Chino Valley Unified Board of Education: June 6, 2024

The board spent most of its open session on two resolutions aimed at higher levels of government. It adopted one opposing the Biden administration's new Title IX regulations after thirteen people addressed the item, with Don Bridge voting no 1, and another opposing the Governor's May Revise budget 1. It also asked the county for permission to award a contract without bidding for emergency gym repairs at Cal Aero Preserve Academy K-8 2, and it reported four administrative appointments from closed session 3.

⚖️ Title IX: a resolution against the new federal rules

What was proposed. The agenda memo for Resolution 2023/2024-60 came from President Sonja Shaw. It says she requested the resolution at the May 2 meeting, and that the U.S. Department of Education had released final Title IX regulations on April 19, 2024, to take effect August 1 4. The resolution states that the board "fundamentally opposes" those regulations and their "attempt to supplant the definition of sex with 'gender identity'". It also says protecting sex-separated spaces is vital for the safety of women and girls 5.

Who spoke and how it was decided. The minutes list thirteen people who addressed the board on the item: Oscar Avila, Manuk Grigoryan, Jose Carrillo, Maria Carrillo, Christine Salazar, Molly Large, Daniel Silvas, Paul Griffin, Kristal, Misty S., Mark S., Nayeli Salgado, and Heather Peery. Na moved the resolution and Monroe seconded it. It was adopted, with Bridge voting no 1.

The minutes record no speaker's position. The arguments below come from the recording, without names and not in speaking order:

• Speakers in support pointed to physical differences between male and female athletes 67. One said that "larger muscle mass is directly associated with" greater muscular strength 6. Another thanked the board so that girls would not "be put in a position in a locker room" of having to change in a stall or a car 8.
• A parent whose son and daughter both ran relays for the same high school track team 97 compared the two teams' times as "an example of how women and men are not equal in sports". The same parent said "sports are meant for everybody" 77.
• At least one speaker urged the opposite course. That speaker said a policy the board adopted the previous year had "forced them," transgender students, "to reveal private medical information to their teachers and administrators" 10.

The district's own Title IX complaint regulation in the archive, last revised June 1, 2023, includes among the forms of covered sexual harassment conduct "so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive" that it denies a student equal access to the district's program 11.

💰 Prop 98 and the Governor's May Revise

Resolution 2023/2024-64 came from a memo by Don Bridge. On May 27 he submitted the California School Boards Association's (CSBA) sample resolution and asked that it be acted on before the Legislature's June 15 budget deadline 12. The memo says the May Revise would reclassify $8.8 billion in 2022/2023 Prop 98 funding as a loan to the state, repaid over five years starting in 2025/2026 12. The resolution condemns this as undermining Proposition 98 and violating the State Constitution 13. The board adopted it on a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz 1.

The fight had already shifted before the vote. CSBA's California School News reported that on May 28 the Department of Finance dropped its plan to reclassify the 2022/2023 shortfall as non-Prop 98 money. The administration turned instead to deferrals, the Prop 98 reserve, and a suspension of the guarantee, which the Legislature had not yet accepted 14.

🏫 Appointments from closed session

The board met in closed session from 4:05 to 5:43 p.m. 3 and reported that it had 3:

• appointed Lewis Hackney Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, Innovation, and Support, effective July 1, 2024;
• appointed Dr. Isabel Brenes principal of Magnolia JHS, effective July 8, with Bridge, Monroe and Na voting yes and Cruz and Shaw voting no;
• appointed Dr. Michelle Bonilla principal of Anna Borba ES, effective July 8;
• appointed Allison Daniels principal of Rhodes ES, effective July 8, with Shaw abstaining;
• released a classified employee, effective June 7.

🏗️ Emergency repairs at Cal Aero Preserve Academy

The staff memo says a vehicle backed into the north wall of the school's gymnasium on May 29, 2024, causing structural damage. It puts the cost at an estimated $250,000 from the General Fund 15. Resolution 2023/2024-65 asks the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools to allow a contract without bidding and advertising. The board adopted it on a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz 2.

📋 Budget and LCAP hearings

President Shaw opened the public hearing on the 2024/2025 budget at 7:20 p.m. and closed it the same minute with no speakers. The Local Control and Accountability Plan hearing went the same way at 7:21 p.m. 1. The staff memo says the budget is due for adoption at the June 20, 2024 meeting 16.

🎤 Public comment on items not on the agenda

Six people addressed the board. The minutes name each with a topic: Jim Gallagher on D-Day; Claudia Cruz on the special education conference/case management period; Melissa Boehmer, who thanked the board for assistance; Hope Faciane on Fun Club selections; Jacqueline Cortes on special education issues; and Amanda Swager on actions and words having repercussions on everyone 1. Because the minutes tie each topic to named speakers, this page does not describe the comments from the recording.

After the comments, a board member asked from the dais for the Fun Club selection process to be explained to the community 17, saying "our hands are tied" 17. The reply on the recording was that it is a state program whose funding carries requirements the district cannot deviate from 1717, and that the state sets the priority criteria for identifying students 17.

🗣️ Board and superintendent communications

• Don Bridge said he appreciated Mr. Gallagher's comments and spoke about D-Day as a history teacher. He asked that the meeting adjourn with a moment of silence. He congratulated Ayala HS junior Daniel Benson on being named the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's Inland Empire Swimmer of the Year, along with the district's baseball and softball playoff teams 18. He said the move of graduations to the Toyota Arena, which the community and students voted for, had worked out well 18.
• James Na thanked "the parents that came to speak against Title IX resolution overhaul" and spoke about parent involvement in protecting families. He praised the leaders of Buena Vista HS and Cal Aero K-8 after their graduation and promotion ceremonies 18.
• Jonathan Monroe highlighted the speakers on special education. He said he will continue to advocate for change in Special Ed, that meaningful conversations are coming, and he encouraged patience 18.
• Andrew Cruz shared his family's experience of the war and spoke about the board's decision that parents have the opportunity to know what is going on in public schools 18.
• Superintendent Enfield said the district is moving to its new office off Ramona, with different departments moving each week 19. The Champion Newspapers had reported days earlier that the two-story, 60,000-square-foot building at 13461 Ramona Ave. would add a larger board room seating up to 200 20.
• President Shaw congratulated retirees and the new appointees. She spoke about the district being one of three in California requiring a 2.0 to graduate 1919. She also spoke about the district being sued over its parental notification policy while Sacramento moved AB 1955 to make such policies illegal. She then marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day with a moment of silence 19. The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, which reported the Title IX vote the next day, noted that the state attorney general had taken the district to court over the parental notification policy adopted in July 2023 21. On July 8, according to her memo on the July 18 agenda, Shaw requested a resolution opposing AB 1955 22.

President Shaw adjourned the meeting at 7:46 p.m. 19

🎓 Recognition and consent business

Tim Adams of School Portraits by Adams Photography presented a check for $22,803.88 from the 2024 Julie Gobin Memorial Hit the Greens scholarship effort. CHAMP President Emily Lao congratulated the new administrators and the association's retirees 3.

The consent calendar was approved on a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz 2. It covered:

• student readmission and expulsion cases, school trips, and a resolution keeping 175 instructional days at the multitrack year-round schools 23;
• a Title I targeted-assistance program for Legacy Academy K-8 23;
• personnel items "as amended" (the minutes do not say how) and a memorandum of understanding with Cal-Baptist University 23;
• a school bus pass fee adjustment 23. Staff proposed raising the annual pass from $300 to $325 24.

The record has one inconsistency. The minutes say one student readmission case was deleted from the agenda 1, yet the consent entry still lists that case among those approved 23.