December 18, 2025: Chino Valley's Board Keeps Its Officer Slate and Raises Its Own Pay Under AB 1390

An independent community summary of the Chino Valley Unified School District's public records. It is not an official district document.

This was the board's annual organizational meeting. The board kept its 2025 officers and representatives for 2026 by consensus rather than electing each office 1, and it adopted a pay adjustment for board members under the new state law AB 1390, with James Na voting no 2. It also approved a first interim budget report with a positive certification 2 and heard ten public speakers 3.

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🗳️ The 2025 slate, kept for 2026

Board Bylaw 9100 says the board "shall each year elect its entire slate of officers" 4. The agenda listed twelve offices and assignments 5. The minutes record that John Cervantes nominated the entire 2025 slate of officers and representatives for 2026 1. There were no further nominations, and by consensus the slate stays the same. The board then appointed the superintendent as secretary to the board, on a motion by Sonja Shaw seconded by Cervantes 1. On the recording, the nominations were declared closed with "everything remains the same" 6.

The minutes do not list who holds each office, though they are signed by Shaw as president and Andrew Cruz as clerk 7. On September 8, 2025, after Shaun Smith's provisional appointment to a vacant seat, James Na nominated Cervantes for vice president 8. The Champion reported that the retained slate makes Shaw president for a fourth consecutive year, with Cervantes as vice president 9.

Before the board acted, a public speaker predicted the board would keep Shaw as president and said "nearly every previous board rotated the presidency" 1010.

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💵 A raise for board members under AB 1390

The minutes record that the board adopted the Board Member Compensation Adjustment Pursuant to AB 1390 on a motion by Andrew Cruz, seconded by John Cervantes 2. James Na voted no and the student representative abstained 2. The staff report from Superintendent Norm Enfield said the law updates compensation limits "that have remained unchanged for over 40 years" 11. It put the cost at $31,850 for the rest of the 2025/2026 fiscal year 12 and gave no monthly figure.

Before the vote, a speaker on the recording urged adoption, calling the position "very underfunded" and saying that if the raise was not for the current members, it would be "for the next board members" 13.

The Champion later reported that the action raised members' monthly pay from $966 to $2,000, a 107 percent increase 14. As revised in May 2026, Board Bylaw 9250 provides monthly compensation of $2,000 and says members "are not required to accept" it 15.

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📋 Other action items

• 2026/2027 meeting calendar. Approved on a motion by Na, seconded by Cervantes 2. Regular meetings run from July 16, 2026 to June 17, 2027, and the next organizational meeting is December 17, 2026 5.
• CSBA Delegate Assembly nominations. The item died for lack of a motion 2.
• First Interim Financial Report. Approved on a motion by Cervantes, seconded by Shaw, with a positive certification for this year and the next two 2. The staff report describes a balanced budget for 2025/2026 through 2027/2028 12.
• Teacher contract reopener. President Shaw opened and closed the public hearing on the district's initial proposal to the Associated Chino Teachers at 6:54 p.m., with no speakers 2. The district proposes to change its contribution toward the union president's release time and to create a Career and Technical Education teacher salary schedule 16 and to add a coaching stipend 16.
• Classified minimum wage. Approved on a motion by Na, seconded by Cervantes 2. Playground Supervisor, Avid Tutor and WIOA Student pay rises from $16.50 to $16.90 an hour on January 1, 2026 16.

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✅ Consent calendar

The consent items passed on a motion by Na, seconded by Cervantes 2. They included:

• Legal services payments to Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo; Margaret A. Chidester & Associates; and Tao Rossini, APC 17. Their October invoices totaled $83,578.82, and the year-to-date total was $414,500.38 18.
• Twelve student readmission cases, after a thirteenth was deleted 173, and four expulsion cases 17.
• Eight change orders and notices of completion for Glenmeade Elementary kitchen remodel bid packages 1717.
• Three bid awards 17. Ayala High's student parking lot asphalt repair went to Universal Asphalt Co. Inc. for $760,000 19. Ayala's tennis court refinishing went to Trueline Construction & Surfacing for $118,598 20. Eagle Canyon Elementary's portable classroom roofing went to Best Contracting Services for $102,755 20.

