December 17, 2020: A Reorganized Board Meets Under Reopening Pressure

At its annual organizational meeting, Chino Valley Unified's board swore in two returning members and one new one, elected Joe Schaffer president and Christina Gagnier vice president over Andrew Cruz, and received a stack of emailed comments on COVID-19 and school reopening options. President Schaffer called the meeting to order with Bridge, Cruz, Na and Schaffer in the board room and Gagnier attending by Zoom 1. This page draws on the signed, adopted minutes. The transcript of the recording begins only after the officer elections, with the vote on the board secretary 2, so the oaths and elections below come from the minutes alone.

🔒 Closed session

The board met in closed session from 4:00 to 5:23 p.m. 1. It reported two actions: it appointed Ashley Barnett principal of Woodcrest JHS effective January 6, 2021, and it accepted a resignation agreement and general release with Certificated Employee No. 25553, who resigned effective that day 3.

🎗️ Oaths of office

Superior Court Judge Mark Peterson administered the oath of office to Andrew Cruz and James Na, and Senator Connie Leyva administered it to Donald L. Bridge 3. Cruz recognized his sisters; Na thanked residents, teachers and staff for their vote of confidence; and Bridge thanked Leyva and the community, spoke about the record number of votes the county registrar reported, and thanked Irene Hernandez-Blair for her eight years of service 3. The Boys Republic Della Robbia wreath presentation was omitted because of COVID 3.

🗳️ Officers and assignments

Gagnier nominated Schaffer for president. There were no other nominations, and he was elected by roll call vote 3.

For vice president, Na nominated Cruz and Gagnier nominated herself. The roll call on Cruz failed, with Cruz and Na voting yes and Bridge, Gagnier and Schaffer voting no. The roll call on Gagnier then elected her, with Bridge, Gagnier and Schaffer voting yes and Cruz and Na voting no 4. For clerk, Gagnier nominated Na, who declined; Na then nominated Bridge, who was elected 5. On a motion by Na, seconded by Bridge, the board appointed Superintendent Norm Enfield secretary to the board 52.

Each liaison and representative seat went to a volunteer with no other nominations:

• City of Chino: Cruz. City of Chino Hills: Bridge. City of Ontario: Na. Chino Valley Independent Fire District: Bridge 5.
• County Committee on School District Organization: Schaffer 5. Chino Hills Parks and Recreation Commission: Schaffer 6.
• Joint meetings with the cities of Chino and Chino Hills: Na and Gagnier. Chamber of the Chino Valley: Gagnier 6.

🧑‍🎓 Student and employee representatives

Student representative Justin Rendon summarized virtual activities that had helped students stay connected during the pandemic 6.

Barbara Bearden, CHAMP president, congratulated the three members on their election and said CHAMP members had donated more than $1,000 in gift cards to the district's HOPE center 7. Brenda Walker, A.C.T. president, spoke about pandemic concerns, especially in small-cohort special education classes, and asked the board to keep the district's COVID case reports in mind when making future decisions 8.

📧 Email comments

Under the pandemic public advisory, the public submitted comments by email at a designated time 9. The minutes list these writers on COVID-19 and school reopening options: "S.A., Kevin Butscher, Robert McKellip, Michelle Savage, Steve Young, Carr Schott, Audrey Han, Kimberly Ruiz, Anna Rivers, Gabriela Jilek, Michael Partida, Scott Rosen." Tim Edmonson wrote about playground equipment 8. The minutes record who wrote and on what subject, not what each said, and staff read each writer's name aloud before the comment, so this page does not summarize the comments from the recording.

✅ Action items

The board approved the 2021/2022 meeting calendar on a motion by Na, seconded by Gagnier 8. Regular meetings stay on the first and third Thursdays, and the next organizational meeting is set for December 16, 2021 1011.

On a motion by Schaffer, seconded by Cruz, the board nominated Andrew Cruz to the California School Boards Association Delegate Assembly 8.

