No. Yes. Right away. Good morning, all. Of course. Welcome. The time is now 10:03AM on 05/12/2026. We are going to begin this regular meeting of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. Here we go. I'm gonna take role. Miss Newbill. Present. Doctor Rivas. Here. Mister Melwein. Here. Miss Griego. Miss Gomez. Miss Ortiz Franklin. Present. Board president Schmerlson. Present. And student board member Yang? Present. Okay. Right now, we will go into the pledge of allegiance, which is a video brought
to us from board district five. Yay. And I think it's Kim Elementary School. So let's all, do the pledge. Thank you, everyone. Now we will go directly into the land acknowledgment. We'll pull it up on the screen in just a moment. We acknowledge that the Los Angeles Unified School District operates on land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Gabrilegno and Fernandeno Tataviam peoples who have stewarded this land for generations. We recognize these indigenous communities ongoing presence and contributions and honor their connection to this
region. We recognize Cabralano people as the original stewards of the Los Angeles Basin and the nearby coastal lands, and the Fernandeno Tavium as protectors of the Northern Valleys. These lands have and continue to hold deep cultural and spiritual significance to their people and have shaped the community we live in today. We pay our respects to the Henukvitam, ancestors, elders, and Eyo Hinken, our relatives and relations, past, present, and emerging, and commit to supporting Indigenous communities through education, ensuring their
voices are heard and their legacies are respected. We commit to deepening our understanding of the histories and cultures of the native peoples of this land. This acknowledgment demonstrates our ongoing efforts to build and sustain relationships with indigenous communities and contribute to healing and reconciliation. Okay. Good morning, everyone. We'll begin with our labor partners. Do I have a labor partner who would like to begin? Good morning. Hi. Good morning, everybody.
Good morning, board. I see we're back. Labor partners. My name is Santos Robles, and I am a member of the SEIU Local ninety nine bargaining team and a proud IT worker. I really love my job. I really love going out to see the people, helping them. So we do the on-site services portion. We just ratified I see a local ninety nine just ratified a historic contract, which, it's a tentative it's a tentative agreement, and, workers across the districts stood united, fought
for respect, dignity, and stronger schools for students. And obviously, that includes, making our community stronger. So we're really proud that we're able to work together and accomplish that. That agreement shows what's possible when workers organize and stand together. And, obviously, when we work as a team, instead of boss and the workers and we try to come up with solutions. As part of the fight as a district, we rescinded the layoffs for the IT
department, which is 224 people. There are still, recognizes that there are other still other essential workers, that help keep the district running day after day. And they currently have some rifts that are affecting them also. So we are, hoping that you could we, you, well, you guys decide, but, we can figure out a way to, resend those rifts also. Again, for the same reasons. You know, we provide services to students, the community.
So these are the workers. Basically, clean our schools, support students and families, maintain campuses, and keep transportation moving. And they make sure that the schools are safe and functioning day after day. We want the board to extend that same commitment to, and fairness to all classifications. So it goes back to, obviously, resending the ribs. We also urge you to resend layoff notices to send workers that the district has incorrectly classified as restricted workers, and that's becoming an issue.
I've been hearing about it. I don't know if you guys have. Many community representatives and other workers with parents and students receive reduction in forced notices even though they are permanent employees and not unrestricted status. So there must be some, obviously, paperwork problem or some procedural issues that are happening. Hopefully, we can resolve those. That would be good. Our schools work best on experienced district employees who know our students, our campuses, and
our communities because we live in them. And we are the ones that do the work. Not that you don't, but we do that work. You guys do other work. This is an opportunity for the board to move forward in the spirit of the agreement that was just reached and send a clear message that LAUSD values all of its workers. All. So today, we want the district to do for all classification what was done for IT workers, rescinding the remaining layoffs and protecting the workers from making our schools, and
who make our schools run every single day. Because when we invest in workers, we invest in students, families, and stronger schools for everyone. So we hope that you will continue to invest into your payroll. Right? Obviously, the employees, and we obviously will continue to do a great job in different jobs that we do. So, I bring that to you guys. Thanks. Good morning, LAUSD board members, friends, family, and our labor partners.
My name is pastor Lanier Boyd Peterson. I am here today not only as a pastor, but as in transportation. I have been a school bus driver for the last thirty five years of service. I am here to stand in the gap for many people, but most of all are bus drivers and our classified workers. I'm here to ask you, why is it that we continue to lay off people? Clearly, yes, we won 24%, but in retaliation now, we are laying off bus drivers.
We are laying off different people and classified working. I stand here today that we will not be quiet. We will no longer stand for this nonsense. Across the district, there are multitudes of people that are dealing with layoff that aren't unlawful. These are the same people that continue day after day to continue to clean, to serve, to run your routes each and every day. It is unacceptable to continue to have contractors running routes.
Why is it when we already have great bus drivers that can do the job? But yet, we continue to contract out to such as Zoom. Contracting out is clearly against our bargaining contract, but yet we continue to do it. Sometimes, I have to think about and look at why do I do this job. I do this job because I love the students that I transport. I love the fact that I leave a legacy that is unbearing for you to understand.
But the children that I go to each and every day, like a little boy that I used to pick up that was only six years old, This little boy would walk to school all by his self, but he knew that when he got to miss Boyd's bus, he would be safe and okay. One day, he came to the bus, and I was looking for him, but I can see him in my rearview mirror. And I wouldn't leave the stop because once you identify with a kid, you are to stand by and wait for that student.
The student came and I said, what is going on with you? He said, miss Boyd, I just left my grandmother dead in my living room. But he knew to come and see who, miss Boyd, because she was gonna get him to a safe location. So how dare we continue to contract out when you have the best sitting right in your face? How dare you consider the to sit up here and contract out when you have each and every one of these classified members that come here and show up every day? I stopped by to tell somebody that never see the righteous forsaken nor his seed
begging bread. We're tired of begging because god is not in that. So I stopped by to tell y'all and wake y'all up. I know y'all looking real crazy right now, but I stopped by to tell somebody that we will not stand for these cuts. We will not stand for our people to be dismayed. I stopped by to tell you it's a warning before destruction. Wow. Good morning, superintendent, board members. Thank you for allowing me to come up and speak. My name is Tony Amada. I have been a truck driver with the LAUSD for over twenty one years. I was also a member of our SEIU Local ninety nine bargaining team that just
negotiated a historic agreement with LAUSD. Just a few weeks ago, when we announced the tentative agreement, you said that our work was essential, yet the district has issued hundreds of reduction in force and layoff notices. That includes three of my fellow class b truck drivers, dedicated drivers who have been there for students and for this district for nearly ten years. During COVID, when schools shut down, these drivers risked their lives to deliver food, PPE gear. During the wildfires, these truck drivers went out impacted communities, support cleanup efforts.
Every day, truck drivers make sure that our cafeterias have have food, that classrooms have papers and pencils, that inner school mail is delivered, and that students have books and computers. We have been doing this even with serious staffing shortages because keep in mind that we have mail we have 40 mail delivery routes, but we only have 28 drivers. Okay? Just yesterday, three mail delivery routes did not go out because we don't have the drivers, but yet here you are proposing that you're gonna re you're gonna reduce drivers.
It just doesn't make sense. Okay? How will schools get the food, supplies, and mail that they need? Okay? Or are you proposing to expand subcontracting to Amazon and other private delivery companies? That, I will remind you, is a violation of the contract we agreement we just reached and unlawful to lay off workers while contracting out our work. Not to mention the safety concerns it raises for students and staff at our schools. That's why we're here to demand that you stop the layoffs, rescind the reduction in
force notices to all workers, and let's make sure students have the services and support they need to learn so that they could be successful in school. Thank you. And now, I'll be passing it over to Jennifer from CSEA. Thank you, brothers and sisters from SIU. Greetings, board members, superintendent, labor partners, and esteemed guests. My name is Jennifer Dietar, CSEA first vice president, and I'm speaking here today on behalf of CSEA members being displaced due to central office reduction in force. I'm here to advocate for CSEA members.
CSEA represents approximately 4,000 members, and our roles include payroll specialists, insurance technicians, accounting technicians, human resource professionals, library technicians, financial managers, and a whole host of other technical, professional, and least of not least of which the art IT customer service rep customer service support technicians whom I have here with me today. I appreciate the difficult position making decisions regarding staffing creates and would like to help guide the conversation with facts.
One thing I would like to bring to your attention is that although many of our members are not school based, our members support teachers and staff that are. We again come to request that board that the board reconsider how closing positions of CCA members are ultimately impacting entire district. We respectfully ask how cutting workers without proportional cuts to management makes operating make makes operating district offices more efficient or provides appropriate support to teachers and students. These CSEA displacements and layoffs represent less payroll specialists, less student resource navigators, less office
technicians, less admin aids, and a variety of other positions that directly support LAUSD employees. We again ask how how it is less expensive to rehire right retirees than to maintain permanent employees. Schools have hard choices to make regarding staffing due to decreasing in federal funding and increased cost of salaries and benefit contributions. I will also remiss in not requesting that as we anticipate more cuts to come, that we ensure that all positions that are vacated when staff resign, retirees, retires, or
promotes, that their positions remain open, allowing displaced employees to return as quickly as possible. There are often unintended consequences when trying to do the right thing. We are not asking for equality. We're asking for equity, and that current reduction of force has been authorized disproportionately. Impacts our members who represent essential services to all district offices. All CSEA positions in the district are critical to support teachers, supporting students, and supporting the LAUSD community, even those I did not rehear today.
We are the face of the district and provide support to all stakeholders. I implore you to I implore each of you to request detailed data to determine how we're hiring retirees, retaining managers, outsourcing, and AI driven initiatives that remove CSEA member jobs align with your values and for what is best for teachers, students, staff, and all other LASD stakeholders. Thank you for your time and consideration. Hello. My name is Reuben. I'm with the IT CSR team. With that said, I'll be reading a, passage.
Dear board members and superintendent, Andreas Cheit, I stand here to express deep concern regarding the proposed layoffs impacting the IT customer support representative team at LAUSD and to respectfully ask that you post this reduction. The IT CSR team serves as a critical access point for students, families, and staff across the district. Every day, we resolve issues that directly affect a student's ability to learn, restoring account
access, supporting enrollment, and ensuring that district systems function when they are needed the most. When these systems fail, instruction is interrupted, and we are the frontline team responsible for restoring that access. Our role extends beyond technical support. We guide families through complex and time sensitive enrollment processes, such as independent study, a virtual academy, and the CHOICES program. Many families depend on our assistance to successfully navigate these systems, particularly those who may
face language barriers, limited access to to technology, and unfamiliarity with the district processes. During times of crisis, our importance becomes even more evident. During the cyberattack, the IT CSR worked extended hours managing overwhelming call volumes, restoring access, and supporting employees, families, and and families under stress. We have also assisted families during wildfire, wildfires, emergencies, and other urgent situations.
Helping connect them to vital resources and services for, for many in our community. We are not just a help desk, but we are a reliable and accessible point of support within LAUSD. Even under current staffing levels, our team manages extremely high call and chat volumes. On days when staffing is reduced, wait times is increased and service delays becomes unavoidable.
A reduction of this magnitude will significantly impact our ability to provide timely support, particularly during critical periods such as the start of the school year when demand is at its highest. Students unable to access their classes, families unable to complete enrollment, and staff unable to use essential systems systems are not isolated issues. They are disruptions to the educational process itself. I also want to respectfully acknowledge and thank board members Carla, Kelly, Rocio for previously
taking a position opposing the layoffs. Your leadership reflects a commitment to protecting essential services and ensuring that in opposing the layoffs to join to join you in in opposing the layoffs. Continuing to oppose these layoffs will help preserve equitable access to education and prevent avoidable
disruptions to learning and district operations. I respectfully ask that you vote to protect IT, IT CSR positions and uphold the level of service that our students, families, and schools depend on every day. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your continued commitment to the communities you serve. Good morning. My name is Ricardo Botello. Before I begin, I want to thank board members, Rocio Rivas, Karla Diego, and Kelly Gomez for recognizing the value of classified employees who keep this district running.
Today, I want to speak about the IT customer support representatives, the people who answer the phones every day when someone in this district needs help. We are the first point of contact when a parent is worried about their child's education, a student cannot log in to Schoology, a teacher cannot integrate, a staff member has a payroll issue, or when schools and families need urgent support with the IT help desk, Mysis, Schoology, Wollagen, and Parent Hotline, services they rely on every day.
Most people never see the work we do. They only notice when systems stop working, but every day our team helps keep the district moving. Many people do not realize that when systems go down at schools, classroom are impacted right away. Teachers lose access to tools they need to teach, staff cannot complete important work, and families are left waiting for answers. Our team helps keep those system working so schools can continue operating every day. I know the thought of losing over 200 IT support positions sounds devastating, and it
is. It truly is. But for IT CSR, the proposed loss of 29 positions would eliminate more than half our entire team. We are stretched thin, yet we continue to show up every single day whether by phone or chat because students, families, and staff depend on us. If these cuts move forward, support would decrease, Wait times will increase. And the people who will feel it the most are the students, families who rely who rely on us when something goes wrong.
Technology in school is no longer an option. When support is cut, access to education is affected. Employees did not create this financial problem, but employees are being asked to pay the price. Behind every position is a person. Behind every person is a family, and behind every family is a future. The strength of LAUSD has never come from a spreadsheet. It comes from the people who answer the calls, solve the problems, and support this community every single day. We're asking you to protect these positions for students, family, and the staff who depend
on us. Thank you. Is there is there another speaker coming? Thank you. Come on down. For other labor partners, come on down, miss Nichols. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Good morning, board members, team superintendent, Cheit. We are here again in coalition, as you can see. Our brothers and sisters from labor unions advocating for dignity and respect and human capital being available at schools to serve. But we also know that our financial crisis is real when we have the governor
holding on to $5,600,000,000 of Prop 98, and we understand that. However, we cannot balance this budget on the backs of our employees who carry this district, who are the heart and soul of this district, and take away services and programs needed for our students. So we have a moral responsibility now, a moral calling to really work beyond just labor coalition, to work with LAUSD management, to work with board members, to work with,
all our partners to really impact advocacy at the state level. Because it really is the state that is holding the money that we desperately need to have all the human capital here that is represented today and to continue the programs that we have to serve our students. On May 7, we had a historic Sacramento Lobby Day, a fundamental shift to how we work. Our recent Lobby Day in Sacramento marked a historic moment with labor, board members, government
relations, and our acting superintendent, Andres Chait. We walked into the Governor's Office side by side. This defies the traditional model of labor relations, labor partners always coming to fight for every single little morsel that we can get for our for our employees and for our students. Traditionally, labor advocates for resources. That's what we're doing right now in coalition, human capital, and management sites budget limits,
and we stand on opposite sides of the table. In Sacramento, we stood side by side. Yes. Let's give us all a round of applause because we are changing and breaking barriers, and we need to stop pivoting one one against the other and start demanding the needed resources and funding that our boys and girls need so that we can have decent paying jobs to be able to show the people that carry this district what
is it, your 85,000 workers, dignity and respect so that they can be able to afford to live and serve in Los Angeles. You know, that day, we analyzed the exact same data together. We advocated with the exact same voice, and we presented a united front for sustainable school funding. Again, we cannot budget. We cannot take this moment and not pause and reflect on the impact that this
can have and will have. And we cannot make budget decisions on the backs of our employees and our students. We need fair funding, and we need Prop 98 to be released, and we need to fight for it together at the state level and beyond. When labor and management stand shoulder to shoulder, it becomes impossible for legislators and the government to ignore us. We can no longer be dismissed. We can no longer make, we can no longer make separate tasks and work in
silo. We are demanding collective action. And why do we do this? What are we trying to protect besides our jobs and our well-being and our human capital that are critical for this district to be able to move forward? We are trying to protect also what happens every day when leaders have the resources to change student lives. Let me give you an example. Doctor Charles, principal of Whitman continuation, has been called upon to work with the most
vulnerable of students, students that maybe society look at as disregarded, continuation schools. She has just received the California Option School Award and is also a recipient of the state level CCEA program award. This is huge. Why? Under her leadership, Whitman created a dual enrollment program that allows continuation high school students to enroll in junior college while still in high school and earn college credit.
She relies on counselors to do this and all the other human capital folks that support student safety and supervision and all of the people that we need to run a school. This is a paradigm shift moving beyond credit recovery, rising expectations to college and beyond, bringing advanced academic opportunity to some of our most vulnerable students. She is changing the ceiling for what continuation students believe is possible. Why is this important? What is the moral anchor in this?
This is why we fight. This is why we fight for sustainable funding so that exceptional leaders like doctor Charles have the resources to build programs that change the trajectory in the lives of our students. This is the connection between the macro politics of state capital and the micro reality inside a high school classroom. I call us to call I call us to have a call to action collectively. Let's not continue and let's not allow this to be a one time collaboration.
Let's continue to link arms. Labor, management, board members, labor partners, and coalition. Let's continue to demand that Sacramento release the funding earmarked for students so that programs like dual language enrollment at Whitman continue to thrive, so that marginalized students continue to access groundbreaking college pathways. We proved in Sacramento that unity produces power. Let's keep moving forward, refusing to get stuck in old models and continuing to fight
the bureaucracy that stands between our students, our employees, and the resources we all deserve to make this district continue to grow and to thrive. When we stand together, we are no longer asking. We are demanding what our students need to succeed. Thank you. Thank you, Maria. I also see UTLA ready to come up. Come on up, UTLA. Good morning, board members, acting superintendent Chait, Georgia Flowers Lee representing United Teachers Los Angeles
this morning. And I am here with a group of members who are representing diverse job classifications within our unit, but who are facing issues at the micro level, at their school sites. And these are issues that they are feeling very called to bring to the attention of the board because these are issues that fundamentally impact our students, and they they feel very strongly that the board needs to hear from them directly.
And so I am going to turn it over to our first member, Dawn Wilson, who is an adult educator. Good morning. My name is Dawn Wilson, and I teach closer to the and I teach adults computer skills. In my twenty four years of teaching, I taught thousands of students computer skills for better jobs and a better life. I have also led professional growth workshops for my fellow teachers many times and have encouraged other teachers to present at trainings in order to develop their skills. Two weeks ago, I was shocked when my principal told me that I would be nonre elected if I didn't resign by the end of the week.
When I asked why, she gave no reason. This is not just a job for me. Being in the classroom with my students and helping them to achieve their goals and learn is the most important thing to me. The thought of not being with my students is so distressing. State law has recently changed, providing a path to permanent status for CTE teachers. Due to this, all CTE teachers in the district are probationary one status this year. Ironically, makes us vulnerable to be declared nonre elect even after years or decades with the district. While my principal has the power to do so, I feel that it is profoundly
wrong to treat a teacher of twenty four years as nonre elect, a designation almost universally given to new teachers who have taught only a few months. I believe the only reason for this dismissal is that, like many experienced teachers, I have an FMLA requiring more absences. I'm here asking you to reconsider this inappropriate treatment of myself and all experienced CTE Who are probationary one. Thank you. Good morning, members of the board. My name is Sonia Camacho, and I am a teacher at Wilshire Park Elementary and
a u l LAUSD employee for thirty eight years. We are here because our community deserves better than the leadership that our currently Leanne Curry leads at our school. Today, we are turning in a petition that represents the voices of families and community members who are deeply concerned about the climate, leadership, communication, and overall direction of our school. This petition is not about division. It's about accountability, transparency, and creating a positive learning environment where students and staffs can
and staff can succeed. Unfortunately, many families and staff members no longer have confidence in principal Carey's ability to effectively lead the school. Over time, trust has broken down, communication has suffered, and concerns raised by our community have not been adequately addressed. When families raise concerns, they should not feel ignored or dismissed. Teachers should not be told to move on after our colleague is murdered. Our community has tried to address concerns through proper channels, and now we are asking
the board and the district leadership to listen and take meaningful action. We ask the board to review our concerns, to listen to the families and staff affected, and take action and prior that prior prioritize students, families, and the long term success of our school. Thank you for your time. Good morning. My name is Yanira Estrada, and I am also a teacher at Wilshire Park Elementary. I've been teaching for about twenty four years. And I'm here today because I care deeply about our students, our teachers, and the
future of our school. Families should feel proud and confident when they send their children to school every day. Unfortunately, many parents at Wilshire Park no longer feel the sense of trust and partnership with the school's leadership. Parents and staff have raised serious concerns about communication, school climate, leadership decisions, and the way concerns from families have been handled. This is not the kind of environment for our that our students deserve. A strong stat start a strong start I'm sorry.
A school starts should be starting with a strong leadership, a leadership that listens, collaborates, communicates openly, and brings people together. Most of us no longer believe our current principal, Leanne Querrey, is able to provide the leadership needed to move our school forward. This is why a 100% of our teachers, and I mean a 100% of our teachers, have signed and are committed to this petition in addition to many of our parents who are also with us.
This does not come lightly, especially after the events that happened this year in our school, but this is what almost what broke the camel's back. So we are asking the board to please please listen to us, and we're asking the board and leadership to hear our voices, review our concerns, and respectfully to re to re we are requesting a closed session to go over specific documented examples. We ask the board to take meaningful action to restore trust within our school community.
Thank you for your time and for listening to the concerns of the Wilshire Park families. Good morning, board. My name is Kya Bailey. I'm a BSAP pupil services and attendance counselor. I've been with the district for ten years. Before BSAP, I was a school based PSA, so I know very well the nuances and differences in the work we do in BSAP. I'm here today to advocate on behalf of the 22 BSAP PSAs on temporary contracts who are going to be losing their jobs at the end of this school year. Many have been on a temp contract for more than one school year.
Our positions rely on continuity and stability, so these folks should have never been put on a temporary contract in the first place. We need to get to the bottom of why that happened and make sure it doesn't happen again. And for some of these temps, they've received non endorsed letters. We need answers on why they are not endorsed. We have asked multiple folks and we're not getting answers. Our unit has over 70 BSAP PSAs, which means 30% of us are on temporary
contracts. 40% of them are in group one schools, which are schools that demonstrate the highest need in performance indicators. So this issue absolutely affects each of the board members here because all of you have BSAP schools in your districts. Just so you know, in the last five years of BSAP implementation, reduction in Black student chronic absenteeism has been fifteen percent, which is huge, but we know there's still more work to be done. These BSAP PSAs are doing work in schools that have not had any PSA in
years. They're building meaningful relationships with some of the most difficult to engage students and families, and they're creating safe and supportive school cultures. As a result, we're seeing increased attendance, obviously, stronger engagement with VSAT families, meaning parents are more receptive, communicative, and proactive. We're seeing more staff engagement with mentorship and ownership of attendance systems and elevated positive identity for Black students who take pride in their strengths. This is the foundation of BSAP. These BSAP PSAs went through an additional interview process to work in BSAP specifically.
Also, we're all receiving all the BSAP PSAs this year are receiving a certification in cultural proficiency, which is all the more reason to protect their positions. After decades without this level of support, we're finally building something our students and schools believe in. The academic gains we're seeing start with attendance. If the students are in seat, they're not learning, and those academic successes become exponentially more difficult to attain. If black student success is truly a district priority, then the people carrying out that
mission must also be treated like a priority. I'm calling on this board to uplift continuity and retain all temporary contract VSAT PSAs and protect the relationships that are actually changing outcomes for black students. Thank you. Buenos Dias. Good morning, members of the board, superintendent, and community. I am Dalisa Alejandre. I'm an educator at Katherine Johnson STEM Academy since the beginning, joining in August 2017, school year. Before I begin, I want to share with you that the vote of no confidence
documents from staff and families, are going to be shared with you today, and we are currently gathering more family signatures. And during our initial meeting, all the families agreed that our current principal, Arroyo, is not a good fit for our school leadership and request request for her removal. Today, I stand before you representing a super majority of the staff at Katherine Johnson STEM Academy. We are here because our school community is in in a crisis, and the crisis can no longer be ignored. This is not just about personality, conflicts, or isolated disagreements.
This is about a serious breakdown in leadership that is harming students, staff, and the overall climate at our campus. Under Arroyo, under principal Arroyo's leadership, we have witnessed an alarming rise in student and family conflicts requiring repeated police intervention. Staff members are left without adequate support while students are faced to learn in an environment marked in by instability and tension. We have also seen the continued marginalization of black staff and programs through the lack of meaningful support for the VSAT plan and the Black History Month initiatives.
Additionally, black staff members have experienced targeted denials of leave requests contributing to a hostile and inequitable work environment. At the same time, critical illness paperwork and payroll approvals have been delayed directly impacting the financial and personal well-being of employees who dedicate themselves to our students every single day. Board member Nick Malvoine had the privilege of visiting our campus under previous leadership and witnessed a thriving school community, students engaged, staff united, and a campus filled with pride,
stability, and joy. The condition at our school today is unrecognizable from what he has once saw, and, frankly, it's heartbreaking to witness how things have dev deteriorated under the current admin. Staff members have documented concerns, followed proper channels, and attempted collaboration, yet conditions continue to deteriorate. This is why the staff at Katherine Johnson STEM Academy took the extraordinary step of conducting a formal vote of no confidence against principal Arroyo, and that vote passed with a clear super majority.
And this board must recognize that this is not an isolated incident. This is now the second school community that has been forced to issue a vote of no confidence under miss Arroyo's leadership. That is a pattern, not a coincidence. Today, I'm hand delivering our signed letter to the board. Our students deserve safety, our staff deserves dignity and respect, and our families deserve trust and stability. For the well-being and future of our school community, we are demanding immediate attention and the removal of principal Yesenia Arroyo. Thank you. Good morning. If you don't remember me from the last, board meeting, my name is Donya Ward.
I am the BSAP counselor at Western Avenue Tech Magnet. I've been there for the last five years and I've really enjoyed working with the students. As I mentioned previously, I had worked at previous districts and I saw really great programs and this is for students that actually have resources and support from parents at home, but I really wanted to work with our black students and coming down to South LA, right, I know that these we all know that the students in these communities don't have the same resources that you'll find in with students or schools in
Region North, Region East, Region West. Right? They're dealing with helicopter police helicopters flying over them all day. What's it called? Homeless people, prostitutes, you know, people that are using drugs in the streets. Like, this is what they deal with going home to and from school every day. And so these students need and deserve staff that are there to support their mental health, that are there to support them with these adverse childhood experiences. That's what VSAP was designed for, to provide counselors, PSWs, PSAs, school climate advocates that are there to provide that extra support for those particular students.
Unfortunately, that's not what's been the case at our school, Western Avenue Tech Magnet. Unfortunately, as I said before and as you saw in the reports that we gave you, our BSAP team hasn't BSAP has not been implemented with the fidelity that we were expecting it to, right? We're not being allowed to work together. Our resources are not being spent as they're supposed to, the resources that are given are being wasted, city not being used, and so we're really pushing you to make sure that we are keeping our students at the focus, right? Our BSAP PSA has changed every single year.
Every year, our kids ask me, you know, where is so and so? Oh, now there's a new person. Oh, where is so and so? That's what comes when we have these PSAs on temporary contracts. Kids need consistency. They need relationships that they build with staff like me, with our PSAs, PSWs, that are gonna be the same people year after year. The the adverse childhood experiences and the traumas that they experience every single day in their everyday life outside of school is enough. We shouldn't be contributing to those by having rotation of people that they end up
getting and losing every single year. They need and deserve consistency. So please, our call is for you to make sure that our schools are giving those kids this consistency of resources and support that they need and the principles that are destroying these programs and not implementing them with fidelity and retaliating against staff, which is ultimately gonna affect the kids, right? That staff that's scared to speak up because they know that they're gonna be retaliated against, people that are I'm the only one standing up to speak for a lot
of staff and teachers because they're all scared. They know that they're gonna be retaliated against. But our students need and deserve staff that are gonna stand up and advocate and fight for them and say, no, they need and deserve better. And we are here to fight for them to get better, that the resources that they need and deserve. And so please help us make sure that these kids get the resource and the support they need with consistency, with the mental health support of counselors, PSAs, PSWs that are gonna be there for them year after year.
Please. Thank you. Hi. My name is Ava. I'm a PSW. I've been with the district for about nine years, and I was in BSAP for a few years. And I'm the UTLA member on the BSAP steering committee represent representing UTLA. I just I wanna come today to talk about the reduction, cuts, changes, alterations that are being made to BSAP this year despite the board and LAUSD saying that they are not gonna reduce BSAP.
They're not gonna, be cutting our funds. But that is happening. I it's like there's so many semantics and terms in LAUSD. It's like I don't even know how to talk around them. Essentially, you heard 22 temporary contract BSAP PSAs. Those positions are closing. Are they gonna be refilled by some other people who didn't go through any of the trainings and haven't been doing the jobs? Unclear. Six mental health advisers, BSAP mental health advisers who are tasked with educating our entire
district about critical, racialized in incidents and crises, providing support to our administrators, to support to our parents, doing trainings, educating on colorism, educating on how to address the use of the n word in schools when these issues come up. And, like, we cannot pretend that these things are not happening. Like, nothing has changed. If anything, the racial climate in our country gets exponentially worse as the minutes tick
on, not to mention in BSAP in the mental health, which we keep saying, we support mental health. We support mental health. We support mental health. An administrator in BSAP, Valerie White, her position is closing who oversees all of our fifty, sixty PSWs. Tasha Esparza is a, coordinator in, PSA who the only black coordinator in PSA who is supporting all of her staff, have been doing this work for years.
We have Westside Global magnet closing a SPAN counselor for BSAP SPAN counselor. We have Western closing the BSAP position. There are cuts and changes happening all over the place. I feel like there's something I'm forgetting right now. But regardless of what you wanna yeah. That's a whole another, you know, another topic. But I really want us to stand on what we say. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Forget the semantics. We can't cut these positions. It's gutting the program when we need it most.
So I'm gonna close it out. And you already know how I'm gonna close it out. My name is Cecily Myart Cruz. I'm the United Teachers Los Angeles president representing 38,000 members strong. You just heard from folks here today. And, those mental health advisors that, Ava just, spoke about, they wanted to be here today. But they were bullied not to come here today.
So it makes me wonder. Maria Nichols, our labor partner, spoke about, you know, the historic visit that we went up to Sacramento and I'm thankful that we have board members, you, Andres Chait, standing with us and and doing that work because we've gotta push to make sure that, public education is fully funded, especially making sure that Prop 98, you know, is not, we want more money, not just the meager crumbs.
And we talked about that. We talked about special ed. We talked about all these things. But we just had a historic contract working with SEIU, working with Ala Teamsters and ourselves, averting a strike that we would have shut down this absolute city. Averted a strike, and then, now we got people on the chopping block. How does that happen? How does that happen? So we have all these temporary contracts. They're arbitrary in nature.
We need to fix that. I told you, specifically, and Kristen Murphy, what I thought about BSAP and what and you already know. Right? I told you that BSAP should be premier. I've talked about that. I've spoken to board members about that. And so now we're here and we've got, BSAP folks that students are depending on those counselors. Those are lifelines, psychiatric social workers, PSAs.
We talked about this, and now they're gonna be not at the school sites. What does that do to our students? What does it do? It's not stable. We talked about this great contract that we won, but then our adult educator Dawn, twenty four years at her site, it seems a little bit like retaliation, like we're getting permanent status from the state, but now this lady's losing her job. That's instability for her students.
And then we have a school community that has been absolutely traumatized, Wilshire Park, by the unthinkable, unspeakable act of murder. And Myra Lopez, I wanna put her name in this space, because she was fighting the fight at Wilshire Park. That community needs to be uplifted. When you're trying to take the sub out of the classroom and do all of these shenanigans, the principal said that if UTLA comes over, she was gonna call school
police. Shameful. So I tried it out. Because I want you to do that to me. Because you already know what will happen. I will light it up. We need to do something about that. Katherine Johnson, STEM Academy, you know, we had a really great principal at that school that cared about the folks there. You know what it looks like on Westchester's campus. A small gym. It had been absolutely created and now we have things that are absolutely decimated.
Why? We talk about BSAP, we say that we want people to be in those programs, we get the training, the implementation, but then you discard them like trash. And I specifically on that last night of the bargain, I specifically said why I felt BSAP was so important and here is the reason why. Because now I have to stand here and talk and really be super passionate about
keeping our people. I've talked to you more than once. I've talked to board members more than once on this. Folks, I've, like, had it Because we say that we care, we say we want mental health supports, we say we want stability of, out, for our students. We talk about immigration. Right? When we talk about immigration and Kelly's, zip code, her area is the most targeted
zip code for ICE. Folks don't know that. I'm glad that I know that and I'm glad that it's being portrayed and and put out there. Folks need to understand, when we talk about programs, that affects, we talk about declining enrollment. The immigration affects the the enrollment. Right. It declines. We told the legislators that in Sacramento, conversely, if we have all of these counselors
and PSAs and psychiatric social workers and mental health advisors that are going to lose their jobs, it's unstable for folks. And also the mental health advisors deal with anti blackness. They deal with the racialized anti blackness and it is pervasive here in LAUSD. I know I can speak for it in UTLA, but I can speak right here about LAUSD.
When folks get into positions and they don't understand what we are trying to do, we know that it's anti blackness. Why is it that it's a lot of black folks losing their positions? I guess Arsenio Hall would say things that make you go, So those are the things that we're standing here today and we're asking this district to take action at Wilshire Park. We're asking you to take, action at Katherine Johnson STEM Academy.
We are asking you to take action for Don Wilson. We're asking you to take action at, Western Tech one hundred and seventh, the BSAP folks. We're asking you to take action and we are not, we are not, we are not gonna go quietly into the night. Students will be here today. I will be back here today and we are going to continue to talk about this because this cannot happen.
Enough is enough. Are there any further labor partners? Okay. We'll take a few moments to let folks grab their seats or cycle cycle out of the room. We're gonna go a little bit out of order right now. Let me just pull up my agenda. We're gonna move to board, president's reports, then superintendent's reports, and go directly to the classified employees of the year, finalists, everyday heroes, just as folks are cycling out of the room. To my classified friends, I you're here for the recognition.
I'm I I assume when you're done, you're gonna leave. So please take the seats that stay reserved, and when we're done with the presentation, we will unreserve them. Okay. And now it's my honor to present our superintendent for the superintendent report. Thank you, board president Schmerlson. Good morning, all, and and just a very quick note before we move in into an item of celebration just now. I did want to affirm to our labor partners that their voices always resonate with us, that the advocacy that they bring never lands on deaf ears. Our our charge, our commitment is always to to listen and engage as much as
we can, and thank you for the advocacy. Today, we are proud to recognize our 2026 classified employees of the year, extraordinary individuals from across the district whose dedication, professionalism, compassion, and leadership help make our schools safe, welcoming, and successful every single day. Classified employees are often the first to arrive, the last to leave, and the steady presence that keeps our schools and operations running in support of students and families.
