Chino Valley Unified Board of Education: April 16, 2026

April 16 was a pay meeting. The board ratified reopener agreements with its teachers' and classified employees' unions, approved matching raises for managers, confidential staff and the executive cabinet, and then turned down the same increase for its own members 1 2. Public comment, with 24 requests to speak according to the recording 3, centered on the missing podium and board pay.

The record for this page is the minutes of this meeting, which the board approved on its May 7, 2026 consent calendar 4.

💵 Raises for every employee group

• Teachers (A.C.T.). President Sonja Shaw opened the public hearing at 7:46 p.m. Amanda Swager addressed the board, and the hearing closed at 7:49 p.m. On a motion by Andrew Cruz, seconded by Shaun Smith, the board ratified the tentative agreement with the Associated Chino Teachers for a reopener effective July 1, 2026 1.
• Classified staff (CSEA). The hearing on the agreement with the California School Employees Association and its Chino Chapter 102 opened and closed at 7:52 p.m. with no speakers. On a motion by James Na, seconded by John Cervantes, the board ratified it 1.
• Managers and confidential employees. The board approved matching increases for certificated and classified management employees (moved by Na, seconded by Smith) and for classified confidential employees (moved by Cervantes, seconded by Cruz) 2. The staff report sets the management terms as an ongoing 2.25% raise or the statutory cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), whichever is greater, for 2026/27 and 2027/28; a one-time $2,000 payment; and a district health and welfare contribution rising from $11,350 to $12,000 5.
• The cabinet. On a motion by Cervantes, seconded by Cruz, the board approved contract addenda for the deputy superintendent, the associate superintendent for business services and the assistant superintendents 2. Deputy Superintendent Grace Park's addendum carries the same raise and one-time payment, and sets her term from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030 6.

🚫 The board's own raise fails

The last pay item proposed a 2.25% increase, or the COLA if greater, for board members for 2026/27 2, at a cost of $2,934 7. Cervantes moved the item and Smith seconded it. The motion failed, with Na, Smith and Shaw voting no; the student representative abstained 2. In the recording, one trustee spoke for the raise, saying the state law behind recent board-pay increases helps working-class and younger people serve 8, and that members can choose whether to accept the money 8.

In December 2025 the board had adopted a compensation adjustment under AB 1390 9, which the Champion reported raised monthly pay from $966 to $2,000 10. On April 25 the paper reported this second increase turned down, noting the COLA option had not been offered to the board in at least four years 11.

🗣️ Public comment: a podium, board pay and the rules

The minutes list the speakers as Hazel; Amanda Swager; Lauren Setlich; Sara Omari; Naomi Minogue; Debi Hernandez; Lisa G; Jeff M; Kristi Hirst; James Gallagher; Jennifer V; Anaka Laine; Paul Griffin; Jackie Cortes; and an appreciative parent 1. The minutes do not say who said what, so the comments below are summarized without names.

• The podium. Several speakers asked for a podium. One argued it should be standard for every speaker rather than granted after a speaker discloses a disability 12. Another said their accommodation request required a medical note and produced a chair set apart from the other speakers 13. A third said a community group had submitted a petition with more than 100 signatures 14. One speaker took the other side, saying a podium would hide a speaker in a wheelchair from view 15. Days before the meeting, the Champion reported that the district had "no plans to change the setup of the board room" and had suggested emailed comments instead 16. A letter in the Champion on April 25 argued that the board's response discouraged public participation 17.
• Board pay and the bylaws. One speaker cited about $663,000 in legal fees over eight months 18. The legal-services report on that night's consent calendar shows a year-to-date total of $663,801.47 across three firms 19. The same speaker said a revised bylaw would let board pay rise to $3,000 a month 18. As drafted, Bylaw 9250 sets pay at $2,000 20, and a new exhibit charts state caps of $600 to $4,500 21. Speakers also objected to fewer meetings 22. The Bylaw 9320 redline sets one regular meeting a month, two in June, and strikes the sentence resolving doubts about accommodation requests in favor of accessibility 23. The staff memo says that material was moving to Bylaw 9322 24, which gains a section on accommodation requests 25.
• How meetings are run. One speaker argued that the board's handling of public comment violates the First Amendment 26, and others said comment rules had narrowed 14.
• Students and schools. One speaker, a ninth grader, said a teacher played a song containing a racial slur in class 27, and that the student did not know whom to go to on campus 28. A speaker for parents at one school described a March 3 incident in which a weapon was reportedly brought to school, asked for consistent discipline 29, and said parents were weighing a student walkout 29. Another asked that parents be notified when an instructor's gender presentation might prompt questions from young children 15. A teacher asked why meetings are not translated 30 30, and described a family waiting since February for a hotspot 31.

