West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education - Regular Meeting

Good evening everyone. I want to call to order the close session for February 11th, 2026 regularly scheduled board meeting for the West Contracasta Unified School District. The meeting is called to order at 5:05 p.m. Zoomloch. Unified School District. The board is about to go into close session, but before we do, we are here to listen to any public comment on close session items. individuals wishing to speak on close session items listed. If you are here um in the auditorium and you haven't done so already, please submit a WCCUSD public comment card which you can find in the entryway table or if you are participating via Zoom. Individuals will need to raise their hand in the Zoom app. If you are accessing the meeting by telephone, please press star 9. The time allowed to each speaker is 2 minutes. The total time allowed is 1 hour. Speaking time should not be transferred from one person to another. There is also no substitution of speakers. We alternate between Zoom comment and in-person comment. The public comment period is a safe space where diverse viewpoints may be expressed civily without interruption or intimidation. Please listen

attentively to each speaker's comment and respect their time as if it were your own. Be open to another point of view if one is offered. Due to the Brown Act, the board members cannot discuss items that are not on the agenda and do not usually respond to items presented during public comment. The items listed on the close session agenda tonight are conference with legal counsel existing litigation government code section 5495 6.9 to conference with labor negotiators. Three, public employee discipline dismissal release complaint. Is there any public comment? Do we have public comment? Yeah.

No,

no. Okay. So, we have no public comment tonight. Um we are now journeying to um to close session and we'll return to open session at 6:30. Thank you.

Good evening everybody. We're going to get we're going to get started shortly. Thank you for your patience. Good evening everyone. Hello. Hello. You hear me? I think that's why Welcome to the open session of February 11, 2026 regularly scheduled board meeting for the West Contracasta Unified School District. I am calling open session to order at 6:44 p.m. In a few minutes, we will begin public comment on the agenda item. Members of the public are invited to speak to the

board on any matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the West Contraosta Unified School District, but that is not on the agenda. We welcome and value public input. If the main room reaches capacity, an overflow room will be available for additional attendees. The meeting will be livereamed in the overflow room. Please prepare now for the public comment. If you are here in this room in the auditorium and you would like to make public comment, please fill out and submit a WCCUSD public comment card. You can also find them on the table in the entry hallway. If you are participating via Zoom, please raise your hand in the Zoom app prior to the beginning of this item on the agenda. If participating by phone, please press star 9. After your comment card has been t turned in, the cards are placed in the order received and we will call on speakers one at a time alternating between a public comment here at the Jean and one on Zoom. Public comments generally last for one hour. The allotted time for each speaker is two minutes. In the meantime, we are moving on to the rest of our opening procedures. Um item B2, the pledge of allegiance. If you are willing and able to rise, please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. B3 land and labor and body acknowledgement. We recognize that we are presently on the lands of the Cheno, Moma, Karkin, Aloney peoples and acknowledge them as the first inhabitants of the land we currently occupy. Labor and body acknowledgement. I acknowledge that the burden of environmental exploitation and systematic injustice falls upon the labor of black and brown bodies in the building of this country and its

institution. I remember that black and brown bodies were born and died working this land against their will for generations. I also acknowledge the contri the continued contribution of the labor of survivors over the centuries to today of all immigrant labor including voluntary, involuntary, forced and undocumented peoples in the building of what we refer to as the United States. Author Dr. Rochelle Rogers Ard item four, West Country School District Board anti-racism statement. The governing board is committed to the work of anti-racism. the con the conscious and active effort to identify, challenge and correct racial inequities in the system and institutions within our schools and community. Racism explicit or implicit stands in direct conflict to the fundamental principles of the district education. To carry district education into the future, we recognize that we must continually renew and reflect on the roots of racism and develop new ideas to meet the times. Unjust ideas and policies and the racial inequity they produce have shaped us, our schools and society. The board strives to uncover unconscious biases and practice anti-racism as individuals and as a board member. We challenge ourselves to persist through the discomfort necessary for growth and learning to deepen our listening and our examination of racism and oppression and to develop strong understanding of how our personal experiences and feelings fit into a larger picture of continual oppression. Each member of our governing board individually and collectively is responsible for creating and nurturing an anti-racism learning environment where we where each student, staff member, and community partner is respected and valued member of the district community. The governing board is uniquely positioned and it is

our responsibility to identify and dismantle racist ideas and inequitable policies in ourselves and across the district. Therefore, we commit to supporting anti-racist policies, programs, and practices for our children's education and well-being while building strong and inclusive communities. The board commits to holding each board member accountable towards these goals and moving the work of anti-racism forward. We also commit to holding West Country Unified School District staff, students, and community to living the standards of anti-racism in our schools. Board approved March 20, 2024. And now on to item five, introduc introduction of new student trustees. And that is superintendent caught in your item.

Thank you.

Good evening. I'm very excited to introduce our new student trustees to the board and to the community. We have Calvin Hung. He is a student at Elserto High School and Devon Whitten a student at Hercules High School. We had a chance to uh meet briefly and get briefed on this meeting yesterday and I'm so excited about their contributions and their voice being a part of this process. Uh Calvin Devon, do you have anything that you'd like to share in introducing yourself? Yeah. So, I'm a sophomore at Elserto High School and I'm a proud member of the band program. Hi, good evening everyone. If you don't know me, I'm Devon. If you do know me, hey, nice to see you again. I am a senior at Hercules. And while at Hercules, I'm also their ASB treasurer. So yeah, I'm ready to work and help be one district. Thank you. Welcome to the board. Um, superintendent, can we get a roll call? Student Trustee Calvin Hung,

present. Student Trustee Devon Whitten, present. Board Trustee Reckler, good evening. Present. Board Trustee Smith Folds. Good evening everyone. Good evening students and welcome to the board. I'm present. Board Trustee Hernandez. Good evening. Present clerk Gonzalez Hoy. Good evening. Present

and board president inana. Um, moving on to report ratification of close session. Superintendent Conan, is there any report out from close session?

There is a report out. Nothing. Just hold on one moment. Thank you. Regarding agenda item 821, the board in closed session took action to approve the settlement agreement uh in Contraosta County Superior Court case number C24-01420. The board voted as follows. Anya, yes. Gonzalez Hoy, yes. Hernandez, yes. Reckler, yes. Smith BS, yes. Also also the board took action to terminate an an administrator's employment contract at a vote of 4 to one. The board voted as follows. Inana yes, Gonzalez Hoy yes. Hernandez yes. Reckler yes. Smith folds no. That concludes our report out.

Thank you for that. We're now moving on to item eight. Um public public a um public comment members of the public are invited to speak to the board on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the West Contracasta Unified School District but not on tonight's agenda. Public comment will last approximately 1 hour. The time allowed to each speaker is 2 minutes. Should additional speakers remain at the conclusion of one hour, public comment may be extended. The time allowed per speaker after the first hour is generally one minute. Individuals wishing to speak, please submit a WCCUSD public comment card. If participating via Zoom, individuals will need to raise their hand in the Zoom app prior to the beginning of this item on the agenda. If you are calling in by phone, press star 9. Speaking time should not be transferred from one person to another. There is no substitution of speakers. Speakers can also make public comment again for each discussion and action item on the agenda after staff presentations. The public will have 10 minutes per item, one minute per speaker. The same protocol, the same protocols recited above apply. The public comment period is a safe space where diverse viewpoints may be expressed in a civil manner without interruption or intimidation. Please listen attentively to each speaker's comment and respect their time at the podium as if we were your own. Be open to different points of view if one is offered. Due to the Brown Act, board members cannot discuss items that are not on the agenda and do not usually respond to items presented in public comment. Is there any public comment?

Yes. Our first public comment is Ed Moore. Uh we have 21 public comment in person and 24 on Zoom.

Good evening board. Uh my name is Ed Moore. I'm a union rep for Teamsters 856. Um, I also have a copy of this of what I'm going to be be speaking about uh for you guys up there. Um, I want to talk about contracting out and who's overseeing uh these contracts that are being set out. Um, our bargaining committee uh have an agreement with the school district to discuss uh these jobs that are being contracted out to be able to turn them down or be able to do these jobs. Um, one of the things that I see, uh, we've been waiting for these, um, these jobs that were were contracted out for for months. I want to say about 7 months, we've been waiting for some of these, which we just received, uh, September 2025 and October 2025 of last year. um for two months of those two months 2 $2 million and 2,369 $972,000 were spent in two months. Um some of these jobs all range from 7472,000 to 74,000. That's 13 of these jobs that are on here. um to one contractor. Also, we have jobs that are ranging from 60,000 to 67,000 to 68,000 to that same contractor. Um we also have other jobs that kind of leeway out of of of the jobs that are here that stay over the price of where we can't you do these jobs inhouse. Um a lot of these jobs that are o under 75,000 cannot be they don't go out to bid. And the problem with that is you have all these jobs that are in between $70,000 and $75,000. 13 of them on this paper alone that show that these these biders are putting these bids under $75,000.

Next public comment is Mr. Eli Dinkle. Uh, please unmute yourself. Uh, can you hear me? Okay. Um, hello. Uh, I'm a teacher at, uh, Betty Ree Saskin. Um, I Please unmute yourself. Oh, I'm unmuted. You should be able to hear me. We can hear you.

Great. I'm a teacher at Betty Reed Saskin. Thank you for uh, giving me some time. Um, I know that you guys have a difficult decision in uh in front of you and that nobody here uh is, you know, rubbing their hands together like a super villain and trying to uh you know make anyone uh unhappy. But I I really uh want to emphasize that in the future uh I think it would be more appropriate to not uh announce that a school merger uh would uh is possible and then so quickly move to a vote on it within a few weeks. Um I know there's been a lot happening this year, but uh I I feel like you you guys knew for uh for a while that this was coming through. uh you guys had a deficit at the start of the year and uh going back um and I think it would have been in everyone's best interest to announce this uh years ago or months ago so that uh potential solutions can be casted about uh rather than everyone scrambling at the last minute. I think that would have also helped um me uh and other teachers, you know, give this district a glowing recommendation that hey, the the board is uh direct with their community rather than um you know, saying, hey, they're going to, you know, they might announce at any moment that school's going to be merged, so don't apply for jobs there. uh we all want the kids to have teachers and uh um we all want everything to go well but even uh when they don't transparency is always the most important thing and um I hope you guys keep that in mind in the future. Thank you very much.

are asking everybody that's here to speak on an agenda item that they wait until we get to the agenda item listed. If you have a general public comment, um please um use the p the open session for any general public comment, but for anything on the agenda, please wait till we get to that agenda item. Thank you. Our next public comment is Shannon Mat. Good evening. My name is Shannon Mat. I'm a school psychologist with the district and I am very proud to say that I serve the students and family of um Leavana Don Middle School. I'm here because last Friday on February 6, the district posted the job description for the sulfa director, so for the director of special education. And if you haven't seen it, I have copies for you. Um, the piece I want you to pay attention to is that the deadline to apply for this job is on February 20th. So, just 14 calendar days from when the job is posted. And I want you to know that this post and specifically this deadline is an insult to all the educators and staff who work in special education and all the students and families that we serve. It honestly feels kind of gross and like you just don't care about special education at all. I have been in the district for five years and in that time I have been there has been six transitions between sulfa directors. This lack of consistent leader of a strong leader has caused what feels like a collapse of the systems within special education and a collapse of the best practices of special education. This search for a selfie director should be robust and it should be aggressive if we want real talent. And if we want to

give that talent a chance to see the job first and then can to consider a move to the East Bay in California, we have to do a lot better than this job post. It is especially important that the new SLA director is not a part of our current dysfunction in our district. We need fresh eyes. I know that a thorough search will take more time, but honestly, if we are without a director for a couple of extra months, we are not going to be that not going to be much worse off than we are today. I'm sorry to say that. I am here asking for your help as the board. I am asking you to help make the search for a new director of special education robust and thorough because that job, it actually really matters in the district. Kids with disabsel.

Good evening board. I'm asking that you take into consideration the um staffing on current enrollment. For the past two years, we could have had a TK class, a whole TK class, but we weren't given the staff for it. And that means we could have had one more kindergarten class right now and one more first grade class right now. The problem with this is we don't know who's coming with TK and you guys just place them wherever. And we're a small school. You've taken away two whole classes from our school. Now you're going to do the FTEES really tight to help with budgets. So, how are we going to grow? We're going to have to send our populations away because we have no chance to grow yet again. Our our school um population is being squeezed out. I don't want to be here in a year where you're talking about closing schools and we're one of them because we're one of the small schools. We need your help and your consideration to give us the wiggle room to grow our school fairly. We were not even allowed to keep our TKs for two years. They were bounced somewhere else and we had them and there was a teacher for them and we could have hired someone. Nobody wants to be hired or can be hired especially TK come on in August. And traditionally our population doesn't enroll their kids until end of June, beginning August all the way through and past the first um 3 weeks where you're settling out classes. Please take this in consideration. Help our school and help any other school in the same position. Don't shackle us. Don't drown us. Help us to grow. Give us the opportunity to do what we need to do and serve our community. We really need that fair opportunity. We are the only school in North Richmond. Please help us with this.

Our next public comment is Kim Chamberlain. Kimberly Chamberlain, IFD local 21 SSA chapter president. Back up here again as usual. This time I brought my friend. I brought my seventh stick of sage. I have been burning sage trying to get this environment to be re reducing the stress. I've been trying to get it to have a better clearer atmosphere. I have been trying to improve focus. I am highly recommending everybody on the board and in cabinet start doing the same because let me tell you the focus needs to be towards our students. We need to improve our clarity of what we're doing for our students, our staff, our community. It's very difficult to walk into a school site and see the staff depressed. How are they going to serve students in a positive manner when they're worried about how they're going to put food on the table in a month? because they don't know where they're going to find a job, what they're going to do, who they're going to have to work with, and if their kids are going to go to the same school and have the same people that they've been around for their entire career. They have no idea. It's not about us. It's about those kids. And I've said it before and I'm going to say it again. As we're taking people and changing, remember those kids need to have the

focus of the person that they rely on every day to show up and be there for them. And if that person isn't there at that school site, they're not going to come either. Thank you. Quick comment is Masa Peterson. Oh, please unmute yourself. Good evening. My name is Masa Peterson and I teach first grade at NRM Elementary. I'm here tonight to speak on the importance of scows at our schools. In our recent contract negotiations, school staff were advocating for changes that would lead to stable, fully staffed schools that our students deserve. We continue to advocate for stable, fully staffed schools that our students deserve. I have empathy for the challenging place that the school board is in to relieve the budget deficit and help us regain financial stability. What I believe is that we cannot sacrifice school stability to do so. We cannot cut our way to student success. Scows are essential members of a school community that ensure stability for students, families, and staff. I personally know scowls that make sure families have enough food to eat each week. I know scouts that work tirelessly to make sure that families understand the importance of daily attendance. Mr. Shoemake runs Mafanikio, a black achievement after school program. Miss Aila is an essential person to all of our Latino and Spanish speaking families. Throughout my now six years as a teacher, I have seen the impact that Good Scouts have on school stability.

That is not to mention the literal financial impact they have on the district's revenue through attendance initiatives, positive relationships with families, as well as the annual tireless effort to collect school lunch forms. Cutting scowls would mean cutting ties to essential services, reduc reducing district revenue and increasing the burden on an already overworked school staff. My students and I deserve better. I urge you to make the right choice for school stability. Thank you. Public comment is Ethan Sorcerer. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Ethan Sorcerer and I teach fifth grade at Montalban Manor K8. Montalbin is one of four Title One schools being included in the proposed middle school redesign. Your staff's own report demonstrates that students who identify as African-American English learners or receive special education services at our K8s outperform their peers at our district's traditional middle schools. Your staff have unintentionally found an instructional model that works to reduce the inequitable outcomes that students from these historically marginalized groups currently experience in our district and are now asking your permission to end it. These cuts will worsen rather than address our budget shortfalls. Our families with limited transportation are better able to bring their students to a single neighborhood K8. Kelvin data shows that our students feel more connected to Montal and have stronger relationships with their teachers than the district average, demonstrating our welcoming school climate that supports consistent, meaningful relationships with adults and peers. The proposal you will hear tonight also includes cuts to

our bilingual clerk and our bilingual scout to more directly support family engagement and attendance. Miss Raina and Miss Anna are the most direct support. They are the ones making the calls, doing the home visits, helping families connect with all the resources we offer so they can bring their students to school to learn. All of these factors contribute to our attendance rate of over 90%. Which exceeds the district's projected year-end estimate of 85%. Your staff have yet to share their plan to address this problem with their proposal. Cutting K8s and scows is neither equitable nor effective in achieving your stated aim. We are one, but a one-sizefits-all approach works only to perpetuate the harmful educational outcomes that our system is designed to reproduce. When the revenue from the state exceeds the district's overly conservative projections, the harm these unnecessary cuts have done to our students and communities will remain. Please reject these aspects of your staff's financial stability plan and direct them to draft a plan that centers community perspectives and puts students first. Thank you. Abot, please unmute yourself. Please unmute yourself. Next public comment is Susan Khan. Please unmute yourself. Can you hear me?

Yes, we can.

Okay, great. Good evening, board of trustees and superintendent Cotton, and congratulations, Devin and Calvin, on uh earning the seats to learn firsthand in person. My name is Susan Khan. I am a WCCUSD, specifically John F. Kennedy High School graduate, and I retired as a principal from the district that I deeply care for. Tonight, I speak mainly for retirees who believe that we need to reflect on what has been as we plan to move forward. There are currently the district has a legal obligation currently to pay retirey health benefits through negotiated contracts to 764 UTR retirees, 800 Teamster retirees, 109 SSA retirees, 79 WCCA retirees, and 33 unrepresented management retirees, a total of 1,785 retirees. In 1991, the Richmond Unified School District was facing a $20 million deficit, which led to it being the first district to file for bankruptcy in the state of California and a $29 million bailout loan. The total liability incurred during that time was between 42 and 47 million. It led to employees taking a 9% pay cut in order to save jobs and retiree health benefits. It led to the fiscal crisis led to a state takeover for 21 years and a name change from RUSD to WCCUSD. 600 teachers also receive March 15th notices. Some of you may not even have been born then who are on the board now. In addition, the district is are the reason for the requirement of the AB1200. Um the current debt is $127 million. Yet, the district has signed new

bargaining agreements with raises and no plan to pay back the OPED and reserve funds. Again, we are reminding um speakers that they can make public comment on any item that is not currently on the agenda. If you are commenting on any item that is a discussion item or action item on the agenda, please wait till the agenda item is called and make your public comment there. This space is only for topics that are not agendaized. Thank you. In the next five, public comment, please come up to the podium. Shauna, Vaughn, Stefan, Eugene Cowins Jr., Kenitra Mitchell, and Sylvia Zki. Well, since the since the protocol has been changed and you can't speak to um layoffs until the the agenda item, I'm just going to just freestyle real quick. This administration needs to do their job. They need to get down to the bottom line. Um we are facing a crisis here in this district. Our students are not learning. Our staff is not being supported. They're overworked. And I believe that this riff process is because the district say they can't pay the fair contracts that we bargained. And that's very unfortunate.

When I'm in this field every single day going to sight to sight and I see directors who have a consultant, I'm confused. Why does a director need a consultant? Why does HR need attorney to do an investigation? So, you're pouring out more money for things that you're already paying for. Why does one contractor have got $2 million from this district in two months? Why isn't this administration being transparent? Why aren't they're providing information requests that we asked for? My question is who's going to do the work? So I I hear you when you say don't speak to E, but I'm not staying to E. I'm going home. I live in Sacramento. I come here to support my members and stand in solidarity with UTR and SSA. And I'm asking you to vote no on these layoffs. Our next public comment is Haley K. Please unmute yourself.

Can you hear me? Yes, we can.

Okay. Well, I am a little I'm trying to recenter myself, but one thing I'll say is good evening members of the school board. Really excited to see students taking action and being on the board. My name is Haley Kay and I'm a proud fourth grade educator at Nestrom Elementary. I will be speaking again later tonight. But right now, one thing that I would like to ask or just say is in my four years of teaching in WCCUSD, I have never had a prep period. There is no vacancy for a prep teacher at my school. We are just told we can get a little extra money for not having the prep time. That makes my job really hard. I bring home more work than I'm comfortable talking about. Um, I just want to say that and I am excited to talk to you later. Thank you. Public comment is Stephan.