They support students not only in classrooms, but also through transportation, nutrition, health services, technology, campus safety, maintenance and operations, and family engagement. Thank you to all of our classified colleagues who contribute daily to the well-being of our school communities and students. This year's honorees represent the very best of LA Unified, and we are honored to celebrate them today. I'd like to invite David Greco, Kristen Murphy, our nine classified employees of the year,
and any of our classified labor partners up to the podium. For our classified employees of the year, when I say your name, please come to the front of the group. After everyone is recognized, we'll take a brief pause for pictures. So I'll just have a moment so folks can gather, and then we'll recognize our amazing employees. Please join me in recognizing Amy Rendon, special education assistant at Evergreen Avenue Elementary School, located in Board District 2 and Region East, and SEIU represented.
Amy's compassion, creativity, and patience help students with diverse learning needs build confidence, independence, and a true sense of belonging within their school community. Congratulations and kudos, miss Rendon. Let's give her a hand. Our next honoree is Jeremy Agruza, IT business efficiency analyst, part of ITS team, and CSEA representative. Jeremy's innovative work developing technology and data systems has strengthened device management across the district
and helped ensure students have equitable access to the tools they need for learning. Congratulations, Jeremy. Next, we recognize Karista Cardenas, police dispatcher, part of the communications center and watch commander team, and CSEA represented. Miss Cardenas' calm professionalism, technical expertise, and commitment to public safety provide critical support to students, staff, and families during moments of crisis and emergency. Congratulations, Carista. Next, we honor Justice Bradshaw, licensed vocational nurse, part of the district nursing services team,
and CSEA represented. Justice's responsiveness, compassion, and leadership help ensure students receive the health care support they need to safely participate in school each day. Congratulations. Next, we honor Marco Davalos, heavy duty bus and truck mechanic, part of the transportation services team, and SEIU represented. Marco says technical expertise, adaptability, and leadership help keep our transportation fleet safe, reliable, and ready to serve students across LA Unified.
Congratulations, Marco. Next, we honor Estela de la Cruz, building and grounds worker at our Minta Street Early Education Center located in Board District 6 in Region North and SEIU represented. Miss Dela Cruz's tireless work ethic, attention to detail, and warm spirit help create clean, safe, and welcoming learning environments for students, staff, and families every day. Congratulations, miss Dela Cruz. Our next honoree is Stephanie Manriquez, school administrative assistant at Diego Rivera Learning Complex located
in Board District 7 and Region South, and Teamsters represented. Miss Manriquez's leadership, professionalism, and extraordinary compassion have helped strengthen school operations while supporting students and families during both celebrations and times of hardship. Congratulations, Ms. Varnikas. Up next, we recognize miss Liana Safarayan, senior food service worker at Sutter Middle School, located in Board District 4 and Region North, and SEIU represented. Miss Safarayan's positivity, kindness, and commitment to excellence ensure students are served nutritious meals with
dignity and care in a welcoming environment. Congratulations, miss Safarayan. And for our final honoree this morning. We honor and recognize mister Pablo Lopez, senior heating and air conditioning fitter, part of the facility services division team, and represented by the Los Angeles and Orange County building and constructions trades. Mister Lopez's outstanding leadership and service earned him recognition, not only as LA Unified's classified employee of the year in skilled trades, but also as the twenty twenty six California
classified school employee of the year in the skilled trades category. Let's give mister Lopez a big hand. His dedication and commitment to excellence have helped modernize critical HVAC systems across the district and ensure safe, comfortable learning environments for students and staff. During emergency situations, including the twenty twenty five wildfires, Pablo played a critical leadership role coordinating crews and air filtration efforts across schools throughout LA Unified. And it will be my honor to join mister Lopez next week in Sacramento, where
he is further honored. Let's give him one more big hand. Closing, on behalf of the entire Los Angeles Unified community, congratulations and thank you to all of our twenty twenty six classified employees of the year. Your work strengthens our schools and represents the very best of Los Angeles Unified. Congratulations all. Now is a great time for photos of folks Time for photos, photo ops. Let's do this photo ops for a few moments. Okay. Thank you very much. Get that last Kodak moment.
Alright. Okay. Oh, gosh. Next, I'm gonna hand the, board meeting back to our superintendent, and he has another report for us. Thank you so much, board president Schmerlson. Today's next presentation provides an update on the district's ongoing work in response to the building stronger communities, leveraging school facilities for engagement, and financial stewardship board resolution. As reflected in the April informative provided to the board, staff has already been evaluating opportunities to modernize and improve the district's policies, procedures, technology systems, and fee structures re
related to community use of district facilities. Our schools and facilities are important community assets that support youth programs, recreational activities, nonprofit services, family engagement, and a wide range of community partnerships outside of the instructional day. At the same time, the district has a responsibility to ensure these facilities are managed in a transparent, equitable, operationally efficient, and financially sustainable manner. As staff will outline today, this work includes proposed updates intended to improve consistency in
customer service, strengthen compliance and administrative processes, modernize outdated systems, and better align facility use rates with the District's actual operational costs while continuing to support community access. With that, I'll turn it over to Esam Dhadul, Director of Facilities Planning and Development, and Mark Boryson, Director of Real Estate and Business Development, to provide the presentation and answer any questions the board may have. Facilities planning and event, development, along with Mark Borsen, our director of real estate.
As part of the resolution that strengthen our processes for community use of our school facilities, we've been working on many fronts, to make these improvements to our processes. So this includes we currently have an RFP out, to for our outward facing platform to improve our website and to, improve the user, experience. We'll also be issuing an RFP in the next month to improve internal document management, software. And we're currently in the process of updating our current policy, which you will be hearing about today.
So as I mentioned, our focus today was is really gonna be on the policy update. I'll go go over how we're looking to update that policy as well as introducing what we're calling a new student benefit rate and some details about that. As, as as we go forward and looking at the updates to our policy, we also are looking at the rates, and making sure that we're looking at our overall rates and how we're rolling those out, and an outreach strategy and next steps. So I'd like to start with the policy update. So our goal of and and as our process of updating our policy, we're looking
at really three things to try to hit. We wanna streamline our internal processes. We wanna minimize the administrative process for our repeat applicants. So for our users that are out there, we wanna make that process easier. And we also need to update the policy to reflect modern technology. So how are we going to do this? So they're on the Civic Center permit side, our Civic Center permit process, we're adding a verification list. This will help our internal process and help streamline that. We're going to recommend changing from six months as a maximum in terms of how
long you can reserve for up to three hundred and sixty four days. This will help minimize the amount of of applications that need to be processed, especially for those that, use our facilities on a frequent basis and are repeat customers. We're gonna be looking at our civic center rates, and we're the only school district that currently has one rate across all different facility types. And so we're looking to no longer have just one rate. We're looking to have different rates dependent upon the type of facility, whether it's a gymnasium, auditorium, etcetera. For the license agreements, we're looking to strengthen our what we call our notice of
intent process. This is the process that if anything over three hundred and sixty four days a year, if the term of that, that lease bless you. Anything over that, term would require a, notice of intent, and so we're we're beefing up that process. And we're also recommending going up to up to five years. It's currently up to three years. And, again, this is to reduce the administrative burden both on the district and, our community use, representatives. We're also gonna simplify the number of categories.
Right now, under the license agreements, we have five different categories in our current policy, and we're going to be bringing it down to two, which is gonna be market rate, and then the student benefit rate, which you're gonna hear about in a little bit. Why are we making these changes? So we're really looking at refining our existing policy. We want to have repeat applications for year long multiyear, programs, and we want to automate our workflow, streamline our process, and really just make the process easier for both the internal management as well as the external, user.
So this new policy would be coming to the board, would supersede the board rules that were dated back in October 2023. So let me tell you a little bit about this proposed student benefit rate. And so what this will do is this will allow us the flexibility to calculate specific costs on a case by case basis. So we will have civic center rates, which is a which is based off of average costs and the the cost to the district. We have market rate, which is the market, the rate for what the the general
market, would cost and also to recoup our costs. And this proposed student benefit rate would allow us to work closer with the schools, and the user to identify the specific costs for the use of the facility instead of that predefined civic center rate, which, again, is based on the average cost to the district. Those that would qualify under this program so this reduced rate would, be for nonprofits, official department events. Example would be City of LA voter registration. It could also be used utilized for early childhood care providers, that are serving students
and families. And so the in order to qualify, you would have to, number one, verify that you're a five zero one c three, serve families and students through youth programs, education services, or family support, and most importantly, must not charge our students or families to participate in programs or services. And so we will work with, applicants to make sure they meet these qualifications, And the goal being that it would ensure that we have equitable access to our facilities that are providing services, to, to our youth.
So I mentioned it a little bit, but, ultimately, we're gonna have three different rates. You'll have the student benefit rate, which I've just talked about. The civic center rate and the qualifications for that is nonprofit. This must be for public benefit, education, or recreation. One of the key components components of this is if you're a youth sports league, you must charge less than $60 a month. And then the organization cannot operate for commercial profit for the facility. So a great example of this would be like an AYSO as long as they're
charging less than $60 a month for their, for the participants to, play. Market rate would be anything that doesn't meet the student benefit rate or civic center rate and is not an LAUSD LAUSD sponsored event. So a great example would be a club soccer team that is it requires tryouts and charges, fees to be on the team. I do wanna mention that boosters, PTAs, and PTOs would continue to be processed under the civic center, but then the district would continue to cover the fees as we've
been doing on an ongoing basis, for some time now. K? Okay. So what we did, as as I mentioned earlier, one thing that we wanted to look at is also looking at not only the policy but also the up the update to the rates. So the last time the rates for both Civic Center and Market have been updated was in 2018. So our goal is to maximize the community access, but while minimizing the cost to the district. And so what we've done here is we've looked at current rates, our current rates,
compared to our peers. And so we looked at eight peers across and did an average. We looked at, for example, Oakland, Santa Ana, Pomona. Those are some of the, comparison districts. Overall, the district is below all other jurisdictions on civic center rate in all categories. We're also below the peer averages across all facility types for market rate as well. And so as we go into looking at rate recovery or the setting the rates and cost recovery, we're looking at, ultimately, the cost recovery to the district and so
updating the rates to to make sure we're doing that. And just as an just FYI, the, the averages request, you can see in some cases, you know, this represents an average. So, ultimately, these facility charges are across different capacity types. So a large gym, depending on the size of it and capacity, might have a slightly different rate than a slightly smaller gym. And so these are averages that we're using here, for example. So we thought it would be helpful to have a cost analysis. And so we took a a case study for athletic fields, and we're looking at
if you had a 60,000 square foot field and what is the actual cost to the district for the use of that field. And when I say cost, we're talking about the cost of the maintenance, utilities, custodial, staffing for opening up the field, closing the field. Have to have a beyond the belt person there supervising, restoration and repair costs. And then in this example, we, added on one restroom for use for that particular community user. So based on civic center rates, so we're currently charging $38 an hour.
And you can see that an actual cost for the district is 368. And so there is a the district is absorbing a cost for that Civic Center hour for the athletic field that's being utilized. On the market side, you have $260 is the is what's the what's being charged, for this specific use and then the difference being a $108. And so, again, that's a cost that the district is absorbing. And so as we continue if we continue to keep the costs stagnant or the rates stagnant, then, obviously, that differential will only continue to increase as we have an
increase with rising costs. And just, as an FYI, we have forty thousand hours per year that our fields are being used throughout the district, and that's between both civic center and market, rate. So as we consider raising rates, what did we consider? I won't read through all of this, but, ultimately, we need to look at what are we allowed to charge for Civic Center. And I just mentioned all of those, things, so I won't repeat it again. And for market rate, it's wholly set by the district. It's unrestricted by state law, or regulation.
Looking again at the money we're bringing in and then the cost that the the districts are absorbing to go out and whether it's an annual if you have to add up all the different types of facilities, we're looking at approximately $8,000,000 right now that we believe the district is absorbing for the use based on our current rates. And what's important to know is the the district's rate the district's, facilities are being utilized, quite significantly. We have 5,000 active agreements across the district per year, and our top 100 schools are nearly fully scheduled on, weeknights.
And so our facilities are being utilized by the community. And then as I mentioned before, we're the only district, when it as a results with a civic center that has one rate across all different facility types. So we charge right now the same for an auditorium that we do for a field, and we're the only district that seems to do that. And so that's one thing that we've also wanted to correct as part of this update. So the rate updates. So our proposal is we're we're planning to roll this out over two years. And so that two years would start not in this upcoming school year, but in
the 2728, and then the 2829 school year to allow us to communicate and do outreach and let people know that the rates are going up and give time, give time for people to understand that these rates are gonna increase. So what does this mean for LAUSD school groups? They will continue to use the facilities free of charge, obviously. Student benefit rate, will be introduced as a new rate as we've been talking. Civic center rates, the rate reflects 50% of the civic center cost. So, ultimately, what we did is we looked at the current rates or the current
costs of each facility and what the district, on average, is spending to open up those facilities for those particular hours. Going all the way to a 100% was a very large increase, and so we've landed at 50%, across the board. And you'll see those numbers shortly. And then for market rate, that was a little bit easier because we looked at the 2018. And from 2018 to 2026, there was a 34% increase of CPI, if you look at year over year. And so we've increased market rate by CPI, and we will continue to, look at
cost recovery as we move forward. So the rates themselves so what you see here is the proposed civic center rates, and you can see for our current rate, as I mentioned, we have $38 across the board for all facility types. Our what we're proposing is to increase those, for 2728 and then continue to '28, '29. The 50% that I mentioned is the '28, 20 '9 number. So based on our cost today at 50%, that we're using that number to the 2829, to get to 2829.
It's also important to know that the peer average is in today's dollars as well. So we're actually if you're comparing the peer average to what our cost will be in '28, '29, you're comparing the rates in this year, not two years forward. So at the end of the day, for civic center rates, you know, we're still, gonna be below the pure districts in three of the four categories. And for our, for the fields, we'll be in the bottom 30%, again, from two years from now. And then here's our proposed market rate.
As I mentioned, this is a CPI adjustment. Again, there's a range because the range it's gonna be based off of the size of the facility. So depending on the size of the gym, there's different rates depending on how big it is, etcetera. But you can see I won't read through here, but you can see what those rates are. Again, this would be a two year rollout, and the the 2829 is the 34%. So at 2829 is when we would have gone from today's dollars to the 34% CPI adjustment. So the way we plan on rolling this out, as I mentioned, it's a two
year process, but we want to do a few things to make sure that the public is not caught off guard. Number one is on our current permit and license applications, we will be putting a note that lets people know that we are going to be raising rates, in, about a year and that we're gonna roll it out over two years. We'll be updating our website to make sure that it's, folks are informed as well. And we'll be doing specific outreach to our high use schools and our high use users to open up the the dialogue and have those conversations to let them and make them aware of what we're planning to do.
And so we'll continue to do that. And we've I do wanna mention, we've been doing that as we've been developing the policy and updates. So, last but not least, our next steps and timeline, the 2627 school year, we'll be coming back to the board, for the updated policy. So we'll be back, with that board action sometime in the fall. And then in the 2627, and then the 2728 is when we would be taking those steps to increase, the rates. So with that said, thank you very much. And if there's any questions.
Mister Melvoin? Thank you, mister Dodul and, and and the team. I know part of this resolution, part of the exciting changes coming to this process that weren't mentioned, I I know we have an active RFP, so I won't say much, but is about the modernization of the system, as well. So I just want folks to be aware in addition to the rates, which I have some questions about, it is about going to one website and being able to search by ZIP code, by community, by school, and see what's available, and then book it and pay by credit card and things that we have been really, behind the
times, I will say. So I'll just note. And I don't know if you have anything that you can add on that. Yes. The RFP for the website is out now, and we should be receiving, proposals, I believe, sometime in early January. So I think And then, honestly, second there's a second RFP that we're working on for more of the internal software and and management as well so that we can have a better management system internally. So both of those things are happening. And one of the pain points or difficulties for a district of our size is the coordination with school calendars. I know when we talk to partners, it's like it really requires school principals and to, like, post when they have a game and all that.
But I will say for partners who are looking at just the rate increases, there is another side of that coin, which is the the, ease of use for the community will will improve dramatically. The do we have an increase an estimate of increased revenue based on these new rates? Like, if we take what people are paying across all of our facilities and then we say in two years with them, like Yeah. So we looked at it. It's close to I think it was $2,000,000 So if the gap right now is 8,000,000, we're gonna we're gonna put a dent in that at approximately $2,000,000 And the
Civic Center, the $60, that's a matter of state law. Right? That is correct. That is not something we, the district, can control. So for civic minded organizations like an AYSO who might now be charging $80, who are, you know, gonna be concerned about this. Their advocacy would be directed at the state in terms of, like, just CPI adjustments and all that because they're not trying to make a profit necessarily. They're just trying to cover costs. But they might so that's a state issue. Correct. And I don't think that number has changed for as long as I am aware.
And then, when we looked at peers, I mean, it this the, like, Oakland is is somewhat relevant. But I guess for our partners who we're gonna maybe be hearing about, it's it's more like Santa Monica, Las Virgenes, Culver City, you know, the other 81 school districts or 80 school districts in the county. So do we do we look at what we're charging compared to those so that when we hear, again, from the partners we might hear from, that's the more relevant comparison. Yeah. Las Virgenes was definitely one of the ones that we looked at. I don't believe we looked at Santa Monica, although I think they're much higher than
we are. So we tried to pick comparable school districts. Las Virgenes, I can check to see what the other ones were. It seems like we're still coming in under. I just know that when we when we start hearing outreach from folks to be able to say, like, you know, that our the the peer review was based on, you know, actual fields that are actual spaces that they might be utilizing. At I believe it was Torrance, Santa Ana, Oakland, ABC Unified, Las Virgenes, and then I'm blanking on the other two. I'm not sure. Nor Norwalk was the other one.
Who's in the county? And then, one of my questions was about PTOs, PTAs, parent boosters, but you clarified that they'll still be paid or still be charged zero. Correct. So their the district would ultimately, they we would process them as a civic center. But as we had been doing in the past, we would continue to, waive those fees, if you will. And then my last question is just the community engagement and stakeholder. Are we you know, I think you alluded or you mentioned at the end, but every current partner who leases district facilities through one of these different avenues will is
being notified about changes and being engaged. And if they have concerns, like, they think they should fit in another category, like, they'll they'll have an opportunity to do that during the stakeholder engagement process. Absolutely. Yes. Great. Thank you. Other board member questions? Tanya? Thanks so much for the presentation. We get a lot of questions about these. So there's about 5,000 agreements. Does that reflect the same number of, like, users or are there more users or less users than the 5,000? I'm gonna let Mark answer that question because he's got more specifics. Okay. Thanks. There's, 3,200 individual 3,200 individual users.
Okay. That's helpful. And then just one other question for me. Not sure to to whom it goes. Does the the cost and the rev and or revenue go to the school or to the central district? The civic center permit is reimbursed on their cost, and on licensing, it's split between the, district and the school. School gets 62% of the revenue on a license agreement, and the Beaudry Building collects 38% general. But given that we're it's sort of encroaching a little bit here, is it generally beneficial for a school site to engage in these, or does it hurt their bottom
line? Civic centers comes at a cost to them, but licensing is a benefit to them. Okay. And my and we do more civic center than licensing? No. Actually, we do more licensing than we do civic center. Civic center represents about 3% of the revenue. 97% comes out of licensing. That makes sense. Okay. Thanks. Not hours used, but revenue. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because then it's so much more too. That makes sense. Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Other board members? Then I have a couple of statements. First of all, I have some questions, but I'll make some statements. I think that the prices are very, very fair compared to others, but there's one
fault that I have not seen a change in, and that is customer service. It's just not right. It's just not right. This school district is supposed to facilitate its its properties to have school use. I want people to come to see our schools. I want PTAs to come in and have fairs at the schools. I wanna have civic civic center permits, but I don't know whether it's a lack of personnel. You know? I I don't know because this is not Mayberry School District, Mayberry USA. This is LAUSD.
We're a big school district, and you have to perform. So let me give you some that that's my statement. Let me give you some questions. So, I'm happy to see that, even with these changes, we're still offering a better deal than other districts. That is absolutely true. However, as a consumer, I hope to see a better customer service whenever there is a price increase. And can you tell us, how you plan to increase customer service or customer satisfaction for our communities that rent facilities?
Yeah. That's a great point. Thank you, board president. I think a couple of things. One is we're going to be, as we mentioned earlier, we have an RFP out to, improve make improvements to our website. And I think that's where some of the, angst has come from some of our community users is the ability to go on. We do have a website now that they go and they can process, and so we're trying to make improvements to that by going out to a third party. And so that that should help alleviate a lot of the concerns that we get. As it relates to customer service and just culturally speaking in terms of how we
communicate to, users, that's something that we can continue to work on, internally as well to just try to improve that experience for our community users. Because the angst is mine too because they call me, and they tell me what's going on. I've been trying you know, and I I feel bad. They're my constituents. So okay. Next question. This is an issue I have raised before for community groups that rent facilities annually. Are they still required to go through the full licensing and agreement process as if they were renting for the first time?
That is a great question. I don't know, Mark, if you wanna address that. And the second part, why not keep the information for these groups on file and simply allow them to upload any updated documents or information. Now go ahead. Two things. One, we're gonna take care of that by giving them a longer term agreement. So if they've got a schedule and they've got a calendar, they'll do one agreement for multiple events. And then two, we one of the things we're doing in the document management system and the online system is to increase the record keeping so we can just have them reapply by hitting a button.
And one of the things we're doing with PTOs, PTAs is by having them in civic center, it's a much more simple online process for them. K. And the the end of the questions is, does the district have enough staff to process these applications in a short period of time? And And I don't know how you're gonna answer this because you always need more people to work in the office. I don't know how many people you have in that office. I don't know how many people do certain jobs. And if somebody's sick, you know, what happens? What happens to all those people that are waiting?
Yeah. We have I believe we have currently six folks that are, specifically assigned to processing civic center and license agreements. And so we do have enough coverage, in case somebody is out sick or is out on vacation. The six people do the entire LAUSD district from from San Pedro to Sylmar, all over the place. So the six people. Well, I don't think that's enough, but that's my opinion. I know it's probably yours too. That's my opinion. And you you just have to have the people if you're gonna have a product, you're gonna have to make sure it's a good product and have people to service.
So that's my questions. Thank you. Thank you. I'm not mad at you. I'm just telling you. That's how I feel. Other Kelly. Thank you. Well, I appreciate the update and, you know, we know that access to the our spaces on our campuses is really important. Our schools are the hearts of our community. So, this is important as well as the revenue opportunities at a time of, tightened budgets. Couple questions for me. I'm, excited to see the new student benefit rate. I think it's important to prioritize access for organizations that are serving youth. The word students, does it specifically mean LAUSD students?
Is it about children more broadly? I'm thinking, for example, of children who are not yet school age, which is an important population to serve. It was a very, very good question, and we specifically did not say LAUSD students because that would have been very limiting and very difficult to process. To operate children's area. Just as students. Because then for early education, for example, if a student is not an LAUSD student yet, they can still qualify. So it makes it much easier to manage, from that standpoint, and I think it's a bigger better benefit to the overall community of Los Angeles as well.
Got it. So maybe, children benefit rate or something might might be just is it an organization that serves kids? What about adults? Yes. It's students can be students from I guess, from my standpoint, a one year old can be a student, and they're no they're not necessarily an LAUSD student. I guess that's that was the point. But, yes, point well taken. We could just say children. That's the point. And, board member, I'll just take I'll just ask this because she whispered it to me. What about adult education students? Would would that rate also, apply for Yeah. I think it's, good point.
I think as it's educational services that are being provided, then I don't think we're limiting it to just k through 12. Okay. Great. And then a few questions about, the increased rates. Well, one, the $8,000,000 subsidy approximately, can you give me a sense of is that driven primarily by civic center use or the market rate? Yeah. It's so it's mostly driven by the fields. By fields. Okay. And it's mostly driven by market rate. So, I would say of the 8,000,000, 6,000,000 of it is on fields alone.
And of the 6,000,000, I think it's 4,000,000 on market and 2,000,000 on civic. Even though Civic Center represents this much smaller percentage of even the field use, because of the larger gap, it still ends up being quite a bit of the, the gap in terms of the dollar amounts. Yeah. And then one question, you know, in the analysis of looking at other peer districts, are there any places that have, like, a variable, market or civic center rate depending on the community that's being served? I guess one thing that I think about is that we know that park space, for example, is more limited in our higher needs communities and that these school spaces
can be really essential to be able to provide, public use for our communities. Did we ever consider, like, a a variable rate that might take into account the need of the community that's being served? We did not, for civic center, we were not able to identify how we could equitably divide that Civic Center rate into multiple categories. So we tried to simplify, and then that's why we created the student benefit rate so that it gives us some flexibility in terms of just looking at actual direct costs. So the student benefit rate will be less than the Civic Center rate and will allow us as long as they meet those that criteria, then we'll be able to
work with them to and the school to identify the exact costs. And it's it's more time. It's more, management time to to do that work. But for those specific, applicants, we can dive in deeper so that they're only paying, like, the true cost of their specific use, not the actual average that we're we're putting forward in terms of the, cost of all the various items that, go into the Civic Center rate. Okay. And then, on the market rate, I'm just curious if there do any other districts have, like, a set formula over time where it creates greater predictability of what that
market rate will be based on, like, things like inflation or or labor costs? We yeah. We didn't necessarily look at where they were going with the rates, so we just took we reached out to each of the school districts and got their actual rates. Yeah. Okay. That might just be, not that I think it's important to to raise the conversation publicly and to reflect on how well it's working. I do think greater predictability is is helpful in general as, folks are planning for the future. So that that might be something that we we want to consider moving forward. And just last question for me.
Certainly have heard about the difficulty of navigating the system currently. Though the website improvements that we are seeking, what is the approximate cost that we're ex expecting that one? So right now, there's an open RFP. Mhmm. So the RFP is seeking a third party. So right now, our our website is managed in house through ITS. And so what we're looking at doing is finding a third party that would help manage the, a website for us or utilizing their website, and then we would upload our information. We have not received proposals yet, so I can't I don't wanna spec I I
prefer not to speculate on what the potential costs are. But from what I can understand, it's usually a percentage of what is brought in is what is how, some of those management companies work. Gotcha. Okay. And did we seek whether there might be an internal solution that could be that could help us achieve similar ends as a third party route? So we we looked, and worked with ITS and identified that although we're still gonna be going out to have somebody else manage it, ITS would still be very heavily involved because there's a lot of back end technology that needs to to happen even
for for our website for their website and our internal processes to to work together. K. Thank you. Gerlitte? Yes. Thank you so much for this update, and, appreciate the work. I had just a few questions. I think they were touched on, but wanted clarification. With the amount, the $60 a month, is that for the entire group or per person? How does that distribute, that $60 cost? So the so just so I understand, you're referencing the $60 a month charge to qualify for Civic Center, right?
Correct. Yeah. That is a per, person. So that's per athlete. So that's if AYSO is charging your kids $60 per month, then they would qualify under Civic Center. If they charge $70 a month, then technically they do not char they do not qualify under Civic Center, and we would have to go to market rate. Got it. And then with the comparisons that we had used when we talk about developing that system, because, of course, I think we've all, been labored on the calls and how we get this process through. Were there examples in those, school districts that we compared to that already have systems
that are we're referencing as far as third party? Yes. So some school districts do use a third party, similar to what we're seeking. Absolutely. And some some do it internally themselves. And then with the information that we receive, would that slow down our process, or will we get it real time if a third party is going to be getting information to us? So it should be no. There should be no loss of time. So that's why the as I was mentioning earlier, the our, IT department and the third party will have to be able to work so that we can see everything
that's coming in at the same time and so that it's not just going to them. So those will details those are gonna be details we'll work out with whoever the third party vendor is. But, yes, absolutely, we don't want any loss of time. It has to be that our staff can see the applications coming in real time. And for those that are already in our system using it, this upgraded system, they will be notified in advance when that system comes about and how just as well as how they'll be notified for the upcharge. 100%.
Yes. Okay. Thank you. Carla. Hi. Thank you for the presentation. I have a you might have mentioned this, but I might have missed it. The license agreements, who are the folks who get these licenses? So licenses would be anybody who does not qualify under, a civic center permit. So if it's if they're the best example I like to use is a, club soccer team. Club soccer teams charge thousands of dollars for their, athletes, to participate. And so they would apply and say, I want to use this field at this school for the next nine months during our soccer season.
I see. And so then they would we would go through the license agreement process. And that means we can process under the new policy, we can we can lock them down into an agreement up to three hundred and sixty four days. Anything beyond three hundred sixty four days, then it has to go out to what we call a notice of intent, which is then we open it up and say, well, we're gonna lease this school site after hours for the next three years. And then that allows other folks that might be interested so that it doesn't get locked up by just one particular team for that example. I see. Okay. And then, regarding the school sites, when these permits are requested by an organization, what
is the school site role and how are they a part of the decision whether they should be allowed or not? Yeah. It's a great question. I'm gonna let Mark answer that one because he's got more of the the details. Generally speaking, each school has a representative that we deal with to make sure that facility is actually available and not being utilized by the school at that time, and we ask them whether they would be providing school coverage or supervision or they need us to provide an external supervisor for the activity. I see. And then so the cost of the of the permit or the license is supposed to cover the cost of of the staffing and all of that for the most
part, it sounds like. Right? Yeah. Except for the deficit, yes. That's what's intended to do. But and then does the school is the school itself does not come out of pocket. I think that's Oh, okay. Yeah. At the end of the day, ultimately, the school itself is not on a license agreement because they're getting the lion's share of the 68%, I believe. 62%. Thank you. They're not they're not losing money because they're yes. They might have to pay the custodian or that custodian might come out of our Beaudry, you know, staff budget line items.
So the school itself is not the one that has to, absorb the cost, if you will. Alright. And then was there any, stakeholder input before this report was done? And what was some of the input you you got? What was some of the feedback? Or Yeah. Most of the feedback most of the input that we got was more on the outreach of just, talking to users that have have been working with us, less so on the rate update because obviously they would probably just prefer the rates to stay the same. Mhmm. But more in terms of just how we can work with them to, develop a
policy that allows us to, to give them some flexibility in what the end cost is. So we did do some outreach. We reached out to various, specific users that are using us, whether they're early ed centers or some of our recreational, partners as well. And, are how is this going to impact any of the compacts that we have with some of our cities? Is that Good question. So, cities would have to apply, I believe, under Civic Center as well.
So it depends on the use. I think we'd have to with with the cities, it'd have to be a a case by case basis. We'd have to understand what the use that they are looking to utilize our property for or utilize the site for, and then we would then look at where they would qualify. Alright. Thank you so much. Thank you. Other questions? I just wanna give a final hard question to you. I'm trying to think when I was principal and two groups, one at the same field on the same day at the same time. So how do you avoid having favorite or perceived favoritism?
How how do you make sure that you're fair when two or more people want the same feel on the same day? Yeah. I think I'll answer it two ways. One is depends on who has submitted the request first. Okay. So that's number one. If you submit your request first, then if there is an ongoing year to year disagreement and it's like they wanna press the button first, then there's discussions with those users to see if we can accommodate them because we have multiple fields throughout the district and maybe although if there's some like one particular field, maybe there's an alternative
that we can work out with them. So we do we do go to that level level of, I'll say, customer service with the, with with the users. That's right. Thank you. Thank you. I do have a question really quick. Can you describe any improvements in, informing the applicants that their application has been approved? And, I mean, they need enough time to at least whatever event maybe to set up the place, to inform their participants that it's available, etcetera. Okay. Great. Mark, you wanna take this one? We've automated. So when they make the application, if this answers your questions, they get a notice
who the agent is, and then they're communicated via email as to every step of the way. And there's a tracking system they can go online and see where the application is sitting. So whether it's in risk management, it's our department waiting for the principal. So there is an online schedule they can follow and see where the permit is. But is there a moment, like, how do you troubleshoot if it gets stuck? So what is the applicant done if it's gets stuck at the principal's signature net? Does it move from there? Like, what what is sort of the process after that? Staff actually does a pretty good job staying on top of it.
Everybody's got their own tracking report, and we shoot to have everything done within thirty days. Thirty days. Yep. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Mister McLean. I don't have much to say on the subject. I'm sorry. We're gonna move directly to the 12PM, time certain. And for that, I will throw it to doctor Rivas for, tab 22. Can I would you like to move the item, doctor Rivas? Yes. I move. Second. Seconded by board president Schmiralsen. Please go ahead. Thank you so much. Well, I can say good afternoon.
It's 12:00. Good afternoon, colleagues, students, educators, artists, and community members here present and watching us remotely. Today, I have the honor of introducing a resolution recognizing an artist whose work has helped define the visual and cultural landscape of Los Angeles, especially in East Side of our East Side. And I'm speaking about Robert Vargas. And raised in Boyle Heights, Robert Vargas has used muralism and public art to tell
the stories of communities that are too often overlooked, transforming walls, buildings, schools, and public spaces and reflections of culture, identity, resilience, and pride. His journey from public education, including attending attending Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, to becoming an internationally recognized muralist demonstrates the power of arts education and the importance of investing in students' creativity and expression. Through murals across Los Angeles be and beyond, Robert Vargas has elevated the voices and
experiences of black, Latino, indigenous, Asian, and immigrant communities while making art accessible to the public and rooted in community. His work in schools, including collaborations at Mendez High School, Roosevelt High School, and Soda Street Elementary, to name a few of schools, reflects the importance of creating campuses where students can see themselves, their history, their roots, and their communities represented. Today's resolution honors his contributions and officially proclaims May 12 as Robert Vargas Day in
Los Angeles Unified School District. Continue, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on Robert Vargas' artistic journey, his connection to Los Angeles, and the impact his his work has had across our communities and schools through a brief video presentation. Hear the video. By the city of LA. I use it as a platform to be able to foster the creative youth and their imagination by coming back to my hometown on this day and designating this location, Robert Vargas Square, as a destination for the arts.
Hopefully, through not only advancing your art, you get to also advance humanity as well. What a beautiful, beautiful video. As we witness, public art has the power to shape how communities, not only here, but internationally, can see themselves and how young people understand their voice, identity, and place in the world. Robert Vargas' work reminds us that art is not only something we observe, but something we can affirm identity, preserve culture, inspire pride, and create belonging.
