3:05:23] Um so I I I really hope that puts that
to rest. Um I'm really glad that the
[3:05:29] unions are happy about getting our
sunshine getting about sunshining early.
[3:05:33] Um I think that the
board as a whole um and people always
[3:05:41] say led by this majority. Well, we have
brought forward sunshining sooner. We um
[3:05:47] were able to increase
contributions to insurance. We have
[3:05:52] approved every single program that has
come across this board. We've started a
[3:05:57] new committee. We've hired from with for
the arts. We've hired from within. We
[3:06:01] have brought community voices together.
So when people say I'm not listening or
[3:06:05] I devalue the students, that's not true.
I I started a club in 2021-22, the PTA
[3:06:11] did that was a um breakers club that was
specifically bringing club voices,
[3:06:16] presidents, voices and their club
president, vice president, what have you
[3:06:20] together to discuss the issues on
campus. It was very wellreceived. Um Mr.
[3:06:24] Alvarez was one of the mentors to it and
it was really great. Um, so I I I would
[3:06:31] like to dispel the idea that I devalue
staff. That is not true. Um, it was a
[3:06:36] data point. I've said that before. I
pursued that data point earlier last
[3:06:41] year. Um, and was not able to get any
further with it, but it was a great data
[3:06:45] point to have. So, um, so I just like to
say that and this fact that if I don't
[3:06:50] devalue student, that's not true either.
I have four students. I've started a lot
[3:06:53] of the committees that we've started as
a as a new board had all of them have
[3:06:57] students on them and they were all at
the at the vision of the board majority
[3:07:02] who has um and now is actually on all of
them because nobody else will
[3:07:06] participate. So um I I think that that's
a demonstration of of collaboration. All
[3:07:11] of these committees have members from
fuel from uh they have students they
[3:07:15] have members of sensible lagona they
have people that have no idea what any
[3:07:19] of that stuff is. So I think the actions
actually show um a they show things that
[3:07:24] I'm very proud of actually because I
think we've done a lot for this
[3:07:27] community and a lot for the students and
a lot for our staff. Um if there is
[3:07:30] things that I have done specifically,
please bring them to my attention. I am
[3:07:34] very open to reflecting. I am very open
to um understanding how I've impacted
[3:07:40] someone else. I stand by what I say. I
don't sit up here and say these things
[3:07:44] and then don't practice them. So, but I
So, please be specific when you and I
[3:07:50] would sit down and talk to anyone. Be
specific. What is it that I have done
[3:07:53] that the staff is not sure? We've
approved everything. So, I I really I
[3:07:57] don't understand. I still don't
understand. Um, and I'm sorry if that
[3:08:00] seems like I'm tonedeaf. I am not
tonedeaf. I am truly trying to
[3:08:03] understand. And so, if someone can
explain it, I will be happy. I will even
[3:08:07] buy coffee. Um, so, um, I
had a couple of agenda meetings. Um, as
[3:08:14] I said the couple week, we started
almost two weeks ago with this new
[3:08:17] agenda process that Dr. Austin has
introduced. Um, I worked with staff and
[3:08:21] um, Clerk Perry was there on both
agendas for the governance committee and
[3:08:24] the agenda tonight. Uh, the board only
brings a couple of items as as Howard
[3:08:30] mentioned, he only brought one one item
forward for the governance committee and
[3:08:33] the rest the staff brought forward. Um,
that's how the agendas work. Um, that's
[3:08:37] how they supposed to be working. Um, and
I'm glad to see that they're back on
[3:08:41] track. Um I also attended back to school
night at the high school. I agree with
[3:08:45] um Dr. Mountesky. The AER program is
fabulous. Um the kickoff is always very
[3:08:51] exciting. Uh so did they have the
kickoff or are they still talking about
[3:08:55] it when they have the room the library
filled with all their with their
[3:08:58] » mentoring breakfast.
>> So mentoring breakfast. So they have
[3:09:00] have they not launched the programs
themselves or are we beyond that?
[3:09:05] » Okay, great. Well, I know we would I
went to that last year. I would love to
[3:09:07] know when that is because it was an
excellent opportunity to see what our
[3:09:10] students are up to. Um I went to the
surf museum opening as well as the uh
[3:09:15] Laguna open. It was a terrific weekend
for Laguna Beach last weekend. Uh so I
[3:09:20] love that. And I attended the governance
committee. I also thought it was a great
[3:09:24] committee um effort. I thought we um
identified a great process that we were
[3:09:29] going to push forward the ones that and
we have done it this way before, but I
[3:09:32] thought it was great to have it
established that we're pushing through
[3:09:35] some of the more clerical changes to um
to policies and that we're going to use
[3:09:43] the governance committee to get dive
deeper into some of those policies and
[3:09:47] and that actually has at I think four
um four parents I think that align um
[3:09:54] together
with fuel but not um and that was so
[3:09:58] that was great. It was a good
conversation. I thought it was really
[3:10:00] really helpful. Um okay and then I think
otherwise
[3:10:10] I think that was it. So thank you very
much. That's my report.
