September 21, 2023 Regular Meeting

Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education

Overview

As at the September 7 regular meeting, the draft regulation meant to carry out the board's parental notification policy was pulled from the agenda, two weeks after a judge had blocked the policy itself 12. The evening also brought a Chino High aquatic center and gymnasium bid award 3, twelve public commenters 1, and board remarks on teacher vacancies and the state's lawsuit 4.

President Sonja Shaw called the meeting to order at 4:40 p.m. with Andrew Cruz, Jon Monroe, James Na and Shaw present; Don Bridge was absent 5. Open session began at 6:00 p.m. and was adjourned at 7:21 p.m. 56.

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🔒 Closed Session

The closed-session agenda listed the state's lawsuit over the policy, San Bernardino County Superior Court Case No. CIVSB2317301, with Liberty Justice Center and the firm Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud and Romo named on the item 7. Coming out of closed session, the board appointed Brandi Nerio as assistant principal of Briggs K-8, effective date to be determined 1.

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📄 Parental Notification Regulation Pulled

New Administrative Regulation 5020.1, Parental Notification, was on the agenda as an information item and was pulled when the evening's changes were read into the record 14. It had also been pulled from the September 7 agenda 8.

The packet's draft would have required the principal or a designee to notify parents within three days when a student asks to be identified or treated as a gender other than the one on official records, asks to use sex-segregated programs or facilities, or asks to change school records 9. No notice would go out where it would violate Education Code 49602, which protects what students 12 and older tell school counselors 9.

The litigation behind it. On September 6, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the San Bernardino Superior Court had granted the state a temporary restraining order halting enforcement of the policy, with a preliminary injunction hearing set for October 13 2. The Champion Newspapers reported that the order came from Judge Thomas Garza 10.

On September 7, the board had directed the superintendent in closed session to bring back a proposal to retain a law firm that would defend the district in that case without charging attorney fees 8. At a September 11 special meeting it approved an agreement for contractor and consultant services 11, which the Champion reported was the selection of Liberty Justice Center on a pro bono basis 10. The minutes of both meetings were approved on tonight's consent calendar 1. A September 22 report in the San Bernardino County Sentinel said the Chicago-based firm would do the work at no cost to the district, and counted six other California districts that had passed similar policies 12. In July 2024, the superintendent told the board that Liberty Justice had taken on the legal fees from September 11 onward 13.

The regulation did not return in this form. On March 7, 2024 the board adopted a new Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5010, Notification 14, and deleted Board Policy 5020.1 14.

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🏊 Chino High Aquatic Center, Gymnasium and Locker Modernization

The board awarded Bid No. 23-24-01F, bid packages 2 through 7 and 9 through 15, to twelve contractors, one of which took two packages 3. The staff report describes the work as renovating the original gymnasium, the boys' shower and locker room, and the swimming pool facilities 15. It lists a total of $12,373,577 from Measure G Building Fund 21 15, with the largest package, swimming pools and equipment, going to Condor, Inc. at $3,098,000 15.

The item was yellow-sheeted, and the minutes record the award "as amended," so the final figures may differ from the packet 13.

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✅ Consent Calendar

Na moved and Monroe seconded approval of the consent items as amended, with Bridge absent 1. Besides the bid award, the board:

• approved the September 7 and September 11 minutes, the warrant register, fundraising applications and activities, and donations 13; the packet put the warrant register at $16,797,622.42 16
• approved student expulsion cases 23/24-03 and 23/24-07, school trips for Litel ES, Briggs K-8, Ayala HS and Chino Hills HS, and Legacy Academy's multi-track year-round calendars for 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 3
• approved the purchase order register, contractor and consultant agreements, a surplus property declaration, and CUPCCAA notices of completion 3; the packet put the purchase order register at $2,585,070.47 17
• approved six construction change orders, five of them with notices of completion 33. Per the staff reports: Preserve II School, up $60,147 18; the Ayala, Chino Hills and Don Lugo baseball scoreboards, down $20,464 19; Chino High reconstruction Phase 1 (BP 20), up $130,265 20; and Phase 2, down $9,537.36 on BP 3 20, $78,910.77 on BP 15 21 and $136,063.64 on BP 24 22
• approved personnel items, and rejected the claims before it, referring them to the district's insurance adjuster 4

The board also received an update to the 2022/2023 Unaudited Actuals Form CA 4. According to the staff report, a glitch in the state's SACS software had put the 2023/2024 appropriations limit where the 2022/2023 figure belonged 23.