Hello, my name is Stefan. Some of you may know me. I am in the sixth grade from Donna Elementary School. Uh, I'm here to talk about the problems. Uh, I don't know why you're removing music from multiple grades. I'm very confused on that part. Some kids here need music. It's really calming and I really enjoy it. So, I don't guess what's the point of removing music. And there's another staff member in my school that might get removed. I don't know why, but I don't know. I don't want her to get removed. What's her name?

Miss Lolita from Downer Elementary School. So just to piggyback on what my son said, as a parent is a major concern and a disappointment. And regarding Miss Lolita, she is actually a blessing. As a working parent, she reassures me that my son is okay. As he entered the school, as well as Miss Lolita, she goes above and she goes beyond at Downer Elementary. And unfortunately, it's very sad and disappointing. Why would you get rid of such an asset to the school? As well as the music program. The music program for the elementary students are very fundamental. I have three children that has gone through the elementary program and I'm looking at one of my sons today how inspired he is. He's at Richmond High School. Also, it makes it very easy when they transition to junior high and high school for the music teachers. So if you want to keep the kids encouraged and continue to go to school, do not take away the music program. Talk to the kids before you remove programs from their school. Talk to the kids before you remove staffs from their school. Make decisions with the students, not against the students. Thank you. Our next public comment is Maisha Harris Gash. please unmute yourself.

Good evening all and first I want to give a shout out to the student from Downer. I went to Downer Junior High School way way way back in the day. Um, currently I'm a teacher at Kennedy. I'm a graduate of Kennedy and thank you uh Miss Khan for your comments as well. I want to talk about and share if the district is talking about making changes at Betty Reed Saskin and changing the name over to another school. How disrespectful. And hopefully in the end this will not happen. this woman who was in our community for a very very long time. The young people at that time during COVID, they did a project, they worked on it. I went to the meetings online to hear these young people do their research and like, hey, we want to change the name of our school, not a building on the other side of town. No, right there where what used to be Crespy. And so I really really hope that that is not going to happen. So I'm gonna I'm gonna watch my words real carefully because I I I really feel passionate about my ancestors and the life that Miss Betty Ree Saskin lived. So please do not disrespect her legacy by doing what at least potentially could happen. Please don't do that. Um, and then following, you know me, I'm always about my kids. And I just want to give a shout out to my kids that, um, we've been having some issues with some kids not going to class. And I kind of had to go old school on them with some discipline, right? But it worked. And the young person that in particular that this happened to, now he gets it. Why it's important to show up to class to be where he is supposed to be. And so, like I said, I always give love to my kids.

Everybody have a wonderfully blessed night. Public comment Kenetra Mitchell. Good evening. Since the reason was changed, I'm going to change what I have to say. WCCUSD is a community school district, right? Well, the grant money you accepted sure says we are. Do any of the members of the board or cabinet know the pillars of community schools frameware? It sure doesn't seem like it. This district continues to make decisions without authentically engaging the community and then you sit and wonder why there is no trust and continuous push back on the plans and decisions you make. The community gives numerous suggestions regarding our continuous decline in enrollment, the budget crisis, teacher shortage, overuses of consultants, and much more. All this should and could have been considered if we, the community, were asked and genuinely engaged. In the words of one of our beloved and longtime community members, WCCUSD sure will piss on you and tell you that it's raining. This district continues to dismantle and ignore all the things that are working and ignore the needs of the students you claim to be putting first. We are one is a joke right now. It's a joke. So, please consider everything that is on the agenda today. And I want to appreciate Maisha Gash for saying what she said about Betty Reid. Her legacy is important to the community and to the young people that worked hard that worked hard to lift up who she was. Many people didn't even know who she was

and now you're willing to erase it over $900,000 is ridiculous and shameful. Our next public comment is Dr. Kim Moses. Please unmute yourself. Good evening, Superintendent Cotton and WCCCUSD board trustees. On December 10th, 2025, after signing the board-ordered tentative labor agreement, I learned that my future with this district was uncertain and without cause. At that time, I contemplated retirement. However, after further consideration, I have decided that retirement is not the best decision for my family at this time. I am speaking tonight to close a chapter of my life that has been both personally and professionally fulfilling. My dedication to the WCCUSD community has been unwavering. I am proud to say that I have served this community with distinction and integrity and my professional record over the last 19 years in this district demonstrates that truth. After directly serving our school communities for 16 years, most recently my job was to provide professional recommendations to inform the board of education of our financial position and the future financial health of this district. I've always been honest and I've always been transparent about fiscal concerns and their future impact on our students and our schools. My position is and has always been to provide accurate information to staff, community, and their district. And I am and always will be an educator dedicated to ensuring that students have quality school experiences. I want to

appreciate my WCCUSD colleagues and all WCCCUSD staff. Leadership takes courage and I've seen great leadership across this district. It has been my pleasure and honor to serve alongside you for nearly 20 years. I want to thank the board of education for the opportunity to serve this great district as interim superintendent and chief business officer. And in closing, I want to thank West Contracasta. I will continue to pray for the future success of our students and our schools. Thank you. reporter. I just got a message that the audio in Zoom doesn't seem to be functioning. Okay, we seem to be we seem to be okay now. Can hear. Yeah. Okay. Thank you.

Next public comment is Sylvia Zki. Hello board and everyone here. Good evening. My name is Sylvia Zmpy and I'm the librarian at Betty Reed Saskin Middle School. I had something prepared, but I'm not going to talk about that because I've been directed not to. So instead, I'm going to use this time to just lift up and shout out my beautiful staff right here and all the amazing things that we do at Betty Reed Saskin. There are amazing people and everybody deserves to know the important things that are happening at our school. We have Miss Kenichra Mitchell that you just heard from. She's our community school director and she brings children lunch on carts in the morning who haven't gotten to school on time and are hungry and they need their breakfast. We have Mr. Jason Laauo who is our beloved principal who has just taken on every challenge. Every time our school faces something difficult, he steps in and he steps up. and he has been so amazing and we love him so much. Mr. Jason Laauo, we have Miss Sarah Napole who is our new vice principal who is amazing. She she knows every kid. Two years ago when we started doing the um graduation ceremonies and the the kids got to choose their speaker who they wanted to speak for them and they chose Miss Napole because she makes so many connections with all the kids every single day and she's fun and she's funny and she's demanding in the best way. So we love Sarah. We love Sarah so much.

I want to speak about Miss Brandy and Miss Keys and Miss um Miss Jenny in our office. They are our office staff. Our our next public comment is Christian Beheim. Please unmute yourself.

Kennedy. Hi. Um I'm here to uh speak in support of the Spanish for Spanish speakers class at Kennedy. Um it seems that every time that there is talk of cuts and reductions, um this class has always been the first one to be on the chopping block. Um and if it wasn't for the world languages department teachers Blanco as long also with our wonderful students who have spoken up uh before uh about this very class in previous board meetings uh this program would have been cut a long time ago. Um not only does this class uh serve Kennedy's growing uh newcomer and Spanish heritage speaker population. Um it's also an important uh pipeline for students to join and succeed in the Spanish uh AP Spanish language and uh literature classes. Um, as you know, AP Spanish AP Spanish exams are not only about knowing Spanish, but demonstrating the rhetorical and argumentative skills that the Spanish Spanish speakers course prepares them for. Um, I'm worried that uh taking this class away will impact the Spanish the AP Spanish courses given the incredible success that our students have demonstrated and I invite the board to check out uh the the awesome scores that our students get uh in these exams. Um lastly, this issue is kind of triggering for me. Um as someone who came to the US education system uh when I was 10 years old, um I was told that developing my Spanish was detrimental rather than something positive. Uh so this affected my academic career and my self-esteem. Uh so if this district uh is serious about uh promoting multilingualism and anti-discrimination, uh protect this program and also think about expanding it in other sites as well. Uh thank you very much and have a good night. Next public comment is Christina Cons.

I haven't started speaking. Thank you. My name is Christina Coons. I'm a graduate, a parent, a teacher in our district. After hearing our school, Betty Reid would merge with Penel without a conversation, without noticed, without a detailed plan. I asked leadership, "What are the details of this merger would look like?" They said they will wait until after a vote to have a plan on the details. This lack of planning seems like a systematic pattern. You've heard it repeatedly tonight. As teachers, I would never tell my student, "We'll figure it out later and hope that they would pass, hoping that they would um we teach to plan ahead. We think ahead. We teach them foresight." Why doesn't our district model this? Your proposal is asking the community to trust decisions without an informed plan. Having the details sorted out after the vote is not informed. It's reactionary. Making moves with no transition plan, no mitigation plan, neighborhood impact is not an informed decision. During our strike, we were fighting for more than a contract. We were fighting because we are exhausted of facing instability, decisions without clarity, and without messaging of timelines. All these changes without any transition plans. This is called crisis management, and it's something we can't keep doing to our families. I felt more job stability as a contractor working for your district, and that should concern you. How could we go forward? How could we go forward for our students? We focus on our students. We model what su success looks like. We restore trust with our families before we ask them to make sacrifices. We were named after Miss Betty Reed Saskin because the student pushed the school to question the values of Juan Kresby. Together, the school community moved to bring deep intention behind her legacy that they carry. Please reassess your decision-making. Align values with community school direction. Your decisions have impact to families and

generations to come. Please not only respect the legacy of Betty Reid, but our students. Thank you.

Next public comment is Pedro A. Please unmute yourself.

Evening board. I an employee Pedro Gradano and basically what I'm here to speak on is on the contracting of supplies. You have great staff. You have great workers that go day in day out. They'll work through whatever they need to to get things done. do contract out and if uh I take your analogy uh Superintendent Cotton, if we're budgeted for eating dinner as a cup of noodle soup, that being your staff, why district insist on going every night and getting steak and lobster. Uh the contractors, they earn a lot more. you pay a lot more on wages

than if you give us overtime and the time to do the work. We're willing to do the work. We can do the work. We just need your support and we need you to stop contracting out. That will save you money and get you back on the uh out of the red. You have to help us. You got to give us the tools. You got to give us the time. We're willing to do the work. You have people in your audience right there. You have the grounds. You have uh locksmiths. You have like that. You just need to give us time to do it. We can't always do it on regular time because some of the things that we do present a risk. We want to be safe and we want to protect not only our staff, not only the property, but also our students. So, please let us do the work and stop contracting out. Thank you very much. Public comment is Jason Laauo. My name is Jason Laauo and I serve as the principal of Betty Reed Sask Middle School. I want to take time to acknowledge how difficult the merger decision is for everyone involved. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, changes are inevitable and change is hard. I was on staff at Adams Middle when the decision was made to shutter its doors in 2009. And now I'm on staff at Betty Reed Saskin trying to provide support to our school community. I've worked with a lot of school staff in my 23 years and the Betty Reed Saskin family is up there with the very best. It's taken us years to get to a place where I can genuinely come to work grateful that I'm with people that I love and care for and who love and care for me. I don't know all the ins and outs of how to resolve the fiscal challenges we're having. I just hope that whatever happens, our community,

the community that has been vocal about what makes the most sense for them is well taken care of. They deserve to have the very best educational experience for our students. And not just in the academic sense, we're teaching and modeling a better way of life, how to have positive relationships with their peers and with adults. We want to give students every tool we can so that they're able to navigate this crazy world. We want them to be, in the words of Ted Lasso, curious and not judgmental. I have a concern that our staff did not have the opportunity to hear how the proposal was made, what alternatives were considered and dismissed, and how any decision might affect our staff. My staff learned about what was happening from community listening sessions that were also open to the public. As a school most affected by changes, I believe there was a missed opportunity for us to hear and process all the decisions outside of a public setting. Whatever happens, we need to do better for the sake of our students and the educators who serve them. School should be a place of stability, a place of trust, a place where people feel safe, encouraged, and loved. Whatever happens, let's continue to give our students and staff the very best we can offer. Our community and our students deserve it. Thanks. Our next public comment is Jesse Poi. Please unmute yourself.

Hi. Um, I'm a proud parent of a devoted band student in West Contraosta Unified School District who is a student of the wonderful um band teacher, Mr. Monzanna. And I'm thrilled to see Calvin here representing the band program as a student at Elserto High. And I'm speaking in strong support tonight of maintaining our funding for the band program. Musical education is invaluable and denying our children equal access to this curriculum and the instruction it provides is just not tenable. Do not defund arts education. The moment this program is taken out of public education, it becomes a resource only accessible to those of greater privilege. This is a problem. Um, and it's a problem our students are facing increasingly and we cannot allow it to perpetuate. All kids deserve access to musical education and the arts. That's all I have to say tonight. Thanks for your time. Our next public comment is Promise Rose. Hello, this is Promise Rose, Betty Reed Saskin Middle School. Thank you for hearing my voice. Much of what I would say has already been stated by my esteemed colleagues will be stated by families and as I know several students waiting. However, I would like to address two points of fact. I have been watching the district as for a decade as a developing educator to a high need school students

of diverse demographics and a watcher with an eye on the cause and effect of decisions around dispersements of district funding. As a watcher, this is what I've seen. Funding charter schools funneled students away from our community schools, harming the funding from their programs and success. And while this was incepted by previous regime, unfortunately, now you br the the cost. Communication and transparency around how funds are used has been murkier than a Blackwater site. hostage style communications that led to misdirection and skirt the line between a lie and outright intended manipulation for the gain of the district, not those who it serves. This statement stems from the years of consistent misdirection and avoidance, which has led us to the most recent debacle of the middle school K8 mergers announced and nearly voted on at the previous board meeting without its community. We are a community. Please trust in us. Listen and communicate back the true limitations and reasons. Communicate the plans and ask for help. We are many. We are one and all need to grow together. Thank you. is concerned. Parent and community member, please unmute yourself.

Good evening, board members. As you face a major deficit and possible school closures, I'm here with a solution that grows revenue and improves outcomes. Vista K12 delivers individualized attention. High achievers achievers get acceleration. Struggling students get one-on-one support, something impossible when a third of typical in-person classroom is below grade level or has behavior issues. By law, attendance at FISTA depends on completed work assignment. Proof of mastery, not seat time. A recent Ed Week study found missing just 3% of school days hurt test scores, especially in math. Vista students attend online even when sick. zero learning loss. BISTA serves high achievers, struggling learners, and neurode virgin students, including those with ADHD or health challenges. Our students and families represent all kinds of races, incomes, and backgrounds. From professor Ivy League grads, district alumni, parents with disabilities, low-income households, and new immigrants. They're drawn to Vista because kids achieve more virtually and learn to learn independently. Essential in the AI era nationwide about 10% of families choose flexible learning like Vista Ed choice shows strong demand from elementary parents. Our lower enrollment lower elementary en lower enrollment isn't due to interest, it's lack of outreach. Families go elsewhere and funding follows. FISTA's low overhead helps fund teacher raises and protect more jobs. The problem, despite weight lists, staff cuts forced teachers to cover multiple grades. No communication for five years, no parent square, no social media. Families were even told Vista was closed. Over 10 kindergarteners were turned away days

before school started, many with older siblings already thriving. Next public comment is Kimberly Huey.

Good evening, Superintendent Cotton and board. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I realize that or I understand that I'm supposed to speak later, but I was here two weeks ago and until 11:30 and I don't think I can do that again and still teach students at 8:30 in the morning. I teach math at Betty Reed Saskin. I'm speaking here again to urge you not to close Betty Reid. As you have heard, the community is deeply troubled by this news. I saw that there is a plan for us to collaborate on how we honor the legacy of Betty Reed Saskin should this closure/merge happen. This is a hard pill to swallow as the legacy of Betty Reid is a multi-dimensional one and is embedded in the current school as it resides now with the specific community of teachers, students, families, and administration. This is all tied to its current location as well. And as I look at you, I realize this is a hard decision for you and it's a hard decision for us. Should the closure happen, a new school will be created. Will the current BRS administration be represented in the merge school? Will all of the BRS teachers be in this new community? Likely no. For a variety of reasons here, I must think like a parent. I'm also a mother to a boy at Michelle Obama. He's in second grade. Would I want him to go to a school with 700 plus students with many feeder schools without a thorough plan of implementation? No. It seems like this closure would save less than a million dollars. Will this be worth it if we are going to lose families who have grown disenchanted with the system. If this must happen, please give us a year to figure it out. This idea may be messy and ambitious, but the stakes are high enough now for it to be worth the risk. If we can't work for equity in public schools, I'm not sure how this system can sustain itself. under the proposed fiscal plan. I would also like to speak to the new allocations of vice principles. We

definitely need a vice principal and a principal for every site. Please listen to students, families, and teachers and direct the district lead.

Our next public comment is Andre Schoe. Please unmute yourself. Uh, greetings. Can you hear me? Yes, we can.

Thank you. To um our esteemed board president who is affectionately known in the community as Miss Guadalupe. Uh to our distinguished board members and to our amazing new superintendent, Michelle Cotton. I come before you tonight heart but excited. I woke up this morning, put on my Teamsters 856 t-shirt and was fired up and ready to go to come before you pres to be in person tonight. But unfortunately, the rain hit and that little cold that I've been overcoming, which has been prevalent throughout from what I understand many schools within this district. So, we may want to take a look at what's going on health-wise throughout our schools. Uh, I know you have some challenges before you financially with the physical challenges that are before you. Uh I hail from Nestrom Elementary School which as a scowl a school community outreach worker and we are a designated community school. I repeat a designated community school. I come before you tonight not with any complaints but I'm mindful of what I've heard from folks talking about Betty Reed Saskkins to Miss Khan. I had the privilege of working working with Miss Saskin in North Richmond and throughout the city of Richmond. And my I want to share with you all a Baptist preacher used to share with folks in Richmond. If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten. It's time to do something different. So I submit to you tonight as you prepare to move forward with the cuts that are before you. I humbly suggest that you do a survey of all your schools and let them know and be honest with them that because of the physical challenges, you may have to cut scouts at their schools and ask your customers, the ones that we serve, how do they feel about that. I think you owe it to yourself to hear from the families about the roles that scowls play and I think that would help

to inform the enormous decision that you have to make. Be blessed. is Ana Ruiz Monada.

Oh, I have not started yet. Hello board members. I'm here to discuss the cuts of the Spanish for Spanish speaker classes. These cuts will affect all students, especially those coming from Hispanic heritage. Many students who first come to this nation are alienated because they don't know the language. The removal of this cla classes will remove a place where these students can feel welcome and comfortable. But people who grew up here and speak Spanish at home benefit from these programs as well. I am one of those students. When I was a sophomore, I was really shy and without the help of my Spanish for Spanish speakers class, I wouldn't be able to present in front of you guys today. If it weren't for my teacher, Miss Wera, who made me present in front of my peers, I would not have as much opportunities as I have today. been my junior year in my second Spanish for Spanish speakers class. Without the support of my teacher, Miss Blanco, I would not have challenged myself to participate in AP Spanish this year and the year next. Without these foundations, I would have not succeeded in my current endeavors and many students that will come after me won't be able to succeed as well. These classes help build the foundation for

succeeding in both AP Spanish classes, and without these foundations, we wouldn't have the numbers to prove it. Our next public comment is Sky Nelson. Please unmute yourself. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can.

Hi. Uh, this is Sky Nelson, teacher and parent, Elserto High School. Thank you board for taking the time to hear us. It was a year ago that I came to the first board meeting and heard budget cuts then. And I think we've gotten just all too accustomed to thinking we understand what's going on. We get so used to the cycle of cuts in budgets. I left Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa in 2005 for the same reason. Since that time, I've studied the the budgets in this district with with help. I've studied Oakland, Santa Rosa, talked to them, they're they're board members, and talked to FICMAT, fiscal crisis and management team yesterday. We presented our understanding that there's an actual reason that's not understood yet. Why this stuff is happening now is not business as usual. The cost of hired certain certain hired external contractors, certain ones like Proare and Stepping Stones, we believe are not being considered in the budgets for the following year in many districts. There's uh 30 districts across the state or more that are on the the um the certification list for negative or qualified and they they may everyone we've checked has shown this pattern of not budgeting correctly for those contractors. So this is a process of failure at the top level from the fiscal crisis team. Not our board members, not our Dr. Moses and Dr. Miss Cotton. It's not our district. And I urge us to take the the awareness away from our local people, come together as one and work together to understand this this pattern. Talk with other districts, talk with Mr. Fine and Miss Beno at FICMAT and um do the work together to understand this is not a common occurrence. This is not business as usual. It's an unusual situation that we need to understand get the story right

before we take action. Thank you so much for your time. Our next public comment is Marie Ana. I'm having some challenges with the alternative MFA program. I chose this method because I'm not connecting my personal cell phone to a work laptop. I itinerate and visit nonWCCUSD sites to do assessments and meetings. I'm told that I won't have access to my materials and documents while out in the community. Some of my colleagues and I's ability to perform job duties will be hindered. I hope a solution is found soon. Malik and Lydia, as you see them here, are only two of thousands of students who require help with accessing the gened curriculum. I couldn't imagine my stu my kids not receiving the amount of support they do right now as they are learning in the classroom. Their programs are working and the support staff is just enough to help them access the curriculum. Again, if you take away the support, it's going to affect the students and they will be the victims in all this mess. I'm waiting for an email response about the Williams quarterly report from October 22nd. I'm waiting, waiting, and waiting. Why are my stage concerns being hidden? What? There needs

to be open transparency in this district. I do want to say I've been hearing positive feedback from parents about the first student app. I really am truly grateful for it. Thank you for providing a muchneeded resource for my kids and all the students who ride in the transportation. I've heard from some preschool parents who have three-year-olds riding in the cars alone about how nice it is to have these cameras and the app to track their students, their loved ones who are receiving the muchneeded sped services from this district. I'm looking forward to receiving the sped transportation handbook and hope one day the cameras and GPS will be added to the spees. This is my 12th speech. Thank you everyone for your public comment. We have now reached the 1 hour session. So public comment will now be limited to one minute. How many more public speakers do we have? public comment is Nick Cresensi. Please unmute yourself.

