[10:01] Check,

[12:01] one, two, my check.

[22:26] 6.02.

[22:30] We have received a request from Board Member Richardson Bailey to participate in this meeting remotely. Board Member Richardson Bailey is requesting remote participation due to illness, which, according to legal counsel, qualifies as, quote, just cause under government code section 54953. The board need not take action on this request, but Board Member Richardson Bailey is required to state on the record prior to any action at this meeting, whether any other individuals 18 years of age or older are present in the room at the remote location with the board members.

[22:59] member and the general nature of the board members' relationship with any such individuals.

[23:04] Before proceeding, board member Richardson Bailey, please make the required disclosure at this

[23:08] time.

[23:16] I could barely hear her do I need to say something?

[23:22] Yes, only if there's somebody 18 or over with you where you are and the remote attendants.

[23:31] No, just my fur babies.

[23:33] OK.

[23:34] Thank you.

[23:35] Roll call, please.

[23:42] Here.

[23:43] Scott Harden.

[23:44] Here.

[23:45] Inverly Kelly.

[23:46] Here.

[23:47] Richard from Bailey.

[23:49] Here.

[23:50] Patrice Marshall McKenzie.

[23:51] Here.

[23:52] Dr. Germain Velasquez.

[23:53] Present.

[23:54] Tina Fredericks.

[23:56] Here.

[23:57] Richard Blanco.

[23:58] Here.

[23:59] And this one there.

[24:00] Here.

[24:04] Is there any public comment today?

[24:07] How many?

[24:08] This

[24:20] makes nine, three minutes.

[24:25] The Board of Education acknowledges receded public comments by email.

[24:30] These comes will be made part of the permanent record of this meeting.

[24:34] First speakers that are in the room to give public comment are Francesca Mariani, followed by Sarah Poggi, followed by Jennifer Collins.

[24:59] Good evening.

[25:00] Members of the Board, my name is Francesca Mariani. I am a parent of two children in PUSD. I am

[25:06] here to talk with you about the process of transformation, and in particular I am asking you to cancel

[25:13] tonight's special meeting on school consolidation. The reason I'm asking this is because the

[25:19] first meeting asks, what is district transformation? But the second meeting immediately asks which

[25:26] consolidation option the board prefers and went to vote. The second meeting poisons the first.

[25:34] How can this be an open discussion about transformation when the next meeting already puts forward

[25:40] consolidation options? Imagine bringing doctors together to determine the best long-term treatment

[25:46] and rehab plan for a seriously ill patient with surgery being one possible option.

[25:52] And then, scheduling the next meeting to decide which limb to amputate.

[25:57] What does this tell the patient that the treatment discussion isn't really open?

[26:04] The outcome has already been narrowed before the diagnosis is complete.

[26:09] I hope that you are paying attention instead of looking at your phones or your computers.

[26:16] Successful change leadership requires a shared vision and meaningful participation.

[26:20] people are more likely to support change when they help create it.

[26:25] I encourage you to study established change leadership frameworks.

[26:29] For example, those put forward by Carter or Kudler Ross in this particular situation.

[26:34] Please slow down, define transformation first, include us in creating the vision,

[26:39] then decide what changes are necessary.

[26:43] Strong leadership sometimes requires the courage to pause,

[26:46] We consider and say that a process is moving in the wrong direction, even when that process was proposed by a colleague.

[26:54] I encourage you to have the courage to have a meaningful discussion for the first meeting and to cancel the second meeting.

[27:03] Please cancel the second meeting.

[27:05] Thank you.

[27:13] Good evening, board trustees and Dr. Blanco.

[27:16] My name is Sarah Pogey.

[27:18] As long as we're here, talking about closing schools and violation of the Brown Act to

[27:22] have some thoughts.

[27:24] The four proponents of consolidation on this board claim that consolidation will lead

[27:28] to fully staff schools with robust programming for all students, yet no data or scenarios

[27:34] are presented that demonstrate that this is even remotely true.

[27:38] When asked what consolidation will look like and how these new fully staffed program-rich

[27:43] schools will be funded, the four of you shrug and say the details aren't up to you.

[27:47] That's up to the staff.

[27:49] The staff told you at the August 13th board meeting

[27:52] that the data you were requesting was not presently available,

[27:56] was outside the scope of their current task,

[27:58] and would take time to gather in order for the data to be any good.

[28:03] Scott pretended to listen and wax poetic about wanting community input.

[28:08] Without community input, Tina tried to jam decision-making items

[28:12] into the agenda for last Thursday's meeting.

[28:15] after the initial agenda was already posted, violating the Brown Act, likely hoping we wouldn't notice.

[28:22] After hearing from parents, those items were removed from the agenda.

[28:26] Now they're right back on the agenda for the special meeting called for tonight at 8.30,

[28:31] which was improperly noticed and is attempting to move on reconsiderating, reconsidering items this board has never voted on.

[28:40] The four of you plan to vote tonight to declare certain schools safe with no

[28:46] community input. You also plan to vote on what date you will vote to close schools.

[28:52] Again, you've done zero community outreach so much for rebuilding trust, right Scott?

[28:59] Yarma, you will not be a part of any process you vote on tonight and you should

[29:04] accuse yourself. Kim, your seat, is up for election. And I believe this community will

[29:10] be healing with killing instead of consolidating with Kenny. Scott and Tina, you are both under

[29:16] recall petition. And if you didn't take us seriously before, after last week's press

[29:22] relief release in this weekend's momentum, you both should be paying close attention now.

