March 18, 2021: Sideline Cheer and School Reopening Dominate Comments as the Board Hears Its Path to Trustee-Area Elections

President Joe Schaffer reconvened the open session at 6:00 p.m. with all five members present 1. The evening opened with a briefing on the California Voting Rights Act 2. The board approved the second interim financial report, adopted a grant-contingent layoff resolution, accepted title to the Wickman Elementary site and held a public hearing on the Preserve School #2 site at which no one spoke 234455. Seven of the 12 emailed comments concerned sideline cheer 2, which also ran through the board's closing remarks 6. Schaffer adjourned at 7:12 p.m. 6

About this record. The archive holds no separately posted minutes for this meeting. This page's record is the draft minutes printed in the April 15, 2021 board packet, pages 16 to 22 16. The board approved them on April 15 within its consent calendar; that evening's changes and deletions did not touch the item, and no amendment to it is recorded 78. People are named only where those minutes name them, and recording remarks are attributed to a named person only within the subject the minutes give that person.

📣 Sideline cheer and school reopening

Earlier that week, new state public health rules barred sideline cheer, band and drumline from sporting events 9. KTLA reported that the Ayala High cheer team demonstrated in front of its district office the day of the meeting after learning, hours before a performance, that cheer had been cancelled 9. The state reversed itself the next day, CBS San Francisco reported, treating sideline cheer like competitive cheer 10.

A second thread was a March 15 temporary restraining order by San Diego Superior Court Judge Cynthia A. Freeland in A.A. v. Newsom against the state's January 2021 reopening framework; the California School Boards Association wrote that it applies to all local educational agencies in the state 11.

Public comment. Emails were due between noon and 2 p.m. that day 12, and staff read them into the record in the order received 13. According to the minutes, Kevin Butscher, Ruby Baje, Carrie Schott, Kim Kristen, and Adrienne Tabije submitted email comments regarding school reopening; and Michelle Savage, Joseph Chavez, Stephanie Parker, Louise Chavez, Kristina Lords, Joanne Garcia, and Lilly Lopez submitted email comments regarding sideline cheer activities 2. The minutes record subjects, not content, and the recording reads each writer's name with the text, so the emails are not summarized here.

Board communications, in the minutes' order:

• Andrew Cruz said he supports students participating in sideline cheer, spoke about the San Diego ruling, and said the district should start returning to full-time in-person instruction 6. On the recording he urged an emergency request to "let the children play" their song and cheer like the football team 14. The minutes also record that he spoke about an expert biologist's opinion on the hazards of taking the vaccine and a CDC statement that face masks do little to prevent the spread of COVID, shared 12 facts to consider before being vaccinated, said parents should have a right to change learning models, and said the district should get teachers' feedback 6. This page reports those remarks as recorded and does not assess them.
• James Na asked everyone to be kind and supportive of all children as secondary students returned, said he spoke to cheerleaders in the front parking lot and agrees with them, and asked Superintendent Norm Enfield to consult legal counsel about allowing cheerleaders on the sidelines 6. On the recording he said "it's not our field it's their field to support their peers" 15.
• Don Bridge thanked staff at Rolling Ridge, Cortez and Dickey elementary schools for the return of students; spoke about the red tier and secondary students' return; joined a county student advisory panel presentation by Zoom; and recognized the passing of Al McCombs, longtime owner and publisher of the Champion, and his service on the Board of Education 6. On the recording he said McCombs served on the board from 1969 to 1979, two years as president 16. The Champion's obituary reported that McCombs died March 12 at 91 and owned the paper from 1956 to 2017 17.
• Christina Gagnier said she would attend an education roundtable held by Assembly member Freddie Rodriguez, spoke about the youth sports Q&As and inconsistent guidelines, and said she has listened to the community's concerns 6. On the recording she said that week's youth sports Q&A made no sense given what other athletes were allowed to do 1818.
• Superintendent Enfield made no comments 6.
• Joe Schaffer said he doesn't think there is one board member who doesn't want to see kids return to normality, but the district must abide by state public health rules although guidelines are inconsistent, and that he is pushing heavily for more local control 6. On the recording he said he was pushing "every single day to allow local control so that the five of us up here can make the decisions" 19.

⚖️ The Voting Rights Act briefing

Todd Robbins, an attorney from Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, presented information on the California Voting Rights Act 2. Around January 23, 2021, the district had received a letter from Shenkman & Hughes asserting that its at-large elections diluted minority votes in violation of the act 20. On March 4 the board adopted a resolution of intent to comply 21. The San Bernardino County Sentinel reported that the threat came from Kevin Shenkman 22.

The presentation laid out the steps:

• A violation rests on statistical evidence of racially polarized voting, not intent 2323.
• The March 4 resolution opened a 90-day window in which no other plaintiff can file a demand or sue 23; the letter's sender can then seek up to $30,000 in attorney fees and costs 23.
• At least two public hearings come before any map is drawn 24, then five trustee areas as equal in population as possible 24, at least two more hearings over 45 days, and any revised map published seven days before adoption 2424.
• The county committee on school district organization would by default call an election on the switch, and a "no" vote would not protect the district from a lawsuit 252526. No California school district has held that election, because the State Board of Education can waive it as routine business 2626.
• On that schedule 27, November 2022 would bring the first by-trustee-area election without changing sitting members' terms 27, and the maps would need adjusting once 2020 census data arrived, not before September 2728.

The board held a map hearing on April 15, with no speakers 8, and on August 19, 2021 chose map Plan 4A 29.

🗳️ Decisions

• Second interim report. Moved by Na and seconded by Gagnier, the board approved the 2020/2021 Second Interim Financial Report and authorized signing a positive certification of financial condition 24. The memo said it reflects a balanced budget through 2022/2023 30.
• Classified layoff. Moved by Gagnier and seconded by Cruz, the resolution was adopted 24. It would eliminate one McKinney-Vento Grant Program Manager position, which the memo says must end for 2021/2022 if the grant is not renewed, saving $103,025 a year 30.
• Wickman Elementary title. Moved by Na and seconded by Gagnier, the board approved the grant of the property from the Chino Unified School District Land Acquisition Corporation to the district 25, which the memo said must hold title to the 8.42-acre site under the Education Code 31.
• Preserve School #2 hearing. Schaffer opened the hearing on the Preliminary Environmental Assessment at 6:52 p.m.; there were no speakers, and it closed at 6:53 p.m. 35 The memo said consultant PlaceWorks found pesticides and methane were not elevated at the 12-acre former dairy site, and that the Department of Toxic Substances Control concurred 32.
• Consent calendar. Moved by Na and seconded by Gagnier, the board approved the consent items 35, including the March 4 minutes, compensation for James Na for the March 4 meeting he missed, and legal payments to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo and Margaret A. Chidester & Associates 3 totaling $34,359.07 33; a $4,801,872.91 warrant register 34; a $9,420 child development contract increase 35; and personnel items 36.

🎓 Student and employee representatives

• Student representative Justin Rendon said students are excited about returning to in-person instruction and welcome back events are being planned 2.
• Emily Lao, CHAMP Vice President, reviewed where parents can find reopening routines 2.
• Danny Hernandez, CSEA President, highlighted classified staff for getting schools ready to reopen 2.

🔒 Closed session

The board met in closed session from 4:45 to 5:41 p.m. on anticipated litigation (two possible cases), labor negotiations with A.C.T. and CSEA, employee discipline and the superintendent's evaluation, and took no action requiring public disclosure 12.

What came next

Secondary students returned to campus the following Tuesday, and the Champion reported that full-time instruction would start April 12 at the high schools and junior highs and April 6 at the elementary schools 37.