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🔒 Closed session

President Shaw called the meeting to order at 3:51 p.m. and adjourned to closed session. Na was absent from closed session 21. Reporting out after the board reconvened at 6:00 p.m. 21, the board announced the appointment of Marcela Stremiz as assistant principal at CVLA, effective January 5, 2026. Na arrived at 6:23 p.m. for open session 3.

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🏅 Presentations and reports

• Della Robbia wreath. Heather Post, Boys Republic principal, and the Mayor presented the board with the wreath 21. The Champion reported that Boys Republic youth have three weeks each season to make 30,000 wreaths, which raise money for vocational programs 22.
• Ayala High girls' cross country. Members of the junior varsity team received certificates. The minutes record that Coach Caroline and Coach Matt said they advocate for protecting girls' sports and that sex categories exist to ensure fair competition 21. On the recording, one coach said "Biological categories exist for a reason." 23 The speaker introducing the recognition said the team "lost team points" when "a boy competing on a girls team" displaced some runners 24. Fox News had reported in November that an Ayala runner finished 11th in a Palomares League junior varsity final where a Claremont High athlete described as transgender placed fourth 25.
• Student representative. Phoenix Kim reported on activities at Ayala, Chino, Don Lugo and Chino Hills high schools 21.
• CHAMP. Annette Hatch, Ed.D., CHAMP President, recognized teachers and staff for a strong first semester, including Woodcrest Junior High's designation as a California School to Watch 3.

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🗣️ Public comment

On the recording, eleven requests to speak were announced 26. The minutes list ten people who addressed the board: Adriana Cardenas Isley, Amanda Swager, Andrea Lopez, Joaquin Lopez, Jaimesen Lopez, Linda Fraser, Manuel Zavala, Lisa G, Jackie Cortes and Glory Ciccarelli 3. The minutes tie no remark to a speaker, so these accounts are unattributed and unverified.

• A retired teacher argued that an academy program advantages its students over others and urged the board to "look at Civil Rights Act of 1964." 2727
• A teacher said students were using AI on tests and that "About 30 students cheated on my final." The teacher asked the district to take phones away 282828. From the dais came word that a reminder about the no-phones rule would go to principals 28.
• Speakers asked the board to let children stay at their elementary school after a transfer request was denied following a family move 2929.
• A speaker disputed what had been said at the previous meeting about a man shot by immigration agents. The speaker said the board uses pro bono lawyers "as often as possible" 3030.
• One speaker condemned remarks the speaker attributed to Shaw about immigration agents and made personal accusations against her, which this page does not repeat 31.
• Another apologized to the Ayala High community over the treatment of a football coach and the 2025 season 3232.

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📣 Board communications

Each entry follows the minutes' account.

• Shaun Smith noted that Chino Valley ranks 21st in California and first among districts with high shares of unduplicated students 33. He rejected claims that the district attacks children as false and hyperbolic 33.
• James Na thanked teachers and staff, asked for follow-up support for parents with concerns, and thanked Chino Youth Christmas Parade organizers 33.
• Andrew Cruz praised Oak Ridge Elementary 33. He credited LCFF, strong financial management and a balanced budget for the district's top-performing status 33.
• John Cervantes acknowledged the Lopez family, saying their concerns had been received and would be addressed 33. He praised the district's fiscal responsibility and described its teamwork as "one unit, one team" 33.
• Superintendent Norm Enfield thanked Cervantes for his motion on the board's organization and thanked district staff 7.
• Sonja Shaw honored the memory of Jerry Rowe and acknowledged the Lopez family 7. She shared a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services message "affirming that men are men, women are women" 7. She also spoke against curriculum and trainings promoted by unions and state leaders, saying the district "will not back down" 7.

President Shaw adjourned the meeting at 7:26 p.m. in memory of community member Jerry Rowe 7. Rowe, a longtime attendee of city and school board meetings, died November 25 at 77, the Champion reported 34.

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Where this summary says who spoke, moved or seconded, it follows the district's adopted minutes. Recording passages supply quotes and detail; speakers the minutes do not tie to their remarks are described without names.