[29:28] Tina should be paying attention and not looking down and not texting and writing while her

[29:33] consider and start speaking to her. Do the right thing, save your tarnished image, resign.

[29:39] Finally, see you in court next Tuesday, Tina. I'm looking forward to it.

[29:54] Good evening,

[29:54] everybody. Bear with me while I hold this gigantic sign. I want to make sure everyone-

[30:00] I get to see it. I'll have it here for everyone to look at. My name is Jen Collins. I am a martial parent. In light of certain board members, absolute determination to close schools no matter what. Now seemingly repackaged as a fast track transfer of nation process, maybe to get ahead of the November election. And also in light of the attempt to mischaracterize people opposed to closures as a privileged group of white parents who care only about our own kids.

[30:28] I'm here to provide you with an ICE update.

[30:31] We had a raid on the second day of school, seven o'clock in the morning, two blocks from Madison Elementary on Worcester and Orange Grove.

[30:41] These are the agents.

[30:43] There were six.

[30:45] There were three plateless cars and three cars with plates.

[30:49] They were in and out in less than 10 minutes, and they kidnapped a man in front of community members, including this school bus.

[30:58] that was on the street when this was happening.

[31:03] These pictures are from my footage, I was on the ground.

[31:05] They were also here in Pasadena, at least five other times in August,

[31:09] including last Sunday on Parkwood Ave, just north of Colorado,

[31:13] two of the same cars from Tuesday with the same agents,

[31:15] all masked, all armed.

[31:17] And they were also here again last Thursday on Allen,

[31:21] just a few blocks south of Marshall.

[31:24] I surrested nearly 50,000 people in July in America,

[31:28] including parents and students outside of schools.

[31:30] If you're not hearing about it,

[31:33] you can blame the mainstream media for that

[31:35] and you can also blame the federal government,

[31:37] but I'm happy to provide updates if anyone wants them.

[31:41] We are absolutely seeing an increased presence in Pasadena.

[31:45] These are all cars that have been spotted here since April.

[31:50] Why am I here?

[31:51] Okay, students of color comprise more than 80%

[31:53] of Pasadena unified with the largest group

[31:55] being Hispanic and Latino.

[31:56] These students and families are already disproportionately impacted by so many other things.

[32:03] The ice raids, the dismantling of protections for immigrants, systemic racism and discrimination,

[32:09] and the fire survivors are still fighting for justice.

[32:12] So that's why I'm here.

[32:14] Because there is solid research showing school closures also disproportionately impact students of color, period.

[32:23] Thank you.

[32:25] Lisa Krusey, Ashley Lincoln, Susanna Castro.

[32:40] Thank you.

[32:42] So on Saturday morning, I was alerted that we were having

[32:48] these special meetings, and I scrambled.

[32:51] I still hadn't had a chance to absorb and watch the August 27th meeting.

[32:58] And as a parent, I found your 6 p.m. meeting in agenda, and I thought, well, that's not

[33:05] that bad.

[33:06] That's really what they said they were going to do.

[33:08] They're having their committee meeting of the whole.

[33:12] And then I found out that that was followed by an 830 meeting.

[33:17] And I thought, well, now I understand why people are freaking out.

[33:21] this is so insane. It's counter to what the replacement resolution said that it was doing.

[33:31] It's not trying to rebuild trust. It seems like some of you just think this is inconvenience.

[33:42] You just have to check boxes on a piece of paper and say we had these meetings.

[33:47] We invited parents, we wrote words down, and those words are things that it says in

[33:55] memos from the Attorney General, and therefore we followed the right process.

[34:01] New public records requests came out, and Tina wrote to Dr. Blanco, no thank you unvisioning.

[34:11] You have repeatedly asked me about this, and I have repeatedly said no.

[34:17] This is an example which causes me to lose confidence.

[34:21] Please don't ask me about visioning again.

[34:24] There are more tools in the toolbox.

[34:27] Put away that tool for later after consolidation is complete.

[34:34] Well, your tool is just a big sledgehammer and it's not okay.

[34:40] We are rebuilding our community.

[34:42] we're building housing, it takes time.

[34:46] We're getting a whole bunch of money from the state.

[34:49] This is not an emergency.

[34:52] Just because you figured out that you could get four votes

[34:56] to pass something, doesn't mean it's the best.

[35:00] The best thing for us. Your own personal feelings about where schools belong, or what schools should get investments, has no bearing on what should happen in this community. PUSD has to compete. Right-wing advocates have created an environment where we have to compete with charters and privates and homeschools, and you need to listen to parents, and you need to stop with your own agendas and your own rejection.

[35:29] of visioning, and I appreciate those of you that are paying attention and looking at

[35:37] the community.

[35:38] Thank you very much.

[35:46] Hello.

[35:46] My name is Ashley Lincoln.

[35:48] I have a fourth grader and a first grader at Don Bonito.

[35:52] At the August 13th study session, board meeting, the board added a list of school consolidation

[35:56] scenarios to the data sets to consider sheet.

[35:59] Among these scenarios, it suggested that Don Bonito moved to Willard or to Webster.

[36:03] Parents, including myself, spent much of last year telling this board that moving to

[36:08] a late start school like Dom Benito to an early start school like Willard is not an acceptable

[36:13] solution for working families who intentionally chose a late start school.

