Board of Education — April 15, 2021

The Chino Valley Unified board met on April 15, 2021, with Bridge, Cruz, Gagnier, Na and Schaffer present and the meeting streamed live on YouTube 1. It heard a preview of a Biomedical Science and Technology Academy planned for Chino High 1, held a public hearing on maps for trustee-area elections, at which no one spoke 2, recertified the shared site of its community day school 3, and approved a consent calendar that included about $13.3 million in construction awards 34567. The minutes list 23 emailed comments read into the record, 14 of them about promotion ceremonies 12.

Names attached to remarks, motions and votes on this page come only from the signed minutes.

Key decisions

• Community day school stays at the Alternative Education Center. The board adopted a resolution certifying that no satisfactory alternative facilities exist for its community day school and approving its colocation with other programs at the AEC site, moved by Gagnier and seconded by Na 3. The staff memo said a State Board of Education waiver granted on March 11, 2020 lets Chino Valley Learning Academy share the site with the district's AEC, the Sycamore Academy charter school and Spectrum Center Schools if the board recertifies each year by a two-thirds vote 88. The Champion reported the action 9.
• Consent calendar approved as amended, moved by Na and seconded by Gagnier, after Christina Gagnier pulled the contractor and consultant agreements for separate action 3.
• Contractor and consultant agreements approved separately, moved by Na and seconded by Bridge, with Gagnier recused 3. The list included a $413,293.82 extension, through June 30, 2022, of the City of Chino agreement for school resource officers at Buena Vista, Chino and Don Lugo high schools 10.
• Ayala High alterations, phase 3, awarded to 15 contractors 45, for $9,044,048 from Building Fund 21 5. The work covers demolition, abatement and interior remodeling of Buildings C, D and E 5.
• Safety and security upgrades at Butterfield Ranch, Eagle Canyon, Hidden Trails, Walnut and Wickman elementary schools were awarded to R.I.S. Electrical Contractors 4: $4,042,000 for keyless access control, security cameras and intrusion alarms 66.
• Briggs K-8 waterline upgrades were awarded to Gentry General Engineering, Inc. 4 for $198,420 7.
• Andrew Black appointed Director of Technology, effective May 3, 2021, in closed session 2.
• Also approved on consent: $15,432 in legal-services payments to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo and Margaret A. Chidester & Associates 311; temporary borrowing between district funds, amended to fiscal year 2021/2022 23; piggyback contracts for DynTek Services technology purchases and for A-Z Bus Sales school buses on a Waterford Unified bid 312; change orders adding $24,477 at Country Springs and Rolling Ridge elementary schools 13 and $51,631 at Canyon Hills and Townsend junior highs 14; personnel items as amended; and rejection of claims 4.
• Pulled: the Day of the Teacher resolution was pulled from the agenda 2.

Trustee-area elections hearing

President Schaffer opened the hearing on input for trustee-area maps at 6:46 p.m.; there were no speakers, and it closed at 6:47 p.m. 2. Superintendent Enfield's memo said that on or around January 23, 2021 the law firm Shenkman & Hughes wrote that the district's at-large elections had diluted minority votes in violation of the California Voting Rights Act, leading to a March 4, 2021 resolution of intent to comply with the Act 15. In his closing communications Enfield spoke about the hearing 16, noting that input was being invited for the April 15 and May 6 meetings 17. The Champion reported that he would present plans on May 6 to move to district elections beginning in 2022 18.

Biomedical Science and Technology Academy

Dr. Grace Park, Associate Superintendent of CIIS, presented the academy planned for Chino High: specializations in biomedical science with a concentration in artificial intelligence, and in cybersecurity, opening to ninth graders in August 2022 1. On the recording she said every student in the academy would meet the A-G requirements for UC and CSU admission 19. Applications would run from October to January for incoming ninth graders living inside or outside the district 2020, followed by entrance exams between January and February and acceptances between March and April 20. A new ninth-grade class would be added each year, with the first graduates in 2027 20.