[3:10:14] Um okay the next item is the
approval of the ad hoc transportation
[3:10:20] committee for the 2627 school year
through June 30th 2027. I've been asked
[3:10:24] to introduce this item. Uh this item has
come up because the transportation
[3:10:28] committee that wrapped up the 26 the 25
26 school year um has requested to
[3:10:35] continue because they have um items that
they would like to continue to explore
[3:10:40] and address. Um
[3:10:45] I know that member uh Perry was on is on
this committee and I think that um
[3:10:52] trying to find the emails. I don't know
if it really matters, but I know that
[3:10:54] there was a long list of some things
that have come up that they would like
[3:10:57] to address and they're concerned with
and I think um bring keeping this
[3:11:02] committee going is important. So the
right now the request is for new members
[3:11:07] to fill out an application. I would like
to request that this item be moved
[3:11:11] forward and um give those that are
already on the committee the ability to
[3:11:16] return to the committee without having
to file an application. But so that's
[3:11:20] that's the item and I'd like to see if
there's any board questions starting
[3:11:23] with the student board reps
and and just for reference it is the
[3:11:28] student one of the student board reps
are one of the ones that have asked for
[3:11:31] this to come back. So um bringing their
voice forward so that's great. No
[3:11:34] questions. Okay. Member Kelly member
Hills.
[3:11:39] Okay. Dr. Malchesky.
>> Yeah. I actually I mean I don't really
[3:11:43] care if people want to keep meeting but
I am actually curious about what has to
[3:11:48] still be done because so much was
accomplished last year and it seemed to
[3:11:51] me that the one thing that was left
which was the problem of the bus
[3:11:54] monitors is an administrative issue not
a committee meeting issue. Um again I
[3:12:01] don't really care. It's just a lot of
staff time and stuff to have to be
[3:12:04] managing these meetings. And I think
that if we're going to continue an ad
[3:12:07] hoc committee meeting, we should just
have some idea of what the goals of the
[3:12:12] meeting are.
>> And those are goals that we establish in
[3:12:16] the committee. Did you want to volunteer
for the committee?
[3:12:22] » No, we're not doing
meeting right now.
[3:12:24] » I was asking No, but if we pick this
back up again. So, um I have a couple of
[3:12:29] things that again that the committee has
asked to bring to bring forward. um they
[3:12:33] want some information on the on some new
on some new systems that we've put in
[3:12:37] place, bus monitors. They'd like to have
another um meet with the uh Durham team
[3:12:42] and so I think as a team they feel that
they've got more work to do and um have
[3:12:46] requested that it comes back. So there
is a series of emails about that uh and
[3:12:50] that's why this item is here tonight.
>> So again, I I um you know I I I don't
[3:12:59] know why we we need these subcommittees.
I I'm glad about what the transportation
[3:13:03] committee meeting accomplished.
Those two things don't sound like a
[3:13:08] reason to have a committee meet for a
whole year. Again, I don't really care,
[3:13:11] but it seems like a lot of resources
going into subcommittee meetings, and
[3:13:15] I'm not even clear what the agenda is,
but you know, if you guys want to keep
[3:13:20] meeting,
godspeed.
[3:13:23] This this was a request from parents and
um another part of that is
[3:13:30] » and the student and students
>> students
[3:13:32] » and students. Yeah.
>> Um because of things that still are
[3:13:36] problematic and I had another request
from some special education parents on
[3:13:42] some transportation issues there.
>> So,
[3:13:46] » you're welcome. Okay. So, I need a
motion. Um are there Okay. Uh, are there
[3:13:52] any board comments on this item or I
mean any comments from the public D on
[3:13:55] this item? Clerk Perry, do we have any
speaker cards? Okay, so no speaker
[3:14:00] cards. Um, are there any other comments
from the board?
[3:14:03] » No. Okay, I need a motion to approve the
ad hoc committ committee for 2627. Thank
[3:14:07] you. I need a second.
>> Second.
[3:14:09] » Thank you. All in favor?
>> I Thank you.
[3:14:14] » Thank you. Motion passes. Um, okay. Last
item is item 10. Is this Yeah. Last
[3:14:20] item, item 10. I would I might win in my
head. Um, okay. The last item is item 10
[3:14:26] A, the approval of the consent calendar,
items B through L. Clerk Perry, are
[3:14:30] there any speaker cards on these items?
>> Okay. Are there any items that members
[3:14:34] um have questions on that do not require
pulling the items or any items that need
[3:14:38] to be pulled?
>> Students, no.
[3:14:40] » I just had
>> Dr. Kelly. No. Howard?
[3:14:44] » I do.
>> Okay. What item would you like pulled or
[3:14:47] is it just a question?
>> Well, I don't I have two uh minor edits
[3:14:50] to the minutes. So, do I have to pull
that to do that?
