Mountain View Whisman School District Board of Education - Regular Meeting

December 18th, 2025 regular meeting of the board of trustees of the Mountain View Wisman School District to order at 6 p.m. All stand for the pledge of allegiance. Can I have a roll call, please? Deon Conley, Anna Reed, Lisa Henry, Charles DeFazio, Bill Lambert. All the trustees are present.

So, next item is the approval of the agenda. Does anyone have any comments on the agenda? Trusty uh re No. Okay. Okay. Other than the moving of

one thing about the agenda, I've been informed that we will not have the preschool showcase this evening. That will be moved till January 15th. Any comments or questions? Is there any member of the public who would wish to speak on the agenda? Don't see anyone in person. And I do not see anyone online. Have a motion to approve the agenda. So moved. Second.

Motion by Trustee Connley and a second by Trustee Reid that we approve the agenda with the exception that the school showcase will not be heard this evening. All in favor say I. I. I.

The motion passes unanimously. Next item, item three. This is the opportunity for members of the public to address the board concerning items on the closed session agenda. There any member of the public who wishes to speak on the closed session agenda items. Do not see anyone in person and I do not see anyone online. With that, we will close the open session and move to close session at 602.

Okay. Already we're reconvening open session at 7:07 p.m. No reportable action was taken during close session. Next item. And on items C and D on the close session agenda, um, Trustee DeFazio recused himself. Move on to the organizational meeting. Um this is that time of the year where we elect new officers for the um for the board and uh we'll go on order from election of president and after the election of president I will turn over the gavl to the new uh president and he or she will go through and we'll elect a vice president uh clerk and um then we will um Yeah, we'll discuss the assignments. Okay. Do I have any uh a motion for or motion or looks like ready to go for recommend a person?

I would like to nominate um Trusty DeFazio as president. Trusty DeFazio, are you willing to um interested in becoming a president? Absolutely. Do I have a second? I'll second. We have a motion by trustee Connley and a second by Trustee Henry that uh the board elect uh trustee DeFazio as our next president. All in favor say I.

Motion passes unanimously. And before I turn this over to our new president, I would uh just like to say that it's been an honor serving as president for this board and to representing uh Superintendent uh uh uh Bayer and his uh staff. And it's also been a pleasure representing the parents uh the residents and the uh students of the Mountain View Wisman School District for the last year. So with that I will turn the gav over to trusty deasio president. Right. Thank you everyone. I'll just be brief in my remarks accepting the the presidency. Uh so um thank you for my colleagues. Thank you superintendent Bear and dedicated staff. Um honored that you've all entrusted me to be president. Um, over the past few years, we've faced a lot of challenges and successes. When I was back when I was considering why I wanted to serve on the board, I knew that I wanted to navigate those challenges in a positive manner and come together uh as a community. I'd hoped to bring some reason, steady oversight and leadership. Um, our new board, we all had to hit the ground running, I think, and I would say we rose to the challenge. Um, hiring a new superintendent, course correcting the staff housing, and overseeing the

continuing work of the district. uh we still have a lot of work ahead of us uh have uncertain economic headwinds and we're striving to still fulfill the opportunity we have to guarantee that all of our students get a great education regardless of their background. Um as we've been discussing over the past few meet months we'll have difficult choices to make in the meetings ahead. Uh and as presidents aim to foster an open trusting environment where every one of us feels our voices are heard even if we end up disagreeing. We got talented teachers in our schools, dedicated staff, a community that cares and amazing students to teach. I say that everything's a work in progress. So, let's continue that work. Thank you. With with that, I'll take my newly prepared script for how to run a meeting and I will so bear with me on my first first one as president. Uh we are moving on to election of the vice president. Do I have a motion for nomination for someone to be vice president?

I would like to nominate uh trustee Lisa Henry as our next vice president. Second. All right. Motion from Trusty Lambert and Trusty Reed for nominate Trusty Lisa Henry as vice president. All in favor? I I all opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Congratulations, Trusty Henry. Vice President Henry,

feel free to take your new seat if you'd like. What's the All right, I'll move on. I'll move on to uh the the clerk of the board. So, do I have a nomination for election of the clerk? I nominate uh Trustee Anna Reed as our next uh clerk. Second. Right. Motion by Trusty Lightbert and seconded by Trusty Connley to nominate Trusty Reed as clerk. Uh all in favor? I I.

All opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Congratulations. I think everyone's settled. So our next action is appointment of the secretary of the board. I think the staff want to discuss this staff recommendations appointing the superintendent is secretary to the board.

Sounds perfect. Happy to do so. Do I have a motion? So, do I have a second? A second. Motion by Trusty Connley, seconded by Trusty Henry. The motion to appoint Superintendent Bears, secretary to the board. All in favor? I I

I all opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Now we get our first discussion item of the of the meeting. So, you're going to discuss uh board committee assignments. Um Oops. Is the Yeah. So, I think um uh Nancy has passed around the committee assignments document. You've had a chance to look. Believe um uh some suggestions have been or wants have been accommodated on there. Now is a time we will bring this back again January 15th for approval. Um that's the plan. But now if there are any other um refinements or suggestions or wants or uh exchanges, uh this would be the time to have that conversation. One thing I'd like to add is that there I think there will be one more track meeting and I just received a couple of days ago uh it's going to be in March and I think that's going to be the last one to close it out. So I've been on that and I'll continue on that too with that last meeting in March.

Trusty comment. Yes. So usually the board president attends the B the LMV PTA council meetings, the MVWSD president's meetings, uh PTA president's meetings, and in the past the DAC but not always. Um, so it it depends on your availability as well. Yeah, I I think I'd be happy to serve on those committees. So, um, any other comments? Trusty.

Um, well then are you going to continue on the policy committee because you are also this is the old This doesn't look like it has incorporated new things. Yeah. Okay. No, sorry about Um this is the current um listings and so um the staff housing oversight committee no longer exists. We have created the board. You currently on that board. You're going to be board president and you're going to attend all of these other three committees. Do you still want to serve on the policy committee or are you looking for somebody to rotate on?

I would love to continue to serve on the policy committee. Um I don't know if there's interest from others in serving on it, but I we started that one part of the way through the year. So I'd like to at least hand it off. I don't intend to be chair of the committee going forward, but if if if there's other interests, I'm also open to hearing from folks who would like to serve on it. I'm interested eventually, but when you're ready to come off, I'm not chomping at the bit, but if you start to feel overwhelmed during the school year and want to rotate, that's absolutely fine, too. Appreciate that. And you're also health and wellness. Yes, I have health and wellness as well.

Yeah, just I wouldn't mind being on at least one one committee. Okay. And uh Um, I would continue serving on the budget advisory committee. I think that was uh appropriate. And if there's other ones people, so I will be dropping off the deck because you'll be picking it up. Um, and so I would like to stay on DAC. Um, I am interested in um taking on at least one more committee. I usually try to be on at least two. Um and so I think we need to we need to make sure the committee the burden is distributed so that trustees also um

would you be interested in staying on on the DAC commitment? Um I've never served on the DAC committee ever, but uh I'd be willing to do that. Yeah.

Maybe maybe Bill does the DAC Um, I'd be willing to pick up health and wellness or the MBF board meeting. I mean, it's really kind of what for our newer trustees, what have you not served on yet that you would be interested in learning more about. I think that's one of the best ways to learn about different facets of the organization. So, I'm biblant, but I'd like to serve on at least two. I've I've enjoyed my time on health and wellness, but I'm happy to swap with you on that. Trusty Henry,

um I was I'm fine with keeping what I have. I'm also if anybody wants to swap anything, I'm fine with that, too. I was also curious if from staff perspective if there's anything else out there that we should or could have board uh presence at that we don't currently. I know some districts, some school boards, for example, have like a this would be adding something, but you know, have like a 2 by 2 meeting with their city or um with their high school district or but I also didn't know if there are any existing committees where it would be helpful or possible to have board presence. initiating some sort of meeting with the city I think would be a a positive. So let me do a little leg work on that first and I think it would also want to echo the high school district one might be also interesting thing to explore for whether the high school district as well. I'm on the same boat as uh Vice President Henry in that I feel like after this first year, I just got to know kind of what these committees are, their structure and what they're doing and who the people are on it. Um I feel like it would be beneficial to stay on and now actually have more input instead of being like dear in headlights, what am I doing? um and then maybe consider uh changing for then the the next two years. So that's the the thought process in my head of like get to know what the position is, do something about the position and then explore something else.

Trusty Lor, do you have any more comments or your mic? Okay.

All right. Do I think we have site assumed information? All right. That ends this item. We will now move on to the consent agenda. These items are considered routine and will be acted on upon in one motion. Does any member wish to remove an item for se for separate consideration? Okay. Seeing none. Okay. Is there any public comment? Do we have any questions from trustees? See any public is there any public comment on the remaining consent items? See, I will from members of the public. So no members of in person wishing to speak. I see one hand remote. Um so I will give three minutes to MPWSD parent. Hi. Good evening. Can you hear me? Okay. Hi, good evening. Can you hear me? Okay,

we can hear you.

Okay, great. Thanks. Uh, just a couple of items on the consent agenda. Um, first of all, on the um inventory, I appreciate all the work that this district has put into uh getting the inventory up to date. I do want to comment though that I have not seen uh the vehicle inventory and I also haven't seen things like the dozens and dozens of iPhones and the furniture at the staff housing. So, I'm sort of wondering when we might see a complete inventory as we um investigate the budget. I'm uh you know particularly interested in seeing that the money that we spend is also accounted for down the line. So, um just hoping that we can see a complete inventory uh at some point in the very near future. And then um secondly, uh with regard to personnel and the personnel report, I just wanted to um single out that I know we're getting a new uh principal at our middle school, Graham Middle School, and just wanted to thank Principal Benvdz for all of his hard work u over his tenure at Graham. um really appreciate the positive changes that have been made there. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Have a motion to approve the consent agenda. Trustee Connley. Make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. Have a second. A second. Um have a motion by Trustee Connley and seconded by Trusty Lambert. Uh do I take the vote on the minute? All in favor?

I. All post motion passes unanimously. Now we enter communications. This is where we have groups come to speak. First up is employee organizations. Do we have anyone from our employee organizations wishing to speak? No. Do we have anyone from district committees would to provide an update? I have a brief update from the board policy committee. Um, we met on December 10th, 2025. We reviewed and discussed 30 board policies, bylaws, and exhibits, recommended 21 of them for approval, some with adjustments, three to be rescended, and the remainder we will revisit at the next meeting. Uh, they're going to come later on the agenda for a first reading. And our next meeting is scheduled for January 14th, 2026. Now I'll finally call Superintendent Bear for the superintendent report.

Yeah. um wanted to just close out um the staff housing um and I won't talk about it again and Charles as the uh housing board representative will present information from time to time certainly at least annually but after a year of planning and action our staff housing is now costneutral at 71% full and soon we'll have a wait list um at the end of November the staff housing nonprofit board took an important step and approved the trustes recommendation to significantly lower rents for our staff. Uh that average reduction was about 22%. And that will uh begin on January 1, 2026. Uh income qualifying staff members have been signing up uh as we speak to be among the first applicants in this new leasing period. We are prioritizing full-time employees and hard to fill positions uh per board direction. Uh, I'm proud to share that MVWSD has now fully transitioned our staff housing to the nonprofit MVW MVW Residences Corporation board. Uh, the board's responsible for managing this important community asset and helping us, Foothhill Dansza, and the city meet their housing goals. This structure lets our trustees and district staff stay focused on what matters most, and that's the kids in our classrooms. Um, and look what's happening just in the nine months since our housing community opened its doors. We've significantly lowered both rents and operating costs. We've eliminated expensive land lease payments, and we've built partnerships that make this community asset even stronger. Uh we've heard stories from our staff about the life-changing benefit, and we really look forward to welcoming more staff into that amazing community. Um uh I know many many of you were there. We had a a ribbon cutting for Foothill. They wanted to recognize the opening of their uh their staff housing. So, we were over there just a little bit earlier, just a little bit earlier this afternoon. Um, and again, it was a time to celebrate uh the work.