At this time, I'd like to invite some special guests to provide remarks in honor of Robert Vargas and the importance of arts education and culture expression. First, I'd like to invite doctor Tina m Vartanian. As she comes to the podium, she was, principal of Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, the alma mater of mister, Robert Vargas. Doctor Vartanian has served as LACSA, for more than eight years and previously worked as vision performing arts coordinator with both Beverly Hills Unified and Lakeland programs, including juvenile halls,
alternative education, and special education. With a professional background in music, she has she has described Vargas' work as a symphony expressed through art reflecting the power of arts education to inspire identity, belonging, and creativity. Please, the floor is yours. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much. Well, good afternoon. Thank you, for allowing me to share some words to honor doctor Robert Vargas today. I'm the proud principal of Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, LACSA, a
specialized high school, within the Los Angeles County Office of Education, and I'm honored, to be here. Robert reminds us that art tells a city's story, reflects its people, and brings our communities together. Robert has transformed not only the walls across Los Angeles but worldwide into landmarks of pride, memory, resilience, and hope, capturing, the faces and the spirit of the city. Robert is a proud alumnus of LAHSA, and that is a reminder of how arts
education can be shaping not only artists, but true leaders and cultural voices. I'm honored that, LAXA helped nurture this young artist who would go on to leave a lasting mark on Los Angeles and far beyond. What makes Robert's work especially meaningful is that it stays connected to community. Even as, his murals continue to gain international recognition, his roots remain here in Los Angeles. He continues to uplift neighborhoods, mentor young people, and create public art that belongs to everyone, not hidden behind museum walls, but out in the open where people live, work,
and gather every day, uniting us all. His achievements speak for themselves, but perhaps the greatest measure of his impact is simpler than that. Generations of Angelenos and, most importantly, our students look at his work and feel seen. Today, as we honor, Robert Vargas, not only for his extraordinary talent, but for his commitment to Los Angeles, young students, to culture, to community, his art reminds us that our stories matter, our neighborhoods matter, and our children matter.
And our city is strongest when the people are reflected in its public spaces. And I'm so fortunate that every day, I get to, to see his powerful work on the face of our building. So it's very this is all from my heart. And, I just thank you so much with all my heart for allowing me to share about this wonderful, special friend, colleague, artist, amazing man, Robert Prakas. Thank you. Next, I'd like to welcome, Trina Pitchford, executive director of Loxha Foundation, which supports and
funds arts education programs at Los Angeles County High School of the Arts. A native, Angeleno and product of public education, miss, Pitchford has spent more than three decades leading creative and strategic work across both non nonprofit and private sector organizations throughout Los Angeles region. In 2024, the Loxha Foundation honored Robert Vargas with the, Loxha Luminary Award in recognition of his artistic achievement and his impact and his inspiration to young artists across Los
Angeles and beyond. Thank you for being here. The floor is yours. Thank you so much for inviting me. It is absolutely my pleasure. I'm also an LAUSD parent, so I'm very happy to be here, and to speak with you on behalf of Robert Vargas. You know, Robert has a motto, can't stop, won't stop. And I've been to those buildings where he's hanging on the sideline and trying to get that paintbrush to the corrugated wall. And it's quite incredible watching his vision and watching his dedication to his work. Not only is he encouraging to all students throughout LAUSD and throughout the county, but
his murals also speak, to people all across the world. Our offices are right out outside of the Otony mural, and we see people come from all over the world just to take a picture of it. Most information in inspirational, though, about Robert Robert Vargas is his humanity, his story, his mission, and how he's how he is able to build bridges between different cultures and different communities, not only here in Los Angeles, but all across the world.
He's inspirational to younger individuals, but also adults. And you can see from his videos and if you follow him on his socials, he's he's all over the place. And we're so proud of him, at Loxha and, of course, the Loxha Foundation. And I'm just gonna say he's gonna join us painting live at Loxapalooza on May 30. He truly doesn't stop, and it's, it's just a wonderful, wonderful message he sends all across the world, and I'm so happy that he's inspiring students in LAUSD. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Next, I'd like to welcome mister Conrado Terrazas, district representative, for state senator Marielena Durazo. Mister Terrazas Cross brings more than five decades of experience in government, labor, community organizing, communications, fundraising, and the arts, with a lifelong commitment to equity and civic participation. Thank you for being here. Good afternoon, everybody. I'm here on behalf of state senator Maria Elena Durazo, who proudly represents many of the communities that Robert Vargas has uplifted through his extraordinary art.
Senator Durazo sends her heartfelt congratulations and strong support for board member Rivas' resolution honoring Robert Vargas. For his remarkable contributions to arts education, cultural identity, and community expression throughout Los Angeles, Robert Vargas' murals do far more than beautify walls. They tell stories. They preserve history. They reflect the dignity, struggles, and resilience and dreams of communities that too often have been overlooked or erased. In neighborhoods across Los Angeles, especially working class neighborhoods and communities of color, public art
has long served as a voice of the people. And Robert Vargas carries forward that tradition with vision, compassion, and pride. What makes his work especially meaningful is his commitment to young people. By bringing public art directly into the schools, by bringing public by he reminds us that students, that their culture matters, their stories matter, and their creativity matters. He transforms campuses into spaces of inspiration, belonging, and possibilities. At a time when so many young people are searching for connection and identity, the
arts are not a luxury, they are essential. Art helps students see themselves reflected in the world around them and empowers them to imagine a future beyond limitations. Senator Durazo deeply appreciates LAUSD and board member Rivas for recognizing the power of arts education and for celebrating artists whose work continues to unite and and inspire Los Angeles. Congratulations, Robert. Congratulations, Doctor. Vargas, and for your reminding all of us that art can build community, preserve culture,
and create hope. Thank you. Finally, I'd like to welcome miss Guadalupe Camberos, deputy district director from the office of, Los Angeles County Supervisor, miss Hilda El Solis, who is here today to offer remarks on her behalf. Miss, supervisor Solis has long been a champion of arts, culture, and community investment across Los Angeles County, including support for public art, youth, creative, opportunities. So we appreciate miss Cameros joining us today in recognition of this important day.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, doctor Rivas, for the opportunity to be here today on behalf of LA County board and chair supervisor, Hilda Solis. Robert isn't just an artist we admire from afar. He is a true Angelino through and through. His murals bring our diverse communities into public eye, honoring indigenous histories, everyday neighbors, and cultural figures who make Los Angeles unique. He paints from the streets with real people, real stories at the heart of his work. Through his art, Robert helps us see ourselves, our histories, our struggles, our resilience in
the places we live and walk every day. He has helped inspire young artists and everyday residents alike to believe that creativity and community engagement can truly transform our neighborhoods. Robert, your work doesn't just beautify Los Angeles County. It connects us and reminds us why this place matters. And on behalf of the supervisor, we do have a certificate of commendation for your honor to honor you today. On behalf of LA County and the board of supervisors, we, dedicate the service to the community and for the civic pride demonstrated by numerous contributions for the benefit of
all residents signed by your LA County supervisor, Hilda l Solis. Thank you everyone and congratulations Robert. Thank, much appreciation to all of our speakers. I'd also like to acknowledge the artists, educators, students, family members, and community members joining us today in support of, Mr. Robert Vargas and Arts Education Los Angeles. In the audience, I'd like to recognize Ms. Josefina Lopez, who is here with us. I see you. There she is. And also principal from, Sheridan Elementary Street Elementary School, Mr.
Principal Sipes, which is also the school where Mr. Vargas attended. There he is over there. So thank you for being here. So grateful we are grateful for all of your presence and partnership. And now it is my privilege to introduce today's honoree. Please join me in welcoming Los Angeles muralist, mister Robert Vargas. I apologize for them. Thank you. What an honor it is for me to be recognized by the LA Unified Board of Education. I am proud standing before you to receive this incredible distinction from the nation's second largest school district.
Thank you, doctor Rivas, for your continued support of my artwork and your commitment to our community. Thank you to my first educator, my mother, and all that you have instilled in me. I love you. Thank you to my family and friends present here today, and thank you to everyone who spoke in my honor. I appreciate you all. In Los Angeles, I see the roots of self and rebirth. People often think that the destination is always outside of the neighborhood, outside of the community. But imagine the idea that the that the destination is the community, is the neighborhood.
Giving back and accessibility is the key, and I've combined my passion for the arts and my purpose to bring community together through the creative process to strengthen these roots. I believe LA is entering its creative golden age, not just in visual arts, but in fashion, in music, in performance, in theater. It's an exciting time to create in this city, and I'm pleased to be a part of that canon, not only advancing my art, but advancing the art collective. I painted from Tokyo to Dubai, Paris to Melbourne, but when I create murals here
at home in Los Angeles, I feel parental about the kind of messaging that I put out there. I've always felt that an artist has the ability to shape the way a city's history is written, and with each piece, I am able to do just that. Many times incorporating the everyday person into monumental hero by mirroring these communities that these murals live in. I'm grateful to have grown up in Boyle Heights and having the teachers that I've had. I'm a product of LAUSD attending Sheridan Street Elementary, and my early favorite educators came
from LAUSD. Because I attended a high need school that informed me, I now visit numerous schools throughout the year at every level because I understand how critical it is for the youth to see examples of people who have gone on to pursue their dreams and to foster welcoming environments and education in the arts. For the past five years, I host an event called Artist Home in Boyle Heights at my square in September where I give away a thousand sketchbooks and art supplies
and try to fill the void left by cuts at LAUSD. I invite fellow creatives in different disciplines to make a career day so that the youth and their parents can see that there is a path to success and longevity in the arts. Today is not just a personal honor for me, but my hope for a call to action to LAUSD to reaffirm your commitment to bringing more art, creativity, and self expression into schools. Let this Robert Vargas day in LAUSD, moving forward, encourage students to embrace their creativity,
to tell their own stories, and to contribute to the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. Today is about investing in arts education, nurturing not only indigenous identity, but inclusive of all ethnic backgrounds, and should foster community empowerment within LAUSD schools. My murals in the community are meant to reflect the joy and resilience of the community that these murals live in, encouraging students to feel seen, valued, and connected. I encourage students on Robert Vargas Day to explore the artwork, see themselves reflected in
my work, and to use their own creative voice for community building and pay it forward. Thank you so much. Before I present the proclamation, I wonder if, are there any board members who would like to make any comments? Yes. I would like to be added as the cosponsor. I'm honored to be so. Thank you. Thank you, board president. I'd love to be added as well. Yes. Go ahead. Board member and mister Vavoyne. Lots of interest in cosponsorship, and I'm just so grateful Torrance.
I get to represent South Bay and just randomly got to see it recently, but I know there's a lot of energy. And so, you've inspired some muralists in my own district as well, and so I'm excited, that your legacy is living on. Happy to celebrate you today and always. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that. I love that mural. Yes. Thank you for all that you're doing. My goodness. You end with pay it forward, and that's exactly what you're doing. Thank you for being a role model to our kids. And I know that it's hard when you're a child in, school to imagine that
you could be an artist and you could fulfill that life and live a life being an artist. And by you going back to schools and showing that that's what you're doing is modeling that you can do that. And I'm so grateful to that as a former teacher because I really I really wanted my kids to always see that there were many different ways that you could live your life, and one of them was to pursue something that brought joy into your life. So thank you for doing that. And I also I thank you for your murals. Like you said, they bring so much joy.
You you can see yourself in them. You can remember a moment, where you felt so good when you see those images. And so thank you for the beautiful work that you're doing, and congratulations. Thank you. Sure. Let Yes. Also, we added on. Wanted to say thank you so much. I think in a time where folks are being erased and to be able to see our faces and features on walls and buildings, it's so encouraging. And so just to be able to pay it forward as mentioned, but just to
be able to to bring joy to so many families within our communities and to share your gift with us, I wanna say thank you on behalf of us. Thank you. Mister Mel Boynton. And notwithstanding what you just heard about our rate increases, anytime you wanna come to one of our campuses, it's free. Okay? So so thank you. But really appreciate your work. When you were speaking, I was thinking of, the Picasso quote that art is a form of lying to tell the truth. And your words and your art have so many powerful truths that we need to hear more of in LA, and it's so great to see you all around the world, and, just appreciate it.
It's a a real honor to celebrate you, and we really hope you'll continue working with our schools and our students. I'm committed. Thank you. Jerry. Yeah. Yeah. I just wanted to say, first of all, thank you for being here and for continuing to give back to the community. To sort of echo what board member Ortiz Franklin said, I have no doubt that you inspired many, many of those elementary school students to become artists or to explore art as a medium for expression and an outlet for them to, you know, harness their creativity to improve their own community. So just thank you for all your work and and for for everything that you you've done for the LAUSD community.
Thank you. Before we get to our superintendent, I just have to tell you when I watched the kids, when you walked into a room, you are you are a rock star. You are a rock star. Yeah. Just so you know. Mister Cheikh. Yeah. Board president Schmerlson took the words out of my mouth. As a former elementary principal, when I saw the way that the kids reacted to you when you walked in, they're hungry for those kinds of role models, for those folks that they can see those visions. How many of us when we were kids had dreams of of being artists, being
actors, being in the arts in one way or another? And sometimes, for maybe good reasons, sometimes maybe for not so good reasons, we sometimes get counseled out of those career paths. Right? We get told to take safer paths. And so the fact that kids can see you, see the success that you've had, the impact that you've had, it speaks to how much you resonate with them when you do visit. So thank you for what you do. Thank you. I think the most important part of that is showing up. Showing up is the most important part. So when they see you, they and they know you made the effort, that's that's
half the the the chair because they know someone they you didn't forget about them. Well, I'm I'm grateful for all who my colleagues who've cosponsored. I know we have one public, comment speaker before I present the proclamation, if they're on. If they are on the line with us. So it's tab 22, public comment. We have one caller, Robin Gully. Let me see if Robin is online with us right now. Robin Gulley, I see you're on the line. Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you
begin. Robin g. Hello, and good afternoon. My name is Robin Gulley, president, board members, and superintendent. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. What you are doing in honoring Robert Vargas is truly meaningful to me. To pause and say that an artist's life matters, that his work in our communities matters, and that the children who grow up looking at his murals are different because of it, that is an act of leadership. Mister Vargas, you spent your life showing young people that their stories are worth telling. Your murals your murals rise up from the neighborhood where students live, and they hold
their history, their grief, their pride, and their hope. And they tell every child who walks by, you belong here and what you carry inside you is beautiful. That message is personal to me. When I was nine, my family moved from Rochester, New York to California. And I entered a culture I'm nothing about. I still remember being offered a tortilla and thinking it was tea. Mhmm. I grew up where it was very polarized. You were black or white. I happen to be black by the by the way. It was a small moment, but one that taught me how easily misunderstandings can happen
when we don't yet know in another's world. Years later after the tragedy of George Floyd and so many others, that memory resurfaced and I felt the responsibility to help young people grow up seeing one another with curiosity, compassion, and respect. Bridging cultures through dance grew out of that responsibility, not as a proposal today, but as a belief, a belief that every child and every school deserves a moment in their day when their culture is honored and their identity is celebrated. Using movement and music from cultures around the world, students learn to connect to themselves, to each other, and to the wider world.
It needs students where they are, including in classrooms and campuses that have long been underserved by the kinds of experiences the board is working to expand. I share this only as an example of how the values you are honoring through mister Vargas' work continue to inspire people across our schools. The work she has modeled for decades, the work this resolution calls the district forward, and the work we strive to support through dance and cultural expression are all rooted in the same purpose, helping children feel seen, valued, and proud of who they are.
Thank you for honoring Robert Vargas. Thank you for your time. That concludes the comment. Thank you, Robin. And with that said, here is a proclamation. It's very long, so I'm not gonna read all of it. But what I do wanna mention is that, mister Vargas was, awarded an honorary doctorate. So, yes, he is doctor Robert Vargas for a degree in human letters from Art Center College of Design, and the city of the county of Los Angeles have both recognized him through official Robert Vargas date proclamations and designation of Robert Vargas Square in
Boyle Heights. So now, therefore, be it proclaimed that Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education and the superintendent proudly honor the extraordinary artistic contributions, cultural impact, and community leadership of doctor Robert Vargas by declaring May 12 Robert Vargas Day, celebrating the power of arts, education, public art, and the creative expression to uplift identity, preserve culture, inspire belonging, and strengthen communities across Los Angeles.
Congratulations. Thank you. I'd like to say something to the board. I'm Robert Vargas' mother. I'm a fraud. Yeah. Mom mom gets a mic. Yes. My name is Alice Garcia Vargas, and I went to Sheridan Street School along with my husband. Okay? I just wanna say that teachers are so important. They are so important. I can't stress that enough. From the time that Robert entered kindergarten was it miss Singleton, Robert, that you fell in love with? Miss Singleton? His kindergarten teacher. Okay? And, every report card from kindergarten all the way to the sixth grade mentioned Robert's
artistic ability and to foster that artistic ability. So good job, LAUSD teachers. Thank you and thank you to the board. Actually, we have to vote. Let's vote before we go and take a picture. We're gonna make this official official. Of course. Of course. That's a great idea. Taking the Vote on tab 22 that's already been moved and seconded. Miss Newbill. Yes. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Melvoin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Kones? Miss Ortiz Franklin? Yes. Board president Schmiralsen? Yes. And student board member Yang?
Yes. Alright. There you go. Yes. Third and Congratulations, brother.
Congratulations. Of course, I wouldn't miss it then. I wouldn't miss it. This is what can come from that school. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm gonna be No. No. No. You're good. Alright. We have our quorum back. Miss Gomez, can I record your vote for tab 22? Yes. That is a yes on tab 22. And it looks like we are ready to go to committee committee chair reports. And we are ready for our first report, which is school safety and climate committee. And I believe that's you, miss Ortiz Franklin. It is. Thanks so much. I'll just share that we had our last committee meeting on April 23, where we
discussed the district's approach to addressing harm and conflict. We heard from Southeast High School, which was very exciting. I know folks are still getting out of the room. So much excitement. But we got a agenda to get to. And I'll just say that, we'll be sending out some recommendations soon as a quick highlight. We're recommending some, creating a bank of resources, providing more opportunities for parent engagement, and continuing to invest in community based safety. Thank you. Thank you so much. Rocio, you ready? That was a big event. Are you ready for your Committee of the Whole? Okay. Okay. Committee of the Whole.
The Committee of the Whole convened on April 28 to discuss student success measures, social and emotional learning, and board requested fiscal and then expenditure information expenditure information connected to the fiscal stabilization plan. The committee first heard a presentation on the proposed social and emotional learning goal and target for the twenty twenty six, two thousand and thirty strategic plan. Discussion focused on how the district defines and measures student success beyond academics, including student belonging, well-being, and social emotional growth.
Both, board members discussed the proposed SEO diagnostic tool, the continued role of the school experience survey, consistency across schools, implementation workload for educators, and how to ensure meaningful and reliable data collection district wide. The committee, then received a follow-up fiscal and program update tied to board requested budget and expenditure information. Discussion focused on tutoring vendor effectiveness, ELOP spending transparency, special education cost drivers, and reducing
reliance on contracted services. Board members requested more detailed data on vendor performance, student outcomes, contract utilization, and non public agency and non public school expenditures, while also discussing strategies to strengthen in house district capacity for specialized services. Board members also emphasize the importance of aligning spending decisions with student need, protecting core services, and minimizing disruption to school sites while maintaining equity focused investments.
The next meeting of the committee hold will be on May 19. Thank you very much. Next, we have facilities and procurement committee with mister Melvoin. Yes. Thank you. On April 28, we had our penultimate committee meeting the year. We started with an update from Martha Alvarez on our facilities focused advocacy at the state level, including AB 18 o nine to extend our ability to do use job order contracting, AB 11 o seven to continue to address the exorbitant cost of shade structures, and AB twenty sixty seven to extend authorization for lease leaseback methods.
The committee again bemoaned the cost of shade and the needs for legislative or procedural fixes, which we will take up in our final meeting again. We heard then heard a comprehensive overview from the procurement team about the process of constructing RFPs for nonfacilities items and how the district utilizes bench contracts. The committee raised questions about how we ensure that RFPs are created, crafted broadly enough to garner the best and most cost effective bids and to ensure that the benches reflect the needs of schools, a topic which we will likely take up again in a future meeting. This was relevant to many of the conversations the boards have been having about trying
to better understand how the district contracts for everything from chicken to meals to safe passage providers. And then finally, we discussed a change to the delegation of authority that would allow facilities to bring some projects to the board, one fewer times over the course of the project. We noted that that several dozen current delegations of authority from this board to the superintendent relate to budget, procurement, and facilities, and we expect to take up understanding of those delegations more broadly in the future. And our final committee meeting of the year will be held on May 19, a
week from today, where we will hear updates on some key priorities such as housing, shade, and we'll discuss recommending recommendations that I'll, share with the full board in June. Thank you. And next, we have, doctor Rivas again with Greening and Climate Resilience Committee. Yes. Thank you. The Greening Schools and Climate Resilience Committee convened on April 29 to discuss environmental justice, school health and safety, and the expansion of outdoor learning environments across the district. The committee first heard a presentation titled An Oil Well in Living with LA's Oil
History from Nicholas Gardner Serna of, Sunrise Movement LA and Rosalinda Morales of the Vista Hermosa Heights, community group focused on the legacy and ongoing impacts of oil extraction in Los Angeles communities. Discussion centered on the disproportionate environmental burdens facing low income communities of color, including the proximity of schools and homes to active and abandoned oil wells. Presenters and board members discussed methane monitoring systems, stronger accountability models beyond developer self reporting,
enforcement challenges, and the role LAUSD can play in advocating for stronger health and safety protections around oil and gas infrastructure. The committee also received an update on early education outdoor learning center projects, highlighting progress progress of 64 outdoor classroom projects across the district in our early education, centers, and approximately half have been completed. Discussion focused on barriers, delaying projects and pre construction, opportunities to streamline delivery and standardized
project models, and how outdoor learning spaces are being integrated into instruction and student wellness. The next meeting of the Greening Schools and Climate Resilience Committee will, the last one of the year will be on May 27. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next, we have the special education committee with Carla Griego. Thank you. On May 6, we held our final special education committee meeting of the school year. We began the meeting by recognizing our special education teachers for the vital work they
do each day to support our students in the classroom. We then received a presentation for from the special education division titled supporting students with disabilities through social emotional learning and positive behavior supports. We also heard a testimonial from a parent who currently participates in the district's parent counseling and training program, which helps families better understand child development, behavior, and social emotional needs, while also supporting parents in helping their child succeed with their IEP and overall
school experience. The committee discussed the need for stronger integration of PBIS, MTSS, and SEL supports, improving communication among service providers, incorporating professional development into Bank Tuesdays, providing professional development opportunities for paraprofessionals as well as certificated staff, and strengthening school wide mental health supports to ensure all students, regardless of their unique needs, receive the support. Thank you to the special education division for their support with our committee and presentation
materials this year. We invite everyone to invite, to join us next fall. Thank you. Thank you. And our last committee report is the ad hoc rules and governance committee, and I believe that is miss Tanya Ortiz Franklin. With doctor Rivas and mister McLean, who's gonna kick it off? With doctor Rivas. I'm just gonna tee it up. My name is Mike McLean. I'm the executive officer of the board. And, traditionally, one of the things that my, office contains is the the rules that run the Board of Education as they sit here. So for the past several months, sometimes once a week, sometimes twice a week week,
the two members, doctor Rivas and board member Ortiz Franklin, have been meeting to review existing board bylaws, which is how the board governs itself, and going through how going through each one line by line and are updating it. So I'll toss it to you. Yeah. So, we have been, reviewing the board rules, updating them, consistent with what we have been, what the board is has been working on and how the protocols and processes that are currently taking place. And we're also merging our board rule with the California School Board Associations, I guess,
rules throughout the California school districts. So we're merging them, of course, with keeping, primary focus, the board rules of LAUSD and updating them, making them more consistent, and modernizing them, I guess you can say. And so the work has been very interesting. There and then so we will be bringing this up to discussion. So I'll tee it up to miss Tanya Tooth Franklin for the ending of it. Thanks. Yes. So this board can expect to act on one sample rule sometime in June so you can get a taste of what it's like.
And then in August or September, we'll be scheduling a deeper board retreat so we can really dive into the roles and responsibilities of the board and how that grounds all of the work that we do, in this section of the the policies. And then in the spring, we can expect more approvals at the board from what staff is working on. So they're codifying the policies, what we might call memos or bulletins or IOCs, into a more comprehensive, tool where the public can easily see where all this information is housed. So lots of actions coming up over the next year.
Thanks. Thank you very much. And, mister MacLean, I believe we're ready for our consent calendar. Alright. We are go now going to engage the consent calendar. Can I have someone move the consent? Move it. Second. Moved by miss Gomez, seconded by mister Schmerlson, board president Schmerlson. The consent calendar is a procedural mechanism that the board uses to take a group of items all at once in a single vote as opposed to going, line by line through each item. So what happens now is I read the title and the tab number, and they
say out loud, consent or discussion or question. If it's a question or discussion, it comes off the consent calendar for, individual deliberation. Okay? So tab one, donations of money and materials to the district. I have a question. Sorry. I have a question. Alright. Tab two, report of cash disbursements. Consent. Consent. Tab three, approval of routine personnel actions. Consent. Tab four, annual approval of community advisory committee membership. Consent. Consent. Tab five, approval of adult education career technical education advisory committee. Consent.
Tab six, twenty twenty five twenty twenty six non public school agency approval of master contracts. Question. Question. In tab seven, I'll note attachment a, item g is postponed until, I believe, the June meetings. Everything else, is still going forward. So tab seven, approval of procurement actions. Consent? Tab eight, approval of facilities contract actions. I'll note this requires a three quarter vote just on item c. Yes, sir. Consent. I have one question. This yeah. This is a simple question.
Tab nine. Define and approve three projects to provide critical replacements and upgrades of school building site systems. Consent. Consent. Tab 10, define and approve five accessibility enhancement projects. Consent. Tab 11, define and approve 27 board district priority and region priority projects. Consent. Consent. Tab 12, define and approve the twenty twenty six twenty twenty seven education code section four seven six one four, proposition 39, facilities renovation effort. Consent. Consent. Tab 13, authorization to execute a renewal sublease contract.
Consent. Tab 14, approval of update to code of ethics. Question. Question. Alright. Tab 15, approval of the San Julian Electric School Bus Purchase Project. Consent. Tab 16, approval of the San Julian Bus Start Electrification Project phase two. Consent. Consent. Tab 17, approval of the renewal petition for Kofax Charter Elementary. Consent. So I'm gonna read the public statement for that since it's going on to consent. So this is for tab 17. Oh, let's let me, take tab 18. Approval of the renewal petition for Westwood Charter Elementary.
Consent. Consent. Right. I have a public hearing to read, statement to read for, tab seventeen and eighteen. Before action is taken on the following board reports, a public hearing must be held. This constitutes a public hearing on Colfax Charter Elementary and Westwood Charter Elementary. A maximum of 15 individuals who wish to address the board on this item will be heard. Those who wish to speak should sign up online, and speakers will be called on by name. Alright. 19. Tab 19, approval of the proposed material revisions. Consent. Tab 20, approval of the proposed material revision for Exterra.
So, I'll so 20 is consent, and then 19, moving from consent to question. Okay. Let's see. Tab 21 is a denial, so that will not be on consent. The tab 23, we have a time certain of 3PM, so not on consent. Tab 24, public schools over private loopholes. Happy to keep it on consent with quick comments. Okay. Consent with quick comments. And 02:30, we have a time certain. Twenty six, report of correspondence. Consent. Consent. And as for tab 27, there has been an error in some of the minutes,
and I'm going to just withdraw the minutes and bring them back to the board at June after I, review the minutes again. So 27 is withdrawn. 28, we have a time certain in just a few moments. Alright. I'm gonna read through the consent calendar, and then we can get to the time certain. And then the public comment on the items that on consent will follow the the time certain. So tab one is question. Tab two, three, four, five are consent. Tabs six, seven, and eight are questions. Tabs nine, ten, eleven, twelve, 13 are consent.
Tab 14 is a question. Tab fifteen, sixteen, 17. 18 is consent our consent. Tab 19 is question. Tab 20 is consent. Tab 21, question or not consent rather. Apologies. Tab 23 is a time certain. Tab 24 is a consent With question. With quick comment. Tab 25 is a time certain. Tab 26 is consent. Tab 27 is withdrawn. And tab 28 is a time certain. Okay. So we've set the consent calendar. We will revisit the consent calendar after this 1PM time certain.
Do we have a time certain for tab where is it? '28. For tab 28, miss Newbell? Yes. Thank you very much, as we bring this, tab 28 for the renaming of Middle College High School, proving the name to doctor George j McKenna the third Middle College High School. And so it is very, it's an honor to be able to present this today
and to be able to share on behalf as we've spoken of a lot of joy today. And this is one that brings me joy to be able to bring this and introduce this as doctor George McKenna has served in various capacities within this district, outside of this district, but all within education. And so today, we are bringing this forth, and with that, we have some special invited guests, that we would like to be able to come and influence us as we speak about doctor George McKenna and give remarks in a significant way in the
recommendation for the renaming of Middle College High School. And we'll have a representative of students, educators, as well as community members. And so I'm proud to be able to bring to you the voices into this conversation, none other than our local superintendent in the South, doctor I'm giving you a doctorate too. Look at me. Andre Spicer from the South to be able to speak first on behalf of this. Thank you, board member. Board president Schmerlinson, members of the board, mister Chait, I'm Andre Spicer, stated Region South
superintendent. There is no more no one more deserving of the honor of having a school named after him than doctor George McKenna the third. The impact that he's had on our community and on the thousands of students is truly immeasurable. Throughout his distinguished career, he served as a teacher, a coach, an administrator, superintendent, and board member. And in every role, he has remained unwavering in student centered approach, always placing the needs and potential of young people at the forefront of his work.
Doctor McKenna has been an unapologetic warrior for justice, tirelessly advocating for student civil rights and the right to a high quality education. Through his integrity, professionalism, and insistence on the highest expectations, he has consistently left every position stronger than when he found it. Long before equity initiatives and programs became formalized, equity equity was already alive in doctor McKenna's daily practice in leadership. He has been a true trailblazer, modeling what it means to lead with courage, conviction,
and purpose. As a mentor to so many, also in this room and beyond, including yours truly, he has challenged us to become transformational leaders, bold in vision, fearless in advocacy, and relentless in our pursuit of improved outcomes for students. While he has always been an advocate for all children, his commitment to marginalized students, those underserved, has been especially steadfast and unwavering. That is why his legacy will live far beyond this moment. It will breathe throughout the hallways of the George McKenna Middle College High School, inspiring
generations of students to believe in what is possible. Students will not have to look any further than the name of their school to see an example of excellence, courage, and service. Like their namesake, they too will become unapologetic, unabashed, and bold in their pursuit of justice, opportunity, and a better future for their community. For those reasons, I want to urge the board to accept the doctor George McKenna Middle College High School. Thank you. You. Up next, I would like to hear from our principal at Middle College High School,
William Bazadeer. Good afternoon, acting superintendent Chait, board members. My name is William Bazader. I am the proud principal of Middle College. I stand before you in strong support of renaming our school to honor doctor George j McKenna the third, a man whose life work, over fifty years of education, reflects exactly what Middle College stands for. Doctor McKenna has spent decades championing equity, access, and excellence in education, values we live
every day as we prepare our students, many from undeserved communities to succeed both in high school and college. Our schools are our students are just not earning diplomas. They're earning college credits, AA degrees, and a future. That aligns directly with doctor McKenna's legacy. A school name is more than a label. It is a message, and we want to send a message. It tells our students who we are and who we aspire to be. By adopting his name, we are placing before our students a powerful example of leadership,
resilience, service to the community. This renaming is not just change for change's sake. It is about honoring a legacy that already lives in our mission and elevating it for generations to come. I respectfully urge you to vote yes and help us move forward as doctor George j McKinney III Middle College High School, home of the Cougars. Thank you. Want to bring up, obviously, one of our students, from the renaming committee, miss Kaylin Williams.
Good afternoon, board members, and everyone else who is here present today. My name is Kaylin Williams, and I am a tenth grader who attends Middle College High School. Today, I am here talking as a student representative at MCHS regarding the renaming of our school, Middle College High School, to doctor George j McKenna the third Middle College High School. As a student and committee member, I see both sides when it comes to renaming our school after doctor George j McKenna the third.
Everyone says he's a great guy, which I a 100% agree with, and that he's changed a lot of lives as an educator within our community. But in my generation nowadays, a lot of students don't really get the opportunity to know who doctor George j McKenna the third is or what he's really done for our community. So at first for our students, it can feel like we're being forced to change the name of our school that we already know and love as Middle College. But as a committee member, I got more of a chance to hear why these
adults are saying all these great things about doctor George j McKenna the third. I now after hearing all this information, I understand the impact he had, and I do think he should be the name of our school because he's just such a great guy. Middle College is known for giving students opportunities through college classes to let us get our AA degrees so it could be easier for us in college. And doctor George j McKenna the third is someone who gave opportunities to people like
me and helped create change in our education system. I think having his name on our school could inspire students and remind people like me what one man can do for a whole community. Even if students don't fully know his story right now, that can easily change. Perspectives, they can change. A a school name can teach people about someone's legacy, especially a man like doctor George j McKenna the third. And I think honoring a person who positively changed lives is something meaningful.
That's why as a student and as a committee member, I believe changing the name from Middle College High School to doctor George j McKenna, the third Middle College High School, will be the best decision for my peers, my teachers, the staff, and our community as a whole. Thank you. Thank you, Kaelin. Coming up next, we have miss Betty Washington who was a former principal of Middle College High School. Good afternoon, and especially good afternoon, mister Smrosson.
Nice seeing you again. My name is Betty Washington. I'm the former principal of Middle College High School, and I just wanna add to what everyone else has been saying. Mister doctor George McKenna the third has been, in education for sixty years. People he's not only known in The United States, but he's known internationally. He has served in every position like, our superintendent said earlier, but not only superintendent in LA, superintendent in Pasadena, and he was a former math teacher. And as a beginning teacher, he was my first principal that I had.
Many of us who are sitting here today, were in, influenced by doctor George McKenna, motivated, and pushed forward. So I would just please ask you to consider voting for a positive name change for Middle College High School. Thank you. Thank you, miss Washington. Up next, we have, I think, on Zoom, is doctor Reginald Sample, who is now currently our regional director for Regional South and Washington Prep alum as well. Thank you.
And, greetings, president Smearlson, acting superintendent Cheit, and distinguished board members. I would like to speak to six categories. One starting with the responsibility of legacy. I stand before you, well, Zoom wise, to advocate for an act of cultural reclamation, renaming Middle College to formally include the name of doctor George j McKenna the third. In many communities, the history of local heroes is protected and taught with pride. Yet, in our own, there is a growing disconnect. We see students thriving in college and career pathways today who are unaware that their
opportunities were paid by a man who fought for them before they were even born. We must give this giant of education his flowers while he is here to smell them, ensuring that the excellence tied to this community and that this school remains visible for generations to come. Secondly, as the architect of the equity framework, doctor George McKenna's leadership is the bedrock upon which our current equity initiative stand. He was the visionary champion for humanizing education for equitable transformation known as HEAT, which
was designed specifically to support the most under resourced schools in District 1. This program was not merely a local initiative. It became a the fundamental framework for what we now know as the Black Student Achievement Plan, VSAP. At the time when system systemic barriers seem insurmountable, he authored the zero dropouts resolution to ensure our youth were supported rather than pushed out. He courageously protected graduation requirements, ensuring a d remained a passing grade to maintain an 86% graduation rate rather than seeing the futures of our students decimated.
