Board of Education — February 2, 2023

February 2, 2023 Board of Education Meeting

Highlights

The board's one action item directed the superintendent to write to Governor Gavin Newsom opposing a proposed two-year extension of the state moratorium on new single-district special education local plan areas (SELPAs). Don Bridge voted no. 1 The board also heard the timeline for new attendance boundaries at Cal Aero Preserve Academy, reported two closed-session appointments, and approved its consent calendar. 21 Bridge, Andrew Cruz, Jon Monroe, James Na and Sonja Shaw were present, with President Shaw presiding. 2

🏛️ The SELPA moratorium letter

The agenda memo came from Board President Sonja Shaw. It argues that "Extending the moratorium on forming single-district SELPAs eliminates Chino Valley Unified School District's ability to determine which program best serves the needs of our students." 3

The extension came from the governor's January 2023 budget proposal, which the state Senate budget committee summarized as "Stabilizing current SELPA membership by extending the moratorium on the creation of new single-district SELPAs by two years from June 30, 2024 to June 30, 2026." 4 The district belongs to the West End SELPA, which its website describes as a multi-district SELPA of nine districts. 5

Five speakers were called on the item. 6 One supported the letter and urged the district to re-evaluate its relationship with West End SELPA. 6 Another read a secondary special education teacher's view: 7 running its own SELPA could bring back students now in county classes and save money, 7 but the district would then carry full responsibility for low-incidence needs such as classes for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. 7 A third questioned the hurry to oppose the extension "without some research." 8 A fourth asked how members could vote on a letter they had not seen, 8 said the resolution "feels performative," 9 and asked that it be tabled until answers were made public. 9 The fifth framed it as "local control for your board" 9 and called West End SELPA "a shadow agency it's a middleman." 10

A draft of the letter was read aloud during the discussion. It welcomed the governor's proposal to limit what SELPAs retain for non-direct student services and said parents had felt harmed by legal fees spent litigating against students with disabilities. 11 "We support education and not litigation," it said, asking that districts be free to decide whether to join a SELPA. 11 The board was told that if the moratorium lapsed, the district would spend 2023-24 planning an exit with the SELPA, could not submit it before July 2024, and could not have its own SELPA before the 2025-26 school year. 111212

Na moved and Cruz seconded, and the motion carried with Bridge voting no. The minutes record no member's remarks on the item, so this page does not attribute positions from the discussion. 1 The extension went ahead: Education Code 56195.1 barred a district from submitting a single-district SELPA plan "From July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2026, inclusive." 13

🗺️ New boundaries for Cal Aero Preserve Academy

Greg Stachura, assistant superintendent of facilities, planning and operations, presented the boundary process for Cal Aero Preserve Academy and the school then listed as Louis W. Moreno School. 2 As captioned, the new school was to open in July 2024, 14 and all 11 community members who applied would serve on the committee. 14 The first objective was a manageable enrollment at Cal Aero: about 1,354 students are on campus daily out of 1,691 enrolled, and half of its 20 portable classrooms would go. 15 Five committee meetings were scheduled from February 22 to April 26, 15 with community meetings and a parent survey in March and April, 15 an information item on May 4 and a board decision on May 18. 15

On May 18, 2023, the board chose Scenario No. 1 as the boundaries for Cal Aero Preserve Academy and Preserve School #2. 16 By then the agenda's school name was gone: on March 2 the board rescinded its January 19 action naming the school. 17

💻 Closed session and a new technology chief

In closed session the board appointed Andrew Black as chief technology officer, effective February 3, 2023, and Lisa Thompson as assistant principal of Wickman Elementary, effective date to be determined. 2 The consent calendar approved the matching position changes. 18 The Director, Technology job description was retitled Chief Technology Officer, with the salary range moved from 15 to 12; the memo said the change would "bring salary commensurate to industry standards," at an added $44,121 to the general fund. 1919 The management salary schedules list the post at $176,091 to $198,076. 20

🤝 Employee representatives

CSEA President Danny Hernandez announced that the union's contract survey was live, a para-educator conference April 4 through 6, and a coming job-shadowing day for board members. 2 CHAMP President Barbara Bearden congratulated Lisa Thompson and Hidden Trails Elementary, recognized as a California Distinguished School, and thanked the health services department for its work on ELO plans. 2