So, congratulations on the accomplishment. Thank you, Superintendent Mayor. So, the next portion of the agenda is discussion and action. Uh, item number one is or item number one is the resolution honoring the service and legacy of Rose Felicetti. Yes. So, um want to welcome uh guests. I will let them introduce um uh but I know well I'll introduce uh Matt Savage is here. Uh Roseville City's son and uh her nephew Chris Sturkin is a Redwood City Council member and uh I mean is here as well. So, welcome. Um uh recently uh Rose Filisetti passed away and um she served our district from 1994 to 2004. Uh a decade that included the historic merger of these two school districts, right? That we kind of uh roll off our tongue tongues as commonplace now, but that that didn't uh that wasn't the situation. And Rose was really a force behind that. Uh she also was uh forced behind the passage of both a bond and a partial tax during her time on the Mountain View and Mountain View Wisman School District boards. Uh she went on to lead Santa Clara County School Boards Association as its executive director as well. Um Rose dedicated her life to public service and to uplifting her communities. Uh she often spoke with pride about her years in Mountain View Wisman School District and she truly cherished the time spent serving our students, staff, and families. Uh I can speak uh on a personal level. Um she was a board member when I was a principal. Uh Landals in Mountain View way back

when and um she she was uh direct with words and got done what she needed to get done. Uh but always in the best interest of the kids of this uh of this community. So, um, with that, I know we have, um, some recognition and thanks, but I'm sure the trustees want to, uh, share some words as well. Do we we want to have discuss? Should we do public comment? All right. So, any questions from trustees as usual? No. Um, would any member of the public wish to speak on the resolution? um if in person not a speaker card if anyone online wish should speak they can raise their hand. So I have a statement from former uh trustee uh Laura Blakeley that she asked me to read. Um she is unable to be here. Okay. Laura Blakeley. I wish we I wish I could attend in person this evening to honor Rose Filicetti, who was a truly amazing leader and a strong advocate for students in our community. I first recall meeting her in 2004 during Mountain View Wisman School District's first successful Measure J parcel Tax campaign. She was there in the trenches helping to ensure our district received tax funding so that we could reopen our school libraries and rehire our janitors. after her board service and before moving to the coast. Guess that's west coast, right? Uh Rose became Mountain View um Education Foundation's first paid executive director. And it was in that role when I served on the Mountain View Education Foundation board and as Mountain MVF president that I worked most closely with her. In addition to using her strong voice and positive energy to support our students in every bo way possible, Rose really knew how to

throw a party. The Mountain View Education Foundation gallas, although we didn't call them gallas in those days, were really something else. A grand tradition was born. For these and so many other reasons, Rose will be missed. I am grateful the board is honoring her legacy this evening. Thank you. Um I don't see any other public comments. Would trustees like to anyone wishing to discuss? I

mean I think um the resolution tonight carries a lot of what the board would like to express and I anticipate we'll do a coral we usually do a coral reading of resolutions that are um approved by the board. Um so I look forward to that. But I think I I didn't know um former trustee well personally, but I knew of her by reputation. Everybody said, "Have you met Rose? Have you talked to Rose? Find out what she thinks." Um and you know, I think I can speak for many of the um more recent electeds who have come up in the last decade or so. um that she was a model of leadership and community partnership. Um she was practically a resource and referral agency in and of herself, bringing together nonprofits, bringing together electeds, community members, um and always towards a goal of justice. Um so I'm I'm very glad that we're going to recognize her tonight and honor her memory. and I woke up in the middle of the night a while ago trying to think of what we could do to um continue her legacy in our district. And so I'm very excited that we're going to be creating for the future an ongoing annual award for a community partner that works with our school district in service of students that will be named the Roseville Community Partner Award. um because as evidenced by her work in Santa Cruz County for example um she was a master of trying to break down these silos between different fields, different organizations, um different levels of government and bring people together and I think we will always as a school district need our community partners and recognizing the work and contribution that they make um towards the needs of our students in her honor is a wonderful way to uh carry on her legacy in the future.

Lang.

Yeah, I'd like to share a few of my sort of thoughts and experiences. I also did not work directly with Rose. Um, but I on my first time on the board from 2012 to 2016, you know, as soon as I got on the board, every single day I got three to four emails, okay? And from this person, Rose Phili. They were about articles. They were information about school districts, about meetings to go to. And one of the first things I did was ask trustee, former trustee Ellen Wheeler, who in the who in the world is this person, right? And so she sort of sort of told me the background and um her contribution. I did have the opportunity to meet Rose at several social events and you know it was just her sort of generosity and her opinions which are very firm and I I mean I was just sort of stunned at the things she was telling me and I remember in those situations she almost held court you know got down to the sofa and people would come up to her and just you know talk and and learn so much from her. So I I mean she really was a wonderful person and uh I'm I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to know her. So um should we motion to suspend the rules to take an additional public comment?

Yes, you can submit your card afterwards. You are Thank you.

Okay. So, some of you know that uh I was on the last board that Rose Vicetti was on. It was Rose and Carol Fischer and Fran Press and Gloria Higgins and me. And um it was a uh it was an educational experience to learn from Rose about, you know, um how to be a schoolboard member. But I know that you're talking about her as a school board member. The main thing I want to talk about tonight is something that um I think a lot of you don't know, I think Devon probably does, is that she was the executive director of the Santa Clair County School Boards Association. And it was always uh just way cool that uh you know our school district uh you know got that kind of um I think prestige from uh Rose's presence and you know everybody knows you know her as a school board member but I'll tell you what a pro she was as uh the executive director and um we were sad had when she left that position because it was very hard to fill it again. Uh but she was, you know, just excellent in there. And then the last thing I want to say, and I know you all know this, is um how much she took her work to heart. So, um I'm glad that you're doing this um recognition and I'm glad that you know some members of her family are here and uh now I'm going to fill out my

card.

Thank you. Yeah, just similar to my colleagues, I did not work with Miss Filicetti, but in reading the resolution, hearing from people speak and learning more. Um, I find her legacy of service inspiring and something that we all I think here will strive to to live up to. So, thank you for coming. The motion for the resolution. I make a motion to approve resolution number 01-121825 honoring the service and legacy of Rose Filicetti as presented. Do I have a second?

Second the motion. Motion by Trusty Connley, seconded by Trusty Lambert. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Um now I'll suggest we do a coral reading of the resolution. Um, I'll start with Trusty Lambert. Whereas the Mountain View Wisman School District is deeply saddened by the passing of former trustee Rose Filicetti, whose decades of service leave an enduring legacy in our community. And

whereas Miss Felisetti served on the Mountain View Wisman School District Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2004, guiding the district through a pivotal era that included the historic merger of the Mountain View and Wisman school boards and supporting the successful passage of both a district bond and a parcel tax to strengthen educational programs and facilities for students. And whereas during her tenure, Miss Filicetti consistently demonstrated commitment, integrity, and an unwavering belief in the power of public education to transform lives. And

whereas in 2007, Miss Phyisetti became the executive director of the Mountain View Educational Foundation, MVEF, where she proudly served as the organization's first paid staff member, helping to establish a strong foundation for a growing volunteer-led organization dedicated to enriching the educational experience of all NVWSD students. And

whereas in addition to her service in MVWSD, Miss Filicetti devoted her career and retirement years to supporting students, families, and community organizations across the region. And whereas Miss Phil Sedetti also served for 18 years as the executive director of the Santa Clara County School Boards Association where she offered board development services, communication support, and activities that promoted education for the 32 elementary, high school, and unified school district boards, and where she worked tirelessly on behalf of education advocacy, professional governance, and policy development to build an effective foundation for the education of all children in our diverse communities. And

whereas Miss Felisetti further expanded her leadership in public education as the past president and former trustee area 4 of the Santa Cruz County Office of Education serving K12 schools in Capola, Live Oak, Soal, and the Santa Cruz Mountains and as a member of the board of directors for the California County Boards of Education representing Santa Cruz, San Bonito, Monterey, and San Louis Abispo counties. And

whereas she also served as a delegate assembly member for the California School Boards Association representing county offices of education for the central coast. And whereas Miss Phyisetti went on to be a founding member of digital nest, an organization committed to providing equitable access to technology, mentorship, and career pathways for young people aged 12 to 24 in underserved communities. and

where was she founded and served as the executive director of nonprofit connections Santa Cruz County where she worked to strengthen collaboration and relationships among local nonprofits networks and community organizations demonstrating her belief in collective impact and shared purpose and whereas Miss Filicetti also contributed her expertise and deep understanding of community needs as a senior field representative for state senator S. Joseph Smidian and for the office of assembly prom Sally Liieber continuing her lifelong commitment to public service and advocacy. And

whereas throughout her life, Miss Fyetti dedicated herself to strengthening public education, advancing equity, and uplifting the community she loved. And she always spoke with warmth and pride about her years in the Mountain View Wisman School District. Be it further resolved that the board extends its deepest condolences to Miss Filicetti's family, friends, and loved ones, and expresses profound gratitude for her lasting contributions to the children and families of Mountain View, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara counties and beyond. And be it further resolved that the board plans to honor Miss Filicetti's legacy with an annual award named the Rose Filicetti Community Partner Award bestowed on a community partner organization that collaborates with MVWSD to support the needs of students and families in Mountain View. And

we have finally resolved that the board of trustees of the Mountain View Wisman School District hereby honors the extraordinary life and service of Rose Filicetti. that this resolution be entered into the official minutes of the board of trustees as a testament to Rose Filicetti's exceptional leadership, compassion, and lifelong dedication to public education and community service. I think we have a copy of the resolution to present to the family. Um, should we take a recess or brief a brief recess for us to present this? Excuse me. There's one more speaker in the audience who would like to speak on this. Yes. Yeah. We will suspend the rules.

And make a motion to suspend. Approved unanimously.

My friend Rose. I met Rose in 2002 at a site council meeting for MBWSD and um at the time we were going through budget crisises that you couldn't possibly imagine. This was a.com bust and it was a choice. we'd come every week and we're going to get rid of special ed teachers or we're going to get rid of English language teachers or we're going to get rid of and and Jeff you were probably around in 200 and and you can you can appreciate the horror that these meetings were and Rose was on these meetings and after one of the meetings the first one I said to Rose I said you know I think I'm doing a bad job Rose because it seems like whatever I advocate for I I alienate everybody and I push the the the thing the wrong way and Ro said to me, "Hey, if you have nothing nice to say, come sit by me." And then from then on, we were friends and we were friends up until we we had basketball tickets that we go to Santa Cruz and we sit next to each other. So, the next memory I have of Rose was in um we did Measure E and the district needed money very very badly for measure E. we were pretty much out of cash and we tried to get measure E passed and this is probably 2004 2003 time frame whereby we worked very hard and the people that were on that committee include Ellen Wheeler, it was Judy Levy, it was Fiona Walter um and these were people that went on. Rose was the leader. Rose was the the person that really drove the committee and really tried to make it pass. And we thought we had it done. And then the day before the election, all the landlords at Mountain View got together and slipped papers underneath every tenants door. If this passes, your rent's going up. And we lost by 2

percentage points. We got 66.4 and we needed 66.6. And it was just a heartbreak because we'd worked so hard and we didn't get what we wanted. But Rose kept us together and we went back with measure J two years later and Laura Blakeley came on board and um we had a couple other people that went on to have careers in the district and they came on board and Rose was the was the impetus because Rose was a force of nature. Rose was she didn't say no. She didn't give up. She would just keep going and she'd just get it done. And they did some things that maybe we shouldn't have done, like we we we only charged the landlords for one plot of land, even if they had 300 apartments, but we needed the money. We had to do what we had to do to get the money to get it done. And and uh we passed like with 76 or 77% of the vote and it was okay. But once again, it was Rose getting it done and Rose being the force and and it was Rose's desire. So I can remember going over about 10 years ago. I don't know when your mom went to Santa Cruz. Was it about 10 years ago? Give or take 10. And I and I went over there and I had lunch with her. She goes, "Yeah, I'm going to retire." Well, that lasted about five minutes because she didn't she didn't really retire very long because people would come over with her for with a project and she'd pick it up and then she'd have another project and then she was working with the with the community college and then she was doing all these other things. And up until this year, she just can't. And and and one thing you're going to hear about Rose was she was a force of nature because if the if the front door didn't work, let's try the back door. Well, let's try the windows. Maybe if we kick in the basement door and come up through the basement, that'll work. But Rose did not take no for an answer. And she just got things done. And that's what we all loved about her. And that's why we're all going to miss her. And I'm really

appreciative for the board for recognizing her work because she was really important to the district through three decades. And it and it was sad to see her go. But one thing that they did at the ceremony back in um two weeks ago was they said, you know, Rose, you lived a good life. And I hope that we all could feel that way because she really did. But thank you very much. Thank you. All right. One more speaker.

