Chino Valley Unified Board of Education: Organizational Meeting, December 19, 2024

Most of December's organizational meeting was housekeeping. It also hired a law firm, at no charge for attorney time, to go back to court over the federal rulings that ended prayer at Chino Valley board meetings.

President Shaw called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m. with all five members present, and Superintendent Norm Enfield administered the oath of office to John Cervantes, James Na and Andrew Cruz before the board went into closed session 1. When open session began at 6:00 p.m., Superior Court Judge Mark Petersen administered the oath again 1. The Champion's year-end review recorded incumbents Na and Cruz and newcomer Cervantes winning "by healthy margins" 2. From closed session, the board reported appointing Bryant Aquino assistant principal at Chino Hills HS 1.

⚖️ A pro bono firm to challenge the prayer ruling

The night's most consequential action was item II.A.3, an attorney engagement agreement with Advocates for Faith & Freedom. The minutes record that James Na moved and Jon Monroe seconded approval, and that the motion carried 3.

The cover memo says the Freedom From Religion Foundation "is continually challenging" the district over "statements made by Board members from the dais and school site activities," that the district refers those matters to counsel "at a significant cost to the general fund," and that it has "secured the counsel of a pro-bono firm for defense." It adds that the district "is interested in directing counsel to challenge the Ninth Circuit decision" in Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education 4. That 2018 decision held that the board's prayer policy and practice violated the Establishment Clause, applying the Lemon test 5.

The agreement printed in the packet sets the terms:

• The firm describes itself as a nonprofit with "a philosophical interest in the pending litigation" and agrees to work without charge 6, while the district pays litigation costs such as court filing and deposition fees 6.
• The district states that it "intends to vigorously defend itself" until it prevails or has "fully exhausted all options of appeal to the highest court" with jurisdiction 6.
• The firm may bill its fees if the district breaches the agreement, settles by paying the other side's attorneys, decides not to proceed, or discharges the firm mid-case 6.
• The district acknowledges that "a court may award the opposing party or parties damages, costs, and attorneys' fees" 7.

On the recording, one comment came from the dais before the vote. The speaker said the district has had to use its own funds to respond to organizations and attorneys "even though we're not guilty of anything" 8, and welcomed that the firm would do the work pro bono "so we do not have to have District lawyers respond on our behalf any longer" 8.

The minutes record that Oscar Avila addressed the board on item II.A.3; they do not record what he said 9.

What followed. At its February 20, 2025 meeting, the board's closed-session report records it directing Advocates for Faith and Freedom to "initiate legal action to challenge the ruling" 10. The firm filed the motion on the board's behalf on July 31, 2025, arguing that the injunction rested on a legal test the Supreme Court had since abandoned, the Daily Bulletin reported 11. On October 10, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal turned it down, writing that the district had "not articulated a sufficient basis for relief" 12. In January 2026 the court ordered the district to pay the foundation about $134,000 in legal fees; the board had already voted to appeal, and the foundation's legal director told the Champion the judgment does not require payment by any particular date 13. The district had paid $278,653 in the foundation's fees from the first round, the Champion reported, adding in October 2025 that it could not learn whether the district was responsible for the firm's fees and costs 14.

🗳️ Officers and outside seats

Andrew Cruz nominated Sonja Shaw for president, and James Na nominated Jon Monroe for vice president and Andrew Cruz for clerk; with no other nominations, each was elected 15. The board appointed Superintendent Enfield secretary to the board 15. Board Bylaw 9100, revised in December 2023, requires this annual organizational meeting 16.

The outside seats went as follows 1515:

• John Cervantes: liaison to the city of Chino, on Jon Monroe's nomination, and alternate on the County Committee on School District Organization.
• James Na: liaison to Chino Hills, on John Cervantes's nomination.
• Andrew Cruz: liaison to Ontario.
• Jon Monroe: Chino Valley Independent Fire District liaison, Chino Hills Parks and Recreation Commission representative, Baldy View ROP alternate.
• Sonja Shaw: representative to the County Committee and to Baldy View ROP.
• Joint city meetings: Cervantes and Shaw for Chino, Na and Cruz for Chino Hills.

