* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] GOOD MORNING. [Roll Call of Members] WELCOME. THE TIME IS NOW 10:02 AM ON OCTOBER 13TH, 2026. WELCOME TO THIS SPECIAL MEETING IN LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, FOCUSING ON CHARTER ITEMS. SO I'M GONNA TAKE ROLE MS. NEWBELL. PRESENT DR. RIVAS. PRESENT. MR. MELVIN. MS. GRIEGO. MS. EZ. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN. PRESENT BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON PRESENT. AND STUDENT MEMBER AVILA. PRESENT. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE QUORUM. LET'S SEE. SO WE HAVE TRAINING FROM NORTH HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL, , AS YOU MAY KNOW, UH, SEVERAL CHARTER ITEMS ON THE MENU TODAY. SO FIRST, UM, WE WILL GO THROUGH THE, UM, I'LL READ THIS PUBLIC STATEMENT 'CAUSE THESE ARE ALL PUBLIC HEARINGS. THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH THE CONSENT CALENDAR, DETERMINE WHICH ITEMS MAY GO ON, CONSENT, AND WHICH MAY GO ON DISCUSSION. AND THEN GO FROM THERE. AND I'LL KEEP EVERYBODY APPRISED OF WHAT WE'RE DOING THE WHOLE TIME. SO NOBODY HAS ANY, UH, QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. ALRIGHT, SO THIS IS FOR TABS ONE THROUGH 43, APPROVAL OF THE CHARTER RENEWAL PETITIONS. IT'S A LONG LIST, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. AND THE REASON I DON'T READ 'EM REAL FAST IS BECAUSE WE HAVE, UH, INTERPRETERS DOING INTERPRETATION WORK. UH, SO I DON'T LIKE TO GO FAST. AND THEN, THEN THEY MISS A STEP. SO THEY'VE ASKED ME TO GO SLOWER. ALRIGHT. UH, BEFORE ACTION IS TAKEN ON THE FOLLOWING BOARD REPORTS, A PUBLIC HEARING MUST BE HELD. THIS CONSTITUTES A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE APPROVAL OF THE CHARTER RENEWAL PETITIONS FOR THE FOLLOWING SCHOOLS. ALLIANCE COLLEGE READY, MIDDLE ACADEMY, FOUR ALLIANCE, DR. OLGA MOHAN HIGH ALLIANCE, GERZ RESSLER, RICHARD MERKIN, SIX THROUGH 12 COMPLEX ALLIANCE. JACK H SKER, BALL MIDDLE ALLIANCE, MARK AND EVA STERN MATH AND SCIENCE ALLIANCE. MARGARET M BLOOMFIELD TECH ACADEMY HIGH ALLIANCE. UCHI O' DONOVAN, SIX THROUGH 12 COMPLEX ALLIANCE. PATTY AND PETER NEW WORTH LEADERSHIP ACADEMY ALLIANCE. RENEE AND MEYER LUSKIN ACADEMY HIGH ALLIANCE. SUSAN AND ERIC SMIT. TECHNOLOGY HIGH. I'LL NOTE THAT. BOARD MEMBER GRIEGO IS HERE. UH, ALLIANCE TED K TAIMA HIGH ANIMO. JAMES B. TAYLOR AT CHARTER MIDDLE, ANIMO, MAY JEMISON, CHARTER, MIDDLE ANIMO, PAT BROWN, ANIMO RALPH BUNCH. CHARTER HIGH ANIMO, SOUTH LOS ANGELES CHARTER, ANIMO WATTS COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY. AND THEN, UH, BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY CHARTER, HIGH CHIME INSTITUTE. SCHWARZENEGGER COMMUNITY. EQUITAS ACADEMY. THREE. CHARTER EQU EQUITAS ACADEMY. FOUR EQUITAS ACADEMY. SIX EQU EQUITAS ACADEMY CHARTER, EVEREST VALUE, GRANADA HILLS CHARTER. ICEF, VIEW PARK PREPARATORY ELEMENTARY, ASANA CARDINAL ACADEMY. ASANA HAAL ACADEMY. ASANA, PALM MATI ACADEMY. KIPP ENDEAVOR COLLEGE PREPARATORY CHARTER, MULTICULTURAL LEARNING CENTER, NEW HEIGHTS CHARTER RISE, KANG MIDDLE RISE, KANG HIGH SCHOLARSHIP PREP, SOUTH BAY, STELLA HIGH CHARTER ACADEMY, SYNER SYNERGY QUANTUM ACADEMY, BA LOWER ACADEMY ELEMENTARY, BA LOWER ACADEMY. MIDDLE VILLAGE CHARTER ACADEMY, VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. WISH ACADEMY HIGH AND WISH COMMUNITY A MAXIMUM OF 15 INDIVIDUALS WHO WISH TO ADDRESS THE BOARD. AND EACH OF THE ITEMS SHALL BE HEARD. THOSE WHO WISH TO SIGN UP SHOULD SIGN UP. ONLINE SPEAKERS WILL BE CALLED BY NAME. WE HAVE ALL THAT DONE. AND I ACTUALLY MISSED ONE THING. UH, LABOR PARTNERS, BEFORE WE GET TO THE, THE CONSENT CALENDAR, WE DIDN'T FORGET. YOU DON'T WORRY. COME ON DOWN. COME ON DOWN. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. MY NAME IS JESSICA , N-E-A-V-P FOR UNITED TEACHERS LOS ANGELES. I'M INTRODUCING DAVID ABUD, DIRECTOR OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT FROM COUNCIL MEMBER U SOTO MARTINEZ'S OFFICE. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING BOARD MEMBERS. MY NAME IS DAVID ABDA. I SERVE AS THE DIRECTOR FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT FOR COUNCIL MEMBER UGO SOTO MARTINEZ IN THE 13TH DISTRICT HERE IN LOS ANGELES. UH, I'M COMING WITH YOU. UM, I BELIEVE THERE'S A LETTER THAT HAS BEEN SENT TO ALL OF YOU ON BEHALF OF THE CITY COUNCIL OR OF SOME OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. UM, IN REGARDS TO ALLIANCE. UH, SO, UH, WE HAVE TWO ALLIANCE. UH, WE HAVE TWO ALLIANCE SCHOOLS IN OUR OWN DISTRICT, AND WE VALUE VERY MUCH THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH THE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AND PARENTS AT THESE TWO SCHOOLS. WE KNOW THAT ALLIANCE EDUCATORS ARE PROUD OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THEIR STUDENTS ALLIANCE. PARENTS DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITIES THESE SCHOOLS PROVIDE THEIR CHILDREN. WHILE EDUCATORS HARD WORK HAS MADE THESE SCHOOLS SUCCESSFUL, SUCCESSFUL ACADEMICALLY, THE MANAGEMENT OF THESE SCHOOLS HAS FAILED TO RESPECT [00:05:01] THE EDUCATORS. BETWEEN 2017 AND 2024, THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RELATIONS BOARD FOUND THAT ALLIANCE MANAGEMENT REPEATEDLY VIOLATED THE EMPLOYEE, THE EDUCATIONAL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS ACT IN THEIR TREATMENT OF EDUCATORS AT 15 INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS IN AUGUST. YET ANOTHER DECISION FOUND ALLIANCE HAS VIOLATED THE LAW. PERB HAS FOUND ALLIANCE REFUSED TO MEET AND BARGAIN MADE THREATENING AND UNLAWFUL COMMUNICATIONS TO EDUCATORS AND INTERFERED AND DISCOURAGED EDUCATE EDUCATORS FROM ORGANIZING. WE BELIEVE ALLIANCE SHOULD TREAT EDUCATORS WITH THE SAME RESPECT FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING THAT THEY RECEIVE AT L-A-U-S-D AND OTHER SUCCESSFUL CHARTER OPERATORS IN THE DISTRICT. ALL SCHOOLS FACE CHALLENGES IN OUR CITY, AND NOW MORE THAN EVER, WITH THE ATTACKS ON WORKING PEOPLE AND THE MOST VULNERABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. EDUCATORS AND PARENTS DESERVE REPRESENTATIVE DECISION MAKING BODIES THAT LISTEN TO THEM. SADLY, EDUCATORS HAVE BEEN DISENFRANCHISED BY THIS EMPLOYER AND BY A CHARTER BOARD THAT IS NOT LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY. THEREFORE, EDUCATORS HAVE ASKED ELECTED LEADERS TO LISTEN AND STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THEM. AND WE ARE HERE TO DO THAT TODAY WHILE THEY ARE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. TODAY, WE ARE HERE TO ENCOURAGE THIS BOARD TO CONSIDER ALL OPTIONS WITHIN ITS AUTHORITY TO ENSURE ALLIANCE COMPLIES WITH BOTH ITS SCHOOL CHARTERS AND THE LAW. THIS INCLUDES GREATER TRANSPARENCY FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS, NOTICES OF CONCERN ISSUED WHEN A CHARTER VIOLATES STATE LAW, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CHARTER BOARD ABOUT ITS UNLAWFUL RECORD AND SCRUTINY OF SPENDING ON LEGAL COSTS AND UNION BUSTING. WE, UH, CONTINUE TO STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE TEACHERS WHO ARE SEEKING THIS RESPECT SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO HAVE A FRUITFUL, UH, RELATIONSHIP WITH ALLIANCE AND THE SCHOOLS IN OUR DISTRICT AND ACROSS THE CITY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING US SPACE TO ADDRESS THIS MATTER TODAY, AND THANK YOU FOR REPRESENTING MR. HUGO MARTIN SOTO MARTINEZ, I'M SORRY, SOTO MARTINEZ. I BELIEVE THERE'S ONE MORE, UM, CITY COUNCIL PERSON WHO WAS GOING TO SPEAK. IS THAT SO OKAY. I WAS EXPECTING TWO. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. ANY OTHER LABOR PARTNERS? OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. MCLEAN. ALL RIGHT. SO I READ THE PUBLIC STATEMENTS FOR ONE, UH, ITEMS ONE THROUGH 43. UH, WE'LL NOW GO THROUGH [Consent Items] THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE CONSENT CALENDAR IS A PROCEDURAL MECHANISM THAT THE BOARD USES TO, UH, TAKE A NUMBER OF ITEMS ALL AT ONCE, AS OPPOSED TO TAKING THEM ALL INDIVIDUALLY. IT TYPICALLY MEANS THE VOTE ON EACH ITEM IS GOING TO BE A YES FOR EACH BOARD MEMBER WITH SOME RARE EXCEPTIONS. SO I'M GONNA READ THROUGH THE CONSENT CALENDAR ON ALL THE ITEMS. BOARD MEMBERS WILL EITHER INDICATE CONSENT OR DISCUSSION. IF IT GOES ON, UH, CONSENT MEANS THAT ITEM IS GOING TO BE APPROVED, AND IF IT GOES ON DISCUSSION, THERE WILL BE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ITEM. AND IT MAY BE APPROVED. IT MAY NOT BE APPROVED. WE DON'T, WE DON'T KNOW. UM, I WOULD ALSO AT THIS TIME, ENCOURAGE BOARD MEMBERS IF YOU HAVE GENERAL COMMENTS TO MAKE ABOUT ALL OF THE CHARTERS OR JUST A COUPLE OF THE CHARTERS. UM, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO MAKE THOSE COMMENTS NOW BEFORE AN ITEM IS PUT ON THE DISCU DISCUSSION ITEM. SO I'LL GO THROUGH THE CALENDAR, OR YOU CAN ELECT TO PUT IT ON THE DISCUSSION ITEM. IT'S JUST A TIME SAVING MEASURE. UM, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO EVERYBODY? YEAH. ALRIGHT. SO LET'S SEE. TAB ONE. UH, I'M, I'M NOT GONNA READ THE EXACT. UM, ALL OF THEM ARE FOR APPROVAL. I'M JUST GONNA READ THE NAME OF THE CHARTER SO I DON'T HAVE TO SAY THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. SO, TAB ONE, ALLIANCE, UCHI O' DONOVAN SIX THROUGH 12. CONSENT. CONSENT. TAB TWO, UH, ANIMO SOUTH LOS ANGELES, CHARTER CONSENT, CONSENT. TAB THREE ICEF VIEW PARK PREP CONSENT. TAB FOUR, UH, NEW HEIGHTS CHARTER CONSENT. TAB FIVE, STELLA HIGH CHARTER ACADEMY, CONSENT TAB SIX. UH, UH, LET'S SEE. ALLIANCE MARK AND EVA STERN MATH AND SCIENCE CONSENT. CONSENT TAB SEVEN, UH, ALLIANCE SUSAN AND ERIC SCHMIDT, TECHNOLOGY CONSENT, CONSENT. TAB EIGHT ALLIANCE, TED K TAJIMA HIGH OR TAIMA CONSENT. TAB NINE, EQUITAS ACADEMY THREE. CONSENT. CONSENT TAB 10, UH, EVEREST VALUE. CONSENT. CONSENT. DID I HEAR IT? YES. CONSENT. OKAY. CONSENT TAB 11. UH, RISE KANG HIGH CONSENT. CONSENT. TAB 12 BIRMINGHAM, COMMUNITY CHARTER HIGH CONSENT. RISE KANG MIDDLE CONSENT. WHERE DO YOU SEE THAT? [00:10:03] YES. I SEE. BUT I DIDN'T SEE RISE KANG WHEN I READ THEM OUT ORIGINALLY. THERE WERE TWO, BOTH RISES WERE THERE. AND I ACTUALLY JUST DON'T SEE IT LISTED HERE. JUST THE HIGH IS. SO I WANTED TO, I WANTED TO READ IT ON THE RECORD THAT IT'S UP FOR CONSENT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT LISTED HERE. AND I READ IT OUT AS THE PUBLIC HEARING. OH, IT'S MOVED TO 34. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. THE RISE KANG. MIDDLE IS CONSENT. ALL RIGHT. GRANADA HILLS CHARTER CONSENT. TAB 14, MULTICULTURAL LEARNING CENTER CONSENT. TAB 15, VILLAGE CHARTER ACADEMY, CONSENT TAB 16, UH, CHIME INSTITUTES SCHWARZENEGGER, COMMUNITY CONSENT. CONSENT. TAB 17 WISH ACADEMY HIGH CONSENT. CONSENT TAB 18, WISH, COMMUNITY CONSENT. CONSENT TAB 19 ALLIANZ, MARGARET M BLOOMFIELD TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY, HIGH CONSENT. CONSENT, UH, LET'S SEE. TAB 20 ALLIANCE. DR. OLGA MOHAN HIGH CONSENT, CONSENT TAB 21, ALLIANCE, TZ RESLER, RICHARD MERKIN SIX THROUGH 12 COMPLEX. DISCUSSION. DISCUSSION. DISCUSSION. OKAY. UH, TAB 21 IS FOR DISCUSSION. TAB 22, UH, ANI MO RALPH BUNCH, CHARTER HIGH CONSENT, CONSENT. TAB 23, EQUITAS ACADEMY. FOUR. DISCUSSION. DISCUSSION. DISCUSSION. OKAY. QUESTIONS TAB 24, EQUITAS ACADEMY, CHARTER CONSENT. CONSENT. TAB 25, ISANA CARDINAL ACADEMY. CONSENT. CONSENT. TAB 26, ISANA PALM ACADEMY. CONSENT. CONSENT TAB 27, UH, BALO ACADEMY ELEMENTARY. CONSENT. CONSENT TAB 28, ALLIANCE COLLEGE. READY, MIDDLE ACADEMY. FOUR. CONSENT. CONSENT. UH, LET'S SEE. TAB 29, ALLIANCE, PATTY AND PETER, NEW WORTH LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. CONSENT. CONSENT. ALRIGHT, TAB 30, APPROVAL OF THE RENEW, I'M SORRY, ANIMO PAT BROWN. CONSENT, CONSENT TAB 31, ANIMO WATTS, COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY. CONSENT TAB 32, QUANTUM SYNERGY ACADEMY. CONSENT. I MEAN SYNERGY QUANTUM ACADEMY. SORRY ABOUT THAT. CONSENT TAB 33, UH, KIPP ENDEAVOR, COLLEGE PREPARATORY CONSENT. TAB 34. I ALREADY DID. TAB 35, UH, ASANA HAAL ACADEMY CONSENT. UH, TAB 36, UH, VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. QUESTION, QUESTION, QUESTION. DISCUSSION. YES. OR DO YOU WANT, DO YOU JUST HAVE A QUESTION THAT CAN BE ANSWERED HERE? OR, OR DO YOU WANT LIKE A DISCUSSION? DISCUSSION? YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. TAB 37, ALLIANCE JACK H SCUR BALL, MIDDLE CONSENT. CONSENT TAB 38, UH, SCHOLARSHIP PREP, SOUTH BAY CONSENT TAB 39. UH, ALLIANCE RENEE AND MEYER LUSKIN ACADEMY. CONSENT, CONSENT TAB 40, UH, EQUITAS ACADEMY SIX. SENT TAB 41 VALOR ACADEMY MIDDLE CONSENT SENT TAB 42, UH, ANIMO. JAMES B. TAYLOR, CHARTER MIDDLE CONSENT, CONSENT. TAB 43 IS ANIMO MAY JEMISON CHARTER. MIDDLE. QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS? A DISCUSSION? YEAH, I HAVE QUESTIONS. YEAH. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT'S MS. GRIEGO. OKAY. UH, TAB 44 IS NOT FOR ACTION, BUT WE WILL BE HERE. THAT'S A PUBLIC HEARING. WE'LL BE HEARING, UH, 15 SPEAKERS FROM, AND THEN WE'VE GOT, WAIT, MR. MCLEAN. OH, YEAH. UM, APOLOGIZE. CAN YOU, UM, PULL EQUITAS NUMBER NINE FOR QUICK QUESTION? MAY MAY I HAVE THE TAB NUMBER. I'M NOT FAST. TAB NINE OH, TAB NINE. THANK YOU. AND ALSO FOR LUKIN TAB 39. QUICK QUESTION. THANK, THANK YOU. THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION, LUKIN. OKAY. GOT IT. ANY OTHERS? WHAT NUMBER IS LUKIN? YOU KNOW, 39. 39. NINE. SO THAT'S TAB 30. AND I'LL READ THROUGH THIS LIST. OKAY. AGAIN, UH, TAB 44 IS NOT FOR ACTION. UH, TAB 45, ALSO NOT FOR ACTION. IT'S FOR INITIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. I'LL NOTE THAT MS. CONEZ IS HERE. AND TAB 46 IS ADOPTION OF SELECTED BOARD BYLAWS. CONSENT. YEAH. OKAY. WAIT. OKAY. DISCUSSION. OKAY. IF I'M RUSHING, YOU SAY, HEY, SLOW DOWN, DUDE. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. WE'RE GOOD. AND TAB 10, LAST ONE. OKAY. TAB 10. GOING FROM CONSENT TO QUESTION. [00:15:01] QUESTION OR DISCUSSION. I THINK JUST DISCUSSION. OKAY. OKAY. I'M GONNA READ THROUGH THE LIST AGAIN. MAKE SURE I GOT IT RIGHT. I'M TABS ONE THROUGH EIGHT ARE CONSENT TABS NINE AND 10 ARE QUESTION TABS. 11 THROUGH 13 ARE CONSENT TABS 14 THROUGH 20 ARE CONSENT. TAB 21 IS DISCUSSION. TAB 22 IS CONSENT. TAB 23 IS DISCUSSION. TAB 24 THROUGH 29 IS CONSENT. TABS 30 THROUGH 35 ARE CONSENT. TAB 36 IS DISCUSSION TABS. 37 AND 38 ARE CONSENT. TAB 39 IS, UH, DISCUSSION TABS 40, 41 AND 42 ARE CONSENT. TAB 43 IS DISCUSSION TAB 44, NOT FOR ACTION, TAB 45, NOT FOR ACTION. AND TAB 46, UH, DISCUSSION. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO EVERYBODY? YEP. OKAY. SO NOW WE GO THROUGH, BEFORE TAKING THE CONSENT CALENDAR VOTE, CAN I HAVE A, AND THE PUBLIC COMMENT, MAY I HAVE A MOVE AND A SECOND ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. MOVED BY MR. SCHON, SECONDED BY MS. EZ. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. [General Public Comment (Approximately 3:30 P.M.)] SO NOW I'LL GO THROUGH THE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION FOR THOSE WHO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. ALRIGHT, SO FOR TAB ONE, UH, PABLO VIA CIO PABLO, DO THEY KNOW THEY'RE WA YOU'RE WAIVING? OKAY. OH, THEY KNOW THAT. UH, CHRISTIAN MORA WAIVED, UH, BRIAN KARKI. UH, JA STEWART WAIVING, UH, LET'S SEE. DAVID TOSKI. DAVID TOSKI. OKAY. NOT HERE. UH, RASHAD PILGRIM. ALL RIGHT. UH, CG PITMAN. ALL RIGHT. ANGELICA SOLI. ALL RIGHT. UM, KELLY DAVIS, UH, DAVID LOCKE, STEPH STEPHANIE AGUILAR, UH, DEANNA LOPEZ. YARA VELAZQUEZ. CHRIS RENOSO, WE SEE YOU. PLEASE SEE YOU. WE SEE YOU. AH, THERE YOU ARE, MR. KOSKI. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK. ONCE YOU BEGIN, LEMME MAKE SURE YOUR MICROPHONE IS ON. AND YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, I AM SPEAKING ON THE ALLIANCE CHARTER. I AM SUPPORTIVE BASED UPON THE DATA. THE QUESTION I HAVE IS ON YOUR FISCAL STABILIZATION PLAN THAT YOU'VE SUBMITTED A DRAFT TO THE COUNTY, YOU PROPOSE CUTTING $10 MILLION FROM THE AFFILIATED CHARTER BLOCK. GRANT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHO PUT THAT ON THE FISCAL STABILIZATION PLAN. IF YOU DID THAT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. OKAY. LET ME ENCOURAGE YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF AFFILIATED CHARTERS THAT WILL NOW BE APPLYING TO BE INDEPENDENT CHARTERS. YOUR ACTIONS DO NOT SUPPORT. BUT IN FACT, FISCALLY PUNISH THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP OF AFFILIATED CHARTERS, MOSTLY IN MR. MOLSON'S DISTRICT AND WHO'S VERY FAMILIAR WITH THEM. IF ONE OF THOSE SCHOOLS SWITCHES, MS. REED FROM AFFILIATED TO INDEPENDENT, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL LOSE $40 MILLION. SO SOMEBODY PUTS THAT. NOBODY'S WILLING TO RAISE THEIR HAND. IT MUST BE MAYBE, UH, ALL OF YOU, OR, OR, UM, PEDRO PUT IT ON THERE, OR BUDGET DID, ARE WILLING TO LOSE $40 MILLION A SHOT OF AN AFFILIATED CHARTER BECOMING INDEPENDENT. THAT COULD BE UNI HIGH AND MR. MELVIN'S AREA. COULD BE CLEVELAND, COULD BE TAFT HIGH SCHOOL, ANY OF THESE SCHOOLS, IF THERE WAS A PROCEDURE. AND OF COURSE THERE IS A PROCEDURE TO CONVERT TO INDEPENDENT. YOU'RE BEING PENNYWISE AND POUND FOOLISH. NOW, IF IT'S JUST SOMETHING ON THE FORM TO TURN IN THE COUNTY, I CAN UNDERSTAND. BUT LET EVERY AFFILIATED CHARTER WHO'S WRITTEN YOU 6,000 EMAILS OR SO WHO'S CONCERNED ABOUT THE $10 MILLION, KNOW THAT THERE IS A WAY TO BECOME AN INDEPENDENT CHARTER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND JOIN THESE CHARTERS HERE TODAY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, NEXT ARE THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS TO TAB TWO, WHICH IS ALSO ON CONSENT. BRIAN MARROQUIN, CHRISTINA DE JESUS. ALRIGHT, UH, DAVID KOSKI COMING UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. SOME OF YOU MAY BE WONDERING, HOW, HOW DOES A SPEAKER SPEAK MULTIPLE TIMES AT A SINGLE MEETING? WELL, ON PUBLIC HEARINGS, STATE LAW REQUIRES US TO HEAR AS MANY SPEAKERS WHO SIGN UP ON THAT UNDER THE 15TH, EVEN IF IT'S MULTIPLE [00:20:01] TIMES, BECAUSE IT'S A PUBLIC HEARING. IT'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT RULE THAN INDIVIDUAL ITEMS. SO IT'S A PROCEDURAL, PROCEDURAL EFFECTS. PLEASE GO AHEAD. YOU'LL HAVE SPEAK, VERY SPEAK, THANK, AND AS YOU APPROVE YOUR BOARD, UM, CHANGES AT THE END OF THE MEETING TODAY. ONE OF THOSE IS TO GIVE SPEAKERS IN A REGULAR MEETING, THREE MINUTES RATHER THAN TWO MINUTES. AND I'M GLAD YOU'RE DOING THAT IN YOUR BOARD RULES. BUT LET ME GO BACK TO THIS ISSUE. SOMEBODY PUT ON THE FISCAL STABILIZATION PLAN, SUPERINTENDENT SHA, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE THINKING WAS TO CUT THE AFFILIATED WHO ARE PART OF THE DISTRICT, WHO ARE UNION SCHOOLS TO CUT THEM OF THEIR BLOCK. GRANT, $10 MILLION. I MEAN, ANYBODY IN THIS AUDIENCE LOOKING AT LA UNIFIED COULD FIND $10 MILLION IN OTHER PLACES. BUT INSTEAD, SOMEBODY COMES UP WITH THIS, NO DOUBT, UNDER SOME VAGUE UMBRELLA, OH, IT'S EQUITABLE, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT IF YOU MOTIVATE ONE, TWO, OR THREE OF THESE, I THINK 53 AFFILIATED CHARTERS, AND THIS CROWD HERE TODAY WILL ENCOURAGE THEM TO BE INDEPENDENT. 'CAUSE THEY DECIDED THAT IT WAS MUCH BETTER TO BE AUTONOMOUS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND ITS RULES IN ORDER TO GET THE ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS THAT THEY'RE ALL HERE TODAY CELEBRATING. I WOULD ENCOURAGE THEREFORE, EITHER YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT FISCAL STABILIZATION PLAN, SUPPORTIVE OF ITEM TWO. AGAIN, AS THE STATE RULES IN 1505, ALLOW THAT CHARTER TO BE RENEWED, THAT THOSE CHARTERS SEND A LETTER, NOT JUST A COMPLAINT THAT THEY'RE BEING CUT, 238,000. 'CAUSE MOST OF THOSE AFFILIATED CHARTERS RAISE MONEY FROM PARENTS ON THE ORDER OF 700, 800, $900,000 EACH. BUT IF THEY WOULD APPLY TO BE INDEPENDENT CHARTERS AND JOIN THESE CHARTERS HERE TODAY, NOT ONLY WOULD YOU WORSEN YOUR BUDGET CIRCUMSTANCES, WHICH YOU SAY THAT YOU'RE DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT MS. FRANKLIN, BUT YOU ARE ENCOURAGING THOSE CHARTERS IN THOSE AREAS. MOSTLY MIDDLE CLASS, EXCEPT FOR DR. TED ALEXANDER TO JOIN THESE SUCCESSFUL CHARTERS HERE BY BECOMING INDEPENDENT CHARTERS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. KEENAN B BRASWELL, LEILANI ABALONE. THANK YOU. NAISHA PHILPOT, UH, WILLIAM WEISLER. THAT'S ALL. IT'S IFE. O UH, COURTNEY LOCKRIDGE, UH, RILEY. SO ROSANO, YVONNE GONZALEZ. CARMEN HERNANDEZ, DANA MOORE, A AL AND CLIFFORD CAMPBELL. OKAY, THAT CONCLUDES SPEAKERS FOR TAB TWO. GOING ON TO TAB THREE. I'LL KEEP DOING THE SAME THING. READ THROUGH THE NAMES. UH, IF YOU'RE GONNA WAIVE YOUR TIME, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. IF NOT, I JUST, UM, ALSO MAKE THE SAME LISTING. IF YOU DON'T SPEAK, UH, SANDRE GLASSMAN. THANK YOU. SHARON O. OWENS, CANDACE POWELL, DAVID RICHARDSON. UH, TONY TRAVIS JUNIOR. UH, JEWEL. RIGHT? THANK YOU. MALLORY BROWN. UH, RIGHT. NICOLE THOMPSON. THANK YOU. MIRIAM SOTA. ALRIGHT. BARRINGTON MOORE. UH, LANAI WILEY, SHAWNA BOYD, UH, REILLY WILLIAMS AND NOLAN HILL. ALRIGHT. AND THERE'S, UH, DAVID KOSKI. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN, UH, SUPPORTIVE OF THIS CHARTER AS WELL. HAVING MET THE STATE STANDARDS AND EXCEEDED THEM. LET ME JUST SAY BACK ON THE THEME OF AFFILIATED CHARTERS. ONE, YOU'RE DRIVING A GOOD THING TO BECOME INDEPENDENT OF YOU. AND, AND PERHAPS MAYBE THAT'S THE PATH TO AVOID COUNTY TAKEOVER AND LOSS OF YOUR JOB, LOSS OF YOUR INCOME, LOSS OF YOUR SUPERINTENDENT. BUT IT SEEMS TO ME YOU OUGHT TO BE GOING IN THE OTHER DIRECTION ENCOURAGING MORE OF YOUR SCHOOLS TO BECOME AFFILIATED CHARTER. I KNOW, UH, SUPERINTENDENT CARVALLO USED TO SAY HE BELIEVED IN THAT, BUT HE WAS TOLD BY HIS INNER STAFF THAT IT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA. YOU'LL P**S OFF OTHER SUPERINTENDENTS IN OTHER DISTRICTS. 'CAUSE IF YOU CREATE AFFILIATED CHARTER, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU MADE ALL OF YOUR CONTINUATION SCHOOLS, WHICH ARE UNIQUE IN LA UNIFIED COMPARED TO SAY, LINWOOD UNIFIED OR HAWTHORNE OR OTHER DISTRICTS AROUND YOU, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO ATTRACT PEOPLE TO YOUR DISTRICT, INCREASE YOUR ENROLLMENT. CURRENTLY, YOU'RE AT 4% OR GREATER LOSS OF ENROLLMENT, MOSTLY EXACERBATED BY THE ICE PRESIDENTS IN LOS ANGELES. IF YOU COUNT THAT, THAT'S 16,000 KIDS THAT YOU LOST LAST YEAR. 16,000 [00:25:01] KIDS. IF YOU THOUGHT FOR A SECOND TO MOVE SCHOOLS INTO AFFILIATED CHARTER STATUS, LIKE CONTINUATION SCHOOLS OR LIKE YOUR VIRTUAL SCHOOL, YOU WOULD PROBABLY GAIN FOUR, EIGHT OR 12,000 KIDS. AND LET ME SAY, TORRANCE UNIFIED IS ALREADY AHEAD OF YOU. THEY, THEY, THEY'VE JUST CONVERTED AND CREATED A VIRTUAL AFFILIATED CHARTER IN WHICH THEY BELIEVE IN 18 MONTHS THAT THEY WILL GROW THEIR ENROLLMENT BY 2000 KIDS IN 18 MONTHS. AND I BET THEY'RE GONNA TAKE FROM YOUR SCHOOLS NOW ON YOUR VIRTUAL SCHOOLS. SO THEY'VE SET IT UP, THEY'VE DONE IT. NOBODY HAS SAID THAT IT IS LEGAL PROBLEM. YOU NEED TO MOVE MORE OF YOUR SCHOOLS TO BE AFFILIATED CHARTER. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOUR DISTRICT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT. TAB TO BE AFFILIATED CHARTER, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU'RE DISRESPECT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, TAB FOUR. LET'S SEE. THIS IS FOR NEW HEIGHTS. UH, KEITH DE LAQUILA. UH, AMY BURFIELD, PLEASE. THANK YOU. UH, VERONICA MORRIS, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. DAVID RICHARDSON. UH, JUSTINE GONZALEZ, TRINA MITCHELL, UH, JAMIE PERADA. ALL RIGHT. THESE FOLKS ARE LISTED AS CALLING IN. SO LET ME JUST SEE IF I DON'T HAVE ANYONE LISTED FOR TAB FOUR. SO THEY'RE LISTED AS CALLIN. SO I'LL JUST READ THEIR NAMES AND SINCE THEY'RE NOT HERE, I'LL PUT DECLINED. CLARISSA SALAZAR, ELIZABETH SORIA, VINCENT JUDKINS, MARY GRIFFIN, OMA, TOWA LABI, AND NANCY PEREZ. ALL LISTED AS CALLINGS AND ARE NOT, NOT CALLING, NOR NOR IN THE ROOM. AND WE HAVE ONE MORE SPEAKER FOR TAB FOUR. IT'S DAVID KOSKI. YOU HAVE A VIRTUAL SCHOOL USING FLORIDA VIRTUAL SCHOOL. IT'S LIKE A $6 MILLION CONTRACT THAT SUPERINTENDENT CARVALLO AND SENIOR STAFF HERE BROUGHT IN TO BE YOUR TWO CURRICULUM. THAT IS NOT A CURRICULUM THAT ENHANCES LA UNIFIED. IT'S BASED ON FLORIDA'S STANDARDS. IT'S BASED ON CHRISTIAN IDEOLOGY AND ANTI-GAY AND LESBIAN CURRICULUM. MY POINT HERE IS THAT IF YOU HAVE 6,000 KIDS JUST IN YOUR DISTRICT IN INDEPENDENT STUDY, AND IT'S A UNION SCHOOL AND YOU BELIEVE THE CURRICULUM IS GOOD AND IT'S HELPFUL, THEN YOU OUGHT TO BE EXPANDING IT FROM OREGON TO MEXICO. YOU COULD PROBABLY INCREASE ON YOUR VIRTUAL SCHOOL TO SOME NUMBER, LIKE 40,000 KIDS. THAT WOULD INCREASE YOUR ENROLLMENT BY 34,000. SO IF YOU'RE DEFENDER OF YOUR VIRTUAL SCHOOL AND THE TEST SCORES ARE THREE STANDARD DEVIATIONS BELOW MOST OF YOUR SCHOOLS IN THE GROWTH, AND WE'LL SEE HOW IT PANS OUT IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WHEN THE STATE TEST SCORES COME OUT. BUT IF YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR VIRTUAL SCHOOL AND IN SOME CASES YOU PREVENT THESE INDEPENDENT CHARTERS FROM DOING VIRTUAL SCHOOLS UNDER YOUR AUTHORITY, THEN WHY DON'T YOU ENHANCE YOURS AND MAKE IT AN AFFILIATED CHARTER LIKE TORRANCE UNIFIED DID. DON'T SIT THERE AND SAY YOU'RE IN A FISCAL CRISIS AND STAND FLATFOOTED SO MANY YEARS. PEOPLE IN THIS AUDIENCE REFER TO THIS DISTRICT AS THE STATUS QUO. THE STATUS QUO. WELL, SOMETHING ABOUT NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT AFFILIATED CHARTERS AND THEN DRIVING THEM TO INDEPENDENT IS WORSE THAN STATUS QUO. IT'S NOT GETTING OFF YOUR FEET AND DOING SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO IMPROVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS A GOOD THING. AND SO I CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE 6,005,000 KIDS IN YOUR INDEPENDENT STUDY. THANK YOU FOR TIME. ALL RIGHT, TAB FIVE, SAME DRILL. UH, ALL THESE, UH, FOLKS LISTED THEMSELVES AS BEING IN PERSON. UH, ANGELINA CALDERONE, UH, YESENIA OGA, BRIAN MARTINEZ, JULIANA BUSTOS, UH, ALLEN ANDREWS, ANNA, LAURA M DAVID RICHARDSON, ASSUMING A WAIVE. ANNA MARTINEZ, ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ, UH, DARRELL GARRIS, UH, YITA SANCHEZ, BRIAN PERRY, UH, JOHN TERAN AND NORMA CHAVEZ. AND IN PERSON WE HAVE DAVID TOSKI. YOU HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU. THANK [00:30:01] YOU VERY MUCH. I'M SUPPORTIVE AGAIN OF THE SUCCESS OF THIS CHARTER SCHOOL AND USING THE OPPORTUNITY AMONG THE 4 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE COUNTY OF COUNTY OF LA IN ADDITION TO THESE FOLKS HERE TO SPEAK IN A PUBLIC HEARING, BUT IS NOT ADVERTISED IN ANY WAY BY THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT. THANK GOODNESS TO THE CHARTER SCHOOL ASSOCIATION AND ADVOCATES WHO INFORM AND BRING FOLKS HERE TO SPEAK IN MOST PUBLIC HEARINGS AT THIS DISTRICT, YOU DO NOT ADVERTISE. IN FACT, YOU DON'T EVEN TELL PEOPLE IN THE CLASSROOMS THAT THEY HAVE A WILLIAMS COMPLAINT FORM IF THEIR AIR CONDITIONING IS NOT WORKING, HOW THEY CAN FILL THAT OUT IF THEY HAVE A SUBSTITUTE AT LENGTH, AT A HIGH SCHOOL, SUBSTITUTE AT LENGTH AT A HIGH SCHOOL, THAT THAT'S A VIOLATION OF THE WILLIAMS CASE AS WELL. SO LET ME JUST SAY THAT YOU CONTINUE TO SAY THAT YOUR DEFICIT SPENDING, AND YET YOU HAVE NO PLAN FOR JAVIER BECERRA TO BECOME GOVERNOR. THERE IS NO LEGISLATIVE PLAN TO PURSUE REVENUE. HE'S WRITING HIS SPEECH THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEK FOR HIS INAUGURATION IN JANUARY. WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO HAVE SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN AN ADVOCATE FOR IMMIGRANTS, ADVOCATE FOR DUAL LANGUAGE TO BE ABLE TO STEP UP AND SAY IN HIS FIRST SPEECH THAT HE'S GONNA REMEDY THE HARMS OF DONALD TRUMP'S ICE IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS ALL OVER LA COUNTY AND ORANGE COUNTY, WHERE IT'S CAUSED AN INCREASE FROM 2% ON AVERAGE UP TO FOUR, FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT ENROLLMENT DROP AND SAY, I'M GOING TO STEP IN AND HOLD HARMLESS. THOSE WHO ARE HARMED. YOU ARE THE LARGEST AND MOST POWERFUL SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND PERHAPS IN THE NATION, BASED ON YOUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, YOU SHOULD BE ON TOP OF THAT AND LEADING WITH CHARTERS, NOT MAKING IT A BIPOLAR EXPERIENCE TOGETHER AS THEY HAVE LOST ENROLLMENT BECAUSE OF BI. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, ON TO TAB SIX, UH, PABLO VIA CIO, UH, LEANNA SERVIN, JA STEWART, EVELYN GARCIA, CG PITMAN, UH, SADIE GODINEZ, ANGELICA SOLI, UH, KENDA HARO, DAVID LOCKE. CIANNA BE, UH, BRENDA CHAVEZ, ANGELICA RAMIREZ, UH, JULIA PADILLA AND HUGO HERNANDEZ. ALL RIGHT. AND UH, THERE IS DAVID TOSKI. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. MR. TOSKI, ARE YOU HERE? YES. COME ON UP PLEASE. THANK YOU. AGAIN, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE CHARTER THAT HAS MET THE STATE LAW 1505. MOST OF THESE ARE IN THE MEDIUM LEVEL AND COUPLE ARE IN THE HIGH LEVEL. AND YET IN YOUR PRESENTATIONS OF THESE INCREDIBLE SUCCESSFUL CHARTERS, THE BASIS OF THE LAW ITSELF IS TO LEARN FROM THEM. SOME OF THEM NOT, MAY NOT BE USING I-READY AS THEIR CURRICULUM. THEY MAY NOT BE CHOOSING TO USE THAT. WHY MAYBE THEY USE A DIFFERENT CURRICULUM AND IF THEY'RE DOING WELL, SHOULDN'T WE LEARN FROM THEM? IN PARTICULAR, YOU'LL BE SEEING THREE CHARTERS THAT HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN SPECIAL EDUCATION EXCEPT FOR MR. SCHUREN. THE DISCOURSE AROUND SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS AT THIS BOARD AND AT THIS DISTRICT IS NOTHING SHORT OF A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT TO SPECIAL ED KIDS. HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT, YOUR COUNSEL WILL TELL YOU IS THE PREREQUISITE OF LITIGATION AGAINST YOU FOR FAILURE TO WORK TO INCORPORATE SPECIAL NEED KIDS. AT FIRST, THERE WAS A LOT OF RESISTANCE TO CHARTER SCHOOLS AND THEIR ENROLLMENT 20 YEARS AGO WAS LOW. BUT TODAY THEY ARE ALSO DOING INTERESTING THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD BE LEARNING FROM AND TOGETHER YOU SHOULD BE WORKING, NOT MOANING, BUT WE WILL HAVE A NEW CONGRESS IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS THAT CONGRESS WILL BE DEMOCRAT IN THE SENATE, HOPEFULLY, AND DEMOCRAT IN THE HOUSE. AND YET THERE IS NO DISCUSSION ABOUT IN YOUR GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS THAT YOU WILL AGAIN WORK ON, ON THURSDAY AND LAST BOARD MEETING ABOUT PURSUING THE GROWTH OF FEDERAL ASSISTANCE [00:35:01] TO SPECIAL NEEDS KIDS. THAT IS NOTHING SHORT OF ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF STATUS QUO THINKING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, TAB SEVEN. THIS IS, UH, FOR ALLIANCE SUSAN AND ERIC SMIT, TECHNOLOGY PABLO, UH, V UH, VERONICA, BAIN, JESS STEWART, CG PITMAN, UH, BRADY, CARLOS, UH, ANGELICA SOLIS, UH, JOSEPHINE PINEDA, LINDA HERNANDEZ, DAVID LOCKE, RUDITH RIVAS, SONYA PINEDA, UH, PATRICIA GARCIA, NOBEL DE PEREZ, UH, SOPHIA FLORES AND DAVID TOSKI COMING UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK WHEN SHE BEGIN AGAIN TO LEARN FROM THESE CHARTERS. THERE IS NO, THERE'S AN AUDIENCE FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO'VE DEDICATED THEMSELVES TO IMPROVING SCHOOLS IN THE URBAN INNER CITY AREA OF LA AND YET VERY LITTLE DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THEM. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE WE MAY NOT SEE THEM HERE TODAY, AND YOU'LL MAY SEE THEM IN YOUR ITEM LATER ON ABOUT THOSE THAT ARE COMING, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT CHARTERS WHO ARE SUFFERING THE SAME DECLINING ENROLLMENT AND COST OVERHEADS THAT YOU ARE. AND YET WHEN YOU HOLD A COMMITTEE TO LOOK FOR REVENUE, YOU DON'T INCLUDE THESE INDEPENDENT CHARTERS. THEY'RE THE SAME COMMUNITY. THEY HAVE THE SAME CONGRESS PEOPLE, THEY HAVE THE SAME STATE SENATORS, THEY HAVE THE SAME ASSEMBLY PEOPLE. WHY ARE THEY NOT PART OF YOUR STRATEGY VIS-A-VIS WASHINGTON DC WITH IN TERMS OF SPECIAL NEEDS? ONE OF YOUR SCHOOLS TODAY, I THINK EVEN CARRIES THE, THE TERMINATOR'S NAME ON THERE. WHY WOULDN'T YOU STEP UP AT A MOMENT IN HISTORY WHERE HOPEFULLY CONGRESS WILL CHANGE AND WILL BE ON THE WAY TO A NEW PRESIDENCY IN TWO YEARS? THAT MEANS YOU'D HAVE TO HAVE A 2, 3, 4 YEAR PLAN TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE COST OF SPECIAL EDUCATION. OKAY? THE LAW WAS PASSED. IT WAS UNFUNDED. GAVIN NEWSOM STEPPED UP AND PUT $2.5 BILLION IN. AND THE NEXT THING WE HEAR AT THIS, THIS BOARD, HORSESHOE OH 2.5 BILLION IS NOT HELPING US AT ALL. OH, , I DON'T KNOW WHAT MATH CLASS YOUR BUDGET OFFICE IS TAKING, BUT IF SOMEBODY PUTS 2.5 BILLION OF SIGNIFICANCE IN THE STATE BUDGET, DON'T CALL THE GOVERNOR A LIAR. CALL HIM UP AND TELL HIM IT'S NOT HAVING THE EFFECT YOU THOUGHT IT WAS. AND EXPLAIN IT TO HIM. HE'S STILL THERE. HE MAY EVEN HAVE A SPECIAL SESSION BEFORE THE NEW YEAR. BUT YOU HAVE NO PLAN, NO COLLABORATION WITH THIS AUDIENCE TO DO SOMETHING FOR THOSE WHO NEED ASSISTANCE. AND THAT IS SEARCH AND SERVE, WHICH IS ALL KIDS. THANK YOU. GIVE FOR YOUR TIME. UH, TAB EIGHT. THIS IS FOR ALLIANCE. TED GAY, TAJIMA HIGH, MAR MARIZA, LOPEZ, ISMAIL, SANTA CRUZ, CRYSTAL CABRERA, UH, GUILLERMO DELGADILLO. ALL RIGHT. UM, LET'S SEE. ROSARIO PEREZ, NIA DIAZ, DE LA ROSA, SIENNA TORRES, CARTER ROSS, CHRIS RENOSO SOTO, STEPHANIE JUAREZ, MICHELLE RA, UH, LAURA ESTRADA AND ORTENCIA HERNANDEZ AND DAVID KOSKI COMING UP. YOU'LL HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU TO THIS CHARTER FOR MEETING AND EXCEEDING THE STANDARDS SET BY THE STATE AND BY THE BOARD OF ED. AND CLEARLY THERE ARE FEW QUESTIONS TO BE RAISED, BUT AGAIN, I LOOK AT ISSUES LIKE SPECIAL ED, WHERE THERE'S A POSSIBILITY TO REALLY COLLABORATE AND WORK WITH YOUR CHARTERS AND THEIR ADVOCACY AND THEIR SKILLS. THAT ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF STUDENTS. AGAIN, SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS. THE LAW REQUIRES SEARCH AND SERVE. SO IT IS NOT SIMPLY THOSE WHO CARRY A 5 0 4 OR IEP, BUT IT'S THE RESPONSIBILITY OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT TO SEARCH AND SERVE AND FEDERAL LAW CHILD FIND YOU CELEBRATED THE OTHER DAY THAT YOU HAVE NOW 2002 YEAR OLDS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. 