Thirdly, a transformation rooted in South LA. His impact in the Los Angeles Southwest community is not just professional. It's legendary. As the principal of Washington Prep High School, he faced a campus defined by gang violence and low achievement and transformed it into a nationally recognized model of excellence. Under his preparatory school model, enrollment more than doubled, and nearly 80% of graduates went on to college. I speak to you today as a direct product of that excellence. My colleagues and I were his students at Washington Prep, and he did not just
teach us about math. He voted us into the educational leaders we are today. And fourthly, I wanna just have a personal testament of radical mentorship. Doctor McKenna is a man who overserves the underserved in both policy and person. As fierce leadership, he stood before my faculty at my opening meeting when I was principal setting a courageous turn for high expectations and cultural responsiveness. As inspirational presence, he spoke in my first cohort's graduation at Dorsey High School leaving an indelible mark on those students. And integrity and compassion most profoundly, he appeared unannounced at the funeral of my mother
and a fellow educator. She was a woman who entrusted both her sons and his care, bringing bringing us back, excuse me, from previously bused schools that failed us. He honored that trust, and he honored her memory later. Investing in his vision and leadership and as a proud member of this community, one who grew up just down the street and who continues to invest in his neighborhood, I find it especially meaningful to advocate for this recognition. It would be both fitting and expiring for Middle College to bear the name of
doctor McKenna, placing it alongside schools whose identities are now synonymous with excellence, much like Gladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, doctor Michelle King Girls Academic Leadership Academy, and King Drew institutions that began in modest bungalows and communities once overlooked have grown into models of distinction and pride. Today, they stand as proof of what we invest in vision and leadership. Greatness follows. Middle College deserves that same honor, an identity that reflects its excellence and signals to
every student that they are part of something enduring, transformative, and deeply rooted in community legacy. And to conclude Thank you. During his tenure, doctor McKenna oversaw $2,000,000,000 in facility upgrades from the new performing arts center at Crenshaw High to modernizing at schools like Hamilton and 32nd Street, USC Magnet. He pioneered the TapCART pilot that now provides transit access to students district district wide and brought music education to our schools throughout the Fender Play Foundation.
To rename Middle College is to tell our students that their history is one of triumph, not just struggle. It honors a man who served as teacher, principal, superintendent, and board member, all for this community. And I am blessed to have him as a mentor, and I urge this board to cement his legacy so that every student who walks through those doors know they are part of a tradition of excellence. Thank you. Thank you for sharing, doctor Sample. Who I'm gonna bring up next is doctor Dichelle Byrd who is currently our administrative instruction in Region West and also a Washington prep alum.
Greetings, board president, miss Wilson, along with acting superintendent Andres Chait and, the honorable board members. I am doctor Dachelle Byrd, alumna, and I am urging a unanimous vote for the renaming of Middle College in honor of doctor George j McKenna the third. Doctor McKenna's legacy cannot be measured by a single title, a single school, or even a single generation. For more than sixty years, he has served as a teacher, principal, superintendent, mentor, advocate,
and school board member whose life's work has been dedicated to making education and ultimately our world better for children and families in communities that were overlooked as having potential. As an alumna of Washington Preparatory High School and an educational leader shaped under his tutelage, I know firsthand that doctor McKenna did far more than lead schools. He transformed lives. While it is known that Denzel Washington portrayed doctor McKenna in a movie about transformational Washington Prep.
His impact is far beyond one campus. As a principal, he created cultures of excellence where students were expected to rise academically, lead courageously, serve their communities, and believe in their own greatness. He saw promise in youth and provided a viable community choice of education over gang affiliation and built pathways for generations of black and brown students to become doctors, lawyers, educators, artists, public servants, and leaders. But what made doctor McKenna extraordinary was not only his vision, it was his humanity.
Every decision he made as an educator, district leader, or board member was thoughtful, intentional, and rooted in service. He understood that education was not just about financially strong instruction. It was about dignity, opportunity, family, and hope. Doctor McKenna's humility and deep respect for tradition always prevented previous attempts at renaming certain schools from happening. Recognition was never something he sought for himself. But today, we recognize that some legacies are just simply too important not to preserve
permanently. A vote today for renaming of Middle College in honor of doctor George p George j McKenna the third ensures that future generations will know the educator, servant leader, and visionary whose influence has shaped countless lives across Los Angeles and beyond. His name on this school will serve as a daily reminder that excellence, compassion, discipline, service, and transformation can evolve communities beyond.
I thank doctor George McKenna. Thank you for his leadership, his wisdom, courage, and love for more than five decades with a yes vote for his legacy already living within us, living on for generations to come. So thank you. Thank you again, for each and every one of the speakers that came to share today. I I think there was one more online. I'm not sure. The other individual who's supposed to be online is not there, and we have one one person for public comment. Okay. I do again wanna say thank you for all those that came out.
I want to also recognize, doctor Whitman and also, doctor Brandy here who continue to champion the work that doctor McKenna has done within this district and, coordinator and assistant principal, miss Danson, as well for your work, as you continue to, push forth, the legacy of doctor George j McKenna. I also want to add and share that there is a scholarship that's named after doctor George j McKenna the third that will continue to pour into the future educator
education of our students he has given his own money to help many students attend college and now there's a fund named after him that will also continue that work that will go along with this school this is also among many of the reasons that we seek to continue to support for the name change today. Is he on now? Yeah. Well, I wanna be able to turn this back over to you and, to continue to facilitate this, as we move forward. Okay.
We have one, person here for public comment. That's Sarah Bradshaw. Come on down. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Oh. Sarah Bradshaw. Oh, she's a pussy. Yay. Hi there. Hi. Good afternoon. I just first should say all board members deserve recognition. Hardest job in education. Hands down. Hands down. But I'd like to speak in support of this motion to name the school after doctor McKenna. While many know of his Washington prep heroics, and I hope you learn more truly and learn about his brother also in New Orleans.
Alright. In any case, I first met him at a time when board district two was in crisis. Marguerite Poindexter Lamott passed away unexpectedly, actually, at a CSBA conference down in San Diego. Several of us met at a Denny's late night near USC, to ask that he step in. We knew he'd been a superintendent, community leader. He had all these wonderful attributes. He'd be a perfect person to take the seat. And he he stepped up and and and offered to fill the leadership void at
a time when that district needed him badly. He offered himself to the board promising to simply fill out fill out the term. Just fill out the term, and then he would shuffle back off to retirement. In any case, his kind offer was declined, and it ultimately went to a special election. His gander was up, and he said, I'm gonna run. You know? I offered to do it. I'd be in and out. No harm, no foul. And nope. Nope. Nope. So ten years later, doctor McKenna retired. So I just want to, if he's out there, say hello, doctor McKenna, and, just
thank his staff, his wonderful staff, and obviously many continue on, and Marguerite's staff, and I think she would be a couple of big thumbs up on this. And, I actually googled, or whatever, Wikipedia. Is the George Story true. In his first leading role, Denzel stars in the true story of Los Angeles teacher, principal George McKenna. So, yes, it's true, kids. Heroes can come from LA Unified. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your time. I'm gonna check online one more for the last speaker, and that concludes the speakers
and I believe the speaker list. Again, I wanna just say thank you for all those that come out and spoke on this behalf. And I will say constantly and over and over again, you'll hear me say this. As often as we are being erased, It is always great to be able to create things that are permanent within our history that elevates education none other, and of such a man as he to be able to be recognized within our district for for such a time as this.
And so for our students, I wanna, again, thank you for coming out and speaking on behalf of the students and be able to articulate exactly what that transformation looks like in real time for our students. And so I appreciate you being here to celebrate and to be able to recognize when we're able to see history right here within our district. So thank you for sharing. Alright. May I have a motion and a second? Move. Moved by doctor Rivas. Second. Seconded by board president Schmirelson. Board discussion. I'd love to be added as a cosponsor. Thank you for bringing this.
You know, the the first people will will say, the first time I met this person, right, because he's a legend like that and people wanna remember the first time, I was actually standing right there as a public comment speaker with someone who was a public comment speaker today again. She's a PSW at one of our schools, and another staff member. And I remember Doctor. McKenna sitting right there and listening to us, like, looking at us, listening to us, and at the end of our presentation, he called us by name. And I remember thinking, that's so powerful when leaders care about the stories that come before the board. And I felt like doctor McKenna always led with listening, to constituents.
Even when he didn't agree with them, he always heard them. And I think even that was true for me. Doctor McKenna and I didn't agree on everything, but we did listen to each other and I think that's a great part of his legacy and something that I took into my leadership is, listening to those who have different perspectives from you can make your leadership even more powerful. He always reminded us, you know, equity and equality were important but so was adequacy. And so I have his voice in my head reminding us that our kids deserve more, and and adequacy is, needs to be increased every time, right, reaching for what
our kids deserve. And the last thing I'll say is, whenever I would see Doctor. McKenna after retirement, you know, his real retirement, I would say, doctor McKenna, it's so good to see you. And he would say, it's so good to be seen. And I love his confidence, and I and I want students to continue to to mirror that from him. And just this is a good moment to to see him forever in LA Unified. And so I'm just glad that you brought this. Thank you, board member Newville. I'm happy to support. I'm good. You? You go. Yes. This is, well, well deserved, to be to name a school after somebody who I
also, looked up to. He sat right here next to me, and, he was always so respectful. He made he cracked me up. He would say, like, the the the comments he'll, like, read over and are like, I try not to laugh. He tried to, you know, retain my seriousness. But, you know, he always had something either, very funny to say, but he was always so, poignant in in his comments and his wisdom just, you know, just just
every word he he he he spoke was was so, came out of wisdom and experience and knowledge. And for me, I was just just honored just to be sitting next to him and to be sharing, these days with him and and very fortunate to be naming a school LAUSD d d school in his honor. So thank you for bringing this. Thank you for the school community who, you know, chose to be named after such a such a wonderful beautiful human being.
Thank you. Yeah. One, it's great to hear from all of you about the contributions that doctor McKenna has made. They are immeasurable. I remember early on in my tenure having a meeting to go talk with George, and I don't know that I did any talking. But, it it was the first of many just, opportunities to sit and learn, and he was he was, of he was hysterical. And he always when we, you know, somber moments or press conferences, kind of a whisper from George, it was hard not to laugh. But, his, you know, my colleagues have said it well, but his passion his little aphorisms, his Georgisms, his passion, and and the idea that, you know, you can do
serious work while still having a light heart, and and never take your eye off the prize is worth, celebrating, commemorating. I this is a school, though not in my district, that I visited a few times, and we'll definitely have to go back and get some George McKenna Middle College High swag too. So thank you and would love to be added as a cosponsor as well. Miss Gomez? Thank you, board president Sherylson. Thank you, board member Newbill, for bringing this and for everyone who came to share your stories. I I think it it's it was really powerful to hear about the personal connection that so many of our leaders have, to doctor McKenna and really speaks to the
generational impacts that he has that continue to live on through our educators, our principals, our families. And I, besides everything that everyone else shared, because he he was all of the he shared all of those things, the the jokes, and I think just the presence of such a leader. I think his wisdom, doctor McKenna would speak for quite a while. And then in there were just, like, so many gems. You're like, I hope that someone is taking this all down. These are such pieces of brilliance, and I feel that I had a great opportunity
to learn from him as a board member. I think what I also, really appreciated about doctor McKenna is just his rootedness in schools and in community. The the deep emotional impact of the work that he did at Washington Prep, it it's easy with the years, I guess, to to grow distant from then. I think some people in education as they move up through the ranks, lose some of that connectedness and that rootedness. He never lost it. And I think that he was continue he was always led by those experiences and ensured that all of us were centered on those experiences when we were making decisions.
So I'm excited to see this move forward and excited to support. K. Before mister Chait goes, doctor McKenna is a very, very funny guy. I don't I I'm telling you, he has the jokes. He really, really has the jokes. And in case you didn't know it, doctor McKenna is not a man of few words. And don't you dare try to interrupt him while he's speaking because he'll tell you off right away to let him finish. That's why we love him so much.
Really. Everybody knows doctor McKenna. Whether when I go to, conventions, whether it be Northern California, San Diego, everybody knows doctor McKenna. He is a legend. And, I consider him a friend, and more important, he considers me a friend. And that's what I'll always remember. He's a wonderful, wonderful guy, well deserved, naming, and I like to cosponsor also. Mister Chait? Sure. Very briefly. Obviously, I I echo the comments, made by the board members and by the presenters
today. When I think of doctor McKenna, the word that I think of is fearless. He is and in his role as as a board member, was absolutely fearless about his advocacy, on behalf of the constituents that he served. And he was also fearless about engaging with the folks that didn't agree with him. Right? It's always easy to to connect with folks that are already kind of on your wavelength as it were. But he was always willing to have challenging conversations with members of our community that weren't necessarily in alignment with his point of view.
And he came at it from, you know, a board member Ortiz Franklin referenced her engagement with him as a public commenter. It was from a place of mutual respect. It never felt when he was sitting up here and I was in my little room in the back and I was watching it, it never felt like he was talking down to people. It was a lateral conversation regardless of who was addressing him. And and so I appreciated that fearlessness about him. And can we can I just add because of him, there was a six degree separation with Denzel Washington? I mean, for me, that is like, oh, it's not. I just wanna say.
Oh, it's amazing. It's probably even closer. Yeah. And one last thing as you were mentioning that he was never short with words. I just wanna know because I know the students, that it is just appropriate that this is probably be the longest titles of any school within our district. So it just matches. Miss Bricklin, I didn't mean not to cosponsor. I wasn't sure if it it was something we can cosponsor mechanically, but if it is, I'm happy to be to be added. I'll note that it is not a resolution. Okay. But the record does reflect everyone's eagerness Okay. To the important part.
Shall we vote? Ready to vote. Okay. Miss Newbell. Yes. Yes. Oh, sorry. I'm so eager to say yes. Love it. Goodness. Alright. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Melville? Yes. Miss Griego? Miss Gomez? Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin. Yes. Board president Schmirall said. Yes. And student member Yang. I'll come back to him. We'll get it. Okay. Later. Obviously, passes. Thank you, everybody. Okay. Now it is 01:36. I believe we have a 2PM time certain 02:30PM time certain, so there's an hour worth of business to do. First, we take the calls for items that were listed for consent, and then, the
board will vote on consent. Can't we'll just take a brief pause. We'll just take a brief pause. Okay. We've got four. I'm gonna go back and collect the vote from, board member Griego on tab 28. The renaming of Middle College High School. Yes. That is a yes. You can't hear it, but she said yes. What would you want me to say? I'd love that. Yes. Thank you very much. Bye. Okay. Now we'll take public comment on tab there's no comment on tab two.
Let me double check. We'll take public comment on tab three, but first, I have a script to read for tab three, approval of routine personnel actions. Okay. Senior management contracts certificated presented to the board for approval as part of the routine agenda item are the employment agreements for certificated employees appointed on 04/22/2026. Government code section five four nine five three requires the board, prior to taking final action, to provide an oral summary of a recommendation for a final action on the salary, salary schedule, or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits of a local
agency executive, including certificated employees during an open meeting in which the final action is to be taken. The following certificated employees the board is considering will receive, one, regular health and welfare benefits accorded to twelve month certificated administrative employees of the district, two, standard senior management district vacation and illness days, which are twenty four vacation days, 13 full pay illness days, and 87 half pay illness days per year. Three, use of district automobile or monthly car allowance of $250.
Four, a term commencing on 07/01/2026 and ending July 30 06/30/2027 unless indicated otherwise with an annual salary as follows. Anthony Aguilar, chief of special education and special aid specialized programs. Salary is $278,205. David Baca as regional superintendent, $289,119. Kristen Murphy as associate superintendent talent, $333,540.
Robert Whitman, education as education transformation officer, $243.490 $243,495. Francis Baez as chief academic officer from July 1 through 08/14/2026, $278,205. And Pia Sadakatmal as chief academic officer starting on August. The item is on consent. There are speakers to this tab in general. If there are speakers to this item in specifically, please sign up online.
You can find out how to do it in the back. This is for tab three, and now we'll take those who are listed as being here in person for tab three. Yanida Estrada, are you here? Yani, Are you here? Yanira Estrada, not here. Jason Buckhalter, are you here? Jason b, come on up. Mister Buckhalter, you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. And after mister Buckhalter is Danny Salas, and then remote speakers, if any. Esther Hatch, I see you're online. I will, I will come to you in just a moment. Alright, mister Buckhalter.
You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. I'm not speaking to the, current contracts, but something personnel related. Perfect. Please go ahead, sir. Thank you. Okay. Dear honorable board members, thank thank you for allowing me to speak today. My name is Jason Buckhalter. I'm a proud graduate of LA Unified Schools. I have served as a teacher for the past twenty seven years, and I have put two children through LAUSD schools. For the past twenty years, I've taught at Charnock Road Elementary. We're a small community school located in the Palms neighborhood in West LA. We're a title one school and primarily serve a Latino population with many, many new
immigrants. As an officially designated LAUSD community school, we've worked hard to create a school environment and culture where parents feel welcomed, valued, seen, and empowered. Unfortunately, I'm here today, instead of working in my third grade classroom, I've been here all day, to speak about a very serious issue that is affecting our little school community. We were recently informed that one of our school community's most beloved teachers, fourth grade teacher Kimberly Castaneda, who was working on her district intern contract, took a little too
long to finish it. Her contract reverted to temporary status, and thus, we were informed that she was not going to be asked back. Miss Castaneda enrolled in the district intern program, was making incredible work. She diligently worked to improve her practice, became a very effective and collaborative member of our staff, and really reached out and formed real commitments with many of our Latino
parents who whom she fairs shares heritage with, language, and really has an authentic connection. Basically, everything you want in the community schools initiative was represented by miss Castaneda. So I've come here today to speak on behalf of the parents in my third grade classroom. May I finish, please? Please wrap it up. Thank you so much. Yes. I have come here today to speak on behalf of the parents in my third grade class room. Many families were looking forward to having miss Castaneda as her fourth grade teacher next
year. When we heard that she would be removed from our school and replaced with a displaced teacher, they were rightfully confused and upset. A few asked me to come today to speak on their behalf. So on behalf of the parents in our community, I respectfully ask you to look at the renewal of teachers, especially teachers like our miss Castaneda, on temporary contracts, on a case by case basis, understanding that teachers are not replaceable factory workers.
Especially in our community schools, we work hard to develop relationships with our communities, and I just wanted to appeal on behalf of the parents I represent. Thank you for your time. Brief letter. Wrote it this morning, so it's not very neat. And I would love, if someone could give this to our board member, miss Newville. I'll come I'll come. Thank you for your time and all you do for us. Thank you. Alright. The next speaker, Danny Salas, are you here? Danny s? Danny s? Alright. First caller is Davey.
Are you on the line, Davey? Esther Hatch? I see you're on the line. Esther Hatch? Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Esther Hatch? Esther Hatch, I see you're online. Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes. We can. Please go ahead. Okay. Hello. Good afternoon, board members. My name is Esther Hatch, and I would like to say something about the management contracts and salary approvals coming before you. These management contracts with inflated salaries that exist without any transparency and are being voted
on to raise it yet again. Why exactly? These salaries are adding the third 2 and a half to 3 and a half thousand dollars a year mostly. And, again, no one knows what these positions do, where they are, and why do they get automobiles or automobile allowances, which brings me to transparency. Where is the organizational chart? It's hard to find. That could be that could at least bring some insight into what the position entails,
you know, some level of justification. As a proud SEIU local ninety nine member, I'm grateful that the contract was settled and ratified just days ago. But now, just last week, termination letters were sent out to staff, essential jobs that impact the lives of students in our school, and these students depend on these workers. I just find it irresponsible to move forward with raises for these over for these top all these top already inflated salaries with no transparency.
And that doesn't sit well with our parents and our teachers and classified staff and school communities. Our students and schools deserve better. And does anyone remember how many leadership positions LEUSD had in 2008 when the district had 700,000 students? The district functioned with far fewer layers of management than we see today. At some point, LEUSD mysteriously asked itself, what makes sense for 400,000 students today and
declining enrollment? I don't believe that increased management when schools are consistently told there isn't enough money for staffing, support, intervention, arts, library, counseling, basic classroom needs. Thank you for your time. That concludes speakers for tab three. So for tab four, also on consent, annual approval of community advisory committee membership. We have one speaker, Lisa Barros, Lisa b. Come on down. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Hi, everyone.
You guys shortened the public speaking time since I last spoke, so I'll try to go quick. My name is Lisa Moscovaros. I'm the founder of Speducational and the proud parent of two students with disabilities. I'd like to congratulate the incoming CAC members and express my genuine appreciation for how far this committee has come. When I served as CAC chair several years ago, we began pushing for a committee that was truly parent led. The families on this committee are an asset, and I know you will treat them as one. At SpEducational, we're doing similar work, and we have a lot of opportunity here for
collaboration. We're a nonprofit dedicated to lifting up students with disabilities through parent voice. And thanks to a grant from Educating All Learners Alliance, we recently received released our first community centered data report based on a survey created by parents for parents asking questions that the district doesn't usually ask. We had 155 responses from LAUSD parents. Here's what they told us. Nearly half of students with disabilities do not consistently feel safe and supported at school. Shout out to the resolution about mental health.
Thirty percent waited over a year for their child's disability to be recognized. Sixty eight percent said advocacy has contributed to anxiety or depression. Thirty nine percent have experienced employment disruptions because they're so busy advocating for their kids. Only seven percent received district communications about federal changes to special ed, yet 91% want to know what's coming down the pipeline with the changes at the federal level. This is a cost paid in full by families while appearing in no budget.
The question for this district is, will you build systems that channel family advocacy into genuine partnership or continue to rely on families to compensate alone for what those systems fail to provide? We would welcome the opportunity to present our full findings to this board and to the CAC. The data belongs to this community, and together, I look forward to finding solutions. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Okay. That concludes tab four. Now moving on to tab five, approval of adult education, career, technical education.
We have two speakers. Christopher Jones, are you here in person? Yes, sir. Come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak. And then after mister Jones is Matthew Kogan. Kogan. Please go ahead. You'll have two minutes to speak. Why don't you begin? Thank you. Hello, LASD school board. My name is Christopher Jones. I'm a veteran ESL teacher of thirty one years in the division of adult and career education. The CTE advisory committee no longer has UTLA appointed teachers. This needs to change. Speaking of CTE, I'm here in support of career and technical education computer teacher, miss Dawn Wilson, who was unjustly dismissed last week.
Schools are the center of a community, and miss Wilson is an exemplary teacher at East Valley Skills Center. Interim superintendent, mister Andres Cheikh, says there should not be an adversarial approach to the different factions, but a partnership amongst all stakeholders. I believe in mister Cheikh not only because of what he says, but how he says it simply with conviction. No slick talk. Let's make sure that his partnership approach is followed in bringing miss Wilson back. When people think of Harriet Tubman, Jaime Escalante, Harrison Ford, Johnica Patel, Maya Angelou, Zayid
Diaz, Tom Cody, Liliana Reiner, George Takei, Ralph Lasso, Brian Discole O'Connor, and Canadian American Neil Peart. And after hearing today, doctor McKenna, they think of the utmost quality. I challenge everybody with skin in the game to elevate LAUSD to the standard set by the people I just mentioned. My name is Christopher Jones, son of Amalia and David, and grandson of Elvira Silva Solis. Thank you for your attention, and may the force be with us. Thank you for your time. Alright. Mister Matthew Kogan, come on up.
You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. My My name is Matthew Kogan, new retiree from adult education. And the CTAC committee, has some problems. It no longer has any UTLA appointed teachers on it. The last one, talked about is poor treatment. He wouldn't even be allowed to he wasn't even provided with the minutes no matter how many times he asked, and despite the fact it's a Brown Act committee. CTE is vital and so are CTE teachers.
And as my colleague Chris mentioned, Dawn Wilson has a computer teacher for twenty four years. And because of new law allowing, finally, a pathway to permanent assess for CTE teachers, Unfortunately, she's probe one this year and a few weeks ago was told you need to resign by the end of the week or you'll be non reelect. And when asked a reason, she was told she didn't need to give her a reason. Now, the district can treat legally miss Wilson in a shabby way after teaching thousands
of students. But it's it's a real difference between what we can do and what we should do. And what this district what we should do is put our students first, our community first, and treat our our, our teachers and other employees well. Clearly, this decision of a non reelect for a twenty four year teacher doesn't serve any of those goals. We have a petition. They did a petition of the students at school. I think, a 126, petitions I'd like to leave with you.
I'd also like to say that, none of these teachers should be probe one. There was an obstacle in the education code for CT teachers for districts that had rock rope. I don't they closed the LAUSD office of rock rope some years ago. And I didn't think I'm lining it up. I don't think anyone really wanted to talk about its status of an office which no longer existed. But I don't think any of our CT teachers are actually probed one this year. Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you for your time. Alright. That was public comments for tab five. Tabs nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and all are on consent, but do not have any public comment associated with them. Let's see. Tab 13, authorization to execute a renew renewal sublease contract, has two speakers. Nelita Mendez, are you here? Nelita Mendez, this is for tab 13, authorization to execute a renewal sublease contract for the transmission of Los Angeles Unified School District broadcasts. Tab 13.
Miss Mendez is gonna speak in Spanish. So if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English, please put your hands up, and we will get you translation headsets. Following miss Mendez is Maria Torres. Okay. I don't know what this is about about this talk, but I am here, and I'm very upset with miss Ortiz because you yourself, miss Kelly Gomez says, there are no funds for the police. In the school, Calvac, there was a shooting very strong for the students. There was no police. But, miss Ortiz, that I've said that that position is too big for you, you
came and hired a detective. It is more expensive a detective than the police because I'm telling you that she doesn't know how to do her job. Mister Andres Cheat, I asked him an appointment. And up to this day, I have to wait it. I don't wanna speak to anybody about what happened to my daughter because it's delicate. Mister Cheat, I don't I can't talk about him because I don't know how he works. But mister Carvalho was working really well with us. He was he was doing well. And I want to say miss to miss Ortiz that I also do not wanna
work with her because she cannot do her job. Mister Cheat, why is it that mister Carvalho left? Why didn't she also leave with him because he she was on his team? And, yes, I've been called to to meet with him. I say no because miss Ortiz threatened to call on me a detective. Is that a good thing? Do we want we want police for the school. We want police so that they are supervising the schools. We want funds for police. You don't have funds, but you do have funds for miss Mendez. That's not okay. Miss Ortiz is not okay. And I'm gonna tell you something.
Your job is way too big for you, and that expression, you don't know how to do your job? She said she doesn't wanna work with me. Bravo. So then who will I work directly with? I don't know how you work. You go on TV talking all beautiful about students in special education. What's spoken about them? Nothing. Nothing is taken into consideration. For example, in the school, Diego Rivera, they're going to go to Japan. And so I told her, why in the students are not taking into consideration? They don't wanna give them, field trips, but they're going to Japan. No. Well, mister Cheat, that's wrong, and I'm gonna wait for a appointment.
I'm very patient, and miss Ortiz are hearing listening me. I don't wanna work with her because she doesn't know how to do her job. The next speaker, please come on up. Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Maria Torres, and I have grandkids at Carver. Miss Kelly is not here, but I wanted to invite her to my IEP tomorrow. I'm under the understanding that my grandson, they're, they have autism problems, and they have IEPs. I have an IEP that is very important tomorrow. As I do understand that there's gonna be a lot of, cuts, you know, and personnel and etcetera, I was under the impression that they were gonna take out, miss
Karen Solis, which is one of the greatest persons that my grandkids have worked with. I don't understand all these movements. They're gonna, move her because of budget cuts, but move her to another school, which is causing a lot of emotional, problems to my grandson as right now we're encountering. Every day for the past three weeks at Carver, we've had people with, students with guns, people with knives. I mean, day to day, they've been shutting down the schools due to all these things that have been happening.
My grandkids are already experiencing the death of, Mike Drauder that just passed 34 years old. And now with removing this, Karen Soliz is causing a great, tremendous emotional distress on my grandkids, not only to one but to three that I currently have. Also, you know, they're taking out, like, the best teachers, Mr. Lemus. I'm not really I'm not really knowing why. My grandson was not able to give me details. I'm here because, you know, we have safety plans in place for my grandkids and obviously there's things things are not gonna get fixed.
I know that I was, working well with Mr. Carvalho. He has been tremendous help. I know that, Ms. Lopez and I have also, spoke. She is very, very good. We're working together on building a strong relationship. But I feel that now I feel that some of you guys need to step down and go to the schools, meet with, miss Kelly, should be in present on on my IEP tomorrow. I have it at ten. You know, I have safety plans in place for three of my grandkids that right now I feel that someone higher in higher positions needs to be there.
You guys, talk and talk and talk, but you guys should be in person meeting to see what goes on behind all the, you know, the talking. Right now, you say see something, say something. Now I want you guys to do something. I want somebody present there. I Thank you for that. Met with mister Carvalho in person. I would like to have that one to one in person meeting with you as well. I could show you videos of everything that goes on because there's your time. Harbor squabbles, harbor violence, and we need to stop this. We need schools. We need, police back in schools as well. Thank you for your time. Alright.
Tab 15 has no comment. Let's see. Tab 16. We have one in person comment for tab 16, approval of the San Julian Bus Yard electrification project. That's mister David Tolkovsky. Are you here, mister Tolkovsky? Earlier. Not here. We saw you earlier, sir, but you are not here now. Alright. So tab 17, we have one public commenter, David Tokofsky. Here he comes. Mister Tokofsky, this is going to be the regular public comment on tab 16, not the public hearing just yet. So tab 16, you're up, sir.
There's no question. You're up. It's not a public hearing. Right? That's correct. Okay. Thank you. I'll get on the bus with you. Today, I'm speaking, on the two items related to buses and and remembering my own experience when we went from diesel to CNG and how we thought the CNG was somehow a magical solution to diesel. And we got all sorts of grants from other agencies, and we put in lots of, infrastructure. But it turned out that the diesel particulate traps, which were very cheap, did as
much on the oxygen issues as the, CNG. And so as you look at these, items on the buses that are now using also, again, certificates of participation which are paid for out of the general fund which is instruction and personnel. You have to get a big picture on what you're getting and what you're not getting and what it's costing. And so as these two items come up, I remind you Mike, the, screen isn't
working so it's hard to tell whether I've oh, thank you. Delegated authority. A lot of these are coming in as increasingly as delegated authority. I know doctor Rivas raised the question of that the contracts, both in facilities and the district, are getting thinner and thinner in the public presentation, more and more extensions. And today, you also have an item seven, a bunch of after the fact contracts including school services, which is being paid a $160,000 for five months. Hopefully, that is a mandated cost.
Pedro should know whether that's mandated or not. And you have all sorts of issues going on with delegated authority and procurement, particularly, redoing the housing, RFP because of a lack of foresight beforehand and ending up with such a thin piece. So I I I raised the question above all, to look at the buses and get a big picture, and I'm sure the team will tell you all all that's necessary. But school services is the same contractor that Chris Mount used as he was procuring himself a job under school services in San Francisco Unified.
Thank you. Stay right there, sir, for tab 17, the public hearing. Mister Tolkovsky, please come on up. Is this broken? Mike? It might be. Okay. Mister Smollett, if you can give hands hand signals like the old fashioned schools, that would be great. Otherwise I know it's two minutes. It's a hundred twenty seconds. Right? But when we do speeches in schools, we always give one minute bingo. Leader. That's odd. Not that much I can figure out upside down, but thank you, mister McLean. This is item 17. Is that correct?
The public hearing on the affiliated charter, Colfax? Yes. Okay. I just wanna note that Colfax has 786 students. Strategic enrollment, there you got it. It's probably got a wait list of couple 100 or more. And yet we have probably a 150 schools that are lower than 250 kids. So instead of closing or consolidating, we have to reenvision things. And Colfax offers an opportunity as an affiliated charter, which are district students, union schools,
to take a look at how we can grow the affiliated schools because the affiliated offer children in Glendale Unified near back by the Colfax or Burbank Unified or in other places to come into the district. We have a strategic enrollment office, and we haven't seen any strategy that brings kids in from other districts. There's a phobia. It's a charter. But come on. It's an affiliated charter. It's an opportunity to think through through things. Additionally, on item six, which is the nine public schools item, which has a batch
of different issues in it, almost all of those students are going out of the district rather than coming in the district. Now some of them because we couldn't get the right agreement in their IEP, their individual educational program. But in many cases, the psychologists, the nurses, the social workers that are assigned in these services, non public schools are nonunion. They are taking away work, and there's board members who have motions to try to increase our sense of wellness and betterment.
We need to be fighting this week when the governor makes his May revision to add a billion dollars to special ed at a minimum and to change our approach at this district to have leadership to pursue that kind of money. That's the kind of effort bipartisan. Special ed is a by last educational bipartisan issue that the governor could take into the White House if he were pressured to. Thank you. Stay right there, sir. The public hearing for tab 18 is next. Approval of the renewal petition for Westwood Charter Elementary.
Please go ahead. You have two minutes to speak to begin. Out of the ten ten million people in the county, I'm happy to be here for the public hearing, and those public hearings that, allow us more than just the hundred and twenty seconds to speak. This item is another wonderful affiliated charter on the West Side Of Los Angeles where we also have schools with low enrollment. We have 712 plus children at Westwood and we haven't figured out how to take the learning excuse me. I'm barking at you, I think.
But, here's an opportunity to pilot things. Again, instead of closing schools using that language that other districts are using or consolidating, reenvision things with parks, with early edge centers, with all sorts of public use ideas rather than just focusing on the tiny. Here you have a school that if you had Westwood adjacent elementary school, would probably have another enrollment of 700 kids in it. Okay? The lack of envisioning that is gonna happen like other school districts around the state
who are closing and consolidating and not thinking. This board has a lot of intelligence, a lot of capability to see things and particularly to pilot things. To date, the Children Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, which I have spoken about for a couple of years, LA Unified according to the state website today, has reimbursed $15,000 $15,000 for 400,000 kids. Anaheim Elementary School District, which has 14,000 kids, has 900,000 in.
I'm not saying the state doesn't have problems, but we ought to pilot some of these ideas rather than trying to change all the water fountains at the same time. Take a look at what your opportunities are in mental health and counseling through that program, as well as the issues raised this morning by some of the unions with respect to BSAP or the extra counselors. All of those things can be funded through Children Health Behavioral Initiative. Thank you for your time. Alright. Tab 19 is has questions. Tab 20 is on consent and has 10 speakers.