[36:18] Well, Webster also starts at 7.50 a.m.

[36:22] Two hastily thought out closure scenarios are not better than one, continuing to push the

[36:27] same or similar scenarios at every turn shows you are not hearing what the community has

[36:32] to say, you are performing listening.

[36:36] To quote Resolution 2894,

[36:38] whereas the board believes in taking the opportunity

[36:40] to rebel trust and engage the community

[36:42] throughout the district transformation process.

[36:45] Is that what you think you're doing?

[36:47] Having one public study session with community

[36:49] isn't allowed ask questions,

[36:51] but is instead regulated to taking notes

[36:53] to use in future public comment.

[36:55] And then when we give those comments,

[36:56] we have to give them while some of you

[36:58] are looking at your phones.

[37:00] Having one single committee of the whole meeting,

[37:02] and then in the same evening deciding what schools to close and when, when the community has had less than a week to prepare.

[37:10] At the August 13 session, some of you also mentioned that last year's process was rushed.

[37:15] Doing one study session, one committee of the whole meeting, and then deciding to close schools isn't rushing.

[37:21] Slow down. Take your time. Come to every school site that you have decided isn't worthy of your consideration

[37:28] and see the communities that you want to dismantle with your own eyes.

[37:33] This is not what a community-driven process is, and it isn't doing anything during our trust.

[37:38] Thank you.

[37:45] Good evening.

[37:46] Transparency matters.

[37:47] Decisions that could shape the future of our schools for decades should be discussed

[37:51] when the greatest number of stakeholders have a meaningful opportunity to engage in.

[37:55] Special meetings don't have the same posting requirements instead of the normal 72-hour notice for regular meetings.

[38:02] If rebuilding trust is truly the board's goal, this conversation should occur when the community can fully participate, plan and are fully aware of the meetings and the items being heard.

[38:12] This process has already taken a tremendous emotional toll on our community.

[38:17] For a month's family, students and teachers have attended countless meetings, submitted public comments,

[38:22] tirelessly advocated for the schools they love and where their children are thriving.

[38:26] It has been exhausting and emotionally draining to repeatedly defend our school communities.

[38:33] Our concerns are valid.

[38:35] We deserve more than simply being heard.

[38:38] We deserve to be meaningfully reflected in the decisions that are made.

[38:43] Merging schools will affect all students, all students.

[38:48] Students at receiving schools will face overcrowding, reduce opportunities, and strain resources.

[38:54] The effects will also have, will also negatively impact student rankings, access to specialized

[39:01] programs, and ultimately college opportunities.

[39:05] The reality is, is that this consolidation will negatively alter the trajectory of our

[39:12] students' futures.

[39:13] Students will lose far more than just a school building.

[39:17] They will lose schools that serve as anchors of their communities, places where they feel

[39:21] safe, connected, supported, and seen.

[39:24] I ask the board an important question.

[39:27] If our schools had consistently remained competitively attractive and

[39:30] well maintained, would we be facing the same level of enrollment loss today?

[39:35] This district needs to be physically responsible with the funds we already have

[39:39] instead of spending a quarter of a million dollars here and there putting

[39:42] mandates on things.

[39:44] Our community has yet to see convincing evidence at school closures alone

[39:48] and provide a lasting solution to the district's financial challenges.

[39:51] Please prioritize our students and families, lead with transparency,

[39:57] meaningful community engagement and a commitment.

[40:00] Welcome to strengthening our schools. Thank you.

[40:05] Thank you. Lisa Santiago, Emily Stau, Lizard McCarram.

[40:18] Lisa Santiago. Good evening, board members and community. I am a proud parent of the USD. Sadly, I continue to be disappointed with your leadership. I am in disbelief of your lack of accountability. You stated you would involve a community and execute school consolidation

[40:37] in an ethical manner.

[40:39] Once again, you are not put in students first.

[40:43] Please open your hearts and remember you are shaping the future.

[40:46] Your actions will have lasting effects.

[40:49] You are threatened to close schools that are racked high by US News and World Report.

[40:54] That makes no sense.

[40:56] Please do not keep turning away families from enrolling and stay in PUSD.

[41:02] This district has so much to offer.

[41:04] If we just work together, there's so much profit to be made in all the wonderful assets

[41:13] in real estate that PUSD owns.

[41:15] Please put your efforts and energy towards that.

[41:19] Thank you.

[41:29] Good evening.

[41:30] My name is Emily Stau.

[41:31] I have two children in PUSD.

[41:33] I believe that the district transformation process must include collaboration and trust.

[41:39] What I mean by collaboration is having open and productive discussions with trustees

[41:45] and community members, where everybody looks at who is speaking, where people can respect

[41:52] one another, and progress can be made that benefits the students.

[41:58] And trust.

[41:59] Many of you have cited the need to rebuild trust, and I agree.

[42:02] A board working to rebuild trust will act on community suggestions and the lessons learned

[42:09] that were discussed August 13th and slow down and fully define our transformation process

[42:16] and where we want PUSD to go before we start going there.

[42:22] Yet, despite everything that's been said and learned during the last closure process

[42:28] has been too fast and without enough data, here we are again with a hastily announced

[42:33] special meeting at 830 to vote on when to close.

[42:37] That's not the behavior of a board who is truly trying to rebuild trust.