2002 YEAR OLDS. OKAY, SO LET'S SAY YOU HAVE 30,005 YEAR OLDS IN KINDERGARTEN, OR 25,000 IN TK. IF YOU JUST TOOK A PERCENTAGE OF THAT, IT'S SAYING THAT YOU ARE NOT SERVING KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE EARLY YEARS OF TWO, THREE, AND FOUR. NOW OUR [00:40:01] INDEPENDENT CHARTERS ARE PRECLUDED FROM THOSE EARLY ED PROGRAMS OF TWO AND THREE YEAR OLDS. IF YOU WERE EVEN BEING COMPETITIVE FOR A MOMENT, YOU WOULD BE OUT THERE. MORE THAN 2002 YEAR OLDS AND HOWEVER FEW THREE YEAR OLDS YOU HAVE IN THE DISTRICT, THAT IS A PIPELINE FOR ENROLLMENT. AS JIM MORRIS USED TO SAY, DAVID, THAT'S NOT ONE YEAR'S REVENUE, BUT THAT'S 13 YEARS REVENUE. IF YOU GET A TWO AND 3-YEAR-OLD WHO ENJOYS YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE FAMILIES DO, YOU WOULD BE RAISING REVENUE INSTEAD OF CUTTING PEOPLE AND TAKING FURLOUGHS INTO THE NEGOTIATIONS AFTER YOU JUST RECOMMENDED. AND ALL EIGHT OF YOU VOTED YES ON THE LABOR CONTRACTS. YOU VOTED YES NEXT TO STANDING NEXT TO THE MAYOR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, TABS NINE AND 10 ARE FOR DISCUSSION. WE'LL GO TO TAB, TAB, UH, 11 RA KOHEN HIGH. I'LL READ THE NAMES AGAIN. ANGELICA, ANGELINA, I'M SORRY. CALON. YESENIA ORTEGA. BRIAN MARTINEZ, JULIANA BUSTOS, A ANDREWS ANNA, LAURA M DAVID RICHARDSON, ANNA MARTINEZ, ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ, DARRELL GARRIS, YADIRA SANCHEZ, BRIAN PERRY, AND JOHNNY TERAN, NORM CHAVEZ AND DAVID KOSKI. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU AGAIN. SUPPORTIVE OF THIS CHARTER, USING THE OPPORTUNITY OF A PUBLIC HEARING TO SPEAK. UH, ONE THIRD AS MUCH AS THE, UH, THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, UM, SPOKE AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING IN YOUR LETTER, UH, TO THE BOARD PRESIDENT, UH, FROM LACO, THEY HIGHLIGHT THAT YOU HAVE DEFICIT SPENDING IN THE ADULT ED FUND, THE CHILD DEVELOPMENT FUND, AND THE CAFETERIA REVENUE FUND. WHY, HOW DO YOU HAVE A DEFICIT IN THE CHILD DEF CHILD DEVELOPMENT FUND? HOW COULD THAT BE? YOU HAVE THREE BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT ENROLLING THEIR, THEIR NEW PARENTS, AND YOU HAVE A DEFICIT IN THE CHILD DEVELOPMENT FUND. MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE YOU ONLY HAVE 2002 YEAR OLDS. MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE YOU ONLY HAVE 4,003 YEAR OLDS. INCREASE THAT NUMBER AND SOLVE THIS ITEM IN THE COUNTY'S LETTER TO YOU. ENROLL KITS. AGAIN, IF YOU GAVE THESE FOLKS HERE, THESE ENTREPRENEURIAL INDEPENDENT CHARTERS, THE OPPORTUNITY LEGALLY TO CREATE SCHOOLS FOR TWO AND THREE YEAR OLDS, YOU'D SEE THEM FILLING UP FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET. WHAT IS GOING ON? IT'S NOT THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE CHILD DEVELOPMENT. WE'VE CHANGED THE LEADERSHIP IN THERE AND THEY'RE ALL REALLY GREAT PEOPLE. BUT HOW CAN YOU HAVE SO FEW PEOPLE BRINGING THEIR CHILDREN TO PRESCHOOLS? YOU HAVE A DEFICIT IN THE ADULT DIVISION. ANOTHER PLACE THAT INDEPENDENT CHARTERS HAVE NO ABILITY TO DO, BUT THEY COULD WORK WITH YOU BECAUSE THEY HAVE PARENTS WHO WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND A CHANGE OF CAREERS IN THE ECONOMY THAT WE HAVE. WE USED TO MR. CH REMEMBERS AND MS. MURPHY, WE USED TO HAVE 400,000 PLUS STUDENTS IN ADULT DIVISION. 400,000, 400,000. AND NOW WE'RE DOWN TO UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OKAY. TAB THANK YOU. 12. WE HAVE, UH, BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY CHARTER HIGH, UH, ARI BENNETT, WAIT. THANK YOU. UH, MS. CINDY WILKINS, UH, ISAAC AL TORRE. AND THEN THE FOLLOWING FOLKS ARE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK REMOTELY, BUT I DO NOT HAVE 'EM SIGNED IN. SO ANGIE DIAZ, ANNA MANZO, ELLI VAZQUEZ, UH, CHRISTINE TORRES, UH, SORRY. UH, CINDY WALKER, EDWIN AVARCA, UH, CARMEN LORA, UH, CLIMACO, TOMMY ELMORE, MATTHEW RUBIN, UH, STEVEN LUGO AND DAVID KOSKI. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK EXACTLY WHEN YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP. AND I'M HIGHLIGHTING IN THE EARLY ED DIVISION AND ADULT THINGS THAT INDEPENDENT CHARTERS CAN'T DO. BUT YOU CAN DO AND YOU CAN WORK WITH THEM. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE THEM AS LIKE, UH, THE CRAZY UNCLE IN THE ATTIC. [00:45:03] YOU COULD LEARN FROM THEM. LEARN FROM THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL SCHOOL SKILLS. I MEAN, BIRMINGHAM, GRANADA HILLS, THESE ARE CONVERSIONS. THESE ARE LED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF THIS DISTRICT. ALLIANCE CHARTERS IS MY OLD FRIEND, JUDY BURTON. SHE WAS THE SUPERINTENDENT OF AREA B IN EAST VALLEY. THESE PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THE STRENGTHS AND SHORTCOMINGS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT WE TREAT THEM AND HAVE HISTORICALLY TREATED THEM WITHOUT LEARNING. AND SOME OF THEM HAVE A LOT TO OFFER US. ONE THING THAT THEY ALSO CAN'T DO, MR. SUPERINTENDENT SHA, WHICH YOUR STAFF FAILED TO DO NOW FOR FOUR YEARS IN A ROW, IS ISSUE TAX REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES. AND EVEN THE STATE HAS CHANGED IT TO REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES. IT SAYS IN YOUR PROBLEMS THAT YOU HAVE A CASH FLOW AND YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MEET YOUR PAYROLL AND PAY YOUR PAYROLL. WELL, CHARTER SCHOOLS CAN'T ISSUE TAX REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES. HISTORICALLY, THE DISTRICT HAS ISSUED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS, IF NOT OVER A BILLION DOLLARS TO COVER CASH FLOW. BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT UNDER AB 1200, YOU CAN'T ANTICIPATE TOTALLY WHAT OR BOOK YOUR SECOND AND THIRD YEAR. BUT IF YOU ISSUE TAX REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES, THAT COVERS YOUR FLOW OF CASH FOR THE YEARS UNTIL THE LEGISLATURE IN JUNE OF NEXT YEAR GIVES YOU THE REVENUE. THAT'S NEGLIGENCE, THAT'S NEGLIGENCE ABSOLUTE NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THE DISTRICT TO NOT ISSUE TAX REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES, BECAUSE IT HISTORICALLY HAS ALWAYS DONE THAT TO HANDLE CASH FLOW. WHY WASN'T IT DONE? DO THE BOARD MEMBERS ASK? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THE TRANS TAB 13, UH, FOR GRANADA HILLS, UH, MOJICA RAO, JOHN BENT, HEATHER ANDERSON, UH, KEITH DE LAQUILA, MATEO LVRA, UH, LET'S SEE, UH, NINO, A JOSEDA, REZA, DAVID RICHARDSON, JUSTINE GONZALEZ, ASHLEY WILLIAMS, ELOISE, HANNAH CHO, RAY ESA, LISA ZER, ELIZA VENT, AND DAVID KOSKI. YOU'LL HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK THE SCHOOL DISTRICT UNDER THE ADVICE OF LEADERSHIP. SPENT NEARLY $500 MILLION ON CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION, WHICH ARE PAID OUTTA THE GENERAL FUND FOR BUSES, FOR BUS DEPOTS AND FOR CYBERSECURITY. I KNOW THAT THE INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE HAS JUMPED IN TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE LOOK AT THE, UH, VULNERABILITIES OF THE DISTRICT, BUT OUGHT TO BE LOOKING AT THE CONTRACTS THAT CAME UNDER THAT $500 MILLION. THE BUS DEPOTS ARE NOT BUILT. YOU HAD TO RENT OTHER LAND IN ORDER TO PUT THE DIESEL BUSES SOMEWHERE ELSE OFF THE SUN VALLEY LOT 'CAUSE THERE WAS NO PLANNING. YOU GOT BUSES AT HALF PRICE. ALLEGEDLY, THE ELECTRIC BUSES ARE CLEANER THAN THE CNG BUSES, BUT THERE'S BEEN NO PRESENTATION OF THAT SCIENCE IN THIS. IT WAS A WELL-INTENTIONED EFFORT BY BOARD MEMBERS, JACKIE GOLDBERG AND OTHERS, TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE CREATION OF CHINESE BUSES IN LANCASTER AND TO BUILD AMERICAN BUSES BUILD BACK BETTER. PRESIDENT BIDEN CALLED, BUT THEN PEOPLE JUMPED ON THESE ELECTRIC BUSES AND TURNED IT INTO A MEDIA CIRCUS. AND NOW YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH COOPS TAKING OUT OF YOUR GENERAL FUND, WHICH YOU ALLEGEDLY DON'T HAVE. CLPS, BY THE WAY, AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT CHARTER SCHOOLS CAN'T EVEN ISSUE. CLPS ALLOW IN URGENT SITUATIONS, NOT IDEOLOGICAL MEDIA, CIRCUS SITUATIONS TO DO SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE DONE OUT OF THE TRADITIONAL REVENUES. SO I ASKED YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR COP COST AND HOW IT'S DRAGGING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. 14. UH, LET'S SEE. THIS IS FOR MULTICULTURAL LEARNING CENTER. UH, GAIL NADLER. APPRECIATE IT. UH, SCOTT NADLER, UH, ADA SALAZAR, MARTINEZ, UH, TONY BORS, TOBY BORSTEIN, UH, PETER UND AS BETTY CRUZ, ANTHONY LEVY, [00:50:01] UH, LET'S SEE, STEVE BORNSTEIN, ROBERT KLEIN, RYAN GOMEZ, SHIRLEY ARAGON, MARIO MARTINEZ, DANIEL GLAZER, AND CARLA GARCIA. EVEN THOUGH I HEAR SOMEONE SAID WAVE, WHAT I DO IS I READ THE NAMES OUT ON THE OFF CHANCE THAT THERE'S SOMEONE HERE WHO REALLY WISHES TO SPEAK. I, I'D HATE TO THINK THAT WE, WE MISSED A, WE MISSED A VOICE. UM, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES IT MAY SEEM TEDIOUS. WE'RE DOING IT FOR, FOR FOLKS WHO, WHO MIGHT BE HERE TO SPEAK. UH, AND DAVID KOSKI COMING UP. WE'LL HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK, UH, ONCE YOU BEGIN TO TAB 14. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AGAIN, SUPPORTIVE OF THESE MEDIUM AND HIGH PERFORMING, UM, CHARTER SCHOOLS. AND ONE THING THAT, UH, YOUR CHARTER SCHOOL OFFICE, WHICH I THINK NOW IS SOMEWHERE ON THE ORDER OF 60 FULL-TIME EQUIVALENTS, 60 PEOPLE IN THE CHARTER OFFICE. OKAY. THAT WOULD ROUGHLY BE ON THE ORDER OF EIGHT OR $9 MILLION AS YOU APPROACH YOUR BUDGET CUTS. LET ME JUST SAY THAT THE CHARTER OFFICE SHOULD BE TELLING US NOT JUST HOW TO COMPARE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL. OKAY. UH, I WAS SUPPORTIVE OF GARY HART'S LAW AND TOM HAYDEN'S SUPPORT OF THAT LAW AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY EFFORTS TO INNOVATE. I WAS THERE. I WAS A BOARD MEMBER LIKE YOU IN THE EAST VALLEY, AS SOME OF THE FIRST CHARTERS CAME THROUGH. ONE OFF STARTUP CHARTERS ENTREPRENEURIAL, IN MANY CASES THEY WERE DISTRICT EMPLOYEES. BUT THERE IS NOT ONE COMPARISON TO THE MAGNET SCHOOLS IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOODS IN YOUR MATERIALS. OKAY? THAT IS TO SAY, IF YOU HAVE AN ALLIANCE SCHOOL IN SOUTH LA, HOW DOES THE MAGNET SCHOOL IN THE SAME AREA, MS. SPAC, ADVOCATE OF THE MAGNETS, HOW IS IT DUE IN COMPARISON? SO A SUBSET OF THE SCHOOL, DON'T COMPARE IT TO A 1500 KID SCHOOL, COMPARE IT TO THE REGIONAL SIMILAR SCHOOL. AND WHILE MY DATA IS OLD, AND HOPEFULLY IT'S DIFFERENT, BY AND LARGE, YOUR MAGNET SCHOOLS DO VERY WELL IN COMPARISON TO THE SMALL INDEPENDENT CHARTER SCHOOLS. AND YET YOU DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF CELEBRATION OR A MASS PUBLIC HEARING IN WHICH YOU CELEBRATE THE MAGNET SCHOOLS. THE INNOVATION OF LA UNIFIED THAT DIFFERS FROM OTHER BIG CITIES WHERE RACIAL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, THE NEXT TIME IS 15. SO GO TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS FOR 15. THIS IS FOR VILLAGE CHARTER. UH, CARRIE CLUTTER, PLEASE. THANK YOU. UH, MELISSA RODRIGUEZ, UH, MARY SHEPHERD, MEGAN OWINGS. UH, JENNIFER CLARK, CARMEN LORA. UH, LISA EDMOND. UH, JASON RAMIREZ. UH, JOSE FLORES, JACQUELINE RIOS, UH, MISS ANGIE SIMS. UH, BERNICE GUDO. UH, BEESE. UHTO, SORRY. UH, ERIKA DE LEON, UH, ATRA RICE NELSON AND DAVID TOSKI TO TAB 15. PLEASE COME ON UP. YOU LIVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. RECENTLY AGAIN IN SUPPORTIVE OF THE CHARTER BEFORE YOU, UH, RECENTLY YOU COMMISSIONED, UM, ERNST AND YOUNG TO DO A MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLAR, UH, LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS. I, I THOUGHT SOMEHOW YOU WERE SUPPORTING YOUR GARDENING TEAM. THAT LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS 600 PAGES IS NOT AS I UNDERSTAND IT, POSTED IN ANY WAY THAT THE PUBLIC CAN LOOK AT IT. THAT THE PUBLIC CAN SEE WHAT THE THINKING IS ABOUT. RE-ENVISIONING YOUR SCHOOLS, THAT INDEPENDENT CHARTERS, UH, WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN RENTALS. ALTHOUGH THE COST OF CO-LOCATION IS OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE MARKETPLACE, UM, YOU'RE NOT PROVIDING WHAT ERNST AND YOUNG HAS SAID. AND THEN YOU ALMOST BROUGHT IN A COMPANY TO BE PART OF THE LANDSCAPE, WHICH WERE TREE SURGEONS. I CALL THEM ALVAREZ AND MARSAL, A COMPANY THAT HATCHETS ORGANIZATIONS IN BANKRUPTCY. THEY HATCHET, THEY DESTROYED ST. LOUIS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE PARENTS TOOK ALL THEIR KIDS OUTTA THE SCHOOLS IN TWO, 2003. THEY WERE IN NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE [00:55:01] HURRICANE. AND THEY WERE NOT PAUL VALLAS AND PAUL VALLAS FIRED THEM IMMEDIATELY 'CAUSE THEY WERE CHARGING $20 MILLION A YEAR. THEY COME IN AND THEY FIGURE OUT HOW TO CHOP UP A DISTRICT, DESTROY PUBLIC EDUCATION AND SELL IT TO THE MOST. AND YOU HAVE NOT PUT THAT ONE TO BED. IT'S ON HOLD SOMEWHERE. SUPERINTENDENT HAS SAID, NOT COME OUT AND SAID, I WILL NOT USE ALVAREZ AND MARSAL. THEY WERE IN NEW YORK CITY WHERE THEY OUTSOURCED EVERYTHING. HOW DID THAT GET PUT? WAS IT JUST A FREE MARKET BID? AND THEY ARRIVED. EVEN ERNST AND YOUNG IS SUING THEM IN ASIA BECAUSE OF THEIR BEHAVIOR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. TAB 16, AARON STUDER, ARE YOU HERE? THANK YOU. UH, RHONDA VETO. CAITLYN HEALY, UH, CAROL RI, UH, WILL KAPLAN, UH, RIGHT. THESE ARE CALL FOLKS LISTED AS CALLING IN. I DON'T HAVE ANYONE FROM TAB 16 SIGNED IN TO SPEAK REMOTELY. UH, ZULEIKA BROWNER, DANIELLE KITES, UH, AIE BUKI, ANNIE COX, PAT SMITH, UH, KELLY CAGO, SHEDA CHERNEY, DAWN HAMILTON AND CANDY SULLIVAN. UM, NOT HERE. AND DAVID KOSKI, COME ON UP FOR ANOTHER EXACT TWO MINUTES, PLEASE. AGAIN, SUPPORTIVE OF THESE SMALL SCHOOLS, OKAY, THESE SMALL SCHOOLS IN THESE CHARTERS. AND YET IN YOUR ANALYSIS FROM ERNST AND YOUNG, THERE ARE PROPOSALS TO PERHAPS CONSOLIDATE SMALL SCHOOLS. WELL, THERE COULD BE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THAT. IF FAMILIES ARE LEAVING THE BIG UNSAFE SCHOOLS OF LA UNIFIED OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, AND YOU GET RID OF OR CONSOLIDATE SMALL SCHOOLS, WELL, FAMILIES WILL MAKE CHOICES AND SOME NUMBER OF THEM WITH GOOD ADVERTISING AND GOOD ENTREPRENEURIALSHIP BY THESE INDEPENDENT CHARTERS WILL BE SCOOPED UP INTO SMALL, PERHAPS PERCEIVED AS SAFER SCHOOLS AND INDEPENDENT. SO TAKE A LOOK AT THE DATA. YOU HAVE INCREDIBLE BOARD MEMBERS WHO LIKE TO LOOK AT DATA. TAKE A LOOK AT THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE UNDER 180, PARTICULARLY IN AREAS IN DR. REVA'S AREA AND SEE HOW THEY'RE DOING. IT MAY BE THAT YOUR SCHOOLS OF 700 OR 800 ARE PERFORMING PROBLEMATICALLY AND YOUR SMALLER SCHOOLS ARE DOING WELL. THAT THIS IS THE EVIDENCE RIGHT HERE BEFORE YOU, MOST OF THESE SCHOOLS, BEFORE YOU TODAY ARE SMALLER SCHOOLS, AND THEY CHOSE TO BE THAT WAY, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE DAMAGED BY THE ICE AND THE, AND THE EFFORTS. AND AGAIN, ER IS WRITING A SPEECH. HE IS VERY GOOD ON ISSUES OF THE PRESIDENT. EVERY COMMERCIAL I WATCH ON TV, HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE PRESIDENT. IF THE PRESIDENT CAUSED DAMAGE TO OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN LA AND SANTA AND, AND ORANGE COUNTY IN OTHER PARTS, AND YOU CAN DOCUMENT THAT YOUR DECLINING ENROLLMENT WAS 50 OR A HUNDRED PERCENT HIGHER THAN LA YADA OR OTHER PLACES, THEN GO TO THE GOVERNOR AND PURSUE REMEDIES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. DON'T STAND FLAT. 17. UH, THIS IS FOR WISH ACADEMY HIGH. UH, RYAN, SCOTT, PATRICIA SCOTT. THANK YOU. UH, LET'S SEE. I'LL CALL ON THE FOLKS LISTED THEMSELVES AS IN PERSON. I DO HAVE SOME FOLKS, UH, SIGNED IN ONLINE. I'LL CHECK IN WITH THEM AS SOON AS I CALL, UH, ON IN PERSON FOLKS, JENNY BROOKE, KRISTA HOLLIS, SHAUNA DRAXTON, UH, ANDREW CTOR, MAYA LONNI CLARK. I'LL CALL ON THE FOLKS WHO ARE LISTED AS SPEAKING REMOTE. LET'S SEE. KRIS WRIGHT NO LONGER ON THE LINE. UH, ERIC STEINBERG, ALSO NO LONGER ON THE LINE. UH, KEVIN WOODY NOT ON THE LINE. ANGELA JAMES ALSO HAS LEFT. JANINE BIELSKI, YOU ARE ON THE LINE. JANINE BIELSKI. UM, YOU LEFT TWO MINUTES, MINUTES TO SPEAK. ONCE YOU BEGIN, PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF. JANINE BIELSKI, TAB 17. I WAIVE MY TIME. OH, ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. UH, AND HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT TAB 18 WHILE I HAVE YOU, DID YOU PLAN TO WAVE FOR, UH, TAB 18 AS WELL? YES. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE YOUR [01:00:01] TIME. OKAY. SO, AND THEN, UH, LET'S SEE, VIOLET, RIGHT? UH, LET SEE IF I HAVE YOU WITH US. BEAR WITH ME FOLKS. VIOLET WRIGHT, ALSO NOT ON THE LINE. AND DEANNA VIA SENIOR. OKAY. THAT'S, THAT'S IT FOR THAT. AND THEN, UH, DAVID, UH, KOSKI, COME ON UP. YOU LIVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THIS IS FOR TAB 17, MR. T, ARE YOU THERE? DID HE LEAVE? OKAY. SO WE'LL GO TO TAB 18. UH, KRISTEN WRIGHT. KRISTEN WRIGHT, TAB 17. UH, KRISTA HOLLIS. UH, SHAUNA AXTON. WE'RE GONNA WAIT. THANK YOU. UH, PATRICIA SCOTT. SO, UH, JENNY BROOK, MAYA LO HEATH CLARK, UH, JESSICA ONEI. LET ME SEE WHO'S HERE REMOTELY FOR TAB 18? RAJ, ONE MOMENT. ALL RIGHT. RAJ ANA, I SEE YOU'RE ONLINE WITH US. PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF. AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. RAJ ANA ON TAB 17, I'M SORRY, TAB 18. RAJ, I SEE YOU'RE WITH US. UH, LAST CHANCE, RAJ. I'M OKAY TO PASS. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. APPRECIATE IT. ALL RIGHT. RAJ DECLINED. AND THEN ERIC STEINBERG IS NOT ON THE LINE. MELISSA REMER IS NOT ON THE LINE. JANINE BIELSKI DECLINED. UH, KEVIN WOODY IS NOT ON THE LINE. A VIOLET, RIGHT. AND JACQUELINE OR JACQUELINE BERNHEIMER ALSO NOT ON THE LINE. UH, DAVID TOSKI, ARE YOU WITH US? COME ON UP. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK TO TAB 18. THANK YOU VERY MUCH AGAIN. UM, THE ISSUE OF REVENUE AND SPECIAL NEEDS KIDS, UH, HERE YOU HAVE SOME ALLIES IN THE WORLD OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, SOME VERY THOUGHTFUL AND PASSIONATE FOLKS. AND YET, WHEN I LOOK AT YOUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS PLAN ON WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IN JANUARY WHEN WE HAVE A NEW CONGRESS AND A PRESIDENT WHO ACTUALLY MIGHT UNDERSTAND SPECIAL NEEDS, WHO KNOWS. OKAY? AND CERTAINLY WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF REPUBLICAN SENATORS WHO ARE THOUGHTFUL ON SPECIAL EDUCATION, BIPARTISAN, PERHAPS IT'S ONE OF THE FEW BIPARTISAN ISSUES LEFT IN EDUCATION. AND IN THE UNITED STATES. IT IS A MOMENT IN 60 YEARS OR OR SO THAT WE CAN MOVE SOMETHING IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. AND YET WHAT YOU HAVE ON THIS PLAN OF REVENUE IS SO DISPERSE AND SO PIE IN THE SKY RATHER THAN SOMETHING VERY CONCRETE LIKE MOVING SOMETHING CONGRESS CONVENING WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE LA DELEGATION OF NEARLY 20 US CONGRESS PEOPLE, MANY OF THEM VERY ACTIVE IN SPECIAL ED AND THE CALIFORNIA DELEGATION WITH OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN CALIFORNIA TO MOVE AN AGENDA ITEM ALONG WITH CHARTERS AND CHARTERS LIKE THIS SO THAT THERE'S AN EFFORT TO GET SIGNIFICANT REVENUE AND NOT MOAN AT BOARD MEETINGS ABOUT THE ENCROACHMENT. AND A THANK GOODNESS MR. SCHUREN STOPS PEOPLE FROM USING THAT N WORD IN POLITICS. ALL OF OUR KIDS ARE NEURODIVERSE. ALL OF OUR KIDS SHOULD BE SEARCHED AND SERVED, AND THE REVENUE SHOULD BE THERE. AND THANK GOODNESS GAVIN NEWSOM DID SOMETHING AND HE'S OBVIOUSLY, I THINK RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, IT'LL PROBABLY BE ONE OF HIS ISSUES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT. I'VE SPOKEN WITH, UH, BOARD PRESIDENT SCHUREN AND SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY CHARTER ACADEMIES ON CONSENT AND SINCE PEOPLE'S TIME IS SO VALUABLE, UNLESS THERE'S ANY, ANY OBJECTION FROM THE BOARD, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE THE CONSENT CALENDAR IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PIECES. SO FOLKS WHO'VE ALREADY BEEN HEARD OR OR PASSED, UM, MAY WISH TO GO HOME. UM, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION? NOPE. OKAY. SO VOTING ON, I'M GONNA BE VERY CLEAR ON WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON, SO FOLKS DON'T MAKE ANY ERRORS. WE'RE GONNA BE VOTING ON TABS ONE THROUGH 18, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TABS NINE AND 10, WHICH REMAIN ON DISCUSSION. SO THIS IS A CONSENT VOTE, [01:05:01] PART ONE FOR TABS ONE THROUGH 18, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TABS NINE AND 10. ARE WE ALL CLEAR? OKAY. I WILL TAKE THE VOTE. UH, MS. NEWBELL? YES. DR. RIVAS. THAT'S A, A, YES. UH, MR. MALVO? YES. UH, MS. REGO? YES. MS. EZ? YES. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. AND BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON? YES. AND STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA? YES. OKAY, GREAT. SO, UM, IF YOU HAVE MORE TO SAY, PLEASE STAY WITH US. BUT IF, UH, IF, IF YOU WANT TO GO HOME AND YOU'RE FROM TAB ONE THROUGH 18, PLEASE DO SO. ALRIGHT. TAB 19. UM, RIGHT. SO WE'LL GO TO THE PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, SO WE'RE NOW ON FOR MY OWN NOTES, CONSENT PART TWO, STARTING WITH TAB 19. UM, ALLIANCE. MARGARET M BLOOMFIELD TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL. UM, VANESSA SANDOVAL, UH, PABLO VIA CIO, UH, CAITLYN MAYORGA, JA. STEWART UMBERTO CARLON, UH, CG PITMAN, ANGELICA SOLI, UH, ISABELLA KAMAL, DAVID LOCKE, OCTAVIA GARCIA, NATALIE MEJIA, UH, MAYA NEWMAN, UH, YCA RIVAS. AND YES, RUAN NOT HERE. OKAY. OR WAIVED. ALRIGHT, MR. DAVID KOSKI, COME ON UP. TAB 19. YOU LIVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. I'M SORRY. WHICH NUMBER DID YOU MOVE? 19. 19, SIR. THANK YOU. OKAY, THANK YOU AGAIN. UM, I WAS THERE WITH DR. JUDY BURTON AS SHE WORKED WITH OTHERS TO CREATE THE ALLIANCE. UM, CMO, UM, SHE WAS OUR LOCAL SUPERINTENDENT AND SHE WAS BILINGUAL AND, UH, VERY WELL LIKED IN THE EAST VALLEY. AND YET, UM, THE TEAM AT THAT TIME COULDN'T GIVE HER ENOUGH AUTONOMY AND LEARN FROM HER. AND SHE BEGAN ONE OF THE FIRST CONVERSION CMOS. UM, AND THERE ARE CONCERNS THAT WERE PRESENTED BY THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT, UH, OFF OR, UH, TO BE PRESIDENT OFFICE, UM, TODAY. AND, UM, WHILE THOSE ARE NOT YOUR NORMAL CONCERNS ABOUT FISCAL SOLVENCY OF THE CHARTER OR THEY'RE NOT THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT ISSUES, THEY, THE SPEAKER RAISED ISSUES OF, UH, LEGAL CONCERNS. AND WHILE THAT IS PART OF THE FRAMEWORK OF RENEWAL, IT'S NOT WHAT IS USUALLY BROUGHT BEFORE YOU UNLESS THERE'S A 10 90 CONFLICT OF INTEREST PIECE. BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S BEEN NO FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THE ALLIANCE CHARTERS YET. AND SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO ASK YOUR GENERAL COUNSEL IN PUBLIC, IS THAT A STANDARD IN WHICH A BOARD CAN CONSIDER THE RENEWAL OF A CHARTER? AT WHAT LEVEL DOES IT RISE TO IF IT'S NOT AT THE LEVEL OF FINANCIAL INSOLVENCY OR IF IT'S NOT THE LEVEL OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT? BUT CERTAINLY IF THERE ARE, UM, VARIOUS CONCERNS OF INFRACTIONS OR MISDEMEANORS OR FELONIES, THOSE ARE ISSUES THAT SHOULD COME BEFORE YOU AND SHOULD HAVE COME UP IN THE DUE DILIGENCE IN YOUR REPORT. 'CAUSE IN THE PAST, THE INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE WOULD DO A DUE DILIGENCE AND, AND RECEIVE AS WELL AS YOUR, AS THE CHARTER WOULD DISCLOSE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. TAB 20, THIS IS FOR ALLIANCE. DR. OLGA MOHAN HIGH, UH, PABLO VIA CIO, UH, JAZZ STEWART, UH, JOEL MARTINEZ, CG PITMAN, ANGELICA SOLIS, OSCAR HERRERA, DAVID LOCKE, MATT DEFORD, JOHANNA REGOS MONTERO, GREG HINES, UH, ALYSSA GOMEZ, ELLI GOMEZ, CHRISTOPHER RENOSO, AND KENYA ESCALANTE. RIGHT? [01:10:01] AND THEN THERE'S, UH, DAVID KOSKI. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK WHEN SHE BEGIN TO TAB 20 AGAIN, IN SUPPORTIVE OF THE RENEWAL PETITION, HAVING MET THE MIDDLE PERFORMING LEVEL, LET ME ASK, WHAT ARE THE BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT INCENTIVES FOR OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN A LARGE NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT CHARTERS TO COME BACK TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, THERE MUST BE SOME INCENTIVES THAT WOULD APPLY, PROBABLY NOT TO THE ALLIANCE CHARTERS, BUT TO SOME CHARTERS. CAN THEY RECEIVE TRANSPORTATION TO ENHANCE, DO THEY PROVIDE CTE INSTRUCTION? WHAT DOES THAT INDEPENDENT SMALL CHARTER THAT IS HAVING THE SAME CHALLENGES, BUT IT'S A STANDALONE CHARTER THAT HAS TROUBLE SURVIVING? WHAT, WHAT ARE THE LIST OF INCENTIVES? BECAUSE WE KNOW HISTORICALLY, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE A STRATEGIC ENROLLMENT OFFICE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR STRATEGY IS AND WHAT THEY'RE ENROLLING, BUT WHEN A CHARTER DOES CLOSE FOR FISCAL CHALLENGES, THE FAMILIES ARE IMMEDIATELY ENROLLING IN OTHER CHARTER SCHOOLS, RIGHT? SO THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH INCENTIVIZING OR ENCOURAGING OR TALKING, HAVING A FOCUS GROUP WITH 10 OR 20 SMALL CHARTERS AND SAY, WHAT WOULD IT BE THAT WOULD INCENTIVIZE YOU TO COME BACK INTO THE DISTRICT IN SOME WAY, IN SOME LIMITED TIME, LIMITED WAY. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THAT OUT OF YOUR BOARD DOCUMENTS, THE ABILITIES OF CHARTERS TO KNOW THOSE THINGS. AND SO I ENCOURAGE YOU, AGAIN, TO USE YOUR STRENGTHS. MR. SCH, TAKE THE LEAD. YOU'RE IN YOUR LAME DUCK PERIOD. NOW YOU, YOU'VE GOT THE LARGEST CMO IN THE ENTIRE STATE CALLED AFFILIATED CHARTERS, LARGEST CMO. AND YET THOSE PRINCIPLES, BY AND LARGE DON'T EVEN KNOW THE AUTONOMY. AND THAT THEY ARE LEGALLY THE SAME CREATURE AS AN INDEPENDENT CHARTER. AND NOW SOME OF THEM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, WILL CONVERT TO THAT. ALRIGHT, TAB 21 IS ON DISCUSSION TAB. UH, 22 IS ANI MO RALPH BUNCH, UH, MARY JANE ALVAREZ, UH, CHRISTINA DE JESUS, DAVID LOCKE, OR LUCK, I MEAN DANIELLE LOCKE, I'M SORRY. UH, YESENIA SANTOS. ALFONSO ESTRADA, KELLY KITCHENS, LIZETTE, VERA UHHI, SANTANA, IAN, ANA PRATO, UH, COURTNEY LOCKRIDGE, ANNETTE GONZALEZ, LEILANI ABALONE, AND RILEY. SO ROSADO. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN DAVID KOSKI, YOU'LL HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO RAISE ISSUES THAT COULD BE FURTHERED IN THE CHARTER COMMITTEE OR IN INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE OR ANYWHERE IN THE DISTRICT TO LEARN FROM THE ENTREPRENEURIAL AND THOUGHTFULNESS OF THOSE WHO HAVE MET AND EXCEEDED THE STATE STANDARDS HERE TODAY. FOR EXAMPLE, YOU LAST BOARD MEETING APPROVED $320 MILLION OF NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS. OKAY? DO YOU KNOW FROM ALL THE CHARTERS, INDEPENDENTS IN LA UNIFIED'S AUTHORIZATION, HOW MANY STUDENTS CAME OUT OF THOSE CHARTERS TO NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS? I BET THE NUMBER WOULD BE INTRIGUINGLY. INTERESTING TO KNOW. DO PEOPLE MOVE TO LA UNIFIED AND THEN PURSUE NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL? MANY OF THE NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS BEING NON-UNION, MANY OF THEM COSTING 40, 60, 90 AND SIX FIGURES TO ENROLL AND TO TAKE FROM THE BUDGET OF LOS ANGELES UNIFIED AS APPROPRIATE LEGALLY. BUT WHAT IS THE REVIEW OF THAT? WHERE ARE THE 10 BEST PERFORMING NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE INTEREST OF CHILDREN? AND WHERE ARE THOSE THAT STAFF AT THE DISTRICT WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A DEEPER REVIEW OF? BECAUSE WHILE THEY MAY BE CONVENIENT TO CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS THEY MAY NOT BE PROVIDING, AND YET YOU ARE PAYING $320 MILLION A YEAR. I THINK IT WAS IN THE BOARD REPORT WAS UP 30 MILLION [01:15:01] OR 10%. AND THEY USE ALL SORTS OF CONTRACTED SERVICES THAT WOULD IN LA UNIFIED, WE SAY WE DON'T HAVE THOSE POSITIONS. WELL, SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS ARE NOT BEING HIRED. THEY'RE THE ONES THAT MS. EZ AND OTHER BOARD MEMBERS TALK ABOUT ADDING TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, NOT CUTTING THEM. AND YET WHEN YOU CUT PEOPLE, YOU INCREASE YOUR NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL POSTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALL RIGHT. TAB 24. THAT WAS TAB 22. TAB 23 IS ON DISCUSSION TAB 24. THIS IS FOR EQUITAS ACADEMY CHARTER, UH, CAROLINA HERNANDEZ, LILIANA HOYLE. LET'S SEE. PAULINA ALVARADO, ELENA ANO, GIANNI SIERRA, MELANIE COUM. NANCY AN ANGEL EL UH, EMILY SANDOVAL. UH, BOBBY CANOSA CAR, UH, ROCIO MENDOZA. UH, KELSEY PADILLA. LES LESLIE ROJO. THANK YOU. YASMINE GNE. UH, MARIA RAJA AND OMELET. GARCIA PAXTON. I THINK I DON'T HAVE THE WHOLE NAME THERE. OKAY. THAT IS ALL THE COMMENT FOR TAB 24. SO WE'LL GO TO TAB 25 FOR ASANA, UH, CARDINAL ACADEMY. UH, DAVID RICHARDSON. UH, NADIA SHEIK. THANK YOU. UH, JOHN VARGAS. RAUL ALCON AM SON, LUPE HERNANDEZ. YVETTE VIERA, UH, SUDI VERG. MARIBEL PINERA. UH, JESSICA IBARRA, UH, CAROLINA AMAYA, DEANNA MACIA, ANTHONY CASTELLANOS, ROB THRASH. AND RIA GILLI. ILLA. GILLI. OKAY. I TRIED IT A COUPLE WAYS. I, I'M SORRY. UM, ALL RIGHT. SO THAT'S ALL THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS FOR TAB 25. LET'S GO TO TAB 26. RIGHT? SO THIS IS FOR ISANA, UH, PALMA ACADEMY. PALM MAIA ACADEMY. UM, THESE ARE ALL THE SAME NAMES, BUT I'M GONNA READ THROUGH IT ANYWAY. DAVID RICHARDSON. UH, NADIA SHEIK. RAUL ALARCON, JOHN VARGAS. AND IF I, IF I GO THROUGH A NAME AND SOMEBODY WISHES TO SPEAK, PLEASE, PLEASE STAND UP. UH, ANTONIO SANCHEZ. ALISON BON IA. THANK YOU, FADO. UH, BRENDA LOPEZ. XAVIER GUTIERREZ HAILE LIK ANNA MATEO. DEANNA MACIA, OR MACIAS, ANTHONY CASTELLANOS, ROB THRASH AND ILLA GILLIS, SAME NAMES. THAT CONCLUDES TAB 26. I AM GOING TO TAB 27. UH, THIS IS FOR VALOR ACADEMY ELEMENTARY, UH, ANGELINA CALON, YESENIA OGA. BRIAN MARTINEZ, LILIANA BUSTOS. ELLEN ANDREWS, ANNA LORA M DAVID RICHARDSON. ANNA MARTINEZ. ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ. UH, DARRELL GARRIS, YADIRA SANCHEZ. BRIAN PERRY, UH, JOHNNY TERAN, NORMA CHAVEZ CHARON. OKAY. THE SPEAKERS WAIVED FOR TAB 27. MOVING ON, MOVING ON TO TAB 28. THIS IS FOR ALLIANCE COLLEGE. READY, MIDDLE ACADEMY, FOUR, UH, PABLO VIA CINIO. CHAS STEWART, NATALIE HERNANDEZ, CG PITMAN. TYLER ARIA, ANGELICA SORES, SOLIS, ESTEFANI, VAZQUEZ, UH, ROSA RUANO, LESLIE, DAVID LOCKE, UH, JARED, S MARY LOU GANA, CARELLA GOMEZ DE CABRERA, UH, JOSE VTE AND CHRIS CHAVEZ. ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS TAB 28, TAB [01:20:01] 29. THIS IS FOR ALLIANCE PATTY AND PETER, NEW WORTH LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. UH, PABLO V, UH, MIRIAM HERNANDEZ, ALICIA GALINDO, JA. STEWART, CANDACE, DINO, CARLOS, AGA TIJI, PITMAN, ANGELICA SOLIS CRAIG WIN. CRAIG WINCHELL, UH, UH, ESE RO CORINNE BAPTIST, DAVID LOCKE, MARIO MAURICIO GONZALEZ, AND HUGO HERNANDEZ. IT'S NOT LOST ON ME THAT HAVE AN ENTIRE ROOM, UH, HEARING ME READ NAMES OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THIS IS PROBABLY NOT WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU'D BE DOING TODAY, BUT I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S PATIENCE. TAB 30, UH, PETITION. PETITION FOR ANIMO. PAT BROWN, UH, CHRISTINA DE JESUS. THANK YOU. BRIAN THOMAS REED. MARIO SALAZAR, DANIELLA CHAVEZ, COURTNEY LOCKRIDGE, ELISE PRENTICE. UH, THANK YOU. ANNETTE GONZALEZ. THANK YOU. UZ. BLAKE LEILANI, ABALONE. THANK YOU, MARIA. MIRANDA, UH, LEONA CHING MATTHEWS. THANK YOU. ISABEL HERNANDEZ. UH, JACOB DAVALOS, SUSANNA CAMPO, AND NOEL, UH, NEVAREZ, ALL. TAB 30. AND NOW FOR TAB 31. ALL RIGHT. CHRISTINA DE JESUS. UH, YASMIN DUARTE, ALEJANDRO ESCALANTE, JENNIFER HACKETT, YVONNE GONZALEZ. ELISE PRENTICE, UH, RICARDO MONTE ALDI, COLES, AMALIA RAMOS, UH, ELLI ALCANTAR, UH, ARNOLD TOLER, MELIN BROWN, HEIDI OLIVA, HEATHER SHANKER, AND CARMEN LORA. ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS TAB, UH, 31. LET'S SEE. LET'S DO, UM, TAB 32. THIS IS FOR, UH, SYNERGY QUANTUM ACADEMY. UH, CHRISTINA VOGEL, JOHANNA KNIGHT. THANK YOU. UH, RHONDA DELPO. JENNIFER EPPS. BIANCA MEJIA. THANK YOU. DANIELLE UA. UH, LUZ. CHUCK, UH, MARIA CRUZ. UH, ERICA IRAHETA. ANNA CHAVEZ. ALL RIGHT. MARCELLA PEREZ, NORMA BRAND, MARTHA MEJIA, GARY PARKS, AND NANCY DURAN. ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS TAB 32. LET'S SEE. LET'S GO FOR TAB 33. THIS IS, UH, KIPP ENDEAVOR, COLLEGE PREP CHARTER, UH, MARIA MEJIA, UH, LILIANA , GABRIELLE AVILA. MARGARET ESTRADA, UH, FERNANDO OSORIO. ANNETTE RODRIGUEZ, ALMA COR BARRIOS. GLORIA MORALES. EVA BELTRAN, UH, LETICIA VEGA, BRENDA ALVAREZ, VIDAL GIA, BEATRICE GARCIA, LUIS AMBROSIO, AND SONIA MAYAN. ALRIGHT, SO THAT WE'RE UP TO TAB 33. UH, IT'S A GOOD TIME TO TAKE THE VOTE ON, UH, TABS 19 THROUGH 33 WITH THE EXCLUSION OF TABS 21 AND 23. ARE WE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE? ANOTHER BATCH VOTE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TABS 21 AND 23? YES. I'M GETTING THUMBS UP. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. UH, TAKING THE VOTE. MS. NEWBELL? YES. DR. RIVAS? YES. MR. MELVIN? YES. MS. REGO? YES. MS. EZ? YES. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN. YES. BOARD PRESIDENT SCHROEN? YES. AND STUDENT MEMBER AVI AVILA? YES. THANK YOU. YES. I ALWAYS PUT AN EXTRA L THERE. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. OKAY, SO WE HAVE NOW DISPATCHED WITH, UM, EVERYTHING THROUGH TAB 33, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ITEMS 9, 10, 21, AND 23. ALRIGHT, WELL, WE'LL NOW GO TO ITEM 34. THIS [01:25:01] IS FOR RISE, KYE MIDDLE, UM, ANGELINA CALDERON, YESENIA OGA. BRIAN MARTINEZ, LILIANA BUSTOS, ALLEN ANDREWS, ANNA LORA. LAURA DAVID RICHARDSON. ANNA MARTINEZ, ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ, DARRELL GARRIS, YADIRA SANCHEZ, BRIAN PERRY, JOHNNY TERAN, NORM CHAVEZ, AND CHARON. OKAY, SO THAT'S TAB 34. MOVING TO TAB 35, ASANA. HAAL ACADEMY IS TAB 35. I UPDATE MY NOTES. ALL RIGHT. TAB 35, UH, NADIA SHEIK. THANK YOU. DAVID RICHARDSON, VAR ALCON. JOHN VARGAS, UH, PATRICK STICKLEY, JOSE MENZA, CASSANDRA GALLEGOS, BRIANNA GONZALEZ, DIANA VIEGAS, ANDY LOPEZ, JOHN GALLEGOS, DIANA MA MACIAS, ANTHONY CASTELLANOS, ROB, J THRASH, AND RILES. THAT WAS TAB 35. TAB 36 IS ON FOR DISCUSSION. UH, TAB 37 IS FOR ALLIANCE JACK H SKER BALL, MIDDLE PABLO V JA, STEWART, NATALIA LINARES, CG PITTMAN, JAMAL RICHARDSON, ANGEL CA SOLES. DAVID LOCKE, OMARI WALKER, UH, RA WILLIAMS, CHRIS RENOSO, JUAN COX, UH, UGA HERNANDEZ, CHRIS RENOSO, SOTO, AND MICHAEL CALDERONE. THAT WAS FOR TAB 37. GOING TO TAB 38. THIS IS SCHOLARSHIP PREP. SOUTH BAY, TRACY SIMMONS. MARTIN, BE KENISHA JOHNSON, CARMEN LORA, ANTHONY GAITHER, MONICA GARCIA, GLORIA VAO ESCOBAR, LINDA GARCIA, UH, RICARDO RAMOS. UH, TANYA ESPINOSA, AALIYAH SIENTES, RACHEL FOY, EMMANUEL RAEZ, AND VICTOR CARMO. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN WE HAVE MR. DAVID KOSKI. COME ON UP. YOU'D HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN TO TAB 38. THANK YOU AGAIN, UM, FOR, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AND PUBLIC HEARING. AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO ADVERTISE MORE BROADLY SO THAT OTHERS MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. UH, BUT LET ME JUST USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THAT YOU PASSED A MOTION SUPPORTING PROPOSITION THREE, WHICH WOULD HELP BOTH CHARTER SCHOOLS AND DISTRICT SCHOOLS. YOU ARE ALLOWED AS BOARD MEMBERS TO ADVOCATE, BUT AS AN INSTITUTION, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO INFORM. TO DATE, I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY INFORMATION, AND I'M FAMILIAR WITH DISTRICT AND INITIATIVES FOR DECADES, THERE'S BEEN NO INFORMATION PROVIDED IN A STRATEGIC WAY. AS WE APPROACHED THE LAST WEEKS OF ELECTION ON HOW IMPORTANT PROPOSITION THREE IS, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO VOTE, THAT'S WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A POWERFUL, BIG INSTITUTION, IS TO AFFECT THE LIVES AS WELL AS YOUR OWN BUDGET BY MAKING SURE PROPOSITION THREE PASSES. IN ADDITION, CALIFORNIA TEACHERS ASSOCIATION FILED ON BEHALF OF ALL SCHOOLS AN EFFORT TO GET THE PROP 98 MONEY, THAT WHEN THE FMA TEAM CAME HERE NEARLY A YEAR AGO, THEY REFUSED TO EVEN MENTION THAT THE GOVERNOR WAS HOLDING BACK THEN $5.9 BILLION. NOW THEY'RE HOLDING BACK 3.9 BILLION THAT AFFECTS INDEPENDENT CHARTER AFFECTS SCHOOL DISTRICTS. AND NO KNOWN TO ME, AT LEAST NO MESSAGE THAT THIS ORGANIZATION SUPPORTS [01:30:01] THAT LAWSUIT. I KNOW YOU DO. YOU CAN EVEN FILE AN AMICUS. YOU CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS TO FURTHER THAT CAMPAIGN IN THE LAME DUCK PERIOD OF THE CURRENT GOVERNOR, BECAUSE IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL, IT WILL BE LIKE THE LAWSUIT OF CTA VERSUS SCHWARZENEGGER. THE MONEY WILL FINALLY COME AND IT'LL COME IN A WAY THAT WON'T HELP INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS. YOU'LL BE LOCKED UP IN A BOX. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO, LET'S SEE, TAB 39 IS QUESTIONS. I'M GONNA END DISCUSSION. WE'LL GO TO TAB 40. THIS IS FOR EQUITAS ACADEMY, SIX, KAREN VICENTE WESLEY, UH, VEGA, UH, MIGUEL SILVA. SANDRA MARTINEZ, CODY SMITH, ERICA COSME, UH, LINDSAY HEISER, LORES VILLASENOR, UH, BLANCA CAC A LOPEZ ESMARALDA VARGAS BA CANSO CANOSA CAR. YESENIA FERNANDEZ CHIA TORRES AND RENA MENCIA. ALL RIGHT. THAT CONCLUDES FOR TAB 40. ALL RIGHT, WE'LL GO TO TAB 41. THIS IS FOR VALOR ACADEMY MIDDLE SCHOOL, UH, ON HELENA CALDERON. UH, YESENIA OGA. BRIAN MARTINEZ, LILIANA BUSTOS, ALAN ANDREWS, ANNA LAURA M DAVID RICHARDSON, ANNA MARTINEZ, ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ, DARRELL GARRIS, YADIRA SANCHEZ, BRIAN PERRY, JOHN TERAN, NOR M CHAVEZ AND DAVID KOSKI. ARE YOU HERE, SIR? COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. WHICH NUMBER DID YOU SAY, MS, SIR? UH, 41. OH, OKAY. YES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AGAIN, SUPPORTIVE OF THE EFFORTS OF, UM, SCHOOLS THAT TAKE ON MIDDLE SCHOOL. UM, AND WHAT ARE WE LEARNING WHEN ALLIANCE, AFTER MANY YEARS, DECIDES THEY NEED TO DIG DOWN UNDER AND BECOME, UH, MIDDLE SCHOOLS AS WELL, UH, TO HELP THEIR ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL? WHAT, WHAT DO WE LEARN WHEN GREEN DOT DOES THAT AND OTHERS TAKE ON THE MIDDLE SCHOOL? WHAT, WHAT ARE WE LEARNING FROM THEM AND, AND WHERE ARE WE PERFORMING? WELL TOGETHER? WE MIGHT HAVE SOME INSIGHTS. AND SO LET ME JUST RETURN TO THE FISCAL STABILIZATION PLAN. PLAN THAT BREEDS A, UH, STRUCTURAL DEFICIT AND A FISCAL CLIFF. AND, UH, THE BOYS WHO CRY WOLF AND ALL, ALL OF THE HENNY PENNY, THE SKY IS FALLING. IF YOU'RE NOT PURSUING PROP THREE AND REVENUE, IF YOU'RE NOT PURSUING THE PROP 98, IF YOU HAVE NO PLAN ON SPECIAL ED, ALL YOU'RE DOING IS TALKING ABOUT CUTS AND THEN BLAMING IN LARGE PART, ALLOWING TO BE BLAMED. MAYBE THE CONTRACTS THAT WERE RECENTLY SIGNED. NOW, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THOSE CONTRACTS WERE RECOMMENDED BY THE, UH, LABOR NEGOTIATOR. THEY WERE RECOMMENDED BY SUPERINTENDENT, AND ALL SEVEN BOARD MEMBERS VOTED FOR IT WITHIN WEEKS. YOU TEE UP, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA TAKE BACK AND DO SEVEN FURLOUGH DAYS AND CUT HEALTH BENEFITS. UH, OR, OR SOME SORT OF PIECE OF THAT. WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT AT THE OUTSET WHEN THEY WERE BEFORE YOU? WHY STIR UP CONFLICTS WHEN WE ALL SHOULD BE WORKING TOGETHER AS LABOR PARTNERS AND AS PUBLIC, AS CHARTER SCHOOLS AND SO ON FOR REVENUE? LET ME JUST SAY, IF THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING MORE THAN $200,000 AT THIS DISTRICT, MAYBE YOU OUGHT TO TRY LETTING THEM PAY A PIECE OF THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS. SEE HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS, SEE HOW IT'S RECEIVED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. FOR THOSE WHO EARN MUCH, MUCH MORE THAN OUR HAVE 42 RANK AND FILE WORKERS IS, UH, ANIMO JAMES B. TAYLOR, CHARTER MIDDLE, UH, IF LORI GIBBONS, ACHILLES GUDO. CHRISTINA DE JESUS. ADRIANA SANTIAGO, LASHANDA JONES. KARINA GARCIA, LEILANI ABALONE. CHRIS TERRY. KENDRA GALDAMEZ. DESIREE ROSAS. TALIA DOTTY RILEY. SO ROSANO. COURTNEY LOCKRIDGE AND CARMEN LORA. ALRIGHT, THAT CONCLUDES, [01:35:01] UH, PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM 42. ITEM 43, 44 45 AND FOUR SIX ARE NOT ON CONSENT. SO NOW WE WILL TAKE THE SECOND BATCH OF, OR THE THIRD AND FINAL BATCH OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR, WHICH COMPRISES TABS 34 THROUGH 42, NOT INCLUDING TABS 36 AND 39. EVERYBODY ALL ON THE SAME PAGE? YEP. OKAY. GREAT. THIRD VOTE. UH, MS. NEWBELL? YES. DR. RIVAS? YES. MR. MELVIN? YES. MS. GRIEGO? YES. MS. EZ? YES. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. BOARD PRESIDENT SCHROEN? YES. AND STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE ITEMS THAT WERE ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THOSE OF YOU FOLLOWING CLOSELY, I'LL JUST GO OVER WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. SO, UH, TABS NINE, 10, UH, 21, 23, 36, 39, 43, UH, AND 46 ARE NOT ON CONSENT. THE CHARTER SCHOOL ITEMS, UH, WE'LL HAVE A TWO MINUTE PRESENTATION EACH FOLLOWED UP BY THE, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, AND THEN THE DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS. AND THEN THE VOTE ON THAT PARTICULAR ITEM, THE PUBLIC HEARING, WHICH IS TAB 44, WILL COME AFTER THAT PERIOD OF DISCUSSION FOR THOSE PARTICULAR CHARTERS. UH, AND TAB 46 WILL LIKELY COME LAST IN CASE ANYONE IS FOLLOWING. SO, UM, [9. Rep-085-26/27 Approval of the Renewal Petition for Equitas Academy 3 Charter [PUBLIC HEARING]] MAY I HAVE A MOVE, A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR OKAY. FOR TAB NINE SECOND. OKAY. SO MOVED BY BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER EZ. AND WE HAVE A TWO MINUTE PRESENTATION ON TAB NINE. UM, LET ME, IT'S ALL QUEUED UP, SO AS SOON AS IT'S QUEUED UP, UH, PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND YOU'LL HAVE THE TWO MINUTES, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE THE PUBLIC COMMENT. GREAT. DO I HAVE A CLICKER? THERE IS A, A LITTLE KEYPAD THERE WITH A LEFT ARROW AND A RIGHT ARROW. IT CAN BE PERSNICKETY. SO GIVE IT A CLICK, MAKE SURE IT CHANGES. AND THEN GREAT. TO MAKE SURE I STAY WITHIN MY TWO MINUTES, UH, MY CHIEF OF STAFF IS GONNA CLICK FOR ME. GOOD MORNING, SUPERINTENDENT, UH, CH BOARD PRESIDENT, CHARLESON AND BOARD MEMBERS. I'M DR. SOPHIA RODDY, CEO OF EQUITAS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS, AND I'M HONORED TO BE HERE REPRESENTING THE STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND EDUCATORS OF EQUITAS ACADEMY. THREE. EQ THREE HAS 85% STUDENT RETENTION AND CONSISTENTLY STRONG ACADEMIC OUTCOMES FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS. EQ THREE HAS RANKED NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER TWO AMONG LOCAL SCHOOLS IN MATHEMATICS. EQ THREE IS A COMMUNITY SCHOOL PROVIDING WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. OUR STUDENT POPULATION REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE. EQ THREE IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN PICO UNION, AND WE'RE COMMITTED TO UNDERSTANDING OUR STUDENTS' ASSETS AND THEIR NEEDS. THAT COMMITMENT IS REFLECTED IN THE CHARTER SCHOOL'S DIVISION RECOMMENDATION FOR RENEWAL. BASED ON A HOLISTIC REVIEW OF EQ THREE, INCLUDING PERFORMANCE ABOVE THE STATE ON THE MAJORITY OF APPLIC APPLICABLE ACADEMIC INDICATORS, OUR LOCAL RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT THIS PERFORMANCE IS SUSTAINED. OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, EQ THREE HAS RANKED AMONG THE TOP FOUR OF NINE LOCAL SCHOOLS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, AND AMONG THE TOP TWO IN MATH, INCLUDING NUMBER ONE RANKING IN MATH IN 2024. OUR STUDENT GROUPS HAVE CONSISTENTLY OUTPERFORMED THE STATE IN BOTH ENGLISH LANGUAGE, ARTS AND MATH, INCLUDING LATINO STUDENTS, ENGLISH LEARNERS, AND SOCIOECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS. THE MOST IMPORTANT EVIDENCE IS WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR STUDENTS. ONE PARENT DESCRIBED WATCHING HER DAUGHTER MAKE REMARKABLE ACADEMIC PROGRESS IN MATH AND ENGLISH, WHILE ALSO DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE AND STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS. SHE CALLED EQ THREE, A BEACON OF HOPE IN PICO-UNION COMMUNITY, INSPIRING CHILDREN TO STAY MOTIVATED, TO DREAM BIG, AND TO BUILD A PATH TOWARD COLLEGE THAT IS THE EQUITAS DIFFERENCE. WE RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR YOUR VOTE TO RENEW EQUITAS ACADEMY. THREE. THANK YOU. HAPPY TO ANSWER. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AT THIS TIME. UM, WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. MY CON MY QUESTION IS AROUND THE, UM, ENGLISH LANGUAGE, ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS INDICATOR. JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND BECAUSE YOU WERE, YOU KNOW, MAKING GOOD PROGRESS ON 20, UM, 20, 22, 23, 45 0.4, AND THEN THE NEXT YEAR, 47.3, AND THEN [01:40:01] IT WENT DOWN 29.3. SO I JUST WANTED TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE, AND I UNDERSTAND HERE, UM, THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH TARGETED OBSERVATIONS, UH, AND SUPPORT THE USE OF INTEGRATED DESIGNATED ENGLISH LANGUAGE. SO I UNDERSTAND YOUR PLAN. I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT DIP. THAT'S ALL. WE APPRECIATE THE QUESTION BECAUSE IT WAS SOMETHING WAS A VERY CONCERNING TO US AS WELL, GIVEN THAT WE'VE ALWAYS HOVERED CLOSE TO WHAT THE STATE AVERAGES IN LP. AND SO WE'VE MADE NEW INVESTMENTS. OUR DIGGING, UH, LED US TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS A DECLINE IN READING PROFICIENCY. AND SO WE HAVE INVESTED IN A HIGH RATED, UM, CURRICULUM FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA TO ENSURE THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE INCREASING THEIR READING PROFICIENCY. EQ THREE SPECIFICALLY HAS HIRED AN INTERVENTIONIST READING TEACHER THAT'S GOING TO HELP WITH OUR EMERGENT BILINGUAL STUDENTS. AND THE THIRD THING IS WE'RE ELEVATING ACADEMIC DISCOURSE. SO IN ADDITION TO THE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED, DR. RIVAS, WE HAVE MADE NEW INVESTMENTS TO ENSURE THAT THAT LP, UH, PERFORMANCE RATE CONTINUES TO INCREASE. COOL. AND HOW DO YOU, UM, WORK OR NOTIFY WORK WITH THE PARENTS AND NOTIFY THEM AND MAKING SURE THAT, UM, THEY'RE ON TOP OF THE, THEIR STUDENTS' PROGRESS, BUT HOW THEY CAN ALSO SUPPORT THEIR CHILD AT HOME? YEAH. ALSO A REALLY GREAT QUESTION. WE ENSURE THAT OUR ELAC ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE WELL INFORMED. AND SO WE BELIEVE IN, UM, PARENT LEADERSHIP. AND SO THAT'S THE FIRST LAYER. BUT WE ALSO SEND COMMUNICATION TO FAMILIES ABOUT EL PROGRESS. YEAH. I JUST WANTED TO LEARN A BIT MORE AND THANK YOU FOR, UM, RESPONDING TO THE QUESTION. THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL. WE APPRECIATE IT. MM-HMM . NO OTHER QUESTIONS. OKAY. UH, HAVEN'T BEEN MOVED AND OH, WE GOT, I'M SORRY. PUBLIC COMMENT. SO WE'LL TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN THE, THE BOARD WILL, WILL, WILL VOTE. UM, WE'LL, WE'LL BE WAIVING OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THIS TIME. OKAY. BUT IF YOU'D LIKE TO CALL EACH NAME, I DO WANT TO CALL THE NAMES 'CAUSE I GET FREAKED OUT ABOUT ONE PERSON SAYING WHAT ABOUT ME. THAT IS FINE. ALRIGHT. UH, NATALIE ARIAS. UH, JENNIFER LOPEZ. UH, FERNANDO CASTILLO, UH, UNE CORNEJO, UH, BOBBY CANOSA CAR, UH, ALMA BARRA GARCIA. ALLISON STARE. WAIT. LUCY HONG, UH, MIGUEL PEREZ. UH, LORENZA TUI, UH, ASHLEY FITZGERALD. UH, JOANNA MONTGOMERY. THANK YOU. UH, GABRIELA GINO, UH, ANI VIGA VIAGRA. UH, AND CARMEN LORA. OKAY. SO THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TAB NINE. UH, WE'LL GO AND TAKE THE VOTE. UH, MS. NEWBELL? YES. DR. EVAS? YES. UH, MR. MELVIN? YES. MS. REGO? YES. UH, MS. EZ? YES. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON? YES. AND STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA? YES. OKAY. THAT CONCLUDES TAB NINE. AND THEN, LET'S [10. Rep-089-26/27 Approval of the Renewal Petition for Everest Value [PUBLIC HEARING]] SEE, MAY HAVE A MOTION ANY SECOND FOR TAB 10 RENEWAL PETITION FOR EVEREST VALUE MOVE. MOVE BY DR. REVA, SECONDED BY MS. EZ. AND, UH, DO WE HAVE A, LET ME LOOK AT MY PRE PRESENTATION FROM EVEREST VALUE. GREAT. COME ON UP. UH, YOUR SLIDES ARE QUEUED. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN FOR THE, AND THEN THERE'S A KEYPAD THERE TO YOU. GOT IT. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY ABOUT EVEREST VALUE SCHOOL AND OUR CHARTER RENEWAL. MY NAME IS REINE RILEY, AND I'M THE PROUD CEO AT VALUE SCHOOLS. AS WE WALK THROUGH THE RECORD TODAY, I HOPE YOU WILL SEE BOTH THE CONSISTENCY OF THE WORK AND OUR COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE TO BUILD UPON IT BEFORE LOOKING AT OUR ACADEMIC RESULTS IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE STUDENTS THAT EVEREST SERVES. 93% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE SOCIALLY ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. 95% ARE HISPANIC, AND 25 OF OUR STUDENTS ARE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. 35% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE ENGLISH LEARNERS. THIS IS MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PERCENTAGE IN BOTH LA UNIFIED AND ACROSS THE STATE. THESE NUMBERS PROVIDE AN IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THE RESULTS THAT YOU WILL SEE TODAY. WITH THAT CONTEXT, WE CAN LOOK AT THE EVEREST RECORD ACROSS THE CHARTER TERM. EVEREST IS IDENTIFIED BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AS A MIDDLE PERFORMING CHARTER SCHOOL. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE RECORD, WE SEE SUSTAINED ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE [01:45:01] AND SUPPORT FOR OUR SIGNIFICANT STUDENT SUBGROUPS, INCLUDING OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS. ACROSS THE CHARTER TERM, EVEREST HAS REPEATEDLY DEMONSTRATED ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ABOVE STATEWIDE RESULTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS. EVEREST WAS ABOVE THE STATE IN THREE OF THE FIVE DASHBOARD YEARS FOR ALL STUDENTS AND KEY STUDENT GROUPS IN MATHEMATICS THAT OCCURRED IN FOUR OF THE FIVE DASHBOARD YEARS. WHEN WE LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THE STUDENTS THAT EVEREST SERVES, THE 2025 MATHEMATIC RESULTS PROVIDED ANOTHER IMPORTANT PART OF THE STORY. EVEREST ENGLISH LEARNERS PERFORMED 6.2 POINTS ABOVE THEIR STATEWIDE PEERS AND SOCIAL ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGE STUDENTS 5.7, UM, POINTS ABOVE THEIR STATEWIDE PEERS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. THE DIFFERENCE WAS PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT WITH 31.7 POINTS ABOVE THEIR STATEWIDE PEERS. ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS HAS ALSO BEEN A SUSTAINED STRENGTH ACROSS THE CHARTER TERM ACROSS EVERY DASHBOARD YEAR FROM 2019 THROUGH 2025. ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS INDICATOR WAS EITHER ABOVE THE STATE OR WITHIN ONE PERCENTAGE POINT OF THE STATE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, WERE, WERE THERE, UH, DR. VOSS, YOU HAD QUESTIONS? YES. UM, IT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, WELL, THE FIRST QUESTION, UH, YOUR ENGLISH ARTS ARTS INDICATOR, YOU WERE DOING REALLY GREAT 23, 24, AND THEN 25 IT, YOU KNOW, THE DISTANCE FROM STANDARD REALLY WENT HIGH UP. SO I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED AND WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TO GET, YOU KNOW, UM, THOSE NUMBERS BACK UP. BACK DOWN, I SHOULD SAY. YES. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. SO, UH, WE DID ALSO ANALYZE THIS DATA, UM, BOTH WITH OUR SCHOOL ON THE GROUND AS WELL AS WITH OUR BOARD. AND WHAT WE'RE IDENTIFYING IS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE MORE CONSISTENCY JUST KIND OF ACROSS OUR SYSTEMS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRICULUM THAT IS A LITTLE BIT STRONGER TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS. SO SPECIFICALLY, UH, WE HAVE LOOKED AT AND ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING SOMETHING KNOWN AS IMSE. UM, THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT SUPPORTS STUDENTS WITH, UH, SPECIFICALLY LIKE THE SCIENCE OF READING. UM, AND REALLY THINKING SCIENTIFICALLY ABOUT HOW STUDENTS CAN COMPREHEND AND READ, UM, AT A STRONGER RATE. SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THAT. IN ADDITION, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO HOLD A STRONGER ACCOUNTABILITY ACROSS OUR SYSTEMS. SO REALLY LOOKING AT OUR KPIS ON A PRETTY CONSISTENT BASIS TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MEETING THE GOALS THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED FOR OUR TEAM. WERE YOU ABLE TO IDENTIFY EXACTLY WHAT, WHAT WAS THE FACTOR THAT MADE? YES. UM, SO WHAT WE IDENTIFIED IS THAT, UM, SPECIFICALLY WHEN IT COMES, UM, TO SUPPORTING OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, UH, THAT THE CURRICULUM WAS NOT WHERE WE WANTED IT TO, UM, TO BE IN ORDER TO SUSTAIN SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL, UM, SOCIAL ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS THAT WE WERE SEEING COMING IN AS, AS WELL AS THE INCREASE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS THAT WE WERE SEEING OVER TIME. UM, AND SO WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, THINKING THROUGH THAT CURRICULUM AND THEN, UM, ENSURING THAT WE ARE JUST ADOPTING THE RIGHT CURRICULUM TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS. UM, MY NEXT QUESTION. SO YOU HAVE, UM, BENCHMARKS FOR, UM, SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AND CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM. WHAT CHANGES WILL, UM, YOUR SCHOOL MAKE TO STRENGTHEN THE SCIENCE INSTRUCTION AND HELP STUDENTS ATTEND? I KNOW CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM IS ACROSS THE BOARD, BUT JUST SPECIFICALLY, UM, YEAH, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA WORK ON? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. SO, YES, WE ALSO, UM, HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT SCIENCE IS AN AREA OF NEED FOR US, AND SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SAW IN ENGLISH, WE ALSO IDENTIFY THAT WE NEED A STRONGER CURRICULUM. UH, SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS IN THIS SPECIFIC YEAR LOOKING AT THAT CURRICULUM TO FURTHER ADOPT, UM, CURRICULUM THAT CAN BETTER SUPPORT SPECIFICALLY WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT LIKE THE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE SUPPORTS FOR OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, UH, WE REALLY NOTICE SPECIFICALLY WITH OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, THE SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE CAN BE QUITE DIFFICULT FOR THEM. AND SO MAKING SURE THAT WE NOT ONLY HAVE THE RIGHT CURRICULUM FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, BUT SPECIFICALLY IN SUPPORTING OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS. AND WHEN YOU ADOPT A NEW CURRICULUM, IS THAT ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ALL OF YOUR SCHOOLS OR JUST THE SPECIFIC ONES THAT HAVE THAT BENCHMARK OR THAT STRUGGLE? YEAH, SO RIGHT NOW IT'S SPECIFICALLY FOR EVEREST THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT. AND WE'RE ALSO ARE IDENTIFYING FOR OTHER SCHOOLS AS EACH SCHOOL'S KIND OF THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL LEAS. WE DO ALLOW OUR SCHOOLS TO GO THROUGH AN ADOPTION PROCESS, UH, TO HELP US IDENTIFY THE RIGHT CURRICULUM. AND HOW WILL YOU KEEP, UM, YOUR FAMILIES INFORMED OF, OF THE PROGRESS? HOW DO YOU, YOU KNOW, UM, LET THEM KNOW WHAT'S, HOW THEIR STUDENT IS DOING OR HOW THE SCHOOL IS DOING OVERALL? YEAH, SO WE DO HAVE, UM, PARENT, UH, CONFERENCES FOR ONE, UM, THAT WE HAVE ON THE GROUND ON A PRETTY CONSISTENT BASIS. THAT'S JUST TEACHERS, UH, TO THE PARENTS. WE ALSO HAVE A SITE COUNCIL AS WELL. UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE ADDITIONAL, UM, COUNCILS LIKE ELAC AND, UH, COFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL. AND THEN WE ALSO SEND OUT, UH, LETTERS TO OUR FAMILIES, JUST UPDATING THEM [01:50:01] ON THE PROGRESS OF THEIR STUDENTS. AND, AND IN TERMS OF YOUR CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM, HOW WILL YOUR SCHOOL MONITOR THE PROGRESS, UM, IN MEETING THIS BENCHMARK? YEAH, SO WE HAVE AN INTERNAL DASHBOARD. UH, THE INTERNAL DASHBOARD IS LOOKED AT ON A, UH, PRETTY CONSISTENT BASIS, BOTH AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL AS WELL AS THE NETWORK LEVEL. UH, AND IN ADDITION TO, UH, THE INTERNAL DASHBOARD THAT IS LOOKED AT PRETTY CONSISTENTLY. UH, WE ALSO DO QUARTERLY KPIS, SO KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR MEETINGS ON THE GROUND WITH OUR SCHOOL TEAMS. AND THE SCHOOL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONDUCTING THOSE KPIS. IN ADDITION, THE NETWORK OFFICE CONDUCTS THEIR OWN KPIS AS WELL. AND YOU PROVIDE RESOURCES ONCE YOU IDENTIFY WHAT ARE SORT OF THE CHALLENGES THAT FAMILIES ARE MAKING OR HAVING? YES, THAT'S CORRECT. AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. THAT'S ALL. THANKS. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. ALRIGHT. PUBLIC, I THINK THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND WAIVE. OKAY. I'LL, I'LL READ THE NAMES AND, AND, UH, AND WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL MOVE RIGHT ALONG. AMERICA LOPEZ, KIMBERLY MEJIA, UH, EDA KALAN, ALEXIS DELGADO, ALIDA AND SHETA. UH, JAMAL BENITA, HAMLET, UH, ET ELVINA MORENO. VINCENTE MARTINEZ RI MESA. CARLA ANDINO, SONYA MIGUEL SKY ROMERO, JACQUELINE MENDEZ, UH, ISIS CAMPOS AND DAVID TOSKI. ARE YOU IN THE ROOM, SIR? COME ON UP. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. I AM SORRY. WHAT NUMBER DID YOU MOVE TO? WHICH TAB ARE WE ON? THIS IS TAB 11. OH, TAB 10. EVEREST VALUE. OH, YES. VALUE CHARTERS. UH, I WAS THERE AT THE OUTSET WITH THE FORMER ARCHDIOCESE SUPERINTENDENT WHO CREATED THESE SCHOOLS. UH, AND NOW THE NEW GENERATION IS SPEAKING TO YOU AS THEY CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON, ON THE LEADERSHIP OF THESE SCHOOLS. AND AGAIN, I, UM, AM SUPPORTIVE AND IN THAT THEY'VE, UH, MET YOUR MIDDLE PERFORMING, UH, STATE STANDARDS AND APPRECIATE THAT. SOMEBODY ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT BENCHMARKS. UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO ALSO DO THAT WITH, UH, ALL DISTRICT SCHOOLS. IT USED TO BE WHEN I WAS ON THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR 12 YEARS, WE WOULD BRING FORWARD ALL OF THE, UH, SCHOOLS, NOT JUST SHINE THE LIGHT ON THE INDEPENDENT CHARTERS, BUT WE BRING 'EM ALL FORWARD AND TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR CHALLENGES AND WHAT BENCHMARKS ARE BEING GIVEN TO THEM. ONE, WHICH ARE STILL IN THE, UH, FOCUS GROUP OF A HUNDRED OR SO SCHOOLS, AND HOW THEY DOING WITH ALL THE EXTRA MONEY THAT IS LAYERED ONTO THEM. AND SO, UM, I AGAIN, RETURN TO THIS, UM, MOMENT WHERE YOU ARE, UH, UNDER THE SCRUTINY OF THE LA COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION, UM, AND, UH, THIS, UM, CREATURE CALLED FMAT, UH, THE FISCAL EXPERT. UH, IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU POSTED HIS RESUME FOR THE PUBLIC SO THEY COULD SEE WHAT KIND OF EXPERT YOU HAVE FROM THE COUNTY. WHAT ARE HIS STRENGTHS, WHAT ARE HIS CHALLENGES? AND IN ADDITION, UM, I'LL PAUSE HERE AND ASK, IS THERE ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO REVERSE THEIR VOTE ON THE, UH, CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS THAT WERE APPROVED, UH, IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC AND AT THIS BOARD? GOOD. THEN LET'S ALL START WORKING TOGETHER TO FIND REVENUE AND SOLUTIONS WITH A NEW GOVERNOR, A NEW LEGISLATURE, A NEW CONGRESS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND NEW REVENUE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THE VOTE ON TAB 10, HAVING BEEN MOVED BY DR. RIVAS AND SECONDED BY, UH, MS. EZ. THIS IS FOR EVEREST VALUE. UH, MS. NEWBELL, OH, SORRY. I HAVE TO LOOK UP, UH, DR. RIVAS. YES. UH, MR. MELVIN? YES. UH, MS. REGO? YES. UH, MS. EZ? YES. UH, MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? NOT HERE YET. UH, I'M IN HERE. BUT IN THE BACK, UH, BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON? YES. YES. AND YES. YES. OKAY. UH, AND STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA ALSO. OKAY. WELL, 1, 2, 3. WE HAD THE ITEM PASSES. I I'LL COLLECT THE VOTES AND THE REST, BUT THE ITEM PASSES IS, ALL RIGHT. TAB 10. THIS FOLKS SHUFFLE OUT OF THE ROOM. WE'LL MOVE TO TAB [21. Rep-068-26/27 Approval of the Renewal Petition for Alliance Gertz-Ressler Richard Merkin 6-12 Complex [PUBLIC HEARING]] 21. TAB 21. [01:55:02] THIS IS ALLIANCE KURTZ RESLER, RICHARD MERKIN SIX THROUGH 12. UH, MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND MOVE? IT MOVED BY BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON, SECONDED BY MS. EZ. ALRIGHT. IT LOOKS LIKE THE PRESENTATION IS PULLED UP, SO PLEASE COME ON UP AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES. I AM THE FIRST COMMENTER ON THE PUBLIC COMMENT. CAN I TAKE THE, IF I DON'T FINISH, CAN I TAKE THOSE TWO MINUTES? THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE THAT. UM, GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M PABLO VE SENSCIO AND I'M THE PROUD CEO OF ALLIANCE COLLEGE READY, UM, PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND OF ALLIANCE KURTZ MERKIN. AND THIS IS CG PITTMAN, OUR, UH, CHIEF ACADEMIC AND SCHOOLS OFFICER. WE'RE HERE PROUDLY TO REPRESENT THE FAMILIES AND SCHOLARS AND STAFF MEMBERS OF GRITS MERK IN. AND I DO SO FOR A POSITION THAT ACTUALLY I'M A CONSTITUENT AND LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF GRITS MERK IN. I ALSO SPEAK AS SOMEONE WHO GREW UP IN THE COMMUNITIES AND WENT TO L-A-U-S-D SCHOOLS AND BELIEVE PASSIONATELY IN ALL THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING COLLECTIVELY TO RAISE THE BAR HERE. UM, AS WE KNOW FOLKS HAVE OVER THE COURSE OF ALLIANCE, UM, WE'RE SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF WHAT, MAKING SURE THAT WE GET THE RECORD STRAIGHT OF THE POWERFUL IMPACT THAT ALLIANCE HAS HAD IN THIS COMMUNITY. IN LOS ANGELES, WE'RE 21 YEARS, 25, 27, 5 25 SCHOOLS, 12,000 SCHOLARS, AND 27,000 ALUMNI THAT HAVE REALLY BEEN DRAMATICALLY CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE OF, UH, LOS ANGELES. OVER THE COURSE OF OUR TWO DECADES. OUR SCHOLARS COME THREE YEARS BEHIND GRADE LEVEL, OFTEN COMING FROM L-A-U-S-D SCHOOLS AND OTHER PLACES. AND WE DO THE HARD WORK, JUST LIKE YOU ALL, TO ENSURE THAT OUR SCHOLARS GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE. THAT'S THE MARKER THAT WE HOLD, EVEN WITH HIGHER PERCENTAGES OF UNDERSERVED STUDENTS THAN L-A-U-S-D IN THE STATE. WE BEAT THE NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR COLLEGE GRADUATION BY THREE TIMES. AND THAT SPEAKS TO THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ON SITE TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOLARS. AND THAT WORK ALSO MEANS THAT 92.4% OF OUR, UM, SCHOLARS GRADUATE WITH A THROUGH G BEING ABLE TO GRADUATE FROM A CAL STATE OR APPLY TO A CAL STATE OR A UC. THESE ARE SCHOOLS THAT ARE HAVING AN IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE ALL SERVE COLLECTIVELY. AND I WANNA BE REALLY CLEAR, WE'RE A SCHOOL, A SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT'S UNAPOLOGETICALLY ANTI-RACIST AND PRO-BLACK AT THE HEART, HOLDING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN A SOCIAL JUSTICE PURSUIT, BECAUSE MANY OF US COME FROM THE COMMUNITY. 91% OF OUR STAFF IS RETAINED. OUR STAFF WANTS TO BE AT ALLIANCE. 94% OF OUR FAMILIES RECOMMEND ALLIANCE SCHOOLS. I WANNA NOTE THAT. SO THE MAJORITY OF OUR FAMILIES ARE BLACK AND LATINE, AND THEY DO SO KNOWING THAT WE GIVE THEM SERVICES IN SPANISH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS SAID BEFORE. THAT'S UNTRUE. THAT WE MEET THEIR NEEDS, THAT WE WORK WITH THEM COLLECTIVELY. WE RUN SCHOOLS THAT YOUR OWN CHARTER SCHOOL DIVISION HAS GIVEN US AN AVERAGE OF 3.4 OVER 4.0. UM, OVERSIGHT WITH MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS. AND WE HAVE DEEP STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, AND WE ALSO HAVE DEEP COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION THAT INCLUDES COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT SENT YOU LETTERS SUPPORTING ALLIANCE. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OTHER ELECTEDS ARE REALLY HOLDING THEMSELVES ACCOUNTABLE TO FACTS AND TO ENSURING THAT THEIR OFFICES ARE DOING THE WORK TO REALLY REPRESENT THE CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE PART OF OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL. WE ARE RUNNING GOOD SCHOOLS ON BEHALF OF THE CHILDREN OF LOS ANGELES. GERTZ BERGAN SPECIFICALLY HAS 1,049 SCHOLARS. WE HAVE PREDOMINANTLY SOCIAL AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. WE REPRESENT LATINO AND BLACK COMMUNITY. AND OVERALL, THIS IS A SCHOOL THAT REALLY IS TOP PERFORMER ACROSS ANY METRIC THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT. WE ARE 50% HIGHER IN READING AND MATH AND STARTED READING AND WRITING, AND 90% HIGHER. THIS IS ONE OF OUR BEST SCHOOL IN, IN MATH. THIS IS, THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SCHOOLS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND A SCHOOL THAT WE'RE INCREDIBLY PROUD OF FOR GETTING THE RESULTS, DESPITE HAVING SEVERE CHALLENGES, OFTEN WHEN KIDS ARRIVE INTO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. AND I ALSO WANNA NOTE THAT WE ARE PREPARING OUR KIDS FOR COLLEGE. WE'RE PREPARING THEM IN WAYS THAT WE KNOW EVEN SUPERSEDE OUR DISTRICT AT LARGE AND THE STATES WE'RE AMONG THE TOP SCHOOLS OFTEN ALLOWED NATIONALLY. AND WE ARE OFTEN IDENTIFIED AS A GAP BUSTING SCHOOL. WE HOPE THAT YOU TAKE THE TIME TO REALLY ENGAGE IN THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ARE THERE QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU, UM, [02:00:01] FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, AND KUDOS TO THE EDUCATORS WHO ARE SUPPORTING ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AND YEP. UM, HELPING THE STUDENTS GROW. RIGHT. UM, APPRECIATE YOUR VALUES IN ANTI-RACISM AND ANTI-BLACK, UM, YOUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS THOUGH ABOUT WHAT WE'VE HEARD TODAY AND, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING, UH, SOMEB ACTIONS AROUND, UM, BARGAINING. AND THIS MAY BE FOR YOU AND IT MAY ALSO BE FOR THE CHARTER, UM, SCHOOL ORGANIZATION, UH, THE CHARTER SCHOOL OFFICE. UM, SO THIS FIRST ONE MIGHT BE FOR THEM. OKAY. UM, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT L-A-U-S-D WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ENSURE THAT THE CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE NOT VIOLATING STATE LAW. AND AS A FOLLOW UP, IS IT THE CHARTER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO DISCLOSE THAT, THAT THERE IS A PERB ACTION AGAINST THEM? OR IS IT OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO REQUEST THAT INFORMATION? ANY, YEAH, ANYTHING. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, YEAH, WE DO TRACK, UH, THROUGH OUR OVERSIGHT PROCESS ANY KIND OF LEGAL ACTION LEGAL CASES, UM, THAT ARE REPORTED TO US AS AN ANNUAL BASIS FROM THE CHARTER SCHOOL. UH, SO THAT'S JUST PART OF OUR OVERSIGHT, UH, PROCESS. WE, WE LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT, ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S GONNA BE ANY POTENTIAL, UH, FISCAL IMPACT TO A POTENTIAL LAWSUIT. IN ADDITION, UH, WITH THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OGC IN TRACKING THE LABOR NEGOTIATION. SO THAT'S BEEN PART OF OUR REGULAR WORKING JUST TO TRACK AND, AND MONITOR IT. OKAY. AND THEN, UM, HAS ALLIANCE COMMUNICATED WITH US AS TO THE CURRENT STATUS OF THEIR LABOR DISPUTES AND HOW THOSE RELATE TO, TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, UH, TO OUR ABILITY TO OVERSEE THE CHARTER SCHOOLS IN RELATION TO GOV TO GOVERNANCE? YES. WE DID REQUEST AN UPDATE FROM ALLIANCE, AND THEY DID PROVIDE THAT UPDATE. UM, AND SO WE'RE JUST MONITORING AND TRACKING AS YOU, AS YOU KNOW, IT'S AN INPRO, IT'S KIND OF INPRO SITUATION. AND SO WE WERE JUST MONITORING AND TRACKING IT AT THIS TIME. WHAT IS THE UPDATE? CAN YOU SHARE THAT? I WOULD DEFER TO OGC AS THE UPDATE. BASICALLY, THERE'S A FEW APPEALS THAT IS SPENDING IN COURT REGARDING THEIR PERB DISPUTES. THERE ARE ALSO, UM, COMPLIANCE PROCEEDINGS UNDER PERB AT THIS TIME. SO I RECEIVED, WE, WE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM, UM, SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO REPRESENT, UM, CONSTITUENTS IN THE AREAS WHERE ALLIANCES. AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE NOTED IN THERE WAS THAT THERE HAVE BEEN, UM, SOME VIOLATIONS AND PERB DECISIONS. PERB HAS MADE DECISIONS THAT ALLIANCE WAS NOT IN COMPLIANCE OR WAS IN VIOLATION OF CERTAIN, UM, UH, BARGAINING, UH, PROCESSES. LIKE NOT BARGAINING IN GOOD FAITH IS ONE OF 'EM. AND SO I'M WONDERING HOW MANY OF THESE APPEALS EXIST. I WOULD DEFER TO OGC AS TO THAT QUESTION. WE'LL UPDATE THE BOARD. UM, ALLIANCE FILED A REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION IN SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR. SO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THOSE PROCEEDINGS TO COME TO FRUITION. DO WE KNOW HOW MANY TIMES ALLIANCE HAS APPEALED ANY PER DECISION? I'LL DEFER TO THE ALLIANCE CEO IF HE HAS THAT ANSWER. UH, WE HAVE ONE CURRENT, UH, APPEAL OR RECONSIDERATIONS ON AN APPEAL. UM, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE HAS BEEN TWO TO THREE, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF TWO 10 YEARS IN WHICH THE NEGOTIATIONS, UH, NOT THE NEGOTIATIONS, THE ACTUAL, UM, CAMPAIGN TO UNIONIZE STARTED. THE ACTUAL BARGAINING HAS ONLY STARTED ABOUT 18 TO, UH, 19 MONTHS AGO. AND SO WITHIN THAT TIMEFRAME, THIS HAS BEEN THE APPEAL. AND AS NOTED, UM, WE ARE WAITING FOR RECONSIDERATION OF THE BACKFILL CLAIM. HOW MANY, UM, HOW MANY OF THOSE APPEALS WERE REVERSED, THE ONES THAT YOU FILED ALREADY, IF ANY? NONE TO MY KNOWLEDGE. SO THEY'VE ALL, YOU WON THE APPEALS FOR ALL OF THEM? I WOULD HAVE TO HAVE GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE BOARD GIVE THAT INFORMATION, AND I'M HAPPY TO PRESENT THAT TO THE, OR SEND THAT INFORMATION TO THE BOARD. AND THE LAST ONE THAT WAS FILED, THE, THE LAST APPEAL THAT WAS FILED WAS IN REGARDS TO BARGAINING, NOT BARGAINING [02:05:01] IN GOOD FAITH. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. UM, AND SO THAT IS WHY DID YOU ALL APPEAL IT? I MEAN, BECAUSE THERE WAS A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE WAS A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT THAT BOTH, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER WAS BARGAINING, BOTH SIDES AGREED, BUT THEN THE BOARD DECIDED NOT TO ACCEPT THAT AGREEMENT. AND SO I'M CONFUSED WHY IT'S, YOU KNOW, IN, IN LIGHT OF, OF THE, THE CORE VALUES OF ALLIANCE. RIGHT. I THINK ONE OF, UM, THE REALITY IS, IS THAT THESE ARE LONG, LENGTHY PROCESS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, AS BOARD MEMBERS AND REPRESENTATIVES, AND ALSO AS BOARD MEMBERS OR REPRESENTATIVES THAT HAVE BEEN PART OF BAD FAITH CLAIMS. AND THERE ARE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS THAT OFTEN ARE STUCK ON WORDS OR LANGUAGE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO REALLY ENSURE THAT IS BEING HEARD IN LEGAL TERMS IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE JUDICIAL BODY. AND SO THE RECONSIDERATION CAME BECAUSE IN THE, UH, RESPONSE FROM PERB, THERE WAS NO INDICATION THAT ANY OF THE ARGUMENTS OR THE PAGES OF EVIDENCE THAT WERE PRESIDED WERE ACTUALLY CONSIDERED IN THE, UM, DECISION MADE BY PERB. AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE WAITING FOR RECONSIDERATION JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EVIDENCE THAT'S THERE. I WILL SAY, REGARDLESS OF THAT, WE'RE NOT REFUSING TO BARGAIN AND UTLA AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BOARD ARE CURRENTLY BARGAINING. THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY HISTORY OR EVIDENCE OF REFUSAL TO BARGAIN, AND THEY ARE BARGAINING IN GOOD FAITH. THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT WAS NOT AGREED UPON BY THE BOARD AS A RESULT OF HAVING TO UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMIC REALITIES AND THE FISCAL CONSTRAINTS THAT ALL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS ARE EXPERIENCING. AND SO WHEN THE PRE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT WAS, UM, WAS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD, THERE WAS JUSTIFIABLE QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD HAD AROUND SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY HAVE INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A DETERMINATION WHETHER THE AGREEMENT WOULD BE SUSTAINABLE OR NOT. WE MAY DISAGREE OR DISAGREE ON THAT DEPENDING ON WHAT SANDY YOU HAVE, BUT THE BOARD IS TRYING TO BE ACT AS A FIDUCIARY, UH, IN THEIR FIDUCIARY CAPACITY OF BEING FINANCIAL STEWARDS. AND THIS IS WHY I THINK WE'VE HAD A LONG TRACK RECORD OF FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY WITH ALLIANCE AND, AND YET PERU, THAT WAS THE ONE THAT YOU ALL APPEALED AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT RB DECIDED THAT IT WAS PERB DECIDED AGAINST, AGAINST ALLIANCE. OKAY. L UM, UTLA PRESENTED, UH, THEIR K OR CLAIM, AND THEN WE RECEIVED BURBS, UM, DECISION. AND THEN AT THE TIME THERE'S A RECONSIDERATION, SO IT'S NOT QUITE AN APPEAL, BUT A RECONSIDERATION. SO THEY RE RULED AGAINST YOU ALL IN THAT WHICH THE BOARD OF RULE, AND THEN WE'RE RECONSIDERING AND WE'RE STILL IN THE LEGAL PROCESS. OKAY. UM, SO GIVEN, BUT THERE'S STILL BARGAINING TO BE REALLY CLEAR. OKAY, THANK YOU. SO GIVEN THAT THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL, UH, APPEALS, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THAT COSTS MONEY, RIGHT? AND SO I'M CURIOUS, UM, AND THIS MAY BE FOR OUR OFFICE, I'M NOT SURE, UM, BUT CAN THESE UNION LABOR DISPUTES TRIGGER SOME RED FLAGS FOR US AROUND GOVERNANCE, AROUND FINANCE? BECAUSE THAT'S AN EXPENSE TO BE FIGHTING THESE, YOU KNOW, THESE DECISIONS, I, I'LL LET YOU OR, UM, I'LL LET YOUR STAFF MEMBERS ADDRESS THAT. BUT TO BE VERY CLEAR, NO PUBLIC FUNDS HAVE BEEN USED FOR THESE SPECIFIC, UM, APPEALS AND EM, BARGAINING, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW THAT BARGAINING IS A FINANCIAL COST. UM, AND SO THERE IS A FINANCIAL COST ACCRUED FROM THE PUBLIC FUNDS AS A RESULT OF NEGOTIATING WITH THE THIRD PARTY, UH, NEGOTIATOR. BUT I'LL ALLOW THEM TO SPEAK TO THAT. I HAVE A FOLLOW UP ABOUT THAT FUNDING, IF THAT'S OKAY, BUT IF YOU CAN FIRST RESPOND TO THAT. YEAH. WELL, AS I SAID IN EARLIER TOO, WE DO TRACK ANY OF THE LAWSUITS AND WE LOOK AT ANY POTENTIAL FISCAL, YOU KNOW, UM, RESPONSE, UH, ANY FISCAL, UH, IMPACT TO THAT. AND THEN ON OUR ANNUAL BASIS, WE DO OUR FISCAL REVIEW. WE ANALYZE ALL THEIR, UH, YOU KNOW, THEIR CASH, UH, THEIR NET NET ENDING BALANCE, THEIR CASH BALANCE, ARE THEY FISCALLY SUSTAINABLE, THAT'S ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. AND THEN AS PART OF THE COURSE, THE REVIEW HERE, THE RENEWAL, WE, WE GO INTO THERE. SO YES, IT'S MULTITUDE OF THINGS THAT ARE CONSIDERED TO MAKE SURE THAT A SCHOOL IS FISCALLY VIABLE AND STABLE. SO YOU HAVE NOT FOUND THAT THEY'RE USING PUBLIC FUNDS TO, TO SUPPORT THESE APPEALS TO FUND THE APPEALS? I DON'T HAVE INFORMATION FOR THAT, BUT I HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO, WELL, I HAVE NOT, WE HAVE NOT, I HAVE NOT, WE'VE NOT GOTTEN INTO THE DETAILS OF HOW THEY WERE, UH, FUNDING THIS. SO I DON'T HAVE INFORMATION TO THAT. THAT WAS NOT PART OF OUR OVER, THIS IS NOT PART OF OUR RENEWAL REVIEW, THAT PARTICULAR QUESTION, BUT LOOKING AT THE FISCAL, THE LONG TERM FISCAL OUTLOOK, I MEAN, DO YOU LOOK AT THAT? YES, WE DO. SO YOU CAN, YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND BOARD MEMBER? UM, YES. FIRST, AS, AS ALSO NOTED IN THE PRIOR OVERSIGHT, UH, REPORTS IN THE MATERIAL SYMBOL LANGUAGE FROM STAFF THAT NOTED, THERE WERE PRIOR NOTICES RELATED TO SOME OF THE FINANCIAL, UH, EXPENDITURES. I'M NOT SAYING IT'S [02:10:01] REGARDING, UH, ANY LABOR PROCESSES, BUT JUST OTHER AREAS THAT THEIR BOARD RESPONDED THAT THEY WERE USING PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS TO FUND. I ONLY MAKE THAT CONNECTION TO, TO MARLA'S POINT IS THAT THE TEAM DOES LOOK VERY CLOSELY AT ALL CHARTER SCHOOLS FINANCES, INCLUDING CHECK REGISTERS, CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS, AND ALL THE REQUIRED FINANCIAL REPORTS. WE WILL TAKE YOUR QUESTION BACK NOTWITHSTANDING WHAT MS. D NEVARA REED SAID ABOUT THE LEGAL CONTEXT TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY OTHER INFORMATION AS PART OF OUR STANDARD OVERSIGHT RELATED TO, UH, THE PUBLIC FUNDS AND, UM, ANY TYPES OF LABOR, YOU KNOW, UH, ACTIONS AS APPROPRIATE. SO WE WILL TAKE THAT BACK AS APPROPRIATE IN CONSULTATION WITH COUNCIL. BUT I DO WANT TO NOTE, AS MS. WILMONT SAID, THE OVERALL OVERSIGHT, SOME LANGUAGE IN THE REPORT FROM SOME PRIOR VISITS AND THE BOARD'S RESPONSE RELATED TO THE USE OF PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS FOR THOSE AREAS AND EXPENDITURES. OKAY. SO WE'LL TAKE THAT BACK, UH, AND, AND REPORT AS APPROPRIATE. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. AND YEAH, JUST CURIOUS, UM, THERE'S NO PUBLIC FUNDS ACCORDING TO WHAT OUR OFFICE IS SAYING, BEING USED TO, UH, FILE THESE APPEALS. UM, SO WHAT I'M CURIOUS, WHAT FUNDS, AND I JUST WANNA ADD ALSO, THERE WAS A STATE AUDIT IN 2016 AROUND THE SAME POTENTIAL QUESTIONS OF ARE WE USING PUBLIC FUNDS TO UNION BUST OR TO DO ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES? AND THE STATE, UM, LEGISLATIVE OFFICE THAT DID THE AUDIT FOUND NO, NO WRONGDOING AND NO USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS. AND JUST ON THE GROUND OF PRINCIPLE, WE WOULD NEVER DO SO. UM, WE ARE USING, UH, THE PHILANTHROPIC, UM, FUNDS THAT THE BOARD RECRUITS FOR ON THEIR OWN CAPACITY. UM, AND THEN THOSE PHILANTHROPIC FUNDS ARE USED FOR ANYTHING THAT IS RELATED NOT TO THE ACTUAL BARGAIN OR LABOR PROCESS BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THAT DISTRICTS OR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS IN THE BARGAINING PROCESS PAYING FOR LAWYERS TO NEGOTIATE ALL THOSE ACTUALLY COME FROM THE USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS. BUT ANYTHING THAT'S RELATED TOWARDS APPEALS OR THE LEGAL PROCESS THAT YOU'RE NAMING IS KEPT COMPLETELY SEPARATE. I DON'T KNOW IF MY CFO WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE INTO THAT. WE'RE GOOD TO GO. YEAH. SO THANK YOU AND I'M, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THAT THE BOARD HAS SOUGHT SOME PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT AND I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE GOVERNANCE MM-HMM . UM, PIECE OF IT, HOW MANY BOARD MEMBERS ARE ON THE ALLIANCE BOARD? WE CURRENTLY HAVE FIVE BOARD MEMBERS THAT HOLD PARTICULAR ROLES THAT RETAIN, THAT PERTAIN TO, UM, WHAT WE BELIEVE THE GOVERNING BOARD SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON IN THEIR FIDUCIARY DUTY. THE FIRST IS WE HAVE AN ALUMNI AND SOMEONE FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT REPRESENTS THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF OUR PARTICULAR CONSTITUENTS. THE SECOND IS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN AN EDUCATOR AND IN THE FIDUCIARY OVERSIGHT OF EDUCATION HOLDS, UM, REALLY OVERSIGHT AROUND OUR ACADEMIC OUTCOMES. WE HAVE SOMEONE THAT FOCUSES ON LEGAL FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY, SOMEONE THAT FOCUSES ON FISCAL FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY AND SOMEONE THAT FOCUSES ON BUSINESS ENTERPRISE, UM, THE RUNNING OF THE, OF THE, OF A LARGE ORGANIZATION LIKE OURS. AND SO THOSE FIVE MEMBERS REPRESENT THE FIDUCIARY CAPACITIES OF A NONPROFIT BOARD. SO OF THE FIVE ONE, ONLY ONE LIVES IN THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU SERVE? NO ONE REPRESENTS THE COMMUNITY SPECIFICALLY IS AN ALUMNI OF ONE OF OUR SCHOOLS. OH, DO ANY OF 'EM LIVE IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT YOU SERVE? YES. UM, THERE ARE THREE OF THE FIVE, UM, BOARD MEMBERS THAT LIVE IN THE SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. WELL, UH, I APPRECIATE YOUR RESPONSES. UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, UM, I'M GLAD THAT YOU CALL OUT ANTI-BLACKNESS AND UM, AND ANTI-RACISM AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. AND I, I JUST WANNA REITERATE THAT, YOU KNOW, UNIONS ARE EMBEDDED IN, IN SOCIAL JUSTICE, RIGHT? WORKERS' RIGHTS, AND SO, UM, THAT'S ALL I WANNA SAY. THANK YOU. YES, MS. ART FRANKLIN. UM, THANK YOU. AND I THINK YOU ALL HAVE RUN REALLY GOOD SCHOOLS AND HAD REALLY GOOD OUTCOMES FOR KIDS. JUST ON THIS MATTER, I WANNA REMIND THE BOARD THAT THERE ARE A COUPLE OTHER SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN A SIMILAR SITUATION, AND EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO WE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED TWO OF THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN THE SAME SITUATION. UM, AND SO MY QUESTION IS ACTUALLY FOR GENERAL COUNSEL, IF YOU COULD JUST REMIND THIS BOARD, UM, WHAT'S BEFORE US UNDER ED CODE IN TERMS OF APPROVING THE RENEWAL? ARE WE PERMITTED TO CONSIDER ISSUES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND, UM, MATTERS UNDER PERB AS WE'RE CONSIDERING THE RENEWAL PROCESS? THE ED CODE BASICALLY PROVIDES, AND THERE WAS A CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT DECISION THAT INDICATED THAT BASICALLY COLLECTIVE BARGAIN AGREEMENTS NOR PERB MAY CONTROL THE CHARTER APPROVAL OR DENIAL PROCESS. HOWEVER, THE REMEDY FOR, UM, ERA VIOLATIONS LIES EXCLUSIVELY WITH THE PERB, NOT WITH THE CHARTERING AUTHORITY. THANK YOU. YES, MS. GRAY, GO AHEAD. THANK YOU MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN FOR BRINGING THAT UP. BUT WE DO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY [02:15:01] AS FOLKS WHO HAVE OVERSIGHT TO ASK ALL THESE QUESTIONS AS THEY DO EVENTUALLY CAN IMPACT THE CHARTER SCHOOL FISCALLY. RIGHT. UM, ANY LEGAL ACTIONS, ANYTHING THAT MAY BE COMING UP AS A POTENTIAL BREAKING OF LAW, IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY. AND SO NOT THAT, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE BEING RENEWED OR NOT RENEWED, BUT THOSE QUESTIONS, I BELIEVE ARE OUR DUTY TO ASK. AND THANK YOU FOR, UH, RESPONDING TO THEM. YEAH, I WELCOME THE QUESTIONS, BUT I ALSO WANNA BE CLEAR, WE ARE NO IN NO WAY BREAKING THE LAW OR WE'RE HOLDING WITHIN WHAT IS OUR LEGAL RIGHT AND PROCESS TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS. JUST LIKE L-A-U-S-D IS HELD. AND SO, BUT I ALSO WELCOME QUESTIONS AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF PUBLIC DIALOGUE AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY. THANK YOU. I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION SINCE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT. UM, SO HOW IS YOUR GOVERNING BOARD RESPONDING TO THE CONCERNS AS YOU CONVERSE WITH THEM? AND I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU ADVOCATE FOR THE SCHOOLS THAT YOU REPRESENT, SO WHAT ARE THEIR RESPONSE TO THESE CONCERNS? RIGHT? YEAH, WITH, UM, WITH THE PERB RULINGS AND ALSO ENSURING THAT FAMILIES AND EDUCATORS HAVE A MEANINGFUL VOICE IN, IN THE BOARD'S DECISION. I THINK, UM, THE FIRST AND FOREMOST IS THAT THE BOARD DOES ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH ME AROUND THE ADVOCACY, AS YOU NOTED. AND I THINK THAT ADVOCACY HAS LED THEM TO TAKE, MAKE DECISIONS LIKE ENSURING THAT OUR STAFF IS MADE WHOLE. BECAUSE AT ONE POINT, OTHER STAFF MEMBERS OF NON-REPRESENTED TEAMS WERE AT A DISPARITY WITH OUR CURRENT TEAM AS A RESULT OF THIS BARGAINING COMPONENT. OUR BOARD TOOK THAT REALLY SERIOUSLY AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TEACHERS, OUR COUNSELORS, OUR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS WERE PAID WHAT EVERYONE ELSE WAS PAID. AND IT MADE SURE THAT THEY DID A WHOLE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REMEDIES THAT IS NAMED IN THE BAD FAITH. THEY ALSO DIRECT THEIR REPRESENTATIVES TO ENGAGE IN GOOD FAITH BARGAINING AND TO REALLY HEAR OUT THE CONCERNS OF THOSE BEING REPRESENTED BY UTLA AND UTLA. THAT IS AT THE TABLE DRIVING OBVIOUSLY THESE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN, UM, STAFF AND THE BOARD. AND IN REGARDS TO HEARING TO THE VOICES OF OTHERS, WE HAVE A LONG, LONG, UM, OR I'D SAY REALLY ROBUST OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOLKS TO HEAR DIRECTLY, UM, FROM THE PUBLIC IN OUR PUBLIC BOARD MEETINGS. BUT ALSO WE ENGAGE IN MULTIPLE, UH, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT GROUPS. WE ENGAGE OUR STAFF ON LOTS OF DECISIONS THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT THEM. IT'S A BELIEF THAT WE HOLD AROUND BEING ANTI-RACIST, PRO-BLACK AND INCLUDE OPPORTUNITIES NOT JUST THROUGH SURVEYS AND ONE-ON-ONES AND FOCUS GROUPS SUCH AS ME GOING TO EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL TWICE A YEAR OR GOING WITH OUR ACADEMIC TEAMS OR DIFFERENT FOLKS. AND THEN THOUGH THAT REPORT GETS SENT TO THE BOARD ON A REGULAR BASIS SO THAT THEY HEAR DIRECTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ADDITION TO PUBLIC BOARD MEETINGS WHERE ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC CAN COME AND HEAR THAT. AND BECAUSE, UH, UH, SEVERAL OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, AS NOTED BEFORE, THE MAJORITY, THREE OUT OF FIVE LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, THEY ACTUALLY ENGAGE IN CONSTANT CONVERSATIONS IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH SCHOOL SITE MEMBERS, WITH FAMILIES, WITH DIFFERENT BOARD, UM, WITH DIFFERENT, UH, UH, STAKEHOLDERS IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO THEY HAVE A STRONG PULSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING, UM, WITHIN THE GROUND. AND OF COURSE, AS YOU ALL KNOW FROM BEING IN YOUR OWN NEGOTIATIONS WITH UTLA AT DIFFERENT POINTS, THERE ARE DISAGREEMENTS. THERE ARE PLACES WHERE WE MAY NOT SEE EYE TO EYE. AND SO THEREFORE, UH, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IN OUR COMMUNITY IS NOT LET THAT BE A DIVISIVE POINT, BUT TO BE ABLE TO USE LEGAL PROCESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HOLDING AND ADHERING TO THE LAW LIKE ALLIANCE IS. AND WE ARE HOLDING BOTH TRUTHS TO BE TRUE. WE'RE IN A LEGAL PROCESS AND WE'RE DOING RIGHT BY OUR EMPLOYEES, WHICH I THINK IS MOST INDICATED BY THE FACT THAT 91% OF OUR STAFF STAYS YEAR AFTER YEAR. AND WE BELIEVE IN BEING A COMPENSATION LEADER, WHICH IS WHY WE DID THAT FIVE YEARS AGO IN, IN, UM, ANTICIPATION OF KNOWING THAT WE HAD TO ENSURE THAT OUR STAFF MEMBERS WERE BEING VALUED BY THE COMPENSATION THEY RECEIVED. BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO BE FISCALLY SOUND. WE HAVE TO HOLD THE, THE RESPONSIBILITY WE WOULD BE ACTUALLY SHUT DOWN, WHICH WE RIGHTFULLY SHOULD DO IF WE'RE NOT BEING FISCALLY SOUND, UM, AND ENSURING THAT OUR COMMUNITIES ARE SUSTAINABLE, WHICH IS WHAT THE BOARD HAS DONE IN REGARDS TO ENSURING THAT THEY ASK HARD QUESTIONS AROUND IS THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN COMMIT TO OR NOT ON FISCAL BASIS. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? OKAY. VERY WELL, MR. MCLEAN. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL FINISH OUT THE PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, THE, WE HAVE JAS STEWART. JAS STEWART, UH, I'M GONNA WAIT. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, DAVID TOSKI. MR. DAVID TOSKI. NOT HERE. UH, CG PITMAN. SO THESE ARE ALL FOLKS [02:20:01] SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON TAB 21. DO YOU WANNA WAVE OR DO YOU WANNA COME DOWN? CJI. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANGELICA SOLES. UH, DAVID LOCKE. UH, NO. MONTANO. JUSTIN SHABAZZ. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, COME ON UP. WAS THAT JUSTIN SHABAZZ COMING? OH, NO. COME ON DOWN. NOE. MR. TOSKI, YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT. UH, NOE MONTANO, COME ON UP. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE SHE BEGIN, SIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD MEMBERS. MY NAME IS NO MONTANO, I A SENIOR AT LIONS GRS WRESTLER HIGH SCHOOL. I HAVE BEEN A STUDENT AT GRS WRESTLER HIGH SCHOOL FOR FOUR YEARS. GR WRESTLER HIGH SCHOOL HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT PART OF BOTH MY ACADEMICS, MY ACADEMIC LIFE, AND THANKS TO MY SCHOOL I HAVE LEARNED TO HOW TO N NAVIGATE THE US SCHOOL SYSTEM AND UNDERSTAND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WERE ONCE UNFAMILIAR TO ME. FROM LEARNING ABOUT ADVANCED PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND CLASSES TO EXPLORING THE DIFFERENT COLLEGES, GRADS, WRESTLERS HIGH SCHOOL HAS HELPED ME TO PREPARE FOR MY EDUCATION, MY FUTURE, AND MY LIFE. AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M MOST VALUABLE IN MY SCHOOL IS THE TIGHT KNIT COMMUNITY BETWEEN STUDENTS AND STAFF. ONE CONVERSATION THAT HAS STAYED WITH ME WITH A TEACHER WAS WITH MS. ARIANO. SHE TOLD ME, IT'S NOT ABOUT HOW YOU START, IT'S ABOUT HOW YOU FINISH THAT MATTERS. HER WORDS TELL ME THAT SETBACKS DO NOT SHOW SETBACKS. DO NOT HAVE THE DETERMIN. MY FUTURE. WHAT MATTERS IS THE HARD WORK DE DE DETERMINATION AND CHOICES I MAKE. MOVING FORWARD. GERSON WRESTLER HIGH SCHOOL HAS HELPED ME TO BECOME A HARDWORKING AND DETERMINED STUDENT WHO KNOWS HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR MY OWN EDUCATION AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. I WANT FUTURE SCHOLARS TO HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITY TO PREPARE FOR COLLEGE, TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES, AND BECOME TRAILBLAZERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. FOR THOSE REASONS, I RESPECTFULLY ASKED THE BOARD TO RENEW ALLIANCE GRACE WRESTLER HIGH SCHOOL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, JUSTIN SHABAZZ. UH, SUSANNA NAVARRETE. PERDOMO, ARE YOU JUSTIN? I AM JUSTIN. ALL RIGHT. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU. UH, I SHOULD SAY GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD PRESIDENT, BOARD MEMBERS AND SUPERINTENDENT. MY NAME IS JUSTIN SHABAZZ. I'M THE PROUD PRINCIPAL OF ALLIANCE, RICHARD MERKIN MIDDLE SCHOOL. UM, UH, AND UH, I'M ALSO JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUE GWEN BRODY, THE PROUD PRINCIPAL OF, UH, ALLIANCE GTZ WRESTLER HIGH SCHOOL. WE MAKE UP THE ALLIANCE GURTZ MERKIN SIX THROUGH 12 COMPLEX. AT GERTZ MERKIN, WE SERVE MORE THAN A THOUSAND SCHOLARS IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES. 95% OF WHOM QUALIFY FOR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE LUNCH. OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAM IS GROUNDED IN A SIMPLE BELIEF THAT RIGOROUS INSTRUCTION WORKS BEST WHEN SCHOLARS ARE SURROUNDED BY STRONG RELATIONSHIPS AND STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEMS. WE CREATE A CULTURE OF LEARNING WITH CLEAR EXPECTATIONS, ENSURE SCHOLARS HAVE ACCESS TO RIGOROUS GRADE LEVEL CONTENT AND USE DATA TO HELP OUR TEACHERS MAKE INFORMED INSTRUCTIONAL DECISIONS. WE ALSO INVEST IN EDUCATORS THROUGH COLLABORATION, FEEDBACK, AND THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO RESPOND TO THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS SITTING IN FRONT OF THEM. BUT CARING FOR SCHOLARS MEANS CARING FOR MORE THAN ACADEMICS. WE PRIORITIZE STRONG STUDENT SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND MEANINGFUL FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS. ONE OF OUR PARENTS DESCRIBED WHAT MATTERS MOST TO HER, THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORT HER SONS RECEIVE, AND THE FACT THAT THEY FEEL SAFE AT SCHOOL. THAT COMBINATION OF RIGOR AND CARE PRODUCES RESULTS. T'S WRESTLER HAS A 99% GRADUATION RATE. OUR LOW INCOME SCHOLARS OUTPERFORM STATEWIDE PEERS BY 50% IN READING AND WRITING, AND 19% IN MATH. AS YOU SAW EARLIER IN READING AND WRITING, OUR LATINA SCHOLARS, MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS, AND SCHOLARS WITH DISABILITIES ALL OUTPERFORM THEIR STATEWIDE PEERS. WE ARE PROUD OF THOSE NUMBERS, BUT EVEN PROUDER OF WHAT PRODUCES THEM, EDUCATORS, FAMILIES, AND SCHOLARS WORKING TOGETHER, I URGE YOU TO RENEW GIRTS MERKIN AND ALLOW THAT PARTNERSHIP TO CONTINUE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, ANA OMO. SUSANNA, COME ON UP. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK WHEN SHE BEGIN. UM, GOOD MORNING BOARD MEMBERS. MY NAME IS SUSAN NAVARRETE AND I AM AN 11TH GRADE SCHOLAR AT GRITZ WRESTLER HIGH SCHOOL. I HAVE BEEN A PART OF THIS SCHOOL COMMUNITY FOR THREE YEARS. MY SCHOOL IS MEANINGFUL TO ME BECAUSE IT HAS GIVEN ME OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW, BECOME MORE INVOLVED, AND FIND THINGS THAT I CARE ABOUT. BEING PART OF THIS COMMUNITY HAS TAUGHT ME THAT SCHOOL IS NOT JUST ABOUT ACADEMICS, IT IS ALSO ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS WE BUILD, THE OPPORTUNITIES WE CREATE, AND THE WAYS WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR SCHOOL. ONE EXPERIENCE THAT HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE FOR ME IS MY TEACHERS BEING SO INVOLVED NOT ONLY IN MY ACADEMIC LIFE, BUT IN MY PERSONAL AS WELL. I DON'T THINK MANY STUDENTS REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO CARE ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS AND HOW IT AFFECTS THEIR LEARNING. BECAUSE OF MY SCHOOL, I HAVE BE BECOME [02:25:01] SOMEONE WHO IS MORE WILLING TO SPEAK UP, TAKE ON RESPONSIBILITIES, AND GET INVOLVED WHEN I SEE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE MORE IMPROVED. MY SCHOOL HAS SHOWN ME THAT STUDENTS CAN HAVE A VOICE IN THEIR COMMUNITY AND THAT EVEN SMALL IDEAS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I WANT FUTURE STUDENTS TO HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW, GET INVOLVED, AND FEEL LIKE THEY BELONG AT THEIR SCHOOL. FOR THESE REASONS, I RESPECTFULLY ASK THE BOARD TO APPROVE THE RENEWAL OF GERTZ WRESTLER HIGH SCHOOL. SO CURRENT AND FUTURE SCHOLARS CAN CONTINUE LEARNING, GROWING, AND BECOME SUPPORTED BY THIS COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, DAVID VALA. DAVID VALA. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. UM, A VASQUEZ, UH, MARIELLA. UH, MARILYN VANGA. MARILYN, GOOD MORNING. BOARD MEMBERS. MY NAME IS MARILYN CHAVEZ EZ. I TEACH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER. I TEACH ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT FOR SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH GRADE. EIGHTH GRADERS AT RETURN MER MIDDLE SCHOOL. I HAVE BEEN A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY FOR MORE THAN 15 YEARS. EXCUSE ME. UM, TEACHING IN THE COMMUNITY WHERE I GREW UP MEANS A LOT TO ME. I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK. I'M GRATEFUL TO WORK WITH OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. AT MERKIN, WE PUT OUR STUDENTS FIRST. FAMILIES PRIORITIZE BELONGING, SAFETY, AND EDUCATION. EACH YEAR, MOST OF OUR STUDENTS MAKE PROGRESS ON THEIR ELPAC AND MANY RECLASSIFY. THEIR HARD WORK TOGETHER WITH THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITIES, SUPPORTS, HELPS THEM ACHIEVE SO MUCH. OUR STUDENTS KNOW MERKIN AS A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN BE THEMSELVES, LEARN AND ASK QUESTIONS, AND COUNT ON STAFF TO SUPPORT THEM. FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, MERKIN HAS BEEN A PILLAR FOR OUR COMMUNITY, A PLACE WHERE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES BUILD CONNECTIONS WHERE FAMILIES TRUST THEIR CHILDRENS RECEIVE QUALITY EDUCATION AND SUPPORTS AS A WHOLE PERSON. I RESPECTFULLY ASK THE BOARD TO APPROVE THE RENEWAL OF RICHARD MORGAN MIDDLE SCHOOL SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO SERVE OUR STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, JESSICA LOZANO. ALL RIGHT. UH, CHRISTOPHER REYNOSO SOTO. ALL RIGHT. AND, UH, ANOTHER SECOND CALL FOR DAVID TOSKI. AS A REMINDER, THIS IS TAB 21. THANK YOU FOR YOUR REMINDER. UH, LYONS CHARTER SCHOOLS, UH, AGAIN, UH, SUPPORTIVE OF THE FACT THAT THEY'VE MET THEIR STANDARDS. IF YOU HAVE OTHER, UH, QUESTIONS, I THINK YOU REALLY OUGHT TO ASK THE LEGAL COUNSEL TO PUT IN WRITING WHAT WAS SAID, PUT IN WRITING. 'CAUSE OTHERWISE, IT'S JUST ERROR. ASK FOR AN OUTSIDE LEGAL OPINION, INSIDE LEGAL OPINION, BUT TO WHAT LEVEL IS THAT TRUE? THAT IF IN FACT, THERE IS, AND, AND, AND THE CHAIR OF ALLIANCE RESPONDED QUITE COHERENTLY, UM, BUT YOU NEED TO HAVE IT PUT IN WRITING. OTHERWISE, IT'S, IT, IT'S, IT IS JUST, I DON'T KNOW, JUST SATISFYING A BOARD MEMBER FOR A QUICK MOMENT. AND THAT'S IT. LEMME RETURN TO THE FISCAL STABILIZATION PROBLEM, WHICH IS UPSETTING PEOPLE ACROSS THIS DISTRICT. IF YOU VOTED FOR THE, UH, UH, CONTRACTS AND THEN IMMEDIATELY PUT FURLOUGHS AND HEALTH BENEFITS ISSUES ON THE TABLE, WHY DID YOU VOTE FOR THE CONTRACT? THAT SEEMS TO BE POLEMICAL. NUMBER TWO, I MENTIONED $10 MILLION IN THE AFFILIATED CHARTERS ARE ON THERE. NOBODY WANTS TO ADMIT WHY IT'S ON THERE, WHO PUT IT ON THERE. AND THE UNINTENDED COUNTS. CONSEQUENCES OF ONE, TWO, OR THREE SCHOOLS BECOMING INDEPENDENT CHARTERS WILL BE OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS. IN ADDITION, IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE THE, THE LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS, AND IN SOME WAY CONSOLIDATE SCHOOLS, YOU'RE GONNA DRIVE PEOPLE WHO ENJOY THEIR SMALL SCHOOLS, THE GOOD TEST RESULTS IN THEIR SMALL SCHOOLS TO OTHER PLACES THAT ARE SMALL SCHOOLS. AS A FORMER SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER OF 12 YEARS, I SAW THIS HAPPENING. THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT TO CLOSE SMALL SCHOOLS ONCE UPON A TIME, AND THEN SOMEBODY IN DATA JUST LOOKED UP THE TEST SCORES. AND THAT WAS DROPPED IN A HALF SECOND BECAUSE THE SCORES, THE ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS WERE INCREDIBLE. AND THEY CAN ALL BE REMEDIED BY GOOD MANAGEMENT, LACK OF NEGLIGENCE, AND A FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS. AND FINALLY, THE LAST ONE. WHY WOULD YOU PUT TAKE AWAY BUS PASSES FROM KIDS? $2 MILLION. YOU CAN'T FIND $2 MILLION [02:30:01] IN 40, 56 OTHER PLATES IN THIS DISTRICT. THANK APPRECIATE, THANK YOU. TAB 21. ALL RIGHT. HAVING BEEN MOVED BY BOARD PRESIDENT MOLSON AND SECONDED BY MS. EZ, THE VOTE ON TAB 21, PETITION FOR ALLIANCE, KURTZ RESLER, RICHARD MERKIN 60 12 COMPLEX. NOW WE VOTE MS. NEW BILL. YES. DR. EVAS? YES. UH, MR. MALVIN? YES. MS. REGO? YES. YES. MS. CONEZ? OH, THAT'S A YES. FROM MS. REGO. MS. CONEZ. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. UH, BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON? YES. AND STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA? YES. ALRIGHT. THE ITEM PASSES. WE'LL COME BACK TO MS. EZ FOR HER VOTE. UM, AND IF I COULD COME BACK TO BOARD MEMBERS, NEW BILL AND ORTIZ FRANKLIN FOR YOUR VOTES ON, UH, TAB 10. SO, MS. NEW BILL ON TAB 10? YES. EVEREST VALUE? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, AND MS. ORTIZ? FRANKLIN. FRANKLIN, YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO THAT WAS TAB 21. WE [23. Rep-086-26/27 Approval of the Renewal Petition for Equitas Academy 4 [PUBLIC HEARING]] NOW MOVE TO TAB 23. PETITION, APPROVAL OF RENEWAL PETITION FOR EQUITAS ACADEMY. FOUR. UM, MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO HEAR IT? MOVE? MOVE BY DR. REVA. SECOND. SECONDED BY MS. REGO. ALRIGHT, YOU HAVE A TWO MINUTE OH. ALL QUEUED UP. THERE YOU ARE. THANK YOU. PLEASE GO AHEAD. GOOD AFTERNOON. BOARD PRESIDENT, SCHON BOARD MEMBERS, AND SUPERINTENDENT CH. AGAIN, I'M DR. SOFI RODDY, CEO OF E EQUITAS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS HERE REPRESENTING THE STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND EDUCATORS OF E EQUITAS ACADEMY FOUR. EQ FOUR HAS 80% RETENTION, STUDENT RETENTION. CLOSE TO 90% OF OUR FAMILIES STRONGLY RECOMMEND EQUITAS TO A FAMILY MEMBER OR A FRIEND. EQ FOUR HAS RANKED NUMBER ONE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AMONG LOCAL SCHOOLS FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS. EQ FOUR IS A COMMUNITY SCHOOL PROVIDING WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. OUR STUDENT POPULATION REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE. WE ARE DEEPLY ROOTED IN PICO-UNION AND WE UNDERSTAND OUR STUDENTS' ASSETS AND NEEDS. THAT COMMITMENT IS REFLECTED IN THE CHARTER SCHOOL'S DIVISION, RECOMMENDATION FOR RENEWAL. NEXT SLIDE. BASED ON A HOLISTIC REVIEW OF EQ FOUR, INCLUDING PERFORMANCE ABOVE THE STATE ON THE MAJORITY OF ACADEMIC INDICATORS, OUR LOCAL RESULTS DEMONSTRATE STRONG PERFORMANCE OVER TIME. EQ FOUR RANKED NUMBER ONE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS IN 2023 IN 2024, AND REMAINED AMONG THE TOP THREE LOCAL SCHOOLS IN 2025. OUR STUDENTS OUTPERFORMED THE STATE IN ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND SCIENCE, INCLUDING ACROSS SIGNIFICANT STUDENT GROUPS. ONE PARENT SHARED THAT HER SON ONCE STRUGGLED WITH ATTENDANCE, MOTIVATION, EMOTIONS, AND BEHAVIOR. TODAY, HE'S FOCUSED, ENJOYS COMING TO SCHOOL, HAS FRIENDS, AND FEELS LIKE HE BELONGS TO THE EQ FOUR COMMUNITY. THAT IS THE EQUITAS DIFFERENCE. WE RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR YOUR VOTE TO RENEW THE CHARTER FOR EQUITAS ACADEMY. FOUR. WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONSIDERATION, AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE HAVE MS. RIE WITH A QUESTION. YES. UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION REGARDING CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM. THAT'S AN AREA OF NEED IN ALL, AT ALL THE SCHOOLS. AND I, I'M JUST WONDERING, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TO IMPROVE THAT AND WHAT ARE SOME METRICS AND TARGETS THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE USING TO MEASURE AND WHAT INVESTMENTS YOU'RE GONNA MAKE TO HELP WITH THAT? IT'S A GREAT QUESTION. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO FOR THE PAST, UH, THREE YEARS. WE HAVE SEEN DOUBLE DIGIT, UH, DECREASES IN CHRONIC AB ABSENTEEISM ACROSS ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS, SPECIFICALLY FOR EQ FOUR FOR ALL STUDENTS. UM, THREE YEARS AGO IT WAS AT 30.9%. IT, IN 2025, IT REDUCED TO 21.7%. SO ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT OUTPERFORMING THE STATE IN TERMS OF CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM, WE'RE VERY HAPPY THAT ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE IN SCHOOL EVERY SINGLE DAY. UM, I WANNA SAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ROOT CAUSES BECAUSE WE SPENT TIME REALLY LISTENING TO OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES TO UNDERSTAND WHY STUDENTS WERE MISSING SCHOOL. SO THE FIRST THING THAT CAME UP WAS, UM, REAL, REAL FEAR OF SOME OF OUR STUDENTS TO LEAVE HOME BECAUSE THEY FELT LIKE WHEN THEY WOULD COME BACK, THEIR PARENTS WOULDN'T BE THERE. AND THAT'S CONNECTED TO, UH, MASS IMMIGRATION EN ENFORCEMENTS THAT HAVE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED THE PICO UNION COMMUNITY. THE SECOND ROOT CAUSE WAS REALLY AROUND DISTANCE AND TRANSPORTATION. MANY OF OUR FAMILIES HAVE MOVED OUT OF THE LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD AND STILL WANNA REMAIN IN ATTENDING OUR SCHOOLS. AND SOMETIMES IT'S DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO [02:35:01] ACTUALLY MAKE IT TO THE SCHOOL. AND THAT'S HOW WE PROVIDE, WE CONNECT THEM WITH RE RESOURCES, SUCH AS TAP CARDS TO ENSURE THAT KIDS ARE GETTING TO OUR SCHOOLS. AND THE THIRD REASON WAS ANXIETY. JUST SOME STUDENTS ARE ANXIOUS ABOUT BEING IN SCHOOL, AND THAT'S WHEN WE PROVIDE THE SERVICES AND CONNECT THEM TO EXTERNAL RESOURCES. IN ADDITION TO THE INTERNAL RESOURCES WE HAVE AS AN ORGANIZATION, MORE SPECIFICALLY FOR EQ FOUR, UM, WE HAVE INCLUDED, UM, INTENDED INCENTIVES. WE HAVE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT MANAGERS THAT WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH FAMILIES, AND THAT'S OUR TIER TWO APPROACH. AND THEN FOR MOST INTENSIVE STUDENTS THAT WE MONITOR MORE CLOSELY, THEY GET HOME VISITS AS WELL. SO WE HAVE A MULTI-TIERED APPROACH TO ADDRESS CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM. AND OUR SCHOOL TEAMS ARE DOING AN INCREDIBLE JOB OF CONNECTING FAMILIES WITH THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED TO BE IN SCHOOL ON A DAILY BASIS. CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THESE SCHOOL TEAMS THAT YOU HAVE? AND YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT ONE OF THE, THE FEEDBACKS THAT YOU GOT FROM THE STUDENTS WAS A SENSE OF BELONGING MM-HMM . SO CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW YOU MAKE THAT HAPPEN AT YOUR SCHOOL? GREAT. FOLLOW UP QUESTION, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FA FAILED TO MENTION IS THAT IN OUR SCHOOL SPECIFICALLY EQ FOUR, WE HAVE NEW POSITIONS LIKE A CULTURE SPECIALIST AND A CULTURE COORDINATOR. THESE ARE POSITIONS THAT ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON INCREASING STUDENT BELONGING. AND WE WANNA ENSURE THAT STUDENTS THAT HAVE ANXIETY ABOUT COMING TO SCHOOL FEEL A DEEP SENSE OF BELONGING. THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE MAKING SURE THAT NO STUDENT IS EATING LUNCH ALONE. THESE ARE STUDENTS THAT THE, I'M SORRY. THESE ARE STAFF THAT ARE ENSURING THAT KIDS ARE CONNECTED TO MORE THAN ONE TRUSTED ADULT ON THAT CAMPUS. AND THOSE ARE THE ADDITIONAL IN ADVANCEMENTS, UM, MS. RIGO THAT WE HAVE MADE SPECIFIC TO, UM, INCREASING BELONGING, NOT JUST FOR OUR CHRONICALLY ABSENT STUDENTS, BUT FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS. OKAY. AND THEN JUST TO RECAP, YOUR, YOU DO HOME VISITS, RIGHT? TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS AS A TIER THREE, AND THEN YOU ARE DOING INCENTIVES TO SUPPORT STUDENTS COMING AND THEN CLASSES, RIGHT? YEAH. BUS PASSES, TAP PASSES, TAP PASSES FOR, FOR FAMILIES WHO ARE EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTIES WITH TRANSPORTING KIDS OR GETTING KIDS TO SCHOOL. OKAY. AND THOSE ARE THE, THAT'S THE PLAN THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE USING TOO. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. AND NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. WE'LL GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT ON TAB 23. THIS IS A PETITION FOR EQUITAS ACADEMY FOUR, UH, COREY JANSEN, MR. MCLEAN, WE BE WAIV OUR SPEAKERS, BUT YOU CAN CALL THEM OUT AND WE CAN WAVE THEM AS YOU GO. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. UH, NICK MARTINEZ. UH, CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ. UH, NICK MARTINEZ. OH, CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ. YES. ALL RIGHT. COME ON DOWN. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT. WHEN I BECAME A FATHER, I KNEW I WANTED MY DAUGHTERS TO EXPERIENCE SCHOOL, TO EXPERIENCE SCHOOL TO BE DIFFERENT FROM MINE. MY NAME IS CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ. I GREW UP IN THE PICO UNION COMMUNITY. ATTENDING SCHOOLS WHERE I OFTEN FELT INVISIBLE. I DIDN'T EXPERIENCE THE FEELING THAT ADULTS AROUND ME SAW THAT I WAS CAPABLE OF. SO WHEN MY DAUGHTER STARTED SCHOOL, I WANTED MORE THAN GOOD GRADES. I WANTED THEM TO FEEL SAFE, VALUED, AND KNOWN. AND I'LL BE HONEST, I HAD A CHOICE. LIKE MANY OTHER FAMILIES IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, I COULD LOOK ELSEWHERE, BUT I DIDN'T LEAVE PICO UNION BECAUSE I FELT KNOWING MY GIRLS WERE GOING TO EXPERIENCE AND RECEIVE THE EDUCATION RIGHT HERE AT EQUITAS. FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, MY DAUGHTERS HAVE GROWN FROM EQUITAS FLAGSHIP ELEMENTARY TO EQUITAS ACADEMY FOUR MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHERE THEY ARE STUDENTS TODAY. I'VE, I'VE WATCHED THEM WALK THROUGH THOSE DOORS WITH CONFIDENCE, BUILD TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH TEACHERS, AND GROWING INTO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES AND THEIR FUTURE. E EQUITAS HAS BECOME MORE THAN MY CHILDREN'S SCHOOL. IT'S BECOME OUR COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITY I WISH I GREW UP ON. THAT'S WHY I'VE CHOSEN TO GIVE BACK. I'M A PROUD SERVE. I PROUD SERVE. I'M PROUD TO SERVE IN THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL'S ADVISORY COUNCIL, THE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL. AND I'VE WORKED ALONGSIDE TEACHERS, STUDENTS, AND SECONDARY SCHOOL REDESIGN COMMITTEE TO HELP RESHAPE THE SCHOOLS OUR CHIL CHILDREN DESERVE. FOR MY DAUGHTERS AND THE E EQUITAS STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN PICO UNION, THIS IS THE COMMUNITY AND PLACE WHERE EVERY CHILD IS WELCOME AND CELEBRATED. I'M PROUD TO STAND HERE TODAY, IS LIVING PROOF THAT IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE SCHOOLS AND THE OPPORTUNITY THEY PROVIDE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, NICK MARTINEZ, NICK MAR, UH, SOPHIA ZO. UH, MEL BI, THANK YOU. ANTHONY DE LA FUENTE. HAILEY HONG, [02:40:01] UH, GEORGE TORRES. THANK YOU. UH, MARIA NAVARRO. UH, YVETTE PEREZ, Y ORA, UH, BOBBY KAKAR, UH, BRENDA MALDONADO AND DAVID KOSKI. COME ON UP. WE'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK. DON'T YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU. IT'S, IT'S GREAT TO HEAR FROM THESE FOLKS. UH, THEY WAVE A LOT, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S AVOIDING, BUT WHEN YOU PULL SOMEBODY UP, YOU GUESS YOU LEARN THINGS. OKAY? SO TAP CARDS ARE EXACTLY WHAT'S IN YOUR FISCAL STABILIZATION PLAN. YOU'RE CUTTING THEM OUT AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO THERE THEY ARE. YOU'RE ASKING THEM THEIR INSIGHTS AND ONE OF THE TOOLS THEY USE OR TAP CARDS. AND, UH, YOU'RE ALL TAPPED OUT. NUMBER TWO, UH, YOU PULL THEM OUT BECAUSE OF, UH, A, A BENCHMARK ON AB CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM. WELL HAVE YOUR, IN YOUR FISCAL STABILIZATION PLAN, YOUR GOAL IS TO MOVE FROM 93% DISTRICTWIDE TO 94% DISTRICTWIDE. WELL, PERCENTAGES CAN BE TRICKY. WHEN YOU HAVE 93% ON AVERAGE IN THE DISTRICT, THAT MEANS KIDS ARE MISSING ON AVERAGE, 16 DAYS A YEAR. 16 DAYS. THAT'S MORE THAN ONE FLU. THAT'S PROBABLY MORE THAN TWO FLUS. OKAY? AND THAT'S ON AVERAGE. AND YOUR GOAL IS TO MOVE IT DOWN TO 12. ON AVERAGE, THAT MEANS HALF THE KIDS WHO, WHO HAVE FIVE OR LESS DAYS. THAT MEANS YOU'VE GOT A WHOLE BEVY OF PEOPLE AT 20, 30 AND 40 DAYS ABSENCE. HAVE IT OUT IN PUBLIC. LET'S SEE THE NUMBERS. LET'S WORK TOGETHER. THERE'S INSIGHTS THAT THEY HAVE. AND I'M GLAD THAT MS. GREGO WAS PULLING 'EM OUT. AND ABOVE ALL HER ANSWER WAS THE CHILLING EFFECT. AND, AND SUPERINTENDENT WAS NODDING, UH, AFFIRMATIONS OF IT. HE WAS NODDING THAT ICE CAUSED GREATER ABSENTEEISM. ENROLLMENT DROP IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS IN CALIFORNIA, THERE'S A THOUSAND DISTRICTS. I GUARANTEE YOU THERE'S 40, 50 OR 60 WHO WERE HIT HARDER THAN THEY WERE. AND OUR SHARED INNER CITY URBAN, UH, CHARTERS. LET'S GO TO THE GOVERNOR. HE IS FOCUSED ON THIS. ASSUMING HE WINS, THIS IS AN ISSUE HE CARES DEEPLY ABOUT. HE COULD GIVE YOU IN THE BUDGET GROWTH THAT'S HAPPENING IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER IN THE ECONOMY IN CALIFORNIA, RELIEF FROM WHAT THE PAST PRESIDENT OR THE CURRENT PRESIDENT I'M DREAMING A LITTLE BIT, UH, IS DOING. AND YOU SHOULD HAVE A PLAN. AND I DON'T SEE A PLAN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AND IT'S NOT IN YOUR THURSDAY. OKAY. FINANCE MEETING. FRANKLIN 23, VOTE FOR PETITION FOR EQUITAS ACADEMY. MOVED BY DR. RIVAS, SECONDED BY MS. GREGO. NOW THE VOTE. MS. NEWBELL? YES. DR. RIVAS? YES. MR. MELVOIN. UH, MS. GRIEGO? YES. MS. EZ AND MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON? YES. STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA? YES. ALRIGHT. 1, 2, 3, 4 ITEM PASSES AND I'LL COME BACK FOR MR. MELVOIN AND MS. GOMEZ'S VOTE TAB 23. NOW MOVING ON TO [36. Rep-106-26/27 Approval of the Renewal Petition for Vista Horizon Global Academy [PUBLIC HEARING]] TAB 36. THIS IS PETITION FOR VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. UH, THEY'LL PULL UP THE PRESENTATION IF YOU HAVE ONE. UM, 1, 2, 4. OKAY. FOLKS ARE SHUFFLING OUT, SO MAYBE JUST HANG ON FOR A A SECOND. THIS. OKAY. I THINK WE'RE GONNA HANG ON JUST FOR A SECOND. UH, NORMALLY FOR WHEN THERE'S FEWER THAN FOUR, YOU LOSE QUORUM. THE THE LAW STATES THAT IF IT'S JUST FOR LUNCH OR A RESTROOM BREAK, WE DON'T HAVE TO STOP. BUT I FIGURE WE'LL JUST TAKE A FEW MOMENTS AND WAIT, WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO SHOW UP. UM, AND IF, IF THEY DON'T SHOW UP, UH, SHORTLY. WELL, I JUST HAVE TO BREAK VERY BRIEFLY. HOW ABOUT A STRETCH BREAK? HOW ABOUT A STRETCH BREAK? I'M GONNA DO IT. BATHROOM BREAK. OH, YEAH. IT FEELS GOOD. [02:45:45] ALL RIGHT. SO COOL. WE HAVE A QUORUM TAB, UH, 36 VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. UH, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THEN QUESTIONS AND PUBLIC AND COM COMMENT. SO, THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS DR. COLIN F***H, AND I'M THE SUPERINTENDENT OF VISTA CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS. VISTA HORIZON OPENED IN THE 20 19 20 20 SCHOOL YEAR THAT WAS IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC. DESPITE THAT VISTA HORIZON HAS INCREASED ITS ENROLLMENT EVERY YEAR SINCE ITS INCEPTION. WE'RE ALSO VERY PROUD OF VISTA HORIZON'S 97% PARENT SATISFACTION RATE. WHEN LOOKING AT OUR VERIFIED DATA IN READING OVER THIS PAST YEAR, ALL OF OUR GRADE LEVELS SIGNIFICANTLY OUTPERFORMED THE STATE'S TARGET. AND ALL GRADE LEVELS EXCEEDED 100% ANNUAL TYPICAL GROWTH. EACH OF OUR STUDENT SUBGROUPS IN READING ALSO EXCEEDED THE STATE'S TARGET AND HAD WELL OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT ANNUAL TYPICAL GROWTH IN MATH. ALL GRADE LEVELS EXCEPT ONE. AND THAT WAS JUST ONE CLASS. UM, ALSO EXCEEDED THE STATE'S TARGET. AND IN, UH, FOR THE SUBGROUPS, UH, ALL SUBGROUPS EXCEEDED THE STATE'S TARGET AND OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT ANNUAL TYPICAL GROWTH. IN ADDITION, UH, OUR PRELIMINARY, UH, ACADEMIC DATA FROM THIS PAST YEAR ALSO SHOWS VERY STRONG, UH, GROWTH IN MATHEMATICS. NOW, HOW DID WE DO THAT? WE DID THAT THROUGH CULTIVATING AND MAINTAINING AN EXTREMELY STRONG SCHOOL CULTURE. EXTRAORDINARY COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, CONSISTENT FAMILY ENGAGEMENT, DEVELOPING GLOBAL COMPETENCE. FOR EXAMPLE, MANY OF OUR FIFTH GRADERS, SOME OF WHOM ARE HERE TODAY, JUST CAME BACK FROM A TRIP TO WASHINGTON DC WHERE THEY WERE ABLE TO MEET WITH THEIR LOCAL CONG CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES. WE ALSO, UH, INTRODUCED HIGH IMPACT TUTORING AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF OUR 4.9% CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM RATE ON THE CAL ON THE 2025 CALIFORNIA DASHBOARD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AND I HUMBLY ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. AT THIS TIME, WE WILL, UH, OPEN FOR QUESTIONS, UH, RIGHT. BOARD MEMBER GRIEGO, I BELIEVE YOU HAD SOME QUESTIONS. YES. UH, YES I DO. AND I DON'T THINK IT'S, I THINK IT'S MORE FOR THE CHARTER SCHOOL DIVISION. THANK YOU. UM, SO I NOTICED THAT, UM, THIS SCHOOL IS A PROP 39 SCHOOL. IS THAT, AM I CORRECT? YEAH. SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHAT THE ENROLLMENT CAPACITY IS FOR THEIR PROP 39. DO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION? WELL, THEIR CURRENT, UM, THE CURRENT, THE LAST NORMAN ONE WE HAD WAS 1 73, AND THEIR APPROVED CHARTER CAPACITY IS 450. SO YOU'RE ASKING EXACTLY ABOUT THE PROP 39 CAPACITY? WELL, YEAH. I MEAN, 'CAUSE IF THEY'RE APPROVED FOR 400, BUT DO THEY HAVE SPACE FOR 400? DO THEY HAVE THAT KIND OF SPACE ALLOCATED AT THE SCHOOL? I GUESS THAT'S MY QUESTION. NO, THEY, SO PROP 39 IS AN ANNUAL PROCESS. AND SO THEY APPLY ANNUALLY AND WE LOOK AT THEIR IN-DISTRICT AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IN ORDER TO ALLOT SPACE. SO IT'S DONE EVERY YEAR. SO YES, THEIR CHARTER CAPACITY IS FOUR 50. UM, BUT THEY COULD POTENTIALLY, THEN THEY'LL BE OFFERED SPACE THOUGH ON AN ANNUAL BASIS BASED ON THEIR AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IN DISTRICT. OKAY. AND THEN I BELIEVE THAT THEY WERE PROPOSING A PLAN TO INCREASE ENROLLMENT, I THINK THAT WAS IN THE REPORT. AND, UM, SO IF THEY WERE TO INCREASE THEIR ENROLLMENT, HOW WOULD THAT IMPACT THE ENROLLMENT AT HOBART? I'M NOT SURE THEY, I DON'T HAVE A PLAN TO INCREASE. THEY'VE BEEN STEADILY INCREASING THEIR ENROLLMENT. UM, BUT, UH, THERE WASN'T THAT THEY'VE BEEN STEADILY INCREASING THEIR ENROLLMENT OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR. YOU CAN SEE THAT OVER THE, OVER THE COURSE OF THE TERM. BUT IT WOULD BE DETERMINED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS BASED ON THEIR IN-DISTRICT A DA. WE'D HAVE TO LOOK AT THE SPACE AVAILABLE AT HOBART AND, AND DETERMINE, AND WE WORK WITH THE REGION AND WE WORK, UM, AND LOOK AT THE, WHAT THE DATA THEY ASSESS AND DETERMINE IF THAT PARTICULAR SITE [02:50:01] HAS ENOUGH SPACE. AND WHO KNOWS. IT COULD BE A MULTI-SITE SOMETIMES IF THERE'S NOT ENOUGH SPACE AT A CHARTER SCHOOL, BUT IT'S AN ANNUAL PROCESS THAT'S DONE. AND SO IT WILL, WE'LL ASSESS IT AS OF NOVEMBER 1ST, OR THE APPLICATIONS, YOU KNOW, OR THE PROPERTY NINE IS DUE NOVEMBER 1ST FOR NEXT YEAR. SO IT'LL BE ASSESSED PER THE PROPERTY NINE PROCESS. OKAY. SO I'M WONDERING, I GUESS THIS ONE IS FOR YOU ALL. DO YOU HAVE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE, UH, A CHARTER THAT HAS UP TO 450, DO YOU HAVE A PLAN TO INCREASE ENROLLMENT UP TO FOUR 50? YES. SO THAT, THAT IS IN THE, THE BUDGETARY PLAN FOR THE NEXT CHARTER TERM? UM, WE DO BELIEVE THAT, UH, A COMBINATION OF LOOKING FOR PRIVATE FACILITIES, UM, WE ARE EXPLORING OUR, OUR OPTIONS FOR THAT. UM, INCREASED TRAN TRANSPORTATION SERVICES AS WELL AS CONTINUING, UM, THE, THE POSITIVE SCHOOL CULTURE AND, AND ACADEMIC GROWTH THAT WE'VE SEEN, UH, COULD RESULT IN THAT. OKAY. SO, UM, YEAH. AND, AND DO YOU, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THIS FAR IN YOUR PLAN, WHERE YOU PLAN TO, UH, TO GROW TO, TO WHAT AREA, WHAT COMMUNITY? IT, IT, IT'S TOO PREMATURE. ALRIGHT. TO KNOW THAT. YEAH. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON TAB 36? NO. OKAY. THEN PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, MAURICIO GONZALEZ. MAURICIO. ALL RIGHT. UH, MANELA DE JIMENEZ. UH, KATIE. KATIE BAKE, RIGHT. OKAY. GO, GO, GO. YOU HAVE TIME. IS THERE A, IS THERE A STOOL DOWN THERE OR DO YOU THINK, DO YOU THINK WE GOT IT? SOMETIMES. OKAY. BUT MAKE SURE YOU LOWER THE MIC. THAT'S YOU UP THERE ON THE BIG SCREEN. OKAY. WE SEE YOU. THANK YOU. UH, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. OH, WE GOT A LITTLE. IT'S UP TO YOU. HELLO. MY NAME IS KATIE DAN. I'VE BEEN IN AT THIS SCHOOL FOR SIX YEARS NOW. I AM FIFTH. I AM IN FIFTH GRADE WHERE THIS IS MY LAST YEAR IN VISTA HORIZON. VISTA HORIZON IS A, IS SUCH A GREAT SCHOOL, HELPING AND LETTING ME LEARN. LEARN ACADEMICALLY. THIS SCHOOL IS AMAZING AND I LOVE THIS SCHOOL. I MADE MANY FRIENDS AND LEARN, LEARN WELL, I, I LEARNED AND, AND WHEN I NEED HELP THERE, IT HELPED ME STEP BY STEP. THE SCHOOL FIELD WAS VERY WELCOMING AND NICE TO ME. IS THE BEST SCHOOL I'VE EVER BEEN TO. THEY HELPED ME, ME GO, OH, SO MUCH. THIS SCHOOL. I'LL RECOMMEND IT TO OTHER PEOPLE. THE TAS HERE ARE GREAT, LETTING ME KNOW IF, IF YOU, IF YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING DANGEROUS OR NOT. THEY'RE STRICT BY FAIR OR THE TEACHERS ARE VERY NICE. THEY HELP US, US LEARN AND HELP WHEN WE DON'T GET IT. THE FOOD ARE THE BEST PART OF IS. BUT, BUT THEY'RE STILL GREAT NOW. FIELD TRIPS. THE FIELD TRIPS, THEY, IT GAVE US, US US ARE VERY WONDERFUL PLACES LIKE THE LATEST FIELD TRIP, HAVE TO WASHINGTON, DC SIX STUDENTS, BUT, AND FOR THREE DAYS, THIS SHOWS HOW MUCH OL HORIZON WILL GO FOR THEIR STUDENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OKAY. UH, MARGARITA, SANTA MARIA, MARGARITA, UH, INGRID FLORES. ALL RIGHT. CAROLINA ESTRADA. ALL RIGHT. ANGEL AND ENRIQUE. OLIVA, UH, ENOCH PENEZ, ALLISON RAMIREZ. COME ON DOWN. TAKE YOUR TIME TO ADJUST THE MICROPHONE TO THE BEST HEIGHT FOR YOU. VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. HI, MY NAME IS ALISON RAMIREZ. I'LL BE REPRESENTING VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. I'VE BEEN IN THIS SCHOOL FOR FIVE YEARS. I WANNA TALK ABOUT OUR SCHOOL IN VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. ALL STAFF MEMBERS AND TEACHERS, THEY HELP US AND THEY'RE ALWAYS THERE FOR US. AND THEY MAKE US FEEL LIKE A FAMILY TO US. AND OUR TEACHERS PUSH US TO ALWAYS DO OUR BEST AND BRING OUT ALL OUR TALENTS. ALSO, ALL THE STAFF MEMBERS AND TEACHERS ARE SUPER RESPECTFUL. [02:55:01] I FEEL HAPPY TO BE AT THIS SCHOOL. I HAVE DEFINITELY LEARNED A LOT IN THIS SCHOOL. THIS IS MY LAST YEAR IN THIS SCHOOL. BUT I'M HAPPY THAT MY SISTER IS STILL IN THIS, IN THAT SCHOOL, BECAUSE I KNOW THIS IS THE BEST CHOICE FOR HER. FIELD TRIPS. THE FIELD TRIPS FROM VISTA HORIZON ARE SUPER FUN. THEY TAKE US TO WASHINGTON C FOR A FIELD TRIP, AND IT WAS SO FUN. THEY TOOK US TO WASHINGTON DC BECAUSE OF OUR EXCELLENT GRADES, GREAT ATTENDANCE, AND OUR GREAT WORK WE DO. THANK YOU FOR READING MY LETTER SINCERE. ALLISON RAMIREZ. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, KAREN AMAYA. WAIT. KAREN AMAYA. UH, SERGIO. LEON, UH, MARIA, UH, CHU. UH, HUGO HERNANDEZ. UH, MATTIAS MOLINA, COME ON UP. MATTIAS, WHY I LA VISTA HORIZON. HELLO, MY NAME IS MATTIAS MOLINA. I'M A FIFTH GRADER STUDENT WHO ATTENDS AT VISTA HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY FEELING OF WHY YOU NEED TO KEEP VISTA OPEN. I HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE KINDERGARTEN. WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED AT THE SCHOOL, I WAS A SHY STUDENT AND I WAS SCARED BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW ANYONE. MY TEACHER WAS VERY KIND AND SUPPORTED AND HELPED ME ALONG THE WAY. I WAS ABLE TO LEARN AND LEAVE, AND LEAVE MY FEARS ASIDE. AS THE YEARS PASS, I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED MORE IN LEARNING AND ALSO BEING A HELPFUL STUDENT AND FRIEND. I WANT OTHER STUDENTS TO HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITY AT VISTA EVERY MORNING, THE STAFF MEMBERS AND OUR PRINCIPAL GREETS OF A HIGH FIVE AND A BIG SMILE ON THEIR FACES. IF A STUDENT IS RUNNING LATE AND HAS HAD BREAKFAST, OUR PRINCIPAL OR THE STAFF MEMBERS THAT HAVE HAD BREAKFAST BEFORE ENTERING THE CLASS, BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THAT A HUNGRY STUDENT WON'T BE ABLE TO FOCUS DURING LEARNING TIME, OUR TEACHERS ARE WELL PREPARED WITH THEIR LESSONS AND MAKE TEACHING FUN SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND AND BE ABLE TO PASS OUR EXAMS. WHEN THE STATE TEST COMES, THEY PREPARE US WITH PROVIDING US WITH RESOURCES LIKE TUTORING AND ONE-ON-ONE HELP IF WE NEED IT. WHEN SOME STUDENTS ARE FEELING DOWN, THE STAFF MEMBERS ARE ALWAYS THERE TO HELP AND GIVE US SUPPORT. OUR PRINCIPAL, MR. VEZ, IS ALWAYS POSITIVE, WAS ALWAYS WITH A POSITIVE MIND, AND ALWAYS GIVING HIS BEST TO MAKE STUDENTS SPECIAL AND MAKE US FEEL SAFE. AT SCHOOL, AT VISTA, WE FELT CELEBRATE FOR SHOWING GEAR, GRIT, EMPATHY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND RESPECT. WE CELEBRATE EACH OTHER'S ACHIEVEMENTS, AND THAT'S ONE WAY OF GIVING US SUPPORT. NOT SO LONG AGO, MYSELF AND SOME OTHER STUDENTS HAD TO, HAD THE CHANCE TO GO TO WASHINGTON, DC FOR WRITING A LETTER ON HOW WE COULD HELP OUR COMMUNITY. WE HAD THE CHANCE TO READ OUR LETTERS TO THE SENATE REPRESENTATIVES THAT SHOWS THAT THEY CARE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. ON BEHALF OF MY PEERS FROM SCHOOL, AND I, PLEASE DON'T SHUT DOWN OUR LOVING SCHOOL, VISTA, HORIZON GLOBAL ACADEMY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND, AND LETTING ME READ YOU THE LETTER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OKAY. THE NEXT SPEAKER IS GUADALUPE GONZALEZ. GUADALUPE WAIVE. ALL RIGHT. UH, MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR TAB 36? MOVE MOVED BY MS. CONEZ. SECONDED BY MS. BILL. NOW THE VOTE. MS. NEW BILL? YES. DR. RIVAS . YES. MS. CGO? YES. MS. EZ? YES. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN, UH, BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON? YES. AND STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA? YES. ALRIGHT. THE ITEM PASSES. WE'LL COME BACK TO DR. RIVAS AND, UH, MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN. MR. MCLEAN, CAN I ALSO RECORD A, A AFFIRMATIVE VOTE FOR TAB 23? YES, SIR. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECORD IN THE AFFIRMATIVE? THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. AND MS. EZ? YES AND YES ON 21 AS WELL. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS TAB 36. NOW MOVING TO TAB [39. Rep-074-26/27 Approval of the Renewal Petition for Alliance Renee and Meyer Luskin Academy High [PUBLIC HEARING]] 39, UH, ALLIANCE RENEE AND MEYER LUSKIN ACADEMY, TAB 39. WE HAVE PRESENTATION COMING UP. UH, DO YOU WANNA USE THE SAME STRATEGY THAT YOU USED BEFORE? YOU'RE ALSO SIGNED UP FOR THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION? SURE. THAT'D BE GREAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. I WANNA INTRODUCE MYSELF 'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE MR. MCLEAN'S NAME I, UM, CALL MY NAME SEVERAL TIMES AND I WAS HERE BEFORE. BUT I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, JUST THE GREAT CONTRIBUTIONS THAT LUSKIN HAS BEEN PART OF THE LARGER NETWORK OF ALLIANCE SCHOOLS AND IN ITS OWN RIGHT, ONE OF THE VERY BEST SCHOOLS IN [03:00:01] THE COMMUNITY THAT IT SERVES. UM, AS YOU KNOW, IT'S PART OF THE LARGER NETWORK THAT WE GO THROUGH. BUT I WANNA HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT ABOUT LUSKIN HERE. IT SERVES A POPULATION OF 564 SCHOLARS THAT REALLY DOES REPRESENT OUR COMMUNITY. AND IT'S BEEN BUILT AROUND THIS IDEA OF HOW DO WE CREATE A COMMUNITY NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL THAT HAS THE HIGHEST STANDARDS FOR THOSE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. IT INCLUDES 99% LATINO OR AFRICAN AMERICAN BLACK, UM, SCHOLARS. IT'S 95% FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH. IT SERVES 20% MULTI-LANGUAGE LEARNERS, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE STATE AND AND L-A-U-S-D. AND IT SERVES 15% OF SCHOLARS WITH DISABILITIES. THAT REALLY REPRESENTS THE NEEDS THAT WE SEE ACROSS OUR LOS ANGELES ECOSYSTEM. AND HAVING SCHOLARS COMING BEHIND AMONG SOME OF THE MOST FURTHEST BEHIND IN OUR LARGER ALLIANCE NETWORK. THEY ARE OUTPERFORMING THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS, PROVIDING SCHOLARS WHAT THEY NEED, BEING RESPONSIVE TO THE FAMILIES THAT THEY SERVE, AND IN SOME CASES, PROVIDING, UM, OPPORTUNITIES THAT WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN PROVIDED BY THE LOCAL SCHOOLS. HAD FAMILIES CHOSEN ONE OF THE LOCAL SCHOOLS WITHIN THE RESIDENT SCHOOL STUDENT MEAN, WE'RE ALSO PROUD OF OUR 95% GRADUATION RATE THAT SUPERSEDES L-A-U-S-D AND, UM, THE STATE THAT REALLY SPEAKS TO ALL THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE TO PREPARE OUR SCHOLARS FOR A THROUGH G AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR CAL STATE OR UC. AND IT REALLY IS AN EXCEPTIONAL SCHOOL RECOGNIZED BY THE US AND NEWS RANKINGS REPORT AT THE TOP 14% AMONG 27,000 HIGH SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE. AND IDENTIFIED BY, UM, THE STANFORD CREDO REPORT AS ONE OF OUR GAP BUSTING SCHOOLS OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES WHERE OPPORTUNITIES DON'T EXIST. AND OUR PARENTS CONSISTENTLY HAVE NAMED THAT ALLIANCE. LUKIN MEYER HAS BEEN ONE OF THE SCHOOLS THAT HAS BEEN TRANSFORMATIVE IN THE EXPERIENCE OF THEIR KIDS. I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CLEARLY THIS MEANS THAT WE'RE DOING INCREDIBLE WORK AND WE KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS BEST SERVED BY LUSKIN BEING RENEWED. BUT I ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO AND THAT THIS, UM, CSD HAD IDENTIFIED BY BENCHMARKS WITHIN THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY. AND I THINK THOSE ARE FAIR AND PART OF THE, UM, PROCESS IN ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY. WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN THE 2025 YEAR WE DID HAVE A DIP IN THE DFS. IT IS STILL HIGHER THAN THE RESIDENT MEAN, SO IT MEANS THAT IT'S OUTPERFORMING NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS. BUT OF COURSE, WHEN WE SEE A DIP IN THE STANDARDS THAT ARE IN THE, UM, DFS THAT WE'RE SEEING, IT'S OF CONCERN. I'M REALLY PROUD THAT THIS YEAR WE HAVE REVERSED THAT DIP AND ARE CLOSE TO WHERE WE WERE IN THE 2024 YEAR, WHICH IS, UM, ONLY, UH, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE RESIDENT MEAN. AND WE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE DOING SIGNIFICANT WORK AROUND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS AROUND, UM, SUSPENSION. SPECIFICALLY AROUND ENSURING THAT OUR BLACK AND AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOLARS, UM, HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO STAY IN SCHOOL BECAUSE WE ARE SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSING OUR SUSPENSION RATE. UM, INCLUDING, UH, FIRST TAKING A LOOK AT OUR DATA THROUGH OUR EQUITY CHAMPS. IT'S A GROUP OF, UH, LEADERS AND TEACHERS WHO ARE MEETING ON A REGULAR BASIS TO REVIEW THE DATA AND IDENTIFY WHAT NEXT STEPS WE NEED TO TAKE. UM, THIS YEAR ALONE, WE HAVE BROUGHT IN, UH, THIRD PARTY GROUPS TO SUPPORT, UM, A GROUP OF STUDENTS, UM, WHO ARE EXPERIENCING SUSPENSION AT A HIGHER RATE. UH, WE'RE ALSO LEANING HEAVILY INTO, UH, FACILITATING MEDIATION. WE WELCOME THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT OF THE CSD AND WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE HIGH QUALITY EXPERIENCE THAT THEY'VE HAD COMPARED TO OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS. WE'RE OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS, MS? YES. THANK YOU. WELL, THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO AROUND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRACTICES. UM, MY QUESTIONS ARE MORE AROUND CURRICULUM. UM, YOU SHARED THE SLIDE THAT SHOWED HOW YOU ARE SCORING COMPARED TO OUR L-A-U-S-D SCHOOLS. AND I'M WONDERING, WHAT CURRICULUM DO YOU USE? SO, UH, AT ESKIN WE HAVE GONE THROUGH A CURRICULUM ADOPTION PROCESS AND HAVE INTRODUCED, UH, NOVEL CURRICULUM, UM, AS OUR ELA CURRICULUM, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR READING AND MATHEMATICS. UM, AND, UH, WE ARE DOING, IM FOR MATHEMATICS AND, UM, THE ADOPTION. HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT ADOPTING THE, THE CURRICULUM? WHAT ARE THE PROCESSES THAT YOU USE? ABSOLUTELY. UM, SO IT STARTED WITH A PRETTY EXTENSIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE, UM, TEACHER STUDY. SO TEACHERS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY ACROSS OUR ALLIANCE SCHOOLS TO LOOK AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CURRICULUM [03:05:01] AND THEN TEST THEM OUT IN THEIR CLASSROOMS TO SAY, HOW IS THIS WORKING FOR US? IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO ADOPT? AND THEN EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL SITE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADOPT, UM, REALLY AT THEIR OWN PACE. UM, SO THAT WE WEREN'T ADOPTING, UH, WHOLESALE IN, IN SCHOOLS THAT, UM, MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. SO DO ALL TEACHERS FROM EVERY ALLIANCE SCHOOL GET TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ADOPTION COMMITTEE AT THEIR SCHOOL SITES? THEY WERE, THEY ALL HAVE THEIR ADOPTION, UH, COMMITTEE SO THEY COULD, UM OH, I SEE. YES. AND THEY ALL GIVE INPUT TO EXACTLY THE EXACTLY THE WHOLE PIECE. ALRIGHT. AND YES, I WOULD JUST ADD ALSO, UM, THERE IS A LARGER COMMITTEE THAT IS ACROSS ALL OF THE ALLIANCE SCHOOLS. MM-HMM . AND ALL ALLIANCE SCHOOLS WERE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE ACROSS OUR 25 SCHOOLS IN THE INITIAL TEACHER STUDY. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR TWO OR THREE YEARS. AND THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM WE WERE TRYING TO SOLVE IS BEING CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE. UM, ESPECIALLY IN OUR EELA OR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, WE DID NOT SEE ENOUGH TEXTS THAT WAS REALLY REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO TEACHERS BROUGHT THAT AS A CONCERN. WE AGREED WITH THE CONCERN, AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY LED TOWARDS THE, UM, ADOPTION OF A NEW CURRICULUM OVER THE COURSE, WHICH WE'RE PLANNING OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS. SO THE NEW CURRICULUM DOES ADDRESS ANY CONCERNS AROUND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS OR, UH, STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ACCESSING THE CURRICULUM. UH, IT DOES. UM, AND SO OUR TEACHERS REALLY LEANED INTO ENSURING THAT THOSE WERE, UH, PARTICULAR ELEMENTS IN OUR, ALL OF OUR SUBGROUPS, UH, NEEDS WOULD BE MET. AND THEN DO YOU OFFER TRAINING TO TEACHERS, UH, WHO ARE YES. OKAY. UM, SO IT STARTS IN THE SUMMER AND ACTUALLY IN THE SPRING, UM, WHERE THEY JUST HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE CURRICULUM MORE BROADLY. UM, FROM THERE WE HAD SUMMER TRAININGS. THOSE WERE MORE, UH, DAY LONG TRAININGS WHERE THEY WERE REALLY GETTING FURTHER INTRODUCTION INTO THE UNIT STUDY. AND THEN WE NOW HAVE PLCS. UM, AND THOSE HAPPEN BEFORE EACH UNIT. SOCO UH, TEACHERS WHO ARE INTRODUCING THE CURRICULUM HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME TOGETHER AND BOTH, UH, UNPACK THE UNIT, TALK ABOUT WHAT'S GOING, WELL, TALK ABOUT AREAS WHERE WE MAY NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS. AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO BE INTRODUCING, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO GO TO THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS TO SEE IT IN ACTION AT THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS AS WELL. AND ARE TEACHERS PAID FOR THE SUMMER TRAINING? THEY'RE PAID FOR THE SUMMER TRAINING, YES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, AND LET'S SEE HERE. UM, OKAY. THAT'S IT FOR RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU. YES. UM, APOLOGIZE I MISSED YOUR PRESENTATION, BUT THAT'S OKAY. UM, MY CONCERN HERE IS ON THE MATH, UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, THERE IS NO BENCHMARK ON, ON MATH AND I UNDERSTAND WHY, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN CONSISTENTLY READ. SO I JUST WANT TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ON, ON YOUR PLAN, ON, ON ADDRESSING, UM, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE THREE DIGIT, UM, DFS. ABSOLUTELY. SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT WE BELIEVED DR. RIVAS THAT WE HAD TO DO WAS ENSURE THAT EVERY SINGLE SCHOLAR, EVERY SINGLE DAY HAD ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY RIGOROUS CURRICULUM. UM, AND SO THROUGH THIS CURRICULUM ADOPTION PROCESS, UH, LUSKIN ACADEMY HAS BEEN ONE OF THE SCHOOLS THAT IS IMPLEMENTING NEW CURRICULUM HERE. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO KNEW THAT WE HAD TO GET INTO INTERVENTION. AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE, UM, SCHOLARS WHO ARE SOMETIMES COMING IN BEHIND ARE GOING TO NEED ACCESS TO THE GRADE LEVEL CONTENT. AND SO WE'VE INTRODUCED BOTH TUTORING, UM, AND THEN I WOULD ALSO SAY OUR DATA DIVES. SO THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE TEAMS TO COME TOGETHER, IDENTIFY HOW OUR SCHOLARS ARE DOING, AND THEN, UM, ADJUSTING LIKE WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT. AND THAT TAKES PLACE IN PLANNING MEETINGS. TEACHERS HAVE ACCESS TO DO THOSE ALONGSIDE THEIR LEADERS. AND THEN ALSO IN GRADE LEVEL TEAM MEETINGS AND DEPARTMENT MEETINGS ON A WEEKLY BASIS. AND THE DAYDAY, HOW OFTEN DO, DO THEY, UH, TAKE PLACE? SO WE TAKE A LOOK AT OUR DASHBOARD BI-WEEKLY. UM, I WOULD SAY THAT SOMETIMES, UH, THE ASSESSMENT DATA'S NOT QUITE PERFECT 'CAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, ON A STANDARD BIWEEKLY BASIS. BUT WE ARE TAKING A LOOK AT THE DATA BIWEEKLY. MY OTHER QUESTION, AND ALSO ON SCIENCE, THE SAME THING WITH SCIENCE. UM, 2024, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE TOO HIGHS, TOO LOWS, BUT THEN IN 2025, ALL OF THE SCIENCE, UM, WENT LOWER THAN, THAN THE STATE, BUT OBVIOUSLY HIGHER THAN THE RESIDENT SCHOOLS. YEAH. SO JUST MY SAME QUESTION FOR SCIENCE. I THINK SIMILARLY, UM, WE'VE TAKEN A LOOK TO SEE IS THIS THE APPROPRIATE, UH, CURRICULUM FOR OUR SCHOLARS, AND THEN WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT? UM, SO THE DATA DIVES HAVE ALSO ILLUMINATED THAT WE HAD ROOM TO GROW. AND ALSO OUR TEACHERS SHARED WITH US, UM, THAT OUR SCIENCE CURRICULUM WASN'T NECESSARILY, UH, PROVIDING ADEQUATE OPPORTUNITIES TO PRACTICE IN THE WAY THAT THEY KNEW OUR SCHOLARS NEEDED. UM, AND SO THAT WAS SIMILARLY, SOME, SOME ADDITIONAL, [03:10:01] UM, ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING. AND IN TERMS OF, THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO THE TE YOUR TEACHERS. SO JUST, I KNOW YOU HAD MENTIONED, UM, THE RETENTION RATE. WHAT WAS, AGAIN, THE RETENTION RATE FOR LESS SKIN? SO OUR TEACHER RETENTION RATE WAS ABOUT 77 OR 77.8%. SO JUST UNDER 78%? YES. IN COMPARISON TO, SO THAT WAS TWO YEARS AGO. I'M SORRY, THIS LAST YEAR. 83 POINT 83 THIS PAST YEAR. SO, SO WHAT HAS, WHAT'S ATTRIBUTED TO THE INCREASE, AT LEAST SLIGHTLY, AND ALSO WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MAKE IT HIGHER THAN HIGHER? 18%? YES, ABSOLUTELY. UM, SO I THINK A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO US THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR TEACHERS TO GIVE US FEEDBACK AT A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS AND A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT, UM, LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION. I WOULD SAY. SO AS ONE EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A CEO IN CSAO, THAT'S MY ROLE. UM, A GROUP OF TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS WHO MEET ALONGSIDE PABLO AND I, UM, AND LUSKIN HAS TEAMMATES WHO ARE A PART OF THAT, AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT SPACE FOR THEM TO RAISE AND ELEVATE CHALLENGES THAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING AT THE SCHOOL SITE THAT WE MIGHT NOT HAVE ACCESS TO. IN ADDITION TO THAT, OUR PRINCIPAL HAS DONE A REALLY FANTASTIC JOB OF LEADING INTO THE ONE-ON-ONES, UM, UH, EVERY, IT'S EVERY QUARTER, UM, TO ENSURE THAT FOLKS WHO DON'T NECESSARILY FEEL COMFORTABLE SPEAKING UP IN A, IN A MORE GROUP SETTING. 'CAUSE THEY'RE ALSO FOCUS GROUPS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT ONE-ON-ONE AND SHARE WHAT'S GOING WELL, WHAT ARE CONTINUED AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY. AND THEN I THINK ALSO, UH, ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AROUND WHERE THE STRUGGLES WERE THE MOST. AND SO TEACHERS NAMED WE'RE HAVING SOME STRUGGLES WITH BEHAVIORS IN OUR SCHOOL. AND SO REALLY LEANING INTO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AROUND, UH, DEESCALATION, UM, WE BROUGHT ON A SECOND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST, BRINGING IN ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO THE SCHOOL HAS JUST ALSO BEEN, UM, A WAY THAT WE'RE JUST LISTENING AND CONTRIBUTED TO THAT INCREASE. AND I WOULD SAY IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR THE FUTURE, IT'S REALLY DOUBLING DOWN ON SOME OF THOSE EFFORTS. AND THEN IN ADDITION, UM, ADDING TO THOSE FOCUS GROUPS SO, UM, THAT LUSKIN TEACHERS TRULY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AND A VOICE AT THE SCHOOL. AND IS THAT, HOW IS THAT THE, UH, YOUR PLAN TO RETAIN THE MOST EXPERIENCED EDUCATORS, UM, IN, AT LUSKIN? ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. AND WHAT PERCENTAGE OF YOUR TEACHERS ARE, ARE IN THEIR EARLY CAREERS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. YEAH. SO OUR AVERAGE TEACHER TENURE IS ACTUALLY, UM, NINE TO 10 YEARS. AND SO I BELIEVE LESS THAN A THIRD ARE WITHIN THE EARLY YEARS OF TEACHING. SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RETAIN TWO THIRDS OF TEACHERS WHO COME YEAR IN AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR AND STAY WITHIN ALLIANCE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. OF COURSE, THAT ALSO INCLUDES ABOUT A THIRD THAT ARE WITH US NOW FOR 15 PLUS YEARS, UM, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO DO WITHIN THE LARGER, WHAT DO WE DO TO RETAIN THE HIGHEST, UM, THE HIGHEST QUALIFIED TEACHERS WHO, AND WE BOTH AGREE THAT LIKE TEACHINGS ARE CRAFT. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND, UM, I KNOW THE, THE, THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF YOUR STUDENTS HERE ARE, YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, 95%, UM, AFRICAN AMERICAN, LATINA. SO HOW ARE YOUR TEACHERS REPRESENTATIVE? LIKE WHAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF YOUR TEACHERS THAT ARE REPRESENTATIVE? 87% OF OUR EDUCATORS ACTUALLY ARE, UM, PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS PEOPLE OF COLOR. AND THEN I'D SAY OVER 50% ACTUALLY ARE PEOPLE FROM OUR OWN COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE COME BACK AND CONTINUE WITH OVER 140 ALUMNI NOW ACROSS THE, SO OUR STUDENTS HAVE COME BACK AND BECOME EDUCATORS 'CAUSE WE'VE CREATED PIPELINES SPECIFICALLY AROUND THIS. AND LAST QUESTION, UM, DO YOU CONDUCT ANY, UM, EDUCATOR SURVEYS FOR THEM TO, UM, YEAH. DEMONSTRATE TO YOU HOW SATISFIED THEY ARE THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS? YEAH, I MEAN, WE DO A LOT OF ROBUST IN DIFFERENT SORT OF SETTINGS. ONE OF COURSE IS THE FIRST WE HAVE ALL SCHOOLS HAVE SSAC, SO SCHOOL SITE ADVISORY COUNCILS WHERE THEY WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE PRINCIPAL WHO OFTEN IS ABLE TO ADDRESS MOST OF THEIR CONCERNS IN ADDRESSING THE ISSUES AT THE SCHOOL SITE. THERE ARE OTHER TEACHER LED COMMUNITY, UM, COMMITTEES ALSO AT THE SCHOOL SITE. BUT AT THE NETWORK LEVEL, WE DO A BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, A MID-YEAR, AND AN END OF THE YEAR SURVEY, UM, WHERE I READ THE MAJORITY OF THE COMMENTS AND NOW CGS READING THE MAJORITY OF THE COMMENTS TO FURTHER UNDERSTAND WHERE TEACHERS ARE AT. AND OF COURSE THERE ARE A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES THAT COULD, YOU COULD COME, YOU CAN IMAGINE ARE BEING PRESENTED. THOSE ARE TRIANGULATED WITH RETENTION RATES THAT WE DO AND AROUND EVERY SINGLE SUBGROUP AND POSSIBLE PLACE WHERE WE NEED TO LEAN IN, UM, ESPECIALLY AROUND OUR ANTI-RACIST PRO BLACK COMMITMENT. AND THEN WE ALSO ENSURE THAT, UM, THE FOCUS GROUPS THAT ARE HELD IN THE SPRING SPECIFICALLY REALLY ADDRESS LIKE, HEY, WHAT'S THE, THE TEMPERATURE CHECK OR THE CULTURE CHECK THAT'S HAPPENING AT THE SCHOOL SITES? HOW SATISFIED ARE TEACHERS AT THAT SCHOOL? UM, I THINK YOU SAW A DIP OF TWO YEARS AGO, AND THAT REFLECTS SOME OF THE THING CHALLENGES THAT WE WERE WORKING WITH THIS LAST YEAR. OUR [03:15:01] DATA IS SIGNIFICANTLY, IT'S IN, UM, TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS YOU MENTIONED. NOT ONLY ARE WE HIGHER THAN THE RESIDENT SCHOOLS, SO WE'RE THE BEST OPTION, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH THE DATA. UM, AND THE, UH, WE SEE HIGHER LEVELS OF TEACHER SATISFACTION, WE'LL GET A BETTER SENSE BECAUSE ALSO OUR PRINCIPAL SUPERVISORS, WE CALL 'EM INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERINTENDENTS, THEY HOLD MORE QUARTERLY BASIS ON OF ACTUALLY GETTING A PULSE ON WHAT'S ON THE GROUND. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT'S ALL. JUST A FOLLOW UP QUESTION. UM, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED, AND YOU SAID 95, AND I HAVE 99. IT IS, YEAH. NINE. I DIDN'T WANNA CORRECT, BUT IT IT'S LATIN A OR BLACK. IS THERE? WELL, SO THE MAJORITY OF OUR ORGANIZATION IS LATIN A UM, AT THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN SOUTH LA THEY HAVE DIFFERENT PERCENTAGES OF SCHOLARS. AND SO I BELIEVE THEIR PERCENTAGE OF, UH, BLACK SCHOLARS THERE ARE CLOSER TO 25 TO 28. I CAN GET THAT EXACT NUMBER. I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER IN FRONT OF ME. UM, BUT WE, OUR GOAL IS TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY, AND THAT'S, SO ANY FAMILY WOULD SEE THAT AS AN OPTION THAT'S THERE. GOT IT. SO ABOUT 25%. AND THEN THE ACTUAL, I KNOW YOU TOUCHED ON SOME RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. WHAT IS THE SCHOOL ACTION PLAN FOR ALTERNATIVES TO SUSPENSION FOR THOSE BLACK STUDENTS? YES. UM, SO FIRST, UM, SO THE EQUITY CHAMPS TEAM MEETS BIWEEKLY AND THEY'RE LOOKING SPECIFICALLY AT, UH, WHERE ARE THEY SEEING, UH, UH, OPPORTUNITIES IN THE DATA THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS. UM, MORE SPECIFICALLY, LAST YEAR THEY IDENTIFIED THAT THERE WAS A PARTICULAR, UH, GRADE LEVEL AND A PARTICULAR GROUP OF STUDENTS WHO WERE, UH, UH, CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUSPENSION RATE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOLARS MORE THAN OTHERS. FROM THERE THEY SAID, OKAY, WHAT PARTNERSHIPS DO WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US THAT MIGHT SUPPORT WITH THAT? AND UM, THIS YEAR WE HAVE 34 SCHOLARS BECAUSE WE IDENTIFIED A, A GROUP OF 34 SCHOLARS, UM, WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN A GIRLS' LEADERSHIP PROGRAM WITH AN OUTSIDE PARTNER, UM, TO, UH, GET AT SOME OF, SOME OF, UH, WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE SCHOOLS. IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, THE ONE-TO-ONE MEDIA, UH, FACILITATED MEDIATIONS ARE HAPPENING ALONGSIDE THE DEAN AND THE PRINCIPAL. NOW, THAT IS ALSO A NEW INTRODUCTION. UM, AND THEN ALSO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR TEAM JUST AROUND HERE IS HOW YOU MIGHT DEESCALATE, UM, SCENARIOS HERE IS HOW YOU MIGHT APPROACH, UM, SOME OF THESE, UH, SO THAT, UH, OUR SCHOLARS FEEL SEEN, WELCOMED, AND ALSO ARE EXCITED TO COME TO SCHOOL. GOT IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THAT CONCLUDES THE DISCUSSION PORTION. UM, AGAIN, I FORGOT TO GET THE MOTION IN THE SECOND FOR TAB 39. MAY I HAVE A MOVE? MOVE IT SECOND. RIGHT. MOVED BY MS. NEWVILLE, SECONDED BY DR. RIVAS. THAT CONCLUDES THE DISCUSSION PORTION. NOW WE'LL GO TO THE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION, UH, ADELLA MARGA FOR TAB 39. A OBJECTION OF WAIVE ALL SPEAKER. OKAY. SO I'LL, I'LL CALL. SO ADELLA, YOU'RE WAIVED. OKAY. UH, JASMINE BROOKS HUGHES WAIVE. OKAY. UM, AND MR. VILLA VICENZO, YOU, YOU TOOK THE TWO MINUTES ALREADY THAT YOU HAD SIGNED UP FOR. UM, AMY LOZANO. UH, HILDA HERNANDEZ. OKAY. GLORIA VRAN. YES. STEWART. THANK YOU. JANIAH BLADE, UH, LIZETTE LOBOS, UH, MAG, UH, CG PITMAN. ALL RIGHT. MARIA GUERRERO. AN ANITA A THANK YOU ANGEL LES AND DAVID TOSKI. THERE HE IS COMING UP. YOU HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU TO RENIE AND MEYER LUSKIN, UH, FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PUBLIC WORLD. UH, UCLA. YOU CAN'T GO TO UCLA WITHOUT SEEING THE LUSKIN CONFERENCE CENTER. YOU CAN'T SEE, UH, UCLA WITHOUT THE, UH, PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM. UH, HE IS A, AN INCREDIBLE FAMILY OF GIVERS, AND PARTICULARLY IN THE WORLD OF FOOD. UH, SO, AND THE ARTS. AND THAT BRINGS ME THAT, AND I HAVEN'T BROUGHT UP IN SOME OF THESE CHARTERS, WE HAVEN'T ASKED ANYTHING ABOUT HOW THEY ARE HANDLING PROP 28, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON AS WELL. AND FINALLY, CORRECT ME IF, IF I'M WRONG, AS WE LEARN FROM OUR CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, UH, STUDENTS WHO ARE IN DISTRICT AUTHORIZED CHARTER SCHOOLS CANNOT ATTEND, UH, LA UNIFIED SUMMER SCHOOLS. OR CAN THEY? THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY, AGAIN, FOR US TO SHOWCASE THE GREAT ARRAY OF SAFE AND PRODUCTIVE [03:20:01] AND INTERESTING SCHOOLS. BUT IF WE BLOCK OFF PRIVATE SCHOOL, BLOCK OFF PAROCHIAL BAR, BLOCK OFF OTHERS FROM COMING TO OUR SUMMER SCHOOL, WHILE MOST SCHOOLS RIGHT NOW ARE STARTING THEIR SUMMER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, WE WON'T GET OURSELVES AS PUBLIC, UH, DISTRICT UNTIL APRIL. AND FINALLY, THE EFFORTS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT, UM, THE AFFILIATED CHARTERS, I'VE GONE OVER THAT A FEW TIMES AND CONTINUE TO IGNORE. BUT IT'S NEGLIGENCE, IT'S ABSOLUTE NEGLIGENCE TO NOT DO ANYTHING TO INCREASE THE ENROLLMENT TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THEN MOAN THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY REVENUE IF YOU DON'T PURSUE AFFILIATED CHARTERS. IT'S NEGLIGENCE, IT'S ABSOLUTE NEGLIGENCE. UH, AND IT'S ON THIS GROUP OF EIGHT. AND FINALLY, UH, IF THERE ARE LEGAL DOCUMENTS, I I, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT AND AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT. DOCUMENT SOMETHING AS AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT AS TWO OF YOUR BOARD MEMBERS ALONG WITH YOUR GENERAL COUNSEL. AGAIN, YOU HAVE THE SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION'S OFFICE OF LEGAL, AND YOU HAVE STATE LEGISLATORS COUNSEL, BUT NEED TO GET THINGS DISTINGUISHED THROUGH YOU, BETWEEN CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS AND ATTORNEY-CLIENT. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. SO NOW THE VOTE ON TAB 39, MOVED BY MS. NEW BILL, SECONDED BY DR. EVAS, UH, THE VOTE. MS. NEW BILL? YES. DR. RIVAS? YES. MR. MEL? YES. UH, MS. GRIEGO. UH, MS. EZ? YES. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. BOARD PRESIDENT SCHROEN? YES. AND STUDENT BOARD MEMBER ABILA? YES. ALRIGHT. ITEM PASSES. WE'LL COME BACK TO MS. GREGO FOR HER VOTE. AND ON, UH, IF I COULD COLLECT, UH, A COUPLE OF VOTES ON TAB 36, I BELIEVE. UM, JUST, UH, YEAH. DR. RIVAS, HOW DO YOU VOTE ON TAB 36? VISTA HORIZON? YES. OKAY. THAT'S A YES. AND MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. THANK YOU. THAT'S A YES. RIGHT. WE'LL COME BACK TO MS. GREG OVER TAB 39. NOW WE MOVE ON TO [43. Rep-078-26/27 Approval of the Renewal Petition for Ánimo Mae Jemison Charter Middle [PUBLIC HEARING]] TAB 43. THIS IS, UH, RENEWAL PETITION FOR ANIMO ME JEMISON CHARTER MIDDLE. UH, MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND? SECOND. I'LL MOVE IT. WELL, WE'LL TAKE THE MOVE BY MS. TANYA ORTIZ. FRANKLIN, WELL YOU SAID SECOND. I HEARD A . ALRIGHT. AND A SECOND BY BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON TO MY RIGHT? YES. AND DO WE HAVE A PRESENTA? THERE WE ARE. UH, DID YOU SUBMIT PRESENTATION MATERIALS? IF SO, THEY'RE PO I DID. THEY'RE PULLING 'EM UP RIGHT NOW. OKAY. AND IF IT'S ALL RIGHT, I'M ALSO A PUBLIC SPEAKER. IF I COULD USE MY TWO MINUTES FOR FOUR. YEAH, YEAH. THANK YOU. IN, IN SERIAL FASHION. AND WHILE WE'RE WAITING, MS. GRIEGO, HOW DO YOU VOTE ON TAB 39? YES, THAT'S A YES ON TAB 39. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, PLEASE GO AHEAD. GREAT. GOOD AFTERNOON, SUPERINTENDENT CHA, BOARD PRESIDENT SCH MESON AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY. I'M DR. CHRISTINA JESUS, THE CEO OF GREEN DOT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. AND IN MY 32 YEARS AS AN EDUCATOR, I HAVE LEARNED THAT STUDENTS GROW WHEN WE HOLD THEM WITH TO HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND SURROUND THEM WITH CONSISTENT CARE. THAT IS WHAT HAS ENABLED THE TRANSFORMATIVE GROWTH THAT IS HAPPENING AT ANIMO ME. JEMISON CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOOL ANIMO ME JEMISON PROUDLY SERVES A HIGHER NUMBER OF BLACK LATINA AND SOCIOECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS THAN THE DISTRICT AND THE STATE. THESE ARE STUDENTS WITH REMARKABLE TALENT AND AMBITION, AND WE MEET EVERY SCHOLAR WHERE THEY ARE AND WE DO NOT LET WHERE THEY START DECIDE WHERE THEY FINISH. ANIMO JEMISON MEETS S'S CHARTER RENEWAL CRITERIA THROUGH THE DISTRICT'S CASCADING ANALYSIS. THE ANALYSIS REQUIRES MAJORITY OF INDICATORS. AND MA JEMISON MET THREE OF FOUR INDICATORS. OUR SCHOOL MEETS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CRITERIA THROUGH VERIFIED DATA MATH THROUGH RESIDENT SCHOOL COMPARISONS AND ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DASHBOARD. WE ALSO MEET EVERY STATUTORY REQUIREMENT AS A MIDDLE PERFORMING SCHOOL ELIGIBLE FOR A FIVE YEAR RENEWAL. IN ELA, MA JEMISON EXCEEDED THE RESIDENT SCHOOL MEDIAN THE LAST THREE YEARS. AND IN MATH, WE EXCEEDED THE RESIDENT SCHOOL MEDIAN. IN TWO OF THE LAST THREE YEARS, OUR VERIFIED DATA SHOWS GROWTH YEAR AFTER YEAR. IN ELA STUDENTS ACHIEVED AT LEAST ONE YEAR OF GROWTH EVERY YEAR ON THE READING INVENTORY AND NWA MAP, NWEA MAP ASSESSMENTS. AND IN MATH CORE GROWTH PERCENTILES PLACE EVERY STUDENT GROUP IN THE MEDIAN GROWTH RANGE, INCLUDING BLACK STUDENTS AT THE 49TH PERCENTILE AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AT THE 48TH, OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS HAVE OUTPERFORMED THE STATE ON THE ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS INDICATOR FOR THREE STRAIGHT YEARS AND 24 25, 50 5% OF MA JEMISON ENGLISH LEARNERS MADE PROGRESS TOWARD PROFICIENCY COMPARED WITH 46% OF ENGLISH LEARNERS ACROSS THE STATE. THESE RESULTS COME FROM A SCHOOL BUILT AROUND THE WHOLE CHILD. SCHOLARS TAKE DUAL ENROLLMENT CLASSES THROUGH SOUTHWEST COLLEGE AND GET TARGETED SUPPORT THROUGH PROGRAMS LIKE THE JAIME ESCALANTE MATH PROGRAM. EVERY STUDENT HAS ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND ALLOW STUDENT TO ADULT RATIO MEANS EVERY SCHOLAR [03:25:01] IS SEEN AND KNOWN. AND AS A CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS GRANT RECIPIENT, WE HOST FOOD, FOOD DRIVES AND RESOURCE EVENTS FOR THE FAMILIES WE SERVE. AND WE DO NOT DO THIS WORK ALONE. OUR PARTNERS INCLUDE DREAM BIG PROJECT LEAD THE WAY, ALMED THRIVE AND CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE. 30 PARTNERS, INCLUDING THE OFFICES OF SUPERVISOR HOLLY MITCHELL AND ASSEMBLY MEMBER MIKE GIBSON, HAVE WRITTEN LETTERS OF SUPPORT FOR THIS RENEWAL. AND OUR FAMILIES ARE WITH US TOO. FOR THREE STRAIGHT YEARS, OVER 90% OF FAMILIES HAVE SAID THEY WOULD RECOMMEND MA JEMISON TO A FRIEND. OUR STUDENTS ARE OUTPERFORMING THE SCHOOLS AROUND THEM GROWING YEAR AFTER YEAR AND OUTPACING THE STATE IN THE DISTRICT'S USING THE DISTRICT'S CRITERIA AND OUT, I'M SORRY, OUTPACING THE STATE IN ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS. AND THE SCHOOL ALSO MEETS THE DISTRICT'S CRITERIA FOR RENEWAL ON BEHALF OF OUR STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND EDUCATORS. I THOUGHTFULLY ASK FOR YOUR VOTE TO APPROVE, UH, ANIMO MAE JEMISONS FIVE YEAR RENEWAL. THANK YOU. AND WE ARE PREPARED TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE BEFORE OUR SPEAKERS ADDRESS THE BOARD. MS. GREG, I THINK YOU HAD. YES, I DID. UM, ACTUALLY IT MIGHT BE MORE FOR THE CHARTER SCHOOL DIVISION. THANK YOU. UM, SO THEY, UM, ANIMAL MADE JAMESON WAS IS A MEDIUM SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL THEY CALL IT. AND UM, THEY WERE SELECT THEY MET THAT CRITERIA BECAUSE OF THE COMPARISON WITH RESIDENT SCHOOLS. IS THAT THE, OR IS THAT THE PIECE THAT GOT THEM TO YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. NO, THEY ARE A MIDDLE PERFORMING SCHOOL AS DESIGNATED BY THE STATE, AND THAT'S THEIR, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT DESIGNATED AS HIGH OR NOT DESIGNATED AS LOW, THEN THE CHARTER SCHOOL IS DESIGNATED AS MIDDLE. AND SO THAT IS THE STATE IDENTIFIED DESIGNATION. IT'S MIDDLE PERFORMING IS A SOMEWHAT OF A DEFAULT CATEGORY IF THEY'RE NOT DESIGNATED HIGH OR LOW. AND SO THAT'S HOW THEY BECAME MIDDLE PERFORMING. UM, HOW DID THE, UH, RESIDENT SCHOOL COMPARISON COME ABOUT? WHY DID WE GO TO THAT POINT? WELL, AS, UM, WAS STATED, WE DO THIS CASCADING ANALYSIS FOR ALL OF OUR RENEWALS FOR SCHOOLS IN THE MIDDLE PERFORMING CATEGORY. WE FIRST EVALUATE THEIR, UH, WE USE A THREE YEAR ANALYSIS THE MOST RECENT THREE YEARS, AND WE COMPARE THEM TO THE STATE. UM, SO WE BREAK DOWN, WE'LL TAKE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, LET'S LOOK OVERALL WE LOOK AT THE NUMERICALLY SIGNIFICANT STUDENT GROUPS AND ARE THEY PERFORMING HIGHER THAN THE STATE? IF IN THE MAJORITY OF YEARS THE MAJORITY OF NUMERICALLY SIGNIFICANT STUDENT GROUPS ARE PERFORMING HIGHER THAN THE STATE, THEN THAT'S A PLUS. LET'S SAY FOR THEM WITH THE GOAL OF GETTING OVERALL THE MAJORITY OF, OF, OF INDICATORS. SO FOR THEIR SCHOOL, UM, IN ELA IN THE FIRST ANALYSIS AS COMPARED TO THE STATE IN ELA AND MATH, THEY WERE OVERALL LOWER. UM, AND ALSO IN SCIENCE. SO WE HAVE, AND WE HAVE FOUR APPLICABLE INDICATORS, E, LA FOR THIS SCHOOL, ELA, MATH, SCIENCE AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRESS INDICATOR FOR, SO, UM, THEY DIDN'T GET THE ELA AND THE MATH AND THE SCIENCE IN THE FIRST REVIEW WHEN YOU COMPARE TO THE STATE, ALTHOUGH THEY DID GET LPI, THEY WERE HIGHER FOR ALL THREE YEARS. AND THEN, SO PER THE LAW, WE LOOK AT THE NEXT STEP OF ANALYSIS IS THE VERIFIED DATA THAT HAS BEEN PUT PUT BACK INTO LAW. AND SO BASED ON THEIR VERIFIED DATA, IT WAS CLEAR AND CONVINCING IN ELA, UM, BUT NOT IN MATH. AND THAT WAS BASED ON SOME PARTICIPATION RATES IN A, IN A REPORT. AND SO ELA, THEY GOT THE VERIFIED DATA CHECK. SO THEN WE HAVE WE FURTHER ANALYSIS AND WE GO DOWN TO MATH AND WE LOOK AT THE RESIDENT SCHOOL OF MEDIAN AND OVERALL OF TWO OF THREE YEARS, THEY'RE HIGHER THAN THE RESIDENT SCHOOL. SO THAT'S WHERE THE RESIDENT SCHOOL COMPARISON COMES IN. IT COMES INTO THE, OUR CASCADING ANALYSIS. UM, WHEN WE EVALUATE THE, WHEN WE EVALUATE THE CHARTER UHS, ONCE THEY'RE DESIGNATED BY THE STATE, UM, DASHBOARD AS MIDDLE PERFORMING, THERE'S, THAT'S IT. THAT'S, WE JUST, THEY'RE MIDDLE REGARDLESS OF THEM NOT MEETING THE RESIDENT BENCHMARK OR ANYTHING ELSE? THAT'S CORRECT. IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ON AN ANNUAL BASIS THAT THE STATE DETERMINES THE PERFORMANCE CATEGORY. BUT YES, ONCE THEY'RE IDENTIFIED BY MIDDLE BY THE STATE, THEN THEY STAY MIDDLE UNTIL THE NEXT NEXT PERFORMANCE CATEGORY OR PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES ARE RELEASED, WHICH IS SOON AFTER THE NEW DASHBOARD IS RELEASED. THEN THEY, THEY RELEASE THE NEW PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES OR UPDATED PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES. SO THEY HAD, UM, SEVERAL BENCHMARKS PRIOR TO THIS RENEWAL PROCESS. AND THOSE BENCHMARKS WERE ONLY MET TWICE. AM I CORRECT? YEAH. LET ME GET TO [03:30:01] THAT SECTION. THEY DID HAVE, UM, LEMME TIP UP AFTER PAGE, PAGE SEVEN. PAGE 10. THANK YOU. OH, THANK YOU. YES. THEY WERE HAD TWO, UH, TWO BENCHMARKS. ONE WAS, UM, IN THE AREA OF, UM, UH, THEY HAD SEVERAL IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS FOR ABOUT THREE STUDENTS, THREE STUDENT GROUPS. AND THEN THE NEXT BENCHMARK WAS IN THE AREA OF MATH FOR ABOUT THREE STUDENT GROUPS. UM, AND SO OVERALL, THEY, UM, DID NOT MEET 'EM. AND, AND I DID. WE, AS YOU'LL SEE IN OUR NEW BENCHMARKS, UM, WE'RE STREAMLINING AND TRYING TO STAY MORE FOCUSED TOO, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SCHOOL NEEDS TO WORK ON. UH, WE SEE WITH BENCHMARKS, WITH MULTIPLE VARIABLES, MULTIPLE STUDENT GROUPS, IT'S SOMETIMES HARD TO MEET. BUT OVERALL THEY DID NOT MEET THEM BECAUSE FOR THE THREE, THEY HAVE TO MEET THE WHOLE THING. THREE, ALL THREE STUDENT GROUPS, UH, HAD TO MEET, UH, THE REQUIREMENTS OF ACHIEVING GREEN AND COMPARE AND REMOVING UP A COLOR, TRYING TO GET TO GREEN, AND ALSO A COMPARISON TO THE RESIDENT SCHOOL. SO YOU'VE GOT MULTIPLE FACTORS IN THAT BENCHMARK IN ORDER TO MEET THE BENCHMARK. WE HAVE SINCE STREAMLINED THAT WE FOCUS ON ONE, ONE, UH, STUDENT GROUP, ONE AREA WITH THE GOAL OF INCREASING EVERY YEAR OR INCREASING SIGNIFICANTLY WITH THE GOAL OF ULTIMATELY ACHIEVING HIGHER THAN THE STATE. I WILL NOTE SOME OF THESE OLDER BENCHMARKS BECAUSE OF THE EXTENSIONS, UM, WE WERE DRAFTING BENCHMARKS BASED ON A DASHBOARD WE WERE STILL TRYING TO SORT OF FIGURE OUT. UM, AND NOW THAT WE HAVE THE DASHBOARD AND WE UNDERSTAND, WE HAVE STREAMLINED AND JUST LOOKED AT INCREASED, INCREASING SIGNIFICANTLY WITH THE OVERALL STATUS BEING HIGHER THAN THE STATE. SO THERE'S BEEN A BIT OF ADJUSTMENT IN OUR PRACTICES BECAUSE OF THE MORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE DASHBOARD. AND THEN GOING BACK TO THE RESIDENT SCHOOL COMPARISON, THE RESIDENT SCHOOLS THAT THEY WERE COMPARED TO ARE MARKHAM AND CHARLES DREW AND GOMS, AND I LOOKED AT, THEY'RE KIND OF FAR FROM THEIR, LIKE ONE OF THEM I THINK IS TWO MILES AWAY, THREE MILES AWAY, AND FOUR MILES AWAY. HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHAT THE RESIDENT SCHOOL IS? UM, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. WE WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF DATA ACCOUNTABILITY AND THEY PROVIDE THE RESIDENT SCHOOL DATA. AND SO THEY BASICALLY DO LOOK AT THE ADDRESSES OF THE STUDENTS WHO ARE ATTENDING THE CHARTER SCHOOL AND MAP THEM TO AN DISTRICT RESIDENT SCHOOL. AND THEN IF 10 OR MORE STUDENTS, UM, OR IS IT A 10? OKAY. I'M GETTING 10. 10 OR MORE STUDENTS, UH, ARE FROM THAT SCHOOL THAN IT'S ON OUR RESIDENT SCHOOL LIST. IT'S ONE OF OUR COMPARISON SCHOOLS. I SEE. OKAY. AND THEN, UM, THEY WERE GIVEN, UM, EIGHT BENCHMARKS FOR THIS TIME AROUND. THAT'S CORRECT. WHICH IS QUITE A FEW. RIGHT. UM, AND THEY'RE, UH, THE RENEWAL, UM, PROPOSALS FOR FIVE YEARS, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. AND IT'S FOR MIDDLE PERFORMING SCHOOLS, YOU'RE ONLY ALLOWED TO RECOMMEND FIVE YEARS OR A NON-RENEWAL. OKAY. AND SO THERE IS NO FLEXIBILITY WITH THE AMOUNT OF YEARS THAT CAN BE RECOMMENDED. GOT IT. THE STATE, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PER THE STATE. WHAT CAN WE DO THOUGH, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE GETTING THE FIVE YEAR RENEWAL TO SUPPORT THEM IN MEETING THESE BENCHMARKS? WELL, WHAT WE DO ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, AS PART OF THE OVERSIGHT VISIT, WE LOOK AT THEIR MOST RECENT DATA. WE, UH, ASK ABOUT HOW THEY'RE MEETING THOSE BENCHMARKS, WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO MEET THEM, OR IF THEY STILL NEED WORK. WE DO THAT REALLY HONESTLY AS PART OF OUR REGULAR OVERSIGHT VISIT BASED ON THEIR ACADEMIC DATA, WHETHER THEY HAVE A BENCHMARK OR NOT. IT'S JUST AN ADDITIONAL FOCUS AREA THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY, THEY SPEAK TO. AND THEN WE HAVE, WE TALK ABOUT IT AT THE MEETINGS AND THEN THEY, SO THEY PROVIDE PLANS AND WE PROVIDE UPDATES AND IT'S DOCUMENTED ON THE ANNUAL OVERSIGHT REPORT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AND HOW THEY'RE MEETING THE BENCHMARKS. OKAY. I WONDER, COULD WE GET A REPORT BACK ON HOW THEY'RE DOING, SAY, AT THE HALFWAY MARK AT TWO AND A HALF YEARS, UH, OR AFTER THE THIRD YEAR, LET'S SAY? SO THAT, UM, ONE, WE KNOW HOW THEY'RE DOING. WE KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, DOING THE OVERSIGHT AND SUPPORTING THEM BECAUSE FIVE YEARS IS A LONG TIME FOR FIVE, FOR EIGHT BENCHMARKS. ALSO, GIVEN THE, THE PAST THAT THEY ONLY MET TWO OF 'EM, AND I UNDERSTAND THE CIRCUMSTANCES WERE DIFFERENT, BUT, UM, IT IS QUITE A BIT OF TIME TO, TO, YOU KNOW, TO NOT, UH, HAVE CONVERSATIONS OR OVERSIGHT AND GUIDANCE TO BE ABLE TO MEET THOSE. I JUST ADD THAT WE STAFF CAN PROVIDE THAT REPORT MAYBE SINCE YOU MENTIONED THE TIMEFRAME, UM, IF THE BOARD APPROVES IT, MAYBE AFTER THAT THIRD DROP OF DATA TO HAVE THAT LATEST, UH, DATA, IF THAT MAKES SENSE FOR A REPORT BACK TO THE BOARD. IF NOT, WE CAN DO A TWO YEAR JOB. JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT THE TIMING. OH, YOU, YOU SAY THAT YOU NORMALLY DO A TWO [03:35:01] YEAR NO, I'M, YOU'RE SAYING BASED ON THE WINDOW THAT YOU GAVE. OKAY. DO WHAT CARLA? YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO GET A COMPARISON WITH THE, UH, SCHOOLS THAT THEY'RE COMPARING WITH TO SEE HOW THEY'RE DOING AT THE TWO YEAR MARK TOO. I WANT TO SEE HOW THEY'RE DOING. OKAY. THAT COULD BE ADDED. THANK YOU. THANKS, THAT'S ALL. OKAY, GREAT. KELLY? YES, I MEAN, I THINK JUST TO NOTE, UM, I APPRECIATE, UH, BOARD MEMBER GRIEGO GOING BACK TO THE PREVIOUS BENCHMARKS, I MEAN, IT IS FAIRLY SIMILAR TO THE BENCHMARKS THEY HAVE NOW. I MEAN, THEY, THE WAY THAT YOU DESCRIBED IT, MS. WILMOT IS LIKE, YOU'VE KIND OF BROKEN IT UP INTO SEPARATE BENCHMARKS, WHEREAS IN THE PAST IT WAS GROUPED, I WOULD SAY, LIKE THEMATICALLY BASED ON ELA OR MATH, AND THEN THE SUBGROUPS WERE NOTED, SO IT WAS KIND OF LIKE THEY HAD MAYBE SEVEN BEFORE AND NOW THEY HAVE EIGHT. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. AND ALSO I WOULD NOTE TOO THOUGH, UM, WE DID RELY ON, WE DID TALK ABOUT PERFORMANCE, UM, MORE COLOR BASED MM-HMM . UM, AND WE, WE KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF FLUCTUATIONS WITH COLOR BASED ON, YOU COULD DECREASE SLIGHTLY AND GO DOWN AND, AND SO, UH, WE DO WANNA LOOK AT INCREASES. SO WE, WE REFINED IT EVEN MORE TO SAY WE WANNA SEE THAT PARTICULAR STUDENT GROUP INCREASE OR INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY EVERY YEAR WITH THE GOAL OF BEING ABOVE, UM, THE STATE. AND SO, YEAH, SO THAT'S CHANGED A LITTLE BIT TOO. I JUST WANNA MAKE A NOTE OF THAT. AND, AND I THINK THAT'S BETTER BECAUSE I THINK WE WANT THE BENCHMARKS. OBVIOUSLY BENCHMARKS ARE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP, UM, PROVIDE GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENSURE THAT STUDENT PERFORMANCE IS IMPROVING, BUT WE ALSO WANT IT TO BE ACHIEVABLE. AND IF, YOU KNOW, THE EXPECTATION IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, EVERY STUDENT GROUP IS GONNA BE IN BLUE OR GREEN WHEN WE KNOW WE'RE SERVING A HIGHER NEED STUDENT POPULATION, THEN THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE MOST ACHIEVABLE, AND WE WANNA ENSURE THAT IT'S AMBITIOUS BUT ACHIEVABLE AT THE SAME TIME. SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S HELPFUL THAT WE'VE CHANGED THAT FRAMING. I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THE SCIENCE, UM, THE SCIENCE BENCHMARK, AND I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN LIKE THINKING ABOUT THE, THE, THE FACT THAT WE INCLUDE SCIENCE NOW THAT WE HAVE NOT INCLUDED IN THE PAST. I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT THE ENTIRE MEETING AND WE HAVEN'T REALLY SPOKEN ABOUT IT. UM, SO SCIENCE IS NEW THIS YEAR IN TERMS OF LIKE, IT COUNTS TOWARDS RENEWAL AND IT HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY. UM, I ALSO WONDER IF WE, LIKE, DID WE TAKE ANY PAUSE FROM THE FACT THAT THERE WERE ONLY TWO YEARS OF LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, GENERALLY MY PERSPECTIVE ON CHARTER SCHOOL RENEWAL, IT'S, IT'S MULTI-YEAR OF DATA TO BE ABLE TO MAKE AN, AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SCHOOL'S PERFORMANCE HOLISTICALLY. WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THAT IN SCIENCE IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE DO IN OTHER AREAS. SO JUST WONDERING HOW WE CONSIDERED THAT. YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. UM, WELL, IT ACTUALLY BECAME PART OF THE CONSIDERATION FOR THE PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES LAST YEAR. OKAY. SO WHEN THE STATE RELEASED THEIR PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES LAST YEAR, THEY INCLUDED SCIENCE AS ONE OF THE ACADEMIC INDICATORS. AND SO LAST YEAR IT WAS, SO LAST YEAR WE WERE MONITORING IT, WE DIDN'T LOOK AT CONSIDERING BENCHMARKS. UM, BUT THIS YEAR, UM, AS IT IS AN ACADEMIC INDICATOR THAT IS PART OF WHAT, UM, INFORMS THEIR PERFORMANCE CATEGORY. UM, WE DID DETERMINE THAT WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT ASSIGNING BENCHMARKS BASED ON OUR CRITERIA. ARE WE GONNA UPDATE OUR POLICY TO INCLUDE THAT? IT'S, I THINK IN OUR POLICY, WE LOOKED AT IT AND IT'S AROUND ACADEMIC INDICATORS. AND SINCE IT'S INCLUDED NOW AS AN ACADEMIC INDICATOR, WE FELT THE BROAD LANGUAGE WOULD INCLUDE IT. GOT IT. I THINK IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO BE SPECIFIC JUST SO FOLKS HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S DIFFERENT NOW. UM, AND THEN ONE OTHER QUESTION. UM, THE, UH, FISCAL ISSUES THAT ARE RAISED IN THE REPORT, UM, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, GETTING A DEVELOPING SCORE, UM, IN THE MOST RECENT YEAR OF OVERSIGHT VISITS, UM, THERE ISN'T A BENCHMARK AROUND FISCAL ISSUES, BUT I WAS CURIOUS IF, UM, YOU MAY PERHAPS THE SCHOOL COULD SPEAK TO JUST THE CHALLENGES ON THAT FRONT AND WHAT, WHAT THE PLAN IS TO ENSURE THAT THE SCHOOL REMAINS SUSTAINABLE? YEAH, SO, UM, WE DID, UM, SO THEY'RE ENDING NET ASSETS REMAIN POSITIVE AND WE DID NOTICE THAT THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE A DETERIORATION IN THEIR FINANCIAL CONDITION, UM, WHERE THEY DID HAVE A DECLINE IN THEIR NET ASSETS FROM 2122, UM, TO CURRENT, BUT THEY DID, UH, PROVIDE A PLAN AS PART OF THEIR RENEWAL, UM, WHERE THEY'RE GONNA TAKE ACTIONS AND TO LOOK AT STAFFING ADJUSTMENTS, OPERATING EXPENSE, HOME OFFICE SUPPORT, AND DEFERRING SOME NON-ESSENTIAL EXPENSES. SO BASED ON THAT SUBMITTED PLAN, WE DETERMINED THAT A BENCHMARK WOULD NOT BE NEEDED, BUT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THROUGH OVERSIGHT AND CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN. DOES THE SCHOOL WANNA SPEAK TO THE SPECIFICS OF THE PLAN AT ALL IN, IN ANY GREATER DETAIL? UM, SO WE HAVE SHARED WITH THE DISTRICT THAT THE SCHOOL WILL BE AT THEIR, UM, AT THE RESERVE THRESHOLD BY THE END OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR. UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, UM, JUST A FEW THINGS. WE, UM, DO SERVE A HIGHER PROPORTION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, ENGLISH LEARNERS IN COMPARISON. AND SO, UM, THE [03:40:01] HOME OFFICE IS SUPPORTING PARTICULARLY AROUND MENTAL HEALTH. SO THE SCHOOL HAS A FULL-TIME SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST, A FULL-TIME COUNSELOR, AND A FULL-TIME, A PART-TIME MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST, UH, THAT ARE DEDICATED TO THE SCHOOL ALONE. THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE INVESTMENTS WE'RE MAKING IN THE SCHOOL THAT ARE REQUIRED BASED ON STUDENT NEEDS. AND SO CENTRAL OFFICES OFFERING SUPPORT SCHOOL WILL BE, UM, AT THE RESERVE THRESHOLD THROUGH THIS YEAR AND BY THE, AND, AND THROUGHOUT THE END OF THE YEAR. THAT'S HELPFUL, THANK YOU. UM, JUST BACK FOR CSD, SORRY. UM, WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS AROUND BENCHMARKS AND MAYBE SIMILAR TO THE SCIENCE QUESTION, THIS IS MORE BROADLY, UM, WHAT, OR I GUESS, HOW HAS CSD CONSIDERED MEETING OR NOT MEETING BENCHMARKS WHEN DETERMINING RENEWALS? I THINK ULTIMATELY YOU'VE NOT COME TO US SAYING A RECOMMENDATION FOR DENIAL, FOR NOT HAVING MET PREVIOUS BENCHMARKS. SO HOW DO YOU CONSIDER THEM, IF AT ALL? YEAH, IT'S PART OF THE HOLISTIC REVIEW, SO IT IS PART OF THE CONSIDERATION. UM, SO IT'S, WE LOOK AT, WE LOOK AT THEIR, HOW THEY CURRENTLY ARE DOING ACADEMICALLY, WE LOOK AT THEIR, THEIR FISCAL, WE LOOK AT THEIR OPERATIONS, THEIR OVERSIGHT SCORES. SO IT IS PART OF THE WHOLE HOLISTIC CONSIDERATION. IT'S PART OF IT. UM, BUT IT'S NOT THE NUMBER ONE DETERMINANT, IT'S JUST PART OF THE HOLISTIC REVIEW WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEWING THEIR PAST BENCHMARKS. BUT AM I CORRECT THAT WE'VE NEVER RECOMMENDED DENIAL BASED ON NOT MEETING BENCHMARKS? NOT ALONE, THAT'S NOT BEEN LOAN DETERMINATE IN ORDER TO NON-RENEW A SCHOOL. OKAY. THAT'S HELPFUL. UM, AND THEN I, I JUST APPRECIATE MS. GOONA BRINGING UP THE NEED OF THE COMMUNITY. MARKUM, GOMER, DREW, MA JEMISON ARE ALL IN A VERY HIGH NEED AREA AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL DEDICATING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO MENTAL HEALTH AND, UM, THE SUPPORT OF YOUR STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, ACADEMICALLY, SOCIAL, EMOTIONALLY, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, AS THE DISTRICT IS CONSIDERING OUR OWN, UM, LONG-TERM PLAN FOR OUR STUDENTS, THIS IS REALLY JUST MORE COMMENTARY AND LESS ABOUT THE SCHOOL. UM, WATTS AND WATTS ADJACENT SCHOOLS NEED A LOT MORE LOVE AND I WANNA APPRECIATE YOU ALL FOR DOING WHAT YOU CAN TO SERVE OUR STUDENTS AND, UM, WHERE WE CAN SHARE BEST PRACTICES. THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE ALL OF THESE SCHOOLS NEED A LOT MORE LOVE. AND SO JUST, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR, LET'S ALSO LEARN FROM EACH OTHER ABOUT HOW TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THIS COMMUNITY. THANKS. LET ME ADD ONE FINER POINT. UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT LAST COMMENT AS WELL. ONE FINER POINT TO WHAT MS. WILMOT SAID REGARDING THE, UH, BENCHMARKS IN, IN TERMS OF A DENIAL, YOU MAY, THE BOARD MAY SEE, WHILE IT MAY NOT BE THE SOLE FACTOR, IT COULD BE A FACTOR IN THE TOTAL DENIAL AMONG DIFFERENT FACTORS. SO WE HEARD YOUR QUESTION AS, AS A SOLE FACTOR, NOT NECESSARILY, BUT IT COULD BE ONE FINDING AMONG OTHERS, UH, FOR A SCHOOL THAT'S UP FOR DENIAL. AND, AND JUST TO CONFIRM, YOU ALL ARE RECOMMENDING A FIVE-YEAR APPROVAL. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT DENIAL, BUT JUST CORRECT PER THE PROCESS. YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, WE'LL GO INTO PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND THE QUESTIONS. I'M MELISSA RUSSELL. ALRIGHT, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING, MEMBERS OF OUR, I SHOULD SAY GOOD AFTERNOON, . MY NAME IS DR. MELISSA RUSSELL AND I AM THE PROUD PRINCIPAL AT ANIMO MA JEMISON CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOOL. I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF LEADING, UM, A MJ FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, AND I'VE BEEN WITH, UH, GREEN DOT FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS IN THE COMMUNITIES OF SOUTH CENTRAL WATTS AND BEYOND. AT AMO MAISON, WE BELIEVE THAT STUDENTS DESERVE AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION. OUR ACADEMIC, OUR ACADEMIC RESULTS REFLECT THAT COMMITMENT. AS A CDE DESIGNATED MIDDLE SCHOOL TRACK, AMO MA JEMISON MEETS THE CRITERIA FOR A FIVE YEAR CHARTER RENEWAL AND IT MEETS THE L-A-U-S-D RENEWAL CRITERIA ON THREE OF THE FOUR ACADEMIC INDICATORS OF THE DISTRICT'S CASCADING ANALYSIS, WHICH INCLUDES ENGLISH, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, MATH, AND ENGLISH L LEARNER PROGRESS PROGRESS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, OUR STUDENTS HAVE ACHIEVED AT LEAST ONE YEAR OF ACADEMIC GROWTH FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS. WE HAVE ALSO, AS YOU'VE HEARD, OUTPERFORM OUR RESIDENT SCHOOL MEDIAN IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS AND IN MATHEMATICS, UH, FOR TWO OF THE TWO OF THE LAST THREE YEARS. BASED ON THIS, UM, IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR STUDENTS FOR ANIMO ME JEMISON TO CONTINUE SERVING THIS COMMUNITY, TO CONTINUE OUR LONGSTANDING PARTNERSHIP. I'M ESPECIALLY PROUD OF OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS. FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS, WE HAVE EXCEEDED STATEWIDE OUTCOMES ON THE ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS INDICATOR. MOST RECENTLY, 55% OF OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS DEMONSTRATED PROGRESS COMPARED TO 46% STATEWIDE EARNING OUR SCHOOL A GREEN RATING ON THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DASHBOARD. BEYOND ACADEMICS, WE PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY TO OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH DUAL [03:45:01] ENROLLMENT WITH SOUTHWEST COLLEGE, UH, THE HAMME ESCALANTE PROGRAM, AND, UM, COMPREHENSIVE STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES. YOU SAW ON OUR SLIDE BEFORE ALL OF THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE, AND WE'RE VERY PROUD TO HAVE YOU PARTNERS WITH THEM. OUR FAMILIES RECOGNIZE THIS COMMITTEE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, I APPRECIATE, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENT. THANK YOU. UH, COURTNEY LOCKRIDGE, BOARD MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. UM, MY NAME IS COURTNEY LOCKRIDGE. I'M CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF IMPACT LA AND I'M HERE AS A PROUD COMMUNITY PARTNER OF GREEN DUCK PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WE WORK THROUGHOUT LOS ANGELES COUNTY TO ADDRESS FOOD SECURITY AND SERVE UNDERSERVED YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES. WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT, UM, SINCE 2019 FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS, AND OUR WORK WITH GREEN DOT, UH, BEGAN WITH ANIMAL MA JAMSON, ONE OF THE FIRST GREEN DOT SCHOOLS WE'VE EVER SERVED. UM, FROM THE BEGINNING WE SAW A SCHOOL COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING THE WHOLE CHILD BY SUPPORTING THE WHOLE FAMILY ANIME MAID JAMON HAS HOSTED ITS ANNUAL BOXES OF LOVE EVENT, PROVIDING FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH FOOD HYGIENE ITEMS, UM, TOYS AND OTHER ESSENTIALS. THEIR COMMUNITY SCHOOL COORDINATOR HAS BUILT STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE FAMILIES AND PERSONALLY GATHERED FOOD DONATIONS DURING THE HOLIDAYS, UH, PROVIDING KEY MOMENTS TO MAKE SURE FAMILIES HAVE WHAT THEY NEED THE MOST. THE SPIRIT OF CARE IS WHAT MAKES A COMMUNITY SCHOOL SUCCESSFUL. FAMILIES SEE IT TOO. AND FOR THREE YEARS AT LEAST, 93% OF ANIMAL, ANIMAL MADE JAMESON PARENTS HAVE RECOMMENDED THE SCHOOL. GREEN DOT CREATES SPACE FOR ORGANIZATIONS LIKE IMPACT LA TO BRING RESOURCES DIRECTLY TO SCHOOL CAMPUSES. THIS APPROACH HAS ALLOWED US TO EXPAND OUR WORK ACROSS ALL 18 GREEN DOT SCHOOLS. WE ANTICIPATE SERVING ANYWHERE BETWEEN 50 TO 150 FAMILIES AT EACH FOOD DISTRIBUTION WITH THE POTENTIAL TO REACH THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES WITH FRESH PRODUCE AND OTHER FOOD RESOURCES. AND FOR IMPACT LA THIS MODEL REMOVES BARRIERS. SCHOOLS BRING TRUSTED RESOURCES AND RELATIONSHIPS AND KNOWLEDGE TO THEIR COMMUNITIES. WHILE ORGANIZATIONS LIKE OURS BRING RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE, IMPACT LA IS PROUD TO SUPPORT GREEN DOT AND ESPECIALLY PROUD OF THE WORK HAPPENING AT ANIMAL MA JAMESON, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF NMO A JAMESON'S RENEWAL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, KEATON GIBBS, COME ON UP. WE HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. GOOD AFTERNOON. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME IS KEAN GIBBS AND I'M AN, AND I AM AN EIGHTH GRADER AT ANNIE MOME JIMON CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOOL. I GREW UP IN THE COMPTON WANTS COMMUNITY AND A MJ HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE. MY OLDER SISTER GRADUATED FROM THIS SCHOOL. MY LITTLE SISTER IS IN SIXTH GRADE, AND I HOPE MY YOUNGER BROTHER WILL ATTEND ONE DAY. ONE. WHAT I APPRECIATE MOST ABOUT A MJ IS HOW MUCH THE STAFF CARES ABOUT US. OUR PRINCIPAL AND VICE PRINCIPAL GREETS US, GREETS US EVERY MORNING, AND OUR TEACHERS ENCOURAGE US TO DO OUR BEST WHILE HOLDING US TO HIGH, HIGH EXPECTATIONS. A MJ HAS ALSO HELPED ME BECOME A LEADER. AS PRESIDENT OF THE BOYS TO MEN CLUB, I AM LEARNING HOW TO BECOME A BETTER YOUNG MAN AND A POSITIVE ROLE MODEL. BEING PART OF THIS CLUB AND OTHER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES HAS HELPED ME BUILD CONFIDENCE AND BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN MY COMMUNITY. WHEN I STARTED SIXTH GRADE, I STRUGGLED WITH MY BEHAVIOR. OVER TIME, I LEARNED THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING BETTER CHOICES AND SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE. MY GRADES HAVE IMPROVED TO BECAUSE MY TEACHERS PUSH ME TO WORK HARD AND BELIEVE IN WHAT I ACCO WHAT I CAN ACCOMPLISH. I'M PROUD OF HOW FAR I HAVE COME. AT MAY, AT MAY EMISON STUDENTS HAVE GROWN AT LEAST A FULL YEAR IN READING EVERY YEAR. IN THE FUTURE, I HOPE TO ATTEND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN AND PURSUE MY DREAM OF PLAYING PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL. I AM ALSO INTERESTED IN BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR. I KNOW THESE GOALS WILL TAKE DISCIPLINE AND HARD WORK, AND I'M BUILDING THOSE HABITS NOW AT ANYMO. MAJOR JIMON HAS HELPED ME SEE MY POTENTIAL AND BELIEVE IN MY FUTURE. I WANT THE, I WANT OTHER STUDENTS IN MY COMMUNITY TO HAVE THOSE SAME OPPORTUNITIES. THANK YOU TEACHERS AND STAFF AND SCHOOL LEADERS WHO SUPPORT AND HELP US GROW. I AM PROUD TO BE PART OF ANNIE O MA JIMON AND I HOPE MANY MORE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS SCHOOL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, SIR. UH, DESIREE ROSA. DESIREE, COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. HELLO, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. SO MY NAME IS DESIREE ROSAS, FIELD-BASED SERVICES COORDINATOR. COORDINATOR WITH [03:50:01] ROOTS TO RECOVERY. I'M PROUD TO BE HERE TODAY, NOT ONLY AS A GREEN DOT ALUM FROM THE CLASS OF 2013, BUT ALSO AS A COMMUNITY PARTNER OF GREEN DOT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. AT AN MA JAMESON, ROOTS TO RECOVERY SUPPORTS YOUTH AND FAMILIES THROUGH PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND WHOLE PERSON SERVICES THAT ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE, AND OVERALL WELLBEING. ANIMO MAI JAMESON HAS EXEMPLIFIED WHAT IT MEANS TO TRULY SUPPORT THE WHOLE CHILD. THE SCHOOL UNDERSTANDS THAT STUDENT SUCCESS IS ABOUT MORE THAN ACADEMICS. IT REQUIRES STRONG RELATIONSHIPS, TRUSTED RESOURCES, AND A COMMUNITY THAT SUPPORTS STUDENTS AND FAMILIES BEFORE CHALLENGES BECOME CRISIS. THAT IS WHY EVERY MA JAMESON STUDENT HAS ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. THE SCHOOL PARTNERS WITH SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH WORKSHOPS, PARENTING STRATEGY SESSIONS, AND SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION EDUCATION FOR FAMILIES. THESE OPPORTUNITIES GIVE FAMILIES PRACTICAL TOOLS WHILE CREATING A SAFE SPACE FOR HONEST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES YOUNG PEOPLE ARE FACING. WE ALSO SEE THE COMMITMENT IN MAY JAMESON'S COORDINATION OF SERVICES TEAM, STUDENTS, PARENTS, AND STAFF CAN REQUEST SUPPORT WHEN A STUDENT IS STRUGGLING, WHICH CONNECTS THEM TO RESOURCES EARLY AND STRENGTHENING COPING SKILLS. MAY JAMESON DOESN'T WAIT FOR A CRISIS. IT BUILDS SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT THAT PROMOTE CONNECTION, PREVENTION AND WELLNESS ALL YEAR. AS A GREEN DOT ALUM, I KNOW WHEN SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS WORK TOGETHER, STUDENTS KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE. THEY HAVE TRUSTED ADULTS, RESOURCES AND A COMMUNITY INVESTED IN THEIR SUCCESS. ROOSTER RECOVERY IS A PROUD PARTNER WITH GREEN DOT AND ESPECIALLY PROUD TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES OF ANIMO. MA JAMESON, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDER CONSIDERATION OF ANIMO MA JAMESON'S RENEWAL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. BRIAN CRUZ. BRIAN CRUZ, COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. GOOD AFTERNOON. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME IS BRIAN CRUZ AND I'M AN EIGHTH GRADE STUDENT AT A MJ JEMISON TRIER MIDDLE SCHOOL. MY FAMILY IS FROM GUATEMALA, MEXICO. I'M ONE OF SEVERAL CHILDREN. MY MOM HAS HAD SEVERAL OF MY SIBLINGS HAVE ATTENDED A MJ AND NOW MY YOUNGER SIBLINGS HERE TOO. FOR MY FAMILY, A MJ IS MORE THAN A SCHOOL. IT'S A COMMUNITY THAT HELPS STUDENTS GROW AND DISCOVER THEIR STUDENTS' STRENGTHS AND BELIEVE IN THEIR FUTURE. AT A MJ I'VE LEARNED THAT LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT SHOWING UP AND HELPING OTHERS AND GIVING BACK. WHENEVER I'M HELPING A TEACHER SET UP THEIR CLASSROOM OR BUILDING A SHOW FOR ONE OF THEM, I TAKE PRIDE IN SUPPORTING OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND TEACHERS. THEY TREAT US LIKE FAMILY. THEY INSPIRE ME TO DO THE SAME FOR OTHERS. A MJ ALSO GIVES STUDENT A VOICE. THROUGH THE STUDENT COUNCIL, STUDENT FOOD DRIVES AND SCHOOL COMMUNITIES ADVISORY PANEL, I'VE HAD OPPORTUNITIES TO LEAD AND SERVE OTHERS TO MAKE OUR SCHOOL A BETTER PLACE. WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED WITH MY, WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED, I STRUGGLED WITH MY ENGLISH. WHEN MY TEACHER SUPPORTED ME, I BECAME A STRONGER WRITER AND STUDENT. I'M ONE OF MANY ENGLISH LEARNERS AT A MJ. FOR THREE STRAIGHT YEARS, OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS HAVE MADE MORE PROGRESS THAN ANY ENGLISH, ENGLISH LEARNERS IN CALIFORNIA. MANY GEMS HAS TAUGHT ME WHERE YOU START DOESN'T MEAN HOW FAR YOU GO IN THE FUTURE. I WANT TO ATTEND MEDICAL MEDICAL SCHOOL TO BECOME A DOCTOR. I HOPE I CAN ATTEND UCLA, WHICH WOULD MAKE ME THE FIRST PERSON IN MY FAMILY TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE. I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY TEACHERS AND EVERYTHING AT A MJ HAS SUPPORTED ME, BELIEVING IN ME, GIVING ME OPPORTUNITIES, AND TO LEAD AND BIG DREAMS. PLEASE STAND WITH STUDENTS LIKE ME AND VOTE YES TO RENEW A MJ CHAR MIDDLE SCHOOL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AMANI FREEMAN WAVE. AMANI WAVE. OKAY, THANK YOU. UH, RILEY SODO RILEY, COME ON DOWN. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. GOOD AFTERNOON. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME IS RILEY SONO, DIRECTOR OF YOUTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES, AND I'M HERE TODAY REPRESENTING CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE, A PROUD COMMUNITY PARTNER OF GREEN DOT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE SUPPORTS SEVEN GREEN DOT SCHOOLS THROUGH FIVE-YEAR CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM GRANTS. AT EACH SCHOOL WE HAVE A FULL-TIME COMMUNITY SCHOOL COORDINATOR AND A PART-TIME FAMILY AMBASSADOR WORKING ALONGSIDE SCHOOL STAFF, STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS. THIS PARTNERSHIP HAS GIVEN US A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON HOW GREEN DOT SCHOOLS SERVE THEIR COMMUNITIES. WE ARE NOT SIMPLY COMING ONTO CAMPUSES TO PROVIDE A PROGRAM. WE ARE WELCOMED AS PART OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY WORKING TOGETHER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT STUDENTS AND FAMILIES NEED AND HOW WE CAN RESPOND AT ANIMO MA JEMISON. BEING A COMMUNITY SCHOOL MEANS CONNECTING FAMILIES TO RESOURCES, ELEVATING THEIR VOICES, AND REMOVING BARRIERS TO STUDENT SUCCESS. THAT WORK IS MAKING A MEASURABLE DIFFERENCE. CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM DROPPED 14 PERCENTAGE POINTS FROM 39% IN 2022 TO 2023 TO 25% IN 2024 TO 25. THROUGH ATTENDANCE SUPPORTS LIKE STRIVE FOR FIVE, INDIVIDUALIZED STUDENT CHECK AND INDIVIDUALIZED STUDENT CHECK-INS. WE'VE ALSO CONNECTED FAMILIES TO HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, FOOD, LEGAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES THROUGH FOUR RESOURCE FAIRS PROVIDED FREE ADULT ESL CLASSES AND DISTRIBUTED HOLIDAY FOOD TO 400 FAMILIES. THIS IS THE [03:55:01] POWER OF A COMMUNITY SCHOOL, BRINGING RESOURCES AND PEOPLE TOGETHER TO HELP STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THRIVE. STRONG COMMUNITY SCHOOLS ARE BUILT ON RELATIONSHIPS AND WE'VE SEEN GREEN.BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS IN WAYS THAT MAKE STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND PARTNERS FEEL THAT THEIR VOICES MATTER. CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE IS PROUD TO PARTNER WITH GREEN DOT AND PROUD OF THE WORK HAPPENING AT ANIMO. MA JEMISON, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE OUR PERSPECTIVE AND FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF ANIMO MA JEMISONS RENEWAL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. Y ZACHARIAS Y COME ON UP WHEN WATER. ONE SECOND. OKAY, SO THE SPEAKER'S GONNA SPEAK IN SPANISH, SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT SHE'S SAYING IN ENGLISH AS SHE'S SPEAKING SPANISH, WE'RE GONNA HAND OUT SOME TRANSLATION HEADSETS. I THINK THAT THERE'LL BE, BURT WILL BE RUNNING OUT HERE ANY MOMENT WITH I HEAR HIM NOW I THINK. YES. DELO DE LOPEZ. OKAY. OKAY. SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO, UH, HEAR WHAT SHE'S SAYING IN ENGLISH AS SHE'S SPEAKING IN SPANISH, PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND WE'LL GET YOU A TRANSLATION HEADSET. WE DON'T HAVE ANY. AND, UM, CAN WE GET A COUPLE UP HERE TOO? BERT, I'LL COME DOWN AND GET 'EM FROM YOU. OH, WE GOT IT. WE GOT IT. OKAY. OKAY. HI EVERYBODY. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS JESSICA DE LOPEZ. I'M A MOTHER OF A STUDENT IN SEVENTH GRADE FROM ALIMO ANIMO AND MY OLDEST CHILDREN GRADUATED FROM ANIMAL WA AND MY NIECE ALSO FROM ANIMO JAMISON BECAUSE I'VE ALWAYS BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THE EDUCATION OF MY KIDS AND FAMILY. SO THE PARTICIPATION OF MY DAUGHTER IN HER PRIOR SCHOOL WAS MINIMAL. SO WHEN I PUT HER IN THIS SCHOOL, I NOTICED THE VAST DIFFERENCE IN HER IMPROVEMENT IN HER GRADES AND SHE LOVED IT. SO AT FIRST, MY DAUGHTER DID NOT WANNA BE IN THE SCHOOL, BUT I TOLD HER, YOU'RE HERE TO LEARN AND NOT TO PLAY. MY DAUGHTER TELLS ME THAT HER TEACHERS HAVE HELPED HER VERY MUCH WITH SCIENCE, FORENSIC SCIENCE, AND SHE FEELS VERY COMFORTABLE IN THAT CLASS MAKING OR ASKING QUESTIONS THAT, THAT SHE NEVER THOUGHT SHE COULD. SO IT HAS MADE HER OPEN UP, SO TO SPEAK. SO I RECOMMEND ANIMAL MADE JAMESON BECAUSE I HAVE A ANOTHER DAUGHTER AND GRANDCHILDREN. SO AS A MOTHER, I WANT TO CONTINUE THIS PATH FOR EDUCATION AND ONTO UNIVERSITY SO THEY CAN BUILD THE FUTURE THAT THEY DREAM OF. SO THAT'S WHY I SUPPORT MMA JAMESON AND MY DAUGHTER IS LEARNING ALL HER INTERESTS AND MORE AND BELIEVING IN HERSELF. SO THANK YOU TO THE TEACHERS AND THE PERSONNEL FOR TAKING CARE OF OUR KIDS AND FOR HELPING THEM CONTINUE ON. SO PLEASE RENEW ANIME JENISON CHASE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. CHARTER. THANK YOU. UH, Y ZACHARIAS Y COME ON UP. Y MY NAME IS Y AND I AM AN EIGHTH GRADE STUDENT AT ANIMAL MAE JAMISON. I AM PROUD TO BE A STUDENT AT A MJ, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH I HAVE GROWN. MY PARENTS ARE FROM GUATEMALA AND THEY ALWAYS ENCOURAGED ME TO WORK HARD AND DO MY BEST. I ALSO HAVE TWO OLDER SIBLINGS WHO GRADUATED FROM A MJ. SO THIS SCHOOL IS A BIG PART OF MY FAMILY. WHAT MAKES A MJ SPECIAL IS THE PEOPLE. MY TEACHERS CARE ABOUT ME TAKE TIME TO HELP ME ONE-ON-ONE AND MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM LEARNING. A MJ HAS ESPECIALLY HELPED ME GROW IN MATH. IN SIXTH AND SEVENTH GRADE I WAS IN MATH FOUNDATIONS WITH THE TEACHER SUPPORT, I STRENGTHENED MY SKILLS AND MOVES OUT OF THOSE CLASSES THIS YEAR, NOW I CAN TAKE ROBOTICS AS AN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY. I AM PROUD OF HOW HARD I WORK TO REACH THIS GOAL. STUDENTS HAVE MADE JEMISON ARE GROWING IN MATH AND I IMPROVE THAT. ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT HAS HELPED THE DIFFERENCE IS CONQUER QUEENS, THE GIRLS SKATING PROGRAM. IT HAS HELPED ME BECOME MORE CONFIDENT, MAKE GREAT FRIENDS, AND DISCOVER NEW OPPORTUNITIES. MY OLDER SISTER PARTICIPATED TOO, MAKING IT SOMETHING SPECIAL. WE SHARE. A MJ HAS ALSO HELPED ME THINK ABOUT MY FUTURE. I WANT TO BECOME A DOCTOR SO I CAN HELP OTHERS AND GIVE BACK TO MY COMMUNITY. LIKE THE ONE I GREW UP IN. I HELPED TO ATTEND CAL POLY POMONA, LIKE MY OLDER BROTHER. I AM GRATEFUL TO MY FAMILY, TEACHERS, AND EVERY, UH, EVERYONE AT A MJ FOR HELPING ME BELIEVE IN MYSELF AND MY FUTURE. PLEASE VOTE YES TO RENEW ANIMAL MAE JAMISON CHARTER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AARON NASRIE. THANK YOU. UH, ELISE PRENTICE. ALL RIGHT. CHRIS TERRY, UH, [04:00:01] LEONA CHING MATTHEWS AND, UH, ANA CAMPO WAYNE. ALL RIGHT. THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR, UH, ITEM NUMBER 43. IT HAD BEEN MOVED BY MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN AND SECONDED BY BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON. UM, READY FOR THE VOTE ON ANIMO? UH, MAY JEMISON CHARTER MIDDLE, UH, MS. NEWBELL? YES. DR. RIVAS? YES. MR. MELVIN? YES. MS. GALLEGO? YES. MS. EZ? YES. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. UH, BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON? YES. AND STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA? YES. ALRIGHT. THE ITEM PASSES. ALL RIGHT. THAT BRINGS [44. 004-26/27 11 Charter Schools Public Hearing] US TO ITEM 44. UM, THIS WAS ORIGINALLY LISTED AS 13 PETITIONS TO BE HEARD, BUT TODAY IT IS 11 CHARTER PETITIONS FOR PUBLIC HEARING. UM, PLEASE MAKE THAT NOTE. AND AS FOLKS, UH, SHUFFLE OUT OF THE ROOM, I WILL READ THE REQUIRED PUBLIC, UH, HEARING STATEMENT. UH, BEFORE ACTION IS TAKEN ON THE FOLLOWING, UH, SCHOOLS, A PUBLIC HEARING MUST BE HELD. THIS CONSTITUTES A PUBLIC HEARING ON MAGNOLIA SCIENCE ACADEMY, SIX ON INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY OF NORTH AMERICA, PUC, MILAGRO CHARTER, MAGNOLIA ACADEMY SCIENCE SCIENCE ACADEMY, SEVEN PUC. UH, PUCK INSPIRE CHARTER ACADEMY, PUCK, LAKEVIEW CHARTER ACADEMY, PUCK NEVA ESPERANZA CHARTER ACADEMY, PUCK TRIUMPH CHARTER ACADEMY AND PUCK TRIUMPH CHARTER, HIGH PUCK COMMUNITY, CHARTER ELEMENTARY, PUCK, COMMUNITY CHARTER, MIDDLE AND PUCK. COMMUNITY CHARTER, EARLY COLLEGE HIGH AND NEW ACADEMY. A MAXIMUM OF 15 INDIVIDUALS WHO ADDRESS WISH TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON THIS ITEM WILL BE HEARD. THOSE WHO WISH TO SPEAK SHOULD SIGN UP ONLINE AND THAT HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE. SPEAKERS WILL BE CALLED ON BY NAME. THIS IS FOR ITEM NUMBER 44. UH, NO ACTION IS TAKEN ON ITEM 44. IT'S JUST A PUBLIC HEARING. UM, AND ALL THESE FOLKS ARE LISTED AS BEING HERE IN PERSON AND I, UH, SOME FOLKS MAY HAVE ALREADY LEFT. UH, MUSA, SSAR, MUSA, COME ON UP, SIR. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD PRESIDENT, BOARD MEMBERS AND SUPERINTENDENT. MY NAME IS MUSA SHAR, PRINCIPAL OF MAGNOLIA SCIENCE ACADEMIC SEVEN IN NORTHRIDGE. TODAY I REPRESENT 289 STUDENTS AND A SCHOOL COMMUNITY FOCUSED ON LEARNING CARE AND GROWTH. AT MSA SEVEN, WE KNOW OUR STUDENTS BY NAME, WE KNOW THEIR STRENGTHS, AND WE WORK CLOSELY WITH FAMILIES TO HELP THEM SUCCEED. OUR RESULTS SHOW CLEAR PROGRESS ON THE 2025 CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DASHBOARD, MS A SEVEN EARNED GREEN RATINGS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND MATH. ENGLISH SCORES INCREASED BY 25 POINTS AND MATH SCORES INCREASED BY 32 POINTS. OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS ALSO MADE STRONG GAINS IN BOTH SUBJECTS. THESE RESULTS REFLECT FOCUSED TEACHINGS, SMALL GROUP SUPPORT, AND A TEAM THAT USES DATA TO IMPROVE LEARNING. IN 2025, MS. A SEVEN WAS NAMED A CALIFORNIA DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL. OUR WORK GOES BEYOND TEST SCORES. STUDENTS EXPLORE SCIENCE, BUILD ROBOTS, CREATE ART, AND DEVELOP LEADERSHIP SKILLS. THROUGH OUR, UH, THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, FAMILIES HAVE ACCESS TO TUTORING, COUNSELING, AND SUPPORT WITH DAILY NEEDS. WE ALSO KNOW WHERE WE MUST IMPROVE STRONGER MATH SKILLS, ENGLISH LANGUAGE GROWTH, AND BETTER ATTENDANCE REMAIN CLEAR PRIORITIES. WE HAVE A PLAN, WE TRACK PROGRESS, AND WE HOLD OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE. BOARD MEMBERS, MSA SEVEN BRINGS A RECORD OF GROWTH, STRONG FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS, AND CLEAR PATH FORWARD. REMOVING OUR CHARTER BUILDS ON THAT PROGRESS AND STRENGTHENS PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, JOCELYN VELES, COME ON UP. WE'D LOVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. WE DID A QUICK RESTRUCTURE OF OUR SPEAKERS AND I'M YIELDING MY TIME TO JAMES CHO. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. COME ON UP MR. CHO. HE WAS ON THERE TOO. GOOD AFTERNOON. BOARD MEMBERS AND SUPERINTENDENT. HELLO, MY NAME IS JAMES CHOI. I AM THE PROUD PRINCIPAL OF MAGNOLIA SCIENCE ACADEMY, SIX TIGERS CO-LOCATED AT WILTON PLACE ELEMENTARY IN KOREATOWN. I WANT TO SHARE WHAT MAKES OUR SCHOOL SPECIAL AND WHY RENEWING OUR CHARTER MATTERS. FIRST, I WANNA SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR JOURNEY IN 2020. DURING COVID, THE AND THE UNEXPECTED NON-RENEWAL OF OUR LEASE, WE KNEW THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE AN UPHILL BATTLE. SINCE THEN, OUR SCHOOL HAS OPERATED AT THREE DIFFERENT SCHOOL SITES. [04:05:01] EACH MOVE WAS CHALLENGING, BUT WE DIDN'T GIVE UP. WE CONTINUED TO INVEST IN OUR STUDENTS, STRENGTHEN OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS, AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. AND DESPITE ALL THESE CHALLENGES, OUR STUDENTS CONTINUE TO MAKE ACADEMIC PROGRESS. THIS YEAR, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR SCHOOL'S 18 YEAR HISTORY, MAGNOLIA SCIENCE ACADEMY SIX WAS RECOGNIZED AS A CALIFORNIA DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL. IT SHOWS WHAT IS POSSIBLE WHEN STUDENTS ARE GIVEN THE RIGHT SUPPORT, HIGH EXPECTATIONS, AND A COMMUNITY THAT BELIEVE IN THEM. I, MYSELF, AS A FOUNDING TEACHER AND NOW PRINCIPAL, AM VERY PROUD OF THIS ACHIEVEMENT. BUT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IS ONLY PART OF OUR STORY. WHAT I'M MOST PROUD OF IS THAT OUR STUDENTS COME BACK, THEY COME BACK AFTER EIGHTH GRADE, THEY COME BACK AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY EVEN COME BACK AFTER COLLEGE. AND I BELIEVE THERE'S A SIMPLE REASON WHY THEY COME BACK BECAUSE THEY FELT KNOWN, VALUED, AND THEY FELT THAT THEY BELONGED AT MS A SIX. THAT'S SUCCESS. THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THE RENEWAL OF MS A SIX, THE TIGERS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME THERE. RE NO SIGN. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. I'M GONNA BE YIELDING MY TIME TO CONCEPTION RIVAS. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, BOARD PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. I AM RIVAS, THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF PUCK SCHOOLS, PROUDLY REPRESENTING ALL SEVEN SCHOOLS THAT WILL BE COMING UP FOR RENEWAL IN THIS RENEWAL CYCLE. FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS, PUCK SCHOOLS HAS BEEN DEEPLY ROOTED IN OUR COMMUNITIES WITH A VERY MUCH GROUNDED IN OUR MISSION AS WELL AS OUR SUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS. AS CEOI RECOGNIZE THE PROFOUND RESPONSIBILITY THAT WE HAVE TO OUR STUDENTS, TO OUR FAMILIES, TO OUR EMPLOYEES, OUR COMMUNITIES, AND PUBLIC TRUST. LEADERSHIP REQUIRES MORE THAN JUST CELEBRATING OURSELVES DURING SUCCESS. IT REQUIRES HONEST REFLECTION, OWNERSHIP AND DECISIVE ACTION WHEN IMPROVEMENT IS NEEDED. WE HAVE LISTENED WITH INTENTION TO THE CHARTER SCHOOLS OF VISION AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS. WE'VE, UH, REFLECTED DEEPLY ON MULTIPLE FORMS OF FEEDBACK AND DATA AND HAVE TAKEN ME MEANINGFUL ACTION TOWARD IMPROVEMENT IN FINANCE. WE TRANSITIONED TO AN INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDER. RESTRUCTURED OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS, STRENGTHENED INTERNAL FISCAL CONTROLS AND TRAININGS, AND ESTABLISHED A DISCIPLINE APPROACH TO MULTI-YEAR BUDGETING. STRONG STEWARDSHIP ALSO MEANS MAKING HARD DECISIONS. LAST YEAR, WE MADE THIS DIFFICULT YET IMPORTANT DECISION TO VOLUNTARILY CLOSE PUCK EXCEL AND PUCK EALS WITH DEEP CARE, DIGNITY, AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY WHILE HOLDING OUR TEACHERS, OUR STAFF, OUR STUDENTS, AND OUR FAMILIES CLOSELY DURING THE TRANSITION. WITH MANY REMAINING WITHIN PUCK SCHOOLS AT PUCK, OUR COMMITMENT IS NOT JUST TO OPERATE SCHOOLS, BUT TO ENSURE EVERY SCHOOL IS LED IN A POSITION TO SERVE ALL STUDENTS. AS WE SEEK RENEWAL FOR OUR SCHOOLS, BUILT ON OVER 25 YEARS OF SERVICE, AS WELL AS A LONGSTANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHARTER SCHOOLS DIVISION, WE HOPE THAT OUR SPEAKERS TODAY ALLOW YOU TO HEAR WHAT PUCK SCHOOLS STANDS FOR. THEY EACH REPRESENT THE HEART OF PUCK SCHOOLS. THEY ARE THE STORY OF PUCK. AND WITH YOUR SUPPORT, WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO SERVE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, SASHA ROBE. SASHA ROBE, COME ON UP. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. I YIELD MY TIME TO ALMA MAKI. ALRIGHT, COME ON UP ALMA. CAN I AFTERNOON BOARD MEMBERS, SUPERINTENDENT. MY NAME'S ALMA MARCUS AND I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY STANDING IN SOLIDARITY WITH ANA SCHOOLS. FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS THAT I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH THEM, I WANNA TALK NOT ONLY ABOUT THEIR VISIONARY LEADERSHIP ON NUMERACY AND ACADEMICS, BUT ALSO THE IMPORTANT ROLE THAT THEY PLAY AS COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN THE EAST SIDE AND ALSO AT A A STATEWIDE LEVEL. WE HAVE WORKED VERY CLOSELY, UH, ESPECIALLY IN MOMENTS OF CRISIS TO HELP SUPPORT AND UPLIFT FAMILIES. WE WORKED CLOSELY DURING THE ICE RAIDS WHERE AKA MECCA WAS A SAFE SPACE. WE WORKED CLOSELY AS A RESULT OF THE LINEAGE CHEMICAL FIRE, WHICH RECENTLY HAS DEVASTATED OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND THEY'VE BEEN A STEADFAST LEADER, A STEADFAST PARTNER, AND I'M ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR THEIR CAMPUS AND THEIR SCHOOL COMMUNITY, WHICH IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR LARGER REGIONAL COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, MONICA WAGNER. MONICA WAGNER. [04:10:01] GOOD AFTERNOON. BOARD MEMBERS AND SUPERINTENDENT. MY NAME IS MONICA WAGNER AND I'M THE PROUD PRINCIPAL OF PUCK ESPERANZA CHARTER ACADEMY. I'VE BEEN THERE FOR SEVEN YEARS AND I'VE ALSO BEEN IN PUCK SCHOOLS FOR THE PAST 15. EVA ESPERANZA MEANS NEW HOPE AND I WANNA SHARE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. IT LOOKS LIKE A SIXTH GRADER WHO ARRIVES SEVERAL YEARS BEHIND, UNSURE SHE BELONGS AND LEAVES THREE YEARS LATER ACHIEVING AT OR ABOVE GRADE LEVEL AS PART OF A LOVING COMMUNITY. IT LOOKS LIKE A HOME AWAY FROM HOME. WE TEACH SIBLINGS AND COUSINS OF FORMER STUDENTS BECAUSE FAMILIES BELIEVE IN OUR VISION. IT LOOKS LIKE A SANCTUARY FOR PARENTS WHERE THEY'RE WELCOMED IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE AND LEAVE OUR WORKSHOPS WITH TOOLS THEY DID NOT HAVE BEFORE. IT LOOKS LIKE A BRIDGE CONNECTING FAMILIES TO PARTNERS SUCH AS LA COUNTY LIBRARY, SAN FERNANDO, PARKS AND RECREATION, AND PUKU CULTURAL COMMUNITY SERVICES. OUR PARTNERSHIPS KEEP THAT HOPE ALIVE, THAT HOPE SHOWS IN HOW OUR STUDENTS GROW. ON THE 2025 DASHBOARD, 74% OF, EXCUSE ME, 74% OF OUR STUDENTS IMPROVED THEIR SCORE IN ENGLISH AND 67 IMPROVED IN MATH. OUR ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRESS REACHED BLUE, THE HIGHEST LEVEL, UP NEARLY 11 POINTS IN ONE YEAR. BEHIND EVERY CHILD. BEHIND EVERY NUMBER IS A CHILD. AND BEHIND EVERY CHILD IS A FAMILY WHO CHOSE US. I THINK OF OUR VALEDICTORIAN, WHO HONORED HER PARENTS FOR BREAKING CYCLES THEY DID NOT DESERVE TO INHERIT. BREAKING THOSE CYCLES IS THE WORK WE ARE PRIVILEGED TO CARRY OUT IN PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR FAMILIES. EVERY DAY. WE WELCOME THIS BOARD'S ACCOUNTABILITY AND WE KNOW WHERE WE MUST STILL GROW. WE RESPECTFULLY ASK YOU TO RENEW PUCK CHARTER ACADEMY SO THAT OUR COMMUNITY MAY CONTINUE TO FIND NEW HOPE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. GOVEA. DAVID G COME ON UP. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. UH, SUPERINTENDENT, BOARD PRESIDENT AND BOARD MEMBERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ABILITY TO SPEAK. UH, MY NAME IS DAVID GOVEA AND I'M A PROUD FOUNDING TEACHER OF PUCK TRIUMPH UH, ACADEMY. UM, I'M HERE TODAY, UH, TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCE WORKING AS A TEACHER, A VETERAN TEACHER OF 20 YEARS, UH, WITHIN THE PUCK DISTRICT. UM, I, IT HAS BEEN MY HONOR TO SERVE IN THE NORTHEAST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, UH, FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE. UH, MY FAMILY HAS MULTI-GENERATIONAL HISTORY THERE AND IT'S MY HONOR TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THERE AS A TEACHER. UM, WHEN PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ABOUT MY RELATIONSHIP WORKING WITH PUCK, UH, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THAT HAS, UM, REALLY BEEN, I THINK A KIND OF KINDRED SPIRIT, UH, SITUATION. UM, I'VE SEEN THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE NORTHEAST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. UM, AND SO WHEN I STARTED WORKING THERE, IT WAS JUST A NATURAL FIT TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT. UH, BUT WHY HAVE I STAYED SO LONG? WELL, AFTER 20 YEARS, IT'S BEEN ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE WHEN YOU HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP, YOU WANT TO STAY THERE. WHAT MAKES IT GOOD? AS A SCHOOL TEACHER, I FEEL LIKE MY VOICE IS HEARD. AS A SCHOOL TEACHER, I FEEL LIKE I'M EMPOWERED TO SAY, TO, UH, CONTRIBUTE TO UH, UH, GIVE THE IDEAS THAT I KNOW THAT MY DISTRICT LEVEL, MY, UH, UH, PRINCIPALS AND ALL MY LEVELS OF STAFF WILL HEAR MY VOICE AND WILL GIMME AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO SHARE THAT AND MAKE, UH, UH, APPROPRIATE CHANGES. UM, IT'S AN HONOR OF MINE TO CONTINUE TO SERVE IN VARIOUS LEADERSHIP CAPACITIES. UH, I CURRENTLY SERVE AS AN DEDUCTION MENTOR. UM, I HAVE SERVED AS A, UM, COLLEGE LEVEL, UM, SUPPORT FOR A NEW TEACHER AS A MASTER TEACHER. AND THROUGHOUT ALL THESE MOMENTS, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE NOTICED ABOUT THE TEACHERS THAT WORK IN THE PUCK SYSTEM IS THAT WE'RE, WE HAVE A GROWTH MINDSET. UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GROWING. UM, SO AS AN ORGANIZATION, IT IS TRULY, TRULY AN HONOR TO SEE, UM, US WORK TOGETHER TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THESE STUDENTS. UM, LASTLY, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE FREEDOM AND, AND UH, UH, SUPPORT THAT I GET FROM MY CURRICULUM AS A TEACHER. I HAVE A LOT OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM TO APPROACH HOW I WANT TO GO MY LESSONS, BUT I DO GET A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM MY ADMINISTRATION AS WELL. UM, SO WITHIN THAT, I'M GONNA ASK YOU ON, ON BEHALF OF THE TEACHERS, UM, UH, WE HAVE ROUGH FOR RENEWALS AS YOU GUYS KNOW. SO I'M GONNA ASK THAT YOU GUYS PLEASE APPROVE THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, ROGELIO TABES, COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. HONORABLE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, BOARD PRESIDENT LIO, FORMER FACULTY AT CAL STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE. I STAND HERE REPRESENTING ALLIANCE UNITED, UH, 24 YEAR OR AN 18 YEAR, I'M SORRY. MUTUAL AID NETWORK OF 80 PLUS COMMUNITY PARTNERS, INCLUDING THE TIAN TIAN BAND OF MISSION INDIANS. HISTORICAL STEWARDS OF THIS LAND URGING THE RENEWAL OF PUCK SCHOOLS, INCLUDING PUCKS, INSPIRE INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS CENTER ON THE COLLECTIVE EYE. OUR ELDERS TEACH US TO CIRCLE UP AND ADDRESS [04:15:01] CHALLENGES COLLECTIVELY. PUCK SCHOOLS UNDERSTAND THE SACRED INSTRUCTION. FOR OVER A DECADE, OUR NETWORK HAS PARTNERED WITH PUCK, BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS. THROUGH THE YEARS, WE HAVE WITNESSED THAT PUCK SCHOOLS OPERATE AS AN OPEN DOOR, THEIR CENTRAL HUBS WHERE COMMUNITIES GATHER, HEAL, AND THRIVE. WHAT MAKES PUCK TRULY UNIQUE IS THEIR WRAPAROUND APPROACH TO COMMUNITY WELLNESS. OUR PARTICIPATORY BUDGET COLLABORATION, OUR HEALING TALKS NOT ONLY SUPPORTED THEIR OWN STUDENT POPULATIONS, THEY PROVIDED STABILIZATION VITAL CARE TO FAMILIES OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL WALLS ACROSS THE ENTIRE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY AND NORTHEAST LOS ANGELES, WHERE OTHER MODELS FALL SHORT. PUCK EXCELS BY FOSTERING A DEEPLY RELATIONAL COMMUNITY, HONORING THE FAMILIES BY MEETING THEM EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE, RESPECTING THEIR LANGUAGE, TRADITIONS, AND CUSTOMS. SUBSEQUENTLY TURNING SYSTEMIC CHA CHALLENGES INTO ACADEMIC AND EMOTIONAL TRIUMPH. IN SHORT, ALL FAMILIES BENEFIT FROM HAVING THESE VALUED AND TRUSTED EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS AT HAND. ON BEHALF OF ALLIANCE UNITED AND THE THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES THAT WE REPRESENT, WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT YOU APPROVE THE RENEWAL PETITION FOR PUCK SCHOOLS IN THE LANGUAGE OF MY MOTHER AM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, TORRES. GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME ISEL TORRES AND I AM A SPECIAL EDUCATION INCLUSION SPECIALIST AT PUCK LAKEVIEW CHARTER ACADEMY. I HAVE BEEN AT PUCK LCA FOR 10 YEARS NOW AND AN EDUCATION FOR OVER 20 YEARS. I HAVE HAD THE HONOR OF WORKING WITH STUDENTS WITH MILD TO SEVERE DISABILITIES ACROSS PUCK SCHOOLS. OUR INCLUSION SPECIALISTS CONSISTENTLY COLLABORATE TO BRING BEST PRACTICES TO OUR CLASSROOMS. ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL PRACTICES I HAVE SEEN IS CO-PLANNING AND CO-TEACHING WITH OUR GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND THE EQUITY IT CREATES. OUR TEACHERS KNOW WHAT OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES NEED TO SUCCEED. AND SO OUR STUDENTS ENGAGE IN THEIR EDUCATION ALONGSIDE THEIR PEERS. WE BRING TO LIFE THEIR INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS, EMPOWERING THEM TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES AS PARTICIPANTS IN THEIR IEP MEETINGS WITH THEIR FAMILIES SO THAT THEY CAN BECOME INDEPENDENT THINKERS AND DOERS. FAMILIES RETURN TO US YEAR AFTER YEAR. AND WHEN I ASK THEM WHY THEY CHOOSE P SCHOOLS, I GET THE SAME ANSWER. OUR INCLUSION MODEL. I AM SO PROUD WHEN I AM INVITED TO MY FORMER STUDENTS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATIONS AND EVEN PROUDER WHEN THEY COME BACK TO TELL ME THEY GOT INTO COLLEGE. BECAUSE FOR MANY OF OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES THAT SEEM LIKE AN UNATTAINABLE DREAM, WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME WHY I HAVE STAYED WITH PUCK SCHOOLS FOR SO LONG, THERE'S JUST ONE SIMPLE ANSWER. FAMILY. WE ARE A FAMILY OF EDUCATORS WHO SEE THE UNIQUENESS IN EACH OF OUR STUDENTS AND WE HELP THEM GROW TO BE THE BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES. THANK YOU. AND I KINDLY ASK THAT YOU RENEW ALL OUR PUCK SCHOOLS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, CARMEN, LORA, CARMEN, LORA, COME ON UP. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. I AM BUILDING MY TIME TO JOCELYN. GOOD AFTERNOON. BOARD PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME IS JOCELYN VALEZ AND I'M THE PROUD PRINCIPAL OF PT COMMUNITY CHARTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND A PROUD PRODUCT OF THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. AS A YOUNG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT GROWING UP IN PACOIMA, MY DREAM WAS SIMPLE. I WANTED TO BECOME A TEACHER. MY GOAL WAS ALWAYS TO RETURN AND SERVE TO THE NORTHEAST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, THE COMMUNITY THAT RAISED ME AS A DAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANT PARENTS, AND NOW A MOTHER OF TWO YOUNG SCHOOLED AGED CHILDREN. I UNDERSTAND PERSONALLY THE TRUST FAMILIES PLACE IN THEIR SCHOOLS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT A STRONG PUBLIC EDUCATION CAN PROVIDE. FOR THE PAST 19 YEARS, PUCK SCHOOLS HAS BEEN MY PROFESSIONAL HOME. I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING ACROSS SEVERAL PUCK SCHOOLS, SERVING STUDENTS IN GRADES K THROUGH 12. AS A TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATOR, ONE THING I KNOW TO BE TRUE IS THAT PUCK SCHOOLS' BELIEFS. CHILDREN DESERVE BOTH RIGOR AND CARE. WE PROVIDE STRONG ACADEMICS WHILE ENSURING EVERY CHILD FEELS SEEN, VALUED, LOVED, AND SUPPORTED. THIS COMMITMENT TO THE WHOLE CHILD IS WHY I AM SO PROUD TO BE A PUCK EDUCATOR AND LEADER AT PUCK CCES. OUR RESULTS SHOW WHAT'S POSSIBLE WHEN HIGH EXPECTATIONS, STRONG INSTRUCTION, AND MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS COME TOGETHER. WE ARE PROUD TO BE A 2025 CALIFORNIA DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL RECOGNIZED AMONG ONLY 336 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STATEWIDE. BUT OUR SUCCESS IS MORE THAN JUST TEST SCORES. IT'S ABOUT ENSURING EVERY STUDENT [04:20:01] THRIVES ACADEMICALLY AND PERSONALLY. DEVELOPING AS LIFELONG LEARNERS, CRITICAL THINKERS AND AGENTS OF CHANGE WHO ARE PREPARED TO SUCCEED IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE, AND BEYOND. ESTEEM BOARD MEMBERS. OUR STUDENTS DESERVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE LEARNING AND GROWING WITH US. I'M ASKING YOU TO RENEW OUR CHARTER BECAUSE PUCK CCES AND MY SISTER SCHOOLS ARE MORE THAN JUST SCHOOLS. WE ARE A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION COMMITTED TO SERVING FAMILIES CHOOSE US BECAUSE THEY TRUST US WITH THEIR CHILDREN. AND OUR STUDENTS DESERVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE LEARNING, GROWING, AND THRIVING WITH US. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP AND CONTINUED SUPPORT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. MARTHA MORAN. MARTHA MORAN. GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD MEMBERS. I'D LIKE TO YIELD MY TIME TO MS. SASHA ROBINETTE. RIGHT. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD MEMBERS AND SUPERINTENDENT. MY NAME IS SASHA ROBINETT. I'M THE FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL OF PUCK MILAGRO IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS. EVERY PUG VOICE YOU'VE HEARD TODAY CAME FROM THE SAME BELIEF. OUR CHILDREN ARE SEEN, HEARD, AND CARED FOR. WHEN A CHILD IS HEARD, THEY FIND THEIR VOICE. WHEN THEY'RE SEEN, THEY BELIEVE IN WHAT THEY CAN DO AND WHEN THEY'RE CARED FOR, THEY TAKE THE RISK. REAL LEARNING ASKS OF THEM AND THAT'S WHY THEY ACHIEVE AND THAT'S WHY THEY ALSO COME BACK TO US. AT MILAGRO, OUR THIRD GRADE TEACHER ONCE SAT IN OUR CLASSROOMS. OUR SECOND GRADE TEACHER, SHE WAS PART OF PUCK'S FIRST GRADUATING CLASS AND NOW HER DAUGHTER ATTENDS MILAGRO. OVER THE YEARS, WE'VE BECOME A TRUSTED PART OF OUR COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE FROM THE VALLEY TO NORTHEAST LOS ANGELES. THAT TRUST IS WHY WE STAY AND WHY MANY OF US WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE AS LONG AS WE ARE NEEDED IN OUR COMMUNITIES. THIS IS A HARD MOMENT IN EDUCATION. EVERY SCHOOL IS UNDERFUNDED. ICE HAS BROUGHT FEAR INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. OUR FAMILIES ARE STRUGGLING TO MEET ENDS, MAKE ENDS MEET. IT IS A TIME FOR COLLECTIVE ENERGY FOR US TO COME TOGETHER TO UPLIFT AND SUPPORT ALL CHILDREN. TOGETHER. WE ARE HERE TO DO THAT WORK WITH YOU. PUCK SCHOOLS IS A PROMISE WE'RE PROMISED. THROUGH ACCOUNTABILITY, COMPASSION, COLLABORATION AND SUPPORT, WE TRULY ASK YOU TO ALLOW OUR LEGACY TO CONTINUE FOR MANY MORE YEARS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ASHLEY RUSSELL WILLIAMS. ASHLEY WILLIAMS. ASHLEY RUSSELL WILLIAMS. NO, UH, ZEN. COME ON UP. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. I WANNA PASS MY TIME TO MARCO AGUILAR TO MARCOS, COME ON UP. YOU'D LOVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BOARD MEMBERS SINCE 2002, I'VE SERVED HAD THE HONOR TO SERVE AS ANA OUR CO-HEAD OF SCHOOL, ALONG WITH MINNIE FERGUSON OF THE ONLY SCHOOL IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FOUNDED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE TO SERVE THE UNIQUE ACADEMIC, CULTURAL, AND LINGUISTIC NEEDS AND STRENGTHS OF AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS. OUR SCHOOL OPENED WITH THE BLESSINGS OF CHIEF YANA VERA ROCHA AND CONTINUES TO HONOR THIS LEGACY THROUGH ONGOING MEANINGFUL COLLABORATIONS WITH HER TRIBE AND OTHER NATIVE NATIONS ACROSS THE CONTINENT. TODAY WE SERVE MORE AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOL THAN THE ENTIRE L-A-U-S-D. SINCE 2012, OUR HIGH SCHOOL HAS GRADUATED A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR 12TH GRADE CLASS WITH AN AVERAGE 95% COLLEGE READINESS RATE. IN 2023, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GARINO SHOSHONE NATION AND OUR A SISTER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, IKAT, WE ESTABLISHED THE CITY OF LA'S ONLY TRIBALLY CONTROLLED REGENERATIVE ECOLOGICAL EDUCATIONAL CENTER CHIEF YANA VERO ROCHA REGENERATIVE LEARNING CENTER ON ALMOST 12 ACRES OF REPATRIATED LAND IN NORTHEAST LA THAT ALREADY SERVES AS A STATE MODEL FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL REDESIGN. TWO WEEKS AGO WE LAUNCHED THE INDIGENOUS EDUCATION FOR ALL CAMPAIGN WITH THE STATED GOAL OF REACHING EVERY INDIGENOUS STUDENT AND EVERY SCHOOL AND EVERY DISTRICT ACROSS THE COUNTY. THANKS TO OUR INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT SINCE 2019, L-A-U-S-D HAS BEGUN TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF IN ITS INDIGENOUS STUDENTS, BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH. L-A-U-S-D TEACHES NO INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE ANYWHERE, NOR DOES IT OFFER ANY A THROUGH G APPROVED INDIGENOUS EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS OF ANY KIND. WE INVITE THE L-A-U-S-D TO COLLABORATE WITH OUR NETWORK OF INDIGENOUS MESOAMERICAN AND AMERICAN INDIAN ORGANIZATIONS, OUR SCHOOL, OUR COMMUNITIES. AS WE REDESIGN K 12 EDUCATION ACROSS THE STATE, RECLAIM OUR SOVEREIGNTY AND REAFFIRM OUR SELF-DETERMINATION IN EDUCATION. IN THE COMING WEEKS, YOU'LL HEAR MUCH MORE ABOUT THE POWER OF OUR EDUCATIONAL MODEL, THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF OUR SCHOOL'S WORK OVER THE DECADES AND ABOUT THE VISION THAT WE SEEK TO IMPLEMENT OVER THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS ACROSS THE COUNTY. THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO COLLABORATE WITH US. OUR [04:25:01] ANCESTORS LEFT US LESSONS TO BE LIKE WATER, BUT ALSO TO BE LIKE JADE. OUR ELDERS TAUGHT US NOT TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN VAIN. DON'T WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO DO THE RIGHT THING. SUPPORT ANAK INSTITUTE FOR NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE OF INTERGENERATIONAL INDIGENOUS SEQ CULTURAL EDUCATION SUPPORT THE INDIGENOUS EDUCATION FOR ALL CAMPAIGN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UH, THE NEXT SPEAKER IS VERONICA ALONZO. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M YIELDING MY TIME TO CHRISTINA PAT ALI RE GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS CHRISTINA PATRICIA AND I'M HERE AS A PARENT ON BEHALF OF THE PARENTS OF ANA AND THE COMMUNITY THAT SUPPORTS OUR SCHOOL. I AM HERE TODAY TO URGE YOU TO SUPPORT A PARTNERSHIP AT A NEW PATH OF COLLABORATION WITH MECCA INSTITUTE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE OF VENTURE. GENERATIONAL INDIGENOUS CULTURAL EDUCATION. IN 2025, ANAAN MECCA'S ECOSYSTEM WAS AWARDED A GRANT BY THE CALIFORNIA COLLABORATIVE FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE SECONDARY SCHOOL REDESIGN PILOT PROGRAM MAKING US ONE OF THE 18 INNOVATIVE PILOT PROJECTS ACROSS THE STATE SUPPORTED TO REDESIGN SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION. FOR DECADES, I HAVE BEEN A WITNESS TO THE POWER OF OUR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY SCHOOL. AS A MOTHER OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN, I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A SCHOOL THAT VALUES OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR LAND, OUR NATIONAL ORIGINS, AND OUR INTERGENERATIONAL FAMILIES. IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME THAT OUR SCHOOL PREPARES OUR CHILDREN NOT ONLY FOR LIFE, BUT ALSO FOR A LIFE WELL LIVED WITH DIGNITY AT . TRADITION AND CEREMONY ACCOMPANIES SCIENCE AND LITERACY WHILE CENTERING STUDENT VOICE, TEACHER LEADERSHIP, AND THE INTEGRAL ROLE OF AMELIA EZ IN SHAPING EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES AND DECISIONS AS A PROFESSION. IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CHICANO STUDIES AT CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE AND A COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FIELD EXPERT FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS, I CAN TELL YOU THAT ANA WAKA MECCA SCHOOL DESIGN IS A MODEL TO BE FOLLOWED AND STUDIED. ANA WAKA MECCA HAS EMBODIED COMMUNITY SCHOOL'S PRINCIPLES SINCE THE INCEPTION. TODAY'S FRAMEWORKS REFLECT PRACTICES THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS DEVELOPED AND SUSTAINED FOR GENERATIONS. I URGE YOU TO NOT WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE OUR COMMUNITY ADDITIONAL WAYS. I ASK YOU TO SUPPORT, UM, THE ANA INSTITUTE FOR THE NEXT CENTER GENERATIONS SCIENCE OF INTERGENERATIONAL INDIGENOUS AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. I ASK YOU TO SUPPORT THE INDIGENOUS EDUCATION FOR ALL CAMPAIGN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AND THEN I GUESS THERE WAS A SMALL MIX UP. SARAH YIELDED TO CONCE WHO WAS ALREADY HERSELF SIGNED UP. SO SARAH, YOU CAN HAVE YOUR YOUR SPOT BACK 'CAUSE CONCE WAS ALREADY SIGNED IN TO SPEAK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME IS SARAH RENO AND I AM A PUCK ALUMNA. IN 1999, MY JOURNEY BEGAN WITH THE FIRST TENDER FAMILIES AT PUCK COMMUNITY CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOOL. I WITNESSED THE CREATION OF SOMETHING TRULY SPECIAL. IT WAS MORE THAN A SCHOOL. IT WAS A COMMUNITY THAT BELIEVED IN US AND CHALLENGED US TO SEE THE POSSIBILITIES IN OUR FUTURES THAT WE HAD NEVER IMAGINED. FOR MANY STUDENTS, INCLUDING MYSELF, IT WAS OUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN FEELING GENUINELY VALUED AND ENCOURAGED TO SUCCEED. OUR FOUNDATIONS BUILT AT PUCK SCHOOLS HELP OPEN DOORS TO HIGHER EDUCATION. MY PEERS HAVE GONE ON TO BUILD MEANINGFUL AND SUCCESSFUL CAREERS. CARING WITH THEM THE VALUES AND CONFIDENCE THAT THEY GAINED THROUGH THEIR EXPERIENCE AT PUCK. FOR ME, THE CARE AND ENCOURAGEMENT AND SENSE OF BELONGING I RECEIVED AS A STUDENT INSPIRED ME TO GIVE BACK TO THE SAME COMMUNITY THAT INVESTED SO DEEPLY IN ME. AS I BEGAN MY CAREER IN MENTAL HEALTH, I SERVED FOR DIFFERENT PUCK SCHOOLS AND I SAW THE DEDICATION TO STUDENTS THAT I EXPERIENCED WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL. THE TEACHERS STILL WORK AT HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED. ADMINISTRATION STILL PROVIDES ESSENTIAL RESOURCES LIKE MENTAL HEALTH AND STAFF STILL SHOW EMPATHY AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO ALL THE STUDENTS. MY JOURNEY CAME FULL CIRCLE WHEN I RETURNED TO PUCK COMMUNITY CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOOL AS A MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST. ON PARENT NIGHTS, I MEET OTHER PUCK ALUMNI WHO HAVE ENROLLED THEIR CHILDREN, SIBLINGS, NIECES, AND NEPHEWS BECAUSE OF THEIR EXPERIENCE AT PUCK. THAT IS WHY I BELIEVE SO STRONGLY IN THE WORK OF PUCK SCHOOLS, WE CREATE OPPORTUNITIES, FOSTER HOPE, NURTURE FUTURE GENERATIONS OF LEADERS, PROFESSIONALS, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO CAN ONE DAY RETURN TO GIVE BACK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR RENEWING PUCK SCHOOLS AND I HOPE THAT YOU GIVE THIS COMMUNITY SOMETHING TO COME BACK TO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME GOODS PUBLIC COMMENT ON THAT PUBLIC HEARING. THIS WAS TAB 44. UH, THE BOARD WILL BE TAKING ACTION ON THE CHARTER PETITIONS. UH, THESE CHARTER PETITIONS AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING. PETITIONS DENIED AT THAT SUBSEQUENT MEETING MAY BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY TO THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION OR DIRECTLY TO THE STATE FOR ACTION. THIS BRINGS US TO [46. Rep-161-26/27 Adoption of Selected Board Bylaws ] TAB 46, [04:30:04] MOVED BY BOARD PRESIDENT SCHUREN, SECONDED BY MS. NEWBELL. AND WE HAD A QUESTION FROM MS. GRIEGO. OH, SHOULD WE DO THE, WE'LL, I'M SORRY. WE'LL DO THE PUBLIC COMMENT. MY APOLOGIES. UH, FOR THIS ITEM, WE'VE GOT, UH, DAVID TOSKI FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN TO TAB 46. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THE BOARD RETREAT, ON THE BOARD RULES AND CSBA. NOT ONLY DID I SERVE ON THIS BOARD FOR 12 YEARS, BUT I SERVED ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 10 YEARS AT CSBA. UM, AND AS WELL ON THE DELEGATE ASSEMBLY, WHICH ALL OF YOU ARE ELECTED TO THE DELEGATE ASSEMBLY, WHICH MEETS TWICE A YEAR. I ALSO SERVED ON THE NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARD'S, UH, STRATEGIC STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE URBAN SCHOOL BOARDS. WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS A GOOD PROCESS, BUT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY ALWAYS FIT INNER CITY. URBAN. LARGE DISTRICTS TAKE WHAT YOU CAN, BUILD WHAT YOU CAN WITH IT. AND IN THAT, MAKE SURE THAT TODAY'S LESSON'S ABOUT INSTRUCTION TODAY IS REALLY ABOUT INSTRUCTION. IT'S NOT ABOUT CHARTERS, IT'S NOT ABOUT GOVERNANCE, IT'S NOT ABOUT POLITICS. IT'S THE INSTRUCTIONAL LEARNING FROM THE CREATIVITY OF VARIOUS CHARTERS. NUMBER TWO, THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM YOUR TRAINING IS TRANSPARENCY. YOU SHOULD BE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE. THAT'S WHAT THE LESSON WAS. SO AN EXAMPLE IS ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES. ADVANCED PLACEMENT TEST SCORES ARE NOWHERE POSTED ANYWHERE IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LINCOLN HIGH'S RESULTS AND LET'S SAY, UH, SAN PEDRO. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY COURSES ARE BEING GIVEN. THERE'S NO OVERT WAY THAT PARENTS CAN SEE THESE THINGS. SO YOU SET THE DIRECTION. YOU MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE, UH, UM, ONE WAY ZOOM MEETINGS UNDER THE BROWN ACT. YOU MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COMPLETE ORG CHART, NOT THE TOP 20 PEOPLE OF YOUR ORG CHART, BUT THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. AND ABOVE ALL, YOU CONTINUE TO BUILD UNITY OF EIGHT AND NOT MARGINALIZE ONE BOARD MEMBER WHO HAS SOME QUESTIONS OR TWO BOARD MEMBERS, BUT TO SEE IT AS A WHOLE. AS YOU BUILD HOUSING, YOU MAY MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING REVENUE OUT OF THAT, NOT JUST BUILDING A SOCIAL CAUSE. AND FINALLY, PROP THREE, WHICH I'VE EMPHASIZED, IF WE DON'T SEE ANYTHING ON PROP 98 AND THREE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS OR EFFORTS ON SPECIAL ED OR RESPONSE TO ICE, IT WOULD BE CHARACTERIZED AS NEGLIGENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE TWO, UH, REMOTE SPEAKERS CONCERNED. PARENT IS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK REMOTELY, BUT I DO NOT HAVE THAT PERSON SIGNED IN RIGHT NOW. UH, LET'S SEE. MARIBEL GONZALEZ IS ALSO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK REMOTELY. ARE YOU IN THE ROOM, MARIBEL? NO. ALRIGHT. SO, UM, THAT BRINGS US TO THE DISCUSSION PORTION OF TAB 46. RIGHT. OKAY, . SO, UM, ON, LET'S SEE, PAGE TWO. UM, I SOMEHOW, I THOUGHT THAT WE HAD ADD, ADDED THE WORD WELLNESS OR WELLBEING, UM, UH, SECTION. OKAY, SO BYLAW 9 0 0 5. UM, LET'S SEE IN THIS, IN THE, IN FULFILLING ITS ROLE, THE BOARD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. AND THEN, UH, THE NEXT PAGE, IN ADDITION, EACH INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER IS EXPECTED TO KEEP, KEEP LEARNING AND ACHIEVEMENT FOR ALL STUDENTS AS THE PRIMARY FOCUS. UM, CAN WE ADD, I THOUGHT WE HAD ADDED, UM, WELLNESS OR WELLBEING FOR ALL STUDENTS. I THOUGHT WE HAD HAD THAT CONVERSATION DURING WE DID HAVE THE CONVERSATION. YEAH. AND WE ADDED IT IN THE 9,000. UM, NUMBER ONE, UH, SETTING THE DIRECTION FOCUS ON STUDENT LEARNING, ACHIEVEMENT AND WELLNESS. IT'S IN BLUE, SO THE BLUE WAS THE ROUND OF EDITS AFTER THE RETREAT. BUT IF YOU WANT IT IN BOTH PLACES, WE CAN ADD IT THERE TOO. YEAH, I MEAN, FOR CONSISTENCY, I THINK WE SHOULD ADD 'EM WHEREVER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LEARNING, ACHIEVEMENT AND WELLNESS. AND I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER SECTION, UM, IN A ON THE BOTTOM, TOWARD THE BOTTOM OF THAT PAGE. UM, MEMBERS SHALL DEVELOP, COMMUNICATE A VISION, UM, AND COMMUNICATE A VISION THAT HAS ITS PRIMARY FOCUS, LEARNING AND ACHIEVEMENT. AND AGAIN, ADD WELLNESS. OKAY. UM, AND THEN, OOPS, SORRY. I THINK THAT'S IT. [04:35:01] YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT CALL OUT. WE CAN EDIT THOSE AND I THINK THAT'S FRIENDLY AND WE CAN STILL APPROVE TODAY UNLESS THERE ARE OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION AND, OKAY. DOES THAT CONCLUDE DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? OUTSTANDING? YES. ALL RIGHT. UH, HAVING BEEN MOVED BY MR. SCHUREN AND SECONDED BY MS. NEW BILL, UH, VOTING ON TAB 46. MS. NEW BILL? YES. DR. RIVAS? YES. MR. MELVIN? YES. MS. REGO? YES. MS. GOMEZ? YES. MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN? YES. BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON? YES. STUDENT BOARD MEMBER AVILA? YES. ALRIGHT. UH, THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE ITEMS FOR ACTION. NOW WE'LL GO TO [General Public Comment (Approximately 3:30 P.M.)] PUBLIC COMMENT. I THINK MANY OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE ACTUALLY SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC, FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT HAVE ALREADY, UH, DEPARTED BASED ON WHAT I'M LOOKING IN FRONT OF ME. IT'S MANY NAMES FROM THE CHARTER APPROVALS, BUT WE WILL CALL THROUGH FOLKS, UM, AND GET TO WHO WE CAN. UH, BOBBY CANSO CAR. NOT HERE. JOHN BENT, NOT HERE. ASHLEY FITZGERALD. GLORIA MORALES, UH, YI ZACHARIAS, ALAN ANDREWS, SASHA ROBINETTE, ALL THESE NAMES MAY SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU. UH, RAJ, ANA, ROCIO, MENDOZA. SERGIO, LEON, CARL, CARLA ANDINO. LOOK AT YOUR CHAIR. CO. S ALL RIGHT. THEN WE HAVE, UH, CALLERS. BUT I SEE SOMEONE LISTED AS A CALLER WHO'S ACTUALLY HERE IN PERSON. UH, MARIA DE ORTIZ. COME ON UP. MARIA DEZI ORTIZ. SHE'S SLEEPING. COME ON UP. YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. MS. ORTIZ IS GONNA SPEAK IN SPANISH, SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT SHE'S SAYING IN ENGLISH AS SHE'S SPEAKING IN SPANISH, PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND WE'LL GET YOU THESE TRANSLATION HEADSETS. WE'RE HITTING IT A LITTLE BIT EARLY TODAY, GRACIA. GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS MARIA DECI ORTIZ, AND I AM HERE. WELL, BECAUSE WE ARE AS PARENTS, AS A PARENT AND MEMBER OF THE FRANKLIN COMMUNITY, WE ARE ASKING FOR JUSTICE DUE TO THE LOSS OF A STUDENT AT FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL. TRULY, I COME TO TELL YOU, EACH ONE OF YOU AND THE SUPERINTENDENT THAT THE POSITION IS WAY TOO BIG FOR YOU BECAUSE HE COULD HAVE MADE CHANGES AND REALLY HE'S NOT DOING THAT. THEN YOU DID A, UH, MEETING AT FRANKLIN HIGH WHERE THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO GO IN THESE, UM, THEY'RE PUBLIC AND THEIR FINANCE WITH PUBLIC FUNDS, AND THAT IS WHY TO DIVIDE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT. YOU WANT TO DIVIDE, CREATE, DIVIDE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT TRULY A DISTRICT. THERE ARE DISTRICTS THAT ARE SMALLER THAT EVEN HAVE SIX, SEVEN SECURITIES INSIDE OF THE SCHOOL. WHAT'S STOPPING YOU FROM HAVING SCHOOL POLICE PERMANENTLY AT THE SCHOOL SITES? BECAUSE A DISTRICT THAT SAYS THAT CHILDREN ARE FIRST AND DOES NOT PROVIDE A SAFE AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT, THEN THE CHILDREN, THAT'S WHY THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO CONCENTRATE BECAUSE THEY GO TO SCHOOL FEARFUL BECAUSE THERE'S DRUGS, THERE'S BULLYING, THERE'S FIGHTS, ALL TYPES OF INCIDENT INSIDE THE SCHOOL THAT THE ONLY THING THAT YOU DO IS TO TELL THE PRINCIPALS, OH, DO NOT REPORT LOTS OF, UH, CONCERNS ABOUT FRANKLIN THAT ARE NOT EVEN DOCUMENTED. WHY? BECAUSE YOU ARE INCOMPETENT. YOU ARE MURDERERS, INCLUDING MS. RIVAS, CARLA GRIEGO, GO, TANYA ORTIZ, KELLY EZ, AND THE SUPERINTENDENT BECAUSE TRULY YOU HAVE POLITICAL AGENDA BECAUSE UTLA IS THE ONE THAT IS MANAGING NO SCHOOLS AND UH, SCHOOL SITES. BUT I WANNA SEND YOU A MESSAGE TO THE COMMITTEE. WE WILL BE DEMANDING THIS DUE TO TO THE THE LAST ONE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT SPEAKER IS, LET'S SEE, WE HAVE MARIA LUISA PALMA ON THE LINE. PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO [04:40:01] UNMUTE YOURSELF. AND YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN. MARIA LUISA PALMA, YOU'RE WITH US ONLINE. MS. PALMA, WHY IS IT YES, THANK YOU. WHY IS IT THAT PARENTS SEEK OUT CHARTER SCHOOLS AND WHY DO CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTS LINED UP AROUND THE CORNER IN DROVES TO SUPPORT THEIR SCHOOLS, SUCH AS ON DAYS LIKE TODAY? DO YOU ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS IN THE TIMES THAT YOU ARE UNDERGOING RIGHT NOW UNDER FISCAL DISTRESS AND DECREASING ENROLLMENT, CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTS ARE SENDING YOU A PROFOUND MESSAGE. THEY'VE EXERCISED THEIR CHOICE TO CHOOSE TO EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN IN AN ENVIRONMENT THEY PERCEIVE TO BE BETTER THAN LA UNIFIED DISTRICT SCHOOLS. BETTER IN ACADEMICS, IN ACADEMIC STANDARDS, ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS, BETTER IN STUDENT SAFETY AND STUDENT DISCIPLINE. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE THE INDEPENDENT CONVERTED CHARTER HIGH SCHOOLS, BIRMINGHAM AND GRANADA HILLS THAT WERE ON YOUR SCHEDULE FOR TODAY. THEY CONTRACT WITH THE LA SCHOOL POLICE DEPARTMENT. THEY HAVE LA SCHOOL POLICE OFFICERS ASSIGNED ON THEIR CAMPUSES. THESE ARE CAMPUSES THAT ARE HIGHLY SOUGHT OUT AS HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOLS BY PARENTS. PARENTS ENDURE LONG WAIT LISTS. THEY GO THROUGH THE LOTTERY PROCESS. WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT? DOES THAT MAKE YOU THINK THAT THESE ARE PRACTICES THAT ARE NOT WANTED BY PARENTS, PARENTS WANT, BUT THAT ENVIRONMENT, THEY WANT SCHOOL POLICE ON THEIR CAMPUSES. SO WHEN YOU HAVE, UH, DISTRICT SCHOOLS AND AFFILIATED AFFILIATED CHARTERS, WELL, YOU WILL NOT ALLOW THEM THE AUTONOMY TO SELECT TO HAVE SCHOOL POLICE OFFICERS. WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENS? PARENTS WILL CHOOSE OTHER EDUCATION OPTIONS FOR THEIR FAMILIES. SO YOU ARE HURTING YOURSELVES BY MAINTAINING THIS NARROW, NARROW VIEW OF WHAT YOU WILL ALLOW AT DISTRICT SCHOOLS AND NOT ALLOW AT DISTRICT SCHOOLS. SO I DON'T KNOW. I HOPE SOME OF THESE AFFILIATED CHARTERS, IF YOU'VE REMOVED SOME OF THEIR FUNDING, THAT THEY WILL START TO EXERCISE, UH, THEIR OPTIONS TO BECOME INDEPENDENT CHARTERS THAT WOULD GIVE THEM THAT AUTONOMY AND PERHAPS THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE MORE ENROLLMENT, MORE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, UH, THE TYPE OF SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS THAT THEY PREFER. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT, THE OTHER REMOTE CALLER IS OUR KAITLYN HEALY. DON'T HAVE YOU ONLINE. WILL KAPLAN OR ALSO NOT ONLINE. DION GUI. ARE YOU IN THE ROOM? DION, AGAIN, YOU SIGNED UP TO SPEAK REMOTELY. I DO NOT HAVE YOU ONLINE. MONICA OLA ALSO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK REMOTELY AND, UH, NOT IN THE ROOM. AND KARINA LOPEZ ALSO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK REMOTELY, BUT ROOM. SO THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT. AND WE HAVE ONE SMALL, UH, ITEM THAT I, I I FORGOT TO GET TO TODAY. SO, UH, MS. EZ, I APOLOGIZE. THAT'S OKAY. I'M GOING TO DO MY COMMITTEE UPDATES. I MISSED THEM BECAUSE I HAD THE FLU, UM, LAST WEEK DURING THE BOARD MEETING. UM, SO THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND EARLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE MET ON OCTOBER 1ST. WE RECEIVED PROGRESS UPDATES ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE'S WORK LAST SCHOOL YEAR, INCLUDING EARLY EDUCATION, ENROLLMENT, AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. WE ALSO FOCUSED ON HOUSING INSTABILITY AND ITS IMPACT ON STUDENT SUCCESS, INCLUDING HOW WE IDENTIFY AND CONNECT OUR FAMILIES EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS TO EARLY EDUCATION, TRANSPORTATION, ENROLLMENT ASSISTANCE, AND OTHER SUPPORTS. WE WERE JOINED BY BAR LOS NINOS, WHO SHARED THEIR RECENTLY LAUNCH POLICY AGENDA AND THEIR WHOLE CHILD, WHOLE FAMILY APPROACH TO SUPPORTING FAMILIES EXPERIENCING HOUSING INSTABILITY. WE DISCUSSED OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRONGER PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN L-A-U-S-D AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO IDENTIFY FAMILIES EARLIER AND BETTER CONNECT THEM TO HOUSING, MENTAL HEALTH, EARLY EDUCATION, OTHER RESOURCES. WE ALSO DISCUSSED HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO ADVOCATE FOR MORE HOUSING SUPPORTS FOR FAMILIES IN PARTICULAR, INCLUDING WITH OUR CO COLLEAGUES ON THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON NOVEMBER 12TH, 2026 AT 11:00 AM. UM, AND THEN SEPARATELY, WE HELD THE FIRST MEETING OF THE GENERATIVE AI COMMITTEE ON SEPTEMBER 2ND. OUR FIRST MEETING FOCUSED ON THE CURRENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES AROUND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE BY DISTRICT STUDENTS. MR. DOUGLAS LEE, OUR INTERIM CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER SPOKE ABOUT VETTING OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS THAT CONTAIN AI AND THE WAYS THAT WE ENSURE STUDENT PRIVACY. MS. PS AL, OUR CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER, DISCUSSED THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES AROUND AI USE. IMPORTANTLY, UM, AS PART OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCREEN TIME POLICY ACCESS TO AI TECHNOLOGIES LIKE CHAT, GBT, CLOT AND GEMINI HAVE BEEN PAUSED FOR ALL DISTRICT STUDENTS OF ALL AGES. UM, AND WE ARE MEETING AGAIN A WEEK FROM TODAY ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20TH. AND THOSE ARE MY UPDATES. THANKS FOR GIVING ME THE TIME. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO ADURING THE MEETING? NEVER. OKAY. THE TIME IS NOW 12, I MEAN, 2:47 PM ON OCTOBER 13TH, 2026 AND THE MEETING'S ADJOURNED. ALL. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.