Good evening. Good evening, board staff, and members of the community. I'm going to make a comment about everything that everybody wants. This is a recurring theme. Most people kept their kids out of school to support the raises that were offered. It has now put this district into financial difficulty. As we are the employers, the community are the employers of the staff of the district. We need to look to ourselves and pay our staff correctly. I support the raises. And to support those raises, we need to raise our taxes. If you supported the idea of the raises, you need to call the board and tell them to put a property tax measure on the ballot. It will not help next year's financial pro problems, but it will help the year after and the year after that comment is Amy Condor. Well, first before I begin, I want to demand two minutes for the students so we can voice our opinions. Please reset the timer for two minutes. Okay. Good evening. My name is Amy Condor. I am a senior at Kennedy High School. I have been part of the Spanish language program for all four years and I can confirm that enough is enough.

California is home to one of the largest speaking populations in the country. Here in Richmond, we are true bowel of cultures and Hispanic culture is a vital part of that identity. The Spanish for Spanish speakers program is more than just a language class. It is a space where students streng their literacy, connect with their heritage, and build confidence in who they are. I took Spanish for Spanish speakers one and two and those classes paved the way for me to succeed in AP Spanish literature. Without that foundation, I would not have been prepared for the that kind of level of academic rigor. This program doesn't just preserve culture. It strengthens right and critical thinking skills and gives bilingual students the academic recognition they deserve. At Kennedy, Spanish is already the only language offer since French was removed. cutting to continuing to cut courses within this program risk the elimination of the whole Spanish language program itself. At a time when many Our next public comment is Andrea Livinghouse. Please unmute yourself.

Hi, good evening. This is Andrea Livinghouse, speech language pathologist and UTR member. Firstly, I'd like to welcome and congratulate our new student board trustees. I'm making public comment to urge the board to oppose the cuts in the fiscal solveny plan, which is anti- studentent and anti-educator. Scouts are a vital resource at our sites, and it will really hurt our school communities to lose them. We need to protect and expand that program as well as music programs, not gut them. I also want to urge you to extend the application for Sulpha director. This position has a significant direct effect on our vulnerable students particularly their access to education and safety and the selection for this position needs to be done thoroughly and thoughtfully. It should not be rushed. Thank you. Our next public comment is John Maldonado. Hello board. My name is Gian Maldonado and I'm a junior at Kennedy High School. They ask when will the cut stop. I ask when will we start cutting? When will we stop cutting from the bottom and start cutting from the top? What's happening at Kennedy High School is not just a budget adjustment. It's a reflection of mismanagement. The hiring and firing of educators should never feel chaotic or reckless. Yes. Yet, that exactly how it appears. And while Kennedy is not the only school affected, it's one that's already struggling and now it faces major budget cuts. Replacing a th a thriving Spanish with Spanish speakers program with the new ASL program is not

expansion, it's disruption. ASL is vulnerable is valuable, but taking away a program that supports fluent Spanish speaking students makes no sense. A student who has spoken Spanish their entire life should not be forced to relearn the alphabet just to receive credit. Spanish for Spanish speakers builds literac Lord, brother. Our next public comment is Jeffrey Bean. Please unmute yourself. Good evening. I'm Jeffrey Bean. I teach fourth grade and fifth grade at Shannon Elementary. I attended the uh community town hall on Zoom or most of it on Monday evening. And despite the fact that I spent part of the meeting in a Zoom breakout room without a moderator, I did spend part of the meeting in a room with a moderator who I believe listened to my comments and heard them and I appreciate that. That being said, I wish that the district would take better action to get input from the community. If you want to

close schools, then the meeting should be advertised that way. The flyer should have said, "This school will be closed. Come here to this meeting to talk about it." Not reimagining WCSUSD. We got to have clear communication and also don't cut the scowls. Thank you.

Next public comment is Aliyah Savalos. Hello board. I am the senior class president at John F. Kennedy High School. As many of you know, I am here to speak out against the cutting of the Spanish for Spanish speakers program. For uh first fact, I have been impacted by this program so much because it has caused me. It is the sole factor that I am here today because of the support and because of the love the teachers have for this teaching this program that they have taught it for over a decade at our school and yet here you are debating on you are considering cutting this program. It is it dumbfounds me to think why you would do this. This program has allowed me to stand here today to act in leadership because of the people before me because of the answers before me. They have decided to speak against what is wrong. And what is wrong is that you are taking this program that allows us to learn about our heritage to embrace who we are as Hispanics. You are oppressing us over and over again. And I'm tired of continuing to Superintendent Cotton. student attendant caught please don't have a student today he direct

Thank you for your comment thank you for your comment

point Point of order. I would like to make a motion that students are allowed to speak the two minutes. May I have a second? I second. I will second that motion. Um tr Trusty Calvin Han. The motion is to let students speak for the two minutes. Sorry. Point of order. person. I don't think that we can discriminate based on age. So, I just if it's amended, if it's welcome, I would make the amendment that we allow everybody who's left to do a two-minute comment.

I'm sorry, we're not supposed to do friendly amendments, but may I uh do two minutes and can we advance the students up to the front? I'll second that. Yeah, I've lost count, but after Yes, I'm fine with that. I think that was my motion. I'm fine. Happy to make that. Okay. So, do we still do roll call? Would you like us to repeat the motion?

The motion is to give everybody two minutes back. Give them two minutes to have a um to do their public comment, but move the students ahead of the adults. That's the motion, and it's been seconded. I vote yes. Trustee Whitten. Yes. Absolutely. Trusty Reckler. Reckler. Yes. Trusty Smith Folds. Smith Folds is a yes. Trusty Hoy Gonzalez Hoy. Yes. Trusty Hernandez. Yes.

And Trusty Jana is a yes. Motion passes. public comments. Uh, if you're a student, please come to the front. Sachi Kumar, Karen Armstead, Michelle Jackson, Crystal Beran, and Keith Johnson. Hi everyone, my name is Sachi Kumar. I'm a sixth grade student at Dova Elementary School. And today I want to talk about why we should not shut down schools. First, if we shut down schools, teachers can lose their jobs and it also can affect students learning. And for some people, schools will be far for them. Second, education is the backbone of our future. Schools are more than just buildings. They are communities where children learn, grow, and and develop the skills they need to succeed. Lastly, schools also provide social interaction, safety, and mental health support. For many children, school is where they feel supported and seen. Closing school can increase anxiety and stress for both students and parents. Let's keep our schools open because every child

deserves a chance to learn, grow, and dream with a pause. Thank you for listening to my speech. Next public comment is Sarai R. up to the to over here and we'll look at your we'll look at the names.

The students don't need to if you know their names would you mind coming up? Would Yes, please. at this point or if I can make a recommendation if the students come up announce their name and then they can pull them out of the pile. That's a great suggestion.

Cool. Next public comment. Sarai R, please unmute yourself.

Hello. Oh, yes. Yes, we can hear you. Okay. I know we've been asked to not talk about this until later, but I have a bedtime. My name is Sai and I'm a student at Betty Reed Oskin. I'm here because this school means more to me than just a place to learn.

It feels like a second home to me. At this school, I feel safe, supported, and truly seen by my amazing teachers and staff. Miss Coun, my college and career teacher, has helped me so much throughout my years here, guiding me and supporting me as I think about my future. The same goes for Miss Zky, our school librarian that has been just welcoming and sweet to every student as well as for other teachers and staff. I also want to say that the more students on campus, the less safe our school is and the less attention each student may receive. Smaller class sizes allow teachers to really focus on us and help us succeed. If our schools are merged, I worry that students will not have the same level of support and personal connection that makes the school so special. I also want to mention or highlight what Miss Kenich said and how shameful it is that just to save $900,000 you guys are willing to merge and shut down this school with Penol Middle. I respectfully ask you to reconsider this decision and to not merge our schools. And that's it for us. Thank you for listening. Public comment is Alvaro Corno. Name, please line up at the podium. Alvaro Cornnejo, Nathan Contras, Bana Canura, Jade Gomez, Priscilla Mosca, Valeria Cvantes, Lola Mariscal, and Bella Mariscal.

Oh. Hello, my name is Alvaro. I'm a sixth grade student from Dober Elementary and I'm here to talk about why you should not remove librarians from school and why you should not remove school community outreach workers. You should not take off no take librarians off because if you want students to classify, they need to read a lot. And without a librarian, we would h we would have less time in the library and would read less. Reading is also one of the most important subjects. You should not remove school community outreach workers because they do a lot for the school. For example, they they help a lot by w making family events and without them it would be complicated for the school to do events without them and parents would not tr trust the school or lose interest. That's all I have to say. Thanks for listening.

Hi, good afternoon. How are you guys doing? I mean evening. My name is Nathan and I'm in sixth grade. I attend elementary school. Today I'm going to talk about why you should not get rid of librarians and why you should not close schools. I think getting rid of a librarian is a bad idea. Why, you may ask? Well, if the West Country Unified School District gets rid of librarians at all schools, it's going to be more difficult uh for the teachers to organize who is going to be first in the library. Also, in my personal opinion, I think that kids should read on their own or at least teachers should give give reading homework to the students because literacy is a fundamental skill in life. Uh, and also you could learn new vocabulary words that sound more formal and fancy. Okay. Also, librarians help students find the type of books that you may want to read. Also in the library, I think that a lot of schools have a plethora of books. And in my mind, I think that li the librarians are the only ones in the in the library that knows where each book is. Besides, in my experience, the librarian in my school introduced me to reading along with my grandpa. And that's why the district should not get rid of librarians. And here's why you should not close schools. But before I I start my reasons, I want to say that the ideas that the district has of closing schools and getting rid of Liberians are harmful. Okay. Now, here's why you should not close schools. I think that if you close schools, kids will have to walk more to get to their schools. Also, sometimes if the students are dropped off by their parents, it could get harder for the for their parents to to drop their kid off. And sometimes parent

can parents can trust their kids maybe because they see kids doing Hi, my name is Brianna and I assist to do elementary school and I have a dream and my dream is that people don't get fired and schools don't get closed down And I'm talking about the school called Betty Ray Sasking Middle School. This m this school is going to going to get closed because the state of California is trying to save money by closing schools and firing librarians. This means that people that doesn't have a car would go on bus every day. And I'm not saying this is bad or good, but what I'm trying to say is maybe students would change of school until they find the correct school for them. The same is going to happen with librarians or they get fired or go they go to a place and another and not even pay them good. Well, that's my speech about the school that are going to close down and the job of the librarians. I hope you guys heard me loud and clear. Besides, don't let us wait more than they expected, as we should. Um,

hi, my name is Priscilla Mosca. I am a sixth grader in Dober Elementary School. I wanted to talk about why you should not shut down schools and remove teachers. First, firstly, shutting down the schools would make students nervous and unsure about going to a different school. They don't know if students go to a different school, they won't be able to see their friends and would get scared of getting bullied or making new friends. The students wouldn't know how to navigate the school and might get lost. Secondly, with the removal of teachers, the classes will become overfilled with students. If you remove teachers, students might not get the correct education that they need to succeed due to the limited time each teacher would have with each student. It would be sad to see our teachers leave, not only because we enjoy their teaching, but because we have built great friendships with them. In conclusion, we love our schools and teachers. If schools get shut down, we will be sad because most students want to get careers. And careers mean we need to stay in school to learn about what we want to be. That's why we need to keep our schools clean, keeping our teachers job. That's all. Thank you for your time to listen me to me talking about my speech. Goodbye. Uh hello everyone. My name is Valerantes. I'm a sixth grader from Dober Elementary School. And today I want to talk about why school should not be shut down. First, when schools are open, students learn better. It is easier to understand lessons when

teachers explain things in person. If schools are closed, same some students might not have good internet or a quiet place to learn. This can make it harder for them to keep up with their work. Second, school is not only about math and reading. It is it is also where we can make friends and learn how to work together. Being around other kids help us build social skills. If schools shut down, many students can feel lonely or sad. Also, some students depend on school for meals, counseling, other support. Schools help help take care of students in many ways. Closing them can make things harder for families. Schools should stay open because they help students learn, grow, and feel supported. Schools are an important part of our lives, and we need them. Thank you for listening to my speech. Have a good day. Hello, my name is Bella Mari Skall and I'm a senior at Richmond High School. I've been playing music since second grade. Music gave me more than skills. It gave me focus. When I was younger, I struggled to concentrate in class. I could barely sit still, yet somehow music trained my mind. It gave me something to look forward to, something that required discipline and attention. It helped me grow, not just as a musician, but as a student. More importantly, it gave me passion. A passion to share music with others. A passion to connect with people through sound. When words feel too small. In middle school and high school, I discovered that music is more than notes on a page. It's a community. After the pandemic, when so many students felt isolated and disconnected, music brought us back together. We uplifted each sound. We we uplifted each other in ways that went far beyond the classroom. Music gave me also gave me confidence. I used to shake when presenting in front of others. Standing on the stage with my

instrument taught me how to calm my nerves and trust myself. Performing prepared me to stand here and speak to you without fear. Without music, I would not have found my confidence community or myself. Imagine a child sitting in a classroom right now who struggles to focus, who feels overwhelmed, who feels unseen. Music. Music might be the one place where they feel capable and belonging. the outlet that helps them express emotions they don't have words for. When we remove music from an elementary school, we are not just cutting a program. We are taking away opportunity. We are silencing potential. We are closing doors before children even know they exist. If you can see what music has done for me, imagine what it has can do for others. Imagine what it will continue to do for future generations if we allow it. Children deserve more than silence. They deserve creativity, connection, and a chance to discover who they are. Please protect elementary school music because somewhere there's another second grader picking up an instrument for the first time and it could change their life just like it changed mine. Hi, my name is Lola Marisol. I am in eighth grade at Cormatu. I've been in band since fourth grade and still am. Band has helped me express creativity. It has also helped me learn new things and have new experience. Most importantly, band has helped me find a sense of community that has grown into a family. Ban has helped me make new friends and some might say band kids are weird and we are weirdly beautiful. But I also think that's what makes us like a family. As a teen, it is often hard to find your people. And in man, I have found my people that will turn into longtime friends. Our band teachers always have our best interest in mind. Whether it is learning new instruments or helping us use music outside of school. Band is not only about music. It

is also about passion that many people can share and relate to. And it might lead students like me into a career in music. Man can also change the life of many students by expressing their emotions into music if it's too hard to say out loud. In elementary school, I would have never have imagined how much band has changed my life. and I'm truly grateful for the opportunity I had back then. Please keep music in elementary schools around the district so it can change many more students lives like it didn't mine. Thank you. Do I start? Okay. Good afternoon everyone. My name is Jade and I'm a student at Dora Elementary School. On behalf of the Latina Center and our Latino community, I present the following signatures and recommendations. First, we ask the community if they agree to eliminate the elective classes for students. The 100% say no agree. Second, if we if they agree to eliminate the scout position, the 96 say no agree. In three days, we collected 1,044 signatures to support the scouts positions. 653 from parents, 312 students, 77 teachers. Also, we have three recommendations most voted by our community. One, wait for the money that the governor has promised. Two, review the LCAP budget. Three, reduce the salary from executive staff WCC UCD position. Please volume your voices and review this information. Thank you. We have all the signatures here.

Oh my god.

No, it's okay. That's it. Okay.

Also, what I want to add is about the the government wants to fire Liberians. I think that librarians are very important. First kids go kids who have anxiety or problems with loud places go to the library has a safe place and I think that kids need the need the books for development if kids don't go to the library they will think as reading has boring or not as important as other things also I want to talk about the club musics the club musics are very important because They they express our feelings because not everyone has the words to say it.

Hello school board. My name is Samantha and I am a student at Donner Elementary. I am here to support our community outreach worker, Maria Verde, better better known to us as Miss Lolita. Miss Lolita has helped learn more about my culture. She teaches me about dance and more. She takes care of us like we are her own children and makes sure we are always smiling and happy. Without her, the school is going to be a mess. Because Lolita organizes everything for us, including awesome assemblies where our families come together to see us shine. We need Lolita to stay at Downer. She makes sure we are safe. Miss Lolita is the school's most helpful staff. If you take her away from us, our school will suffer because Lolita is the reason everything is so organized. We need Miss Lolita to stay in our school. Don't you care about our school community? Miss Lolita helps us all thrive. Thank you. for the former Graciasto.

musicudios. When I say they don't, you say CARE ABOUT US. THEY DON'T. They don't. They don't. Hi, I'm a fifth grader in D Hi, my name is Joselim. I'm a fifth grader in Downer Elementary School. Miss Lolita taught all of us how important our culture is and how dance can show other people how different cultures have their own unique ways of dancing. She makes sure all all of us feel comfortable in school. Music has helped me with my confidence since I got here. It helped me know that I have power, that I have my rights about talking to other people, that I have my rights of knowing what is good for me. Hi school board, my name is Alana, a fifth grader MSG's class. If she le if Miss Lolita leaves our school, then our school will suffer without her. She is the reason our school has awesome assemblies and awesome performances. She is the most helpful, nicest staff ever. She is the reason I started for Croico cuz she said that if I move myself good then I she said if I smile then if I smile then I will get better confidence and when and when all the parents got that make me say to me that I shine and I have more confidence in

myself. Thank you for your time and yeah thank you. When I say scouts have their rights, you guys say that's why we have to fight. Scouts have their rights. That's why we fight. Scouts have their rights. That's why we fight. Scouts have their rights. That's why we fight.

Thank you. Hello, I am Zavier, a seventh grader and the student body president who has been at Mount Tabin for 5 years. I came to Mount Tavvern during the pi pandemic at a time where everything felt uncertain. Back then when I struggled with my confidence in reading and math and didn't believe in myself the way I do now. But Mount Talvin changed all of that. This school helped me grow, learn, and believe in myself. It gave me the support I needed to gain my confidence in my studies and who I am. More than that, Mount Talin became my family and my community. A place where I feel safe, connected, and supported every day. Now, knowing that this K through8 school might be changed to a K through six, I realized that this place that shaped me helped me with my confidence in education may be taken away. Mount Talvin only has 300 students. 300 students isn't super big compared to schools like Penol Middle. Big schools equal bigger classrooms which could make an impact on a student's education. Mount Talvin only has 29 students in each classroom which is really good. While Pano has 35 students, which is a lot. Leaving Mount Talin like this could be very hard for us students. It could affect our mental health, our education, our lifestyle. And if this happened, it's changing our environment and possibly our mindset. Mount Talvin is one graded grounded school that makes me want to come to school every day. At Mount Talvin, the seventh and eighth graders are the leaders. For example, the others the older students look out for the younger students, teaching them how to carry themselves with confidence, respects, whether it's helping them find their classes, including them in things, or

just simply showing kindness. We set the tone for our school every day by setting a positive example throughout actions and behavior. We become role models they trust and The next public comment is Karen Armstead. Uh, good evening. Jack Lord. Grandiochech.

two mass. Gracias. Gracias. Next public comment is Karen Armstead, Michelle Jack. Oh, she's coming. Michelle Jackson. Good evening, Superintendent Cotton, and to all of the trustees and to our student trustees and the wonderful staff here at the West Contraosta Unified School District. I wanted to come to say thank you for that awesome groundbreaking ceremony at Siege Elementary School. The staff did a wonderful job. Miss Forest and Miss Ellen Hooper and all that were there. The students were so happy. The community was so happy. The second graders, the third graders that were coming up hugging us. But there was one student there. She tapped me on my shoulder and she said, "I am a STE alumni. I attended STEGE in 1947." And she had tears in her eyes.

