August 15, 2024 Regular Meeting Summary

Administrative Appointments & the Brown Act Dispute

The board convened in closed session from 5:00 p.m. to 5:36 p.m. to discuss anticipated and existing litigation, labor negotiations, and personnel appointments 12. Upon reconvening, the board appointed three administrators: Jeanette Kwon, Principal at Glenmeade ES; Dr. Mehran Akhtarkhavari, Principal at Briggs K-8; and Thomas Hutchinson, Assistant Principal at the Adult School, effective August 16, 2024 2.

The board also considered a demand to cure and correct dated July 25, 2024, filed by Chino Hills resident Lisa Greathouse. Cruz, Monroe, Na, and Shaw voted to reject the demand and directed counsel to prepare a response to the complainant; Bridge abstained 2. Greathouse's letter, included in the agenda packet for public inspection, argued the board violated the Ralph Brown Act by amending its contract with the Liberty Justice Center in closed session on June 20, 2024 to fund a lawsuit challenging California's AB 1955 parental-notification law, then approving the amended contract on the consent calendar without a separate public vote or discussion 3. The underlying AB 1955 litigation — filed by the Liberty Justice Center on the district's behalf the day after Governor Newsom signed the bill — drew regional and national press coverage 45678.

Curriculum & Instructional Materials

The board held a public hearing, at which no one spoke, and adopted Resolution 2024/2025-10, certifying sufficient standards-aligned textbooks and instructional materials for Cal Aero Preserve Academy K-6 and Legacy Academy K-6; the student representative's preferential vote was in favor 9. The board separately adopted Resolution 2024/2025-09, compensating Jon Monroe for the July 18, 2024 meeting he missed 10.

Facilities, Planning & Operations

Most of the meeting's action items were Measure G bond business. The board approved a long slate of change orders and notices of completion for the ongoing Chino HS Aquatic Center, Gymnasium, and Locker Modernization project (bid packages 2 through 15) 13 and for the Eagle Canyon ES Alteration Projects (bid packages spanning BP 02-01 through BP 32-01) 14, along with a separate change order for the Don Lugo HS MPR sound-and-lighting system rebid. The board also declared district property surplus/obsolete, approved the purchase order register, approved change orders for CUPCCAA projects, and adopted two piggyback-contract resolutions 11.

Business & License Agreements

The board approved a license agreement with Spectrum Center, Inc. for continued use of rooms at the Alternative Education Center for a nonpublic special-education program, at $9,166.50 per month plus utilities 12. It also approved the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Grant application for Don Lugo HS, as amended; approved a grant of easement to Southern California Edison for the Yorba Avenue Warehouse; and appointed Jeff Stevens and Kevin Lai to the Measure G Bond Citizens' Oversight Committee 11.

Personnel & Staffing

The board approved/ratified certificated and classified personnel items, as amended; referred a set of rejected claims to the district's insurance adjuster; and approved a student teaching agreement with Hope International University 15. During discussion of the personnel item Bridge had pulled for separate consideration, staff reported 14 general-education teacher vacancies (eight in process) and 13 special-education vacancies districtwide as of the meeting date 16.

Board Communications — recovered from the final minutes page

The adopted minutes' final page was unreadable in the archive until this repair; it carries the closing portion of the board's Communications segment, where each trustee and the superintendent speak in their own voice. Several of these remarks — Bridge's, Na's, Monroe's, Cruz's, Enfield's, and the first half of President Shaw's — sat on the two pages immediately before it, which had a text layer all along; the archive had simply never used them.

Don Bridge welcomed Segoviano to her new role, noted the start of fall sports, and said he was glad to see the school year get off to a smooth start 17.

James Na congratulated Segoviano and her family, noted that WalletHub's nationwide research had ranked nearby Irvine Valley College the state's top two-year college, and separately cited the district's own Daily Bulletin readers'-choice recognition as 2024's favorite school district in the Inland Empire, and recounted a conversation with a parent of student athletes about the effort behind the district's success, framing it as a reason the district could become the top-ranked school district in California if it stayed on course 17.

Jon Monroe welcomed Segoviano, then turned to the 13 special-education teacher vacancies discussed earlier in the meeting, saying the district needs to be "more aggressive" and make "meaningful change" to attract and retain special-education teachers 17.