[3:14:53] » Okay. So, the first is um the minutes
for September 10th uh state that the can
[3:15:01] the that CSA endorsed the candidates,
but the number is wrong. It was 98% of
[3:15:08] CSEA members endorsed the candidates. Um
I don't know how many supported me
[3:15:13] measure A, but I wondered if the numbers
just got flipped. So, you might want to
[3:15:17] check that. And for the August minutes,
um, just wanted to clarify, Ryan Dak,
[3:15:21] uh, I had met with him. He's from the
South Orange County Community College
[3:15:25] District.
>> Where are those?
[3:15:27] » The August minutes.
>> The August. What?
[3:15:30] » It's just filling in Ryan Dak's title.
>> Yeah, I know. I just want to look at it
[3:15:34] and see. I like to follow along.
>> Just said 87%.
[3:15:39] » Yeah, she said 87%.
>> That was Laboua. She's talking about
[3:15:43] CSA.
Yeah, 87% of Laboufa voted, 100%
[3:15:48] endorsed. CSEA, 98% of the people who
voted endorsed.
[3:15:54] So, I just want to make sure the minutes
reflect that correctly.
[3:15:59] » Great. Uh, okay. Anything else? Um, D,
you said you had a couple.
[3:16:04] Oh, I just had um I just wondered why
the
[3:16:13] occupational therapist is part of CSEA.
>> I can speak to that D. So back in 2009,
[3:16:21] the position was classified
unrepresented. So when we decided to
[3:16:25] bring the it back in house, I brought it
back as as the same uh as the same
[3:16:29] placement. And then when meeting with
with CSEA there's a they said if the
[3:16:34] position doesn't supervise anyone then
it technically qualifies as a CSEA
[3:16:39] position and I met with legal counsel
and he they confirmed that the position
[3:16:44] should be under the umbrella of CSEA. So
we went through the process to to bring
[3:16:48] it under under CSA.
>> Okay. I thought um because other
[3:16:53] therapists are under Dr. Mayberry maybe
and this person also works on IEPs etc.
[3:17:00] that it would be more of a laba thing
but
[3:17:03] » yeah unfortunately the occupational
therapist does not have a credential
[3:17:06] through the CTC so it uh it can't be a
certificated position.
[3:17:11] » Okay. Thanks.
[3:17:15] » Okay. Thank you. I just had two quick
things. Um item H uh approval to renew
[3:17:19] the contract with good trust.
Um I know we talked about that earlier.
[3:17:25] This is the state planning that we offer
to the employees, right?
[3:17:29] » Yeah. During the 20 24 or 25 26, the
wellness committee. So, we have a
[3:17:34] district wellness committee that meets
quarterly and they look at ways to
[3:17:38] provide various benefits be it you know
wellness benefits from physical wellness
[3:17:42] to financial wellness. So we had come
across this product and the committee um
[3:17:47] went ahead and recommended it to uh to
the prior board to to get approved and
[3:17:52] again it's been it's been a great
resource for staff that are utilizing
[3:17:55] it. It's a completely digital you know
will trust platform. Um so this is just
[3:18:00] bringing it back for renewal.
>> Okay. Is that now I see the fiscal
[3:18:04] impact is 83.88. What does that cost the
employees?
[3:18:07] » There's no cost to the employees.
>> There's no cost. So we pick up the tab
[3:18:09] on that. I mean it's not doesn't look
like it's just it's an annual fee for
[3:18:13] anyone um to have access to it plus I
think several of their their family
[3:18:17] members as well.
>> Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I see that four um I
[3:18:20] think it's financial wellness benefit
for all employees and up to four family
[3:18:23] members. So that's a great service. So
thank you for bringing that forward. And
[3:18:26] then item K, approval of Nicole Miller
Associates Services Agreement. What
[3:18:31] services? She does investigation. What
services? What kind of investigations
[3:18:34] does she do?
>> Uh she handles instructional services
[3:18:38] and personnel. um investigations.
[3:18:48] » Does she do all of our investigations if
any complaint comes forward?
[3:18:52] » No, it's she's utilized when it's a it's
a complaint that's maybe sensitive in
[3:18:56] nature or one that um could be lead to
potential legal implications.
[3:19:04] » Okay. Thank you. That's the only
questions that I have. Do I need a
[3:19:07] motion to approve items B through L?
>> Second.
[3:19:11] » All in favor?
>> I I
[3:19:14] » Thank you. That passes. Thank you.
Student board reps. Okay. Um our last
[3:19:18] item, if anybody would have said 9:30,
they would have won.
[3:19:22] Um our next regular meeting is October
8th and we have do we have any
[3:19:27] governance meetings or committees and
prior to that? I don't think so.
[3:19:31] Victoria, can we start scheduling um
transportation and then also opening up
[3:19:36] applications? Can we do that?
>> We Yes.
[3:19:40] » Okay.
>> That's already set.
[3:19:44] » Yeah. Okay. All right. So, I have a
motion to adjurnn. I need a second.
[3:19:49] » That was Howard. And then all in favor?
>> Great. Thank you so much. Meeting is
[3:19:53] adjourned at 9:28.