Hi. Uh, I'm Claudia He and um I am a friend of Roses and I appreciate very much that you're having this recognition of her and I wanted to say a few words about um my feelings about her and my friendship with her. So, thank you. Um, I met Rose in 1995, volunteering together on a high school bond campaign. We soon realized that our 5-year-old daughters would be starting kindergarten that fall at Bub School, and we agreed it would be nice if they became friends. So, to our delight, they became fast friends for life. And so did we. And she was the most intelligent, caring, fun friend you could ever have. She loved her family fiercely. and they were the most important thing in the world to her. Rose was the queen of connection. I know you've already heard some of this, but um she excelled at connecting people, connecting resources to needs and educating the community. She arranged for screenings and gathered audiences to see Jennifer Seel Newsome's Misrepresented, which exposes it's a film that exposes sexism in the media and its negative influences on women and girls. and also to see Joseé Antonio Vargas's film Undocumented, which chronicles his life as an undocumented immigrant. As you know, Jose grew up in Mountain View, attending public schools here, and now there's a school named after him. And uh Rose was one of his staunchest supporters. Rose was a visionary. Rose analyzed needs and envisioned solutions. She was obviously, you know, she was a trustee for the Mount Pe school district and helped accomplish the merger with the Whitman Whisman School District. She led the Santa Clair School Boards Association, then the Education Foundation, and graduated from leadership Mountain View, and she was instrumental in all the accomplishments

of those organizations. After her youngest child had finished Mountain View High, she and Neil moved to Capitol where she served. Yes, she couldn't take no for an answer and she couldn't retire. She served on the Santa Cruz County School Board. Uh she recognized the need for local nonprofits to have a group for networking and training and resource sharing. So she founded the nonprofit connection in Santa Cruz to meet that need. And when she met Jacob Martinez and heard about his dream to start an organization to provide underserved Latinx and all underserved youth in California with the skills to build successful careers, she was immediately allin joining the board, fundraising and serving as treasurer, hoping to and helping to launch the nonprofit Digital Nest, which is still going strong. um we can all honor her by emulating her and supporting each other and working to improve our communities the way that she did. Thank you.

Thank you. I will have a recess and present the resolution. All right. Five minutes. Okay. I better recess.

Right, we're returning to from recess at 7:59. Next item on the agenda is item B, budget reduction update. Uh, Superintendent Bear presenting the staff report.

Yes. I just wanted to um catch the board up with where we are. um as we move into the new year. So, you know, we're tied to our strategic plan with this and go ahead and advance. Um I think what I want to say leading into this is this is um an important time for the school district. uh wanting to make sure that we're um managing the budget properly and allocating resources properly especially as we hit this uh this moment in time where we know that revenues are decreasing significantly. Um uh it's it's the we are still planning in the planning um process here um yeah and executing on the board's direct you know the d direction from the last meeting um but not not lost on us I think importantly overarching in all of this is that um um we know that about 8 83% of our budget is people right so that people are involved uh in these discussions and um I think that's one of uh the very important things to highlight and recognize and always keep in mind as we as we have discussions about the budget. So um this is just a recap of where we have talked about um the budget information, the budget situation over the past board meeting starting back in September. Go ahead, Shel. Um, I know there's been some question that I have certainly answered in talking to the community members about, you know, we've we've seen this before, we've heard this before, uh, what what's a different now? And I would point out that this is having worked in basic aid districts for um 15 years um as superintendent, 14 years as superintendent, uh this is what's

different um is that the assessed valuation um has we've we've seen a sharp decline. And uh these are some quotes from Greg Monttoverde, the the um interim assessor in Santa Clara County. um reminding you that uh we are hitting the the lowest marks lowest growth marks in a decade. Um and this is largely driven by the assessed valuation of commercial real estate. Uh our impact continue. Um you've seen this before. This is out of the uh annual report from the Santa CL County Assessor's Office. uh really highlighting that uh Mountain View uh was uh coming in with the lowest uh assessment growth by far in Santa Clair County at 0.51%. Um although that does include the um shoreline special area shoreline uh drives a lot of that. We in this um Mount View Misman um tendance area also had had very low um assessed valuation growth. continue. Uh this slide you've seen before as well. This is just to highlight that we're we're not alone in this. Um some of our neighboring districts uh Los Altos and MBLA there on the far right. Uh the blue being um the current uh secure AV report from the the county assessor. But what MVLA and Los Altos are projecting for their assumptions in the uh two out years are also in decline as well as Santa Clair unified school district. Okay, go ahead.

So as we look ahead um important to note we have had many conversations with county assessor's office really trying to understand this and gain clarity and make sure that we're making accurate predictions or forecasts. Um and the county assessor has shared that we should anticipate two or three more years of the same or less AV growth than we experienced this year. Uh you know that the current year is 2.34. Um this year we rely we have relied on our reserves to uh weather that storm um and plan for uh appropriate reductions um without ending up in a financial crisis. But uh it is important that this year we do make decisions so that we avoid that cross that that crisis and we're able to continue delivering on strong education for for the uh students in our community. It's what it's what they expect. It's what they should expect and it's what we need to deliver on. So where we are now um at the last meeting on November 20 we were directed by you to identify 9 million or more in potential reductions for next year and we are in process uh with that. Go ahead. Um part of what we need we know we need to do is look at the district office staffing at the district office make sure that we are um addressing reductions there as well. So we are finalizing um those positions from the district office or bringing forth a recommendation in January. Um that's going to equate to uh more than 18 full-time equivalents. Um it's people uh will total more than four just over $4 million. Uh we expect that includes administrators, certificated staff, and classified staff. And as I said a moment

ago, we'll we'll bring that forward in January with the particulars of that. But those conversations have been had with staff at the district office letting them know that um which positions will be brought forward for deduction so the individual people know. Uh when we're going through this we always work to separate um evaluating the position from the person uh in what's being in what's being uh reduced but ultimately we also know that it will affect the person. So, we've had those conversations. Okay. Continue. Um, we've been out to school sites uh talking to staff about uh what what the situation is with our budget and making sure that they are aware of what is happening. Those meetings happened in October. um bringing forward the information that we have been sharing at the uh at the board meetings about what the what the forecast looks like in uh um in the out years, right? And why it's occurring. Um we are focused on our top priority being as much as possible uh keeping reductions away from students in the classroom. um trying to do that as much as we possibly can while also recognizing that the 9 million plus dollars is a large dollar amount. So that's not going to happen completely. We're working to achieve that as much as we possibly can. Um uh you're aware that we uh we are engaged with Arenda Education to uh have a look at our program um really looking at what is most effective that we're doing and what isn't hitting the mark in terms of what we're doing. Uh they have visited all the school sites and the district office. Uh parents have been

surveyed, staff members have been surveyed. Uh focus groups have occurred with staff members. Um and they have been collecting a great deal of data uh as they have had conversations with staff in our schools. And by the way, Ronda said our our people are fantastic. They were accommodating, willing to have conversations uh about about what's what's happening at our school sites and our students. Um but they uh as they have those conversations um and they have collected a lot of data in advance but the conversations as I would expect lead to the want more data. So they have been continuing to ask for additional data to dig into um uh the performance of our students here in the district and how they can help us out. Uh we will present those findings uh in early January. I anticipate that'll be January 7. Um we'll talk about that at future board meeting dates, but I'm anticipating January 7th um for that presentation with a single special board meeting uh dedicated and focused on just that. Um I think it's also a good time here to point out that we're we have two things running in concurrence that are related, but they don't exactly overlap 100%. Right? uh we know the situ the financial situation and that it needs to be addressed and or directed from um November to identify N plus million dollars running concurrency that obviously is this um analysis by Orinda um and though that isn't they are not going to come back and suggest specific cuts they are going to shine a light on what's working and where we might need to refocus and we can use that information and calibrate what we are uh the recommendations that we're making.

Um surveys we sent out to parents as well. um and my um my message to the community. Uh and we continue to gather feedback and and take feedback, meeting with community members, answering questions, and gathering ideas on what else we might consider uh for reduction. So these are um I'm not going to read them to you, but these are some trends that are coming out from parents and staff uh around themes of uh district office and administrative cuts uh consultants and external contracts. Uh technology was also an area that gathered a bit of traction. um as well as protecting program the classroom um and student facing staff. Um one of the things we looked at and we sent out a survey to our um grade 1 through five teachers is that we can realize some savings from uh our teachers assuming responsibility for either science instruction or physical education instruction. We of course maintain the um contract contractual release time that is required um according to our bargaining agreement, but that question is out there um to our staff and um and we're we've gathered we're gathering those results and we can share them to with you as we as we assemble them. I don't think we have them in an assembled fashion yet. All right. And then next steps, um, we anticipate, I told you, um, we'd like to bring their render report on the 7th of, uh, January. That's a Wednesday. Um, we will then bring recommendations to the

board on January 15 for discussion purposes. Having will incorporate all that input from our staff, principles, from our community, our teachers, and working in the vendor recommendations as well. findings and then on January 29 um those if there's any refinements we'll bring those but we will bring those uh recommendations to the board for action um for consideration of action uh because we do need it to impact the 26 27 budget and in order to do that need time um ahead of March Just want to catch it up with where we are.

Thank you for the report. Um, are there any clarifying questions from the board for staff? Trusty Lambert. Yes. What um what do you uh what are you looking uh I guess to happen at the first meeting in January when the presentation is is this going to be a for us to ask questions and um and the public as well?

Certainly. Yes. It'll be a It'll be a report out of and it should be a pretty ro It will be a robust um report out um for Miranda really looking at all facets of our program and then there will absolutely be time for you to to answer questions and for the public to to comment as well. Uh there won't be any action taken at that meeting, but it will be um the presentation of the information and then we will um take that away to inform the work we're doing. And longer term, I think it's going to give us some uh pretty direct guidance on how we can what what types of moves we can make to improve what we're doing for the students in our classrooms.

Thank you. Miss President Henry, um I know we got a a community question about um that somebody who hadn't uh didn't remember receiving the survey. So I was just wondering when did the parent survey go out and was it within a larger email or was it standalone? And then I guess separately like who got it because I know as an eighth grade parent I I don't remember seeing it either. Um but November 21st, the day after the board meeting and it was it was within my message that comes out after every board meeting. Day after board meeting explains why I didn't see it.

No further questions. Trusty Cley. Yes, thank you. Um, you know, I noticed the discussion of PE and steam. Um, both of those scenarios would actually involve a change to the RTI program as well. So is it correct to is it fair to assume that there's going to be an evaluation of RTI or literacy interventions of some of these other programs in the ornative report because I don't want to discuss those positions and leave out that that actually means eliminating RTI that will absolutely be a part of the aenda presentation. Thank you.

Right. No further questions from trustees. Now open public comment on the item. Uh if any members of the public in person wish to address the board regarding this item, please turn in a speaker card. If you're online, please use the raise hand function. I'll wait to see how many speakers we have and allocate time accordingly. See one person in person and no one online. So we'll allocate three minutes. Looking good.

Hello. And I know that you all have heard from me at the last meeting about my concerns that we are making talking about making budget cuts based upon flawed future financial projections. But they're flaws. It's for every year since 2021, we've predicted large deficits which cumulatively add up to $13.6 million of projected deficits over four years. But instead, there was a $34 million surplus that accumulated in that same time. That is a $47 million discrepancy in four years. So ongoing when we're making budget decisions instead of flawed projections, we need to use actual data points um to make valid recommendations. The years of surplus that we've had have more than doubled our reserve balance compared to what it was in 2020. So we have quite a good healthy reserve at this time. And the purpose of the reserves is multiple, but one of them is to buffer uncertain financial times, which no doubt it is possible that we might be facing. But given the repeated inability to accurately predict predict future financial status of the district, the most reasonable option at this point in time is to pause. to pause on deciding to cut any programs that directly or indirectly improve our students education and instead to wait to see to what degree, if any, the deficit is actually realized in June. So, as a board, you can direct the district to pause on this degree of budget cuts. we can wait to get a more clear picture of what will truly be and we can dip into the very healthy reserves if we need to for the 202627 school year without being in a cat catastrophic position and I would say I don't believe that we have weathered the storm yet because we

haven't dipped into our reserves we haven't actually realized the deficit we are projecting that we will need to weather the storm but we have not had to yet so by all means we can do work now to think about what min about how we can minimize unnecessary spending. But we should not cut any programs that improve the education for our students in our district until we actually prove that we have to. Thank you. Now I will come back to trustees for discussion. I look forward to seeing the Renda report.

All right. No further discussion. Then we'll come in the new year, we'll see the report and have more decisions to make. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is our item C, resolution in support of recognizing special education awareness. Uh, Superintendent Bear.

Yes. So, um, December 2nd, uh, marked the anniversary of the first federal special education law in the United States, making day to celebrate progress and recognize ongoing needs. And we want to honor that hard work and commitment of our um, special education staff members and also acknowledge uh, the beauty and strength of our neurodiverse students and students with disabilities and what they bring to our community. So, we'd like to go ahead and honor them with this resolution. Thank you, Superintendent Bear. Um, any clarifying questions from the board? Seeing none, now I'll open for public comment on this item. If any member of the public in person wishes to address the board regarding this item, turn in a speaker card. If you're online, please use the raise hand function. I'll wait to see how many speakers we have. Seeing none. All right, we'll move on to discussion among trustees or do I have a a motion for the resolution? Trust. I move that we approve resolution number 03121825 in support of recognizing special education awareness.

Have a second. I'll second, but I would also like to comment that I'm I'm very glad that we're bringing this resolution tonight and that we will be corally reading the resolution. I assume um there are there's so much about the diversity of our community that is important that is vital to who we are as humans. And I think sometimes um some members of our community can feel unseen or their families can feel unseen or employees can feel unseen. And so although this can this is a resolution, it's not an actual action. Um, I think having this regular um, calling out of how important all of the members of our community are, including our individuals with disabilities or different abilities, um, is just it's a it's a key function of who we should be as a board and who we want our what we want our community to be um, in the future as well. Thank you. Um we'll take a vote on the motion and then we'll follow with if it if approved a coral reading. Uh all those in favor.

