Chino Valley Unified Board of Education, April 18, 2024

Vice President Jonathan Monroe presided. He reconvened the open meeting at 6:00 p.m. with Bridge, Cruz and Monroe present, President Sonja Shaw participating remotely and James Na absent 1. The agenda listed a teleconference location in Nashville, Tennessee 2. From closed session, the board voted to appoint Joseph Duarte as Director of Assessment and Instructional Technology, with Bridge, Cruz and Monroe voting yes and Shaw and Na absent from closed session 1.

The evening paired a national award for the district's Professional Learning Community work with calls, from the teachers' union president and from Monroe, for more support for special education staff. Apart from the closed-session appointment, every action came through the consent calendar.

🏅 A national Model PLC at Work district

City of Chino Mayor Ulloa congratulated the district and presented a certificate, and Monroe said Chino Hills Councilman Bennett had been due to present one but could not attend. Jessica Rodgers, State Office Executive Director for Solution Tree, presented the National Model PLC at Work District award 1. The presentation called Chino Valley one of only two such districts in California 3, and said that coming out of the pandemic it was the only district in the county, and among districts of similar size and demographics, to see increases in English language arts 44. In a June 2024 piece under his name in a Champion Newspapers special section, Superintendent Norm Enfield wrote that only 37 school districts internationally had achieved the distinction 5.

Emily Lao, CHAMP President, said the shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on student learning has a profound impact, and congratulated the district 6. The contractor agreements on the consent calendar 7 included a Solution Tree amendment raising PLC at Work staff development for 2024/2025 from $9,200 to $11,500 8.

🧩 Special education workloads

Brenda Walker, A.C.T. President, thanked Solution Tree and the district, said the association had reached an agreement with the district and its members were voting on whether to ratify it, and said she hoped the board would approve it if they did 6. She said special education remained the area where the association would need support 6, listing class sizes, prep time, collaboration time and the work of scheduling, completing and holding IEP meetings 99, and asked the district to come back to the table next year and negotiate in good faith 6. The union had declared an impasse in February, seeking among other things resources for special education including reduced class size and more prep time, the Champion Newspapers reported 10. The May 2 minutes record the board ratifying the reopener agreement two weeks later 11.

Monroe returned to the subject in his closing communication. He said he had spent part of his break visiting school sites to see the work of the special education department, that he would add his voice to the concerns shared with him, and he challenged the board and staff to come up with solutions 12. On the recording he called the workload overwhelming 13 and said the special education committee in the proposed contract means nothing without real intent to make change 13. He asked Dr. Enfield to look into what public commenter Ms. Cruz had said about mixed messages and a conference period, and how to help with caseloads, said he did not know how SDC teachers teach a regular class and case manage without a daily prep period, and asked to meet with Enfield personally 12.

📊 LCAP: family engagement and school climate

Dr. Grace Park, Associate Superintendent, CIIS, presented the fourth LCAP update, on State Priorities 3 and 6. Dr. Todd Finkbiner, Director, Access & Equity, reviewed progress on three promising practices for family engagement, and Dr. Katrina Gomez, Director, Health Services, presented student perceptions of safety and connectedness from the K-12 Insight School Quality Survey 1. The report said 85% of survey participants agreed or strongly agreed that schools create a welcoming environment for all families, and that the district met the local indicator for parent and family engagement 1414 and the one for school climate 15. Asked from the dais whether families take part in PLCs, staff answered that they are not directly involved 15, but that each grade's and course's essential standards are posted for families on the district website 15.

🎓 Student representative

Chloe Kubeldis congratulated the Ayala HS color guard on its 2024 Scholastic Open Class World Champions title, wished the Ayala and Chino Hills drumlines luck at the WGI World Tournament 6, and noted Don Lugo HS's 28th consecutive Outstanding Leadership Program award from the California Association of Student Leaders 6.