[42:44] So I'm asking to please cancel the next special meeting, delay any discussions on closures

[42:50] and consolidations until we can really define where it is we want to go.

[42:54] Thank you.

[42:55] I'll

[43:05] start it over, I want my three minutes, I'll start it again.

[43:10] Good evening, members of the board, my name is Elizabeth McCarram.

[43:14] I'm standing here tonight to formally object to the reality of both special meetings scheduled for this evening, six and eight thirty tonight.

[43:22] This board has committed a clear and distinct violation of the Brown Act and assembly bill 2257 regarding public notice.

[43:29] The agendas for these two meetings were digitally time-stamped as posted on Friday,

[43:35] 9 August 28th at 9.05 pm, well after normal business hours.

[43:41] More egregiously, they were intentionally buried, while this board managed to correctly

[43:46] prominently post your upcoming special meetings for August 13th and September 10th.

[43:53] On the main special meetings portal, the August 31st meetings were left completely off

[43:59] that list.

[43:59] Instead, they were hidden inside separate calendar menu under upcoming events.

[44:05] Under California government code, an agency cannot hide a special meeting agenda inside nested

[44:12] contextual menus to evade public scrutiny.

[44:16] This is a textbook subterfuge posting because the public pathway to this agenda was obscured

[44:24] over the weekend.

[44:25] These weekend hours do not count toward a lawful 24-hour notice.

[44:31] You have failed to provide 24-hour notice in a location that is freely accessible and transparent

[44:38] to the public.

[44:39] I am handing the clerk of the board a formal demand to cure and correct under government

[44:45] code section 54960.1 because you have deprived the public of a meaningful opportunity to

[44:54] to review these agendas, I demand that this board immediately halt these proceedings.

[45:00] Any and all actions taken, votes cast or deliberations held during the 6 p.m. and 8.30 meetings tonight are legally suspect and must be declared null and void. If you proceed tonight, you do so knowingly you are in violation of the law exposing this agency to litigation, voided actions and mandatory attorney fees.

[45:28] I request that this statement and my formal letter be entered completely into the official

[45:35] minutes of tonight's meetings.

[45:37] There was nothing when I walked up here, posted on this building for anybody to see when

[45:45] you time stamp this at 9 o'clock on Friday, so you better watch out.

[45:50] Thank you.

[46:02] kind of quite awarded Madam President, can I ask Dr. Blanco a question?

[46:14] I don't think

[46:16] is this pertaining what is pertaining to? It's a clarifying question based on the statement

[46:22] that was just made. Okay. Sure. Madam Superintendent, is there a council available to evaluate

[46:31] the claims that were just made and should we be seeking council prior to taking any further action this evening.

[46:42] In the meantime, if there's an answer available, then why don't we call the next speaker too?

[46:48] Sure. There is a council available but we have already spoken with them but I can call again to get another answer to the comment that was made.

[47:00] would you like to comment Ms. Montoya on the 24 hours?

[47:10] Okay, so the posting of both the agenda's were done on Friday.

[47:17] I don't have an exact time on Granicus, but I know that the way I work is I

[47:23] published the agenda's on Granicus and immediately I emailed the agenda's to the

[47:28] that I have. The emails were sent at 906 PM on Friday, so I'm assuming that

[47:37] night of fire should have been the time on Friday when I published on

[47:42] Granicus. However, I did not post the agenda outside. I completely forgot. I'm

[47:50] sorry. My coworker is in here, the person who usually works with me and the

[47:55] to print in the office and I didn't do it.

[47:58] I'm sorry, so that part, yes, it is true.

[48:02] And that was not meant to be any end diamond on Ms. Montoya at all.

[48:05] I just wanted to get a legal opinion on whether or not the plane that was made by the member of the public had validity.

[48:11] Yeah, I'll double check on that right now.

[48:14] And my comment was more requesting the Brown Act posting, which we usually follow 24 hours.

[48:19] And it does Sunday is still 24 hours.

[48:24] Okay. That's enough. We're not going to discussion. Thank you.

[48:30] Excuse me. Your conduct is disrupting the orderly conduct of this meeting. If you do not cease this behavior, you may be removed from the meeting pursuant to government code section 54957.95. Please consider this a formal warning.

[48:45] The

[48:50] next speaker is Carlyne Colner.

[48:57] Hi, good evening everyone.

[48:59] I'm actually a, it's good.

[49:03] It's a good segue because you just talk

[49:05] board member Tina Fredericks.

[49:08] And this is really about you because you are our representative

[49:11] at Hastings Ranch.

[49:14] So, board member Tina Fredericks, I'm Carlyne Colner.

[49:19] I'm here tonight, not only as a parent and community member, but as one of the many

[49:29] people who advocate to save Don Benito School.

[49:33] Last June, we stood together, spoke up, and believe our voices had finally been heard when

[49:44] the resolution to close Don Benito was turned down or thinking so. We left that process

[49:51] is believing that our representative, you, Ms. Fredericks, understood.

[50:00] How deeply the school matters to all of us. That is why it is so disappointing and heart-breaking

[50:08] to see the transformation of PUSD in your proposal bringing us back to the same place.

[50:18] We are asking you to be transparent as board members. With us, come to Hastings Ranch.

[50:27] talk with us, listen to our hearts, and have a meaningful dialogue with our

[50:34] community about your intentions and your vision for Don Benito.