Mister Dukovsky, you are not one of them. Alright. Nicole and Duquette, are you here? Come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Exterra Ann Green Dot would like to express our gratitude for consent approval today by waiving all speakers. Alright. I'm gonna read through the list to make sure I didn't, miss someone with a a different viewpoint. So that's miss Nicole Ann Duquette, Brennan Brenna Horan. Wave. Wave. Alright. Christina de Jesus. Wave. Annabelle Moskowitz, Naima Otero, Rosa Miranda, Aldiverta Morales, Maria Ramos, Diane Alvarado, and Choktil Abayan.
Outstanding. Thank you. That that's tab 20. Right. So that moves us to tab 24. The note I have is consent with a quick comment. Just as a quick introduction, this resolution is about supporting five current bills in front of the legislator, creating a task force to increase revenues, and, calls for biannual updates to the board. You heard it today from our labor partners. We've heard it from district leaders and community members for so long. It's already happening. This is just an opportunity to, give a little more teeth to the work around creating, more revenue streams for public education and closing private loopholes, at the state level.
So, thanks for that. And thanks for your cosponsorship, miss Cones. Okay. I'll just briefly thank you board member, Aratiis Franklin, for, for authoring this resolution, for allowing me to cosponsor. And, as she mentioned, you know, revenue is really what we're focused on and how to ensure that our schools in California are fully funded. There's been a lot of conversation focused on the release of prop $98, but we know it has to go even farther than that if we are truly to think about, what does fair and equitable funding look like for our public schools in California and especially here in Los Angeles.
And a critical part of that is ensuring that corporations and the wealthiest among us actually pay their fair share for doing business here in California and that we can take those funds to support, our children, our youth, which we know are the best investment we could possibly make. We were I was part of a delegation. I was proud to join, the superintendent and some of my colleagues on the board and our labor partners in Sacramento. And it's clear that there are many legislators that support our schools, but I do as, miss Ortiz Franklin mentioned, we need to step up our advocacy and ensure that
they hear all of our voices and just how critical this funding is, not just on a onetime basis, but on an ongoing basis to really meet the needs of our students and provide the schools that they deserve. Thank you. Right. There are seven speakers associated with this item for public comment. All in person, Mecky Smith. Are you here? Marelli So to, Lupe, Jovita Angel, Latanya Hall, Alexis Hill, Leah Driscoll or Leah Driscoll.
Not here. So that was tab 24. That concludes comment on 24. The next consent item is tab 26. There are no speakers to tab 26. Tab 27, I've withdrawn. So that concludes the consent calendar, which has been moved and seconded. I will now take the vote on the consent calendar. I could just get my notes. Alright. So on voting on the consent calendar, miss Newbill? Yes. Doctor Rivas? Mister Melvoin? Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin? Yes. Board president Schmirulson?
Yes. Student board member Yang? Yes. K. So consent calendar passes. I just have to collect two votes. Give me one second to make sure I didn't miss something. I mean, everyone who's getting up, you're good to go, but I have to check on something else. Alright. Moving on to discussion items. To the vote. Press back. Oh, mister Melbourn, may I collect your vote on the consent calendar? Yes. That is a yes on items on the consent calendar. Now I need to come back for doctor Rivas. Now going to item specific tabs. The first is tab one, donations of money and materials to the district.
Sure, ma'am. I have you, miss Newbill, with a question. So I had a question for the donor of the Peterson Automotive, Museum that there's a there's, I guess, 69, 100 tickets or vouchers. Wanted to know what is the way or how does the school, be informed about them, and how are they distributed?
Good afternoon, board members and superintendent. I, so we collaborate with the arts education branch. And, this distribution, we collaborated with the culture arts passport ambassadors. They received the message on behalf of their schools, and they are the ones that requested it. And we also, put a notification on the, when the DOI's newsletter. And then how are students eligible to further pass? Is there an eligibility? Or title one schools are the ones that are eligible. And if it's a title one school
So all of the students are able to get a voucher for those schools that requested it. Got it. Alright. And then, for their family or just the students? Each student gets it, and the voucher allows for an adult, a youth, or a senior family member, or youth to get, access up to three guests. Got it. Alright. Thank you. There's no comment on tab one. Is there further questions or discussion? May I have a move and a second for tab one? Moved by miss Gomez. Second. Feel like that was a tie.
Whoever. Okay. Miss Newbill is second. Miss Newbill? Yes. Doctor Rivas? Mister Melboin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin. Board president Schmirelson. Yes. Student board member Yang. Yes. K. That passes, and I need to come collect votes. That concludes tab one. Moving on to tab six. Let's do a move in a second while we're here. Move it. Moved by Escones. Second. Seconded by board president Schmuerelson. This is, tab six, non public school agency approval of master contracts. Well, thank you for giving us, this information.
Wanted to ask specifically if it's possible that the board can have an analysis for each category of schools or services that are listed there so that we can ensure that our students that are there are getting what's called the least restricted environment. Are they able to do that? Are we able to see that by board? For students that are attending an MPS Yes. School site? So the reason a student attends an MPS is because it's a more therapeutic setting.
There may be students that are there, on the general ed. For the most part, their students with disabilities are are at the MPS. So opportunities for for, LRE may be more limited than being on a comprehensive school site campus. Got it. And then are the residential treatment centers all here in the state of California? No. We have 10 but, about two I believe two are in California and the rest are in other states. Utah, I believe Florida. So they're they're they're, spread across The United States.
Wow. Okay. And then do we know the number of those students that are in those centers that are outside of the state of California? Yes. Give me one second. We currently have 36 students that are attending residential treatment centers. 28 are attending outside of the state centers. Great. Okay. So you said 28 that are out of state Yes. Of the 36 of our students that we have. And by average, what does that cost for us to have a student as a residential treatment? Well, I would I'd be able to provide you an average because we we, create
master contracts with every agency on an annual basis or every school on an annual basis, so I'd be able to provide you an average cost. Okay. And then as we try to bring our contracts back into the district, are we, are we able to open up our behavior training so that we can increase the ability of our school district BIIs. Is that ongoing or happening now? Yes. So the division has been working to bolster the training for our paraeducators. We offer a wide array of trainings that are in person, via online and also,
we're looking to continue to provide opportunities for for BIIs that or for, SPE assistants that are, assigned as a BII. Just to give you an idea, every year our paraeducators are enrolled in an eight course module that they complete. In addition to that, we this past year, we offered onboarding for any paraeducator that was assigned as a BII, and we held them here centrally. They were well attended. It was a two day onboarding training where student where the assistants would receive training on topics such as eligibility, behavior support, and how to take data, data collection as
they work with students. We're expanding that work to the region level so we can gather even more of our paraeducators at the region level. So we are working to definitely bolster the support and training that we offer our paraeducators. Got it. Now that's optional Yes. At this time. But we are working in providing some trainings that, will be delivered for our paraeducators on the optional days. So we wanna ensure that those opportunities are available. And from the past, do we know how many have received that training Oh, yes. Taking advantage of it? It's it's it's in the thousands.
Each of the each of the sessions that we've had Mhmm. Have had over a thousand participants. Okay. Yes. We have a lot of different topics, and they're well attended throughout the day. Online or in person? Because you said here. We are the majority of them are online modules, but we also offer in person trainings here centrally, and at times on the weekends on Saturdays. And those in person trainings, those are those are the two days or that is It's a two day training. Okay. Alright. Thank you. Are there any further questions to tab six?
Just one follow-up because I I think some of the the information about the NPSs might be, a little bit surprising just based on the the high level information was shared about out of state. How are those placements determined? It is an IEP team decision based on the need of the student. The IEP team does a comprehensive job in reviewing the assessments that that have been conducted, and the team determines if a placement such as a residential treatment facility is necessary and, of course, with parent consent. Thank you. That's all. Any further questions on tab six? Alright. Having been moved and seconded, miss Newbill?
Yes. Doctor Rivas? Mister Melboin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin? Board president Schmerlson? Yes. And student board member Yang? Yes. K. It passes. Moving on to tab seven, approval of procurement actions. There are questions, and I also want to note for the record, attachment a, item g is postponed. I believe there are questions to tab seven. Okay. Sorry. Item e. I have a question about item e. Can you share more about this program, which is, I believe, in MOU with the
district attorney's office regarding absenteeism. Can you explain, describe what it is? Good afternoon, board members, superintendent. Elsie Rosado, administrator for the student support and attendance services branch. Yes. The Abolish Chronic Truancy Program is a partnership with the district attorney's program. We've actually had this partnership in the past as a PSA counselor myself. I am very familiar with the program. So what it is, the focus is really on reducing truancy, which is unexcused absences. And so we work very closely with the district attorney in identifying students who have
unexcused absences. So we look at students that have 10 or more. Once those students are identified, then we work very closely with the DA's hearing officers, and they hold a parent meeting at the school site with those families that have unexcused absences. And at that moment, then we share all the resources that are available in the district, in the community, and then we monitor them. If those absences continue after that parent hearing, then we'll hold a student attendance review team at the school site where, again, the district attorney officer is there with us,
and we're working with the family to address those barriers to attendance. If after that, then the attendance continues to, there's still an attendance issue, then we hold in a SARB meeting, which is at the highest intervention at the district level, and the, hearing officer is also present. And board member, if I may, I wanna emphasize that what the the process that miss Rosado is describing is at the very end of a continuum of interventions by folks. So in other words, when a student has those 10 unexcused absences, their first point of contact with us or with any intervention is most certainly not as part of
the ACT program. Right. They've already had interventions through the PSA at the school, through a number of services. We always start from the approach of help us help you. What's the issue? Is it a procedural thing? Maybe you as a mom or dad don't know how to excuse an absence for a child. Maybe there's a transportation concern. So we only activate this level of intervention when all those other aids have not been successful. And it's not a punitive. It's it's really continuing to support our families, bringing in our partners. Thank you. But what exactly is the role of the DA?
Because I feel like as a parent, I would be very scared if all of a sudden I'm meeting with the DA. So what exactly is the role in this team? Is that they're an additional support to families and that from the beginning, and we share that with them when we have that parent meeting. This is from the district attorney's office. Sometimes they have access to other resources or programs that we may not have. So from the beginning, we tell families this is not punitive, but we are here to support them. At any point, are there any citations given to parents or to students or anything
like that? No. There are no citations. Again, it's, we are not citing for truancy. It's if it gets to the SARP hearing, we continue to support families and address, but it just provides another layer. I just Not how many of our students are are referred? Yeah. Do get So we through this process. Currently, we have 44 schools that will be participating. I I know mister Gomez is here, director for pupil services. Do you have that information? Is that something we would have to have to Yes. So we don't have the information of how many students are served right now because
we are just starting the program, but we can share with you on follow-up to share how many students will receive the support. Alright. And then are the folks are the DAs, are they trained in working with families? Are there particular DAs that have been Yes. Going through some Yes. That is correct. Restorative practices and how to communicate. Yes. The many of the DAs, that are there have worked with this is really what their one of their core components that they work is to address truancy, at the DA level. And like I said, even, like, when I was a PSA counselor, one of them
that's there was there when I was a PSA counselor. So they, work very closely with families and are trained to work with families so that it's not coming across as punitive, but really providing that additional support. And and just to clarify, this is a no cost MOU, so are they're offering this service to us? Correct. It's a free no cost MOU for five years. K. The if I can add, $84.61, and I think the the general concern has always been, you know, partnership with the DA truancy leading to penalties and citations.
But as of 01/01/2026, the law has actually eliminated that. And so as of today, you know, you can't prosecute, you can't fine or, you know, provide any type of penalty to families. So it's taking more of a restorative and supportive approach. And so there is a transition that's happening in working with the DA's office, but we are working with individuals that have been doing this work for a very long time. They know our students. They know our system in working with PSA counselors. So it's a team effort, to treat try to bring additional resources and support to
the family. That goes beyond what the even the district provides. K. Thank you for sharing that, Pedro. I'm wondering, can you give me an example of an additional support that they would provide that we cannot provide? So I know what they've done in the past. Sometimes they have access to, certain parenting courses that they could connect the family to, that the DA's office offers. Again, this is we've had this partnership in the past. It was on pause for a while, so we're just restarting. But we can definitely, circle back in terms of what additional resources they provide.
I think just one is that I shared that I am familiar with in the past, but we can circle back and share with you. I would appreciate that. I'd like to know more about it. I mean, I I appreciate no cost m o u's, but I also wanna make sure that it is something that is in line with what we want to promote. Agree. And, and I wanna see what the purpose and the benefit is to us and to our families. So if I could have that information, that would be great. Thank you. Okay. Any other questions? Hubel. Yeah. On h on Edmonton. Wanted to get clarification on how it works and Hi.
This is a request to increase the bench that already exists, and Edmentum is one of those, vendors, which is also owned by Apex. And is this similar to Ingenuity? Or Yes. There's two there's, three vendors on this bench, two that offer the online courses. And then do these, specialized courses come with a teacher with these classes? We purchase blended as well as virtual licenses. Blended licenses are used by our own teachers, to teach in the classroom as a
supplemental support and to personalize that instruction. And we also use virtual licenses, which is a highly qualified teacher, that the company provides. But we always provide a mentor for any virtual course who monitors that child's progress and gives support. And how many of our students have requested these or requested these services? Let me give you that. Sorry. So we have anywhere from 20,000 to 22,000 students every year who engage in virtual
courses, and equal to that, for the blended, for Edgenuity. And then for the Apex slash Edmentum courses, we have anywhere from 372 to 500. The 372? Correct. And then are we what is the max for the program? What would be There is no max. There is no max. And then Our max is the cost on the bench. And then are these students or could they be taking a community college class online?
This community college courses is separate from this. This is online courses. We do have dual enrollment courses as well as an offering. And what is the difference between the online course that a community college would offer versus this class? I'm not aware of the online dual enrollment courses. Those are usually face to face at the community college or at the school site. Oh, and I'm just asking because if there's something that we're duplicating that's already in existence, you know? If if I may, board member, so, Carol, if you could explain a little bit
more about how Edgenuity as a course offering is different than, let's say, a dual enrollment class and, like, who are the students who take the Edgenuity course? Sure. Edgenuity courses or Apex courses are typically taken by students who need credit recovery. It's the number one pathway that we have right now besides taking the course. The most students take a course again during the school day, and we this is the other pathway that students have to get credit recovery when they failed the course. So as as she explained, it can be it's an additional option for students to
be able to earn those credits that they need. Edgenuity is an additional option. They could still do due enrollment and things like that, but this is an additional option. And this Edmonton or what we're looking at here that we're expanding, this is as well for, credit recovery and not for enrichment? This is for credit recovery that we're talking about. Yes. It's one of our strategies for those kids who need to catch up. We do offer occasionally, an initial credit course when that student has a block in
their schedule when they can't take it during that period or that course is not offered at that campus. But for the most part, I'd say 99% of the time, it's credit recovery. And these are courses like AP. Correct? AP, the a through g core content courses. So a student can take this course in the event they wanted to take an AP course. For example, we know many of our athletes, they're leaving the day at seventh period, and so they do not have access to that AP course or they have it on their schedule, but they're missing it three times a week.
Correct. This is a perfect match for that. Okay. Alright. Thank you. Carla? I'm wondering, are can adult educators teach these courses? Or we also do offer we offer various pathways for credit recovery, dual enrollment being one of them. Days courses are also another pathway, as well as our continuation schools. Our comprehensive students can take courses at the continuation school as well. They can retake a course during the school day, and they have online courses.
So this creates another option too. Correct. And it's an online only, But you still need a an a certificated teacher to be there with the student even though it's an online course. Let me clarify. Yeah. These courses are offered by highly qualified credentialed teachers, California credentialed teachers by the vendor. LA Unified provides the mentor for virtual courses, who monitors that student's progress and, provides support for blended licenses that our teacher teaching and using that license, as a supplemental
support for instruction, maybe to break students up into small groups so they can work on specific standards and skills. So blended is not for credit recovery. It's a supplementary for whatever the teachers do. Used for for could be used for credit recovery, but that would be our teacher behind it. I see. And this particular contract is for both blended and for Yes. Online only with a mentor. Yes. K. Thank you. Tanya. Thanks. Are most of the credit recovery courses, are all of them asynchronous? Most of the credit Like, the kids are watching videos and reading PowerPoints kind of
on their own time? Yes. They can replay those videos. There's various supports provided, in those licenses that each of the platforms provides Yeah. To help kids. It's I don't know if we called this out, but, as it relates to the screen time, Rezo, we just passed at our last meeting. I wanna encourage the team to include guidelines here around credit recovery as well, because it it's growing it's a growing concern for me that more kids are, on their screens doing credit recovery than in, you know, great first instruction with live teachers on
their campuses. And so just as the team is refining that to bring it in June, I would just request that there is a piece in there called out about credit recovery, for whatever the guidelines might be about time exposure to the screens you you know, during credit recovery. I don't think it's an all out exception. I think we still need to have guidelines around it. And thank you, board member. Could you, Carol, share a little bit about how a student is selected to do a credit recovery? That way we know exactly those, and that way we know too for the guidance what else to ensure. Counselors meet with the student to provide the best pathway for that student to, conduct
credit recovery. And the virtual courses provide that flexibility for that student who might be working, who might have sports, who might have other things going on. Or, like, for summer school, our first, attempt for that student, of course, is always that face to face classroom and good first instruction. But if they have three classes or four classes to, recover, then that online option of that virtual course is a lifeline for that student to meet their graduation requirements. Yeah. And I hear that. I I think I also have a growing concern that, students will graduate, you know,
with the d or better, even c or better with our courses, but then not yet be college ready. And so I just wanna make sure we have an alignment that when a student graduates see or better with a district course, including a credit recovery course, and ideally there are fewer of those, that they're not gonna be struggling in college because the quality of the instruction they received is not at the rigorous level the level of rigor that the, you know, college would require of them. So it's just a concern I have for the the guidance. We don't have to have the answer today, but just something for the team to consider, please, when you bring those to us. Sure.
Thanks. The other questions on tab seven? Okay. Alright. May I have a motion and a second for tab seven? Move it. Moved by board president Schmerleston, seconded by miss Newbill. Taking the vote, miss Newbill? Yes. Doctor Rivas? Mister Melvoin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin? I'm a no on b, the school services contract, but, yes on the balance. Thank you. Board president Schmoorson? Yes or no? Yes or no? Student board member Yang? Yes, at all. Alright. We'll come back to doctor Rivas on tab seven.
And we have a time certain of 02:30 that we've kind of flown by. I apologize for for that. So this is tab 25. There are ten ten public speakers. Do you wish to comment or public speakers first? So, wanna say thank you again. We're here today, as we recognize May as mental health awareness month, and we're introducing a version two of this resolution that is being passed out to you.
Hopefully, you've got the updated version. As you know, there's a lot of turmoil in the world, and sometimes things can feel a little unsettling. And our society continues to move in a positive direction in making conversations about mental health more commonplace and that it is a good thing. Our students face pressures from society and their peers and in different ways that we didn't back in the nineteen hundreds. This is one of the topics that BD one, student advisory council raised as a
priority area, for them very early on in its formation of our council. And so today, we wanna pause and say thank you to our student mental health team, our psychiatric social workers, and our pupil service and attendance counselors. You all provide a tremendous service to our students. We wanna continue to elevate the value of your work and strive to for the opportunities to increase service to our students.
I would like to, at this time, invite my cosponsors, board president Scott Schmielson and Carla Griego to give some remarks. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. As a former teacher and assistant principal and a principal, I view all things from the perspectives that I have lived through. And these experiences are not ignored just simply because I'm a board member now. On the contrary, I believe that it's the board's responsibility to strike a good balance
between centralized control and school autonomy. And I believe that this resolution leads us in a productive direction. And I thank all my colleagues, Charlotte and Carla for including me in this resolution. And there's no saying there's nothing more important than having these folks at our school sites, PSAs and PSWs, all these, people who are helping our kids through trauma, and the school site is where they should be. Thank you. Carla. Yes.
Thank you, Shorlette, for leading the work in this and thank you to our, to our PSAs and PSWs who provided feedback once they saw the version online. The number one request that comes from students as well as families is having access to mental health. We heard that this morning over and over again. We talk about it on a regular basis and, our communities are seeing the benefits to having access to mental health supports and also are feeling the need and the
greater need for this as our schools develop and strengthen their teams to address school culture and student wellness. There is a need to have consistency in mental health staff at school sites. I've heard this from our own PSWs. We heard it today from our BSAP PSWs who were sharing how and PSAs, our BSAP PSAs who were discussing how challenging it is for our students especially when all of a sudden their provider is gone.
And it takes a while to develop that relationship between the, provider and the student to develop that trust. And when it's finally there, and then all of a sudden it is lost, it creates a lot of instability to already an unstable situation. And so, I think this resolution tried to do that and is attempting to try to create some stability at the school sites. I think, it was not intended at all, and I I wanna share this with
all of our PSAs and our PSWs who were very concerned that some of the language was bypassing seniority or any HR policies. That was not the intent at all and, it was more focused on highlighting the need for school stability when it comes to staffing. Our schools thrive whenever you have staff that cares and has established that trust with students and families. I appreciate that this resolution also calls not only one, uplifts the work of our
mental health providers, but also calls for clarity on protocols whenever a school has purchased a PSW or a PSA and all of a sudden they don't get the full days and what happens to the funds that that school put forth for that position. And this resolution attempts to, not attempts, but it will call it is calling for guidance around what protocols will be followed in those situations as well as encourages schools
who, can share resources to to do that if possible so that, our our PSAs and our PSWs can reach more students. And so it it continues to honor the practices that currently exist, which is that the regions, are placing the, staffing in consultation with, principals as to the needs at the particular school site, and we want to encourage that that conversation also happens with
the provider at the school site, that they are also part of assessing what the needs are of that school site. So, thank you for bringing this forth. I'm very happy to be cosponsoring. Thank you. And for those words, both and if possible, we have a video? There is a video. And while we're queuing the video, may I take the vote on the rule 72 waiver? A motion and a second. Move. Moved by alright. Moved by doctor Rivas by miss Newbill. And for the rule 72 waiver, miss Newbill?
Yes. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Malvoine? Yes. Diego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Miss Ortiz Franklin? Board president Schmiralson? Yes. And student board member Yang? Yes. Okay. The rule 72 waiver passes, and now there is a video queued up. Miss Gomez, how do you vote on a rule 72 waiver for tab 25? Yes. That's a yes. Thank you. Alright. Let's play the video. Hey, guys. It's Jordan Chiles. I know sometimes life feels like a lot. You're juggling classes, friendships, family, sports, social media, and trying to figure out who you
are all at once. I've been there even as an Olympian. I've had moments where it all felt heavy and the pressure to be perfect made me forget that I'm human too. Here's what I've learned. Mental health is not a weakness. It's your strength. It's what helps you show up as your full self in school, in your relationships, and in your dreams. Just like training your body, your mind needs care, rest, and recovery too. When I was younger, I used to think pushing through was the only way to win. But then I realized winning isn't just about medals or scores.
It's about learning to breathe when things get tough. It's about reaching out when you need help. It's about giving yourself grace on the hard days. So if you're struggling, please talk to someone, a teacher, a friend, a counselor, a parent. You don't have to hold it all in. Asking for help doesn't make you weak. It makes you wise. You're not alone in what you feel, and you deserve to feel supported and seen. And to all my dreamers out there, never forget that education is power. What you learn in and out of the classroom builds the foundation for everything you'll
become. Keep showing up even when it's hard. Your voice, your perspective, and your story all matter. Mental health and education go hand in hand. When you take care of your mind, your focus grows. Your creativity flows. You start believing that you're capable of more than you ever imagined. So today, I just want to remind you to check-in with yourself. Take a deep breath. Be kind to your mind because no dream is worth losing yourself for, and no goal is too big when you're whole, healthy, and grounded.
You matter. Your peace matters. Your future matters, and I'm cheering for you every step of the way. Hi. My name is Mary Watt, and I'm a psychiatric social worker with the Los Angeles Unified School District at Canoga Park High School. When people think about school, they think about grades and tests, but a lot of our students are walking in carrying stress, trauma, and anxiety, things that don't just go away outside the classroom. My role is to support students' mental health so they can actually show up and learn. That can look like one on one counseling, crisis support, helping families connect to resources,
and leading school wide social emotional learning campaigns that promote awareness, coping skills, and positive school climate. There is no typical day for PSW. Some days, I'm responding to immediate student needs, whether that's deescalating a situation or supporting a student in crisis. And other days, I'm building long term support so they can feel safe, stable, and ready to learn. We know that mental health directly affects attendance, behavior, and academic success. When students don't feel okay, they can't fully engage in school, and many students who need support don't always receive it.
That's why having mental health services directly on campus is so important, along with ensuring that district provided resources are readily available for families. I strongly support this resolution in recognizing May as mental health awareness month and strengthening mental health services across the district. This work allows us to be more proactive instead of reactive, which means we can identify students who need support early before challenges escalate into crisis that impact learning, attendance, and overall well-being. Mental health is just as important as physical health. When we support the whole student, we give them a real chance to succeed, not
just in school, but in life. So good morning. My name is Jenny Guzman Murdock. I am the principal here at Wadsworth. Hi. My name is Marissa Lanmeras. I am the community rep here at Wadsworth. Hello. My name is Stephanie Acosa. I'm a school based psychiatric social worker, with Region East at Wadsworth Avenue Elementary. And one of the things that we do here to help, the school with mental health and, of course, the parents is, we provide resources for them, workshops. I'm constantly in communication with Chris Acosta or PSW.
We're always talking about what can we do for the community to help them support their child with mental health. I've been blessed to be at this school site five days for the past five years. And it's been an honor to be a mental health support to our students here. My role is primarily to be, a source of education to our students and families and to support them with learning about mental health and supporting their emotional well-being throughout their school day and even beyond that.
Since it's really a group effort, it doesn't come down to just one person. We do have a PSW, but we also have a big support team with intervention coordinator, instructional coach, we have TSP, we have two assistant principals, and we have our community rep who's really involved. And just our staff. Our staff is really in tune with our students and their needs. So it's just really thinking about the students and what they need at the time. You know, there's one of me, but there's many trusted adults on campus. So supporting my staff and and giving them the tools and also the encouragement to
know that they can connect with students and support their mental health too. At the end of the day, all of our students belong to us. Some of our students need academic support, others need behavior support. So we have to just think about the fact that they're all our students regardless of whether they're general ed, special ed, this is Wadsworth. They all come here and they all get what they need because our students have connections with adults. It could be a teacher from a previous year that they were with. It could be a current teacher. It could be a staff member that they play with during recess and lunch.
It can be someone who's reading them in the front. So our students, our goal here is to make sure that our students feel like they belong and they're connected to someone. So when they're having a bad day, there's always someone who's going to stop and listen to them. We wanna make sure that our families are happy, they're safe, and they feel safe to come and ask us, hey, I need help with this. When I'm here at Wadsworth, I do feel that we're all here with the same goal in mind, and that helps us work together. The goal in mind is creating a school community that feels safe, that is fostering
the things that children need to prosper. And that's why I'm here, to help the school and help the community. Again, thank you again for this opportunity to be able to share this with everyone and as we continue to lift up our PSWs and our PSAs. And I think we have some public comment. There is public comment. There are 10 folks signed up. Kya Bailey. Are you here? Kya? Come on down. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. And then after miss Bailey is, Kono and then Sophie Ryan and then Donya Ward. Just to clarify, before I start, the piece around the principals hiring, was that said
that that's out. Okay. Alright. So I'm gonna try to readjust. So Yeah. Can you clarify that piece before folks start? Because I think that's There are public copies of the No. I I've been checking. Oh, we should have public copies. Do to disable changes Hearing secretaries, do we have public copies available for the public? I just looked two times, so it's I appreciate it. Thank you very much. I I'm not gonna say I'll you know, hopefully, it works.
So I'll just go. I'll just yeah. Hold on. You make a good point. I just wanna make sure that the the copies are available. One second. We had about a 100 copies out there, but they're they're gone. So they're they're they're bringing out we're bringing out more. Oh, okay. We're bringing out more. I apologize for the delay. Maybe maybe one of the authors or co sponsors could just read the resolves so that that obviously, don't do the strength. It's just read what it new the new text.
I can read the last three results with the most updated changes. Resolve further that the Los Angeles Unified School District will implement the following assignment practices for school funded psychiatric social workers and public service and attendance counselors, region PSAs and SMH coordinators, will oversee candidate selection and placement, working with principals to ensure each school
needs are appropriately met. In in the instance of budget limitations, principals from two or more schools will be encouraged to cooperate with each other combining their funding to hire PSWs and PSAs. The development of schedules, including start times and days of service, will be coordinated and overseen by region PSAs and SMH coordinators in consultation with principals to ensure alignment with school needs and application guidelines. As a district, we commit to ensure these positions remain filled. In the event of a vacancy, the region office will provide support to schools to
ensure continuity of services and timely staffing. Resolved, that the district will work collaboratively to clarify protocols and instances where schools did not receive all previously purchased service hours and, where appropriate, updated policies, including consideration of reimbursement to schools for hours not serviced. This guidance will be shared directly with principals and relevant administrators to support schools moving forward.
I think that was our that was the last result that we, and then we took out the last one. Do I start? Are you are you company made with the I yeah. I I've I'll just I'll go with the flow. Appreciate that very much. You'll have two minutes to speak when she Thank you. So, again, my name is Kai Bailey, PSA in BSAP. I'm also a licensed clinical social worker, so I appreciate the recognition of May as Mental Health Awareness Month always, for the importance of student wellness. Obviously had some concerns about the resolution, how it was kind of talking about staffing
and hiring, because we already have all of these procedures in our contract. A couple things, though, about this the nuances with PSA and PSWs, there are some places where PSA is mentioned and and not, so I wanted to call that out. Before I say that, though, I would be remiss to not speak and uplift on the importance of black youth mental health. And, I think that's valuable to include in a resolution like this because we know that our black youth are disproportionately affected by suicide rates, by ACEs, toxic stress, all
of the things that we know. It's a heightened level for our black students. And so, I wanna make sure that we uplift that and and fold that into, moving forward anything about mental health and wellness. So just to reiterate, when we're talking about proposed hiring and scheduling, we have all of those things in our contract already. So it was definitely alarming to hear that it could be pushed to to principals, which it sounds like you all got feedback on. Really, my recommendations, about this are to just fall back on the assignment process we
already have. At first glance, you know, I can't process this very quickly. But at first glance, the only thing that I'm look I I am concerned about and jumped out at is around the, scheduling and start time. There's some nuances in that. And so, I think what we have in our contract works already, and so just relying on what we already have in there. So I would thank you for your time. Thank you for your time and your patience with us.
Kono, miss Kono. Thank you very much. I'm gonna basically read my speech because I just got the revised version. So I'm gonna read what I have. Thank you very much, board members, for the coauthoring in the mental health awareness month resolution. The ULA PSW leadership team, as I'm the lead chair, are appreciative of most of the whereas sections, however, are highly concerned about the resolved sections, which need to be removed and replaced prior to voting on this resolution. I believe there we need more time to process this, and it should be postponed and voted on at the next meeting.
Whereas LAUSD will place in the strategic plan, this is our proposal, to prioritize the hiring, retention, training, and support of PSWs for in person services and not replace these services with outsourcing teletherapy agencies. Resolved, following the best practices of the National Association of School Social Workers to provide PSWs at every school site and program in LAUSD, moving towards a national ratio of one to two fifty for school based PSWs and reasonable caseloads for all other PSWs. Resolved, the district will abide by the LAUSD tentative agreement article for itinerant assignment process.
And, therefore, resolve the district will support SMH expertise and experience and continue SMH's central office hiring and assignment process for all PSW positions. Resolve the district will continue to coordinate with LAUC SMH admin for data collection system and reports that we currently have. Resolve the SMH join wellness impact survey will be utilized to assess, evaluate, and report the impact of services on students, parents, and staff, and resolve based on the National Association of School Social Workers. In person school based services are the most effective way to enhance the overall mental
health and social emotional well-being of all students in all schools and programs and therefore resolve LAUSD should abide by the LAUSD, UTLA tentative agreement article 13, protecting bargaining members from outsourcing. UTLA PSW leadership team are open to discussing any changes with our school administrators, school mental health administrators with all of you as board members And to ensure that we will all have the best interest of our students, families, and PSWs in mind and heart, we look forward to meeting with you in the future, and I would recommend
to postpone the vote for today in order to properly have input from students, families, parents, especially UTLAPSWs, PSAs Thank you so much for your time. And administration. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Sophie Ryan. Greetings. I am formally requesting a modification to the proposition. As drafted, it presents significant risks including violations of the UTLA contract and the potential of numerous grievances and staff relations nightmares. More importantly, it threatens the quality of student services regarding ethical standards, legal compliance, child
welfare best practices, trauma informed practices, linkage to community resources, foster homeless youth support, and student recovery. Principles lack PPS credentials and clinical expertise to hire and supervise health and human services staff. This shift would compromise service integrity and place PSA counselors in a position where operational priorities would conflict with professional standards. If a school gets a centrally funded PSA and a school purchase PSA, that would
create inconsistent expectations and variable schedules that would prevent teamwork and would impact students negatively. Funding decisions would become budget driven rather than student needs driven. This resolution would discourage purchasing of full time positions overseen by the district in favor of buying part time positions overseen by a principal. We've been there before. Based on frontline experience, we believe the resolution requires immediate revision with collaboration of PSA
and PSW representatives. The revision would protect student, families, staff, and the community at large. I am very saddened that board members that I respect have done this without consulting with PSAs because we already have PSAs with multiple assignments. Our coordinators are already encouraging smart schools to give us the time that they can purchase to put it one together. And one last comment, miss Gregor, you have a very strong special education bark, background,
and I encourage you to include school psychologists because the school psychologists also provide mental health support to the most vulnerable students, crisis intervention, and assessments of suicidal aviation. So in this month, school psychologists also deserve to be uplifted. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Alright. The next speaker is, Dania Ward. Come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. I defer my time to Eva Mase. Thank you. Hi. I'm Eva. Thank you for having me back.
In honor of mental health aware mental health awareness month, I think the board needs to commit to learning more about our school mental health systems and its functioning. This resolution is barely about mental health awareness month. It's about managing PSW and PSL PSA personnel. Our department, School Mental Health, which houses all the PSWs, operates with hardworking administrative staff who are trying to meet the mental health needs of the second largest school district in district in the country with 750 PSWs. So, yes, we need more PSWs, and, yes, we need more mental health admin to
help, advise the, to help supervise, hire, and train the PSWs. But our department makes tough decisions about how to place PSWs based on funding allocations from each school site, needs and preferences, and union seniority of the UTLA members, using knowledge of existing PSW staff clinical experience, skill sets, years of experience. We're all different. And most importantly, the mental health data and numbers of critical incidents recorded at each school. So our SMH admin holds sensitive information such as numbers of suicides, student deaths per
school per region, number of risk assessments, threat assessments, assaults, violent incidents at each school, and they make staffing decisions based on many factors with the goal of equitable distribution of our personnel resource. So this rule's resolution opens up the door for inequity, favoritism, and erosion of merit based staffing protections. It can create fragmented mental health system where student support depends on individual in this administrator preference rather than district wide standards. Principles are qualified to make staffing decisions about teachers because they're in the same discipline.