I all opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Um we will start the coral reading with trustee Conley. Whereas the Mountain View Wisman School District during the 202526 school year served approximately 600 students formally identified with disabilities or requiring accommodations along with others who may identify may identify as having a disability without an individualized education program or IEP or section 504 plan. And

whereas disability is part of being human and almost everyone will temporarily or permanently experience disability at some point in their lives. And whereas we value what is important to individuals with disabilities and their families who are striving for their best lives to have uncompromised health and safety and opportunities for friendship, recreation, and lifong lifelong learning. And

whereas MVWSD is proud of the full spectrum of its diversity encompassing differences in race, culture, language, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, political or academic interests, and many other dimensions. And whereas Mountain View Wisman School District recognizes that abbleism is a core barrier to equity and inclusion and that all members of the Mountain View Wisman School District community have a role to play in creating an inclusive society. And

whereas MVWSD embraces intersectionality as a dynamic within the disability community whereby identities are imported by simultaneous experiences which include marginalization and oppression across various domains. And whereas MVWSD recognizes that our students with disabilities are general education students and that every educational, operational, and budget decision we make begins with the belief that students with disabilities have a right to and have the ability to learn alongside their non-disabled peers and must be provided equitable and meaningful opportunities to learn and grow. And whereas MVWSD believes that everyone should learn about disability as a fundamental facet of human diversity, disability has its own histories and cultures which deserve to be studied in their own right and therefore should be integrated into the general education curriculum. And

whereas there are a variety of celebrations and nationally recognized disability awareness campaigns throughout the year, December holds particular significance as December 2nd is nationally recognized as special education day. And whereas special whereas special education teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, specialists, and support staff work tirelessly to ensure students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations to achieve their full potential. And

therefore, be it resolved that the Mountain View Wisman School District Board of Trustees pause to acknowledge special education awareness and encourage educators, students, and families to learn about the many contributions individuals with disabilities have made throughout US history. And therefore be it further resolved that MVWSD will encourage conversations, presentations and projects relating to and enhancing the experiences of individuals with disabilities, disrupting abbleism and promoting inclusion and belonging in December and throughout the year. And therefore be it further resolved that MBWSD will promote resources to support instruction on the complexity of disability, disability history, the experiences of individuals with disabilities, and the disability rights movement both locally and nationally to increase inclusion and belonging both in school and in our community. And

therefore, be it further resolved that the Mountain View Wisman School District Board of Trustees adopts resolution number 03-121825 to encourage the acknowledgement of special education awareness in the schools of the district with culturally responsive activities and to acknowledge the significance of this month as an important opportunity for all people to learn from and understand the experiences of others that have shaped our communities. With that, our next item, item D, resolution 02121825, change of date of school holiday. Is that fair?

Yeah. So, this uh comes to the board each year. Um it's in alignment with ED code 37299 which allows the board to um move certain holidays and uh this resolution will allow us to move um Lincoln's birthday. We'll move from February 16 to February sorry from February 12th to February 16. It'll align with um Washington's birthday and also aligns with our February break week. Um, additionally, it it uh it aligns with MBLA to make uh life a bit easier for our families. So, this resolution will allow us to officially move that. Thank you. Uh, any clarifying questions from the board? Time for public comment. Uh, members of the public in person who wants to speak on this, turn in a speaker card. If you're online, now's the time to use raise hand. Uh, I'll wait to see how many speakers we have. Seeing none, now I'll come back to trustees for discussion.

I'm happy to make a motion that the board approve resolution resolution number 02-121825, the change of date of school holiday as presented. And I would suggest we do not do a coral reading. Second the motion. Second by trusty Lambert. Um all in favor?

I. All oppose. Motion passes unanimously by Trusty Connley, seconded by Trusty Lampbert. Now we will move on to our calendar item E calendar adoption for 2026 27 school year. Trusty Beckner, Superintendent Bear.

Yes. So uh bringing forward to you uh the um 2627 2026 27 district calendar for your consideration. Um it's as it's brought to you as a an action item. Uh this is coming from a meeting with our calendar committee uh which uh meets to um talk about and plan uh for that the calendar each year. I'll report to you that this calendar um aligns very closely with Mount V. Los Altos High School District. Uh there there are a few exceptions I'm sure you saw, but uh one is MVLA school year starts at Monday, August 10, whereas we will uh we propose we start Wednesday, August 12, which is fairly typical. They have had historically a Monday start and we have a Wednesday uh start. But otherwise um there's alignment with most importantly are those uh the holiday breaks for families.

Thank you. Um do we have any qu clarifying questions from trustees? Seeing none. Now we'll open public comment. Uh if any members of the public want to speak in person, turn in a speaker card. And if anyone is online that wish to speak on this item, now is the time to use the raise hand function. I'll wait. Seeing no one none of the public wants to speak on this item, come back to the trustees for discussion and action. Do I have a motion? Trust trustee Ledger.

Sure. I move that the board adopt the uh calendar for 2026 2027 school year as presented. Second. All right. All those in favor? I. All opposed. Motion passes unanimously from Trusty Lambert, seconded by Trusty Conley.

Next item is item F, debrief of CSBA annual education conference. This is our responsibility. Uh do we have any recommendations for how to set the stage for this or shall we just go around go around and discuss kind of what we did during the conference and how we went? Uh, anyone want to go first or I'll pick someone?

I was going to be a little more prepared than I am, but um, so you're right. I I attended a few sessions. Uh I I uh I think one was uh sort of interesting was uh um uh funding of the special ed education programs and how uh all districts are are seeing increases cost to these programs and uh uh but uh but thoroughly uh accepting the responsibilities to you know fully educate these children and uh and provide the best services as they possibly could. I think most the one one comment that I was sort of surprised at that made me think about it listening at the very beginning to um the uh political candidates the gubanatorial candidates and and what they were saying. you know, they they talked a lot about education and how they support it, of course, and things like this, but but one of the candidates said that the business of government is education. And that sort of made me think I California is a different state in that uh school districts are funded separately from city governments. Uh I lived in New Jersey for a while and uh one or funding came in for both organizations and it was uh worked on together. Um structurally, right, California is different. We run our school district different than the city government. Yet from a state perspective, the state is very very active in our education system. we pay taxes, goes to the state, it gets redistributed equitably, you know, some formula to the school districts. And um you know, I thought that was an a very important perspective uh to to think about and uh not only statewide, but I think locally as well that that uh governments are that is our job in the

United States to to educate our children. And um so um just I sort of just thinking about that is I found very productive. Thank you. Anyone else trusty colleague? You just going to go down the line? Yeah.

Um so I started out uh regarding the annual education conference. I arrived on Saturday evening for the California Schoolboards Association's board of directors meeting on Sunday. And then we had our delegate assembly, which is representatives from um all of the different regions within the California School Boards Association elect delegates to the delegate assembly. So we ourselves as a board will be voting or um later on in January on January or February on um the delegates for this region. there were four up this year. Um and then by Wednesday, unfortunately, I had picked up a virus. Um which is unfortunate and so I was not able to attend the rest of the conference. Um that being said, a lot of the sessions um that are done at the conference are things that are presented at the board of directors meeting as well as um the delegate assembly meetings. And so I, if you all don't mind, I'm happy to send the um the state and federal legislative reports as well as the update on the education legal alliance, which is CSPA's. Um we we have our own legal unit that steps into or takes on cases across the state that impact um school districts and are aligned with the policy pillars and the mission of CSBA. Um so I'd like to send you all of those reports. Um the legislative one is kind of an update. There were four bills that CSBA sponsored this bill this year. um AB1021 which was about educational workforce housing um it makes um educational workforce housing exempt from SQA uh did

pass and it was signed by the governor on October 10th um AB 1224 which was about 60-day substitutes um trying to extend we have run into this in our own district that substitutes are actually only allowed to work for 30 days in one position and during CO there was an extension to 60 days which helped in long-term sub situations. Um the governor vetoed this bill unfortunately. It was passed but then it was vetoed by the governor. Um AB1390 which is about schoolboard member compensation was passed. The compensation um stipens that school districts make available to uh their schoolboard members was last updated 40 years ago. And um this allows uh school boards to update the compensation that's provided. However, we may need our team to look into this. You have only a certain amount of time. I want to say it's like within the next calendar year to update it. And if we don't update it, then I think we lose the opportunity for a while.

Right? If if you don't update it, then if you don't update the compensation, then um there's a window that it I'll just say can be significantly updated. And if it's not, then it reverts to the existing rules, which is a percentage over time.

I think it can increase like 2% a year or something normally. So, it's something our board should discuss, but I also know this is a challenging budget time, so it's a hard time to have that conversation. Um, I don't know. I I leave that to the discretion of the board president and vice president to determine when it comes on an agenda, but we do need to keep in mind that if we want to take any action on it, we're going to have to do it um within this year. And then the only other bill I'll mention that CSBA also sponsored um was SP 374. It was a report on reports implementation. So, previously CSBA had sponsored a bill to actually ask the state to aggregate all of the different reporting mechanisms that school districts are having to um file paperwork on. And we saw like the stack of reports, Miss Bower, I see nodding her head and Dr. Westover. Um you all are deeply involved in all of those reports. so many things are um not necessarily part of our LCAP but get pulled into all kinds of differentiated funding that's not consistent and frequently changes. And so this was um a step forward. The state is supposed to evaluate all of those reports. They haven't really done so yet. Um and so this is still trying to continue that forward. I'm not going to speak too much on the other stuff. I'll send it in the written um reports that I that I submit to you. But I think the other big thing that I hope was a takeaway from you all from AEC as well is there is a significant emphasis this year by CSBA on um basically demanding that the state take more action on closing the achievement gap. Um when we look at our own district, we've seen a consistent achievement gap. We were closing it incrementally before CO co kind of blew it wide open and we really haven't

recovered. But that's not a story unique to our school district. This gap is consistent across so many school districts in the state. Um and from the California Schoolboards Association's viewpoint, there needs to be a better state system for supporting school districts in closing that gap. Whether it has to do with funding, whether it has to do with differentiated assistance and how that process works, um whether it has to do with how all of these different bills end up creating different initiatives that pull school districts away from their primary mission. Um that it's a real call to action. It's not a very popular call to action with state legislators. Um so I think it's going to be an uphill battle for CSBA. I think it's going to take multiple years of this work, but we haven't really had this conversation as a state since LCFF and it it's time because whatever we're doing, it's not working and it's it's not working anywhere. There might be a few shining lighouses, but across the board, this gap is persistent and it it's um it's harmful to the future of our community.

Thank you. Uh we'll go down the line. Sure. Um let's see. Um I started with a um session on CTE programs and launching student careers and really taking a look at backwards mapping from looking at the labor market and um figuring out from there what um what coursework, CTE coursework needed to be put forth in um made available in local high schools. and then how local middle schools can support that. And then even at the elementary level, what kind of opportunities elementary students need uh should be having to kind of guide their thinking of um what the the labor market could look like as they move through on with their education. Um, so the map backwards mapping was really um something that piqued my interest in seeing what jobs are are are highly available and um how to how do we guide kids to get to um those positions. Um then I went on to um attend a session on systematizing sustainability and um something that stood out there for me was the concept of um we hear a lot with uh the term teacher burnout and something that was discussed there was it's not necessarily burnout more than it is uh depletion. it's really um depleting the workforce and how to create workplace environments that draw people in. Um and then something that uh was being tracked by um the people who were presenting was what are the factors that really impact student achievement and through their research they found that the number one

factor was teaching staff and the capacity of teaching staff. And then the second factor was um principles uh the availability and the effectiveness of principles and their leadership and the environment that they're able to create for the teaching staff. Those are the two factors that really impact student achieve achievement the most. Um, and then, uh, really talking about, uh, the labor aspect of people and, um, employees feeling the feeling like they're, um, being heard and seen, um, thinking of wellness as a system, uh, trust, growth, mindset, workflow, all kind of, um, work together to create this type of environment within schools. Um, and then I went to equitable and supportive discipline and talking about um how even a a single suspension increases retention and um dropout and disengagement and adds to stress and trauma. and uh really thinking about when you are excluding a child from coming to campus, it could be the safest space for them. um and really thinking about how that impacts them um long term and it becomes a cyclical um issue. And really thinking about disagregating data when you're looking at it by gender, race, ability, economic status, and also the number of times. Something that has always concerned me with how the dashboard is presented. if you look at the the state dashboard is when it when you see suspensions, it's by students

and not by the amount of times that student has been suspended. So if you see that number 24, it's 24 students were suspended, not 24 suspensions happened. So a student could have been suspended five times and that's not represented in that data. So figuring out um ways when we're having those discussions around discipline um to disag disagregate that data but also to think about um restorative practices versus punitive and um how mental and emotional health of students affects um their capacity to learn. Um and then there is also several um key strategies that were presented in that session. Um then I went on to um another session on supporting ongoing achievement for reclassified fluent English proficient students. um thinking about in the years after they're reclassified, how are we continuing to support these students on their journey and how multilingualism for all is a good thing and how we want to um get more people there. Um then it was opportunities beyond high school and there were um two students that were presenting who um found their focus in high school and decided to move into careers from what D learned at high school and pretty successful careers and what both of them had wished that um they had had more opportunities for career exploration. in the middle school level so that by the time they hit high school they would have been more focused with their career

choices versus using high school time for career exploration. One of them was a 20year-old who graduated in 2023 who is making $74 an hour and with his union is set to retire at 55. and his opportunities were presented through a CTE program at his high school. Um the other uh former student um who was there was an A uh went to floral design and that was um something that was offered at high school level and then ended up finding um at Calpaly Botney and continued on and now owns her own floral business and again fairly recent graduate set up with a career um based on opportun unities presented in high school. Um and then moving on to um teaching staff going on um to teacher health and mental wellness. Um, again talking about um giving teachers more autonomy and figuring out um what to teach. If you have set amount of um standards and there's too many standards to cover, getting them into teams and having them decide a fewer amount of standards to allow students mastery of those few standards. And districts who have tried it have found that um students are achieving better with smaller amounts because mastery is attained versus trying to touch on too many things. and empowering the teachers and giving them more

leadership opportunities is increasing the uh morale of staff. Um so again again that uh staff wellness and um building school and district climate. Thank you Vice President Henry.