[50:42] We want to work

[50:44] with you, not against you, to protect what matters to our children and our

[50:50] community. Thank you so much.

[50:59] Next speaker is Denise Arndt.

[51:07] Hi, my name is Denise

[51:09] I'm a resident of Upper Hastings Ranch, and I have two children who attended PUSD schools.

[51:15] I'm here today to express my concern over how you'll be defining district transformation.

[51:22] Transformation sounds very promising, as if new ideas and

[51:26] alternatives to school closures will be part of it, and I truly hope they will.

[51:31] I hope that you heard the feedback from parents and students and

[51:35] community members this year, and we'll consider that as you work on this definition.

[51:41] It's very clear that there's little support for closing schools.

[51:45] Again and again, we've asked you to consider alternatives to closures,

[51:49] to put our students first to focus on maximizing revenue from previously closed campuses,

[51:55] and to find ways to increase enrollment.

[51:58] But none of these things are listed on the agenda for the meeting that's immediately following this one.

[52:03] Instead, it only focuses on school closures and consolidations.

[52:07] It feels like the failed process from a few months ago is being repackaged with a friendlier

[52:13] name.

[52:14] I think you can do better and I really hope you will.

[52:17] Thank you.

[52:32] Any additional further comments?

[52:36] One more that's coming.

[52:45] Patricia Herner.

[52:54] Good evening.

[52:56] I am a 30-year resident at the Upper Hastings Trans Community and at Constituent of

[53:03] of you Tina Fedrick's.

[53:05] Please keep an eye on what I'm saying.

[53:07] I'm submitting a petition containing 1,050 signatures

[53:14] from community members who oppose the consolidation.

[53:19] It's 1,050 and more are coming.

[53:24] People are really up in arms.

[53:26] Your strategy of trying to threaten people

[53:30] in upper hastings with a supposedly lawsuit,

[53:34] because we are exercising our freedom of speech

[53:39] to say how this board is running

[53:42] in such bad financial stewardship,

[53:46] this lack of leadership,

[53:48] your disrespect for the students,

[53:51] for the families, for community members,

[53:54] and you know what is so disappointing,

[53:56] your disrespect for your fellow trustees,

[53:59] that don't align with what you want to do and the others who want to do the

[54:04] same thing you want to do, which is close schools. How can we be talking about

[54:10] transformation which you are just replacing the resolution that got turned

[54:15] down in June? You just gave it a new name and the first conversation you have, this

[54:21] board has is about closing schools. What happened to the 11 schools that you

[54:27] already close. Why don't we have that conversation? Where is the revenue, where is

[54:32] the investments, what is going on with those 11 schools? Let's start there. Let's

[54:38] start in ways in which you can engage the community, not see us as bystanders, not

[54:44] ignore us. I'm glad you have at least eye contact with us today because you

[54:48] haven't in the past. You're very disrespectful. You're very disrespectful to your

[54:54] community, to your constituents, and it's growing. I am so excited to see how

[54:58] people are up and on.

[55:13] There's nothing to be threatened about. Oh, they're going to come in. They're really going to do something very negative. They're not. They have the stewardship that this board hasn't shown. Trusty. Kenny, you've been around for a long time.

[55:29] You've been part of best decisions that have been made on this school board.

[55:36] Please look at this in a different way.

[55:40] You can't be doing the same thing over and over again trying to get a different result.

[55:45] You cannot convince us.

[55:47] This board is relentless about closing in additional schools when you've already closed the lemon.

[55:55] Okay, thank you. I'm leaving the packet here with a thousand signatures and more will be coming, but the next meeting will be in 2000.

[56:03] So be careful.

[56:04] Thank you very much.

[56:12] Thank you for the comment.

[56:15] No further comments of members here at this time.

[56:18] Thank you.

[56:20] All right.

[56:21] Next item, only item is the board discussion on the general definition of district transformation process.

[56:38] It seems that we'll need a little minute to set up the tech, but in the meantime, I'll

[56:42] read you all a couple of, like, a bit of the statement that I prepared today.

[56:48] We're also going to be screencasting a document that no one in this room has seen yet, other

[56:53] than Ms. Montoya, so we're all reacting live to it, just operate with that understanding

[56:58] and I appreciate your patience with me.

[57:01] Okay, so for those that haven't met yet, I'm not Dr. Juliane Renoso, my name is Natalia Guerra.

[57:08] I usually share their pronouns and I'm the Director of Community Partnerships and Impact at Collaborate Pasadena.

[57:13] For those that don't know what Collaborate Pasadena does, we were born out of the 2013 Pasadena School City Community Work Plan

[57:20] and we have changed many times since. Like many groups in our community, this board included.

[57:25] We find ourselves at a critical moment of transformation.

[57:28] I'm here today, I'd be happy to share with you all about that process soon, but that's

[57:32] not why I'm here.

[57:34] I'm here today to serve as the Community Facilitator for today's Committee of the

[57:37] Whole Special Board Meeting.

[57:39] To be clear, I'm not a decision-maker, active, idea generator for today's discussion.

[57:43] I'm an ideas synthesizer and a conversation conductor.

[57:46] My role is really to guide the board through a generative discussion, support them and

[57:50] having a democratic dialogue and hold everyone here, audience included, accountable to the

[57:55] community norms I'll display in a second.

[57:57] I'm hopeful that my presence today will support our healthy engagement with one another.

