November 5, 2020: Performing Arts Emails, a Security Contract and a Board in Transition

Two days after the November 3 election, Chino Valley Unified's board held a short regular meeting. Staff read twelve emailed comments into the record, ten of them about performing arts, and the board approved a long consent calendar that included a $2.7 million school-security contract and thirteen change orders on the Chino High School rebuild. President Joe Schaffer reconvened the open session at 6:00 p.m. 1 and adjourned it at 6:39 p.m. 2. This page draws on the meeting's minutes, signed by the board president, for names and actions; the recording is cited for what was said.

🗓️ Who was there

• Andrew Cruz, Christina Gagnier and Schaffer were in the board room and Irene Hernandez-Blair attended via Zoom; James Na arrived at 5:12 p.m. 1.
• The board met in closed session from 5:00 to 5:39 p.m. on labor negotiations with A.C.T. and CSEA, employee discipline and the superintendent's performance evaluation, and reported no action requiring public disclosure 3.
• Student representative Justin Rendon reported on students staying connected 4.

🎭 Performing arts: the emails and board members' responses

Comments were taken by email under the board's pandemic advisory 5, and staff read them into the record under Board Bylaw 9323 in the order they arrived 6. The minutes list the writers by subject: Michelle Singleton, Louise Chavez, Alfred Bertulfo, Diane Johnson, Max Johnson, Katrina Henry, Collen Shirley, Michelle Banker, Stephanie Parker, and Janine Leigh regarding performing arts; Kevin Butscher regarding Sycamore Academy; and Lisa Droog regarding special education small cohorts 7. The minutes record subjects, not content, and staff read each writer's name with the email, so this page does not paraphrase individual emails from the recording.

The background was the previous meeting. On October 15 the board approved school-based sports conditioning programs and small-cohort in-person instruction for students with disabilities, both under state public health guidelines 8. At that meeting Hernandez-Blair asked Superintendent Norm Enfield to bring forward a discussion item on how performing arts, such as dance and theater, could return 9. The California Department of Education notes that state public health guidance issued October 14, 2020, permitted outdoor singing and band practice with precautions such as distancing and masks 10.

In board communications, the minutes record these remarks on the subject:

• Irene Hernandez-Blair spoke about restoring performing arts and explained why her requested discussion item was not on the agenda: new guidelines had extended the return to conditioning to performing arts groups under the board's last action 11. On the recording she said the omission was not because the board did not want "these groups to have an opportunity at the table" 12. She read part of a student's letter 11, which asked "that the arts are allowed to reconvene" so the writer could "reclaim my senior year" 13.
• James Na acknowledged the email comments on performing arts returning to practice and conditioning 11. On the recording he thanked the Chino Hills High song and spirit leader parents for writing and agreed that "we do not need to split" the group 14.
• Joe Schaffer spoke about performing arts students returning to conditioning under guidelines that allow it 11. Addressing a point raised in several of the letters 15, he said the board's earlier action reflected "what was allowed by the state at the time" 16 and that leaving a group out "was not a deliberate action taken by this board" 17.

🏫 Employee groups: reopening, health staff and outbreaks

• Brenda Walker, A.C.T. president, acknowledged all the board candidates, congratulated Cruz, Na and Don Bridge on their election, and spoke about the return to in-person instruction for small cohort groups 18. On the recording she called communication between A.C.T. and the district "ongoing and very much appreciated" 19.
• Danny Hernandez, CSEA president, thanked the board for increasing health technician hours and spoke about reopening, safety precautions and virus outbreaks 18. He said the outbreaks were making staff "feel a bit uneasy" ahead of students' return the following Monday 20. The personnel report listed eleven elementary health technicians whose hours would rise from 3.5 to 5.5 a day, effective November 9 2122, and the board approved the personnel items that night 23.
• Barbara Bearden, CHAMP president, recognized special education staff, site leaders and district departments working together on in-person learning for special education students 18. A change read into the record corrected her title in the October 15 minutes to CHAMP President 7.

On November 21 the Champion reported that four students and 23 staff had tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous 14 days, that only special education students were attending school on campus, and that some high school sports teams were doing conditioning drills there 24.

✅ What the board approved

Gagnier pulled the contractor and consultant agreements for separate action. On a motion by Na, seconded by Gagnier, the board approved the rest of the consent calendar as amended 25.

• School security, $2,715,000: the bid went to Champion Electric 26, the lowest of five bidders, for keyless access control, security cameras and intrusion alarms at Dickson, Glenmeade, Marshall, Newman and Rhodes elementary schools 27.
• Chino High School rebuild: the board approved thirteen change orders on Phase I bid packages 2628, ranging from a net decrease of $27,680 for masonry 29 to a net increase of $255,863 on a single package 30. It also approved an asphalt change order at Briggs K-8 and Ayala High and closed out three HVAC replacement projects with notices of completion 23.
• Charter buses: a request-for-proposals award went to nine companies 26; eleven had submitted proposals, and spending was expected to exceed $500,000 a year 3132.
• Routine business: the warrant register 25 of $9,807,780.51 33 and the purchase order register 26 of $5,724,468.75 34; legal fees to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud and Romo and the Tao Firm 25, totaling $12,164.88 35; a memorandum of understanding with the Foster Grandparent/Senior Companion Program 25, whose volunteers would serve Borba and Dickey elementary schools 36; a Great American Smokeout proclamation for November 19 and the October 15 minutes, as amended 25; and the annual and five-year developer fee reports for 2019/2020 23.
• Contractor and consultant agreements, taken separately: on a motion by Na, seconded by Hernandez-Blair (the vote line prints "Hernandez"), the board approved them with Gagnier recused 26. On the recording she cited a conflict of interest 37. The list ran from software licenses and online enrichment programs to extensions of environmental studies for Preserve School #2 3839.

📊 Information items

• Student body budgets: the board received the adopted 2020/2021 organized and unorganized student body budgets 23; the staff memo cites the district's student activity funds policy as requiring that annual report 4041.
• Learning continuity plan: the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools found the district's Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan met all requirements and recommended added detail in four areas 42; staff called the resulting revisions "not substantive" 43. The board received the recommendations for information 11.
• Cash management: for 2019/2020 the district's program yielded 2.20% net of fees, against 1.94% for the county investment pool 44; the board received the report for information 11.

🗳️ The election and remaining communications

• Andrew Cruz asked Enfield to clarify the situation for student activities other than sports, spoke about the long-term impact of students being out of school so long, and encouraged parents to push the board to start opening up 11. On the recording he said "the greatest impact is affecting the poor and the minorities" 45 and told parents "you got to push us" 46.
• James Na also said he had visited Ayala High School 11, describing its new science building on the recording 47; he thanked parents who emailed about Sycamore Academy, said he was hopeful for a resolution, and acknowledged students coping with the pandemic 11.
• Christina Gagnier and Superintendent Enfield made no comments 11.
• Joe Schaffer thanked the candidates who ran for board seats and congratulated board member-elect Don Bridge 11. The Champion's November 14 tally of unofficial results listed Na, Bridge and Cruz as the top three finishers for the district's three seats 48.