Thank you. Um so I attended um two sessions related to math adoption as our district launches into um a long process of two-year process of um adopting a new math curriculum. Um one um that was called support for building high quality mathematics programs um where we heard from multiple um county um boards of education um or county offices of education um along with uh some districts within their counties about their processes. Um, and I really appreciated the the theme of of their approaches to their adoptions was they talked about how um, you know, high quality materials are necessary but not sufficient for building a high quality program. Um, so that was good background for me as I observe what you're doing um, with the committee. Um, I also attended um, a session on the math framework and multilingual learner equity um, which had a whole Google Drive worth of resources which I'd be happy to share. I'm that um and hearing from um research related to um that issue and particularly um some areas to to focus on um to make sure we're we're serving to see how other districts have um approached that question. Um I also attended a couple of sessions um related to school finance. um one called advancing the school finance skills for board members. um which was a little bit of a you know a dive into um board members role with um managing school finances and um things like effectively communicating tough financial decisions um and um you know the process and particularly some of the issues that a lot of the districts throughout the state are going to be dealing with um because everybody's got some budget challenges coming up. Um I also attended a session called strategic furniture

fixture and equipment um based or life sequel planning for K to2 school districts I found fascinating um um but I appreciated that there was they talked about that managing fine is about it's it relates to creating a learning environment not just buying furniture. So, it's what you put in the classroom, what you buy through the school affects the learning of the kids, it affects teacher retention, it affects all of those other things that matter. And they talk about things like what you've talked about with our inventory management. Um, and then I also attended the the same um session that Trusty Reid attended on um board members for student for school discipline concerns, evidence-based practices. And for me um in addition to the things that trustee Reed mentioned um are just a couple of particular things that um that session seems important to me um the topic is very important to me but I know it connects to some of the the work that our um administrators are already doing to move towards restorative justice practices. Um it connects to a couple of the policies that are coming up for review um through our policy committee. Um so that was something that was um interesting to me and important to to be part of.

Thank you. Um yeah and so for me um I think Vice President Henry and I both attended the uh board president's workshop uh did this at the start a day early than the rest of the sessions. um thought it was very useful in preparing for this but you know there is some amount of until you're in this seat and you don't quite know um but it was it covered basically how to build a governance team how to work together with folks how to organize a meeting and keep it moving so I'll try to do that um the uh I also attended the support for building high quality mathematics program um I'm super passionate about math. I went to school for computer science and so I love pulling math problems and thinking about that stuff. So I'm very excited for this as a one of the core messages that I got out of it was the curriculum adoption is a great opportunity to reorient your program around new results because you're changing the curriculum itself. changing the materials, but then you can al you also need to work with teachers to be able to to adapt to the new stuff and and make sure they're trained and can engage it well. And all of those things need to go hand in hand. So, I'm I'm super excited about this opportunity because it's comes along once a decade when we re when we update this stuff. Um then I also did advancing school finance. Um, so I took many of the same messages around um, it's very easy to start new programs. It's a lot harder to turn them down a lot of the time. So um, keeping us focused on our vision and the program outcomes that we want, giving staff priorities and letting them execute and then hold accountable for results. Um and then one of the one of the primary reasons they mentioned that uh districts end up facing insolveny is they refuse to make some tough decisions earlier

because the longer you delay them the harder it is and the deeper you have to dig. So um I know it's we have difficult choices to make ahead. These all affect real people. um we will have to if we if we we delay lots of those the message was we have to make much more drastic changes and I think we none of us want to do that we want to weather this is as best we can then I attended the board's role in implementing the English learner roadmap so this is I think policy adopted by the state in 2017 but is finally getting funded and by November 2026 they will uh they are due to present to the legislature a plan for it. Um, so we'll but the main principles I think are still applicable for us as as a district. Um, assets oriented and need responsive schools like the intellectual quality of the instruction and meaningful access system conditions that support effectiveness and then alignment and articulation within and across schools. So a lot of this is thinking about English learners are and multilingual learners are not a monolith. They have many different experiences. So they come from many different backgrounds from education, language is spoken. The only the thing they have in common is they're learning English, but that is not uh we need to to be focused on making sure we're serving the needs of of those folks no matter what their story is. And then the other two things that are notable that I went to was strategic plan input, uh how to do it, why it matters, and and um that that was primarily the Napa Valley District. I think Vice President Henry is familiar with the story. Um, but given that we will potentially be revamping our strategic plan, along with that, they had a a lot of good materials on how to do that in a deliberative process and make it across um years because you do need to have a

vision for the long term. make sure that you're on track and kind of have smaller chunks that you are continually improving on and seeing where you're getting towards there and then baking in ahead of that long plan. Lots of discussions with stakeholders and the parents and the community to get buy in for having the plan reflect their priorities and their values and the and every so everyone is you know not everyone's going to be perfectly happy but they at least see the things that they care about reflected in that and then as we execute on it and deliver we'll be happy with it. Um and the final one was investing in people, how district partnerships foster employee growth and student success. Uh this was around regional occupational centers specifically. Um which um I think in short, one of the one of the interesting things there was for CTE courses. Um, some districts are trying to bridge that for later middle school students because it allows them to try things out, see what what they like, and also acquire the credits that they have so they can complete that uh training before they graduate high school and so they're not kind of scrambling to do that. Um, yeah, that was quick summary of my my visit. Any other trusty read?

Yes. Um I forgot to add that I also had separate meetings. Um one with um current teachers who are schoolboard members. Um there's quite a few and the number is growing which I like to see. Um we help support each other. I was at Sunnyvil's um Sunnyvil Bale's meeting last week and then I was at Fremont Union High School District's meeting um a few weeks ago uh supporting because they also have teachers on their boards. Um and then I also met with a group from um mostly Santa Clair County but also some from um just other places in California um board members who are women of color. Um so we're thinking of starting some kind of um group surrounding that as well.

Thank you. Any trusty colleague? Um well the other piece that's on here is the um coast to coast um trip and to kind of um I don't think I think I'm the only one on this board who's been before, but the way that that conference works um is that trustees go and spend a significant amount of time similar to AEC getting trained in what's going on at the federal level that directly impacts school districts in California and preparing for advocacy on Capitol Hill and then um go out in teams to meet with the senators and congress people from our area um to advocate around things that they can specifically work on to better support California schools. Um, I think one of the challenges that has come up about this trip in the past, just that I've heard, not necessarily in our district, but just in general, is but you can just see those people in your field office here, right? Um, and what at least CSBA keeps coming back to is it really matters to show up where they work and it matters to show up in mass to have a strong representation of people from California. Um, the California School Boards Association used to be part of the National School Boards Association, which advocated on behalf of all 50 states at the national level and we had a member on their board and um, and the National School Board Association went through some issues a few years ago. We are no longer a part of it. So, if we want to advocate at the federal level, we really have to do it as a state on our own. um which is why CSBA started doing this this advocacy trip in March. We will also do a state level advocacy trip that in the past was um it's called ledge action week and I encourage you all to participate but in

the past before CO was always in person at the state capital. It's gone online since then, but we're looking at possibly moving back to an in-person um because when you have hundreds of other elected officials show up and sit in your hearings and in your meetings and come to your office, it really does make a difference. Um so, CSBA, I think we can send up to three people from our board. The conference fee is about the same as the AE conference fee. Travel is obviously more expensive because it's flying cross country. Um, we had savings. Uh, I didn't have a conference fee for AEC, but also I wasn't able to stay. Um, so I ended up not having any costs for AEC, which gives us about $2,000 to work with. Um, I would propose that we pay the either for someone to go or for us to send to do the conference registration for two people if they would be willing to self-fund or privately fund their travel hotel room like all the other expenses that we just do the conference fee using that remainder and the the allocated budget that we already allocated. But I also don't know, you know, who wants to go, if people are able to do that, can they afford it? Um, so I I was hoping that the board could discuss um how would we want to approach it? And then a third option is just to um you really need approval from your board to go even if you entirely self-fund. So do we want to support anyone going at all even if we don't make a financial support? a comment.

Um there's only roughly 17 daysish of instructional days in um in April. So that's a no-go for me. I cannot miss um miss out and um leave my classroom. during that time. Henry,

um I'll say I'm personally not able to go that week because of my family um calendar, but um but I do value um to see numbers. Um so I think that if someone on the board is interested and available, I'm supportive of um of sending someone. Um I think um depending on that person and what their interest is and what their ability is to pay for travel or use miles or things um I don't have a specific opinion um exactly how that should be done um as long as I know we have there is a budget amount for a Ford trainings and things like that which as you alluded um some of it was not used for um for AEC for you.

Yeah, I think I'd like to see kind of just where we are coming back with on our on our existing budget and how much is remaining for travel and whatnot that we've allocated for conferences. Um I will probably potentially be unable to go for family obligations, but um I'm I think it is worthwhile if if we can if we have the the cost figured out. um before we take any specific direction we had a discussion I'll probably open for public comment on this item. Uh so if any members of the public wishing to speak in person on this now's the time to fill out a card. If you are online and want to comment on this item, please raise your speak raise your hand. I'll wait to see how many speakers we have. Seeing no one wishing to speak, I will close public comment. Any other specific direction?

I'll just note that um we should make a decision. I would recommend before February 26. That's when the fee goes up. So um the early registration fee is $7.99 and then after the 26th it goes up to 9.49 49 and after March 20th it goes up to about $1,200. All right. I think we can bring that back at a future meeting. Thank you. Bring it back in January. Yep.

All right. Any further comments? Move on to our next item. Item G, board governance handbook. Um, I think Superintendent Mayor um rocks to the retreat in August uh draft of the uh board governance handbook and bringing it back fell off the radar for a short time. So, apologies for that. Um we got some comments that we have incorporated into it, but uh I'm bringing it back for additional comments or consideration for approval. Thank you. Um, any clarifying questions from trustees? Okay, I'll now open public comment on item G. Uh, any members of the public in person and anyone online, please raise your hand if you'd like to speak. Seeing no one wishing to speak on the site, I'll bring it back to the board for discussion. Trusty Lambert.

Yeah, I have a couple of comments. Um during the last um I don't know, several board meetings, there's agenda items that have come up that I have learned that um school districts are basically required to have annual reports on. And examples are inventory lists and uh in this board meeting a seniority list. And I first of all I'd like to I think we should comply with those requirements. And um uh I'm not aware of these requirements. So I'm counting on staff that who's responsible to inform us of these requirements and um make sure that they are appear on our governance calendar so that we are reviewing them as we should uh you know every year like a lot of these it doesn't have to be quick right the seniority report we didn't really talk about that um but it's there right and we can refer to it and the public can refer to it and I think in both of these items we we have received as a positive feedback and really thanks for for including these. So, um I would ask you as a superintendent to basically make sure the responsible people on the staff sort of are aware of the annual reporting requirements and include those in the governance calendar.

Yeah, quick comment. We are as a function of the it's actually come up in the policy committee. Uh so we're we're actually gathering that uh out of each of our polic out of all of our policies and identifying those. Right. Thank you, Trusty Cley.

Yeah. So um you know this is more kind of word smithing almost on page eight. Um the protocol for responding to emails sent to one board member. Um it says when a board member receives an email with an issue or concern the protocol is to notify the superintendent of concern while preserving confidentiality of the constituent as appropriate. Um unfortunately or fortunately our communications are public records and that means our ability to preserve confidentiality of an email that we receive doesn't actually exist. So, I don't want this to mislead the public. Now, if somebody writes us about a specific issue with their child and names their child, that information is private regardless because it's about student privacy. But many of the emails we receive might not include that level of detail and could be um publicly disclosed through a public records request to a newspaper to um you know any anyone in the public who does who submits that request. So I my concern is that this would mislead community members about the privacy of those communications. Tell me again on page one.