[58:01] And to start as I did last time, I just want to thank you all for being here and acknowledge

[58:05] the time and energy it takes to be in this room from all of us.

[58:10] I also want to acknowledge that many voices not represented here today.

[58:13] Not as a way to throw shade, but as a way to be mindful that every one of us represents

[58:17] a particular and in some way or another limited perspective.

[58:21] We're only experts of our own experience, and we cannot nor should we try to speak and

[58:25] generalize terms for others. This is not to undermine or undervalue the contribution

[58:30] shared today or the ones forthcoming. Rather, I invite all of us to consider. Can y'all

[58:35] hear me? Okay. Okay. Rather, I invite all of us to consider whether there might be gaps

[58:41] in our own understanding. I encourage all of us to embrace uncertainty or against fixed

[58:45] outcomes and operate from curiosity as opposed to judgment. My goal today is to support the

[58:51] board in defining a district transformation process that is clear,

[58:55] community involved, and responsive to the feedback and reflections we've carried

[58:59] from the last school consolidation process. I also want to acknowledge that the word

[59:03] transformation holds many connotations. Our assumption about it can either

[59:08] limit or expand the potential of this conversation.

[59:11] Personally, as someone who believes in other world as possible and it is our duty to build it together,

[59:16] I see this word as something that both represents and invites great capacity for change.

[59:21] So here's what we know.

[59:23] The Resolution 2894, the Resolution 28, a district transformation process, replaced Resolution 2852,

[59:29] establishing optimal school size, which is a resolution that notably began last year's

[59:34] last school year's school consolidation process.

[59:36] However, I think it's important to remember that the conversation that was had at the last

[59:40] meeting did not name school consolidation as a prescriptive or necessary outcome of this process.

[59:45] On the contrary, what I heard included calls to consider alternatives to consolidation,

[59:51] including future vision casting alongside community members, and analyzing the impact

[59:55] of an action on school consolidation.

[59:58] To add to the student board member,

[1:00:19] So, I stand firmly in the belief that this process has yet to be defined. That is the whole point of my being here today. On August 13th, we started this critical conversation about what we wanted to change.

[1:00:30] I've since worked to transcribe my admittedly poorly handwritten notes from our conversation,

[1:00:34] which have been attached to the agenda for this meeting.

[1:00:37] It's, I think, titled, Col pass facilitation notes if you want to look at it.

[1:00:40] A majority of our time last meeting on August 13th was spent reflecting on our observations

[1:00:45] from the last process, discussing how we wanted this process to be different, and working collaboratively

[1:00:50] to outline what the components and outcomes of the district transformation process should be.

[1:00:55] We briefly discussed data sets to consider and what committee structure is best to work

[1:00:58] this work forward. Our other discussion items on last board study session presentation

[1:01:06] was not touched. So that's how we ended here in this committee of the whole special board

[1:01:10] meeting focused only on refining the definition of the district transformation process.

[1:01:16] Now about today's process, Superintendent Blanco, Trustee Fredrick, Ms. Montoya and I

[1:01:22] met last week through reflect on thogas 13th meeting, specifically what went well, what

[1:01:27] felt challenging and where to go next. It was them that I was invited to facilitate this session

[1:01:32] to support the board and continuing this conversation. Given my short planning time frame,

[1:01:36] and unlike our last discussion, I'm single-handedly responsible for the design, not the outcome,

[1:01:41] of today's conversation. This conversation will be different from our last one. The discussion

[1:01:46] will not exceed two hours, mostly because I can't stay that long. While we will not hold ourselves

[1:01:51] to strict time frames or set order of speaking, I will do my best to interject if someone hasn't had

[1:01:56] the opportunity to engage in a specific discussion point, or if any comment exceeds more

[1:02:01] than five minutes.

[1:02:02] No decisions are to be made today at this six-day meeting.

[1:02:07] We're only focused on discussion.

[1:02:10] Also as an unbiased facilitator working to support the entire board, my goal is to ensure

[1:02:14] the continuity of our conversation and support this board in finding alignment.

[1:02:18] As such, I work to synthesize what we discussed at the last meeting I facilitated to produce

[1:02:22] a drafted definition for the district transformation process which we'll respond to.

[1:02:27] The definition of draft that has not been seen by anyone here, other than Ms. Montoya,

[1:02:32] who just, who I just said this document to today for screencasting purposes.

[1:02:36] I utilize some of the language when the idea is from Trustee Velázquez, the one that she

[1:02:40] drafted on August 13, it's a sit on her notes, and integrated other or important shared

[1:02:45] pieces of our conversation.

[1:02:47] Normally, I would have liked to include community groups and district partners in supporting

[1:02:50] you with the synthesis, but given the tight turnaround time, that process was not possible.

[1:02:56] The drafted definition is a first pass at a complex conversation. We're going to be referencing

[1:03:00] it as a starting point to get our conversation, and we'll work together today to edit it as

[1:03:05] we see fit to create something we can all agree to.

[1:03:09] Okay, I think we're still figuring out the system, so I'm just going to read out these community

[1:03:13] norms and ask if there are any others to add. So we're going to respect the talking piece,

[1:03:19] We're still on the dias, but today's talking piece is a rabbit, aka the smelly bunny that

[1:03:23] some of y'all are familiar with.

[1:03:25] We facilitated a conversation, a collaborate about where our organization was going.

