Board of Education — October 4, 2018

October 4, 2018 Board of Education Meeting

No official minutes are on file for this meeting. Per this archive's policy for meetings without a minutes record, no comment, position, or vote is attributed to a named individual below -- public commenters, board members, and staff are described by role only.

🎓 Student Journalists Force a Reckoning on Cyberbullying

The board reconvened at 7:01 p.m. after a closed session covering pending litigation and personnel matters, including a public-employee appointment 1. But the evening's defining moment came from the student microphone, not the dais: the district's award-winning high school journalism program presented an investigative editorial on a "confessions" Instagram account that had been active since mid-2017, accumulating more than 170 posts before the meeting 34.

The students described the account's content as ranging from anonymous confessions to material bordering on bullying, defamation, and hate speech, and said they had found comparable accounts tied to several other district campuses 5. The most serious case they cited, at a district junior high school, allegedly involved photos of female students posted without their knowledge alongside sexualized commentary 6.

The students connected their findings to youth mental-health data, citing a districtwide survey in which 12% of ninth graders and 20% of eleventh graders reported having seriously considered suicide in the prior year, and research suggesting cyberbullying carries an even stronger link to suicidal thinking than traditional bullying 7. They asked the board to consider verifying official school Instagram accounts to distinguish them from anonymous copycats 8, and to update and expand the district's cyberbullying policy, which they said made no mention of social media at all 9.

The story had a real-time coda: the students reported that the account's moderator deleted it the day before the meeting, and that Instagram removed the page entirely later that evening after the students filed a report 10. Board members responded warmly; one commented that the district's social media policy "needs to evolve" along with the technology 11.

📋 Personnel, Hearings, and Facilities Business

Coming out of closed session, the board appointed a new Director of Human Resources, effective October 8, 2018 2. It also held a public hearing that drew no speakers and adopted a resolution on the sufficiency of the district's 2018-2019 instructional materials 12.

The board adopted a second resolution approving a mitigated negative declaration and monitoring program for the Chino High School reconstruction project, again without public speakers 13. During discussion, one trustee asked staff to clarify a point of public confusion -- that new classrooms, not just an administration building, were part of the project -- and confirmed the district remained in ongoing conversation with hospital and city stakeholders who had raised concerns 14.

Two labor items drew no public comment: the board approved a compensation increase for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) students 15, and conducted the required public hearing on the California School Employees Association's initial bargaining proposal for a successor contract effective July 1, 2018 16. The consent calendar and information items were approved without discussion 17.

🗣️ Public Comment: A Board Member's Remarks Draw Sharp Rebukes

Six people addressed the board on items not on the agenda, and several turned their remarks toward controversial statements a board member had made at recent meetings.

The first speaker, an 18-year-old recent graduate of a district high school who grew up in foster care before being adopted into a family with two mothers 18, said the family "gave all of us a true chance at life" 19. The speaker directly challenged a 2016 remark "that every child should be raised by their biological parents" 20, and argued the board should better reflect the district's diversity rather than spend money "to change the US" Constitution instead of funding programs like STEM 21.

A second speaker raised concerns about roughly $300,000 the district had spent on litigation over prayer at board meetings, saying the spending had "nothing to do with the education of our" children 22, and argued board members should act in their civic role rather than a religious one 23.

A third speaker offered a more positive report, recapping a countywide "state of the education" address that highlighted a positive-behavior support program already used in some district schools 24 and a new regional cybersecurity training program 25.

Two more speakers each condemned a remark a board member had made at an earlier meeting -- that Hitler "was not a bad man" 26. One called the remark "despicable and ignorant" 27. The other extended the criticism to the same board member's separate comments on gender identity and abortion 28, arguing the remarks showed unfamiliarity with the district's own sex-education opt-out policy 29 and objecting to the board member encouraging people to disregard laws they disagreed with 30.

A brief remaining comment came from a student, who offered a short statement in support of the idea that "marriage is about love not gender" 31.

📣 Board Communications and Campus Updates

Trustees used the closing communications period for a mix of updates and requests. One welcomed a former board member visiting from out of state 32, relayed that district administration had given a well-received address on the district's positive-behavior support program to a local Realtors' association 33, and described a recent visit to an elementary school's new STEAM library space 34. The same trustee highlighted a high school's acquisition of a synthetic surgical-training model for its veterinary program, reportedly among the first in the country to have one 35, along with visits to a Chamber of Commerce mixer and a countywide awards ceremony 36, and passed along word from a county supervisor's office about a veterans' benefits-assistance event in November 37.

Another trustee raised a procedural question about how outside groups learn of upcoming agenda items before they are formally posted 38, and used the floor to walk through the district's process for requesting an agenda item under board policy 39, noting a pending request had properly followed that process 40. The same trustee asked that the board's own attorneys, rather than an outside analysis, present a legal review of a proposed policy at a future meeting 41, and asked that the item be moved to the board's November 1 meeting to allow time for that review 42.

A trustee's comments on cellphone use in classrooms prompted district administration to note that state law changed to protect students' ability to carry phones at school after the Columbine shooting, given the safety role phones had come to play 43. Separately, a trustee proposed the board revisit its practice of rotating the board presidency each year, arguing experience and leadership preparation should determine who holds the position 44, and noting the role is harder to carry out while representing a board minority 45.

A trustee summarized a recent parent-engagement event that drew several hundred participants 46, touching on active-shooter drill preparedness and classroom cellphone policy 47, along with concerns connecting vaping, drugs, and social media to teen mental health 48.

Reflecting on the journalism presentation, one trustee connected it to a 2010 district resolution supporting a ballot measure that opposed same-sex marriage, and said the board should eventually revisit it 49. Another trustee praised the presenting students and their families, then closed with broader remarks on empathy and civic values -- invoking Martin Luther King Jr. -- before noting a recent campus visit to newly installed artificial turf 50.

The board adjourned the meeting at 8:14 p.m. 51

This is an independent, community-maintained summary of public records and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Chino Valley Unified School District. No official minutes are on file for this meeting, so -- per this archive's policy -- no comment, stance, or vote is attributed to a named individual.