That's when the district and the community comes together and we do something that we all can be proud of. So, I just wanted to come again to thank you for the efforts that you put into this wonderful project that was a truly a community partnership to rebuild Siege Elementary School. Thank you so much. And we look forward to all of the students and the teachers and the parents. We look forward to a very bright future at STE. Thank you. Next public comment is Crystal Beran. Crystal Banigan. Thank you. First of all, RIP Betty Reed Saskin. Uh, good evening members of my community. My name is Crystal Banigan and I'm here tonight representing the African-American families that are my neighbors and friends and who I speak to every day. We are here because the academic achievement of our black students in West Contraosta is not just a concern, it's a crisis that requires immediate action and accountability. Currently, less than two out of every 10 students are passing state tests in ELA and math. Parents are frequently ignored, blamed, or pushed aside when they reach out for help. We are demanding the district honor its legal and moral obligation to provide an equitable education for all children. The status quo is failing and the lack of urgency from leadership has led us to a point of zero confidence. So, African-American parents are demanding full transparency, direct accountability, and parental partnership. Our plan is already in

motion. We're already organizing. We're surveying our parents. And we're not going anywhere. Our students cannot wait another semester for strategic planning. And our students cannot wait 50 years to close the achievement gap. It's time for a vote of confidence in our students. And it starts with holding the adults in this system accountable. Thank you. I'll see you next time. Next public comment is Wendy Gonzalez. Wendy Gonzalez, Jen Douglas, and Keith Johnson. Good evening, board. Uh, Superintendent Cotton, I just uh respect the way you guys sets things up. I'm going to break up my comments. I filled out two forms. We'll talk about the agenda item when it comes up. Um, but I do part of uh why I'm here to support the elementary school programs. And in this particular moment, I just want to discuss uh Prop 28 and how it's being used and how it's being proposed to be used uh for not only the elementary programs, but how it is being used by other sites. Uh I think that depending on who you ask in this district, there is a wide variety of opinions on how Prop 28 is supposed to be used, what it's intended for, and how we're actually using it. Uh I know that some sites have already used it against what its intent is uh and that is to

supplant and pay for uh faculty members or colleagues to keep their jobs uh at their sites. I've also heard stories recently um with in meetings where uh in elementary schools and some other schools uh principles are not allowing their music teachers to have access to these funds that are supposed to be spent. And if you've seen spreadsheets with how much money some of these schools have that they have not spent that is getting ready to give be given back to the state because we haven't spent it, it's a little concerning. Um I do want to say that uh suggesting that we use Prop 28 funds uh to maintain ban programs anywhere or any type of arts programs violates the purpose of the law and the intent of the law. I was on the boards of some of these organizations that brought this legislation to the state and got it passed through. Um, I'm talking to people that are uh on the forefront of this and at some point we will be on the wrong side of the law. Ignorance of the law does not mean that we are exempt from it. So, I just would like to caution uh how we move forward with Prop 28 funds and that we reach out to our our VAPA teachers, our school sites on developing actual plan on how we're going to use this money because right now we're sitting on it and we're not using it correctly in many cases. And uh I have a little bit more on the impact on that for the elementary programs, but I just want to uh invite all of you to talk to us to music teachers, vapid teachers about how to spend this money. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who gave public comment tonight, especially our students for coming out. We'll now move on to item nine, standing reports. Do we have any standing reports tonight? Yes, we have uh standing reports from DLC caps and UTR and ASAP and ASAP.

Good evening board trustees, superintendent cotton. Hey, superintendent Cotton, uh, district staff and the cabinet. Uh, my name is Lucas Manix. I am the proud parent of a second grader and a fourth grader at Fairmont Elementary. And I have the true honor to serve as the chair of the district local control and accountability plan committee and get to represent um this entire community and especially representing the needs of our of our highest need students. Uh our committee has the task uh of ensuring that the $65 million in supplemental concentration funds that are generated by our high need students actually reaches those students. We have reviewed the proposed cuts to the LCAP program and we are here to deliver a clear recommendation. Do not make cuts to programs that are starting to finally show some results. Specifically, the DLCAP committee recommends any cuts to three primary programs. Number one, site budgets. Number two, the removal of our of our SKU school community outreach workers, our SCALS at Title One Elementary Schools. And number three, any reductions to our CTE, our language programs, and our AP programs at our secondary schools. So, first on the site budgets, the LCAP explicitly states that the district's theory of action is grounded in listening to the voices closest to the classroom. That plan highlights that the sitebased goals are designed to expand learning opportunities and promote academic achievement for our most vulnerable students. When you cut site budgets, you silence those voices. Stripping away the flexibility required to meet the unique needs of these diverse schools is not extra funds. They are primarily primary tools used to address the specific areas where we are

read on our state dashboards and other local metrics. On the second point of retaining our our scows in our title one elementary schools, the LCAP notes that while chronic absenteeism is still a concern, we have seen a downward trend amongst our English learners, English learners as well as our most socioeconomically disadvantaged students. The plan attributes this to our expanded wraparound services and target targeted sightbased outreach. Our school community outreach workers are that outreach. If you remove scowls from title one schools, you are removing the very bridge that connects our families all here tonight and the schools and the resources that they offer. You cannot expect to continue to be reducing exclusionary practices while cutting out staffs whose sole job is to foster student belonging and partnership with families. on protecting our language and CT and AP classes in secondary schools. We have to protect protect these these pathways. Our graduate profile that we all came together and built together as a community states that we're trying to produce graduates who are self-reliant, data literate decision makers equipped for a competitive global economy. The LCAP identifies these programs, these these language, these CTE programs and advanced placement classes as a primary vehicle for this. These programs aren't just electives. They are equity tools. They provide our students with the future focused academic pathways mentioned in our mission statement. Last night during our DLC CAPS meeting, we were fortunate to have one of our student members join and really emphasize the importance of these classes and preparing our high school students for whatever future career they're going to have. Reducing these programs sends a message that we are narrowing the horizons of our students when the LCAP says that we should be equipping them to lead

passiondriven lives. Finally, our LCAP is entitled Brave Minds, Bold Leaders, and Big Dreams. It takes a brave board to make tough financial decisions. It takes bold leadership to protect the investments that serve our most marginalized students so that they can live out their big dreams. While we've seen drops in chronic abnotism and decline in suspension rates, these gains are fragile. Do not dismantle the systems that that built them. The DLCAP committee strongly urges you to maintain full funding for our site budgets, our scout positions, and our secondary language classes and academic pathways. Let's keep our promise to our highest need students. They are counting on us. Thank you. ASAT, please come to the podium. Good evening board. So today I'm in front of you all as my last time ever as the ASAT chair. I have been the chair since I've been the founding chair since 2017 with a lot of beautiful educators helping me to get to this space, training me, teaching me, molding me, guiding me to be the leader I am today. And I'm very thankful of that. Today um is Black History Month. It's it's a day that I want to talk about the things I was able to do in West Contracasta School District to celebrate and uplift our black and African-American students. I can talk about a lot of things that a lot of people shared already today, but I'm not. I'm going to talk about the

good parts I was able to do the years I was able to serve these children and their families. And it was so so so rewarding. There were things that were very hard, but there were very great things. I want to start off with sharing the resolution for 461920. That resolution was the first written in California for black and African-American students. And our district did that. We uplifted our children. There was also a resolution. It was involving all children, but I own it. I think it was our resolution, the one that was written by our trustee Demetrio Gonzalez Hoy for the rebuild of STE. I didn't get to wear a gold hat for our b I mean a gold shovel or wear a hard hat for our babies, but I was there and thank you all for looking at our babies. There was H.B.CU tours that this district paid for for our children to go see colleges that represent them. There was BSU summits that this district invested in for our children to really get the exposure of different things and possibilities that could happen for them. There was black parent award nights that we held and the district supported board members brought food and supported the parents as we celebrated each other. There was black spirit weeks that's held during Black History Month that school sites have held for our children. There was a raising of the African-American flag and I was a part of that. I was a part of making all these things and more if I forgot some things. I was able to talk to to superintendent two superintendent work. There will be the next chair will be talking to the third about a afroentric school a swuahili school that's been brought forth and the board has always supported

that. There's all the o the the opening of the Oasisa office that was a big lift. These are things I was able to be a part of and able to support our children and these were big wins. All of these things are might maybe not still in place and a lot of them need to be back in place and funded and I understand we have budget cuts but what I do want to say is that we did make some gains. We do have a lot of work ahead of us still to do. And I hope as I pass the torch on to the next chair that we continue this work to uplift our children and to continue to see all kids, including black kids. I'm complete. And you guys have a good evening. Bye. I love y'all. ETR, please come to the podium. Good evening, President Trustees, Superintendent Cotton, and community. Tonight, you will vote on alignment. Alignment between the number of students actually enrolled in our schools and the adults actually working in them. Alignment between real staffing levels and accurate financial projections. alignment between our stated values and the decisions we make. UTR is clear. All reductions must be absorbed through existing vacancies. Not one UTR educator should receive a pink slip. If we are aligning staffing to enrollment, then align it to the employees actually serving students today, not hypothetical positions on a spreadsheet. We cannot justify pink list while carrying hundreds of vacant positions across the district. That is not alignment. That is

instability. Students experience instability when trusted adults disappear. Families experience instability when programs shrink. Educators experience instability when their livelihoods are treated as adjustable variables. If we are right sizing, then right size through attrition, rightize through vacancies, rightsize responsibly. Second, we are urging you to protect school community outreach workers. The proposal eliminates elementary scout positions at title one schools and scouts are not excess. They are vital infrastructure of our schools. They increase attendance. They help families complete lunch forms. They connect students to services. They generate revenue by ensuring documentation is completed accurately. If attendance recovery is part of this solveny planned, and it is, then cutting scals undermines both student support and fiscal recovery. The same is true for elementary music. Eliminating elementary band cuts off the pipeline to the awardwinning secondary programs that we celebrate. Music drives engagement. Engagement drives attendance. Attendance drives revenue. Alignment means protecting the programs that keep students connected. We are also asking you to direct staff to include legally permissible revenue increases outlined in both your plan and the governor's January budget. The governor is proposing ongoing community schools funding, ongoing special education increases and professional development funding and learning

recovery dollars. Staff's own revenue slides outlines attendance recovery, TK expansion, and other enhancements. Accurate financial projections must reflect allowable revenue, not just reductions. We cannot cut student enrichment and vital supports while excluding revenue growth and budgeting for vacancies that do not reflect actual staffing. And finally, we must talk about the collapse of K8s and the proposed middle school merger. If the K8 model is no longer supported or was never adequately supported, say that transparently. Families deserve clarity, but more importantly, what is the student center transition plan? How will seventh and eighth graders be reintegrated into comprehensive middle schools? That hasn't been answered. How will relationships, counseling supports, and transportation be addressed? How will teachers be supported as they transition into new environments? Moving students between campuses is not alignment unless students are centered in the process. The proposed merger of Betty Reed Saskkin and Penol Middle School is not simply a financial adjustment. It is cultural. It is relational. It is about identity and trust. How will students and families from both campuses be integrated respectfully and intentionally? How will students who walk to Betty Reed Saskkin get to the new campus? And how will the uh we how will we be able to preserve the legacy of Betty Reed Saskkin, a local heroine, just months after her passing? If this merger proceeds, there must be a clear commitment to honoring her legacy in a visible permanent way and ensuring families are deeply engaged before implementation. Trust is built when we protect stability. Belonging is built when we protect enrichment. And fairness is

built when reductions are absorbed through vacancies and not pink slips. We cannot solve the fiscal instability by uh creating educational instability. Align the district with the students at the center. Accurate financial projections and decisions grounded in dignity and trust. Thank you. Thank you for the standing reports. We'll now move on to agenda review and adoption. Does the board have anything that they would like to adjust on the agenda? President President uh Inana, I was wondering if we could move uh E2 to go right after the superintendent communication as we discussed. So we will be moving um item E2 fiscal solveny plan for 2026 2028 up to after the superintendent report. Is everyone okay with that? Okay. So we will proceed with the following adjustments. Moving E2 to after the superintendent's report. Now we will be moving on to item 11, approval of minutes for January 21st, 2026, January 28th, 2026, and January 31st, 2026. Does anyone have any correction to the minutes? Trusty Reckler,

I do have one correction. On January 21st, item I, your last name is spelled incorrectly, and provided that the board moves it forward, I'll send it in for correction. Okay. Okay, with the correction for the January 21st, 2026 on the name um any more changes? Okay, so we will set with the following changes. U moving on on to item 12, u resolution number 2526-53, honoring African-American history month for 2026. Um, and I think that's Rochelle's item.

Yes. Good evening, board, superintendent, staff, and community. Now therefore, be it resolved that the West Contraosta Unified School District Board of Education acknowledges the month of February as African-American History Month and encourages all educational communities to commemorate this occasion with appropriate instructional activities. Trustes my thoughts.

I would like to make u an amendment to the resolution number 2526-53. I will read it and then I would like to ask for a second. I will begin. Whereas being black and being young is not a time of innocence and protection in the United States of America. In honor of EMTT Tilliel, Trayvon Martin, Michael Donald, Gregory Stinley Jr., Denise McNair, Addie May Collins, Carol Robinson, Cynthia Weasley, and the countless others who are not named, WCCUSD acknowledges that age is not a barrier to antilackness. Whereas being black and going to school is not enough to shield antilackness. Black students are drowned in slurs, discrimination, and hate. Every school day in honor of the Little Rock Nine, the Charlottesville 12, Ruby Bridges, Floyd Armstrong, Patricia Marcus, Josephine Powell, Richard Walker, Dorothy Count Scoggins, and the countless others who are not named, WCCUSD acknowledges education comes at a price that black students are forced to pay. Whereas being black and an educator in the United States of America comes with immense antilackness found among your colleagues, students, families, administration, and the educational system as a whole. In honor of Mary Ml Mloud, Bthoon, Daisy Gatson, Bates, WB de Boyce, Booker T. Washington, John Barry Mechum, Michael Eric Dyson, Elizabeth Thornne, Scott Flood, Sarah Williams, and the countless others who are not named. WCCUSD acknowledges that integrating schools but not integrating black teachers and black administrators was an intentional act of white supremacy and resulted in up to a 100,000 black teachers and black administrators losing their jobs between

1954 and 1979. Black educators make up less than 10% of the education educators in the United States of America. WCCUSD acknowledges that black educators should be intentionally recruited, retained, and supported inside and outside of their career. Whereas being black and being smart is not enough to be given credit or remembered in the United States of America in honor of Benjam Benjamin Montgomery, Thomas Jennings, Lewis Latimir, Sarah Boone, Granville T. Woods, Garrett Morgan, Thomas Jefferson Marshall, Phillips B. Downing, Dr. Dr. Shirley Anne Jackson, Sarah Van Brittain Brown, Richard Spikes, Patricia Bath, George R. Kurthers, Alice H. Parker, Thomas Elen, Dr. Daniel Hell. Williams, Otis Boykins, Jerry Lawson, Julian Brown, James Sloan Adams, Alexander Miles, Frederick McKinley Jones, Dr. Glattis May West, JW Smith, Lida Newman, Paul E. Williams, Henry Samson, William H. Richardson, Augustus Jackson, and the countless others who are not named. WCCUSD acknowledges that American life as well as the lives around the world became easier because of black inventors and black inventions. Whereas being a woman inside and outside of excuse me whereas being a black woman inside and outside of the elected leadership in the United States of America is not protected status that offers you respect and value. In honor of Betty Reed Saskin, Arma Anderson, Shirley Weber, Monica Wilson, Malia Cohen, Carol Mosley, Braun, Lisa Mintosh, Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, Jasmine Crockett, Katanji Brown Jackson, Holly Mitchell, Stacy Abrams, Paticia Pearson, Joey D. Smith, Shirley Chisum, Dr. Kim Moses, Cheryl Cotton, Chanel Scales, Preston, Javvanka Beckl, Holly Tilman, Tamisha Torres Walker, Dr. Jad Lean, Cheryl Sudd, Dr. Jamila Brown, Carol Weissinger, Fanny Lou HR, Kamla Harris, Caris Karen Bass, London Breed,

Mia Bont, Diane Watson, Latifah Simon, Tiffany Tiffany Grimsley, Donna Beckton, Jamila Smith Foes, Elaine Merryweather, Audrey Miles, and the countless others who are not named, WCCUSD acknowledges the importance to protect and support black women in local and national leadership. Whereas being black is not protected by those in authority and is not a guarantee for safety or justice. And black people are three times more likely to be shot, unarmed, and murdered. In honor of Michael Brown, Eric Gardner, Walter Scots, Stefan Clark, Tamir Rice, Freddy Gray, Oscar Grant, Bana Taylor, George Floyd, Dexter Wade, Sandra Bland, and the countless others who are not named. WCCUSD acknowledges the need to ensure that those authority figures in the lives of black students understand antilackness and how it shows up inside and outside of the educational system. Whereas being black and having buildings being safe spaces for your body, growth, spirituality, and survival does not sit does not exist in any zip code within the borders of the United States of America. In honor of the 16th Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, Black Wall Street in Tuls Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rosewood in Florida, Okawi in Florida, Oscarville in Georgia, Kalawaga in Alabama, Black Bottom in Detroit, Michigan, Overtown in Miami, Miami, Florida, Cica Village in New York City, and the countless other places that are not named. WCCUSD acknowledges that buildings and communities that are occupied by black bodies become targets. Now, therefore, be it resolved, WCCCUSD is committed to ensuring that antilackness is not in its policies, procedures, and practices. WCCUSD acknowledges that antilackness is real and impacts the lives of its students, families, employees, and community. Be it further resolved, WCCUSD is actively working towards eliminating racism in all its schools where black students are present. WCCUSD recognizes that

antilackness alongside anti-indigenity is the legal and social foundation for all other types of hate, biases, and discrimination in the United States of America. I will entertain a second. I am complete. I'll second, but I want to ask for an amendment friendly amendment, which is that we add Dr. Greenwood, Miss Forest, and Miss Alon Harris to the fifth to last paragraph which mentions all the women who have made an impact in WCS. You're speaking whereas being a black woman. Yes, just along all the names just to add those.

I'm okay with that. The reason I didn't go further in is because I didn't want to leave anybody out. So I went to elected officials and those that we honored like Betty Reed Saskkin and Irma Anderson that we've honored from this dis. I don't have a problem adding what you said but that's the reason why it was written the way it was written. Elected officials and those that we've honored from this dis I am complete that makes sense. Thank you. Yeah I just saw cab ex cabinet members so I just wanted to add current cabinet members as well. Thank you. Well, we have a motion. Um, there's been a motion in a second.

Presented by um Smith Fold, seconded by Gonzalez Hoy. Um, we'll go to the roll call. Um, Calvin Hunt, yes. Devin Whitten, yes. Leslie Reckler, Reckler, yes. Smith folds. Smith Foss is a yes. Gonzalez Hoy, yes. Ernnandez, yes. And Anyana, yes. President, now we have to move the actual motion.

Okay. I say the original motion was to approve the anti-black resolution presented by Smith votes. What was it? No, I'm sorry. That was the the motion was to add this to the resolution. So now we just have to move the whole resolution with this addition. Okay. So do we have a motion for resolution 2526-53? I'll move resolution number 2526-3 honoring African-American history month with the amendment. I'll second. Okay. We have a motion by Smith Folds, second by Gonzalez Hoy. Um, Trusty Han,

yes. Trusty Whitten, yes. Trusty Reckler. Reckler. Yes. Trusty Smith. Smith Falls is a yes. Trusty Gonzalez Hoy. Yes. Trustee Ernnandez. Yes. And Trusty Anyana? Yes. Motion passes. Um, do we have any comments on this item? Okay. Okay, moving on to resolution number 252654 in recognition of school counselors. It's also Miss Rochelle Forest.

Yes, thank you. Now therefore, be it resolved that the West Contraosta Unified School District recognizes and appreciates the invaluable contributions of school counselors in supporting the academic, social, emotional, and career development of students. The district proudly celebrates National School Counseling Week, February 2nd through 6th, 2026.