[1:03:30] This is the centerpiece, but it's kind of in contrast to the snail that I brought yesterday

[1:03:35] or last time, the rabbit moves fast and has to be super agile, which is kind of what I'm expecting

[1:03:39] of all of you today, considering you don't have extended time to review the things that

[1:03:45] I drafted.

[1:03:46] But to start we're going to respect the talking piece and the facilitator piece which I'm just going to say is my phone because I honestly forgot one.

[1:03:54] And I want to start by saying that respect is a verb, not a value.

[1:03:57] If you do not have the talking piece, please don't interrupt.

[1:04:00] And if I, the facilitator step in, please follow my instructions.

[1:04:05] Stick with the time frame. Today's discussion only has one goal to refine the shared definition for a district transformation process.

[1:04:11] While today's comments will not be timed, try to avoid monologuing, we are limited to

[1:04:15] two hours of discussion.

[1:04:17] One mic I know monologuing right now, so this is like a poor representation of what I

[1:04:21] mean.

[1:04:24] One mic, one vote.

[1:04:26] One person speaks to you all, listen, in a democratic dialogue, each board member has one

[1:04:30] vote on any decision items, no one person's perspective matters more than another.

[1:04:35] Use accessible language, minimize jargon and acronyms, so all members can participate in

[1:04:40] in the discussion and our community can follow along

[1:04:42] regardless of context or familiarity

[1:04:43] with the district with this process.

[1:04:46] An important one is leave it at the door.

[1:04:48] There's a lot of energy in this room.

[1:04:50] We are coming into the space all of us

[1:04:52] with other things going on in our lives.

[1:04:55] So in order for us to have a focus in generative discussion,

[1:04:57] let's do our best to leave any discussion.

[1:05:02] We're also going to listen to understand not just to speak. That means actively listen and work to understand the perspective shared in this room, especially if they differ from your own. Do not wait until it is your turn to speak to feel engaged. Ask for understanding. If something is unclear or if you have a related question, please raise your hand. Work to understand, but in a way that does not disrupt the speaker's train of thought wherever possible. We're going to stay open to learning from each other. No one here is all knowing.

[1:05:29] We are all stewards of knowledge and there's always room to grow and we are only experts of our own experiences.

[1:05:35] This list feels like a million years long. It's always okay to pass. If you have nothing to contribute or don't want to speak,

[1:05:40] you don't have to. It's a consent based conversation that we all have agency in.

[1:05:44] We're going to be clear, be calm, and be kind. Our goal is to have a professional and democratic dialogue.

[1:05:50] As such, we must treat and speak to each other with respect.

[1:05:53] We are responsible for regulating our own emotions, so any yelling, hostile comments, or disrespectful

[1:05:57] language will not be tolerated.

[1:06:00] Discuss now, decide after, or decide later.

[1:06:04] No official decisions can be made by the board as the committee of the whole.

[1:06:07] The point of today is to discuss, board action comes at another time.

[1:06:11] Be present.

[1:06:12] Minimize distractions inside chatter, commit fully to being engaged with one another.

[1:06:16] We can demonstrate presence by making eye contact, taking notes, and being mindful of our

[1:06:19] body language.

[1:06:21] Persume positive intent. Assume best intentions and stay curious.

[1:06:25] There you are. Nice. I'm going to zoom in here.

[1:06:30] Can you go to the...

[1:06:36] Now you all can actually see it. I'm not just like reading this for my brain.

[1:06:40] Persume positive intent is where we were. Assume best intentions and stay curious

[1:06:44] if something feels challenging. Use the mic, ensure that your contributions are heard by everyone

[1:06:49] in the room, online, and in the future.

[1:06:51] I want to ask if there are any others to add

[1:06:53] while offering these two, step up, step back.

[1:06:56] The dialogue is the space we all share,

[1:06:58] so be mindful of how much space

[1:06:59] in the discussion you're occupying, create space

[1:07:00] for those who might not feel comfortable sharing

[1:07:02] until there's a space or an invitation to do so.

[1:07:05] We all navigate conversations differently

[1:07:06] and all of our voices matter.

[1:07:08] And I also want to ask if we decide our claims.

[1:07:12] So if you're referencing data or making generalized statements

[1:07:14] of fact, please cite your source.

[1:07:16] This will help others to stay informed,

[1:07:18] to follow along and differentiate between verifiable truth and conjecture.

[1:07:21] So before making a claim, ask yourself, is it true?

[1:07:24] And how do I know?

[1:07:25] And this was what I think the student board member last time did this beautifully.

[1:07:28] It doesn't have to be like, oh, this specific report by this person on this day, the time.

[1:07:33] I think they said, I spoke to a member of the previous school consolidation committee,

[1:07:38] and this is what they had to say.

[1:07:39] That's a perfect example of how to cite what you're saying.

[1:07:42] I know y'all probably know how to do that, so I'm just emphasizing.

[1:07:45] Are there any others to add to this list?

[1:07:51] Okay.

[1:07:55] We're going to practice our little circle around while we go to the next tab on this document

[1:08:01] which is our restorative justice guiding principles.

[1:08:07] I want to shout out again Western Justice Center that did a restorative justice on a one training

[1:08:11] in January that a lot of our committee partners attended has been really impactful.

[1:08:15] So I'm going to hand this to Trustee Harden to start us off.

[1:08:20] If you could read the first bullet point here.