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🏅 Recognitions and Reports

Chino Hills HS Principal Randy Buoncristiani led the Pledge of Allegiance 1. President Shaw presented certificates to Ayala HS, Chino HS and Chino Hills HS for their status in the U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools rankings, and to the Marshall ES Parent Teacher Organization for its fundraising 1. As captioned, the presentation noted that the district had no ranked high schools in 2017 and placed Ayala in the top 10.9 percent nationally, Chino Hills in the top 11.6 percent and Chino High in the top 34 percent 24.

Emily Lao, CHAMP President, said the Sheriff's Employees Benefit Association had recognized Marshall ES and Wickman ES and awarded each $2,500 for classroom instruction; that Dickson ES had hosted a Grandparents Day; and that a Hidden Trails ES dual language immersion proposal had been chosen from 650 applications for the National Association of Bilingual Educators conference in New Orleans in March 1. On the recording, the session's title is given as enhancing beginning literacy practices in a Chinese immersion program integrating science curriculum 25.

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🎤 Public Comment

Twelve people addressed the board on items not on the agenda. The minutes list them, in this order, with these subjects 11:

• Eric Long, thanking the board for its parental notification policy 1
• Andy Vivanco, in support of the parental notification policy 1
• Juan Villalba, on a biology teacher vacancy at Don Lugo HS 1
• John Cervantes, in support of the parental notification policy 1
• Lance Asbra, praying for God's blessing over the district 1
• Ashlee Peters, on teacher vacancies in public education 1
• Byron Gonzalez, on white supremacy by Democrats and the attorney general's lawsuit against the district 1
• Misty Startup, thanking teachers who support parental notification, and on fights at Chino Hills HS and the Project Self Esteem program 11
• Glory Ciccarelli, on National Hispanic Heritage Month and Black erasure 1
• Eric Shamp, on the teacher shortage and the function of a school board 1
• Len Beckman, in support of parental notification 1
• Carla Vande Steeg, thanking the board for securing a pro bono law firm to defend the district against the state 1

This page names speakers only as the minutes do, so it does not summarize their recorded remarks beyond the minutes' descriptions.

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💬 Board and Superintendent Communications

• James Na commended the Marshall ES PTO parents, thanked parents for supporting students, and said everyone is there to protect kids 4.
• Andrew Cruz asked Superintendent Norm Enfield to look into the Project Self Esteem program; spoke about attending a Chino High football game and the Magnolia JHS CAASPP awards night; played a recording of music teacher Doug Bowden's students; spoke about fighting on campuses and credited district security staff; and donated a book to Magnolia JHS 4. The caption gives the book's title as "Mexican white boy" and describes its main character as half Mexican, growing up in San Diego 26.
• Jon Monroe congratulated the three ranked high schools, thanked Marshall ES and Wickman ES for their work and their SEBA recognition, commended Hidden Trails ES for its conference proposal, and commended staff for dealing with staff shortages, saying the district will only hire quality educators 4.
• Superintendent Enfield said there are 19 open teaching positions and a shortage, and that staff are working with outside companies and recruiting agencies to fill vacancies 4. On the recording, he added that the district had held a number of rounds of interviews for the Don Lugo biology position but the site did not want to settle 27.
• President Shaw read two letters from teachers explaining their support for the parental notification policy and the district's flag policy 4. Both writers asked to stay anonymous 2728, and one argued that only the American flag belongs in a classroom 29. Shaw also thanked Dr. Enfield for clarifying "the teacher vacancy misinformation"; thanked Liberty Justice for being part of the team defending the district; urged people not to listen to gossip and to bring questions to her directly; said the recall Shaw effort is about recalling the community that voted her into office; and said the judge who granted the temporary restraining order had stated he did not read district documents yet ruled against the district 4. On the recording she said the state had picked a fight with the wrong district and that the district would "take this all the way" 30.

President Shaw adjourned the meeting at 7:21 p.m. 6.