Do we have a motion? President, I move resolution number 2526-54 in recognition of school counselors. And I'll I'll second that motion. Um, so it's moved by Gonzalez Hoy, seconded by Anyana. Um, Trusty Han, yes. Trusty Wooden, yes. Trusty Reckler, Reckler, yes. Trusty Smith Folds, Smith FS, yes. Trusty Gonzalez Hoy, yes. Trusty Hernandez, yes.

And trustee, yes. So now moving on to consent items. We we are up to item C, consent items. Does any board member wish to pull items from the consent for discussion for later in the evening? No. Okay. So, we'll say we will accept the consent items as posted. Um, moving on to item D, superintendent communication. Thank you. Good evening. Let that come up. Next slide, please. I wanted to start this evening with an community update around immigration enforcement. Today, we're addressing a serious conf concern that affects many in our community, potential US immigration customs enforcement activity. First, I want to assure everyone that our district safety team diligently verifies all reports of ICE sightings. We understand these reports can create uncertainty in the community, so we are committed to transparency and safety. Moreover, we're fortunate to have a network of community organizations ready to support families navigating these challenges. All of those resources can be found on this slide as well as on our uh website. So please, we encourage families to connect. We have taken time to connect with those organizations recently. Um and they are here to serve and support our community in partnership with the district. Remember, our top priority remains the

safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families. So let's continue to stand together as one community. Next slide, please. Okay, I wanted to start our conversation around fiscal solvency and our listening sessions just taking us back a few steps to remember where we have been over the last few years. We have made significant reductions that have been approved by the board over the last three years. In January of 2024, the board approved $19.7 million in reductions for the 2425 school year. This included a $5.6 million reduction of contracts and services and a $14.1 million staffing reduction. Notably, there was a 14.6% reduction in unrepresented management. I'm often hearing in um the community, well, what cuts are happening at the top? They're happening all across our district, and they have been happening over the last few years. Moving into January of 2025, $7.3 million in reductions were approved for the 2526 school year. This involves $600,000 in program and services as well as a 6.7 uh $6.7 million in staffing reductions with a 7.2% reduction across unrepresented management as well. And looking ahead, we are proposing a 42.4

million reduction for the 2627 school year. This includes $5.1 million in program services and a substantial 37.3 million in staffing reductions with a 10% or 10%.7% reduction in unrepresented management. These actions reflect our ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility while striving to max I'm sorry while striving to minimize the impact on our educational community. These are very serious cuts that have already been made and I just want to put this moment in context that it's not this year we are making cuts. This is an ongoing fiscal crisis that we have been having to deal with and address. I just want to give some context to where we stand today. Next slide, please. So, we have been engaged in listening sessions. So, I want to give a recap um of where we have been focusing. We've been keeping our community engaged and informed as well. Earlier this month, the school district hosted equity impact town halls across our school specific listening sessions. These sessions were crucial for involving our community in the district's fiscal planning process. During these events, district leaders presented an overview of our fiscal outlook, highlighting key budget challenges and planning priorities. We aim to provide a transparent view of what lies ahead. What made these sessions truly valuable was the active community input. Families and community members shared their concerns, their suggestions, and perspectives directly with district

leadership. We offered multiple formats like coffee chats and virtual meetings to ensure a broad participation. This approach helped reduce barriers to engagement, allowing for richer dialogue. We had over I think we've we've engaged over a thousand uh families and students through this process. Looking ahead, the feedback that we've gathered will play a pivotal role in shaping our redesign and infor inform future district decisions. Our commitment is to maintain transparent communication and foster ongoing fiscal planning efforts. We are listening. As we move into our fiscal solveny presentation, you'll see that we heard you. We are listening. Next slide, please. So, let's dive into what our students are saying about their school experiences. I think it's crucial that we listen to the voices of those directly impacted by our decisions. We've held our student voice focal groups and so to one of the questions, what do you think about your current school? Our students have shared a range of feelings. Some say their friends make school enjoyable while others express feeling bored. Clearly, we were talking to some kids. They were like, uh, school. Um, importantly, they note that teachers and staff play a significant role in creating a welcoming environment. When we ask middle schoolers what matters most if they were to attend different schools, their top concerns are staying connected with friends, feeling safe, and having a welcoming staff. These are critical elements that con that contribute to a positive school experience. Finally, when students hear

about potential changes in school assignments, they express worry about losing community and their desire to understand the reasons behind such decisions. They want to maintain connections and support for quality teachers and programs, which speaks volumes about their values and priorities. We hear you and can work towards addressing those fears and those concerns through ensuring students have access to caring adults. They have healthy ways to connect with other students and intentionally building community between both students as well as between staff. We keep these insights at the forefront as we move forward by valuing student input. We can make informed decisions that truly meet their needs. Next slide, please. We also heard from families about what they value most about their schools and their concerns regarding the potential changes. First, many families highlight the importance of social supports and friendships within the comm school community. These connections are crucial for both students and families. Additionally, the convenience of school's location and the support provided by our dedicated staff are highly appreciated. These elements create a nurturing and accessible environment for our students. However, if these changes are to happen, there changes to school structure or grade levels. Families express a concern about potential barriers such as transportation issues and disruptions to their child's comfort. Losing established connections with staff also weighs heavily on their mind. In terms of supporting students through potential changes, families have shared several ideas. Some prefer that changes

not be made at all. We get that. Others believe that students can adapt but emphasize the need for support, particularly through mental health services. It's essential to provide these resources to help them navigate transition smoothly. We are committed to considering these insights and carefully as we move forward, ensuring that any decision we make prior to prior try prior to Oh my goodness, I am tired. Say it. Thank you. I appreciate that. Prioritize the well-being and success of our students and families. that I wanted to put out to this community as we prepare for our fiscal solvency presentation and discussion. I wanted to ground us in the voices of our students, in the voices of our community, the voices of our staff, what matters most to them as we make these decisions and move forward. I also next slide please want to just ground ourselves in our students. I thought about making this a short presentation. I'm trying to go as quickly as I can but I wanted us to start there and just remember we have kids in schools every day that are doing amazing things. Over the last two weeks we attended I attended the Got Goals assembly who was there with me. Thank you. Board President was there as well. um goals was pretty amazing um that just celebrated students. Next slide. Also, Lake Elementary School had their Black History Month readin. Next slide. Aloney Elementary School has had their Black History Month program. Next slide.

And I didn't go to all of these things. I I can't be everywhere, you guys, but I just want to lift them up. And thank you um Trustee Smith Fos who somehow is everywhere and goes to everything who shared some pictures with us. The elementary school Special Olympics was held at Helms Middle School. There will be more to come. I made sure that they were going to let us know when the next events were going to be held. But that was um an amazing event for our students. Next slide. I also had a chance to visit Hercules High School. That was a an awesome visit having a chance to really sit down and talk about middle school and what are we seeing at Hercules High around their middle school program. Um, also seeing dance, seeing some amazing classes as well. Who celebrated the hundth day of school? No one in this room celebrated the 100th day of school. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I have to tell you that um this lady is not 100 years old, but she dressed up like she was on the hundth day of school. This is our principal at Collins Elementary School. I love that. Um we also had our Hercules High School mock trials and their senior night uh as well as science fair uh judging day happened on February 10th, just yesterday. Excellent job. Thank you. And then we also had a chance I had a chance to sit in on um our new police chief for the Richmond Police Department, Chief Simmons. Um an just an amazing person. Um and I am so glad that he is a leader within this community and we will continue to to partner with our local law enforcement. Moving along, just for your awareness, KECG is back. Yes,

KCG is back on the air. I want to say just a very special thank you to our director, Rachel Forest, for bringing life back to this program. You guys don't know what she did to make it happen, but she made it happen. Thank you so much. And thank you for all those who are partnering with us. Next slide, please. Tomorrow is the science fair awards ceremony. I see enthusiasm in the back. Okay, we can give that a hand clap, too. Go students and STEM. Yes. Um, it's going to be held at Danza High School. Please make your way there if you're able to to celebrate starting at 6:00 p.m. at the theater. I also just want to remind folks that we are in the midst of uh our enrollment time. So, transfer enrollments end on February 27th. Now is the time. Preschool enrollment is happening right now. And as usual, there are many ways for you to get involved and stay involved in our schools. With that, that that concludes my report. Uh any questions?

Well, thank thank you, Superintendent Connor, for your presentation. Do we have any questions from the board? Um Trusty Whitten. Um just two quick questions. Um and I don't know if they go in E2 or not, but I'm going to ask them anyway. Um that first question is where are the staff reductions coming from? And then the second one is what when we're doing budget cuts, what is considered the top and the bottom? You said what is considered the the top and the bottom? So like cuz one person mentioned how we were cutting from the bottom and not the top. What exactly does

what does that mean like? No, I was just trying to figure out what it what would be considered the top and the bottom cuts. Would that be cutting from upper management levels instead of teachers. Okay. All right. Yes. Thank you. You're welcome. We're gonna get to your first question in the presentation. Is that fair? Any other questions? Gonzalez.

Thank you, President. Uh just very quickly, it's at 9:30. Uh we're just about to get to the first item. We have about 40 public comments. Um, and then we have to do all of our items tonight legally. Um, well, not the plan, but the other two. Um, so I'm going to make a very difficult motion, especially for both of you being in your first meeting. Uh, I'm going to make a motion that we extend till 12:00 so that we can get through all of our items. Hopefully, we won't get there and we won't get to 12, but uh we do have to get to all of our items. So, that's my motion.

I'll second. We have a motion to extend our meeting um till 12 by Trusty Gonzalez Hoy, seconded by Trustee Hernandez. Um Trusty Smith votes. I have a clarifying question. When you say get through the entire agenda, are you including G comments from the board of education and future agenda items? Good question. I am not including comments from the board. I just want to get through actions and then end the meeting as soon as we get through our actions and uh discussion items. So, you're extending all the way to F1.

Yes. Thank you for clarifying. Thank you. I'm complete. Okay. So, um, Trustee Hun, I abstain. I'm sorry. Point of order. Can I put a second motion on the the floor?

I would like to extend the meeting to 12:00, including item G, comments from the board of education and future agenda items, three minutes a piece. I'll second that. Okay, we have a a second motion on the table to extend to include comments from the board and um next scheduled board of education meeting. Um so we'll vote on that item first. Calvin Han.

I abstain. Trusty Whitten. Yes. Trusty Reckler. Reckler. Yes. Smith Folds. Smiths. Yes. Trusty Gonzalez Hoy. Gonzalez. No. Trusty Hernandez. No. And Trustee Anyana is a no. So motion fails. U. Moving on to the original motion to extend till 12. Um, going all the way through F1. Uh, motion on the table by Gonzalez Hoy, second by Ernnandez. Trusty Han, yes. Trusty Wooden, yes. Trusty regular. Reckler, yes.

Trusty Smith, Folds, no. I believe the public needs to hear from the board. Trusty Gonzalez Hoy, yes. Trusty Hernandez, yes.

And Trusty Dyan, yes. Motion passes. So we'll move on to now item E2 um fiscal solveny plan for the 2026 through 2028. Um and that is superintendent C. Thank you. Uh as we move into the fiscal solveny plan, let's go to the next slide, please. The objective for this evening is to provide an update on the listening sessions feedback so we have additional information to share with the community as well as the board moving to approval of the fiscal solveny plan for 2026 27 and 202728. Those are the objectives for the evening. I'm going to pass now to Katherine Aostto Prascus uh who will talk to us about the uh what we found in our listening sessions.

Thank you, Superintendent Cotton. Good evening, President Anyana Clerk Gonzalez Hoy, Superintendent Cotton, members of the board, and members of our WCCUSD community. The decision before you tonight carries a real and personal impact to our students, families, and staff. And the board's direction last board meeting, we return to our school communities to listen more closely and more intentionally. Next slide. This slide offers a snapshot of the 18 sessions held over the past two weeks. Eight were held in person and 10 were held virtually, including two district-wide town halls. These conversations also built on the two sessions that we hosted earlier in January. So, in total, we were able to hear from more than 700 participants connected to the schools most directly impacted by the proposed fiscal solveny plan. Next slide. While each community has its own story, there were several themes that came out consistently across all of the listening sessions. First, we heard a deep concern about community identity and belonging. Families and staff spoke about the importance of the tightknit K8 communities and the legacy and culture of their schools. Many shared worries about the merger and how it could dilute relationships and disrupt the sense of connections that students rely on. We also heard strong equity concerns. Participants noted that many of the schools most impacted serve title one communities and it raised questions about how decisions are being distributed across the district. Our

community is looking for clarity about how equity is being applied in this decision-making process. Another consistent theme was trust and transparency. Families consistently shared that timelines have really felt very fast and that the information sometimes reached them through media sources before it actually reached them directly. There's a clear desire for proactive communication, clear budget context, and a continued opportunity to want to engage in decisions before they're finalized. Transportation and access also came across as a very important element in multiple sessions. Families are thinking about the longer travel distances, the limited transit routes, and the impact on daily routines, especially for our working families that have multiple students in the district. What this tells us is that the concerns we heard are not only about the budget reductions, they're about belonging, fairness, and trust. And as we move forward, these themes are shaping how we refine our approach, where we need to build the stronger supports and really how we continue to communicate and engage with our communities. Next slide. There were also operational and student centered concerns that came very clearly across our sessions. While earlier they the slide really focused on belonging and trust, this one really reflects those practical questions our families and staff are asking about how the changes are going to affect the daytoday experience for our students and staff. We heard significant concerns about special education services. Families and staff want reassurance that programs and supports are going to remain strong and

that students are going to continue to receive individualized services without disruption. Their worries about potential loss of paraprofessionals and the importance of maintaining continuity to those IEP services during any of these transitions. Safety in school climate was another major theme and families shared that students currently feel known and safe in their smaller settings and they expressed concern about larger middle school environments. There were requests for stronger supervision, security and wellness supports if population shifts with a clear plan to maintain that positive school climate that many communities spoke about. We also clearly heard about staffing and family supports. Participants shared concern about the loss of the school community outreach worker, the scowl, and other sitebased support staff who help connect families to our schools. And they're worried about the increased workload for the remaining staff and how that's going to affect student support and relationships. And finally, timeline and planning came up in nearly every session. Families and staff shared that the window between the announcement about the potential decisions has felt really short and people are asking for clarity so that they can plan for the 2026 school year and they're requesting a phased implementation and a strong transition support if any changes move forward. Next slide. And so across the sessions, the community was really clear about what they're asking from our staff right now. They want us to slow down and communicate clearly. They're asking for a more detailed financial transparency so that they can understand the full

picture and there's a strong call to ensure equity and decisionmaking and to protect student support relationships through any of these transitions. Families also asked for stronger multilingual communication and for us to keep long-term sustainability in mind, not just short-term solutions. At the same time, we also heard about the real strengths that we can build from. Our school communities are strong and they're deeply connected. Our families and staff are engaged and committed to their students. And many people shared that they're willing to adapt and work through change if they feel included, informed, and supported. There's also a shared commitment across the district to student success. And that's something that we're definitely planning on building on together. So, as we look ahead, the message is that this is not only about a fiscal decision. It is a trust and relationship moment for the district. How we move forward is going to shape enrollment, reputation, and community confidence. And the way that we engage, communicate, and support our communities through this process matters just as much as the decision itself. So, as we move into this next phase, our responsibility is to balance fiscal reality with equity, clarity, and care for the communities we serve. The feedback we received is already guiding how we refine our approach, strengthen our communication, and design the supports that must be in place if any changes are to be made. So with that grounding, we heard that our commu from our community is shaping our next steps and I'm going to pass it over to our acting associate superintendent of business services to ground us in that current budget reality

and fiscal context. Next slide.

All right. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Uh first I want to lift up our budget reality. Uh some of our structural challenges. Uh we have a significant ongoing structural budget deficit. Uh this has been masked over the last couple years with uh one-time funds uh COVID esser dollars and our reser reserves of fund 17. Uh talking about fund 17 over the last last year, this year and next year we are projected to uh exhaust all of fund 17 reserves which were about $39 million uh as of last year. Uh we are projected to spend all of those down to zero as of 2627 next year. Uh as those funds run out uh we will not be able to continue to use them to uh offset that budget deficit. Uh exacerbating that is our declining enrollment and average daily attendance which have led to decreased revenue and then uh increasing cost and revenue pressures. Uh the cost of doing business is is increasing. Uh materials and services are going up uh as well as salaries. Uh approving that tenative agreement uh added additional expenditures to the budget that were not included in adopted budget or first interim estimations. uh lowering the cost of living adjustments from the state at the January governor's budget proposal. Uh he's he's projecting a lower cost of living adjustment which will decrease our outyear revenue in our multi-year projection. And due to a high number of vacancies in many positions such as uh speech therapists, psychologists, aids, and pair professionals, uh we've seen an increase in contracted out positions uh at an increased rate uh over this time span. Next slide. uh some of the revenue factors that we're that we're seeing uh declining over the over the next couple years. Uh those cost of living adjustments uh at

our adopted budget was 3.02% for 2627 as of January. Uh that's been decreased to 2.41% which is about a $2 million revenue decline for next year. And in 2728 decreasing from 3.42 to 3.06% uh which will be about a $3.2 $2 million decrease in our revenue just from uh decreasing COLA, not accounting for declining enrollment for ADA. Uh on the right here, we've got a trend of our average daily attendance from the last uh two years and this year, including uh month one through five, a look at where we're at with the work stoppage and the the declining ADA from December. Uh and then what that averages out to at the end of the year. Uh you can see a significant decline in 2526 which will affect our future revenue for the next several years uh now that our funded ADA average daily attendance is based on a three-year average. Next slide. Here we're going to look at the uh enrollment trends and that declining enrollment and declining average daily attendance. Uh you can see the blue bars representing our declining enrollment over the years as well as uh that red line which is representing our average daily attendance. We average about 92% of students over the course of the year uh attending school. And due to the uh change in the state budget uh we're now funded on a three-year average. So you can see that purple line which is our three-year average daily attendance and that's where we've actually been being funded at. So that red line over the years is is our actual a average daily attendance. Uh however, we've been receiving revenue uh according to that purple line you see on the funded average daily attendance. So that gap is closing now that our three-year average is uh plateauing out and you can see the

decline in revenue over the course of the same time span. Next slide. Here we're going to give a budget update. Uh as of first interim December 2025, our ongoing deficit was about 13.9 million this year, 24.5 million next year, and 31.4 million in year 3 or 2728. When you add the cost of the ten tentative agreement to that structural deficit, uh we're adding 25.7 million in new costs in year 1. this year 2526 uh 39 million in year two next year 2627 and then an additional 41.3 million in costs in year three or 2728. When you add up those uh operating deficits and new expenditures, we have a solveny dollars needed of about 127.2 million over the next 3 years. And how we're going to address that, you can see our solveny strategies in the in the bottom chart. Uh we're going to exhaust our fund 17 reserves by using 23 and a.5 million of those reserves this year in 2526 to balance the budget and the remaining 5 million in 2627 which would leave $0 to be able to use in year 3728 from fund 17 reserves. We are also going to borrow from OPED other post-employment retirement benefits uh or fund 71 of about 13 million for the unrestricted side of the budget per year over the course of this year and the next two subsequent years. That leaves uh a staffing and program reduction uh to identify of about 3.1 million this year, 42.4 million for next year 2627 and 14.2 million in 2728. uh those staffing and program reductions that we need to identify are what we'll discuss in this presentation. Next slide. Fund 17 and fund 71 usage. Uh you can see in the top top chart here our fund