Employee groups

Brenda Walker, A.C.T. President, thanked district staff and the community for keeping students and staff safe on the return to in-person instruction, acknowledged CSEA members, welcomed the academy, and expressed condolences on the death of Buena Vista HS special education teacher Roseann Hammond 1. Emily Lao, CHAMP Vice President, echoed Walker on the academy, explained the organization's mission and announced its 2021/2022 officers 1. Student representative Justin Rendon was absent 1.

Emailed public comment

The minutes record these emailed comments on items not on the agenda, read into the record 12:

• Guidelines for low-contact activities resuming indoors: Bryan Scheidecker, Jenny Yee, Robert Chan, Andrea Worrel, Tiffany McClure and Maria Basilio.
• Use of COVID relief funding: Kevin Butscher.
• Elementary and junior high promotion ceremonies: Melissa Palm, Liz Rosales, Mary Ann Rabanal-Cox, Courtney Cunningham, Darice De Guzman, Lisa Hunter, Summer Demoff, Joyce Cavan, Holly Parker, Roxanne Fitkowski, Jessica Urbina, Melissa Zwart, Irene Abifadel and Lissa Fraga.
• The return to full-time in-person instruction: Antonio Libutan.
• Ethnic studies curriculum: an email the minutes attribute to "Chino Antimasker."

Each email was read aloud under its writer's name, so this page does not summarize what individual emails said.

For background: a March 24, 2021 legal alert from Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo said state guidance classified band, drumline, choir and drama as low-contact youth activities that could be held indoors without restriction only in orange-tier counties 21.

Board and superintendent communications

Andrew Cruz spoke in support of promotion ceremonies and of letting students rehearse for low-contact activities; spoke about a dream and its interpretation; read an excerpt from an article on adverse side effects of the coronavirus vaccination and implored parents to read up on the subject; said he will never turn the district into a place where students get vaccinated; and spoke against ethnic studies becoming part of the A-G graduation requirements 4. On the recording he identified the excerpt's source as a 92-page Johns Hopkins paper called SPARS 22. A Lead Stories fact-check published nine days earlier describes the 2017 SPARS document as a fictional scenario written to illustrate public health risk communication challenges 23. On ethnic studies, he said the curriculum would "result in resentment and hate" 24. The Champion's "Here & There" column reported that in the roughly ten-minute speech he also cited a report alleging that the coronavirus is actually influenza; the column added that the state's new ethnic studies curriculum was not being offered in the district 25. The State Board of Education had approved that model curriculum, whose lesson plans schools are not required to use, on March 18, 2021 26.

James Na spoke about high-achieving performing arts programs and said he would like to consult legal counsel so that band students can practice inside with safety measures in place 4. He asked that administration speak with site leaders about promotion opportunities 4, suggesting on the recording that promotions might be held after school or in the evening 27. He said he wants board policy revamped or reviewed so parents and students can opt out of "any controversial studies, especially social studies that include ethics portions" 16. He also thanked teachers and staff and said he would like to visit primary-grade classrooms 16.

Don Bridge welcomed elementary and secondary cohorts back to school, recognized student athletes, teams and band, recognized several student achievements, and noted the passing of Chino Councilmember Mark Hargrove 16. Christina Gagnier expressed sympathies to Hargrove's family 16. The SBC Sentinel reported that Hargrove died March 28, 2021, at 58, and had served on the district's Measure G oversight committee 28.

Superintendent Norm Enfield also recommended reopening board meetings to the public starting with the May 20 meeting while continuing to livestream them and following distancing protocols 16. The Champion reported that the chambers would reopen in a limited capacity on May 20 25.

President Schaffer shared word from Chino Hills Councilmember Cynthia Moran that Omnitrans was offering half-price fares to Chino Hills HS students, thanked all employees for making the return to in-person instruction possible, and echoed Bridge's and Gagnier's sentiments about Hargrove 16. The Champion described the offer as $2 trips on the OmniRide service, half the usual $4 fare, through the end of May 29.

Information items

The board received the Williams quarterly complaint report for January through March 2021 and a new course, Gaming and Animation 2 4, a capstone career technical education course meeting the UC/CSU "f" elective requirement 30. It also received revisions to AR 5126, adding criteria for the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma and the State Seal of Biliteracy 31, and to BP 3280 on selling or leasing district property 4. The meeting adjourned at 7:16 p.m. 16.