💵 Money items

• 2024/25 First Interim Financial Report, approved with a positive certification 3. Staff described a balanced budget for 2024/25 through 2026/27 17.
• Resolution 2024/2025-34, establishing an irrevocable trust for retiree health benefits (OPEB) through CalPERS' CERBT program 3. Staff put the unfunded liability at about $45.5 million as of a June 30, 2023 valuation, currently paid as you go at about $2.4 million a year, and recommended an initial contribution of $2,487,823 18.
• Minimum wage adjustment for the non-bargaining classified service, effective January 1, 2025 3: Playground Supervisor, AVID Tutor and WIOA Student positions rise from $16.00 to $16.50 an hour as the state minimum wage increases 19.

The board also approved the 2025/26 meeting calendar and nominated Eric Swanson to the California School Boards Association Delegate Assembly 3.

🎗️ Presentations and recognitions

Heather Post, Boys Republic principal, presented the Della Robbia wreath to the board 1. The presentation described each wreath as handcrafted by Boys Republic students in a process that teaches "responsibility teamwork and attention to detail" 20, and a Boys Republic student said he earned warehouse experience making and shipping the wreaths on an assembly line 20. CBS Los Angeles reported that month that the wreaths have been made for 100 years 21.

The board presented certificates of recognition to the Chino Hills High School security team, for adapting to evolving threats and responding quickly to safety incidents, and to the Chino Valley Lions Club 1. A Lions Club representative said the club has provided free eye exams and glasses to students who cannot afford them for at least 20 years 22, and that this year's teacher mini-grant program gave away more than $4,000 in materials to about 15 teachers, as captioned 23.

Student representative Gabriella Segoviano congratulated students finishing the term and congratulated Cervantes, and Jeannette Kwon, for CHAMP, spoke about social media posts showing positive things happening at school sites 9.

🗣️ Public comment

The minutes list Amanda Swager, Oscar Avila, Curtis Burton, Kaitlyn Cabral, Chris Shaw and Maddison Shaw as addressing the board on non-agenda items 9. They do not record what anyone said, and names here come only from the minutes, so the recording's topics appear without names and not in speaking order. They included praise for school resource officers 24, thanks for the board's help in letting a team compete at a national championship in Alabama 25, and congratulations to the trustees on their election 24.

🕯️ Board communications

As recorded in the minutes:

• John Cervantes thanked everyone for their support and confidence in him, said he takes the oath of office to heart, and said he was glad the DARE program was back in schools after participating in graduations at Cortez ES and Newman ES 26.
• James Na congratulated Cervantes, thanked families for supporting his fellow board members, and spoke about the Christmas spirit 26.
• Andrew Cruz spoke about the community spirit he saw walking his trustee area, read a passage regarding goodness, attended the annual Chino parade and participated in a 5K run 26.
• Jon Monroe welcomed Cervantes, recognized Glenmeade ES first and third graders for a performance about the nation, thanked Councilman Burton for highlighting city events, and thanked cabinet for reaching a tentative agreement with A.C.T. 26.
• Superintendent Enfield congratulated Na and Cruz on their reelection and Cervantes on his election 26.
• President Shaw thanked A.C.T. for its collaboration on a tentative agreement, spoke about DARE graduations and other school events, thanked the community for continuing to come together regardless of differences, and recited a quote by Helen Keller 26: "alone we can do so little but together we can do so much" 27.

President Shaw adjourned the organizational meeting 28 at 7:46 p.m. 29.

✅ Consent and information

The consent calendar was approved as amended, on a motion by Na seconded by Cruz 3. It covered the November 21 minutes 3; 16 student readmission cases, one of them added that night, and one expulsion; and legal-services payments to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, Margaret A. Chidester & Associates, and Tao Rossini, APC 3, whose October invoices totaled $77,815.78 30. It also covered developer fee reports, change orders for six Preserve II construction bid packages 31 and an aquatic scoreboard project, personnel items, claim rejections and student teaching agreements 31.

The board received for information the county's Williams Settlement annual report and a revision of Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 1330 on use of school facilities 31, which staff said adds language on fees for nonprofit groups, a new section on after-hours use of district facilities, and a liability insurance requirement for all user groups 32.

This is an independent, community-maintained summary of public records and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Chino Valley Unified School District. Names paired with actions or remarks come from the district's adopted minutes; recording excerpts are quoted without attaching names the minutes do not supply.