Chino Valley Unified Board of Education: June 1, 2023 Regular Meeting

🗓️ Overview

President Sonja Shaw called the meeting to order at 4:50 p.m. with Bridge, Na and Shaw present; Andrew Cruz arrived at 5:05 p.m., and Jonathan Monroe was absent 1. The board reconvened in open session at 6:00 p.m. 1 and adjourned at 7:19 p.m. 2

The main action came out of closed session 3; most of the discussion came in board communications, where President Shaw raised concerns about a proposed private room in the Don Lugo High School wellness center 2.

👥 Closed session: two appointments

The board appointed Lea Fellows as Associate Superintendent, Human Resources, effective July 1, 2023, with Bridge, Cruz, Na and Shaw voting yes, and appointed Denise Gonzales as principal of Walnut Elementary, also effective July 1 3. The minutes list Fellows among the administrators present as Assistant Superintendent, CIIS 1. Closed session also covered one existing-litigation matter 1, listed on the agenda as a San Bernardino Superior Court case alongside Tao Rossini, APC 4.

🏅 Presentation and recognitions

Tim Adams of School Portraits by Adams Photography presented the district a check for $29,805.61 from the 2023 Julie Gobin Memorial Hit the Greens scholarship effort 3, which he called a record for the event 5.

President Shaw presented certificates to Country Springs Elementary's Odyssey of the Mind team for its part in the 2023 Odyssey World Finals 3. A coach said the team competed at the finals at Michigan State University 6 with a skit on the Iliad 6, placing 33rd of 54, as captioned 7.

She recognized district athletic trainers and doctors, and acknowledged staff who provided safety support at Chino Hills High School 3. One of the doctors said that money from the group's pre-participation physicals had returned close to a million dollars to athletic training programs over the years, as captioned 8.

🗣️ Employee representatives

Danny Hernandez, CSEA President, acknowledged the work athletic trainers do 3. On the recording he said the trainers had filed a reclassification request a few years earlier 9 and hoped they would resubmit it 9. Barbara Bearden, CHAMP President, congratulated Mrs. Fellows and Ms. Gonzales, recognized the Canyon Hills Junior High Coyote Color Guard for its WGASC championship, and thanked teachers working over the summer 3.

🎤 Public comment

The minutes list four speakers on items not on the agenda, with these subjects 3:

• Art Bennett, Chino Hills city council: the location of high school graduations, and upcoming city activities.
• Darice De Guzman: better and more timely communication with parents about the parents and partners advisory committee, a better committee selection process, and rumors that father/daughter and mother/son dances would be eliminated.
• Glory Ciccarelli: Black history curriculum.
• Richard Wales: flags in classrooms.

The minutes record only these subjects, so this page adds nothing from the recording to them. The Champion's "Here and There" column of June 3, 2023 reported that Bennett asked the board to consider returning graduations to the Toyota Arena, that Wales said parents had consulted an attorney about classroom pride flags, and that Ciccarelli asked for an AP course on African American history 38.

📋 Public hearings

No one spoke at the hearings on the 2023/2024 budget, the Local Control and Accountability Plan, or the California School Employees Association Chapter 102's opening proposal for a contract reopener 3 The board adopted the budget and the LCAP on June 15 10.

✅ Consent calendar

On a motion by Na, seconded by Bridge, the board approved the consent calendar 11. The larger items:

• Administration building relocations at Glenmeade, Litel and Oak Ridge elementary schools: awarded to 16 contractors 12, for a packet total of $10,276,747 from the Measure G building fund 13.
• Two more construction awards: a Don Lugo High soffit repair to Caston, Inc. and exterior painting at Ayala High and Briggs K-8 to AM Painting 12. The packet listed a $808,585 bid for the soffit 14.
• School bus passes: the fee adjustment was approved 11; the memo proposed raising the annual fee from $280 to $300 15.
• Spectrum Center, Inc.: a 2023/2024 license was approved 12 for a nonpublic special education school at the Alternative Education Center, with Spectrum paying $9,700 a month plus utilities 16.
• Board policies: revisions of BP 6172.1 (Concurrent Enrollment in College Classes) and BP 6178 (Career Technical Education) were approved 11. Staff tied the first to SB 554 on adult education students attending community college 17, and the second to AB 643 on apprenticeship and career fairs 18. The archive's copies of both carry this meeting's date as their latest revision 19 20.
• Instruction: a new AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism course 11; two expulsion cases, trips for Ayala and Don Lugo high schools, and a resolution keeping 175 instructional days for multitrack year-round schools 11.
• Legal services: the minutes record payment to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo 11. The packet's invoice table also listed Margaret A. Chidester & Associates and Tao Rossini, APC, though the recommendation names only the first 21.
• Claims: rejected and referred to the district's insurance adjuster 12.

🏳️ Information items, and what followed

The board received for information a revision of Administrative Regulation 6115, Ceremonies and Observances 12. The staff memo says this version added Juneteenth to the holidays on which schools close 22. It received federal program monitoring revisions of several policies 12.

The regulation came back on June 15 with different content. A memo from President Shaw said the revision would keep classrooms and other district property from being used "as a platform for the display or promotion of political or social policy matters" 23, and the new text bars flags other than the U.S. and California flags, except country, state or military flags used for teaching within the curriculum 24. The board approved it that night 10, at a meeting the Champion Newspapers described as contentious 25.

💬 Board communications

Don Bridge congratulated Mrs. Fellows and the Odyssey of the Mind students, said he had attended several graduations and promotions, and attended a city of Chino Hills event the minutes call the "State of the District" 2. On the recording he called that event the city's State of the City address 26.

James Na asked Dr. Enfield to review the concerns a speaker raised about flags in classrooms; asked staff to review committee selection processes and open them to more parent groups; thanked Dr. Lally for his contributions to student athletes and asked that he be recognized at a future meeting; acknowledged Mrs. Osman; congratulated Julian Rodriguez; and thanked staff and Cabinet members 2.

Andrew Cruz said the district should survey where graduations are held; spoke about parent advisory committee announcements, the curriculum selection process related to a speaker's concerns, health and self-care, an uncle who died serving in World War II, transgender issues and a textbook selection problem at a Temecula school; and donated Foxe's Book of Martyrs to Don Lugo High 2. On the recording he suggested a course on the history of Africa for interested students, if a teacher so desires 27, said the news cycle had shifted to "the hypersexuality of our children" 28, and, on Temecula, said materials must be adopted and there was "no excuse" for a drama teacher to put on something inappropriate 29.

Superintendent Norm Enfield clarified that staff is not recommending eliminating father/daughter or mother/son dances, apologized for the confusion over special education parent meetings, thanked staff, and thanked the board for supporting his recommendation of Lea Fellows 2. On the recording he called the dance report a rumor and said parents should have been invited to the first special education meeting 30.

President Shaw thanked Mrs. Fellows and the attendees; spoke about graduations; apologized for the confusion over the special education committee announcement; said agendas being pushed on children would not happen on her watch; and spoke about wellness centers and a proposed plan, by a leadership collaboration through the local Chamber of Commerce, to build a private room in the Don Lugo High wellness center without the board's knowledge or approval 2.

On the recording she said wellness centers exist at almost all district schools, helped by state grants after the pandemic 31 31; that the board was never told an outside organization was trying to build a private room in one 32; and that counselors' offices already allow private conversations 32.

She closed by reading part of a Los Angeles Times article on Los Angeles County and Planned Parenthood opening sexual health and wellness centers at 50 high schools 2. Published December 12, 2019, the article described clinics offering birth control, STI testing and emergency contraception, which students over 12 can obtain without parental consent under California law 33. She said this was not happening in Chino Valley 34, but that "policy needs to be placed very soon to notify parents" 34, and that she was looking into policy 35. Two weeks later, a proposed Board Policy 5020.1, Parental Notification, came to the board as an information item 36 25.

📝 Record notes

• The board approved these minutes on its June 15, 2023 consent calendar 37; that meeting's only correction concerned a bid item 10.