17 usage in 2526 uh using 28.5 million in reserves as of today. We'll be using 23.5 of those in 2526 and then the remaining five million uh will be used in 2627 uh bringing that fund balance down to $0 in 2728. On the bottom here, fund 71. You can see the same dynamic happening. We have about $62 million in fund 71. Right now, we're going to use about 13 million of that in 2526, bringing the balance down to 48 million. Uh another 13 million in 2627, bringing it down to 35 million. And then in 2728 another 13 million bringing that fund balance down to just under 23 million at the end of 2728. Next slide. With this I'll pass it back to Katherine. Thanks Jeff. So the concepts that we're presenting tonight come after careful consideration of the impact alignment and long-term sustainability. And they're really grounded in that current fiscal and enrollment reality that Jeff just presented. So, first we are proposing a reduction in materials and supplies. This is what we refer to as the 4,000s. And this represents about $2.4 million. These reductions would be applied across the district for departments and for school sites, and they equate to roughly about 33% reductions. It's going to require both our departments and schools to rethink how we purchase and prioritize essential materials and to make more strategic choices while continuing to support students teaching and learning. And in our community listening sessions, we heard really loud and clear concerns raised about the impact at the site level. And so we're continuing to explore the ways that we can provide additional support for materials and

supplies through restricted funding sources and potential one-time revenue when available. We're also proposing reductions to contracts. That's what we call the 5,000s totaling about $2.7 million. And we know that it's come up quite a bit in board meetings and community sessions that there are questions and concerns about contracts in our district. And some contracts are required and cannot be reduced such as utilities or core systems like powers school. So the focus here is on our discretionary contracts where reductions can be made without compromising essential operations. Next slide. A significant portion of the reductions is tied to rightsizing staffing based on enrollment at the elementary level. This represents about $5 million and specifically align staffing to our contractual CA class maximums of no more than 22 students in kindergarten through third grade and 30 students in fourth through sixth grade. And this work for our district is really about consistency and alignment with our agreements and does include our anticipated resignations and retirements at the secondary level. Right sizing represents about $5.3 million and this reflects staffing aligned to the contractual maximum of 35 students per class and also does uh include that anticipated attrition. Secondary schools have been gathering student choice sheets and this is much earlier and staffing is now being driven by student demand. And so this allows our secondary schools to prioritize those highly requested courses and avoid opening classes that have low interest

which is a much more strategic and student centered approach to building master schedules. And it's critical that we offer classes that our students need for graduation and a TOG requirements. And we have to offer classes that are full. Specialty and advanced courses oftent times run smaller historically in our district. And we have sometimes provided additional staffing allocations so that those classes can remain. At this moment, however, we need to operate with leaner schedules. So courses like Spanish for Spanish speakers are incredibly valuable and students can have access to very similar standards in Spanish 3 or Spanish 4 and then continue that in AP Spanish. These pathways also allow our non-native speakers to participate which helps us to fill classes and expand access to advanced coursework for more students. Next slide. We're also looking at classified staff reductions in secondary schools. This is about $1.1 million and includes reductions in our office support staff. In elementary schools, it's about $3 million and includes aligning the parcel taxf funded library media specialist positions from the current nine full-time equivalent positions to the contractually agreed six full-time equivalent positions. It also includes a reduction in our clerk hours and a reduction in our yard supervision hours and the elimination of the school community outreach worker position. However, we have heard the concerns raised at our listening sessions and tonight about the importance of the

scout position for our schools, our staff, and our students. And we're working with Teamsters to finalize a revised scout job description so that we can move these roles to a funding source that will allow us to maintain this mission critical position. Next slide. We're also proposing district program reductions that total about $2 million. And this is as a result of examining the scope and scale and impact of the programs across the the district and really aligning those resources to our highest district priorities. And so some of these reductions include the close out of the IB program at Penov Valley High School and the ROC program at Dansza High School. Next slide. And finally, we're examining structural changes to reinvest in stronger comprehensive middle school programs. And this includes rethinking our K to 8th grade school models and the proposed middle school merger involving Penol Middle School and Betty Reed Saskin Middle School. Both concepts are incredibly complex decisions and they're really being considered with careful attention to the student experience, to student achievement and access, to community impact, and to the long-term sustainability of our comprehensive middle school programs. So the intent here is to stabilize programs amid declining enrollment and ensure that we can continue to offer strong comprehensive middle school experiences for all of our seventh and eighth grade students. And bringing these programs together will allow us to expand access to a full range of electives rather than having limiting off limited offerings in smaller settings. It's also going to

help us to improve educational equity and program quality by ensuring that our students have access to similar opportunities, supports, and coursework regardless of the campus that they attend. So, a larger, more stable program can support stronger instructional teams, more consistent academic and social emotional support, and a greater consistency in student programming. And we know this is a significant change for our communities and we're committed to continuing to listen, plan collaboratively, and put the right supports in place like we've heard throughout the listening sessions if this proposal move forward moves forward. The impacts of all of these concepts are real and they're deeply personal for our students, our staff, and our families. However, our responsibilities is to move through this moment with care, keeping district financial stability at the forefront while doing all that we can do to support strong instruction, meaningful programs, and the well-being of the students that we serve. So, now I'm going to turn it back to Jeff to walk us through the reductions by unit and to provide us a closer look at the proposed adjustments. Next slide. All right, thank you, Katherine. Uh, here on this slide, you can see we're we're achieving some of those program and structural services uh reductions through about a 10% FTE reduction, full-time equivalent reduction per bargaining unit uh for 2627. Here you can see the amounts uh approximated per union that that would generate based on the size of their group. Uh, next slide. Here, this is the fiscal solveny plan in summary for 2627 and how we would achieve that 60.4 million needed for next school year. Uh those key

reductions would include uh exhausting fund 17 reserves, utilizing fund 71 uh for post-employment benefits, shifting allowable expenditures to restricted resources where allowable uh operational efficiencies, so reducing materials and supplies in the 4,000s and 5,000s as Katherine mentioned. and then staffing alignment and FTE uh for elementary secondary and programs. Uh those department restructures for the other unions and SSA team serves uh WCCAA management and reducing union and central department FTE by about 10%. uh the staffing and implementation strategy for this. Uh on the certificated side, staffing actions uh we have about 26 non-reelects in uh certificated, 44 teacher regular vacancies currently, 53 early retirements at this moment and 19 early resignations. So majority of those 10% uh reductions in certificated would come from closing vacant positions. Uh we would rightsize through attrition and match enrollment hiring only for credential openings where necessary

Can you hear me? I think we're going to take a five minute recess while they get the audio back on. Thank you. Okay, we'll be getting this meeting back in session. Um, continue with the present. So, we'll be bringing this meeting back to session and we'll continue with our presentation.

Uh, all right. So, just in summary, we're looking at the fiscal solveny plan of 2627 and how we'll achieve that $60.4 million. Uh recapping the previous slides, uh we will achieve the certificated staffing uh uh reductions through mostly through right sizing uh through attrition and matching enrollment and then hiring for specific credential openings. Uh for classified, we'd be reducing the number of vacant positions that are contracted out and restructuring staffing to align with organizational needs. Uh next slide, fiscal solveny plan for 2728 and how we would achieve the 27.2 2 million in reductions that are needed. Uh we would also be borrowing from fund 71 of about 13 million aligning staffing to enrollment due to declining enrollment trends and projections and then uh some conceptual operational programmatic reductions uh in other areas as well. This does not include if the partial tax does not pass. Uh if partial tax were not to pass, we would need an additional about $8 million in reductions in 2728. Next slide. Uh so one of the asks uh at the last board meeting was to highlight some revenue enhancements. Uh some of those uh revenue enhancement ideas that we're we're working on is to increase uh the TK classrooms in 2627 by about seven or to 10 new classes which would uh increase enrollment by about 140 to 200 students and that would offset some of that declining enrollment that we were seeing uh over the over the past couple years. uh that could generate up to about a million dollars in in additional revenue. Uh next, we would look at attendance recovery. Up to 10 days per student is the new California law. Uh, as an example, uh, of the five days from the work stoppage that students, uh, miss school, if we were to recover even just half of those, about 10,000 students in average daily attendance, we could see about3

to4 million in revenue savings over the next couple years due to uh, the three-year average and how our funded average daily attendance is calculated. Uh, assessed values of properties. Uh, these would be onetime dollars to sell our properties. uh we would need to bring back the 7-Eleven committee to actually uh discuss and operate on those actions. Uh and that would be uh at earliest at 27 to 28 uh uh conversation for increased revenue. Uh the assessed value for of these properties from the county uh for Adams Middle is about 3.6 million, Harmon 3.4 million and C view about $10 million. We also at our one of our previous 7-Eleven committees have an opinion of value uh that was taken into account for Adams at about $6 to $9 million, Harmon Nulls about 7 to 8 million, Portala about $17 to $20 million and C view about $3 to $3.5 million. uh those are likely not the amount of dollars you would see if you just put this the properties up for sale and you'd have to do some construction on the and demolition on those properties uh which would negate some of those profits. Um but just for context uh those are some dollars we could see in onetime dollars if we don't utilize them uh to generate ongoing revenue uh through an example of staff housing uh as a potential long-term plan for those properties. Uh next we've got children and youth behavioral health initiative. Uh this is a new program for mental health billing. Uh we are working and in the early stages of getting uh contracts completed to start that billing and start seeing some revenue this year uh and ramp it up into next year for additional revenue. Uh this could generate somewhere in the in the neighborhood of three to 5 million uh of additional revenue for this mental health billing. there are some expenditures associated with uh doing

that billing. Um so it's not a a full net revenue of that amount. And then a portion of redevelopment a agency funds or RDA pass through payments for routine maintenance. Uh we have parcels of land throughout our district uh that are generating revenue from uh prior uh development fees for from the cities in our district. uh we could reutilize some of those funds to offset our routine maintenance contribution from fund 01. Uh these dollars currently are revenue for fund 40 for large special projects to capital uh assets. Uh we could we could take a portion of that revenue and use it as our routine maintenance effort instead of uh special projects. So there's there's uh about 2 to 3 million we could see in revenue to fund 01 through this initiative. And then California Proposition 55 income tax increase on high earners. Uh this would uh this will be on the November ballot potentially. Uh it is uh estimated to continue about$ 15 billion dollars in state income revenue which is uh a a significant amount of dollars that comes to school uh school districts for uh state revenue and property taxes and income taxes. Um this would generate this would continue our funding levels that we're seeing from the state. We if if this passes we would not see a decrease in revenue. Um so we are uh uh just highlighting that proposition as additional revenue that could m be maintained. Uh next is the parcel tax in 2026 ballot measure renewal. Uh this expires on June 30th, 2027. We need it to be on the ballot so that we can continue to uh project it in our revenue sources. Um, we are in the

early stages of getting survey results of of what the uh temperature check on getting that passed is and uh if it's possible to increase uh that ballot measure to see additional revenue that we've been seeing over the last eight years. Uh and then finally, charitable foundation foundation donations for student achievement. Uh we were looking for other avenues of donations to continue supporting our school and students uh that would offset uh and increase uh some additional revenue sources. Next slide. Uh in January, the governor's budget proposal uh he announced some additional state funding. Uh he's projecting uh this is the governor projecting additional revenue since the state enacted budget. Uh there are multiple areas where this is increasing restricted funding to school districts. One of those areas is ongoing statewide community school initiative of an increase of about $1 billion. Uh this could be seen uh to us somewhere around $3 to5 million potentially. Uh learning recovery possibly seeing 3.6 million in one-time dollars to our school district uh to repay back the amount that they initially uh held withheld from us. uh special education possibly seeing about a million and a half dollars in ongoing funding for our school district. Professional development possibly seeing about 11.7 million in onetime dollars to West Contraosta. Uh and then a kitchen modernization project of hundred million statewide as one-time dollars to continue our uh modernization of our central kitchen and school site kitchens. And then uh career technical education or CTE additional grants uh onetime dollars statewide uh and we will apply for those as well. Uh we are seeing that decrease in future cost of living adjustments which are affecting us about $2 to $3 million per year in

revenue uh that we initially projected at our adopted budget. And then uh he's also projecting to hold back additional settleup funds due to the unpredictability of uh state taxes and capital gains taxes. Uh we're we're hoping that that doesn't come true and that he actually funds the school districts at the level of state revenue rather than settling up later and and figuring out how much to give us later. Uh we also are seeing a projected deficit in 2728 and 2829 for the state budget. uh that would uh decrease our revenues even further in those years for our school district. Next slide. Uh and then this is our next step. So in the event of some of that revenue is actually being realized from the state budget and from our initiatives of increasing revenue uh areas uh once it's legislated and adopted at the state level. Our next steps that we need to address are replacing the drawn down funds of fund 71, setting an amount for fund 17 for reserves in case of economic downturn and uh increased expenditures to get a partial tax ballot on the on the ballot measure. Uh holding a balance to offset 2728 reductions if possible. Uh we would if we see more revenue, we would we would try and offset the amount of reductions needed in 2728. And then an ultimate goal is to have a balanced budget for a positive three-year certification in the event that revenue comes in higher than our expenditures. Uh next up, I'm going to pass it over to Summer for talking about our next transition plans. Good evening everyone. We know as we move towards these possible actions, the community is anxious about what do elements of the transitions look like and we think specifically about the high-level feedback and the themes that we heard from our community. We are committed to working with staff,

families, and students to create transition plans. This includes professional and social integration opportunities for both staff and students. While we as a cabinet have worked together to draft what we think this looks like per month, it does need more feedback from the community in order to meet those needs. And we are committed to remaining here to listen. We have clearly heard transportation as a barrier. My team has been doing outreach and mapping work to look at routes and to talk to AC Transit and Westcat. We haven't been able to make um contact with them yet. However, we have heard very clearly from our county that they are willing to support. And lastly, we hear and believe and agree deeply that it's important to collaborate around how we honor the legacy of Betty Reed Saskin. I was able to speak with her daughter a few days ago and ask her preferences about how we continue to memorialize the important legacy of her mother. Um she said what feels most important to her is that the name stays the closest to the students who chose it. Uh that it remains with a comprehensive middle school even if that's a different building. um and that that is a diverse and wellsupported community. She also said that we could remind everyone um that while the full name is Betty Reid Saskin, her favorite is Betty Reid. So, we'll just note that for her. Um, thank you for your thoughtful listening uh this evening. Um, as we just assure you that not only have we looked at what

has to be done, but we are really carefully thinking about how to continue moving forward through this process. That concludes our report. Thank you very much. Thank you for that presentation. Um, do we have any questions from the board? Gonzalez Hoy, thank you. Uh, thank you for the presentation. Um, I do have a few questions. Would you like me to do three and then we'll do a second? We'll do three round three questions.

Okay. Thank you. Um, first one is for uh Mr. Carter. Uh we have heard that in our budgeting because we have had such large number of uh vacancies that we are budgeting for those vacancies while we also on top of that budget for sobing costs. Could you explain that and the impact it has on our budget short-term and long-term?

Yes. Uh so for vacancies, we do budget uh in case they are hired tomorrow and walk off the street, we can afford them for the rest of the school year until the end of the year. So at the beginning of the year, we're budgeting every position fully for the ex for the entire year. And as we go through interims throughout the year, we are reducing that budget uh to match the remaining number of days in the school year at that salary. uh as we reduce that salary down because the position remained vacant, we're using those savings to pay for the substitute costs, the time cards and the overtime. Uh we are not double budgeting for positions that are vacant and for substitute costs. We are using the vacancy savings to pay for the substitutes of those positions that remain vacant and were filled by those subs. Um that that answers the question.

Okay. Thank you. I'm going to add a second question to that. Um I'm just going to add a question later. Um but the sub cost is obviously smaller than a teacher cost for example. So at the end of the year, what happens to the savings from the difference?

Yeah, thank you. Um so yes, the substitute costs are a little less. Um we we do not pay substitutes benefits, health benefits. Um, so there are some net savings from going from a vacancy to a substitute throughout the year. Um, some of those savings go to offset the rising costs of of healthcare on January 1st, the new rates, as well as uh going into an offsetting the amount that we use from fund 17 reserves to balance our budget. So we have a negative ongoing operating structural deficit. Those funds are you being used to offset the amount we need in reserves to balance the budget. So, uh, there's not a surplus or an a pocket of money being reserved from those vacancies. It's going to, uh, using less fund 17 that year. So, until we see, uh, in this example, in this year, $23.5 million in savings, we still have a reliance on fund 17.

Thank you. Um, so it was mentioned through the feedback that we heard tonight from Miss Costa Proper Prasquez, uh, from community about how important scouts and music teachers are for the community. So, how can we repurpose funds from Title One and Prop 28 in order to retain those positions?

Yeah. So, the the scows are currently located at title one schools. Uh, but their job description does not uh tie them to only doing title one activities. Uh, in order to go through this reduction process, uh, we would be able to bring them back on a different job description specific to title one funding. Uh, and and keeping their job description in line with the funding that allows them to be there. and we would be able to move them from the unrestricted side to the restricted side on title one funding with a slight change in their job description and and work duties. And then for elementary uh teachers uh we would be able because those elementary band teachers are on Prop 28 or sorry they are on arts music instructional discretionary block grant uh that those funds are expiring on June 30th and we would be able to count that as an exception to our um baseline allocation on spending of arts and music block grant to not be considered supplanting on Prop 28. So, the sites would be able to bring those elementary band positions back on Prop 28 funds and continue those music uh band programs at the school sites that they are uh thriving most at.

Thank you, President. That was three questions. If there's a second round, I have more questions. Thank you.

Hello. I just have two quick questions. So, with quick research, just just to be clear, we're selling the properties of Adams Meadow, Harmon, and C View Elementary. Correct. Those are properties we own and are not currently using as school sites. We're not actively selling them currently. We would need a a committee to make that decision.

Okay. So, my question would be, cuz with research, quick research, by the way, fact check me if possible. Um, Adams closed in the 2009 2010 school year. Harmon same as Adams and then C view in 2005. So why did we sit on property that we know most likely wasn't going to be used? And then now schools like Saskins and Pol are about to be merged together where each school has their two own separate identities. Merging two identities that are completely separate is also unmoral in the name of Betty Reid who just recently passed away. So, how do how do you plan on doing that without tarnishing the legacy of a person who one just passed away but two has not directly but most likely does not go with penom middle she goes with bed that's what her namesake is so how do you keep the namesake how do you keep the community that they've built together while trying to merge them and um make sure that the students are Okay. Because I'm speaking from an ethnics view, not necessarily financial. I understand financial, but I feel like while we focus a lot on financial, we're not looking at the students. So, how would you look at that?

So, all of this is the planning that has to happen moving forward. One consideration could be naming the merged school Betty Reed Saskin to keep the name alive. One of the things that she really stood for and her daughter emphasized in our conversation was that she stood both for diversity and bringing people together. In this merged campus, that actually is a representation of both. I think you have to be thoughtful when you merge. There has to be chances for kids to get to know each other before the year starts. We've looked at if we could set aside some of our community schools funds for a summerbridge program that students could opt into. Um, are there opportunities for staff to get together and collaborate and design the school together uh that the district can use grant funding to support? All of this has to be designed, but it can be done. Once we have the direction of the board, that's when we race to start designing and to work with community to hear what those designs should look like.

Okay, that sounds pretty good to me. Um, I'm still I'm still a little concerned about the students though, just because like I'm not hearing too many needs that are really student focus based. Like I do hear the programs which I do think are good, but I also know each school individually has established their own programs. So how do you merge two separate entities together I guess is what I'm trying to get at cuz I've been at both locations both locations at both campuses and built relationships. So I understand the difference of what the schools are. So I feel like merging them we would kind of lose everything that we've built in an essence. But I do understand that you have to rebuild too and you can't be scared to do that. I'm just most more so worrisome that we may lose a good thing. But that's just that. My next question is

do did you Devin, did you want a response to that? I'm sorry. Trusty Whitten, did you want a response to that statement? We have one. Oh well, if you like and I'm I'm gonna talk to looking back to um summer Let's talk a little bit about some of the positive things that we see happening for students in the event that we're merging classes or our K8s are coming together. What what are the benefits to that?

Yeah, absolutely. So, the goal is to take the best of both. Um, and let's acknowledge change is hard and you have to go through the change process to see the opportunity. But one of the things that happens when our schools grow, we can actually offer more. So right now we believe that this middle school would hold an enrollment of about 650 students. That means that where right now students may choose between two or three electives, it would be between three or four electives. So there actually could be an expanded offering for what students choose. Um, it means that that site because of the larger numbers would actually have a larger overall operating budget which could mean that they're providing more supports for students that there's more access to clubs, more access to afterchool programs. So certain things that don't maybe only Betty Reed Saskin or Penol Middle students have had access to both communities could now have access. That's part of the thoughtful design to make sure that we keep the best of both. Um, but we really are excited about the opportunities for the program we can provide. Thank you for that. Just to add to that, when we have had when we were running our middle schools at much kind of higher numbers, we were able to build in smaller learning communities within those settings that we can't do when when our our population is so small. But as we're able to grow, we're actually able to to go even tighter and closer with our students. I think I think there's a lot of potential for really exciting work to happen. Well, I think that as long as we are intentional and we work as a unit, I think that it can potentially be a good

thing, but we also have to be very cautious about the people that we may hurt. So, I feel like if we do hurt people, us as a board should reach out to them directly and they shouldn't have to hear from a middleman because we're the ones who vote on the decision. Um my final question is that staff and programs um reductions aren't identified according to the presentation. Right. Correct. I didn't hear you. Can you ask that question? Staff and um program reductions aren't identified at the moment. Staff and program reductions are not identified.

