August 20, 2020 Board of Education Meeting

About this record

No signed minutes for this meeting are in the archive. The record used here is the draft minutes printed in the agenda packet for the following meeting, September 3, 2020 (packet pages 9 to 16) 1. The board approved those minutes, with no amendment noted, on the consent calendar on September 3, as recorded in the September 3 draft minutes printed in the September 17, 2020 packet (page 10) 2. Those September 3 minutes were in turn approved on September 17, according to the draft printed in the October 1, 2020 packet (page 21) 3.

A first meeting held mostly by email and Zoom

The meeting came as the 2020-21 school year got under way in distance learning, the backdrop to most of the board's comments 45. President Joe Schaffer reconvened the open session at 6:01 p.m., with Andrew Cruz, James Na and Schaffer in the boardroom and Christina Gagnier and Irene Hernandez-Blair joining by Zoom 1. Under a public advisory citing Governor Newsom's March 17, 2020 executive order, the public was directed to the district's YouTube live stream and asked to send any comments by email between noon and 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting 6.

Reporting out of closed session, the board announced that it had appointed Cesar Portugal as Construction Coordinator and Lisandra Maldonado as Coordinator, Payroll and Benefits Services, both effective August 21, and Eric Dahlstrom as Director, Human Resources, effective August 27 47.

Employee groups

Brenda Walker of A.C.T. and Danny Hernandez of CSEA were absent. Barbara Bearden, CHAMP President, thanked those who had joined CHAMP for the year, said CHAMP had recognized district leaders for their work preparing to reopen schools, and recognized Nutrition Services, Technology, office staff and teachers 4.

Public comment by email

Staff read the emailed comments into the record under Board Bylaw 9323 8. The minutes list five writers and their subjects 4:

• Kevin Butscher, special education distance learning concerns.
• Karly Welsh, junior high school distance learning schedule changes.
• Mindy Shamp, technical difficulties and connectivity in distance learning.
• Bonnie Gallegos, the requirement for teachers to give ESAs during distance learning.
• Winnie Keung, changing learning options.

The minutes do not record what each email said, so this page does not summarize them.

A school resource officer contract pulled

Before the action items, a change was read into the record: one contract had been pulled from the agenda's contractor and consultant agreements, the agreement with the City of Chino Hills 4. The packet described it as a $278,801.50 General Fund contract for school resource officers at Ayala High School and Chino Hills High School for July 2020 through June 2021 9. The minutes give no reason for pulling it.

Action items

Student board member sworn in. Schaffer administered the oath of office to Justin Rendon, the 2020-21 Student Member of the Board 10. On the recording, the swearing-in is described as postponed from the board's May 21 approval, and the oath was given over Zoom 11.

Consolidated Application. On a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz, the board approved the Application for Funding Consolidated Application for 2020-21 1012. The staff memo listed the federal programs the district would take part in: Title I Part A, Title II Part A, Title III Part A (Immigrant and LEP) and Title IV Part A 13.

Cal Aero Preserve instructional materials. Schaffer opened and closed a public hearing at 6:20 p.m.; no email comments came in. On a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz, the board adopted the resolution on the sufficiency of instructional materials for Cal Aero Preserve Academy K through 6 1014. The school runs a year-round calendar and had begun instruction on July 6, 2020, so it needed its own hearing under Education Code 60119 15.

Consent calendar

Hernandez-Blair pulled the certificated and classified personnel items and Gagnier pulled the piggyback-contract resolutions for separate action. On a motion by Gagnier, seconded by Na, the board approved the rest of the consent calendar as amended 1016. Among the items:

• A revision of Board Policy 5111, Students: Admission 17. The memo said it reflected state law barring collection of students' or parents' Social Security numbers and AB 699, which bars districts from asking about citizenship or immigration status 18.
• A memorandum of understanding with the University of La Verne 17, part of the PACE program that offers qualified district graduates guaranteed admission and financial assistance 19, and another with Cal-PASS Plus 17.
• A revised Library Science course and a new CTE Library Science 2 course 17. The revision extends Library Science to a full year, and the new course is the capstone of the Education Pathway 2021.
• The award of the Briggs K-8 and Ayala High School asphalt replacement to Premier Paving, Inc. 22, the lowest of nine bids at $404,000 23.
• Payment for legal services to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo; Margaret A. Chidester & Associates; and The Tao Firm 17, and the rejection of a claim, referred to the district's insurance adjuster 24.

Piggyback contracts. On a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz, the board adopted the three piggyback-contract resolutions; the minutes record that Gagnier recused herself 2225. On the recording she cited a conflict of interest as a shareholder in a law firm 26. The resolutions let the district buy under existing public contracts: floor covering from Shaw Industries 27, and furniture from Lakeshore Learning Materials and wireless equipment and services from T-Mobile 28. The memo listed the fiscal impact as unknown 28.

Personnel items. On a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz, the board approved the certificated and classified personnel items 2426. Discussion on the recording turned on whether approving the coaching and other extra-duty assignments also approved their stipends. The answer given was that the vote placed people in the positions, not the stipends 29, and that pay follows only when the activity runs and the employee files a completion notice 30.

The board also received the county superintendent's fourth-quarter Williams findings report for 2019-20 24.

Board and superintendent communications

Andrew Cruz spoke about the data, risks and effects of COVID-19 and the importance of getting children back to school for their social and academic well-being 31. "The risk of missing school is catastrophic," he said on the recording 32.

James Na spoke about Chino Hills High School teacher David Browning, who died in July, and shared the phrase he was remembered by, "Be good to yourself and to others – Husky strong." He also spoke about some of the email comments and asked Superintendent Norm Enfield to look into having sites pre-record the National Anthem 5.

Irene Hernandez-Blair said students without scanners or cell phones cannot send work to teachers, that expectations must be realistic, and that the district should find ways to bring students in need back to campus even on a limited basis 5. On the recording she described students "sitting on steel folding chairs whose desks are TV trays" 33. She requested an update on special education students, and one on kindergarten student assessments mentioned in the email comments. She also praised Nutrition Services for mailing updates to families, said notices should not go out only by text or email because some families lack technology, and asked who changed junior high schedules at the last minute and why 5.

Christina Gagnier welcomed everyone back. Pointing to the August 31 transition date given at the previous meeting, she asked how the district would decide when to move to the blended learning model and how much lead time families would get. She also said some students may be missing because instruction depends on technology, and asked what the district was doing to support teachers and students 5.

Superintendent Enfield welcomed students back, thanked teachers for adapting their instruction and CSEA for its front-line work, and spoke about the uncertainty of a date for a safe return to campus 5. On the recording he called it "a very fluid situation," said the district was usually on a call with the county health department about every couple of weeks 3435, and said he wanted families to get as much lead time as possible 35.

President Schaffer spoke about messages from stakeholders on everyone's efforts for the return to school and said issues were still being addressed. He noted that virtual back-to-school nights were being scheduled, congratulated Chino Hills High School's solar boat team for winning the Metropolitan Water District's Solar Cup 2.0, announced an August 22 donation drive for the district's Hope Resource Center at the Shoppes at Chino Hills, sponsored by Councilmember Cynthia Moran and the Shoppes, and congratulated Rendon 5. The solar boat win was a virtual competition that year 3637.

Schaffer adjourned the meeting at 6:53 p.m. 38