Page eight. It's the bottom paragraph.

Yeah, that that that's a fair point. Um because the the balance does tip more often than not to uh it not being confidential if it's sent via email. So we'll uh Shel, we we'll look at the wording on that. Thank you. President Henry.

Um I think one thing that I think would be useful to add to this um might be um I I've seen it um in for example the Napa Valley Inside um governance uh handbook. Um something about kind of expectations of uh new um new trustee orientation and both kind of expectations of you know the the current board of of what they would do to help or the superintendent u but also kind of expectations of things like attending new trustee orientation expectations of that person. Um so I would be interested in in potentially adding a section on that. um which we have three of us have had this experience very recently of being new trustees could send you our thoughts um and we also have the experience of people who have been board president when they received new trustees um and what they they think that could be um it doesn't have to be super detailed I think but just something um in there about that

okay one thing that came to mind here when I was reading through this is um it calls out the board retreat that we have regularly. Um one of the intents of which is to review the governance handbook. Um might be interesting during that time to but we're all familiar with it now here but um maybe do some as a group comparative across other governance handbooks and kind of see what we'd like to pull from that as a as a team and kind of rather than separate. Um, and similarly, I think we can probably do the new trustee handbook if we would like to do that during our our board retreat, but I don't think that necess needs to be a part of the ongoing process, but that's a good time to refresh these, I think, on our schedule.

Trusty,

I also found that so on page 10, um, the board president's role includes leading the board's advocacy efforts, advocacy efforts to build support within the local community and at the state and national levels. I haven't seen that called out like that before and I'm both excited and nervous about it. Um, and so I I would like to understand better what that means or entails and you know I'm very involved in advocating at the state level. Does that mean I can't do that if I'm not the board president? You know, like how does this what does this actually mean? Um, and Superintendent Bear, I assume you've had experience with this in a board handbook before.

So, this is these will vary by by board, right? Um, whether it whether it be led by the whoever happens to be in the president's seat each year or if it's an expectation of of all, right? Um, so that this can be whatever whatever we you want it to be. just my my thoughts is I would think advocacy applies to all of us, but I maybe what this is getting at is that um you know when someone speaks on behalf of the board to other organizations it's really the president who should be making those those statements and and we should enable the president to do that.

Yeah. And similarly I think right like as a board right like if we are actively delegating say to a specific trustee to go to coast to coast or something like that that does not mean that we're we're shaking that duty on the president. It's more just this is the making sure that we are doing those things I think is how I how I interpreted this portion ensuring that we we're actually doing that and similar to Trusty Lamper's comment about when speaking kind of in in specific capacities about for the board it's kind of where it falls but

I think my experience has been um when the board president has advocated on behalf of the board kind of across agencies or up levels It's been like for example going to speak at city council meetings when an item regarding the school board is up and if the president can't come they would ask if another trustee would be able to fill in for them. Um, and so I I think it sounds like that fits here versus, you know, I hope all of you participate in legislative action week and then you will have the opportunity possibly to meet with Assembly Member Burman or um our state senator Josh Becker and um and argue on behalf of our district and our county. Um, and I think that that I think the power of all of our voices is um is very meaningful when it comes to advocating in that type of a a situation. Um, and so I I just I don't want this to um have a cooling effect on other people or make someone feel like as the president by themselves they have to do all of the advocacy as well. Trusty Lever.

Yeah, I guess it's still on. I just was thinking through, you know, advocacy too is um even doesn't mean you have to identify yourself as as a board member or or say I'm speaking on behalf of the board. Quite honestly, just showing up and people know you're a board member in your personal capacity, right? Even is is advocacy. Okay. So, just for example, like like uh um city council um member Ramos tonight showing up, right? She was here her in her personal capacity, but we all know she's a city council member and effective she's advocating for the city council while she's here.

Yeah. And further just in in contrast, I think if you look at the previous item on there, right, like there's an expectation that the board president is representing the district. it's called out specifically whereas leading our advocacy efforts I I interpret more broadly as as this is a responsibility to make sure we are doing it and continuing to to push for it. So and I would be remiss not to say thank you for being willing to be our designate and and I didn't get to thank you earlier pres former president Lambert for all of your work this past year but it is um it is not an easy job. It is not an easy job and um having to speak on behalf of the board is a is a large weight to carry.

Happy to carry that burden. One note that I think I probably should should have caught when we went over this uh draft a while ago, but on page four in item number one, um at least this year, and I think this is consistent, it's actually one meeting in June and actually then two, we have two meetings in April. So, and this says two in June, two regular meetings in June and one in April. Any further comments or being none, is there an action is an action to approve it with some of the feedback or should we

Why don't Why don't we bring it back again? Um, I'm wondering too on the one that um Trusty Henry just highlighted if it's um if it's important to call out which meeting which months have two and which have one, right? Probably isn't. So, let's work on that, too. Just a clarifying point. Must this be approved at a regular meeting or could we approve it at say the retreat? Let's discuss it. That's in That's in January, right? It could be approved at any meeting. Trust.

Um it's not really discussed in the handbook per se so much, but that January meeting usually includes a midyear evaluation as well. And I am we're going to be busy in January. am wondering if February might make more sense. Do we get through um through that since February is a a month that we only have one meeting not only according to this but in actuality. Yeah. So presumably then we would have discussion during the retreat on the governance handbook and any final polish that we want to give it and then come back in February to approve.

Sound reasonable to folks? at third bar. Are you suggesting that we have our retreat in February, right? Oh. Oh, sorry. Just because February is going to be Yes. very full. Okay. That sounds good. Any further comments you or should we? All right. Item H. is naming the board representative for the county committee 2026 election.

Yes. So, um for some clarity on this, this is um this is identifying a trustee from this board to cast the vote for the person who will ultimately have a seat on the county committee board. Um so, uh that that's that's what this is. It's I just want to clarify that it's not appointing one of us or to for for consideration on that body, but it's just someone who's going to be charged with the uh responsibility to cast the vote. Clarifying question. Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, it's usually the board president

typically. Right. That's a fair clarifying question. Um so, uh I'll now open for public comment. Uh, anyone members of the public wishing to speak on this item, uh, raise your hand online or fill in a speaker card in person. Seeing no one online, we'll bring it back to the board for discussion and action. I'd like to move that uh, trustee uh, President DeFazio uh, uh, be nominated the board representative for the county committee 2026 election. I have a second. Second. All right. All those in favor? I I.

All opposed? Motion passes unanimously by Trusty Library, seconded by Trusty Connley.

Our next item, item I, Stevens Creek Trail Erosion, and Solar Partnership. Good evening, trustees. I also we also have three members uh from the city of Mountain View here to answer questions if there's any specific questions you have on the projects that we're partnering on. Uh so Lisa, David, Pritney, and Raymond Wong are also here online with us. So they've stuck with us for our meeting. So this evening I'll be giving an update on our Stevens Creek bank erosion and solar partnership with the city of Mountain View. So the Stevens Creek erosion project uh last October uh we came in front of you and brought information on a possible partnership between the city and MVWSD to address the erosion occurring on the on the Stevens Creek bank. Addressing the erosion is important because it'll protect our property and keep the area safe. We have a few pictures to show you and then we'll go through the plans. Um since then the city has moved forward with the planning process and today we'll update the board on uh the planning and the possible costs. So this is the project location. As a result of wet winters over the 22 and 23 23 and 24 year certain segments of the creek banks along Stevens Creek have severely eroded. The areas of concern are along Stevens Creek between Middlefield Road and Moffett Road in the city of Mountain View adjacent to the Wisman Park and Mountain View Wisman uh property. So this is the project site. To identify the repairs needed, the city hired a consultant to document the erosion and prepare the design plans for the erosion areas. The erosion areas are located uh

as A, B, and C as well as D. Um, our portion that is on the Mountain View West School District property is area C. We have a few photos of the erosion at location C and D. So again, the C location is on our property. So the current project status, we are at 100% draft design, which means that all drawings and specifications are completed. Um, we are the the proposed repair work requires permits from regulatory agencies including the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the California Defi Department of Fish and Wildlife. So, one of the reasons that we brought this to the board earlier in the year was because this is definitely something that takes uh multiple uh different agencies looking at it and is definitely not in the it's not part of our expertise as a school district. So, the city offered to take on this process if we were able to cover our proportional share. Um, pending permit approval from the regulatory agencies, it's anticipated the project will be self-migating for impacts to the creek and vegetation. In addition, Valley Water has an easement along this creek easement. Therefore, an encroachment permit is required for the repair. So this is looking at the repair design at locations A and C. So the proposed repair includes installing a log crib structure along the toe of the bank and regrading the eroded upper bank covers with biodegradable erosion control fabric. And we have a picture that will show you what this looks like. The log crib structure will improve bank stability by reducing the bank slope and incorporating vegetation to the bank surface. In addition, the log root wads will be installed and anchored at

selected locations along the creek to improve stability at the toe of the bank and provide habitat benefits. The repair work will also rep excuse me, replace existing exposed or damaged storm drain pipes and swells. So, here are photos of what it will look like. And this is looking at the construction access and staging. It will it will require uh the city excuse me the project will require providing the city temporary construction easement which is highlighted in the red. So for access staging and construction activity on district property. construction access will enter on the site via the existing Valley Water Maintenance Path entry from Middlefield Road. So, actually, if you've walked this path, uh it's a it's the easiest way to access this area. So, that way the city can access both sides of Stevens Creek. Shown in front of you is the estimated project cost. The engineer's opinion of probable cost of construction for the repair work is uh almost 2 million for the entire project. Uh the repair work at location C on our property is approximately 820,000 which is 27% of the total construction cost. Then looking forward at post project maintenance and monitoring. Um the project will require mitigation due to the impacts on the creek channel which will be incorporated in the project design and construction. The mitigated areas will require a period of monitoring after construction. City staff will be responsible for the routine monitoring and minor maintenance of the project site. During the monitoring period when the maintenance

requires the help of outside vendors, the cost of the maintenance of these components will be proportionally allocated. Um something to that we also appreciate is uh district staff does does not have the expertise to monitor uh what is happening with the erosion. So this is a breakdown of the cost sharing estimates. Again, we would be responsible for approximately 27% of the cost as well as uh ongoing maintenance if it's needed. So, our next steps um we will bring forward uh partnership agreement. So previously the board had authorized staff to set aside a portion of money to cover this uh and then we will moving forward we will bring something likely under the consent uh section with a formal cost sharing agreement for this project. Uh the city will move forward to obtain environmental permits and complete the bid package. And uh the city of Mountain View Council will approve the Mountain View Wisman agreements and design package for construction by March 2026. And the anticipated construction window is June to October 2026. So this is coming up quickly and the goal is to get this uh taken care of before the rainy season hits again. Uh the next update is solar at Mount at the Mountain View Sports Pavilion or Graham and the Wisman Sports Center at Kittinden. So this is a second update that we're bringing to you. We first brought this to you on April 18th, 2024 about a partnership between the city of Mountain View and uh the district to provide solar at both sports gyms. Since then, the city has moved forward with a planning process. And tonight, we'll update the board on the status of the project. uh for context uh reminding uh us is that the city will pay for the cost at Graham and the district will cover its proportional share at Kittinden. These are the locations that were

presented earlier. These locations are still the locations where solar is planned. Um at Graham, we are moving forward right now with the Graham carport. Uh so over the winter break there would notice there's there have been notices that have gone out to um the area around Graham as well as Graham families. Uh they will be working on prepping the area for the carport. So for the Graham carport uh moving through phase 1 December 17th through February 2026. So eight trees located along the fence line between the parking lot and the track will need to be removed but they are also going to be replaced during this time period. parking lot capacity will be re reduced by one/ird. Phase two will be midFebruary through April 2026. Uh in addition to the parking lot structure, the city is also planning the roof mounted solar arrays on the sports pavilion, which you just saw a photo of. This is looking at the tree removal. Uh just to make it easier to see, there's purple dots over the trees that will be removed. And the next slide is showing the tree mitigations or where trees will be replaced. Um, I'm not going to read through this, but a little bit of background on the gyms at Kittinden. Uh, we have a use a operation agreement with the city where we split the cost of maintaining Kittinden um, as well as all utilities. At Graham, the city takes care of all the costs for maintenance and utilities, which is why at Graham, the city is taking on the cost of doing the solar. So in April 2024, staff provided an estimate of 163,000 for solar atrinden. Since then the since that time the cost has increased to 256,985. Um at the time of the original estimate the city was in process of doing the design. So this is a more refined uh number. Um to go back to this the cost since

this is a fairly small cost in terms of how much we've spent on solar in the past. Um previously uh staff had used the 163,000 and used uh funds that were left over from the original measure T solar project and there is enough left that we can cover this as well. So we wanted to ask for any questions. Thank you Dr. cross over uh and clarifying questions from trustees. Trusty Connley.