Our discipline is governed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences of California, and the principals don't have credentials there. And that's not disrespect. That's just facts. So without standard safeguards, subjective hiring practices can dish disproportionately impact staff of color, advocating staff, staff advocating for mental health needs and rights of students and families, older employees, employees with differing perspectives. So our seniority system exists to protect fairness, transparency, and institutional knowledge. Removing or weakening these protections destabilizes the workforce retention and more out of time.
Also, the LA Children's Test, we don't typically share data. This is another outside contract that we're gonna pay for. We're currently in a lot of trouble for paying for too many contracts. We need to pause on that. We need to, like, reflect and, like, what data? With who? For what? Thank you for your time. Yeah. We so that's also very important. Thank you. Paula Vargas? Paula v? Paula Vargas? Are you here? Yeah. We're signed up as in person. Let me see if this person is online. Alright. We'll come back to miss Vargas. Cesar, Chaparro. Cesar Chaparro, come on up.
You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Thank you very much. My name is Cesar Chaparro, and, I'm a LAUSD community member and parent. But today, I come to you as a people service and attendance counselor. My concerns echo the same as my colleagues. Basically, in the end, please include us in in your revising this resolution so we could give appropriate feedback. Thank you very much. God bless you and guide you. Thank you for your time. Eva May, are you here? Eva May, are you here? Oh, I apologize. Thank you. Right. Marissa Gongora.
Marissa Gongora. Alonzo Warren. Are you here? Alright. I'll call on folks, who are remote. Paula Vargas is actually remote, so please press 6 to unmute yourself, miss Vargas, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Paula Vargas. Vargas, I see you're online with us. Please press 6 to unmute yourself. Hi. Good afternoon, honorable board members. My name is Paula Vargas. Are you able to hear me? Yes. We can. Please go ahead. Maybe just speak up a little bit, and I'll turn up the volume also.
Agree. Agree. Perfect. Is that better? That's a bit better. Let me just restart the time. Okay. Please go ahead. Hi. Good afternoon, board honorable board members. My name is Paula Vargas. I'm a proud product of LAUSD. I'm now a proud pupil service and attendance counselor. I urge the board to please reconsider and revise resolution zero six two, because it unlawfully changes bargaining unit working conditions without negotiation and conflict with the UCLA LAUSD collective bargaining agreement. The educational employment relations, SEERA, on California education code provisions governing pupil personnel services.
This resolution gives principals unilateral authority over hiring section scheduling, split assignment assign split side assignments, work load allocation, and operational supervisions of PSWs and PSAs. These are mandatory subjects of bargaining and under government code of thirty thirty five forty three point two, including hours, assignments, transfer, workloads, and working conditions. The proposal also conflicts with multiple provisions of the UCLA LEOC agreement, including article nine,
which have to do with cost, size, and staffing, article 10, which have to do with hours and working conditions, article 11, which have to do with transfers and assignments, and article 14 having to do with safety and professional responsibility. Allowing principals to directly control schedules and split employees across campuses create inconsistent supervision, excessive caseloads, inequitable service delivery, and potential violations of professional practice obligations for staff. The resolution further undermines centralized oversight by city regional offices from deterring our city staffing
decisions and consulates the district's legal obligations to maintain uniform compliances with education code four nine six zero zero and 49604 governing people's personal services. IDA service obligation section five zero four, ask student mental health and access requirements. And, importantly, the resolution is posted Thank you for your time. Alright. Sandy Meredith. I see you're on the line. Sandy Meredith. Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin.
Sandy Meredith. Sandy Meredith, please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Meredith, I see you're on the line. Press 6 to unmute yourself. Okay. That's the last call for miss Meredith. Marissa Gongora, are you in the room? You're not online, but I'm checking again. And Alonzo Warren. Last call for mister Alonzo Warren. Alright. That concludes comment for tab 25. When when she's properly on the line, we'll get to it, but we can the board can discuss. Tanya go ahead, Tanya. I wanna, you know, thank the authors for bringing recognition to mental health awareness month.
But given, you know, all the advocacy we've heard, I appreciate the edits. I wonder if there are any other edits that the authors wanted to offer. If not, I would, propose a friendly amendment to just strike the, fourth resolve, I think it is, that has all of the details about, the reporting structures and the hiring since so much of it already is covered in the collective bargaining agreement. I think all the other revisions are more symbolic and, about learning and coming back to things, but that was really the resolve, the fourth one, that I think got to a bunch of the concerns here. So I don't know if the authors would be open to striking that one given
where we are today. Yes. As we have gone through and struck some of the others that were made, and I appreciate those that have brought it to our attention, and, you've highlight one that maybe have missed. So I'm open to that. I don't know if my coauthors are open to that strike. Yeah. So I'm just gonna restate for the record that, miss board member Ortiz Franklin offered, hey. Could you please strike the fourth resolved? And it sounds like that is being accepted as a friendly amendment to the resolution. Is that accurate, miss, Newbell?
Yeah. And just for the public, that's the one that just has all the bullet points about the schedules, the hiring, all of the concerns that were raised about the details. And so it keeps the first three, which were pretty broad, and then the last one that was significantly revised. Correct. Yes. Just as a because I I feel like, well, I want to appreciate, definitely the uplifting of mental health. We all know that this is a critical issue for our our students and families. I I'm concerned process wise about, like, important stakeholders trying trying and maybe having some difficulty following this conversation.
I wanted to maybe suggest just to go a little bit further back to, like, a symbolic resolution. Perhaps you just keep the first two resolves. Resolve that the governing board of the Los Angeles Unified School District hereby declares May as mental health awareness month, directs the superintendent and district staff to inform families of the resources, activities, and activities available x, y, and z, same language that's in the current draft and then just and resolved finally that in no later than one hundred twenty days, there's a report back on the mental health resources and programs. I don't, perhaps there's important things that are, that can be gained in in the
other resolves that that would eliminate. I feel that those two resolves only is a little bit more in line with typical symbolic resolutions that we do to uplift these types of of months and would maybe okay. Yes. I'm seeing thumbs up. And would maybe acknowledge the concerns of the of the stakeholders and the educators in the room who do do this work. So that would be my other suggestion as a friendly amendment. Can you state the last one that you wanna keep? Yes. So just the first two. So you would have the declaring May as mental health awareness one, and then this
and then the resolved further, the second resolved becomes unresolved finally. And that's and then only two. And you change the semicolon to a period and you're all done. So only two resolves. Yes. Got it. My suggestion. Go ahead, Carla. Yeah. I just wanna say that yeah. Thank you for that. I do think that this generally, my understanding is that commemorative ones are like this. They don't necessarily open up, you know, new policy or anything like that. So appreciate that, Kelly. But I also wanna say that, you know, this is a rule of 72, which
is part of the reason why there was no stakeholder input. And it just came out. Right? And that's the reason why. I don't think the spirit of this or the intent is to not have stakeholder input. And so I wanna be clear about that, and I think that in reading the emails that came through, there were some revisions to try to address the concerns. And in having this conversation, that's not enough. And so now we're at this point where we realize, well, maybe it should be just a commemorative one.
And I do think that we hear from folks that some do want some deeper changes. They do want some more deeper investments, and they want that acknowledged, and they want that to be written somewhere. So I think that is the work that we can continue doing, and that is the work that we can bring more folks in. So So just wanted to clarify that that I do think that the intent of this was to uplift the work of our mental health workers, and thank you for reminding me that our school psychologists also support mental health for our students.
And so we will make sure that, we also include them in other resolutions or anything written that is in relation to school, school mental health. Thank you. And, Carla, I do wanna say thank you for highlighting that. And and to all those in the space, because this is obviously and I know it was mentioned for our students, our black students, that this is something that, you know, we want to definitely continue to highlight and elevate. And as this month, it's just one month in a year.
Right? But this is our entire work. Right? This is what we do for our students. And by no means did we want to neglect or overlook or bypass anyone in this, as we say, in the spirit of what we were wanting to do is to elevate the work. And as someone who recently came from school site, know the work that you do and how your impact is to our students every day. And, I mean, even not just for our students, I would say even for the adults on those campuses in which you serve because I know I was one of
those. Our PSWs were definitely ones that, you know, helped the entire campus. And so, I appreciate the amendment, Ortiz Franklin and where you mentioned the striking that resolve. And we do we want to do work. We want to make this work as stable as possible in our campuses. We know where there's been influx. We understand that, and we want to recognize that. We want to make sure that our campuses stay as stable as possible, and we understand that more than ever. And so that was the spirit in which we were trying to bring this to
kinda keep stability within our schools and for each of our students and our families. So I'm not sure if, if if Tanya's amended version is what's on the table. I guess I will just I'll go ahead and move, an amended version that that that just maintains the first two, resolves. And maybe, sorry, I would also, just to make things extra complicated, just add in
the last whereas, after the word including I apologize. We really need to have, like, a handwritten version on the screen. Each LAUC region is supported by a mental health team including school psychologists and psychiatric social workers based on most okay. And school counselors. Alright. Let's go ahead and this is a democratic decision making process. Including school counselors, school psychologists, and psychiatric social workers based on most school campuses. And now second? Already in there. Just that's the next sentence. Now second. Okay.
Great. Oh, navigators. Okay. Oh my gosh. I'm I'm gonna gently restate that for the record. So it has been moved and moved by, miss Gomez, seconded by doctor Rivas, to maintain just the first two resolves. First resolved, unchanged. Second resolved stating resolved finally. And in the last whereas, the edits that miss Gomez just mentioned. Is that accurate? Yes. That's accurate. That's accurate. Okay. Yes. So now we're going to first take a vote on the on the motion to
amend and then on the underlying motion depending on on where things go. So, miss Newbill, on the motion to amend, how do you vote? Yes. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Melboin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin? Yes. Board president Schmiralson? Yes. And student board member Yang? Yes. Okay. The underlying motion has been amended. Now we vote on the entire hold on. Wait. Now we vote on the the brand the brand new thing. We're just gonna do this procedurally, correct. May have a motion on the brand new motion.
Move it. Second. Oh. That felt like a tie. I'm I'll go to miss Gomez because of her her recent efforts. Alright. Miss Newbill? Yes. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Melboin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Yes. Miss Ortiz Franklin? Yes. Board president Schmirulson? Yes. And student board member Yang? Yes. Okay. Thank you. That's unanimous. We are running twenty nine twenty eight minutes behind for a 3PM, time certain for, miss Griego under tab 23. Would you like to introduce the resolution, or shall I take public comment first?
No. I think we wanna go ahead and, do the I'll introduce, and then we have a couple of videos, and then a couple of speakers, and then I'll continue, speaking on what this is about. How's that? And then we can do public comment. Yeah? And then our remarks from our co sponsors. Alright. Alright. Thank you so much, everyone. This is a different resolution. Also speaking about mental health, but trying to bring all of the resources that currently exist in our district to integrate, to work together, to create safe, environments, learning environments,
learning communities for our students. Just a couple of weeks ago actually, yeah, on May 2, I held a community based safety convening at Jefferson High School in partnership with board member Rivas Rivas and Franklin, where approximately 200 attendees, including students, parents, district staff, and community partner organizations met. It was a powerful event where participants were able to discuss how we can build safe schools together. And at this convening, what we talked about is what is community based safety.
And what it is, it is safe passage. It is incredible work of mental health providers. It is the work in the classroom and during recess and after school and before school. And it is involved and trained parents, and it is student mediators and so much more, but everybody working together and coordinated. The key takeaways were that we need a shared purpose when establishing school teams, that welcoming students to school with a smile makes a difference how students feel safe.
The need to have a strong network of support to implement community based safety is critical. Relationship building with students helps establish trust, and we need responsive schools to address the unique needs of students and communities. And so this resolution is trying to address these things. Because as we know, students continue to experience traumatic crises and ongoing stressors affecting their families and their communities, including the impacts of ice raids, violence, housing instability, and other
challenges that can significantly affect their mental health, their well-being, and their ability to learn. So now more than ever, schools and the district must prioritize student wellness and foster safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments where students feel connected, they feel valued, and supported academically, socially, and emotionally. Over the past six years, the district has made a commitment to community based safety and to wellness. It has put teams and programs in schools with the goal of addressing student wellness,
crisis response, behavioral supports, school climate, and social emotional well-being and learning. For example, the crisis team and the PBIS teams. We've been able to see some schools do a really good job at integrating these efforts. I was privileged enough to visit schools throughout the district where schools are already doing this work. Some of these schools are Kennedy High School in Board District 3, Johnny Cochran in Board District 1, King Middle School in Board District 2, and our very own Jefferson
High School and Southeast High School in Board District 5. And you heard earlier today from Wadsworth Elementary sharing that the safety and wellness of students is everyone's work and commitment. And so I wanna start with a video from one of our schools, Magnolia Avenue Elementary. I wonder okay. With Ivalia Sanchez who is a student and family resource navigator. My name is Ivalia Sanchez, and I am a student and family resource navigator at Magnolia Avenue at West Adams.
I want to share my positive experience with PBIS and my salsa, mister Tariq Smith. Mister Smith is a deeply valued member of our school community. He is someone whose presence consistently fosters connection, trust, and care. Through his intentional, approach, he has helped create a safe and positive space with our parents to feel seen, heard, and supported. On a month to month basis, he organizes and facilitates a community circle specifically for our parents. And in this space, parents are given the opportunity to openly share their emotions, reflect
on their experiences, and support one another. His ability to hold this safe space with empathy and care allows our parents to feel safe and welcomed here at Magnolia Avenue and at West Adams. Thank you. I believe we do have another video from, Southeast High School. Well, I'm gonna speak a little bit about our PBIS team. And we've mentioned a couple times about transitioning, that we've that our school has experienced over the last couple years. And one of the things that we wanted to do was how do we how
do we keep something in place that's sustainable? And even if in the future we continue to experience transitioning of people moving up or people going, to different places, it's how do we put something that when, someone who's strong at our school leaves doesn't take that discipline or those consequences or that system with them. Right? How do we keep it here at our school so that our students can continue to benefit? And one of the things that we did was, we put together a PBIS team that would take different stakeholders and their opinions and their ideas, to develop consequences, but
not not just consequences, but consequences with support, which was, I think, super, super huge for us, which is we're holding our students accountable for their actions, but at the same time, we wanna know why this is happening. We wanna know how we can support our students. And and that's been, I think, the key for us. Or or or fights are down, or a lot of our stuff is is down, but what's really up on us is the prevention part. And that's how many times students are coming to us before a fight breaks out. How many times students are coming to us before something gets out of hand, the
bullying and all these things because they trust us. They trust our those on campus and that's what has made our school a safer place. We put together a committee from not just, from the discipline or coordinators, but from or PSWs or PSAs. So it pretty much everyone on our campus has a say in how we develop consequences, how we develop support, and who better than our PSA to tell us how they can support attendance than the person in charge of attendance. Who better to support our student's wellness than the person who deals with, our student
wellness all day long. And even our teachers, that or part of our team, who better to support us or tell us what's going on in the classroom than the teachers who are actually in the classroom and or or getting the complaints from other, coworkers or or or partners. And then the the I think the key one here is our students. Who better than a student who's out of campus, who's experiencing what some of the situations and is sitting there in front of us telling us, look, as students, this is what we're experiencing, and this is what we want, and this is what we need. And so that's been able to support us with our PBIS team to help us
into the next section which is oral prevention. Thank you so much. And now I wanna invite, two educators from Jefferson High School, miss Cara Galdamez, who is the community schools coordinator at Jefferson, and mister Matthew Swinton, who is the BSAP ambassador. And both of them are incredible, team members of their, support system at Jefferson, and they have supported in making the campus a safer and more supportive, place.
Good afternoon, board members and superintendent. My name is Matthew Swinton, the BSAP designee at Thomas Jefferson High School. Four years ago, when I arrived at Thomas Jefferson High School, our campus struggled. We have fights weekly, sometimes daily. Teachers regularly called out. Morale was low. And many students and staff did not feel safe. With no with no school climate advocate, B. S. A. B. S. A. Dean, and school police that could take up to thirty minutes to arrive during a
crisis, there was chaos and our community felt it. What has changed is our investment in people and support systems. Through BSAP community schools, counseling teams, trusted adults, and collaborative support, students now feel connected, supported, and safer on campus. This resolution matters because real school safety comes from relationships, prevention, and support, not punishment. It ensures schools receive the staffing, training, and resources necessary to continue this process.
I have seen firsthand what happens when school lacks support, and I've seen transformation when they have it. We cannot go backwards. Our student deserves safe schools where they can truly thrive. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Carla Galamis de Riques, and I am the very proud community school coordinator at Jefferson High. Too often, we treat safety as a checklist. Cameras, locks, who has what keys, metal detectors. Safety comes from people. Community based safety is a shared promise.
We look out for each other. We care for each other, and we build a place where everyone belongs. When we invest time and funding in that kind of safety, the results are transformative. A few years ago at Jefferson High, our first community school assets and needs assessment laid a painful truth. Teachers and classified staff were afraid to come to work, afraid in a school, a place meant to inspire and nurture.
We face that trauma as a team head on and build systems of real human safety, not surveillance, but support. Over the past three years, staff attendance has soared from 70% to 95%. That's not a coincidence. It's a culture shift. Adults aren't dragging themselves through the doors, but they're showing up because they feel secure and supported. Let's make Jefferson High the blueprint. Let's support this resolution, fund professional development for certificated and classified, sustain our staff, and
continue to forge partnerships with community organizations that share this mission. Thank you. Thank you, Carla. Thank you, mister Swinton. And we're gonna pause for public comment right now, and then we'll continue with I'll continue sharing about the resolution and have my colleague speak. Okay. Here we go. We have nine speakers to tab 23. Amir Amir, are you here? Amir, come on up. You have two minutes to speak. Why don't you begin? Good afternoon. I'm muting my time to Dania. Good afternoon again.
Dania Ward, Western Avenue tech magnet. I wanted to commend you guys on this resolution. This resolution definitely, I think, meets the points that you guys were intending to fulfill within resolution 25. But I it it seems to me to really address a lot of the concerns that we have brought to you you guys' attention. The need for collaboration. The need for, you know, not letting principals push, law enforcement on our students. Right? I did wanna make sure that I acknowledged, and commended you guys on a lot
of the resolves. Pretty much every single resolve. Right? That, our BSAP teams are incorporated in the determinations of PBIS departments, our school mental health, SEL units. Right? We all are supposed to be working together collaborative as a team. And so this seems to really put things in place that are gonna make sure that that happens. And I encourage you guys to, you know, have systems in place for accountability and enforcement to make sure that our principals are actually doing that. You know, these resolutions prevent favoritism, you know, and and, principals being able to have
their best friends. And as long as you're best friends with the principal and you agree agree with them, then everything's gonna be great. As long as you challenge don't challenge the principal, right, because you really wanna push and advocate for the kids to get better, you know, then everything will be fine. And so, no, this makes sure that we're getting staff input, right, student input, parent input, and so I just really wanted to say thank you for, you know, all the resolutions here within this, resolution, all the adjustments as well, because, we really wanna make sure that our principals know, like, no, you are not an authoritarian, you don't
get a chance to just do whatever you want, right? We are a team, we're working together, we have to create a family environment for our students, right? We have to create a family environment for our staff. If our staff feels divided and isolated and targeted and retaliated against, right, while others are preferred, then that's not gonna create a healthy staff atmosphere. So we create a healthy staff atmosphere amongst the staff and then that creates a healthy atmosphere for the students. So just wanna say thank you and great job. And make sure you enforce this with the and and maintenance of our PSAs, main maintenance of our B sub counselors, maintenance of our current PSWs.
Right? Make sure that they maintain those positions. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Let's see. Alonzo Warren, I had you on another tab, but I, I missed you. Alonzo Warren, are you here? Yes. Come on down, sir. I had you on tab 25, but but I'm putting you on this one because I I moved on before I called you. Thank you. Actually, I'm a give up my time to Latanya Hall. Okay. Let me see if I can get a mic set up real quickly. Thank you. Okay. Whenever you're ready, you have two minutes to speak. Good good afternoon, board members.
My name is Latonya Hall. I'm a senior core parent from CADRE. Our students are coming to school carrying stress, trauma, fear, economic hardship, and emotional impact of racism every single day. Black students especially are too often treated little problems like problems instead of children who need support. For many black families over policing in schools still feel connected to system rooted in
punishment instead of healing and opportunities. Real school safety should mean helping students heal, not just punishing or policing them. We need more therapists, mental health workers at schools. Parents also need to be equal partners and decision makers when it comes to student wellness. School safety and mental health, parents should learn alongside schools and be educated on what real mental health support and healing should look like for our our children.
We also need more black PSW counselors, teachers, and restorative justice staff who understand the lot lives and experience of black students and families. PBIS and restorative practices are important because they build trust, reduce suspension and criminalization, and help students feel safe, supported, and connected at school. But there must also be a real accountability of full implementation.
And I also recognize that many officers are human beings carrying trauma too, including experiencing from violence, military service, and so forth. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Aurelia Valdivia. Come on up, Aurelia. Alright. Good afternoon, board members, superintendent. My name is Adelia Valdivia. I am the executive director of Reclaim Our Schools LA. We're a community and labor coalition of parents, students, and community members fighting for equity in LA schools. On May 2, I got to attend the community based safety convening that we co
hosted with board district five, two, and seven. And I really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about community based safety from experts, but also I appreciated having the opportunity to talk with students and parents and community members about what makes them feel safe. And in all of the conversations that I got to be part of, it was very clear, from community members that they want more mental health resources and supports for their students. We see every day that our students are going to school with emotional, immense amount of emotional stress, whether that be because we survived fires, immigration enforcement, anxiety, bullying, economic
pressures, houselessness. Our kids cannot fully learn when they do not feel emotionally safe and supported. And that's why we're here in support of this resolution. What I appreciate about this resolution is that it recognizes that student support and wellness is not just the responsibility of one person. It is not just the counselor's job. It is not just one department. Creating healthy schools, TACE coordination between teachers, counselors, restorative justice staff, mental health professionals, administrators, and their families. And as somebody who works with families, I especially appreciate, the inclusion of families, whether
that's by through training or through including decision making bodies like the LSLC. Families want to partner with schools, but they need access to information and they need the support as well. So we really appreciate that. Our students deserve to go to schools that support them as a whole person. And so, we urge you to pass this resolution, but also as we head into budget season, I urge you to remember what the spirit of this resolution and what we're trying to preserve so that when you're making tough financial decisions, you keep the
staff that is required to make resolutions like this mean something. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Ezekiel Gedechew. Ezekiel, come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. And then after mister Gedichu is Maria Luisa Palma. Alright. Good afternoon, board members and superintendent. My name is Ezekiel Gattacho. I'm a junior at King Drew and a leader that students deserve. I'm here today to voice my support for board member Carla Griego's resolution. Currently, students across the district face stress, anxiety, grief, instability, and pressure from influences both in and outside of our schools. With everything happening within our communities, in this country, and even this world, it's clear
that our students need more than discipline than end punishment. It's clear that they need support. That shows the importance of this resolution. Under no circumstances should mental health support be left out of the conversation when discussing school safety. Addressing students' mental health and social emotional needs is one of the most important ways that we can create welcoming schools. Students are more successful when they feel supported, understood, and cared for. This rec this resolution recognizes that real student wellness requires care and communication between the people who they look up to. Counselors, psychiatric social workers, community based organizations, and safety staff should work together to respond
to students' needs in a way that is proactive and not punishing. It is imperative that this district invest more into mental health resources and community based safety supports, especially for students who are too often overlooked. We can no longer continue expecting students to succeed academically while ignoring the emotional and mental challenges many of them carry every single day. As a student, this we support this resolution because we know what it feels like when schools lack proper support systems. We also know what is possible when schools prioritize care over punishment. That is why we urge the board to pass this wellness without silence res resolution and continue building schools where every student feels safe, supported, and valued.
Thank you. Thank you for your time. Maria Luisa Palma coming up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Then after miss Palma is Jaya Wilson and then Delisa Alejandre. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Maria Luisa Palma, and I'm here speaking on behalf of Olaudah Inc. As a community based organization, I was also present at this famous meeting here in May. And let me tell you, everyone else I saw was also from a community based organization or from UTLA or from another labor union or an employee of the district.
I did not see any just general parents there, but that's from my perspective. That's what I saw. So as you are here today pushing this mental health resolution, mental health services instead of school police. Why can't we have both? I know that we have limited funds. I'm the one that loves to talk about money. But isn't this about the control of who gets paid the resources that we have here on offer at the district? And counselors are great, but can they stop school shootings?
We've had school shootings. You had parents here earlier this afternoon talking about the problems at Carver Middle School. Violence, weapons. So what can a counselor do in giant fights of ten, twenty, 30 students, which we know that we have at our high schools and our middle schools. And we have persons here who claim to speak for entire groups, entire racial groups, people who come here and say, I represent brown people. And I take offense to that because there are many different perspectives here and across the district. What about diversity? So parents can't think any other way?
One size does not fit all. Many parents want school police on campuses. Now, in addition to this, we had the incident at Torres High School on April 30, where we had a drag show under the guise of inclusivity and diversity, where we had outside organizations, the school of sexuality, the queer mercado. Do these organizations have an MOU with the school district? How were they allowed to interact with students? You were there, miss Rocio Rivas. What happened? Parents were not informed? What about the mental health?
What about the restorative practices for those parents who were not given the rights that they have under the law to keep their students from being exposed to issues they do not want to have exposed. Are you all in agreement with all of this? Are you in agreement? Is this what you want? Thank you for your time. Please let parents know. Alright. The next speaker is Jaya Wilson. Come on up. Can someone help her get out pretty please? Come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Okay. Hello. My name is Jaya Wilson. I'm a senior at Cortinas High School, and I'm a leader with students deserve.
I'm here tonight to express my support for the board member Carla Griego's mental health resolution and to ask this board to stand behind it too. On one school morning, a visitor stopped by my class to talk about students' mental health. He asked the class to raise their hand if they loved themselves. Out of the 20 plus students in the classroom, only one kid raised their hand. That kid was not me. Despite how social or happy I may seem, I have struggled with depression and anxiety. It is not just me either. All the kids who didn't raise their hand in that classroom wasn't a fluke.
I have talked to so many of my friends and classmates about their mental health and the lack of consistent support they are given in school. With that, they're also bullied and called psycho or crazy just because they haven't gotten the help they need or are simply trying to get better. At my school, for example, when I have a panic attack or need to talk to someone or seek help, the nurse is out for the day or the wellness center is closed, so I have to hide in the school office so people don't see me trying to calm myself down. To be fair, my school has gotten better at providing these mental health resources.
I have talked to counselors about what is making me upset or what's stressing me out, and it's been helpful for not just my mental health, but also when it comes to my education. That is why providing more of these resources to students is so important. LAUSD must invest in mental health support for students, not just in words, but in actual resources, actual staff, and actual source services that students can access when peep when we need them. I urge the board I urge the board to pass member Griego's resolution and to take a step toward creating schools where every student feels supported.
Thank you. Thank you for your time. Delisa Alejandre. Come on down. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Board members and superintendent. I am Delisa Alejandre. And earlier today, I spoke to you as an educator at Katherine Johnson STEM Academy and as a representative of the overwhelming majority of staff who voted a no confidence in principal Yesenia Arroyo's leadership. I returned because of stew our students, families, and educators deserve to have the truth heard clearly. Our second our school community is being portrayed as hostile and unreasonable in order to justify claims that this campus is unsafe.
But the reality is this, the instability at our school did not happen on its own. It is the result of a failed leadership, fear based practices, lack of transparency, and a complete breakdown of trust. Families who advocated for their children are being labeled as disgruntled parents. Staff who raise concerns are dismissed, isolated, or retaliated against instead of being heard. That is not collaboration. That is not leadership, and it is certainly not trauma informed practice. You cannot claim to prioritize student well-being while students, staff, and families have feel feel
silenced, targeted, and emotionally unsafe. Our students are watching adults weaponize authority instead of building community. They witnessed police presence interrupt their school day. They have absorbed the fear, instability, and tension that now define a campus that was once felt joy, innovative, and united. Board member Nick Melvin had the privilege of visiting our campus under previous leadership and witnessed a thriving school community firsthand. I would be embarrassed for him to see what this campus has become under principal Arroyo's leadership today. I need the board to understand something clearly.
Educators, parents, and students do not organize a super majority vote of no confidence lightly. Communication do not unite like this over rumors or misunderstandings. They unite because they are witnessing first harm firsthand. Our community does not believe principal Arroyo wants to leave Katherine Johnson STEM Academy. Her actions have shown a disregard for the stability, well-being, and the unity of the campus. And while adults in power may lead a school site, our students remain carrying the emotional consequence every single day. So today, I ask the board, hear us, believe us, and act before more damage
is done to a school community that deserves healing, stability, and leadership rooted in care instead of conflict. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Alright. Juan Magandi, are you here? Mister Juan Magandi? Mister Juan Magandi, are you here? Nope. Not here. And we'll go to folks who called in. Let's see. Marisol Marisol Alvarez. Marisol Alvarez, are you on the line? Please press 6 to unmute yourself. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Marisol Alvarez. Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Marisol Alvarez. I'm a school based PSW, and I'm here to speak on behalf of UCLA PSW
leadership. We would like to first express our appreciation to the LAUSD board members for for preparing the wellness without silos resolution. This resolution shifts the lens in which our community see our students. Every day, students across our district continue to experience an array of unfortunate factors that deeply impact their mental health, their sense of safety, and their ability to learn. This particular resolution recognizes something that PSWs have been voicing for some time. Supporting student wellness cannot happen in isolation.
State schools and strong school culture requires intentional coordination and effective collaboration that cultivates trust, helpful and positive relationships, and a sense of belonging in the school community. I would also like to highlight the importance of the PSW role in leading collaborative efforts to ensure student safety, wellness, and academic success with school and community partners. CSWs are a central element to creating a functional school site crisis school I'm sorry. School site crisis team that supports schools through personal and collective crisis situations.
This work requires collective effort needed to restore safety, stability, and connection for both students and staff in the aftermath of adverse events. This resolution lays the groundwork for educational equity for LAUSD students and will definitely shape generations to come by providing a framework for integrating school culture, wellness, mental health support, social emotional learning, and restorative practices in a more aligned and viable manner. Strengthening this collaboration will create healthier school environments where students feel safe, connected, and ready
to learn in and out of the classroom. I urge the board to support this resolution, and thank you for your time. Thank you for your time. That concludes public comment on tab 23. So I'll continue. Well, thank you for folks who share their personal stories, particularly our students who come here and share their vulnerability. And I'm very grateful for you and I want you to know that it is your stories that are behind this resolution. It is the student stories.
It is the parent stories. It is my student stories who are behind this resolution. I wanna acknowledge the staff as well of our district, our PBIS teams, our BSAP counselors and PSWs who have been very, very important in really fighting back some of the the racism and the anti blackness and the use of slurs in our district that we have been hearing about. They have been very critical in visiting school sites to train people, train our students,
train our staff members. I also wanna acknowledge our HRDE staff and our PSWs in that office because they too go to school sites and talk about inclusivity, welcoming environments, supporting our LGBTQ plus students. This resolution is acknowledging the needs and the stories of our most vulnerable students in this district. And so I'm grateful for all of you who have shared your stories with me. And we know that these wonderful things are happening at some school sites, but they're
not happening everywhere. We know that we need this coordinated framework to ensure that educators and administrators and support staff are effectively collaborating across divisions to strengthen school culture and student wellness. We need to create positive school culture, and we know that it requires intentional, coordinated, cross divisional systems that foster trust, positive relationships, and a sense of belonging across the entire school community. The goal of this resolution is to create a stronger alignment and integration of these
efforts in order to improve consistency, early identification of student needs, and the overall effectiveness of supports provided to students and families. The resolution also calls on the district to explore developing or adopting a trauma assessment system or equity index to better understand the levels of trauma and stress impacting school communities. A data informed approach can help the district proactively direct mental health resources, wellness supports, and non law enforcement personnel to students and schools with the greatest needs before crisis
escalates. The goal is to create equitable preventative systems of support that respond to student needs early rather than relying primarily on post incident responses that may delay intervention or contribute to the criminalization of student behavior. In addition, the resolution emphasizes expanded training and shared learning opportunities for educators, for school staff, for administrators, and families so there is a common understanding of trauma informed practices, mental health supports, and wellness strategies being implemented at both the school and district level.
By strengthening collaboration, coordination, and investment in comprehensive systems of support, schools can create healthier, safer, and more supportive environments where all students can thrive. And I wanna also acknowledge and thank our 36 schools represented at the May 2, event as well as six board districts represented with more than half of them parents. And I wanna thank all of those folks including our own superintendent for being there.
And now I'll open it up for my board, colleagues. Who would like to go first? Rocio? Okay. Well, I am very grateful, first of all, to my colleague, miss Carly Grego, for just bringing this forward and also grateful to be joining board member Ortiz Franklin and cosponsoring this resolution. Because student wellness cannot continue to exist in silos across our schools. There is already important work taking place every single day at our school sites across
the district. Staff are supporting students in preventative ways through relationship building, restorative practices, social emotional learning, counseling, wellness centers, and positive school culture efforts, while also responding every day to trauma, mental health crises, attendance challenges, student behavioral needs, and so much more. This resolution recognizes and lifts that work that is taking place every day. At the same time, we know many schools are still navigating these efforts through disconnected
systems and fragmented coordination. School site staff are often doing everything they can with limited clarity around roles, supports, and how different wellness resources connect together. This resolution starts from understanding what we need to do better what we need to better align and strengthen those systems so schools are more supported and not more burdened. I'm especially pleased that this work aligns with and will be incorporated in the district's strategic plan. It reflects a commitment to ensuring our schools are not only academically strong, but also
emotionally supportive, trauma informed, and responsive to student needs. This resolution takes important steps towards improving coordination across school site teams, strengthening professional development, clarifying wellness related roles, and helping in and helping ensure principals, educators, and families, and students better understand what supports exist and how they can work together. And also, this resolution takes important steps towards eliminating the school to prison pipeline.