Yeah. So we we're at no point going to share specific names. We have talked about positions that will be reduced and we've talked about um the percentages across each of our bargaining units that will be reduced based on right sizing also based on um um you guys are all looking at me like uh based sorry based on right sizing as well.

Okay. Um my question would be what data slashmethod would you use to find out what the best item or position would be cut for financial reasons? Uh yeah, so we've met with each of the department heads and leaders in our district over those departments to identify certain cut targets in each of those areas and trying to identify which uh positions would have the least impact overall uh in order to hit those those target numbers. And then just a final followup, have we looked at the school sites and looked at the teachers operate in their positions? Not based from a financial aspect, but more so what you see with your own eyes.

Could you rephrase the question maybe? Have we seen the positions that were considering cutting for financial reasons in action? Yes. from each of the department leaders that have specific knowledge over those departments and areas. We we've we've conducted those. You're asking, have we walked through classrooms and and been to our school? Yeah. Have we not just with the department heads, but with the department as an entirety?

Cuz the department heads, they are part of it and they're also the ones doing speaking out but and doing the work. But what about everyone else who does the work as well? like as a as a unit, what have we seen that makes us believe that their position is least impacted? So, the positions that we're looking at, particularly for our certificated primarily are vacant positions or positions that will be vacated shortly. So, it's not as if we would walk through a classroom and pick out one one teacher's classroom and say that one needs to close and that one needs to open. That's there are there we have uh bargaining agreements in place that make that determination of if we do um reduce that folks in both our classified and our certificated um workforce has an opportunity to based on seniority based on um their credentiing based on their experience there's a whole process for so it's not I don't go out and say this one closes and that one opens. But we do um identify right now what does need to close in order to to reach our our our goals. But also it's really looking at if we are right sizing, if we are redesigning, if we are looking at how our schools are functioning, it does it does cause a shift in what our staffing needs to look like. Um, we've looked at um, you know, positions that may be doing the same the same work. Why are we doing that? Or maybe not really pulling out of a full-time a full day of employment. We're looking more closely at how we are doing business and from there making decisions about positions, not people, of what positions may need

to take a shift or a change. We've talked a lot this evening about scows. We've heard a lot about um our our band program. We've heard a lot about our electives. Those are program areas that we are we are aware of and that we do go out and see and visit and plan for and provide materials for and do all those things for. So we do those things and and we're looking now more closely at then how are we how are we going to continue to staff knowing the challenges that we're facing right now knowing the resources that are being that are being reduced basically we've got a different set of resources we have to think about how we are doing school differently at this point

okay thank you for your answers I'm complete thank you

trusty Han yeah so I have a series of three questions uh each with the first one with a couple of smaller questions in between. So first and foremost regarding elementary band uh one thing that I noticed about the statistics in the presentation that interestingly elementary band was not mentioned in any of the um student statement voices that was mentioned. There were mentioned things about other topics but not any nothing about elementary band. So that's just an observ observation. But my first small clarification clarification question is so you said earlier uh Mr. Jeff Carter that uh in this specific case Prop 28 is not being used to specifically supplant the existing programs because the current funding program uh ends in June. Therefore, you don't believe that it counts as supplanting.

Uh, correct. The way Prop 28 is calculated, uh, if if any arts and music programs are on expiring funds, you get to count it as an exception to your supplanting formula and calculation in the next year.

Okay. So with that on um I guess more as an ethics point of view. So the schools are those elementary schools are currently already uh using Prop 28 funds to help supplement their programs. So if you So they're already relying on the programs and what you're doing is re removing the funding that's in place that number one the Prop 20 was supposed to be on top of but then essentially delegating to the schools to work with a decreased amount of funding to you're essentially just delegating the the what's what's the word the responsibility of the funding to the elementary school so that they have to figure it out. while they're working on a much reduced budget and also the specific wording of Prop 28 um which is on the official California Department of Education website says that it must be increasing the funding of arts. But if you're removing the funding completely or just by if you're removing the funding then how can you still how can you still say that Prop 28 is in this case increasing the funding of arts?

Yeah. Because it's on expiring dollars it counts as an exception to spending more than the last year. Okay. Yeah. So yeah.

So trusty student trustee hung we're not removing any funding for it for that program. We have been the funding source that we've used for elementary band is our arts, music, and instructional materials block grant. That's been in place for almost three years now. Those funds sunset. They end. It was a one-time dollars that we were uh provided and it went only for three years. And so now those funds have ended. that according to the audit guide and to our state auditors, that is one reason when you can look at moving to um another funding source. And so if we're looking at then moving those art, I'm sorry, moving the band teachers to a uh a prop 28 funding. that is an allowable way to use those funds in this instance because those funds the funds that they've been on are suns setting. Um it does it's not necessarily responsibility of our sites but it's it's giving our sites an opportunity to make a decision for what's best for their community and for their kids and for their school. And so it's a little bit different than their responsibility. We will continue to support our sites. We support our our our school leaders and our school communities around accessing and how to um you know h supporting them in making those decisions. But Prop $28 are sitebased funds. Um there is an element of Prop $28. I keep saying 98. Prop $28 that um are part of uh a district monitoring but the decision making is

for our sites to do according to the law. Okay. So what my original question was more specifically aiming at which I understand how um the the like the financial side of it with the technicality but I was more like with Derek's original first question where I'm looking at the ethics side of it where you're leaving these you're you're leaving these like foundational programs to work on their to sort of decide ide which programs they should put down be because but uh from from yeah you said a suns setting grant that you're not going that yeah so just the ethics side of it for the students that the schools have to choose between a rock and a hard place on what they're going going to do with the result of the funding. Yeah, those school sites would need to prioritize which programs are most important to them and how much of each they could afford. Uh, Prop 28 is ongoing funding and the amount of funding could support multiple programs depending on uh the share that they want to appropriate to those programs.

Okay, so that's interesting. Okay, moving on to my second question. So for the first near the beginning of the slideshow with the reductions in the 4,000s it says that specific it says that materials and supplies will be reduced. Could you go into detail about specifically what type of materials and what types of supplies you're mentioning?

Yeah, I can take that question on. Uh so sites are allocated funding from the LCAP um under allocations to schools. And so I believe that the the number in the past couple of years has been $3.8 million. That is being reduced by $1.5 million. So it's about um 33% reduction and that's based on the number of students that attend that school and then the profile of that student. So students who qualify under the unduplicated pupil count, so our low-income students, our foster students, our English learners, they those schools that serve more of those students get additional dollars. In addition to that, we're also going to be providing a bit less in the general fund allocation per student. And so schools receive their budgets and they make decisions with their parent advisory committees and their instructional leadership teams to be able to decide what it is that they want to fund at their school site. That might include materials and supplies or contracts or study trips. And so we are going to be providing school sites with a percentage less. They will make decisions about what they want to keep based on the data that they're seeing, the goals that they're setting, and the actions that they're planning with their school communities.

And it also is a reduction in device refresh for it. So instead of replacing devices next year, we're going to pause that for a year and save additional dollars in the 4,000s.

Okay. Thank you. So now for my final question. which was specifically on near the beginning of it where you mentioned that um okay the budget update for the first interim operating deficits where you uh seemingly predict the estimated deficits for uh the preceding year for the next years year two year three how are uh could you go into detail about how those how you get those calculations? Yeah. Um we for each interim and adopted budget, we have to provide a multi-year projection for this year, current year and two subsequent years. Uh there's an LCFF calculator provided by the state uh to calculate our current enrollment, our ADA levels, uh prior years to get what our revenue will be projected out based on current trends of how many we're how many how much enrollment we're actually losing or gaining, what those levels of students uh will be because we get paid we get revenue at a different rate for what grade level each student is. And so it takes all of that into account for what our revenue projection will be over those years. And then we also look at all of our expenditures and look at uh what raises they're getting, what step increases they're getting, what health benefit rates are increasing, uh what programs and materials and supplies and services and contracts are expiring. We're looking at every level throughout the throughout the school year of what next year will look like and then doing that again for the following out year and then comparing our revenues to our expenditures. So um it is a state required projection that we make uh every year.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. So I think there's good news on scows. So it looks like they'll be switched to title one. What else would be displaced in title one or how would you handle you know what gets funded with those dollars?

Yeah. Uh title one dollars are we're keeping school site budgets the same. There are a few other central department budgets within title one. We also have a carryover amount from the prior year and we're working on getting a waiver exception for one year uh to to keep uh additional title one funds for next school year which would allow us to uh spend it on title one. So it's not necessarily displacing anything. It's just rearranging uh some of those carryover dollars.

Okay, that's fantastic. Um, there was a comment made tonight about uh schools sitting on Prop 28 funds. Is that an accurate statement and why?

Uh, when we get a Prop 28 allocation, we have three years to spend it. Our first allocation from when the Prop 28 started is expiring this year. So, the 6:30 2026. Uh we received about $4 million for that first allocation and we have currently about $600,000 of it left uh that we can spend up until June 30th. So we have a couple more months to spend that down. Um we're working with sites uh to actively spend that and make sure that we don't send any of it back. And then year 2 dollars, the second allocation we got, we have until next year to spend. Uh we're working on uh spending those dollars, but any carryover that come from year two can be applied to an additional budget uh for next year. So they can have year two and year three carryover plus their new year four money they're getting uh to spend on uh salaries and materials and supplies for arts and music. So there is some carryover in year two and three currently. And we're working our hardest to not send anything back from year one. But we have about 15% of it left after after the course of three years so far.

Okay. Um would you be able to talk more about uh librarians? We heard many comments about librarians. It may give you an opportunity to discuss what's going on with that.

Yes, I can certainly add some context there. So currently we have nine full-time positions uh serving our elementary schools across the district. That means that there's an allocation based on the number of students that are at that school of maybe uh one day a week or two days a week. And so contractually we are required to have six full-time employees serving our schools. Um and this is funded through parcel tax. And so we are uh proposing a reduction to meet those contractual numbers. We know that in the event that K8 schools do go to uh their comprehensive middle schools that we might require less there. And so there will be some adjustment that happens at our elementary schools. Um however, everyone at the elementary will continue to get library services.

Okay. Thank you. I'm complete for this round. Trusty. Oh, Trusty Smith. The real problem comes in when we run out of cash in the treasury. How healthy is our treasury? Uh, currently we have about $114 million in the treasury based on unrestricted restricted dollars and fund 17 reserves combined. uh we are looking at if reductions don't happen a cash flow of running out in October or November of 2026.

Thank you very much. The second thing that I would ask is when you talk about the treasury can you speak you spoke a little bit to aortionments can you speak more to aortionments? Uh yeah. So um we don't when we get LCFF dollars 340 million for example in 2526 they don't just give us all 340 million of that upfront on day one and say here you go. Uh we get that aortioned out monthly to us uh at a at a specified schedule uh 9% 9% then 5% 5% 5% and then the final five months 20% each. Um, so cash flow is important in how much we're bringing in and how much we're spending out on payroll. So, uh, we aren't receiving all of those monies upfront and we're spending them at a higher rate than we're receiving them early on. So, we you can get into a dangerous situation of yes, you're guaranteed 340 million over the course of the year, but that doesn't mean you have enough to make payroll each month.

Thank you. Okay. My final question would be for anybody on cabinet. Has any board member brought you an alternative plan? Okay. So, I see no. Okay. Thank you. I'm complete. This um I only have one question. We've heard from our families and our community that the timeline has felt rushed and the communication was unclear. Um my question is what structural changes will we be implementing to ensure future major restruction decisions include meaningful multil- language engagement before recommendations are brought to the board.

Yeah, thank you for asking that question. You know, and what we hear a lot of from our partners is how do we take the mindset of a community schools district? And I think that does require us to slow down and go with instead of due to and we have heard clearly that that's not how the community felt. Um I have started working on protocols that I can give to the superintendent and she'll share at her discretion around what decision making through a community school's lens would look like. Um and so the the draft I've got it um I'll share with her to share with the board. I lied. I have another question. Uh I know we spoke about right sizing in the secondary level um and narrowing like course offerings, electives and CTE courses. My question is, how are we protecting workforce alignment programs for students who rely on CTE or hands-on pathways particularly those who don't want to pursue higher education and they want to go straight into the workforce.

Yeah, thank you for asking that question which is also very close to my heart. One of the things um I think people don't realize we think in a high school that we would reduce a whole program But if let's say there were three 10th grade classes in a health academy and three in 11th and two in 12th, a narrowing may mean that there's two 10th grade courses and two 11th grade courses. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's totally gone. Um there has been an eye on with our strong workforce, our Golden State pathways and our CIG grants looking at how we preserve um some of the opportunities that are emergent and bringing students straight to apprenticeship opportunities. Um and so as of right now, uh those programs are whole and we are looking at ways where even if some programs are running on a partial day that they exist. And part of the reason we're pushing for that um is that some schools are small because they're being rebuilt, but we don't want a program to die and then the enrollment grows when students come back. So we've been looking at that. There's a couple of themmies uh that the college and career team has worked with the state where they'll let you pause for one year to re-evaluate but you don't lose the funding associated. So those are the strategies that we're really using um along with like um Katherine said looking at the choice sheets to see what's really popular with our students and what they're signing up for. A follow-up question. Can you guys provide an update of how many high schools have sent out their interest surveys to the students or are they still collecting them and by when you might have that data? Because I as a board member would love to see what

electives or what courses students are interested in. Sorry, I know it's 20 questions in one. Yeah. No, that's a great question and actually the easiest way for us to gather that would be through the student four-year plans. Um, and we can pull that information in school links. Thank you.

President Ayana, point of order real quick. Um, just to explain to the rest of the board and the public uh, why this and I stepped out for a minute. Um, we realized that it's almost 11 o'clock. We have 56 people now signed up for public comment. If we accept all all public comment, it would practically take us to 12. Um, which means that the meeting would automatically end at 12:00. Um, and we would not be able to take action, you know, have motions and comments and finish the other two items that we have to discuss tonight. We spoke to legal and looked at Rosenberg's rules. What we can do, we have two options. one we can take two votes which is one to suspend Rosenberg's rules for the for the remaining of this session and therefore extend no excuse me vote to end uh Rosenberg's rules and then do a second vote to suspend our bylaws if both of them pass by twothirds majority then we can extend the meeting one more time so that we can finish our items um if that fails then the only other alternative is to limit public comment to however long the president wants in order to be able to finish our agenda. So, the recommendation is that we do both of those things and then see what happens. Um, four out of the five board members with the exclusion of student trustees, unfortunately, um, would have to vote in favor of that. Um, so, President, if it's okay with you, I'll make those motions.

Okay. I move that we suspend Rosenberg's rules for the remaining of this session.

Reckler will second. Okay, we have a motion to suspend Rosenberg's rules. Um, Gonzalez Hoy, second by Reckler. Uh, Trusty Han to suspend Rosenberg's rules. I heard earlier that I have to say yes. Do I have to vote? No, you don't have to say yes. Oh, okay. Then no. Trusty Wen. Um, yes. Trusty regular. Yes. Trusty Smith WS. Smith WS. Yes. Trusty Gonzalez Hoy. Yes. Trusty Ernnandez. Yes.

Trusty Nana say yes. So motion passes. Thank you. Now I move that we for the extension of this meeting suspend our bylaws. I second. Okay. So we have Trusty Gonzalez Hoy, second by Trusty Hernandez. Um Trusty Han. Yes. Trusty Wood. Yes. Trusty Reckler. Oh, we're living wild now. Reckler. Yes. Trusty Smith folds. Smith folds. Yes. Trusty Gonzalez Hoy. Yes. Trusty Hernandez. You sounded too excited for that. I mean, yes. First time.

And Trusty said yes. And then I'll do the third motion. I move that we extend till 1 in the morning. 1:30 in the morning to finish our three items. Have a second. Trusty Anyana seconds. I would like to put a second motion on the floor. Um, Trusty Smith WS, I would like to extend the meeting until we finish all items, including G comments from the board of education and future agenda items. We can extend the meeting until 1:30 until we finish all items on the agenda. I am complete.

I will second that. And moving on to the current um motion to extend including um next schedule board of education and comments from the board. Um Trusty Han I abstain. Trusty Whitten. Yes. Trusty Reckler. Yes. Trusty Smith Folds. Again, I believe the community needs to hear from the board. I'm a yes. Trusty Gonzalez Hoy. No. Trusty Hernandez. No. And Trusty Janna is a no. Um, going on to the original motion to extend, we have Trusty Han, I abstain. Trusty Whitten, no. Trusty Regler,

yes. Trusty Smith Folds, Smith Falls, no. Trustee Gonzalez Hoy, yes. Trusty Hernandez, yes.

And trustee Anyana is a yes. Motion passes. So now we can continue. So moving on to public comment. Our first public comment is Karen's iPad. Please unmute yourself. Please unmute yourself. Haley K, please unmute yourself. What I have to say is good evening board. One of you posted, "Nobody plays victim better than the people who caused the issue." This board made decisions that led to chronic staffing shortages and underfunded programs. Now you're asking our children to pay the price. This is not acceptable. Say no to merging middle schools, closing Spanish for Spanish speakers at Kennedy, eliminating K8 schools, cutting RSP,

eliminating custodial staff, removing scowls, and slashing music programs. You have a choice. Continue with cuts and chaos, or do the work you were elected to do. Center students in stability. Slow down. Get it right. Our community is watching and we are asking you to choose differently. Thank you. Next public comment is Miss Anna Lauren John D. is got it. Okay. First off, I'd like to say how sad the situation is. We talk about American decline and this is example A. um instead of thinking bold and thinking about asking for big things to happen like that parcel tax specifically being targeted towards high earners um or doing a wealth tax or anything like that. We're talking about the bits and pieces that we have left over for a declining school system that's been happening since at least I was in high school. Um I don't understand how moving around middle schools isn't anything other than a shell game. um it doesn't seem to have the actual impact that you guys need. And I'd also like to ask for the board to consider a reduction in management pay during this fiscal emergency if we're all cutting and we're all making sacrifices and let's put it on the table and actually have it happen. Thank you for your time.

Our next public comment is cools. Please unmute yourself. Andrea Landon, please unmute yourself. Hi, can you hear me? Yes.

Good evening. I'm the program director at East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and also a WCCUSD resident and parent. Um, I'm deeply concerned about eliminating centrally funded elementary band as well as reducing high schools to six periods. Elementary principles will have to choose between funding music and other basic services and suddenly have to do their own recruiting, interviewing, maintaining instrument inventory and repairs. Higher need elementary schools will likely lose their band or orchestra and won't produce music students for their secondary schools. Even if they do, cutting secondary schools to six periods will severely limit music students there and programs will gradually dwindle. If you think community arts organizations can fill in at Espace Center, we are past capacity for afterchool music programs. We have 250 students on our weight list right now at our main site and we partner with 17 WCCUSD schools with 10 schools on our weight list. Families want more arts, not less. Thank you. Sergio Castro Santana. Now, let's take a moment. I asking the board trustees, how many you guys understood what I just said? We have families in this community that are blindsided. This is a hostile environment that has been created over these past few weeks. We have families that don't understand what's happening.

If it wasn't for the staff here at Betty Reoskin that took the time to make flyers in Spanish and other languages for the demographics that are in this community. Look at the turnout we have now. It's not that hard to take these slides and information using the technology that we have now. Next public comment is Jane Kinster. Please unmute yourself. Good evening. I'm asking the board hear me. I want transparency, clarity, and communication. I vaguely remember that in the first interim alone that the the um district overspent by at least $14 million. Over spent on third party contractors and conference and travel. I believe hear us. You need to keep in your budget instead of overspending. That overspend means that now you're cutting 2.4 million in materials and supplies, 4.1 million in in classified positions, 5.3 million in right size secondary, 5 million right size elementary. All because of that overspending. How much will we overspend for the rest of the year that could have been used towards these and other things? Do you hear us? Do you see the overspending and understand how they directly affect us? Does the community know that services, students, communities, and staff suffer when things that we can't even control at a teacher level is over spent? We all have to be very careful in our budget and watch every penny. Next public comment is Brian Mendes.