Yes. Um does the the city's um cost for the Graham site include the tree replacement they will be paying for the new trees as well. That's correct. Thank you. Why why is the car carport being built now as opposed to doing it at the same time for the rooftop melts? Mr. Why why is why is it necessary to build a carport? I think it has to and I'll let the city jump in, but I'm assuming it has to do with the size and the amount of solar arrays that are needed to uh produce the amount of energy at the gym.

Got it. It's so it's really to put the solar to increase the solar capacity. Yes. I did carports. So fine. That's the purpose of it. Are there questions? Trusty company. I mean, if anyone from the city wants to jump in and and share anything else before we move on to public comment, I think it would be helpful.

Uh yes, this is uh David Printy, principal project manager with the city of Mountain View's public works. Um so I want to thank you uh for taking this up and appreciate the partnership. Um just to share that you know the incentives for doing this is to uh obviously increase our use of green energy and also um garner cost savings from uh the the solar production and that's you know one of the answers to your question of why the carport is to increase the production and and thereby increase our our energy savings. Uh the anticipated savings uh for Graham um over the 20-year period is about 1.3 plus million um which split it's basically a 250% uh payback on the investment of each party. So just as an example. All right. Now we'll move on to public comment. Any members of the public in person, drop off a speaker card. If anyone wants to speak online, please now it's time to raise your hand. Seeing one hand raised, I'll close the public comment and I'll leave three minutes for

um hi, this is Young. I remember commenting on this issue when it was first raised back in 2024 about the tree being cut down to build the solar panels. Um I guess I'm not sure who to address for this but it just why aren't there more effort in preserving trees and just you know fresh air because like those tree takes a long time to grow to get to the size where they are. Um so just to see this big like this amount of trees being cut down that's also means shades are being removed. I know that they are plann to you know plant new trees but new trees are not that size and not that you know that amount of shade and also new tree text cost a lot to upkeep and to you know the water cost the main cost all that stuff. Um and I see this trend with the city a lot just like anytime there is a new um construction anything the first thing is you know cutting down trees because obviously it is a lot cheaper to build you know on like around cheaper to build without obstruction or having to work around things. So I am walking on cash right now and looking I'm across from ground and I'm looking direct at the directly at those trees and it just breaks my heart to think that you know that the trees will be gone

in like in the next few months and so I just hope and I I don't recall seeing a notification regarding like the removal tree. Are these heritage trees? Um, and so yeah, I'm just hope that the district and the city collaborate in a way just to put stop cutting down trees because then you're eliminating shades for the kids, you know, and for the people using the field and you're you're you're cutting you're taking away the the fresh air, the oxygen and all that stuff. So that's my comment. I'm just very disappointed.

Thank you. Now moving to um board for discussion. Uh do we have a motion? I move that the board approve the Stevens Creek Trail erosion and solar partnership plans. You have a second.

Just confirming. Is that what we're approving or just the allocation of the money? Approving the allocation of money. We'll amend that. Please say motion to approve the Stevens Creek trail erosion and solar partnership alloc uh plan allocation of funding. Second

second. All right. All those in favor I I. All opposed. Motion passes unanimously from Trusty Lambert, seconded by Trusty Reid. Being that it is 9:35, do we have a motion to extend the meeting in case?

Do you think this is going to take that long? No, I think we can do it. We have community comments still and then potentially discussion of future agenda. I'm cautious. I don't want us to have to adjourn immediately on my first meeting that I I think at 9:50 we can always chime in if we need.

All right, fair enough. With that, we'll move on to item J first reading board policies and board bylaws. There slides attached. Oh, it's in the main. Yes, it's in it's up one level. Yeah. All right. So, everyone's favorite part of the night. I will discuss our the results of our policy committee meeting. I will try to be brief. We had a marathon session this time, but and we to pay deep attention to a lot of them. I forget how exactly how long it took Trusty Henry and staff and I to go through it, but it was longer than the usual meeting, but we made it through. And so, um, a lot of it was from the November 2025 update. Um, some previous committee meetings and some of the staff recommendations. And now here we have our policy. Next slide. I usually try to thematically group these somewhat because it was a kind of a larger mix. This was a little more challenging. But uh this one was roughly uh I think communications, operations and finance. Next slide please. Then we had couple groups here of professional staff policies, conduct and safety and then student focused services and education. Next slide please. Then we had refreshing a bunch of our bylaws which I'll get to at the end. So first district sponsored social media quick highlights here. So our district

sponsored social media policy covers the social media accounts that we create which are there to kind of further our vision, mission and communications goals. Got some options for how we treat these and our views that they mean to exist for a limited purpose. Um we apply viewpoint neutral considerations for the removal of material. Um this is not meant to be an open public forum on our social media accounts. Um we have to ensure the the accessibility of the content for individuals with disabilities in violation of our policies. We'll subject staff and students if they're operating them uh to discipline if they're misused. The updates to the policy are pretty light. Um a lot of the changes for the uh from the CSBA batch here were in the associated administrative reg regulations, but the policy itself is pretty light on changes. Next one. Um, advertising and promotions. So, we do, you know, establish consistent standards for ad ads and promotions from non-school groups in publications, district school websites, social media, school, school facilities, and grounds. Um, again, a choice of uh operating as a non-public forum, which would perhit all external advertising or a limited public forum, which permits certain advertising and distribution of materials. Um we chose and have chosen in the past to be a limited public forum. Materials have to be reviewed by staff based on established criteria and they're rejected for specific reasons. Um the update to the policy here contains additional additional criteria for um advertisements around state nutritional standards. So the any foods. Next slide please. Uh this one was last updated in 2014 if I recall correctly. Uh brings us up to date with the CSBA 2018 revision. Um, roughly in in brief, our our existing policy lets the district accept gifts, grants, and quests, but you know, they have to be mission aligned and cannot uh directly or indirectly impair our authorities to make uh decisions in

the best interests of of students um compromise our provision of equitable educational opportunities or encourage violations of the law, promote prohibited behaviors or unduly commercialize our school environment. So, those are the conditions we have. Sometimes gifts will come with conditions. We must ensure that we'll be able to satisfy those before acceptance as a board. Um and then all gifts grants requests do become district properties. Um since we last updated this in 2014, the major update here is bringing in online fundraising which I don't think really existed at that time. So now we have some policies uh directly around that and how we handle it. Debt issuance issuance and management. This is mandatory by the government code and it's kind of our framework for how we uh issue debt and which is maintaining accountability for our fiscal health and attaining the best possible credit rating for each debt issue to reduce interest costs while still preserving our financial flexibility. Um authorized purposes such as capital improvements, refunding existing debt, and providing cash flow needs. I think we're familiar with a lot of the tools that we've used for this in the past. um the superintendent or designate is responsible for administering the program, retaining our advisors as necessary and establishing internal control procedures. Uh the updates primarily include that ahead of selling any bonds, the go the governing board must adopt a resolution stating our express approval of the method of sale of a statement of the reasons for the method of sale. Uh and the district required to submit annually um a report to CDI AC following a bond issuance. Next. Next one. Parcel taxes. We're very familiar with parcel taxes. We've just done one. So, um, this will this will be pretty brief, but they're basically approval requirements. Um, how you as board have to vote on them and how the public will approve them, the kind of the uniformity of rate structure with

parcel taxes. This is primarily replacing an an older policy we had, which I'll talk later about how we resend we're rescending that. This is the new upto-date version of CSBA. Next slide. Hopefully, we won't need this one anytime soon. Um, but it's a good time to refresh. Um, we're we're pretty familiar with the recruitment and selection process, all of us. But, you know, we are the ones responsible for selecting the superintendent. We establish the process and own it. It's our our choices as a board. um we can acquire folks to help us along with that, but it's it's our process. U the there's some rewarding in the new update around um some of the steps of the process like what we can retain advisors for and how and and removing ones where we where boards traditionally do not utilize them. And there's a new state law regarding candidates with some public duty related felonies SB521 2025. though cannot hire candidates with those specific charact specific uh felonies. Next slide. Par professionals such as instructional aids, special education aids, and teachers assistants are valuable personnel part of the full team that supports student learning. They are you must they must possess the qualifications required by law and need to be supervised by certificated personnel. Uh assignments determined based on the greatest benefit to students. and they need clear definition of roles and responsibilities. Um there's ongoing support and regular performance assessments, usual things for staff. Um there's not a major update to this one. I'm sure you saw uh we were this is really old one and we removed a reference to No Child Left Behind Act, I believe. So uh that's no longer applicable here, but this is part of why we do this process of going through these and just kind of coming through. Uh, next slide. Campus security. As a board, we commit to a

secure school environment, provide safety of students, staff, and visitors, and protect property, facilities, and equipment from theft and vandalism. Uh, the the superintendent designate will develop and regular review our security procedures. Um and then we have some guidelines for how we use surveillance systems uh such as trimming their placement in areas where individuals might have a reasonable expectation of privacy audio capabilities being disabled and we need conspicuous signage. The updates here are again bringing things further cyber security considerations to them and some uh requirements on immediate reporting of specific homicidal threats. Next, bus conduct. We expect everyone to maintain appropriate and orderly conduct while using our student trans student school transportation. Uh superintendent design will actually establish the rules related to conduct and driver authority. Um they may deny students the privilege of using school transportation if there's persistent refusal um or continued disorderly conduct. That the lang update here is add some language around use of video recording on buses and transparency regarding how we uh notify folks of those recordings being taken. uh our exist existing food policy for food food service and child nutrition program uh charges us with carefully selecting foods that contribute to students well-being meeting or exceeding the legal nutrition standards. Um it's a core necessity for the ability to learn. Uh and this is a place where I think our our process of reviewing policies identifies places where we are asking for annual reporting. Maybe not statutory required. Sometimes it is, but here certain places where as a board we've decided that we should be getting these annual reports. And so this is I think really one of the benefits of our policy committee of looking through these and peeling peeling back a lot of the things we have and and figuring this

out. So um we've been we've had a keen eye on that for a couple meetings now. Um the updates here uh they cover the universal meal provisions that that are relatively new and they highlight um prioritizing our freshly prepared meals. Next slide. Parent involvement. So you know the the existing policy here is around parents and guardians being children's first and most influential teachers. um update as our our title one obligations and that we want to joint uh jointly develop our our plans with parents and and collaborate. The update here is we took some language that was previously in an AR around advisory committees um like they call it a parent advisory or ELAC and and committees like that and moved it into the policy directly and then there's some updated language for compliance with RC federal monitoring comprehensive health education uh must be planned sequential aligned with the state content standards covering six key areas nutrition physical activity, growth, development and sexual health, injury prevention and safety, alcohol back and other drugs, mental, emotional and social health and personal community health. Overall goals to produce promote student wellness holistically and um periodic reports on implementation and effectiveness. Uh previously we have you know we have already provided printification optouts. We last updated this policy in 2006. So um this is more reflecting our our existing practices here. Then the last of the policies courses of study uh well- aligned sequence of courses being necessary to foster academic growth. Maximize our instructional time. Provide students with opportunities for skills and knowledge required for success. We look to design courses that prepare students for the subsequent ones. Minimize

duplication and collect all the essential prerequisites for them so that the flow of these courses really is is focused. higher grades, we offer a course of study that prepares them to meet the requirements and prerexs for California public colleges and universities. And then we have a prohibition on discrimination in providing courses so that everyone they're accessible to everyone. Um you'll recall the updates here. One of them was from SP1137 where uh language specifically around prohibited discrimination also includes combinations of two or more projected characteristics. We had a bunch of updates earlier around that and then similar language from earlier about rental optout requirements. Next slide by law refresh not not a huge significant change more clean up and updates and then uh one thing that we have included here is part of the policy development process calling out specifically um the board policy committee as as a part of that role and how we set that up. And last bit here is rescending. So stale policies either no longer part of suggested policy by CSBA or moved into other policies. So parcel tax moved over to a different uh policy education of language learners for special ed was incorporated into our education of English language learners policy and then board vacancies exhibit was replaced by the filling vacancies policy. So no significant changes there. And then you're right, I wrapped up quickly. Any clarifying questions from trustees. All right. I would note that the some of what um some of the things that were a combination of the November packet and certain things that staff members who are uh toiling through um getting us ready to host our policies on the gamut policy plus platform are discovering

things that were not previously just haven't been updated in a long time. So that's where some of the things that were um President DeFazio has mentioned not being updated since 2006 or 1999 um occasionally will be um thanks to our staff that are working very hard to to get us ready to have a beautiful searchable platform for our policies.

