Chino Valley Unified Board of Education: Regular Meeting, January 18, 2024

Decisions and actions

🔒 Closed session. With all five members present, the board met in closed session from 4:30 to 5:44 p.m. on existing litigation, student readmissions and discipline, labor negotiations with A.C.T. and CSEA, employee discipline, and the superintendent's evaluation 1. It reported one action: it accepted a resignation agreement and release with a classified employee, who will voluntarily resign effective February 29, 2024 2.

🤝 Teacher contract reopener. President Sonja Shaw opened the required public hearing on the district's initial bargaining proposal to the Associated Chino Teachers (A.C.T.) at 7:13 p.m.; Jim Gallagher addressed the board, and the hearing closed at 7:16 p.m. 3. The district proposes to open Article 7 (class size), "to provide additional flexibility in staffing and resource allocation," and Appendix B, a new salary schedule for career technical education 4. A.C.T. had given notice of its own reopener proposal on November 30, 2023 5. The hearing settled nothing; the packet leaves the cost "to be determined through the bargaining process" 4.

✅ Consent calendar. On a motion by James Na, seconded by Shaw, the board approved the consent items as amended, and the student representative also voted yes 3. The one change read into the record corrected the wording of the readmission item, striking the word "expulsion" 3. Approved items included the December 14, 2023 minutes, on which Sara Omari addressed the board (the minutes do not record what she said) 3, payment for legal services to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo; Margaret A. Chidester & Associates; and Tao Rossini, APC 3, eight student readmission cases and four expulsion cases 3, the School Accountability Report Cards, a National School Counseling Week proclamation, and a resolution recognizing February as Career and Technical Education Month 6, piggyback-contract resolutions 6, change orders on the Ayala High alterations and Preserve II School 6, the adult school's construction technology building 7 and a student placement agreement with Arizona State University 7.

The legal-services bylaw

⚖️ Board Bylaw 9124 (first reading). The cover memo says the revision follows "CSBA recommended language" 8. In the redline, the requirement to initiate a Request for Proposals is struck in favor of language that the district "may, but is not required to" seek proposals; the board "may" rather than "shall" weigh a firm's background, fees and experience; and a new line requires any attorney representing the district to be admitted to practice law in California 9. The bylaw then in force dated from May 18, 2023 10. The board received the revision for information, with no vote 7.

Jim Gallagher and Bobby Omari addressed the board on the item 7. The minutes do not record what they said.

From the dais, a member questioned hiring attorneys "as employees of this District" 11, asked what legal efforts with "other government agencies" would mean ("what are we looking at bigger lawsuits") 12, questioned the California-admission line and the loss of the RFP 12 and asked that the bylaw be reworked before it returns 12. Asked why the language was changing, staff said the district typically adopts CSBA's updated language 13. The minutes record none of this discussion.

The board also received a Bylaw 9321 (closed session) update reflecting Fowler v. City of Lafayette 10 and a Williams quarterly report listing zero complaints for October to December 2023 14 7.

Public comment

The minutes list these non-agenda speakers: Kristi Hirst (district direction); Jessica S. (school fights and Sonja Shaw); Glory Ciccarelli (Black History Month); Amanda Swager, Scott Carter, and Sarah Palmer (teacher pay); Sara Omari (CSBA board member recognition); Lisa G. and Eric Shamp (governance); and Kaleen Fitzsimmos, River Hohn, and Bill Dances (sexual harassment of a student by a teacher) 3. Names come only from that list. The account below draws on the recording, is not attributed, and is grouped by theme, not speaking order; topics raised by a single listed speaker are not summarized.

🏫 Harassment of a student. The comments included accounts that a district investigation had found "sufficient credible evidence" that a teacher's conduct toward a student occurred 15, argued that the teacher should not be around minors at all 16 and said a request that the board handle the matter was declined in favor of the Department of Education 16. They said no student should have to plan a route to class "to avoid a teacher" 17 and that in any other workplace the conduct would bring immediate termination 18. These are speakers' accounts; the record holds no district finding, and the teacher was not named.

💵 Teacher pay. The teacher-pay comments included a comparison of CVUSD salaries with neighboring districts such as Chaffey, Ontario-Montclair, Riverside, and Corona-Norco 19.

Reports and recognitions

President Shaw presented certificates to Kayla Kremann of Rhodes Elementary for the U.S. Robotic Team and to Ayala High's counseling department, a 2023 Golden Bell recipient 2. Plaques presented that evening put the team first in the United States out of 90 teams and 10th of 785 worldwide at the World Robot Olympiad 20. Staff gave an LCAP mid-year update on essential standards, student engagement, and professional learning communities 2, including a goal of at least 95% participation on essential-standards assessments 21.

Student representative Chloe Kubeldis congratulated the honorees and announced rallies and the January 24 science fair awards 2. A.C.T. President Brenda Walker praised the A.C.T. bargaining team and said she is confident it will help reach tentative agreement goals 3, adding on the recording that "it's not always easy to keep your head up especially in this District" 22. CSEA President Danny Hernandez made no comments, and Molly Large of CHAMP promoted the Great Kindness Challenge, the K-12 Quality Survey, and LCAP community meetings 3.

Board communications

Don Bridge congratulated the honorees, encouraged both sides to schedule a negotiating date and return to the bargaining table, and announced the birth of his grandchild 7. On the recording he urged both sides to "get out their calendars get dates scheduled" 23.

James Na spoke about his concerns for the student speaker and family, a sidewalk blocked by a fence near Buena Vista High, a district student admitted to Stanford, and starting teacher salary 7. On the recording he asked that staff talk with the student and family 23 and said that by his count, as captioned, 25 to 35 students were walking in the street 24.

Jonathan Monroe addressed the police chief's comments on rising arrests in the schools, explaining that campus arrests are up because the district has better directed campus services, including more school resource officers 7 7. The Champion had reported in December that Chino Police Chief Kevin Mensen told the city council juvenile arrests were up 21 percent, mostly from high schools 25 (the minutes print the chief's name as "Benson"). Monroe also spoke about criticism of his governance 7, saying on the recording "I will vote for what I think is best for this District" 26.

Andrew Cruz spoke about the Russ Miller 5K and the Festival of the Arts, said his daughter was accepted to Cal State San Bernardino, and agreed with Bridge on negotiating in good faith 7. He described a teacher's compassion for her students and implored the public to pay attention and do research 27. On the recording, that appeal followed remarks about a predicted "disease X" 28, and, as captioned, a 2017 article on ivermectin 28.

Superintendent Norm Enfield announced the K-12 Quality Survey (January 22 to February 23) and a Chino Police Department parent forum at Don Lugo High on January 23 27.

President Shaw asked whether another negotiation session with A.C.T. had been scheduled, and Dr. Enfield indicated the district would be making contact 27. She encouraged the Chino Hills High student to stay strong, said some speakers' untrue claims endanger her children by associating her with hate groups, denounced accusations by a local political group, and described the board's security formula for each campus 27. On the recording she said she had already denounced antisemitism 29 and described replacing a flat four guards per campus with staffing based on enrollment 30 30.

Shaw adjourned at 8:12 p.m.; the minutes' adjournment line calls it the "organizational" meeting, a slip in minutes otherwise headed as the regular meeting 27.

What came next

The Champion reported that at the board's next meeting, on February 1, A.C.T. members again asked for a fair wage, and that union members had begun "working to the contract" on January 29 32. It later reported that A.C.T. declared an impasse in late February, after talks that had run since April 2023 31.