🎤 Public comment on items not on the agenda

The minutes list these speakers and subjects: Clara, Ellie and Jane Loudon on the Mandarin Dual Language Immersion program; Daphne Lezo Duran, introducing herself as the new field representative for Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez; Waverly Pho, Jennifer Zhao and Kenneth Zhao on retaliation and freedom of speech concerns; Steve A. on an incident at Townsend JHS; Barbara Hale on Sycamore Academy over allocation fees; Misty and Caitlyn Martinez on special education issues; Carla VandeSteeg on school naming concerns; Candida Echeverria on naming buildings at the new Chino HS in honor of past staff members; and Leslie Fehr, thanking the board for the Mandarin program and offering suggestions for its future. 1 The minutes record subjects, not remarks, so individual comments are not summarized. As captioned, 13 requests to speak were reported; the minutes list 14 names. 21

Hidden Trails' Mandarin program had opened in August 2022 with 48 kindergarten students, the district's first Mandarin dual language immersion program. 22

✅ Consent calendar

The consent items, moved by Na and seconded by Bridge, were approved as amended. 1 They included the minutes of the January 14 and January 19 meetings and revisions of Bylaws 9220 (Governing Board Elections) and 9223 (Filling Vacancies). 1 BB 9220 adds a section on recalling a board member under AB 2584 and reflects SB 1061 on special-election petitions; 23 such a petition now "shall contain the county election official's estimate of the cost of conducting the special election, expressed on a per-student basis." 24 BB 9223 reflects an Attorney General opinion on filling a vacancy after trustee areas or the election method change. 25

The board also approved payments to three law firms, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo; Margaret A. Chidester & Associates; and Tao Rossini, APC, 1 whose current invoices, including one from October, the memo totals at $19,837.55. 26 Other items covered a student readmission case, two expulsion cases, school trips, two child development funding applications and an articulation agreement with Mt. San Antonio College. 118

The contractor and consultant agreements were approved as amended; 18 the correction read into the record moved one contract's end date from June 30 to May 31, 2023. 1 Change orders went to Wakeco, Inc. for the Allegiance STEAM Academy portables ($29,393.18, with a notice of completion), 27 OCS Construction Services for ViewSonic classroom preparation ($30,426.87) 28 and Wakeco for warehouse refrigeration ($6,962.18). 28 The board rejected the bids for district office test kitchen equipment and authorized a re-bid; 18 the memo said the bid forms were improperly totaled. 29

📋 Information items

The board received a revision of Bylaw 9323 (Meeting Conduct), 18 which the memo says reflects SB 1100 (2022), letting the board president remove a person for disrupting a meeting after a warning. 30 The board approved it on February 16. 31 It also received three new courses (Cybersecurity Honors, Professional Theatre and Advanced Professional Theatre) 18 and a revision of AR 1312.3 on uniform complaint procedures. 18

💬 Board and superintendent communications

Don Bridge congratulated Hidden Trails, asked Dr. Enfield to look into better lighting from the gym to the parking lot at Don Lugo HS, and noted the science fair and the Alternative Education Center graduation. James Na thanked Pastor Zhou for coming, thanked Richard Wales for inviting board members to a school safety presentation at Ayala HS, suggested televising such events, and spoke about student interest in AP classes and partnering with parents. 32

Andrew Cruz spoke about the safety presentation, technology device dangers, a science fair project, the graduation, a passage from a child's book, and the spike protein associated with COVID-19. Jon Monroe made no comments. Superintendent Norm Enfield thanked the boundary committee volunteers. 32

President Shaw thanked the speakers, including the three girls who spoke about the Mandarin program, and asked Dr. Enfield for the process to name the new court at Chino HS after coaches Frank Elder and Joe Murillo. She also noted site visits, a career fair for students with special needs, and a county awards program honoring Golden Bell recipients from Ayala HS. 3232 On April 20, 2023, the board voted to name or dedicate a facility at Chino HS after Elder and Murillo. 33 President Shaw adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m. 32

📝 About this record

The minutes give two closed-session start times, 5:00 p.m. on page 1 and 4:25 p.m. on page 2, 22 while the captioned report read at the meeting gives 5 p.m. to 5:38. 34 The minutes do not list the five speakers on the SELPA item, so their remarks appear without names. 1 The minutes were approved on February 16, 2023. 31