Very excited about that. Um so moving any questions further? Uh, moving on to public comment. Will any member of the public in person turn in a speaker card? Um, otherwise anyone online raise your hand. We have Oh, pause to let people raise hands. We have one member of the public. MVWSD parent, I'll give you Oh, before I closed, we have two. This is these are the the two we will have. So, MVWSD parent, I'll give you each three minutes. So,

hey, thanks for taking my comment. I really appreciate the hours and hours of hard work that went into updating all these uh board policies. Um, I just want to touch base yet again on inventory because I don't see a board policy on inventory and I think it is critical not just for uh compliance reasons, right? uh funding and grants that uh require uh a physical inventory be conducted um and I think on an annual basis uh but also for just general asset tracking um and that we have millions and millions of dollars in inventory I think it's important that we have a board policy requiring um an annual inventory um the I mean the board passed you $175,000 in designer furniture for the staff housing, including I I think approval for a chair that was worth more than $2,000, should somebody decide to move that chair up into their apartment without an annual physical inventory, we would not even know that that asset is gone. So, I think it is important that we uh have a board policy on inventory and um would appreciate the consideration of that. Thank you. Thank you. Um, next up, Miss Luke.

Um, sorry, I I thought I had a comment, but I'll save it for another time. Thank you. Thank you. Further discussions? First reading.

Yeah. My only um and maybe maybe I should have asked it as a clarifying question, but the only thing I'm very happy to see all of this done and we keep trucking through. Good job, policy committee. Um it's there's a lot of policies out there that we have to get through and so I really appreciate the time and the staff time that goes into it as well. Um the update for the um the actual board bylaw around policy development is the intent that the policy committee be like a gatekeeper on new policy generated by the board or can the board generate a new policy as a whole without having to go through the committee? I'm trying to parse the language here. Intentwise, it was right like the board can choose to hear directly any agenda item that we want to, right? Like I think this is more setting the general accepted path, but like it is our entirely the board's prerogative to bypass the the committee if we so demand. But uh

I I think you know in the past we didn't have a board policy committee or we would do kind of ad hoc committees based on something coming up. Um but the policy that we have kind of developed that was new in the past usually came through full board discussion and development as a part of a resolution for example. So I just wanted to make sure I think you know that this didn't roll that out. So in item item four, right? You can see that's where I'm looking.

The board may agendaize, revise or new policies presented by the board policy committee or one or more discussions or presentations with respect to the need for new or revised board policy. Um I think the intent is to have it generally referred, but I don't think I don't I don't expect the board policy committee will bottle up policies and and prevent them from coming coming ahead. I think that sentence that sentence is unclear to me. That makes sense. Um, so maybe if we could just update otherwise, I'm happy to make a motion to approve everything else, but I'd just like to amend that section. And again, this is why we do first readings. This is not a motion here. Oh, you're right. I'm sorry. I'm ahead of myself. This is why it's good as part of this process to do the first and second readings, right? Because we do want to deliberate over these

and discuss them. The the policy committee makes recommendations, but we're not, you know, we're not the the final. not the hammer. Um, no, thank you. I I would like to clarify that language because it's not entirely clear in that sentence and I think there when we like for example when we did the dress code policy um that was a full board discussion and I think it was really important that it

it was generated by the entire board it did not get kind of caught up in a committee beforehand. What I would suggest probably that might work well at least is we agendaize discussions for policies, refer them to the committee to actually hammer out the language that we need to and review what comes back from staff and then we get a first reading and a second reading. I don't think it's necessary but I think that would be

I I don't want to control so I think it can be easy to I think we have a very good board. I have seen boards where people leverage things like that to gatekeep others and um and so I don't want to put in language that can be used as gatekeeping. Um I don't get the sense this board would ever do that, right? But I also think, for example, if it was dress code, if we were to do that all over again, I think it would make more sense for two trustees who were interested in working on that specific issue to be appointed by the board to work on it rather than it having to go through the policy committee. Um, because they're particularly invested in that specific issue and doing all of the research and what have you. Um, and so that's where I I just don't want this to be too prescriptive. Um, and we might not always have a board policy committee. Frankly, we might not always have the bandwidth or capacity to have that run. And so that's that's what I'm interested in having here is the flexibility in the language that for new policy generation, it could be that the board directs the board policy committee to take it up. It could also be that the board appoints an ad hoc committee to address that sign that singular policy, bring it back for board review or it could be that the board directs staff to bring something for the board to review.

Yeah. So, a lot of other folks have been talking a lot. So, I just want to do a time check. It's 9:5 Oh, 7, right? I make a motion to extend the meeting until 11:15. A second. Second. All those in favor? I I'm sure you didn't mean 11. 10:15. I I I accept the friendly amendment. Oh, no. I was like, wow, really patting it, but it's going to be a long discussion.

Clarity on what the mo what is the motion? Yeah, it's a 10:15. I'm accepting accepting a friendly amendment to 10:15. In the 10:15. All right. Motion to extend the meeting till 10:15. All those in favor? I I post opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Um so I feels a little meta to suggest this, but whether this policy should go back to the policy committee to review the language, maybe look at some other districts and see, you know, how we because I I think that's what's being suggested. I

agree. that uh that yes I the my view would that that have a policy committee outline how it works if it's going through the policy committee but not that that excludes things coming directly to the board or um I think if it were a situation of an ad hoc committee we'd have to just think about how that works with this existing and make sure that one of us isn't as a dress dress code example like that would be something I'd be interested in but I'm also on this committee so whether it would but that would need to be wait anyway I think we should take this one back to

so just to clarify we're going to pull uh BB9310 to into the committee again yes

I think in general like like I think there's value in that body as deliberative on policy and and I but I but I do not want it to be a gatekeeper. I want it to be like a repository of us to be able to take the time to consider these things and for things that are not urgent, right? Like we can um be thoughtful about it and work and give staff time to prepare and all this. I think I think what Trustee Connley is sort of pointing out that there are that there there will come a time, right, when there's policies that we want to adopt for our district and not just take it from the CSBA like we're doing here. Press code is a is an example that came up what a year or so ago. So yeah, and those are going to need a little bit more attention from the board, the parents.

And I will say my expect one of the reasons I think it's important that we do this first reading and then a separate vote is that with every single one there is that opportunity. There may be some that need a special attention of a couple of board members to put the put them together, but even the long list of everything here that it was my expectation that it, you know, we're willing to do, you know, spend a couple hours on these, you know, as a super meaning and have them, but that doesn't mean that um that has to be the way it should speak up if something is any of the things um is something of interest or concern or and same with public comment on any of these

trusty com.

Well, I believe I mean we are a legislative body. We have the power to generate new policy and most of the policy committee's role I see as updating reviewing compliance kind of policies if that makes sense. Like going through are we in alignment? Are there things we're missing? Are there things we need to update? like there's this very um important kind of oversight functional review that the policy committee is undertaking. When I think about generating new policy that's unique to our district, I just I have experienced that as something very different from the work that the policy committee is currently doing. And that doesn't discount that there's a role for the policy committee at that. But I think when we have had this happen in the past, so I want to say in 2019 perhaps it was precoid that we did a new dress code policy. Um and then the resolution around um sustainability ended up practically becoming a policy but not quite like it's a it lives somewhere in the middle. Um those were a very different process than what's described here. So I would I would challenge that somewhat in so the way I would envision kind of something like that happening which I think is a a balance of the board time and the deep dive that the policy committee can do is the board identifies the need for a new policy say dress code. We have a study session where we discuss what we want to be in there. We give that direction to staff to prepare it. Then the policy committee reviews how that fits in with all the other things and says yes this reflects the the board and then comes for first reading and second reading still. Um I think that balances the the amount of time and dedication while preserving kind of our board time of hammering out language and checking that

uh I mean you're adding a whole study session instead of just an agenda item. I I just I don't see the path that way. I don't see it as having I I still feel like that feels like gatekeeping by the policy committee about something that may have broader interest from the board and the policy committee is only two people. Um whereas the board is five and then you could get into politics around who gets on the policy committee and who doesn't. Like we have a highly functioning board but I also am in contact with boards all across the county. And so I I guess what I live with is the examples of what could also be bad behavior in this situation. So I don't want to approve a bylaw that would prohibit a more open process if the board wants a more open process.

I'm happy to provide flexibility. I do if we have a bad acting board policy and the full board does not like it, we can remove people from the policy committee. This is still under our control, right? Like I don't think we can we can kind of we can't protect ourselves from those things. Those are discussions we have to have if the if if things are happening that we're not happy. I think we would certainly have the discussion, but there's a difference between removing someone from a committee, which is a pretty drastic action, and saying, "Let's have this policy be carried and the work done for it by the board members who are most invested in trying to see it through. and it comes to the board for review instead of going like I I just I don't I feel like you're trying to exert a control here as a safety mechanism. Not you personally like that there's an effort to control something that doesn't need that um like why would the policy committee I guess I'm trying to imagine you keep describing a scenario where the policy committee would make sure it fits with our other policies. What does that mean?

Um, so for example, when we discuss these with staff, sometimes there are cross references we need to make sure we still have from CSBA. There's language that we like to tweak. Like, as as much as I appreciate staff's recommendations, we don't always accept them from even CSBA updates directly. We have a discussion, we talk about it, and and we have public meetings. This is a Brown Act body. So, the minutes are there or the we have minutes. We have the agenda. you can see the inputs and the outputs from this. I don't I think I think there's you there's value in having that that time to dedicate just to that, right? Like our last meeting was relatively long. We discussed a lot of things.

I I think you guys are doing wonderful work too. I just don't want this particular item four to create a future frozen process for generating new policy that it always has to go to that committee first. I think it should be more flexible. That's right. We'll take this back. We've taken the the feedback. I think the direction correct. All right. And

I was just going to say that I think it ties in there's the other bylaw that talks about requesting things for the agenda. That is kind of what this is getting at too of it's requesting that a policy idea be brought to the board and then you know sending it back. So I think it ties in a little bit there. Um because I I my intention is not to draft this in a way that it's gatekeeping but more um but also just reiterating that like even in the things that go through the policy committee first they're absolutely open to feedback and comment from the full board in addition you know especially there's sometimes CSVA sample policies that have more choice than others and so there's some that are going to even I think there have been a couple where we've even seen it and said that actually just needs to be its an agenda item. So they can kind of go both ways. So I think the the flexibility and the fluidity is important lens for us to look at this at any further further discussion. All right, with that we will move on to community comments. So this time we open the floor for community comments on items not appearing on tonight's agenda. Um, please remember that the Brown Act prohibits the board from discussing or taking action on any item uh listed in the posted agenda. Um, we have anyone person wishes to speak on items on the agenda and anyone uh remote I will pause for a second for hands to go up. All right, we see seeing two hands. Um see I'll start with you have three minutes.

Um hi thank you. Um this is our last meeting of 2025. So, um just want to thank um President Lambert for leading, you know, our school district through this like very interesting past year and you know just this whole hiring the new superintendent, you know, handling the housing uh teachers housings and just everything that you've done. So, just really appreciative. Thank you. Um, also I just also want to make um make a public uh appreciation for uh principal Benvdas at Graham that um you know his last day will be at the end of this school year of the the end of this month and just the huge change that he made to the Graham community in his one and a half years there was incredible And it just, you know, makes the the community feel whole again. And it just it just it's just such a big loss to, you know, to our school district and to the middle school. And but just want to, you know, appreciate him for everything he's done for us. That's it. Oh, and also thank you for the board members and and um you know and and Superintendent Bear um and all the staff for for all your service and for all your time.

Thank you. Next up, MVWSD parent, you have three minutes.

Hi. Uh piggybacking on what Young uh just said, I just want to uh thank you all uh members of the board and Superintendent Bear for the past year. Um the amount of time, effort, finesse, intelligence that goes into that had to go into, you know, um working the district's way through the uh housing issue. I I just um cannot emphasize enough that this board has worked tirelessly to um to fix some uh some problems and set us in a new direction and I really appreciate all the effort that was put forth. Um a couple of other uh offag agenda items. I um realized recently that uh in going through board policies uh our board needs to request sample policies from the district. And that does seem a little backwards. So, I'm hoping that whatever funding or whatever needs to be allocated so that our board has direct access to board policies, sample board policies, CSBA policies, um I am hoping that we can get whatever door unlocked that needs to be unlocked so that our board can directly access those policies. Um, so, uh, any work we can make in that regard would be great and ideally we would give all board members access to those policies. Um, that's all I have. Thanks so much you guys. Bye-bye. And now with our I'm going to try to go fast because we have three minutes. Uh, board updates. Any updates since the last meeting? Seeing none.

items for future agendas. Just a reminder, the this the midyear evaluation. So, we need to get that pegged down.

All right. We noted now future board meeting dates January 15, 2026, January 29th, 2026, and February 12th. I remember hearing we wanted to add another one. You would like to add January 7 as a special meeting date. January 7th is a special meeting. All right. Now, adjournment. Let's see. We've run the run the whole agenda. Any further business? Hearing none. The meeting is adjourned at 10:12. Uh the next regular meeting is scheduled next regular meeting is scheduled for January 15, 2026.