Ultimately, this is about creating stronger systems around the people already doing this work every day, so students feel safe, supported, connected, and able to thrive. I'm grateful to board members, Grego and Ortiz Franklin, and joining together in partnership on this resolution, and I respectfully ask my colleagues for your support. Thank you. Go ahead. Miss Tanya Ortiz. Thanks. Just also happy to be a cosponsor. Grateful for you to bring this. You know, I'm really excited that this resolution is about coordinating the supports that our students' needs really require, and that it's also about supporting the adults who meet their
needs every day with the professional learning and the integration of the too many teams. So I appreciate the the title of, integration here. I just wanted to call your attention to, and we'd be happy to provide it to the public as well, but our student advisory council for board district seven sent a letter yesterday at 12:40PM if you didn't have a chance to see it. And they took a survey of, hundreds of students across board district seven representing dozens of schools, and the number one thing they asked for was support around mental health services. So we're hearing it from young people over and over, and I'm grateful that this
board is dedicating resources and support. So thanks for your support, colleagues. Who would like to go next? Jerry, go ahead. Yeah. I mean, just around half an hour ago, we heard all the passion surrounding mental health from the adults in the room, but I also think I speak for the students, when I say that mental health is one of the most prevalent, if not the most prevalent, you know, like board member Ortiz Franklin said, and and most commonly felt struggles throughout the district. And especially during Mental Health Awareness Month, it's important that we take steps to actually address the gaps that exist. The resources in this resolution go beyond just providing students with safe spaces.
I think the value comes from bridging the gaps that would otherwise be insurmountable, erasing socioeconomic status as a consideration when families are wondering whether or not they can afford therapy or other treatments. In addition, I appreciate that this reso isn't just, you know, improving access to resources, but actually Taking the steps to begin breaking down the stigma around mental health, by having parent oriented programming as well. That's a struggle that we or or I guess myself and and the other students always face is the difficulty of making our families realize that mental health is a
real struggle and not just an excuse to stay home. So thank you so much to board member Griego for bringing this resolution before us, and I hope that we can continue to value and develop our mental health infrastructure, and I would love to be added as a cosponsor. Thank you. Would I go next? Sure. I mean, hard to follow board member Yang, so I'll just add to be, ask to be included as a cosponsor as well. I really do think that one of not the silver linings because that's too favorable, but I think one of the things that came out of COVID was the fact that mental health in schools is not a nice to have. It's a must have. I mean, the underpinning of students' physical mental safety, conditions which are necessary to learning.
And so really grateful for the opportunity to kind of build on the existing school site structures to provide students with the supports they need and proud to cosponsor and support. So thank you. Next speaker. Go ahead, Gerlette. Again, thank you for highlighting this, the work that we continue to put forth for our schools and making sure that we're working collaboratively, together to inform. And I think the piece that, student board member highlighted was the parent piece. And I think that part is very important as many of our families are not
necessarily aware, but not understanding some of the tools in which they need to help their their students. And so I think this will definitely bring that through our family academies to be able to highlight and to bring tools for them to be able to bring home as well. So thank you for that. Thank you. Miss Gomez? Yes. Want to appreciate, the team that brought this forward and everyone who came to speak and support. I I agree that this is the major concern that we hear from students, is the need for enhanced mental health supports in on campus. And we know that our schools are often the only providers of these services in
our communities because other providers are not accessible, and that mental health needs, do not affect all of us equally, and there are are greater needs in our communities that are the highest need in general. And and it's mentioned all of the trauma that our communities have been going through, whether wild fires, the ice raids, economic struggles, our LGBTQ communities being under attack, neurodivergent students whose supports are threatened by the federal government. So I think for a lot of reasons, this resolution is coming at a really
important time. I appreciate the connectedness because I think one of the observations I've had is we have amazing programs and supports, but they're not always working together. And if we're able to eliminate those silos and and allow for that that team effort that we know is most effective at schools, students will benefit. I did have just one question on on one of the changes, because I I agree that the support for parents and helping address stigma that I think exists around mental health needs that a lot of our our parents may have.
I know, you know, my family dealt with that as well. Just, it it mentions trainings and professional development for centrally funded, parent reps, and I was curious whether we might wanna expand that to all of our parent representatives. Is that okay? Yes. I mean, I would like that. For sure that the, I don't see any reason why we wouldn't want to do that. Is there any how do my cosponsors feel about that? I say let's do it. Everybody's gonna do that for me. Thank you. Thank you so much for your openness.
And with that, I would also love to cosponsor. Thank you. K. Thank you, miss Gomez. So wellness without silos. It says a lot when you think about it. It really says a lot. So working together as a community is only effective when the district and everybody in the district knows their roles and responsibilities. And when I read this resolution, it would help define the specifics of school site councils, local leadership councils, and others.
My initial thoughts are about how this will benefit community members who dedicate their time and efforts to local schools. It's also important for LAUSD to serve as a guide for improving our school culture and wellness without defining it. The ones who define it are up to the members of those communities, the principals, the students, the teachers, the parents, and others who make up that school community. And our role should be to help those schools develop their cultures into a system that benefits everyone.
I'm also glad to see us developing a system that works preemptively and collaboratively to assess the trauma some of our students may be experiencing. And for these reasons and many, many more, I would like to cosponsor this resolution also. And thank you to my board colleagues, Carlo Diego and doctor Rocio Rivas, for bringing this resolution to a vote. Thank you very much. Just a couple of quick things for me. This is something that's very near and dear to me. Again, I was at the same convening, that board member, Diego, referenced.
It was very good to see the community come out, and and it really was a cross section. From my vantage point, it was a cross section of the city and a cross section of the district, both in terms of parents and students. PBIS, safety, community based safety, these are all things that I have a fair amount of experience and and and frankly a true believer in. Particularly, I wanna land on too. PBIS. I I've always believed that positive behavior intervention supports are a fundamental piece of the work we do, as part of the tier one structures to support students and to give them the tools to support themselves.
Right? I I do believe in trusted adults. I do believe that students need to have folks on campus they can go to. But many times, the best advocate for a student is the student. So we need to give them the tools to be able to do that. Similarly, around community based safety, I do agree that we need a coordinated approach. That that's a word that's also near and dear to me because we do have if you look at a school, you'll have a safety committee. You'll have a PBIS committee. You'll have local school leadership. You'll have school site council. And those are just the ones that I can think of off the top of my head. So we definitely need more coordination around what it means to bring the community together
around safety. To to the extent that I can, most definitely count on my support and leadership here. Okay, mister are we ready now? Okay. Just wanted to thank my cosponsors if I did not thank you ahead of me speaking. Thank you for cosponsoring, and thank you to all my colleagues who also are cosponsoring and Thank you both. Thank you both. Thank you. Can I just clear clarify very quickly, board member Gomez, what what the amendment was? Oh, sorry. It is oh my goodness. In the one, two, third result, resolved further that the district will provide training slash
professional development to you can strike centrally funded and just have community slash parent representatives. Does that make sense? Yes. It does. Thank you. I'm just I'm just noting it. Thank you. Alright. May I have a motion and a second? Move it. Second. Fast. Miss Newbell? Yes. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Melvoin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Yes. Miss miss Ortiz Franklin? Yes. Board board president Schmorelson? Yes. And student board member Yang? Yes. Okay. It passes. It is 04:18PM, and we have time now for, public comment, general public comment.
We also have just to keep the the board and the public apprised, we have tabs fourteen, nineteen, 21, and 23 to get to, along with the general public comment right now. And, also, I'd like to collect some votes. Doctor Rivas, how do you vote on the consent calendar? The consent calendar, yes, except for tab seven. I'm a no on item b, school services of California. Okay. Noted. Alright. So and then we have tab six.
I have some votes to collect. Doctor Rivas, how do you vote on tab six? Yes. And miss Ortiz Franklin, how do you vote on tab six? Yes. And then on tab seven, doctor Rivas, how do you vote? Oh, I I said tab seven, no one Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I got you. Okay. I understand now. Let me see if I missed any others. Let's see. Doctor Rivas, tab one? Yeah. Tab one, yes. Is a yes. And, miss Ortiz Franklin, how do you vote on tab one? Yes. Bear with me as I make sure I didn't miss anything, please. And, And, miss Ortiz Franklin, how do you vote on the waiver, the rule 72
waiver for tab 25? Yes. Alright. Thank you. Okay. Now moving on to general public comment. I'll call on the folks who are listed as being here in person first and then those who listed themselves as speaking remotely. Right. Malia Posey or Malia Posey. Come on down. Then Jamia Fields. Alright. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Alright. Hi. My name is Malia. I'm a tank grader at Emmanuel Arts High School, and I'm a youth leader with Community Coalition. And I'm here to speak on miss Ward who works at Western Ivy Tech Magnet School. I don't think it's fair that miss Ward is losing her position at Western Tech.
I was a student at Western Tech in elementary and middle school, and seeing her go through this now was sounded pathetic. When I was in middle school, miss Ward was one of the very few black staffs in my school. She created, opportunities for black students to see our potential, learn about our own history, and feel comfortable in our skin. She even helped us go on a tour of our state capitol. Our support systems are intentionally being removed just like they did with missus Sylvester who provide the program, The Love We Don't See, that really supported students of color. Don't close the b side counselor position at Western Tech because students like me need
more like need more staffs like miss Ward in our lives. Thank you, and I yield the rest of my time to Jordan. Hi. My name is Jordan Tesfamari. I'm a sophomore at Mayo Arts High School and a youth leader with Community Coalition. I am also here to speak on behalf of miss Ward who works at Western Avenue Tech Magnet and was my BSAP counselor in middle school. The principal is eliminating her spot as a BSAP counselor just because the school is small. He doesn't care that she works with elementary kids. She's a great role model for the younger kids, and we get to see ourselves in someone like her. When I was a student at Western Tech, she was one of the very few
staff members who supported us. We needed that, especially coming from South Central. When BSAP was first brought to Western Ave, it changed how we saw our community. She helped bring the love we don't see, and we learned so much from that experience. When we graduated from Western, they didn't wanna let mister Sylvester come back. That wasn't fair because very few students got to learn so much from that experience. Cutting miss Ward's position will deeply hurt the students at Western Avenue. We urge you not to close the VSAP counselor position at Western Ave so miss Ward can keep doing amazing work at our school at the school.
Yes. Thank you for your time. Alright. The next speaker is Jamia Fields. Come on down. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. And then do I see Thakur Singh in the audience? Thank you. You're listed as calling in, but you're gonna speak in person. Okay. So after, miss Fields is Thakur Singh. My name is Jahmaiah. I'm a senior at Washington Prep and youth leader with Community Coalition. Washington Prep has been the highest need high school on the SUNY index for years and recently only dropped to the second highest need in the district, Not because we're finally getting what we need, but because Diamondly is most likely now just as just
as neglected as we are. As black and brown students, it's frustrating to see and feel like the district is neglecting us and our needs. I wish it were easy for us to ignore mice crawling inside our classrooms, leaking ceilings, electricity problems, and a lack of available bathroom stalls for over 700 students at just Washington Prep. Disgusting minerals are going inside our restrooms, such as asbestos, which causes cancer. Your students are rather risk waiting to go home to use the restroom than to go in those conditions. And can you blame them? Last year, my physics class had to be relocated to the cafeteria because of of
a rodent infested. These are not the conditions that students should have to learn. My school is already underfunded. Taking money away from from SENI and VSAP will only make these conditions worse. My school is projected to lose almost 1,400,000 in Sani funding next year in about eight staff positions, staff who make who make us feel safe even when our physical condition conditions aren't. Y'all should be doing everything in your power to stop that from happening. I've had enough. And matter of fact, South Central students have had enough of our education being an
afterthought. We demand that y'all restore the 700,000,000 in funding and make this permanent. We deserve better, and we won't settle for less. Thank you for your time. Pakur Singh. Come on down, mister Singh. And after mister Singh is Christopher Covington, and then NIA Johnson. Good afternoon, members of the board and mister acting superintendent. I'm usually here speaking on lighter subjects, but today, unfortunately, I'm here speaking on something that's very serious, very concerning for a lot of students, parents, and and families at the Virtual Academy and elsewhere.
Today I'm here to speak on Jesus Angulo, who is virtual who's, I believe, director of operations for the Virtual Academy. For context, in 2007, Jesus Angulo and Maria Sotomayor, who has since been promoted to HR, plead no contest to covering up the rape of a high school student. They were then promoted by LAUSD and retained to this day, despite a $6,500,000 liability. We all pay their salaries. Everyone here in the room pays their salaries. Angulo was recently confronted about this and questioned, and his response was, It's a personal
matter. Is a rape of a student now a personal matter that this was covered up? And then, on top of that, Latasha Buck, his colleague, was also questioned about this by a member of the public. And we, the students' families, learned that Latasha Buck's response was that it is not her concern because it was twenty years ago. Well, what about Cesar Chavez? He was, the allegations against him are from over thirty years ago, and Miss Buck was actually questioned about that, and she had no response and angrily hung up. This is very inappropriate conduct and very inappropriate answer by miss miss Angulo or, excuse
me, mister Angulo and miss Buck. And we ask that the board please look into justice for the victim in this case. How is it right that this these people are still on the taxpayer dime working for LAUSD? We ask for adequate action and a timely response, for our students and parents and community as well, just as LAUSD provided a timely response with the allegations against Cesar Chavez. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Christopher Covington. I'll give my time to Tranise. Alright. Come on up, Tranise. You have two minutes to speak.
Why don't you begin? Nothing matters to me more than my community and the people that surround me every day. That's why activism matters so much to me. Hello, school board members. I am Ternice Thomas, a senior at King Drew and a leader within the students deserve. I've been here speaking and showing my face here since I was 14. I I will soon be graduating and I am 18 and leaving behind LAUSD. I will use my last comment to say, you cannot say you understand how students feel when we experience the when we experience stuff like this every day. We demand that LAUSD fully defund LA school police. You should not be cutting from you should you should not be cutting from programs
that help us while continuing to fund policing that criminalizes young people. You should not be spending $75,000,000 on school police while cutting funds for mental health supports and community based safety programs like Safe Passage that actually help our communities and our students, not make them uncomfortable like LASPD has been doing. Following that, no cuts to programs that are supporting students. No cuts to BSAP, no cuts to Dream Centers, no cuts to PSWs, no cuts to school climate act advocates and campus aids. They have done absolutely amazing things for students, and they should continue to be able to do so. In addition, no cuts to critical BSAP staff.
You have no real reason to cut this program after five years. There are necessary shifts needed to ensure BSAP is fully meeting the needs of black students. To us, this means no cuts to BSAP staff and BSAP as a whole. Programs like this are why we have seen the flourishing of students, and I don't see why you would take away some you would take away something so amazing. As I close out, I would like I would like to say listen to our youth when we come up here and speak. We live the experience day to day while you guys get to say what goes and what doesn't go. Our voices should matter just as much as any adult should, if not more. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your time. Anaya Johnson. Anaya.
Come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Hello. My name is Anaya, and I am a sophomore at Mango Arts High School and a youth leader with Community Coalition. At Manuel Arts High School, I am very lucky to have staff like miss Poufis who helps me regulate my emotion and talk to me about my problems. Having a resource like this on my school campus has taught me good communication skills and relationship building skills. I am a lot more confident in being able to talk to teachers who tend to be a bit more difficult about what my needs are in a constructive way. If staff like miss Poufis were to get cut, I will feel a sense of rage because now I'm losing someone at my school who I am able to talk
to and who cares about me. I need LAUSD to protect the BSAP staff at every school that makes students feel safe, seen, and understood and take time out of their day to make sure we're okay. We demand that LAUSD does not does not make cuts or reductions to schools' existing BSAP staff and resources. Thank you. I am yielding the rest of my time to Carmen. Hi. My name is Carmen. I am a tenth grader at Emmanuel Arts High School and a youth leader with Community Coalition. Here at Manual Arts High School, we are lucky we have a BSAP team that shows up for us when we need a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to when we are having a bad day.
Our BSAP team is there and ready to listen if we need help. If LAUSD was to defund BSAP, you would be impacting a community that already has to look over their shoulders when they are walking to and from school. Community that may have challenges at home, and the only place they feel safe is at school because of the BSAP team. Me personally, I didn't always like getting up and going to school. But now I can freely say I get up ready for a new day at school because of my BSAP counselor, miss Poufis. She pushes me every day to come to school, go to class, and do well. She helps me when my days feel long, and I feel like I wanna run
away and hide. If BSAP is cut, that means losing staffs and counselors like miss Bofas, which means me and my community can feel unsafe, alone, and unmotivated to go to school. So I demand that LAUSD protects BSAP funding so every student has a safe place and a staff that checks in on them every single day. Here, thank you for your time. Ileana Farris. Ileana Farris. I'm sorry. Are you here? Yeah. We got you there, honey. Alright. Okay. My name is Eliana Farris, and I'm a junior at Washington Prep. Hi. My name is Malaya, and I'm eleventh grader at Washington Prep.
We are youth leaders with community coalition. We demand that LAUSD continue to fund sending and not make any cuts. Reducing sending will not only weaken school's ability to fund important teachers and staff, but it will also disproportionately impact high school needs that serve us, some of the district's most vulnerable students like us. I have only been at Washington Prep for about five months. A few weeks after I started attending school, I joined the intimate therapy group with mister Yvonne. I really appreciated the experience and feel supported. Through mister Yvonne and other students in the group, I learned the importance of having
support and people you can trust. Recently, I asked mister Yvonne if he will be back next year. He told me he was not sure. Hearing that left me feeling confused, and I feel frustrated for myself, other students, and mister Yvonne. As students, it can be hard to find someone to talk to. Losing programs and trusted staff member can deeply affect us. I've only attended Washington since January, but there are many standing issues that would simply be exacerbated if you guys were to cut our funding. For one, on a day to day basis, I see students in a clear need of support. I see students ask for or be in a clear need of support and fail
to get it due to a lack of support or people who truly care. As a student, this discourages me from even thinking about help and so is my education as well as that of many others. Conditions like this force students to hate coming to school and feel miserable walking through the doors in the morning. Isn't one of LAUSD's priorities joy and wellness? Seeing that you guys plan to take $1,400,000, which is almost half of our city funding, and give the police $70,000,000 is bizarre. Seeing that the seeing that the South since seeing that South Central's oh my god. Seeing the highest need South Central schools like Washington, Man Manuel, and Crenshaw and Hawkins
losing almost $9,000,000 in equity based funding through CUNY despite our community needing resources and support is bizarre. The issues on our campus are easily avoidable through equity based funding and initiatives that should be addressed. We ask you, please reallocate school police funding and do not cut our CNY or VSAP funding. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Ian Kirksey. Ian k. Ian Kirksey. I think I saw mister Kirksey. And then after mister Kirksey is Annabel Alvarado and then Ariah Blakey Blakely. Hello. I'm gonna be yielding. Oh, no. Actually, sorry. I I do it all the time. I'm gonna be reading on behalf of a student.
Okay. So this is coming from a student from Narbonne High School named Shade Lopez who couldn't make it here. Good evening all. My name is Shade Lopez, and I'm a student at Narbonne High School. I'm here today because my peers are not just stressed. We are experiencing a mental health crisis. While I appreciate the district's initiatives, such as the I Matter campaign and the fourth annual youth mental health symposium, we need to move from awareness to action. Many of us don't trust the systems in place to help us. Too often, I hear from friends that feel invisible until their struggles turn into a
major crisis. We need help before we reach a breaking point, not just after. This is why I'm urging the board to prioritize the expansion of psychiatric social workers, PSWs, on every campus. Our PSWs are frontline, but they are overworked, underappreciated, and spread too thin. If we want them to do their jobs effectively, we need to reduce their caseloads and ensure that every school has full time access to dedicated mental health professionals, who is tied up who is not tied up in administrative tasks. Furthermore, we need to create wellness without silos. I want to see student led mental health initiatives that are funded, supported, making counseling
accessible, reducing stigma in our classrooms. When we talk about school safety, we must remember that includes mental safety. Please invest more in PSWs, and more importantly, listen to student voices when deciding where resources go. Thank you. And as always, fund peace up and defund school police. Thank you for your time. Annabel Alvarado. Annabel, are you here? Come on down. And then after Annabel is Araya Blakely and then Sade Lopez. Hi. Our names are Annabelle and Rosemary, and we are in the seventh and eighth grade at John Muir Middle School at Mann UCLA Community.
We are youth leaders with community coalition, and we are and we want to share with you the demands we have for the superintendent and the school board. BSAP is being cut at our schools. We don't feel like that is fair. We feel like BSAP has actually helped us and our family with many things, such as academic support, counseling, and providing us with staff who actually care and make us feel safe. We need you guys to protect BSAP staff and resources and ensure ongoing community input and BSAP implementation. BSAP has improved graduation rates and increased the number of black students completing a through
g requirements. We should be getting more counselors and supporting staff rather than police at our school just being there, not doing anything. We don't feel supported by the police. If anything, we feel harassed by them. Providing us with supportive staff can help us feel like we have someone to talk to to show us we are not alone. Police have harassed kids and have been nothing but an issue at our schools. We deserve to be treated like kids, not criminals. School police shouldn't be allowed at our school campuses. We demand you guys cut school police and protect BSAD funding. Thank you. Thank you for your time.
Araya Blakely, are you here? Come on down. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Araya? Saeed or Sande Lopez? Alright. Lorraine Zapata? Lorraine z? Is there a Lorraine coming down? Awesome. Thank you so much. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Good afternoon. I yield my time. It should come on up because your time's running. Good afternoon. My name is Kirsten Cook, and I'm a special ed resource teacher and reading specialist at Wilshire Park Elementary. This year, for the first time, the district offered special education, students an ELOP tier three reading intervention program funded through the state.
In just four weeks, students made measurable gains in reading fluency and phonics. One student increased from 85 to a 114 words per minute per minute, another 43 to 56, and another 71 to 91. However, these gains almost never happened. After families had accepted offers of services, the teacher position supporting this program was eliminated despite approved funding. Four vulnerable fifth grade students were at risk of losing critical reading intervention services. I ultimately had to advocate directly to director Mark Jones, principal CREARY's supervisor, to preserve
these services. Only after advocacy was the program restored through school site funding. I am also deeply concerned by retroactive payroll changes made already approved tutoring time cards. Twenty eight hours were, disputed and altered months later after time cards had already been signed, approved, and paid without explanation. These actions raise serious concerns regarding payroll practices and timekeeping integrity. The pattern of instability and loss of trust has severely damaged morale at Wilshire Park
Elementary. Experienced educators fear unsupported and teachers and families no longer have confidence in the leadership at our school. On behalf of teachers, staff, and families, I respectfully ask this board to remove principal query. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Alright. The next speaker is Sonia Camacho. I yield my time to Susie Ramirez. Good afternoon, members of the board. My name is Susie Ramirez. I'm a teacher and a parent at Wilshire Park Elementary. I'm speaking today because the culture at our school has shifted in deeply troubling ways
that have affected teachers, staff, parents, and most importantly, our students. Earlier today, we turned in a petition with over five sorry, 150 signatures. The impact is has been so significant significant that Wilshire Park Elementary is now the second school to bring forward a vote of no confidence in principal Leanne Creery. Wilshire Park was once a school built on collaboration, trust, and community. Teachers felt valued and supported. Parents felt welcomed as parent as partners in their children's education. Students benefited because the adults around them worked together with respect and shared purpose.
Since the arrival of miss Querrey, that culture has deteriorated. What was once a collaborative environment has become one marked by micromanagement, intimidation, and silence. Teachers no longer feel safe speaking openly for fear of retaliation. Staff meetings that once encouraged dialogue now leave little room discussion or feedback. Parents who once felt welcomed on campus increasingly feel pushed away and the strong sense of community that defined our school has steadily eroded. Perhaps the clearest example of this failure in leadership came after the loss of our beloved colleague, Myra Lopez.
In a time of grief, staff felt unsupported, unheard, and alone. Miss Curry asked us to show her compassion, yet she showed us none. When teachers asked for group counseling, much of that time was spent used instead for professional development, leaving staff with only thirty minutes of support. And just last week during teacher appreciation week, we were told teachers just needed to move on from this. This issue goes on beyond one individual. Staff have raised concerns about the climate at Wilshire Park before, yet meaningful district follow-up has not occurred. Teachers met with Regent West leadership and shared these concerns directly with superintendent Collier and
her team. During those conversations and after explaining with fear, frustration, and loss, trust has been lost and we ask, does this matter? And I leave you with this. We need you to intervene and take action. Please do not dismiss the voices of the educators, staff, and families who live with this reality every day. Show us that we matter and show our community that we matter. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Ira. Alright. Someone listed as Frank. Are you here? Frank? Frank. Here we go. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Frank.
I'm from Diego Rivera High School, and I'm here to basically brush off and also clear on the, the importance of having a dream and also the importance of applying dream centers to every LAUSD school only because there's a lot of people in this world that don't exercise their ability to dream and also use their imagination. As growing up, I didn't get the resources I needed in order for me to actually apply myself to anything I wanted to do.
I would always find myself looking for a mentor and looking for places to actually express my actual feelings, but more of actually utilizing my imagination. I didn't like playing video games, even though that's all the kids were doing. I didn't like reading, but I would read a book because I felt like my brain needed that. There's a lot of things that we don't, like, apply ourselves on. There's a lot of things that our school don't, they don't teach us, and they don't allow us to use our creativity to our absolute limit.
And that's something that I feel like every other school should like have and also utilize the most, because ever since I was a kid I remember, like, having origami classes and like always utilizing our imagination. But as I got older, I realized that we didn't care about that anymore. We cared about if you're good at coming to school at a certain time or attendance, if you're good at writing an essay at a certain amount of time, like, that's cool, but I don't wanna know that. I wanna use my imagination. I wanna create something.
I wanna be the next CEO. I wanna I wanna know how to become something greater than my own understanding. And that's what I feel like every school should have a dream center, because everyone is a dreamer. Not just you, not just me, every single being in this universe is the universe. That concludes you and me. Thank you for your time. Alright. The next speaker is, I may have made an error in my notes. Lorraine Zapata. Did did I already call on you? Lorraine Zapata? Hello. Hello. Okay.
Thank you. Sonia Camacho? Christian Flagg. Good afternoon, folks. My name is Christian Flagg with Community Coalition, and we're a core partner of the Equity Alliance. COCO's been working with students and families in South Central LA for over thirty years, and across this period, our community has consistently been harmed by LAUSD decisions. Ones that segregated black and brown students into under resourced schools up through the late nineteen seventies, ones that invested less money into our schools up to the twenty ten's
and ones that actually, supported the school to prison pipeline that disproportionately impacted black students up through the twenty twenty's. Some leaders allowed this and even supported these type of things for decades before listening to community or being ordered by courts, right? The district has to provide a quality education for everybody, and not just quality, but equitable. Now in 2026, we find ourselves with a massive deficit. And I recognize that you all have to make really tough decisions, but that cannot
be anchored in making decisions on a spreadsheet with numbers. We have to hold those realities that we just talked about, that have only just passed in the past couple of years. We should not be cutting CINI, which has just reached $700,000,000 in 2021. We should not be gutting BSAP or community based safety or mental health professionals, which just launched in 2021. In less than two weeks, we've launched a petition where over 1,500 of our community members across the district have been sending y'all emails.
Fully restore CINI. Fully protect BSEP. Safeguard high and highest need schools. Use equity as a tool in all decision making. Center equity with staffing decisions, and ensure transparency in all of this stuff. When our communities are in despair, the leaders have to stand up for those who are harmed the most. Support high and highest need schools now. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Alright. Crystal Corona. Are you here? Crystal Corona? Good evening, board members.
My name is Krista Corona, and I am a senior at De Udiva High School. And also, I am a student organizer with Students Dessert. I'm speaking today for thanking for the passing of the resolution on the mental health supports. I believe strongly in the power of mental health supports in our schools. When students feel connected, when we feel like we belong to a community, we flourish. Mental health programs don't just help us in the moment. They give us tools to build resilience, to grow, and to succeed. Every student deserves to know that somebody is there when they turn every student deserves to know that they are heard and seen.
By funding mental health supports, we're investing in the futures of all students, giving them a foundation of encouragement and care. So thank you again for making this a priority and investing in a better future for all our students as we are the future doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and so much more. Thank you so much, and I'll be using the rest of my time to Marelli. Good evening, board members. My name is Marelli, and I am a stew a student at Diego Rivera, an organizer for Students Deserve. Today, I'm here to talk about creating a safer environment for students without relying on
policing. I believe that we need to take a different approach, one that doesn't rely on punishment and discipline, but instead prioritizes care and support. One way to do this is by investing in mental health resources like more counselors at our schools that can help with early intervention and help students dealing with trauma, anxiety, and other issues that can lead to conflict. Another approach that doesn't involve policing is focusing on building restorative circles where students feel understood, educated, and motivated. We need to create safe spaces where students feel heard and are able to express
themselves rather than feeling punished. We need to put power back into our communities, partner with neighborhood organizations, create mentorship pipelines, and give us real job training. That's how students build skills and confidence, not through handcuffs, but through opportunity. If we want safer schools, we have to invest in care, not cops. Let's choose support over punishment and give every LAUSD student a real chance to succeed. Thank you. Alright. Let's see. Yanira Estrada. Let me see here. Good afternoon. I yield my time to Ben. Good afternoon. I'm doctor Benjamin Bowes.
I'm a parent at Wilshire Park Elementary School. Last fall, parents at Wilshire Park Elementary School became aware of a collective staff letter written by school staff alleging significant and deeply troubling problems with the performance and conduct of principal Leon Creery. The allegations raised by staff go well beyond descriptions of a poorly skilled manager or ineffective leadership style. According to the letter, staff have presented claims of financial mismanagement, harassment, retaliation against employees, violations of staff rights, and neglect of professional duties.
This suggests that this matter is not one of a routine workplace conflict, but a systemic failure of leadership that warrants urgent attention. Parents at Wilshire Park have the right and every right to expect competent, capable, and caring leadership at our school. Months have passed since this letter was submitted to Regent West, superintendent doctor Collier, and we have heard no formal information from the district about any resolutions or any investigations. We therefore respectfully and but firmly request that the LAUSD Board of Education superintendent provide
a formal, timely update to all Wishill Park parents regarding the status and findings against principal Curry of these allegations. I yield my time. Hi. Good evening. My name is Lisa Camacho. I am a former teacher with LA Unified. I retired in December. I have emailed all of you several times regarding principal query. I retired early because of the behaviors and not not being protected from her behavior. I was bullied, harassed. I was targeted, stalked by principal.
I was publicly reprimanded, isolated, and, ultimately, I was ridiculed when I had a medical emergency at the school instead of rendering aid. She reprimanded me and I was I was left on my own. I really hope that you understand that this community, these people here deserve a lot better. Those students, they are an amazing, amazing group of people, and they deserve so much better than what she is giving them.
Thank you so much. Time. Alright. Vincente Rubio, are you here? Vincente? Good afternoon. My name is Vicente Rubio, and I'm a sophomore student at San Pedro High School, and I'm a leader of students deserve. Today, I'm here to demand that the money allocated to LAS LASPD be immediately and completely redistributed to further help students in more effective ways. LASPD will only criminalize and persecute our students even more. Policing isn't what we students need. We are discussing $75,000,000 That is $75,000,000 of our dollars that is not being used
to help our students. As a lifelong LAUSD student, I can't tell you a single meaningful thing that LA's LASPD has done for me, and I've just I've discussed the same thing with my peers. But that 75,000,000 can be used to fund necessary support for us students. That is 75,000,000 that LASPD takes away from students that just need proper help and support, and in turn creates students that LASPD won't help and can't help. So I'm here today to speak for all my peers that need this sup that
need this help, that need physical, social, and mental health support, but can't due to the lack of accessibility or fear of persecution. So as a student, hear me. Policing isn't conducive and isn't supportive to creating functional and healthy adults in society. Please defund school police and invest it back into our students. Thank you for your time. Yeah. Thank you for your time. Alright. The next folks are all listed as speaking remote. Is Selena McClurkin here? Selena, I see you're online. Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you have two minutes to speak once you
begin. Selena. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes. We can. Please go ahead. Yes. Good afternoon, board members and acting superintendent, Chey. My name is Selena McClurkin with Catalyst California, and I'm also a Board District 1 resident. On behalf of the Equity Alliance for LA's kids, I am here to urge LAUSD to maintain its commitment to prioritizing equity and protecting high need schools by restoring the full $700,000,000 to Seni and ensuring that equity is not the first thing that is sacrificed in the upcoming fiscal stabilization plan. Right now, our students and families are already navigating enormous instability.
Communities across LA are facing ICE raids, federal attacks on public education, threats to social services, and deep economic uncertainty. In moments like these, schools should be places of safety, support, and stability. Instead, LAUSD is proposing cuts that would strip resources away from the students who need the most. The district has already cut nearly $100,000,000 from Seni for fiscal year twenty seven, swept school carryover entirely, and is proposing another $200,000,000 cut the following year. These cuts disproportionately impact learners that are concentrated in the district's highest and high need
schools. What is especially concerning is that we are once again being asked to respond to major budget decisions without meaningful transparency. Last year, the fiscal stabilization plan was released just one week before decisions were made, forcing communities to scramble to defend essential equity investments. Now we are hearing that even deeper cuts may be coming as well as potential school closures. These are not decisions that can be taken lightly and without community input. If the district is serious about meaningful community engagement and equity, then the updated fiscal stabilization plan along with a comprehensive and disaggregated budget analysis that clearly shows the equity
impact on our school students and schools must be publicly shared by next week's committee of the whole, not days before critical decisions are made. Communities deserve sufficient time to review proposals and meaningfully participate in this process before votes are finalized. Equity cannot simply live in a strategic plan or resolution. It has to show up in the budget. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Ariah Blakely, I understand you're here now. Ariah Blakely, come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Hello. My name is Araya Blakely. I'm gonna be yielding my time to Lupe Torres, who is on Zoom.
Lupe Torres. I don't do you have the last four digits of her phone number? 4432. Okay. There it is. Please go ahead, miss Lopez. Lupe, you're on the line. Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Hello? Hi. Please go ahead. Can you hear me? Yes. We can. Hi. Good afternoon, school board members and acting superintendent. Thank you for your time today. My name is Lupe Torres, and I am the UCLA chapter chair at Western Avenue
Tech Magnet. We're a span school with grades t k through eight with a population which is mostly underserved, located in an area mostly neglected by the city. Schools like Western need to be adequately monitored by the district leaders to ensure that students attending these type of school have systems in place so students are appropriately supported so learning can take place. I'm here respectfully requesting your support in not making any movement to the visa district wide and to ask you to please not move our highly requested visa counselor, miss Dania Ward. This is my fourth year teaching at Western.
And for the entire time, there, our staff has reached out to reaching south through UTLA leaders regarding neglect to our school programs. Systems that manage our magnet, school safety discipline program, VSAP, and the building up of our middle school continue to not be in place as needed. Most of the work at our school is driven by the teachers and even with that music support, western teachers have managed to improve the ESSA and I Ready test scores. The continuous neglect to our school has a direct impact on the success of VSAP on our campus. We have lost VSAP funds and other funds have not been responsibly responsibly spent.