Andrew Cruz noted the district's platinum and gold school recognitions and, addressing A.C.T. President Steven Frazer directly, asked A.C.T. to help create an MOU so band and other staff could access Proposition 28 arts-funding stipends 18.

Superintendent Norm Enfield welcomed Segoviano, thanked classified staff, teachers, and site administrators for a smooth start to the year, and observed that despite the district's size it functions well because of staff "expertise and professionalism" 18.

Board President Sonja Shaw gave the meeting's longest Communications remarks, spanning both the always-readable page 13 and the newly recovered page 14. She thanked Enfield for "clearing up" the litigation history, praised staff for finding cooling spaces during a heat wave, and pushed back on what she called misinformation that the district lacks funding because of lawsuits 18. On the newly recovered page, she went on to defend her public statements about wanting to "dismantle" the federal Department of Education, said she was fighting "the political cartel" and Tony Thurmond, said a superintendent should not be an elected county or statewide position, attributed rising legal fees in part to the union's challenge of the district's flag policy rather than district-initiated litigation, described a report that a student had been told to remove a keychain bearing a Bible verse and asked for it to be investigated, and closed by saying the board has "a moral obligation to protect children" 19. Her fuller remarks, captured in the transcript, also cited union challenges to the district's parental-notification policy and its handling of classroom book selections as additional drivers of legal costs 20.

The recovered page also carries the meeting's close: President Shaw adjourned the regular meeting at 7:09 p.m., followed by the signature block for Shaw as President and Cruz as Clerk, recorded by Administrative Secretary Regan Rico 19.

Public Comment: Special Education & Staffing Challenges

A Howard Cattle ES special education teacher, Brianda R., described scheduling 79 annual IEPs within 180 school days after her assistant principal's hours were cut to two or three days a week, on top of covering emergencies, drills, and behavior incidents 921.

Public Comment: Board Governance & Litigation Costs

Lisa Greathouse — the same community member whose Brown Act demand the board rejected earlier in the meeting — told the board it had "repeatedly skirted the law and ethical boundaries," citing a $50,000 campaign donation each to Board President Shaw and Trustee Monroe from an Upland-based contractor, Star Hardware, that she said continues to receive district bids without recusal 22. Sara Omari argued the board has mishandled the student preferential-vote procedure required by board policy and misused a district email account to promote personal views 23. Bobby Omari disputed the district's public framing of its legal-fee history, and separately stated that a $2.4 million settlement the district received went to a developer-fee account for growth projects at The Preserve rather than the general fund, attributing that detail to a district spokesperson 24.

Board President Shaw responded later in the meeting, attributing recent increases in legal costs to union-initiated challenges over the district's flag policy, parental-notification policy, and materials policy rather than district-initiated litigation 20.

Public Comment: Department of Education Criticism

Eric Shamp and Naomi M. both pressed the board on Shaw's publicly stated goal of helping "dismantle" the federal Department of Education. Shamp, citing the district's budget, estimated the funding at risk at roughly $56 million against a $387 million annual budget and asked for a response during the meeting 25. Naomi M. read from a social-media post by Shaw and asked what would happen to the district's Title I resources and federal funding if the department were eliminated 26.

Public Comment: Staffing, Class Size & Combination Classes

Jackie Cortes said colleagues are struggling to schedule IEPs due to elementary staffing cuts, referenced a video of Shaw's remarks about teachers, and urged voters to "flip this board" in November 27. Carla Vande Steeg, a 27-year teacher at Cattle ES, described teaching two combined-grade classes and a 32-student classroom so full she removed furniture to fit everyone, and asked the district for one additional teacher at her school 28.

Employee Representative Remarks

A.C.T. President Steven Frazer identified special education, classroom resources, and equity and inclusion as priority areas for the year ahead 29. CSEA President Danny Hernandez thanked classified staff for their summer preparation work and noted that four HVAC staff are responsible for more than 2,000 units districtwide 29. CHAMP President Emily Lao welcomed the new administrators and Segoviano and promoted upcoming parent-engagement events 29.

Meeting Close

President Shaw adjourned the regular meeting at 7:09 p.m. 19.