✅ Consent calendar

Sara Omari addressed the board on the March 21 minutes; the minutes do not record what she said. The consent items were approved on a motion by Bridge, seconded by Shaw, with Na absent, and the student representative voted yes 7. Among them:

• Don Lugo HS sound and lighting. The board awarded the multipurpose room sound and lighting replacement 7 to the only bidder, Sunset Electrical Contractors, at $241,363 1617. Two weeks later it amended that action, rejected all bids and authorized a rebid 18, because projects above $200,000 must be formally bid and this one had been awarded as an informally bid project 17.
• Preserve II School. A $43,963 change order on the new-construction contract with Bogh Engineering 7 brought that bid package to $6,711,206 19.
• Townsend JHS. A change order and notice of completion 7 set the final cost of emergency electrical repairs at $198,204, against an original estimate of $312,815 16.
• Facilities master plan. The board adopted a revision of the 2016 Long Range Facilities Master Plan 7; the resolution describes 36 school sites and two administrative support facilities, and a 10-year plan 20.
• Board meeting security. The contractor agreements 7 included $5,000 to the City of Ontario for police security at board meetings held at Woodcrest JHS 21.
• Personnel and claims. Personnel items were approved as amended, without the minutes saying what changed 22; the packet list included the resignation of Hilda Flores, Assistant Superintendent, CIIS, effective April 1 23. Three claims were rejected and referred to the insurance adjuster 22: a vehicle-damage claim, a claim for a concussion an Ayala HS student suffered in a basketball game, and a claim for a fall from playground monkey bars 24.
• Routine business. Legal services payments to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo; Margaret A. Chidester & Associates; and Tao Rossini, APC 7, totaling $82,701.63 for February invoices 25; temporary borrowing between funds; a student readmission case; trips for Rhodes ES and Chino HS 7; and three piggyback contract resolutions 7.

📄 Information items

• Expulsions. In the first semester, 53 students were recommended for expulsion; 35 were expelled and 18 recommendations were revoked 24.
• New courses. Advanced Cybersecurity Honors, a Chino HS course preparing students for the Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate assessment 26, and Health, Wellness, and Heart Rate Training, a junior high physical education elective 27, were received for information 22.
• Bonds. The Measure G Series 2024D sale was set to close at $100,003,104 with an overall true borrowing cost of 4.49%, and refinancing $17,805,000 of Measure M bonds was projected to save taxpayers $1,928,837.50 28.
• Williams complaints. The district reported no complaints for January through March 28.

🗣️ Public comment

The minutes list ten speakers on items not on the agenda, each with a topic: Claudia Cruz, SPED conference period; Lisa G., speaking times; Sara Omari, lack of CVUSD leadership; Margery L. Melvin, course cultural experiences in America; Judith Eckert, project based learning, brain balance therapy, pixel impact and online learning; Amanda Swager, TA thanks and celebration; Len Beckman, working together for our teens; Jorge L. Olmos, new school lines for Cal Aero; Glory Ciccarelli, African American History; and Jacqueline Cortes, teacher concerns 6. Because the minutes pair each name only with a topic, individual remarks are not summarized here beyond the reference in Monroe's communication above.

💬 Board communications

• Don Bridge reported on Baldy View ROP, whose Student Success Awards recognized 77 students from district high schools and gave 7 more scholarship and service honors; a Chino Hills Parks and Recreation Commission report on the teen advisory board; the Cattle ES D.A.R.E. graduation; and Public School Volunteer Week 29.
• Andrew Cruz asked for follow-up with Jorge Olmos regarding his son, spoke about the Reach for the Stars art show, and dressed the part to announce the upcoming Family Fish Wildlife event 29.
• Sonja Shaw thanked Dr. Enfield for his dedication, called the PLC honor truly remarkable, thanked staff and teachers who prioritize students' education despite distractions from Sacramento, and said the community is winning 29.
• Superintendent Enfield made no comments 12.

Monroe adjourned the meeting at 7:20 p.m. 12

This is an independent, community-maintained summary of public records and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Chino Valley Unified School District. The adopted minutes are the authority for who spoke, moved and voted; the meeting recording is cited only for what was said, never for who said it.