📋 Consent calendar

Gagnier pulled Item III.D.18 for separate action, and the rest of the consent calendar was approved as amended on a motion by Na, seconded by Gagnier 1213. It included:

• The Dickson ES playground and Marshall ES fitness equipment bid, awarded to NextGen Construction 14; the memo puts the cost at $281,800 15.
• The asphalt replacement bid for the Alternative Education Center and Don Lugo HS, awarded to Premier Paving, Inc. 14, at $702,600 per the memo 16.
• Payments for legal services to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo; Margaret A. Chidester & Associates; and The Tao Firm 12, which the memo totals at $35,282.65 17.
• Contractor and consultant agreements 18, among them San Bernardino County CARES funding for reopening equipment such as plexiglass and thermal screening 1920.
• Three student readmission cases, with a fourth deleted from the agenda 18; a missed-meeting compensation resolution for Irene Hernandez-Blair for November 19 12; Bridge's designation to the boards of the district's Capital Facilities Corporation and Land Acquisition Corporation 21; and personnel items as amended 21.

🛒 Piggyback contracts

Item III.D.18 let the district buy through existing public contracts: cellular service through the state's CALNET program, and networking and security equipment through a state participating addendum with Palo Alto Networks, Inc. 2223. The board adopted both resolutions on a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz, with Gagnier recused 21. On the recording she said she had a conflict of interest and could not vote 24.

ℹ️ Information items

The board received a revision of Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5111.1, District Residency 25. The staff memo says the update reflects a new law barring districts from collecting information on the citizenship or immigration status of students or their families, plus new residency rules for children of parents transferring to a military installation in California 26. It also received the county superintendent's Williams settlement annual report for 2019/2020 2527.

💬 Board communications

Andrew Cruz asked for an action item at the next meeting to bring back rotation of officers, saying every member has a right to be president 2829. He also requested a resolution stating, in words to that effect, that the district has no plans to make the COVID vaccine mandatory for students and staff, because parents need to know where board members stand 2829. He also read a coach's statement on sports and spoke about deception and the need for full facts about the American election process 28.

James Na said the state's efforts to control the virus were not working and asked Superintendent Enfield to consult legal counsel about opening up public schools 2830, saying "we need to fight back" 30. He said the district should prepare rather than wait for state mandates, and thanked the parents who rallied that evening for schools to reopen 28. The Champion reported that about 20 parents and students marched on Riverside Drive before the meeting, chanting "open our schools" 31.

Christina Gagnier thanked students and parents for voicing concerns about reopening, said many state policies made little sense, particularly for small business in Chino Valley, and objected to rules that keep changing 32. She said the board has no jurisdiction over any vaccine decision and urged residents to take concerns to their state representatives 3233. On waivers and what was prudent, she said the county was not going to grant a waiver at current case rates 34, and that a legal fight would mean spending "hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars" against the state and would not succeed 34. In October, a motion to submit a TK-6 waiver had failed, while small in-person cohorts for students with disabilities had been approved 35. She also spoke about Assembly Bill 10 32. CalMatters reported that the bill, from Democratic legislators, would require schools to plan a return to in-person teaching within two weeks of their county leaving the purple tier 36. The Champion led its account of the meeting with her message: "At this time there is nothing the school board can do to get our students back to school" 31.

Don Bridge thanked the city of Chino for the previous Saturday's drive-through parade at Ayala HS 28. Superintendent Enfield congratulated Bridge on his election and Na and Cruz on their reelection 37. President Schaffer thanked Boys Republic for the wreath and reported that the district's seat on the Baldy View ROP commission holds the vice presidency for the next two years 37. He adjourned the meeting at 7:33 p.m. 37.

Notes on the record

• In the same minutes, the closed-session report records Ashley Barnett's appointment as principal of Woodcrest JHS 3, while the summary of the CHAMP president's remarks says she was congratulated on her "appointment as assistant principal" 7.