📊 LCAP: both local indicators met

Luke Hackney, Assistant Superintendent, CIIS, and staff reported LCAP State Priorities 3 (family engagement) and 6 (school climate) as met 32. Staff reported a significant and consistent decline in reported and substantiated bullying and harassment cases over three years 33, and said every school site had earned state platinum recognition for positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) 34. The share of students in grades 6 to 12 who said they feel safe at school was given as 73%, 78% and 82% over the last three years 35.

🎓 Opening business

• After closed session, the board reported appointing Matthew McCain as Director of Transportation and Ofelia Verdugo as Director of Student Support Services, both effective July 1, 2026, and voting to terminate a classified employee identified by number 32.
• Emily Prescott and Haylee Dean led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Shaw presented certificates to the girls soccer teams of all four high schools for their CIF runs 32.
• Annette Hatch, Ed.D., CHAMP President, thanked the board for considering the management pay increases 1 and congratulated Dickey ES on its AVID national demonstration school designation 1.

🎤 Board communications

• Shaun Smith commented on the focus on the podium, saying "it's just a testament to how awesome the school is doing" 36. He confirmed with staff that student survey results are anonymized, verified that students with IEPs receive hotspots, and clarified that board members do not receive retirement benefits or free health care for family members 37.
• James Na asked staff to listen to the parents still in the audience, and congratulated student representative Phoenix Kim on admission to Stanford University 37.
• Andrew Cruz asked for follow-up on concerns raised about Chino HS, spoke about union presidents' attendance at board meetings, and commented on a Chino Champion article on PBIS 37. On the article, he argued that state law, including a ban on suspending students for willful defiance, limits traditional discipline 38, and that PBIS works within those limits 38.
• John Cervantes said he would not opine on statements by people he had not personally heard, and celebrated Dickey ES's AVID designation 37.
• Deputy Superintendent Park described the county's multilingual recognition event and, for the superintendent, thanked A.C.T., CSEA and the board 37.
• President Shaw said staff would follow up on the concerns raised by a student and parents, noted safety concerns about the podium, and gave examples of what she called inappropriate classroom materials 39. In the recording, she said "a podium hides things that we can't see" and described a recent threat against her 40. She said the district has been sued when it tried to hold staff accountable 41, including by the teachers union 42, and showed slides of material she said had been used in an English class 43.

📋 Consent and information

The board also adopted a National School Nurse Day proclamation and a Day of the Teacher resolution 2. On a motion by Na, seconded by Cervantes, it approved the consent calendar as amended, including legal-services payments, nine expulsion cases, and Resolution 2025/2026-40 on temporary borrowing between funds, which the minutes record under the misprinted number 2022/2026-40 2. The calendar also covered change orders for twelve bid packages on the Don Lugo HS renovation 44 and a revision of Board Policy 3312 on contracts 45.

The bylaw revisions (9250, 9320, 9322, 9323 and new 9320.1) and two Williams settlement reports were received for information 45. The board approved the bylaws on May 7, 2026 4, and Bylaw 9250 now sets board pay at $2,000 a month 46.

Shaw adjourned the meeting at 8:49 p.m. 47