[1:08:26] Okay, the world is profoundly interconnected,

[1:08:30] and we are accountable to one another.

[1:08:40] Our relationships are central to building a connected community.

[1:08:45] We both center collective care over rules and systems.

[1:08:52] We all have inherent value and dignity.

[1:08:55] Everyone's unique identities and experiences,

[1:08:59] shape, how they navigate the world.

[1:09:07] We are all capable of change.

[1:09:13] everything we need to make a positive change is already here awesome can you

[1:09:19] throw me that money trusty can he has a question yes I'm sorry so these slides

[1:09:27] are attached to the agenda this is not attached to the agenda all right so we

[1:09:31] can't just because it's kind of hard sometimes to read about it is there a way that

[1:09:35] that we can send this Ms. Montoya can, yeah, thank you.

[1:09:39] Sorry about that.

[1:09:41] That was forward.

[1:09:48] Yeah, and ultimately my best broadcast is as closely as possible,

[1:09:52] so we can all see as much as we can in the meantime.

[1:09:58] I think Ms. Montoya's gonna work.

[1:10:07] So, we're going to go over these discussion goals really quick, some supportive materials, when you finally get this document. The notes from last time, the agenda from today for today, the mission, vision and values that we refer to, and the litmus test. So, our goal, our only goal today is to refine a shared definition for the distribution transformation process.

[1:10:30] That's okay. We're going to have a focus conversation.

[1:10:33] following a method, a facilitation method, called ORID, which is observed, reflect, interpret, decide.

[1:10:39] We kind of started doing that last time.

[1:10:41] So we're going to start by reading and reviewing this drafted definition that I synthesized of the district transformation process

[1:10:47] per our last conversation.

[1:10:49] And then we're going to go into the observed part, which is to read the synthesized definition

[1:10:55] and reflect on what words or phrases to go to you, what images or ideas come to mind.

[1:11:00] We're going to discuss our reflections, what are initial reactions, what feels aligned with our previous discussion, what feels challenging.

[1:11:08] We're going to go into interpreting, what about this definition needs to be removed or edited, and then we're going to decide

[1:11:14] what recommendations does the board have for next steps and where do we go from here.

[1:11:21] This month I was going to share that with you right now.

[1:11:25] And while we do that, we're going to, again, utilize this bunny.

[1:11:31] Yes.

[1:11:35] I'm not in the room with you.

[1:11:36] And whatever the process was that you just did.

[1:11:41] I wasn't included in that, but I can figure it out.

[1:11:44] But is this now the meeting of the whole?

[1:11:47] Has that been established?

[1:11:50] And if so, when are we going to select our chair?

[1:11:55] Can you repeat that last part?

[1:12:05] Do I need to repeat myself?

[1:12:07] Yes, can you repeat the last part, please?

[1:12:11] I'm asking if this is the meeting of the whole, and if it is, when are we going to elect our chair?

[1:12:25] So this is the committee meeting of the whole?

[1:12:34] Trustee Bailey is asking, when do we elect the chair of the committee of the whole?

[1:12:39] I'm going to defer that question to trustee Fredrick's or trustee Velasquez who have

[1:12:45] better familiarity. I'm only asking because I thought this was the meeting of the

[1:12:51] whole. Maybe I'm a little confused. This is the meeting of the whole. So if this is the

[1:12:58] meeting of the whole, this is a brand new committee. I mean the committee of the

[1:13:04] I'm sorry, the committee of the whole is a brand new committee and I believe we're

[1:13:11] supposed to select a chair and

[1:13:16] we haven't done that.

[1:13:18] My next concern is whether or not the superintendent was able to get back to us with a way in from

[1:13:31] from our legal council on what the public comment speaker presented to us.

[1:13:44] Let's take up, could it be potentially dangerous for us to continue to move forward without

[1:13:51] knowing where there were doing so without being in violation of any rules or policies or

[1:14:00] laws.

[1:14:00] I can go check on the progress, Mrs. Vain.

[1:14:06] So in the meantime, yes, Ms. Kenney and then you.

[1:14:14] So this is the committee of the whole that my understanding was temporary to finalize the

[1:14:20] district transformation process definition.

[1:14:23] I thought we did have some conversation on the 13th about whether we needed to have a chair.

[1:14:33] a special chair for the committee of the whole, and I

[1:14:39] thought we were, sorry it wasn't, excuse me, Ms. Bailey, can you please

[1:14:47] respect this speaking turn of your colleague? So, anyway, so I guess I thought we discussed just having the president chair it, but I could be wrong.

[1:15:01] It's not on the agenda to elect a chair. So maybe I was left out of that discussion because I don't recall having that being a part of that discussion.

[1:15:10] I declare the meeting in a five minute break.

[1:28:25] So in response to Patrice Marshall McKenzie's question, our clerk, we've become aware that in preparation for the meeting tonight, the notice and agenda for the meetings were appropriately posted 24 hours before the meetings on the district's website. However, it appears the physical copy of the notice was inadvertently not posted at a location that is freely accessible to members of the public. In an effort to ensure compliance with the Brown Act, we're concluding the committee of the whole meeting.

[1:28:55] and we will not be proceeding with the special meeting this evening.

[1:28:58] Thank you for being here.

[1:28:59] We need your.

Special Board Meeting - Committee of the Whole - Aug 31st, 2026

Transcript