Hundreds of thousands of VSAP dollars have been spent on materials that haven't even been set up, and this has been for years. We began this school year with a deficit of a 150,000 with out an explanation from admin. For at least four years, our middle school school students have not had any arts, no clubs, no cultural programs, and limited enrichment. The lack of consistent management of our school should not cause students and families to lose our very important b step counselor, miss Ward. It is from the b step room with the guidance of miss Ward that poor
students are regularly receiving the support that is missing at our school. Please support our cause to save miss Ward at Western. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Alright. The next caller is Jamila. Jamila, you're listed as speaking remotely. I don't have you online in front of me. Jamila, are you in the room? Alright. Maria Daisy Ortiz is on the line. Miss Ortiz is gonna speak in Spanish. So if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English as she's speaking Spanish, please put your hands up, and we'll get you translation headsets. Alright. I can hear them coming out right now.
Good afternoon. Can you hear me? Yes. We can hear you, but give us a moment, please. Okay. Good afternoon, everyone. I am Maria Desi Ortiz, and I am here to speak about mental health month, and I would like to exhort the school board for LAUSD. Because if you want the children from kinder to twelfth grade have well-being, because one thing is mental health and another thing is well-being. Okay? So it's adding adding inside that study plan, like, as a required material in an
elective way so everybody can benefit with emotional emotional intelligence since many of our children, adolescents, is a very difficult stage in which they close themselves out and don't know how to control their emotions. So this would be something that is more effective, and we can put that program because not everyone assists the programs and they don't impact in the same way. So what we should make resolutions that are effective and not not give speech or
helping one another, and the impact is very minimal. Another thing says that study says that when children are scared, they cannot learn because they can't focus. Our children are under fear because there are many fights inside the schools, including Mars where Kimberly passed away and where you can see that it was this girl was attacked in the restroom, and the personnel that worked there was incompetent and negligent at the same time, which is why we should hire personnel that is qualified to control
the crime inside and outside of the schools, and what better way than police who is trained. And I'm speaking about school police. It cannot assist. You cannot cover security with a band aid. When you have a huge surgery, you take a Tylenol? Of course not. So do not insult intelligence of us parents. Aside, it is very important you on the line, please press 6 to unmute yourself,
and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Brianna Hernandez. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes. I can. Please go ahead. Okay. Great. Hello. My name is Brianna Hernandez, and I am a high school student. Usually, I speak with our peers on lighter subjects, but today is regarding a heavy and unfortunate case. This is a case that has been on the minds of students, parents, and faculty for years now. Jesus Angulo is currently administrator of operations at the Bridgeport Academy, earning over $200,000 a year. But are you aware of his history? Angulo previously pled no concept to covering up the rape of a high school student.
He was then promoted by LAUSD even after LAUSD paid out a $6,000,000 settle settlement. Now he is in charge of us. The thousand buck is Director of virtual academy. When miss Buck was asked about miss Angulo's case, which I was a witness to, miss Buck justified it by saying it was not her concern and had occurred twenty years ago. I'm curious to hear what miss Buck has to say about Cesar Chavez or the Zodiac killer. Is the Zodiac Killer now not her concern because it was decades ago? Miss Buck also tried to dodge accountability by saying it is not our business as
students. But who pays the salary of her, along with a Susan Gullo, who tried to cover up a literal rate? My family does. So, yes, it is actually my business, miss Buck. I'm asking that the board please pursue real punishment against Angulo, Buck, and Maria Sotomayor, who also received the promotion despite this incident. What if this was your child? How would you react? How would it also not be your concern? What both Angulo and Buck said was highly inappropriate and grounds for removal. We're hoping to hear updates soon just like we did about Susser Travis. Thank you. Thank you for your time.
Alright. I believe that concludes general public comment. Let me have a look at the list one more time. That concludes general public comment. I made an error earlier. We still have to get to tab eight also in addition to the other tabs that I noted. So tabs eight fourteen nineteen twenty one and twenty three. It looks like there are a lot of folks here who've been waiting for tab 21, so we will get to that. I have a public statement to read for tab 21, denial of the charter renewal petition. Before action is taken on the following board report, a public hearing must be held.
This constitutes a public hearing on today's fresh chart Fresh Start Charter School Los Angeles. A maximum of 15 individuals who wish to address the board, and this item will be heard. Those who wish to speak should sign up online, and I will be calling on speakers by name. And I believe there is also a brief presentation to be made today. Eddie Gordon, are you here? Come on up. Hello. My question is, I will be doing the presentation. Yes. How many minutes do I receive for that?
Two minutes for the presentation. For the presentation. And then you have no materials. Is that correct? Not besides what the presentation is, but I definitely can't do that in two minutes. So I do have a two minute, speech I'll read to you guys. Great. And then if anybody wants to, yield their time, I could continue. The PowerPoint is strictly data and strictly to show you guys that we are increasing in every single category possible well decreasing chronic absenteeism. Did you send us the PowerPoint? Do I have it? You have it. It is under tab 21, but it would be very difficult for me to, yeah.
That that's it. Okay. Yeah. If we could go one more up just so that it hovers on our California dashboard data. Okay. There you go. And then when you begin, we'll start counting the time. Okay. Thank you. Good evening, president of the board, board members, superintendent, and members of the public. My name is Sam Michael Farnoli, acting site administrator for today's Fresh Start Charter School, and I stand before you today on behalf of the students, families, and staff of today's Fresh Start Charter School. Tonight, I respectfully ask that this board to overturn the recommendation to deny our renewal petition. The denial recommendation before you relies heavily on events and allegations dating back nearly twenty
years, some as far back as 2003. However, the purpose of charter renewal under current California law is to evaluate whether a school is presently serving students effectively and demonstrating growth and viability during the most recent accountability cycle. Today's fresh start serves one of the highest needs populations in South LA. Students impacted by poverty, trauma, chronic absenteeism, language barriers, mobility, and significant academic gaps. Despite these challenges, our school has demonstrated measurable academic growth on the California dashboard and state accountability indicators over the past several years.
In 2025, our school was awarded a full six year WASC accreditation, the highest accreditation term possible. Earlier this year, our Compton campus also received a full five year charter renewal from CUSD. Again, the highest renewal term available. These independent reviews directly contradict the claim that our educational program lacks soundness or that we are incapable of something or successful implementation. The denial recommendation itself acknowledges that our school is classified as middle performing, not low performing. Yet instead of focusing on our current student outcomes and documented growth, this recommendation disproportionately emphasizes historical matters unrelated to the educational programs serving our students today.
We also strongly dispute the suggestion that closure would be in the best interest of our students. Closing a stable community based school in South LA would displace hundreds of families who intentionally chose our school because they needed a safe, nurturing, and culturally responsive environment. This board has the opportunity tonight to focus on the students sitting in classrooms today. We respectfully ask that you consider the school's current performance, measurable growth, WASC accreditation, you c u s u CUSD renewal, and the devastating impact that closure would have on our community. Please allow today's fresh start to continue serving the families who depend on us and
partner with us for their success. Thank you. We really want to work with LAUSD. We really want your guidance. Please keep that in mind when you vote. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Alright. The next public speaker is Fatin Fahmy. Did I say that right? Yes. Thank you so much. And then, Philomena Okpala after that, and then Sarita Danley. Good afternoon. My name is Faten Fahmy. I have been teaching at Today's Fresh Start for twelve years. Today's Fresh Start's vision and purpose always supported, by the implementation of the school wide
learning goals and outcomes and achieving academic goals, standards, and objectives to meet all of the students' needs. The superintendent, doctor Jeanette Parker, has made significant investments in classroom resources, programs, and materials in order to further boost, student performance. For example, there's been a lot of investment in the Superior Summer Bridge program, which has offered engaging, high quality learning opportunities such as chess class, dance class, music class,
renting a water slide, field trips to Rodondo Beach, for example, or California Science Center. Please review our updated dashboard as mister Farnoli has stated, the ones that might be, available is twenty years ago. Please look at our NWEA scores and our Smarter Balanced assessments, that mister Farnoli has already, discussed. The site administrators are awesome. They have provided quality instructional leadership and guidance without stifling teachers' creativity.
TFSCS administrators have strategically planned and scheduled meaningful professional development webinars and workshops. Every week, teachers at today's fresh start share their best practices. Please review the updated dashboard. Thank you so much. Thank you. Philomena, come on down. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Good. My name is Philomena Opower. Yeah. I'm a special ed resource specialist. I just want you to know that I work with a great school.
There are many reasons why a school is a great school. And I worked for LAUSD for eighteen years, and I received this from the board. So that tells you that our superintendent, doctor Janine Parker, hires, hires highly qualified, highly competent, and highly effective teachers and staff in in her school. Our school our students matter at today's Fresh Start Cherry School. Our parents matter. Our teachers matter.
All staff matter in our school. Everyone matters. So I urge you, please, to look into our data, our school as a whole, and please approve our charter. We are lucky to have a very passionate and strong leader, an educator, founder and superintendent, doctor Janine Parker, who hires highly qualified, dedicated, and staff and staff that we care about our students, establish high standards and high expectations for teachers and staff, and
also for students. She consistently tells that she want us our students to be the best. We have a school where teachers create and maintain a self positive and inclusive learning environment that support the development of students' abilities and ultimately meet California core standards, fostering both academic growth and emotional and well-being of our students. I wanna read a letter of my student, a school student, an eighth grader. He gave me this letter. My name is Steven.
I have been going to today's Fresh Start Charter School since second grade, since 2019. I'm currently in eighth grade. I like our school for many reasons. First and foremost, I have one of the best teachers, miss. Okay. And our school encourages all students to work hard and to give their best efforts in all they do. Thank you very much. Thank you for your time. Sarita Danley. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Sarita Danley, and I'm a teacher at today's Fresh Start. This is my eleventh year teaching at this school, and I'm here today to ask
to renew our charter. For nine of those years, I taught sixth grade, and I've had the unique opportunity to watch my students grow, not just in my classroom, but over time all the way through their culmination from our school. I've seen where they start, and I've seen who they become. That growth is real, and it is the result of the support system we have built. What makes our school different is our commitment to supporting the whole child. We don't just teach content. We build relationships. We provide stability, and we create an environment where students feel seen, supported, and capable
of success. That level of support matters, especially in a community like ours. Our students need consistency. They need adults who know them and are committed to their growth over time. That's exactly what our school provides. Are we perfect? No. We continue to work on challenges like attendance and family engagement, but we are actively addressing those issues because we are invested in our students and our community. Charter renewal means continuing a system of support that is already making a difference every
day in in our lives. Disrupting that would not just impact a building, it would impact the students who rely on us. After eleven years, I can confidently say this, our school is worth investing in, and our students are worth fighting for. I respectfully urge you to renew our charter. Thank you. Thank you for your time. David Tocovsky, come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. David Tocovsky. And then after mister Tolkovsky are Merrick Wadsworth and doctor Jeanette Parker.
You're already here. Let's go for it, please. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm speaking on a fresh start. I'm a very impressed with the idea of a fresh start. I'm not here to support this particular charter, which has a long record, but if you are using the fact that they are authorized in another district and then have a site in this district, I encourage you to find the other charter schools that have a similar kind of thing and have not gotten special attention. So I'm happy that Exterra gets a new start and a nonunion school gets a
fresh start with Green Dot. I'm glad that you're doing some strategic enrollment. Of course, Exterra, when it closed, could have been district students, but the strategic enrollment team was not there, But Green Dot was there and the Charter Schools Association was there. I hope that you have a fresh start on special ed. It is a prime moment in the history of public education, needs a fresh start, profound lobbying starting on Thursday, all the way through the signing of the budget. I hope you have a fresh start on CYBHI. You passed a number of motions today about mental health and wellness, and yet only
$15,000 has been brought to this district after three and a half years plus the 4,000,000 from the county. I hope you have a fresh start on virtual schools. I think miss Franklin's, request to look at Florida Virtual School, which has nearly 6,000 kids in Florida Virtual School in along with Edgenuity, which is owned by Imagine Learning, which has different contracts and manipulates the procurement process. I hope you have a fresh start on impact fees, cities, and developers who are
not paying impact fees to this district, to help this district. I hope you have a fresh start on the foundation or foundations in this district. I hope you have a fresh start on the senior staff, and that when it comes for the pay, that you distinguish between lower paid district represented and senior paid, people. I hope that you'll have the integrity when there's a four to three vote on a key personnel, that that person doesn't belong in that responsible place anymore, but could be a district employee under mister chief. And so finally, I think a new day, a fresh start on revenue enhancement is
exactly what needs to be happening. Thank you very much, and good luck with your new fresh start. Thank you for your time. Merrick Wadsworth, come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin, and then after mister Wadsworth is doctor Janette Parker. Hi. Good evening. My name's Merrick Wadsworth. I'm an attorney from Procopio, and we represent today's fresh start. In order to deny a middle track school like today's Fresh Start, this board has to make a finding that closure of the school is in the best interest of students. And that is a very high bar to meet. Right? Because closing any school is going to have a detrimental effect on some of those students, especially in historically underserved areas like where today's Fresh Start is located.
And based on the academic achievement that is in the charter, that's in the staff report that you saw up on the presentation earlier, it's simply impossible for this board to make that finding. All of today's Fresh Start scholar scholar subgroups outperformed the subgroups in LAUSD and the state in both ELA and math last year. A majority of the subgroups and school wide at Today's Fresh Start increased their performance in ELA and math over the last two years. Today's Fresh Start increased its performance on the California Science Test, the CST last year, and outperformed LAUSD and the state.
TFS increased the percentage of English learners that are making progress towards English language proficiency over the last two years. They reduced their chronic absenteeism over the last two years. They reduced their suspension rate over the last two years. They actually didn't suspend a single student last year and they have never expelled a student in the history of their entire school. So not only is TFS outperforming LAUSD and the state on various crucial indicators of success, scholars at TFS are actually even improving and getting even better over time. And yet, CSD is recommending that you vote tonight to close this high quality school.
Today's decision should and must be based on what's best for scholars, not about some issues that happened allegedly twenty years ago. And we're about charter schools in other jurisdictions that are now closed and in a separate organization that has, that operates a price or preschool. Excuse me. So we respectfully request that you approve the renewal petition that's before you or alternatively, if LAUSD does not wanna authorize this school, that's okay too. The law provides another option where you just provide written approval for Compton to continue authorizing the school at this site. So thank you very much for your time.
Thank you for your time. Doctor Jeanette Parker. Take your time. How are you doing? Honorable board president, superintendent. So this is my thing I wanna concentrate and share with you. In every classroom at our school, we have an I have a dream area for our students to we want them to dream. We want them to be the best that they can be. We have partnerships with JPMorgan, UCLA, Loyola, and Pepperdine. We have a six year WASC approval, and I was really glad to hear you
talk about imprisonment. We have never put any child out of our school. I have a philosophy that when you do that, you set you set a mindset to put people out so that they think nobody wants them, nobody wants to bother with them, so we have we don't expel. What we do is we meet with the parents, talk to them, pull them in to help them understand their children better.
We have five counselors, so we are fully believing in, the health week you talked about because every day is promotion of good health and well-being at our school. We also, practice restorative justice. We have PBIS team. We practice, conflict of of, bringing people together if there is any misunderstanding.
We have a basic rule protocol that we call parents. The parents are so critical and because they want the best for their children, and that's why they brought them to today's Fresh Start. So we bring parents in, we sit down, we talk to them, We help them feel comfortable, confident that our purpose is to help them with their children. I did email you, our response to your letter that you had sent out.
It was a letter. But anyway, I brought a hard copy as well, which you'll I'm welcome to give them to you. Thank you. I'll come collect it from you. Thank you. Wonderful. Wonderful. And I just wish all of you the best. When I was in Bourbon Cab, Alabama, a little girl, when we didn't have a lunch, we had to pay 25¢. At Today's Fresh Start, we never charged any parents any money for food. Never. Every time much, we didn't. We when there was ACES and ELOP, we were already doing that before we know
every reimbursement. Thank you so much. Thank you kindly. If you if you just set that there, I'll come up real shortly and get it. I'm gonna call out the next person. Let's see. Erby Phillips. Are you here, Erby? Mhmm. Thank you so much. Right there is good. I promise I'll come get it in just a moment. Erby Phillips, are you here? Alright. Well, we're calling the folks who are speaking remotely under tab 21. Karma Blackwell, I see you're on the line. Karma, please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin once you begin. Karma Blackwell. Hello. My name is Karma Blackwell. I am currently an eighth grade student at State of Spring Star Charter School.
I have attended this school since transitional kindergarten, and I am car calling to express how special and important this school is to me. I love my school because of the caring and strong supportive community we share here. The thought of the school closing makes me very sad as it has been a meaningful part of my life in growth. During my time at this school, I have had many wonderful experiences. I made my first friends here. I learned how to play basketball and volleyball.
Most importantly, I have learned valuable life lessons. I have learned that I am responsible for my actions, the importance of studying before tests, and how to hold myself accountable for my mistakes. I have also learned that being honest is important even if it may lead to consequences. These lessons have shaped me into a more responsible and thoughtful person. If the school were to close, I would have to attend a new school, which would cause me a great deal of anxiety and discomfort.
I will have to adjust to a new environment, meet new people, and try to make new friends. This will also mean leaving behind the close friendships and strong connections I have built at today's First Star Charter School. These are just some of the many reasons why my amazing school should stay open. Other students deserve the opportunity to experience the same supportive environment, positive memories, and quality education I have received here. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my letter and consider my perspective.
Thank you. Thank you for your time. The next speaker is Mackenzie Martin. Mackenzie Martin, I see you're on the line. Please press star six to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Mackenzie Martin. Mackenzie, I think you have a device playing in the background. You should turn off the speaker and the microphone. There you go. Please go ahead, miss Martin. Thank you. Thank you. Mackenzie, can you do me a solid and turn off the speaker in in the room that's right next to you and the microphone? Otherwise, we can hear a bunch of feedback. Thank you. My name is Mackenzie Martin.
I'm currently in the eighth grade and have been attending today's Fresh Start charter school for six years. I first started here in kindergarten, left at the end of first grade, and returned in fifth grade. I've been a student here ever since. I am I am calling here today to see the positive experiences I've had and the many things I've learned while attending today's Fresh Start. To begin, one of my favorite events is the fall festival. Every October and November, the school hosts a festival where students can enjoy food, play games, and win prizes. It is a fun and memorable day that we should get to play with our
classmates and friends. Another experience I truly enjoy is the summer program. Although it's not mandatory and takes place outside of the regular school year, I love to find me whatever I can. The program includes activities such as arts and crafts, games, music class, and plenty of obstacles. It is also a great opportunity to spend time with friends before the new school year begins. One of the most important parts of my experience, as today's first start, has been the people I have met. Some of my friends I've met when we were just five years old, and we're still close today.
I've also made many friends who's in later grades that still remain strong. This sense of connection extends beyond students to staff as well. The staff has always made me feel at home and comfortable communicating with them. The teachers in particular have been incredibly supportive. They have been patient and willing to explain things when I do not understand, and their guidance has never wavered. If today's first start were to ever close, I feel the students will not have the same opportunities that I have had. From the different teaching styles that have helped me learn so much to the caring staff who helped create a positive environment every day.
This school provides an experience that's truly special. The memories I have here with my friends are irreplaceable. There's no place quite like to just start because students need a school like this. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me speak. Thank you for your time. The next caller is you're welcome. The next caller is Arthur Nampa. I see you're on the line. Arthur, please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Arthur Nampa. Arthur Nampa, please press 6 to unmute yourself. I see you're unmuted.
Please go ahead. My name is Arthur Nampa. I'm also a eighth grader at today's First Star Charter School, and I've attended it since kindergarten. I'm speaking to share how I feel about my school. In my opinion, this is an amazing school, and I truly enjoy it here at today's Fresh Start Charter School. I would definitely not want it to close. My positive experiences at this school are plentiful from fun and memorable moments with my friends to, my successes inside the classroom, I always the I always enjoy, the after
school program that's offered at the school as well, which has helped my family, with, you know, timing and when to pick me up and such. Most importantly, I believe this school has amazing teachers and staff who truly helped me learn throughout my life. I've learned many important life lessons from how to read and write to how to respect my elders and pay attention in class. All of this because of the amazing, community and teachers and staff that's provided at
today's Fresh Star Charter School. I would I would like to thank the school for teaching me everything I know and allowing me to meet all of my friends that have helped me through many, many different things. And I would definitely not want the school to close as it is an amazing, place for learning and meeting people who you can relate to. Thank you for your time. Alright. The next speaker is hold on. Bear with me. The rest are remote speakers.
I'll call on their names as a a sort of a bunch of them. I'll call on their names, and if if here, please come on up. Let's see. Erby Phillips, I already called your name. Not here. Lashay Weems is listed as being, remote, but are you in the room? I do not have Lashay on the line. Audrey Smith. Are you in the room? Audrey Smith, also remote, but I do not have you online in front of me. Maria Rojas, are you in the room? You're signed up to speak remotely, but you're not signed in. Also not in the room. Martha Rodriguez, you're signed up to speak remotely, but are you in the room?
I do not have you online. And Julia Hernandez, Julia Hernandez, you're signed up to speak remotely, but I don't have you online. Are you in the room? It's no. So that concludes the public comment, period for tab 21. It's now appropriate for the board to discuss. And while we're getting there, may I have a motion and a second to hear tab 21? Moved. Moved by miss Griego. Second. Seconded by doctor Rivas. See, we have staff here to answer questions and four board members.
Are there any questions? Sure. I just wanna clarify if the recommendation for denial is largely based on academics. I mean, their argument is that they're making progress, or if it's based on operational and financial concerns. Thank you for that question, and good knee good evening, everybody. The basis of denial is on criterion one, demonstrably unlikely to implement the program based on their past unsuccessful history. So it's basically a criterion one, demonstrably unlikely finding. To implement the academic program? Correct. To implement the pro yes. But they're doing better than neighboring schools? Well, it's to implement the program operationally, fiscally, governance.
We We look at all those areas. We have a question. Is it academics or operations and finance? Operations and finance. Okay. Thank you for that. Thanks. Because, you know, we heard really strongly and saw in the data. So, can you tell us a little bit just, you know, high level, what are the operational and financial concerns? Yep. Well, as you can see in the findings, it's really their history of past unsuccessful operating a charter school and a funded preschool. We also talked about their charter school that was revoked by LACOE. There were concerns around, in LACOE's findings not protecting public funds and using their position
improperly for their own personal enrichment. Then there was also we meant to talk about the Inglewood non renewal. That particular non renewal went all the way up to the state, for appeal and then in around July 2020, it was unanimously unanimously denied based on the prior revocation and quote ambiguity, self dealings, and a lack of transparency. And it's the same board for both schools? It's correct. It's the same there's currently one school operating in two different districts, but this is
the vote to look at the one that's currently residing in Los Angeles and, in LAUSD. And then I we also note in our findings when you talk about the same board, two there are four current board members and two of them have served on that board for, an extended period of time during some of the events, and questionable history. So we also talk about that in our findings. Okay. Thanks. So maybe I'll just give the school a chance to respond on the financial concerns because I think the letter was mostly about the academic program so I don't know who from the school would wanna mention would wanna share, you know, what you heard
from the team, what response you might have for ensuring that the finances and operations are running well. I think particularly, you know, we've been concerned with declining enrollment, and it looks like you have about 40 kids per grade level. Just curious, like, how you'll sustain that and be able to meet the financial and operational demands that is required. Yeah. Whoever from the school would wanna reply. Alright. We have always had audits, which are with no exceptions. Would you care to elaborate? With Compton with Compton Unified Go ahead and do the mic because people can hear online. With Compton Unified, we were we were brought into Compton Unified in 2015.
So that is almost eleven years. We have a very clean record, No infractions whatsoever for the past eleven years with with one district. So the concerns that you just heard from our staff are not all? The concerns that the the staff have brought up is is historical and it has nothing to do with our current data cycles. It's very disappointing, especially because they they presented us. They published this this, denial on the same day they came to our school. So they published it on 04/20, and they came to our school on 04/20.
And they didn't ask a single question that was in their concerns. Not one. Mister Quonote, let me also comment that we have budget reserves also. Yeah. And I saw that that you had dropped below. And you anticipate that continuing to be the case, that you'll maintain the reserves. You won't be in the red. That's right. Okay. Okay. I'll pause there if my colleagues have questions. Any other questions? Just to clarify with our our, our charter school division. Yeah. So they're saying that this is historical, that for the past eleven years, they've been
fine financially. And also, I think the letter says that they were denied because of a typo in their, report. Can you speak to that? Well, I can address the the the latter question. And so, essentially, we do have two additional findings as to their underenrollment and declining student enrollment and then their unreliable and unrealistic petition budget and cash flow. I think that's what you're referring to. So, essentially, I'm not sure if it was a typo, but when we are recommending a denial for a charter, we do not go in in a back and forth.
We we they submitted a certificate of completeness to evaluate them on what was submitted, and that was what evaluated and was determined to be a recommendation for denial. We did request documents from their current authorizer, which is Compton, and as of this date, we have not received any documents from them as to that. So we did utilize the information that was available, and also we also utilized information. We did ask for, PRA from also the state, and they did provide information based on that. That's what we based our recommendation on.
Thank you. Anyone else? Alright. I'm gonna take the vote. On tab 21, having been moved and seconded, denial of the renewal petition. Miss Newbill? Not here right now. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Melvin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Miss Ortiz Franklin? No. Board president Schmirelson? Yes. Alright. That is one absent here right right now. One, two, three, four yeses and one no. So the item passes. Alright. Going to the next tab, tab eight. We had one question on tab eight. May I have a move and a second as miss Tokes makes her way down?
Move it. Moved by I didn't hear the second. I'm sorry. Second. Seconded by mister Melvoin. Thank you for your patience. Good afternoon, members of the board. Hello. Just a quick follow-up. On on tab or or request for follow-up information. On item a, I noticed that one of the shade structures, at 59th Street Elementary, I believe, at a 178,860 is shockingly pretty cheap. So, and I know there was some follow-up about this is just a construction contract
versus but it would be helpful if the board could get the whole nut of what that, kind of the the breakdown of what that costs or why or maybe you know off the top of your head just why it seemed Sure. I can give you a little background on that. Christina Tokes, chief facilities executive. So, we received eight bids for that, and this is just the bid that we received. It was the lowest bidder at 178, and the scope of work is to install the shade shelter and do the necessary accessibility upgrades.
This doesn't represent the total project cost but it is the majority of the project cost. This doesn't include the DSA review, inspection, staff time, the design costs. So this is not this is the construction cost not the total project cost. And obviously, we only spend what we need to spend so we will reconcile what that total project cost is now that we have this hard bid in. And also, this is not the size of the, I think, shade shelter that is,
the ones that we are seeing as large as the ones that we put over our play equipment, which is what you might be referring to, board member Melvoin, those typically have to be much larger or taller because they have to cover, existing play equipment so there's height variances. This one does not have play, equipment under it, so I don't think it's quite as large. But either way, we were also excited to see that this came in at a 178,000. Yeah. And the one in that item too at Murchison Elementary, the play structure, obviously, close
to, you know, $860,000. But I was thrilled to see that that structure has built in shade. Yes. And I just I know we're not installing as many structures. Although I'll note there are a few schools, including at least one in my board district, that have no, play structures, at least for certain grades. But it makes sense that when we buy them, we just build so going forward, I hope that's our practice. Yes. Wherever we're, installing a new play structure, we're going to, have integrated shade, and that's why there's a big cost differential. One is the entire place structure, the matting, the shade, and the other one is
just a shade shelter. Thanks. Miss Newbel? Yes. I was actually looking at shade structure at 50, and I don't know if it was just a typo on the start date or completion, because I think it had 2025. And I'm not sure if that actually coincides with the question of the cost if it was priced in 2025, or is that why maybe a different cost? For the 59th Street, the schedule on that is it's currently, under construction.
It started, earlier, I think, a month or two ago, and it's scheduled to be completed before the end of the year. Okay. And so is it possible to, board member Melvoin's point, like, to look at that apples for apples? Because I was kinda shocked. I was like, you must be wrong. You must be the price have to be off, to be able to look at that to see if those are actually what we can use in some of our schools to be able to create some of those shade spaces that are less economical.
This is like the Kirkland brand that we talked about. It's not a half a, you know, million dollars. But if that is possible to look at size and, you know, dollar for dollar, space for space to see if we're able to get this kind of brand. Absolutely. Okay. Yeah. And we do use all preapproved DSA, off the shelf shade structures. So they're not, custom designed. And this one, you said it did not include the DSA. It it's just the construction cost.
Is that correct? Correct. So what you're seeing here is, just the cost to construct. This is the bid for the construction of it. There are soft costs associated with every project that are not included in the construction bid. So that's, like, the architect's time or the inspector's time or the testing time. That's not part of this is just the work of the contractor to actually construct the project. Got it. And so then where is that cost located for this particular project? So that's when we bring the project to the board for approval, we give the
total project cost, which includes all the costs that are necessary to implement and develop the project. And then we bring back the construction contract for the board to either approve or ratify. So that's you see it twice. Once the total project cost when we bring it to the board for approval and then the construction contract when it comes to the board for ratification or approval. That makes sense. Thank you. Any further questions? Alright. After having been moved and seconded, miss Newbill, tab eight. Yes. Doctor Rivas.
Yes. Mister Melboin. Yes. Miss Griego. Yes. Miss Gomez. Miss Ortiz Franklin. Yes. Board president Schmirelson. Yes. That concludes tab eight. We'll go to tab 14 next. We have one public comment on the item, approval of update to the code of ethics. Let's see. Concerned parent. Are you still on the line? Concerned parent, I see you on the line. Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Concerned parent. May I have a move in a second while concerned parent is unmuting?
Move it. Okay. Move by mister Schmurdlesen. Second. Seconded by miss Newbill. Concerned parent, I see you're on the line with us. Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Okay, concerned parent. The board is now going to take a vote on it. I had a question. And there are questions. Yes. Yes. Well, you so let's do let's come back to concerned parent. Concerned parent, we'll come back to you. I see you're with us. I would you've been there all day. I would hate to hate to leave you, but we'll do board questions now.
Oh, I'm not concerned here. Can you introduce yourself? Yes. Good evening. Darlene Vargas, ethics officer. Okay. I see your name, but I never saw you. I know. The most female beast known. It is I. Wonderful. Thank you, darling. Is that the question? You're welcome. No. No. It's the question. Yes. Vendors are among the finalists for a contract with LAUSD, does the district look into who the business owner is, the history of service, tax records, social media for either
the owner or the business itself, reviews on Google, on Yelp, or any other sources to ensure the business is capable of providing services to the district. So I we're going to I I can speak to this one now from a procurement standpoint. In general, for smaller contracts, we do a cursory review of the vendor, Google searches, etcetera, to see if there's any determined, determined history or anything that may be a
red flag. When we talk about our facilities contract, especially our our general contractors, they are subjected to a more extensive due diligence process. I will say that for for those types of reviews, they are they are costly. It's generally about $50,000 to do a broad due diligence and review for those types of contracts. And that's what what we do when we're entering into a 100,000 a $100,000,000 or more contract as a district. But we have, begun a process, to continue to make sure that we have clear
due diligence on any conflict of interest, that may exist. The other thing that we have in terms of just general, protections as part of the process is that there is a code of ethics that every vendor that is submitting, for a bid that must be completed as part of their, submittal and participation as part of our our procurement process. Yes. So it's a it's a ethics certification. I'm sorry. To tag along to that, it's a ethics certification that a vendor completes certifying to
the sections of our contractor code of conduct. Well, thank you very much. You're welcome. Thank you both. Any further questions? Okay. Tab 14 taking the vote. Miss Newbill? Yes. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Melvoin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Miss Ortiz Franklin? Yes. Board president Schmirulson? Yes. Right. Moving on to Tab 19, may I have a move and a second? Move it. Second. And I believe, Ms. Griegel, you had questions on Tab 19? Yeah. Yeah. I just, I understand that this material revision is for citizens of the world to
separate from the national organization. Right? And so I'm just wondering, how this change will, affect or impact, if any, the governance structure or any material, revision impact on our agreements with the charter school? Thank you for that question. We don't anticipate any impacts to any agreements. It's exactly as you said. It's just removing CWC National as the sole statutory member of the CWC Los Angeles governing board to allow them, more local control.
Alright. Thank you. Any further questions? Okay. The vote on tab 19 having been moved in second. Miss Newbill? Yes. Doctor Rivas? Yes. Mister Melvoin? Yes. Miss Griego? Yes. Miss Gomez? Miss Ortiz Franklin? Yes. Board president Schmirelson? Yes. Alright. And I've received a couple emails from, our tab 14 speaker who has been online. I I have I've seen you online the whole time, tab 14. I'm gonna call you now again, concerned parent. Please press 6 to unmute yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak once you
begin. Hi. Can you hear me? We sure can. Please go ahead. Looks like you've muted yourself again. No. So there, there appears to be a technical issue because I'm unmuting myself and then I get muted. I have been waiting all day on and off because I do have a job. So I'll just get to my comment. Regarding the tab 14, I want to remind the board about what it implies, what it means to be ethical. So this is from the ethics, I don't know, bulletin, I guess.
Our goal is to create a culture that fosters trust, commitment to excellence and responsibility, personal and institutional and avoids conflict of interest and appearances of impropriety in LAUSD decision making. Additionally, as stewards of public tax dollars, it is the responsibility of every LAUSD official to ensure LAUSD decision making is conducted free from bias and influence. Now I would like to ask you board members. I know you cannot answer my questions, but if you can use this as a
moment of reflection to ensure that you are abiding by these board rules and the code of ethics because it doesn't seem from my perspective that the board or a lot of LAUSD officials and employees are actually, abiding by these code of ethics. It is seen in many different ways. I can point out a couple. One, some of you wear colored clothing every Tuesday. Is that biased? Some of you choose to ignore parent concerns that don't necessarily align with yours.
Is that biased? Is that, you allow yourself to be influenced by so called community organizations that are so called parent led? Is that considered influence and also biased? I would really encourage you to look at yourselves and to really ensure that what you are voting on is free from bias and influence. Thank you. Thank you for your time. I have to collect votes from miss Newbill on tab 21, the denial of the renewal petition. Yes. Yes. That's all the business we have to conduct today.
You guys wanna adjourn? Yeah. Are there are there any Are there any adjourning motions? I'll just do a quick one because I was talking to superintendent, but, I'd like to adjourn this meeting today in honor of Jason Collins who passed away earlier today. Jason was the first openly gay NBA player. He was actually the first openly gay athlete in any of the four major American sports, and throughout the course of his career was an incredible athlete, advocate, activist, ambassador for causes around the world. He's someone I got to know a little bit, throughout throughout his life and mine,
and he was just an incredible guy, what we would call a mensch. And so thinking about him, his twin brother, Jaren, and their family, and may his memory be for a blessing. Thank you. Unless there are any objections, the meeting is adjourned. No objections? Okay. The time is 05:56.