Uh, good evening. My name is Brian Mendes. I am a parent of two specialed seventh graders at Betty Reed Saskkin Middle. I'm also an astronomer at UC Berkeley. So, go Bears. Um, all of us here want the best for our kids and we understand that the purpose of a school is to provide the very best education for our kids. So, we need to make decisions based on that first. Money be second. Um, I strongly urge that the board reject this proposal. Um, it is an ill-considered plan. Uh, nobody in this community likes it. Uh despite the considerable outcry and feedback of the last two weeks, the plan has not changed. So I don't know um what more to say. You're making you're increasing class sizes. You're cutting music. I mean, these are the things we know that work. Keep what works.

Our next public comment is Bill Hods. Please unmute yourself.

Hello. Can you hear me? Yes.

Fantastic. My name is Bill Hodes. I'm a science teacher at Hercules Middle School. I um I wanted to point to a few things that I've been noticing. I do want to start because of the limited time to just encourage the the board as has been said previously tonight to vote no on this plan. Um, according to school district documents, WCCUSD spent more than $14 million to contract out positions that have historically been performed by used unionized district staff to three uh private equityowned companies with this district at a cost of 14.393 million. the equivalent of 238 full-time equivalent positions that could have been staffed and saved this district $6 million. 154,000. Next public comment is Mars Tremor.

Mars Tremor. Hey, one second. Let me get my notes.

Okay. Hi, my name is Marge Tremor. Our students call me Miss T. I am an art teacher at Betty Reed Saskkin. I I have been a visual arts teacher for this district for 16 years. I love my job and I am lucky enough to say that my passion is my purpose. And I am able to support my family doing what I feel I was put on this planet to do. Our school has soul. Our school has heart. That is not something that can be manufactured. How do you measure the unmeasurable? I am a product of this district and my son is currently a student here. While you are making difficult decisions, please keep our electives. Einstein once said, "Creativities, intelligence, having fun." I see this quote come alive in my art classes. My classes are mixed. General ed students are mixing with MMS and RSP students. My students abilities are diverse. One thing is for certain, they're Thank

thank you for your comment. Our next public comment is Andrew Wilkkey. Please unmute yourself.

Yeah. Hey, good morning everybody. Um it's Mr. Wilkey from Richmond High School. Um several things quick as I can. Elementary music is one the only vertical program going through this district that has a semblance of success. Um it's existed forever. It shouldn't be put on Prop 28. You will not find teachers to do the job. You will not be able to coordinate the money between the schools. The Prop 28 money has we have no plan at all. Next thing, uh Richmond High School and the other high schools except for Elsto being forced to go to a sixth period day is going to cut 56% of my students access to music. Um, I literally just had four kids come to Richmond High School from charters in the past two months to join the music department. I assure you my program brings in money and covers ADA. My kids are on time um and handle business. So, cutting us down to sixth period, I'm going to lose lots of students and lots of students are going to lose access. 100% of music students graduate. 100% of all schools music students graduate high school. Our next public comment is hope Maris. Um hello. I wanted to say thank you to the board for um letting all the students speak. Um, it was very important for the voices to be heard. Um, my name is Hariskal. I'm a staff, a parent, and an alumni of a WCCUSD. Um, I started playing in the band in fourth grade in Downer, and I continued to play until my junior year in high school. Um, music gave me opportunities and different experiences that I would have never gotten if I wasn't in the band. My children are now in the band and they spoke today. And their love of music, um, they love music and have

dedicated themselves to music. With music, they found their village and their voice. Music is known to help students learn. If our goal is to improve learning, then why take away something that has given the desired results again and again? Sell all the properties that are unused and unable to be used. We also have land that is near Mirror Vista that's used as a dog park. Sell it. Use the money to help fund the band and the seventh period at the high school level which will help the band. You all walked in tonight and you heard the bands played. Music is something you can see. And our next public comment is Karen Richards. Please unmute yourself. Hello there. Um, I am a parent of a sixth grade percussionist at elementary, uh, Kensington and a 11th grade percussionist at Elserto High School. I've seen the program run through Kensington, Koramatsu, Elserto. I think that it is a mistake to make elementary school band discretionary by sight. I think it's a matter of equity. It will make it out of reach for many families. It'll make it a private education um for those who can afford it or for school sites who have um robust education funds. It really needs to be there. And we are not like other districts where we start middle school in sixth grade. So if you know there's there's no way a middle school teacher can ramp up to the level of um music education to succeed in high school. It will not happen. We need to sell sites now.

Next public comment is Erica Gomez, Ethan Sorcerer. Good evening. My name is Ethan Sorcerer and I teach fifth grade at Montalban Manor K8. I want to thank the members of the board who courageously voted to table this issue and gave your staff an opportunity to rebuild trust. Keeping sc is a step in that direction. Yet, despite overwhelming community opposition and the inclusion of revenue enhancements, the cuts your staff proposed continue to disproportionately target our students and families at Title One schools. The work that the board directed your staff to do remains unfinished. We uphold the ideals of equity, inclusion, anti-racism, but under pressure from a historically marginalizing system, our actions contradict those values. approving an unmandated 8% raise for unrepresented management who now ask you to make irreparable cuts to our Title One schools in the name of fiscal stability. Trustees, you have the power tonight to teach our students a lifelong lesson. Can they trust that when they advocate for themselves and their communities, there are those within the system who will respond to their courage. Thank you. Next public comment is Yolanda Vieira Allen. Please unmute yourself. Please unmute yourself.

Maisha Harris Gash, please unmute yourself. Good evening again. And I'm going to reiterate something that I said earlier. The ancestors are not pleased right now. The ancestors are not pleased right now. I'm just kind of curious like if you go forward forward with the proposal of the plan with Betty Reed Saskin Middle School, who's going to look her family in the fla face and say that to her to them? She hasn't been gone even that long. That's like another insult. It's also an insult to the students who did the work during co did the research and why they chose to rename their school. Who's going to look that generation of students in the face and say this is what we're doing and this is why we're doing it also um and the replenishment of fund 17 to those retirees to people who sacrificed long long long ago. What's the plan about fund 17? So it's just it's a problem. But once again have a wonderfully blessed night. Next public comment is Sonia Ortiz. Sonia Ortiz. Sarah Napoleon. First of all, we have five electives, not three. Thank you. Um, secondly, last board meeting the question was asked, what are the alternatives? That has not been answered by y'all, but we have sent multiple. We have sent multiple alternatives. One being, why not merge West County Mandarin Middle School with

our middle school? We are already on the same site. We do a lot of collaboration together. We would have sixth grade. We could invite sixth grade back as we had in the past. It is successful. we would need district support for that piece that then we can better serve the middle school function because you're trying to cut all the K8s except for West County Mandarin. So if it's not functioning, let them be a part of our middle school and we can better serve them with all the things that we do. Wouldn't that be more logical? I think um also preparation more time another year.

Next public comment is Andre Shoemate. Please unmute yourself.

Thank Thank you so much. I know I don't have that much time. My heart is heavy tonight. It's uh 11:20 p.m. and we already know that most people who signed up for this agenda item has logged off. We continue to do this, schedule these important agenda items later in the evening knowing it's going to eliminate the voice of the people. Please stop this. If you always do what you've always done, you're gonna always get what you've always gotten. We've had a sophisticated presentation tonight on how we can cut programming in this district. Where's the conversation about how we can grow programming in this district? Please, folks, please stop this. We've been doing it historically. My prayer is under this new administration that we will give the people a voice. Schedule these agenda items early in the agenda so people voices can be heard. stop this fraud and scheduling these discussions later in the evening. Have a good evening. Our next public comment is Ricardo Dwarte, Adrien Loftess. There is no school without people and there's no people more willing to collaborate than the staff of Betty Reed Saskin Middle School. The current plan was not made in collaboration. I know we don't know the ins and outs of the budget. We don't make the district decisions, but we do know our community. We know our students and I know we are willing to work as a team with the district. Um, we've had creative ideas that have been shared. We're willing to discuss more. This shuffling around of students with no clarity and no warning

is not a model of leadership that inspires trust. I urge you to delay the decision around our school, allow us to work with you for viable alternatives that bolster our community, that build programs that address the need to restructure while leading with trust and listening to the stakeholders. Thank you. Ricardo Dwarte, please please unmute yourself. Can you hear me now? Yes, we can.

Okay. Good evening. Uh, my name is Ricardo. I've been with this district for eight years, working my way up from custodian to painter. I am a district parent with two kids in our schools and a newborn at home. Just two months ago, I was on the picket line fighting for the contract and healthc care my family needs. Now, before the ink is even dry, you are trying to take it all away. My wife has been a clerk here for 5 years. She earned a promotion to a bilingual typist clerk to pass her six-mon probation and then was immediately bumped back to a three and a half hour position. Now, you want to eliminate her job entirely. Also, my job is on the line on the new fiscal plan. We are a WCCUSD family and you cannot balance your budget by betraying the workers that have been loyal to the district for nearly a decade. I urge you to honor our contract and vote no on these layoffs. Thank you. Next public comment is Jackie Aendaniel. Rosa Menjavar, Rosson, Kenra Mitchell, all of the students, including the 142 West County Mandarin 6th through 8th grade students, Many who currently participate in all the clubs, sports, lunchtime groups alongside of Saskin staff and students love it there. It would make much more sense to merge West County Mandarin with Betty Reed Saskin as we're already there together better than Panol Middle School, especially with the statement about maintaining the same opportunities for all seventh and

eighth grade students. Why doesn't that statement apply to West County Mandarin? All the students at BRS and West County manager are able to take electives. The trust they have for us is great. The community loves us. This plan to reimagine middle schools will disrupt academic progress. It will increase transportation burdens and disproportionately impact families who are already faced systematic challenges. Closing Betty Reed Saskin Middle School and eliminating all K8s but West County Mandarin may look like a budget solution on paper but in reality is community damage. Next public comment is Angela Silver Lim Angela Silver Lima. Please unmute yourself. Please unmute yourself.

Good evening. Can you hear me? Yes.

Okay. So, I just wanted to lift up two concerns. Uh when we one when we are talking about right sizing classes, is that going to mean that we may be displacing students to send them to another school site? If students need to be displaced, can we please figure that out over the summer and not wait until the 15th day of school, which is what the district has been doing year after year. Two, we currently have a special education parent liaison. That position is considered a scowl position and has been since 2014. The parent leaison position is not the same as a scout and serves a different purpose. It is a critical resource for parents in our district and in the special education community as well as a critical need for our district and help to avoid helps families and the district avoid ending up in alternative dispute resolution uh ADR. And if you keep talking about cutting special ed, you can most defines Kimberly Cruz. Eric Barn Buen hanging in there. I'm a elementary band teacher, been in the district for a long time. Using Prop 28 funds will create great inequities. We need to find alternatives to fund the band program. Please, I urge you to vote no. It's very important. Even at a school that has a small limited amount of students, every school needs access to music. So if there's any alternative, we need to look

at it and take time. I urge you to vote no. Next public comment, Yolanda Vieiraa Allen. Please unmute yourself. Next public comment is Marie. Um, Mity Perez, Carl, Sky Nelson. Listen. That concludes public comment. Sorry about that. Um, Amomar Nalik, Miss Casillas,

Chris Roski. Listen, board members, you got to vote no on this this plan right here. Okay? Think about what it does. It gets rid of all the community K8s, right? The community based programs. Gets rid of the the community-based middle school right here and in places replaces it with a K8. That doesn't make any sense. The fiscal benefits are negligent and it doesn't do much to compare with the amount of, you know, the alienation of the communities uh that you're going to cause and the pain that you're going to cause. It's actually the communities themselves that it's the unique and dynamic communities, the places that each of these schools are in that cultivate the academic and the social and the emotional development of our students. You cannot treat our students like they're animals, moving them from one feed lot to a different feed lot and think that they're going to have good results because they're not. So, I want us to come uh slow down this process and come up with some creative solutions that we can all work on together as a community and as a district. And I urge a no vote. Thank you.

Next public comment is Sylvia Zmpi.

Okay. All right, I'm back. The students that you are displacing from their neighborhoods come from title one schools. My own beautiful community of Betty Reed Saskkin is 97% children of color and my beautiful team that are slated to be cut as 86% people of color. So, WCCCUSD, are you ready to acknowledge that with this merge, the burden of environmental exploitation and systemic injustice falls upon the labor of black and brown bodies in the building of this district and its institutions? Are you courageous enough to stand up for the community that is directing you to please reconsider your options? We are Betty Reed Saskkin. Next public comment is Jane Majid. I'm Jane Megan, band director at Mir Vista and Fairmont Elementary Schools. Been teaching the district for many years. I want to say that I share my colleagues concerns about replacing elementary band funding with Prop 28 money. I believe it destabilizes the program and by making it sightbased instead of centrally funded and works to exacerbate inequities that we are already experiencing. If we are one, then we must fund it as one. I also want to point out that California as a state is

a number four global economy. We do not have a money problem. We don't have a wealth problem. We have a priority problem. I understand that West Contraasa is tasked with solving this problem here. But we are not alone. Districts in the region are right behind Next public comment. Yolanda Vera Allen, please unmute yourself. Good evening. Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you now.

Ah, thank you so much for uh calling on me again. I appreciate you. Um, we've been spending I've been spending a lot of time trying to understand um our budget and public education funding and I appreciate the information that I've been given. Um, but today what I really want you to do is to relook at your systems because when anytime you have to suspend your your bylaws, you have a system problem. Um, we need to open up this process and include more of our community uh at the table. Our entire communities, we have five cities that we can lean into, our legislators, our business community, our uh nonprofit organizations, all of us need to come together and work to figure this out. We can't lean into title fundings into the federal government and count on that uh to be able to fund um our programs, our people. Um we have to do this for ourselves. Next public comment is Patricia Blanco. Good evening. Uh my name is Patricia Blanco, a Spanish teacher in Kennedy High School. I'm here to ask that Spanish for Spanish speaker programs remains available in Kennedy High School. Please, I urge the board to continue supporting the Spanish for Spanish speakers program so our students can grow academically, culturally, and confidently. This is an investment in equity in a student success and in the future of our community. Um, just like qualification is not the same enrichment that you get from a Spanish from a Spanish speaker class, from a Spanish tree and Spanish 4. Not possible. Um, I'm also here speaking on behalf of the

Kennedy High School drama. Mr. supporter inspiring our students by bringing them a place to collaborate. He's an outstanding teacher who ignite their love for ecic arts and literature through this group. We need these kind of places for giving our students more to to grow to grow their sensibility, empathy and confidence. Please don't take more good things from Kennedy. Why always Kennedy please support our school or population needs your support needs our programs need our classes. Thank you. Next public comment is Christian Mansana. My name is Christian Manzanana. I am the elementary band teacher for Harding, Kensington, Madera, and Washington elementary schools. And I urge the board to keep elementary band alive. All four of my school sites feed into Cororamatsu Middle, Elserto High School, the award-winning Elserto High School program. And I think you will agree with me that no award-winning jazz ensemble without an elementary band like high school excellence does not start in ninth grade. It begins in fourth grade. And that's where I come in. I serve about 240 students. That's 240 young musicians learning how to work together, how to listen, how to prepare, how to show up to something bigger than themselves. These are life skills. These are crucial ones. When I was hired back in 2021, they were just returning to shared spaces after a long period of isolation. That first year was about rebuilding, relearning. Please keep elementary band alive at West Contraosta Unifi. Thank you. Next is Kumi Yana Guihara Christina Werta.

Okay, two things. Trustee Nandez, first of all, the data they're going to provide you with is wrong because at Kennedy, Spanish for Spanish speakers has already been removed from the choice sheets. You haven't even voted and they already removed it at my site. When I asked the assistant principal, Liska Notton, she told me it came from the cabinet, which apparently is you guys. Then I emailed Mr. Jose De Leon, who's over there, and he did not reply to my two emails. So, nobody seems to understand why the class needs to disappear. I'll tell you another thing. I wrote the curriculum. Okay? In 2015, when was came to WCCUSD, they were embarrassed that we did not have a program for our native speakers. It was embarrassing that they got moved into a Spanish 3 class where the textbook is partly in English. Okay? So, no, it's not the same enrichment, just so you know. But you can talk to me. I'm available. Apparently, you visited my class or I don't know what you told the student trustees. I'm available. I wrote the curriculum. I brought it to this district and you're not taking it away.

Next public comment is Zach Porter. Spanish for Spanish speakers at Kennedy. uh a program developed by the exceptional Miss Werta and run by Miss Werta, Miss Blanco, um provides academic rigor and addresses specific community needs that Spanish 3 and other courses simply cannot address. Um our vice principal claimed that her hands were tied uh placing the blame and the onus for this cut squarely on this board. Um, I came here tonight thinking, oh, well, maybe that's not the case. But after watching the presentation, it seems that that is the case and you really want to do this. Um, more generally, the strike is over, but we're seeing again um the way that you all bargain. Um, you take something away. Uh, then after we fight as hard as we can, you offer some of it back as if you're giving us something. Um, you don't give us anything. Um, and I'll be back next time to talk about drama club some more. Thank you so much.

Next public comment is Miguel Gos,

Anna Leonardi, Jose Kada, Lynn Fan, My name is Lynn Fan and this is my fourth year as a parent at a stu of a student at Betty Reid. I'm here tonight because our school matters, not just to my children, but to every student who walks through its doors during one of the most important and vulnerable stages of their lives. Many of our students rely on this school for more than academics. They rely on mentors, extracurricular programs, counseling support, and a community that knows them personally. For many families, this school is the heart of our neighborhood. I urge you to explore every possible alternative before making a decision that permanently alters the lives of our children. Consider administrative cuts, creative partnerships, grants, or phased adjustments. Work with parents and staff. We are willing to help. We want to be part of the solution. This is our community. Our middle schoolers are at a crossroads in their development. They need stability. They need connection. They need to know that the adults in their lives will protect the environments where they learn and grow. I urge you to reconsider closing Betty Ree Middle School. Next public comment is Colleen Gwenza. Colleen, uh, Luis Roberto Mendoza. That concludes public comment.

Oh, Mr. Johnson, sorry about that.

He's online. Hello again, board. I just want to uh echo what has already been said about the importance of the elementary music programs. Um and I just want to urge you to take some action items on this tonight. Um tonight in the presentation, as was noted even by one of our students, there was not much discussion about what the community had to say about the elementary band programs. Wasn't really in there, but on our website, we have some information about it. and it says that only 30% of eligible students are taking band um in elementary schools. There's a reason why historically we only provide about 30 instruments per elementary school. So something to consider. So I would like to ask the board to consider since we're looking at a three-year plan um to at least give us a year to plan. Give us a year to figure out how we're going to either recover from this or what we can do. Let the communities talk. Let the elementary schools talk and figure out a plan how we can keep our teachers. You don't have an award-winning uh Richmond High band. You don't have an award-winning uh Hercules orchestra. You don't have an award-winning LED high school jazz ensemble without these programs. Give us a year at least to plan. And if we still have to get there, then we get there. But at least we know what's going to happen and hope we can plan for it. Thank you. Thank you for every that it okay. Well, thank you for everyone's public comment. Um, we're now going to move on to How many do we have? How many do we have? What is your name?

Christina. One minute. It's one minute. Go ahead. Make your comment.

Thank you. Uh my name is Christina Coons. I'm an elective teacher. I teach the only Fab Lab engineering class in the school district. I teach my students 3D printing, laser cutting, prototyping, engineering. I also teach college and career where they explore 15 different careers hands-on. I bring in professionals to teach them how to do phabbotomy, how to do um uh rocket launching, how to do uh game development. And not only are my students brilliant and passionate, but they say that this merger will cause them to leave our uh district, go to charters, or go to other schools. Without our program, they are lost. And it's really important that you think about these electives going forward. We haven't had a chance to sell our programs at Saskkin and this merger is very quick. It's not in a growth mindset. It's in um a decreasing mindset. Not only are my programs impacted, but all the contractors I work with, I grow I work with growing together. They have been able to get grant funding just from the internships that we run on campus. Um we were able to teach kids how to cook, how to do food to table. A lot of our programs are for the community and help All right. Well, thank you everyone for your public comment tonight. Um, now to the board. I have a point of order. Are the comments that or the hands that are raised in Zoom are they not going to be addressed? We have it looks like five hands in Zoom. Did they already get called on? I know Reverend Shoemake hand is up, etc.

He already spoke, but most of those hands came up after we were um already calling for public com after we already had called for public comment. Thank you very much for the clarification. Okay, now on to the board. Um, do we have a motion on the table

for president and Jenna? I have a motion. Oh, wait. Point of order. Is it comments before the motion or com? We can make a motion and then

Okay. So, I'll go ahead and make a motion. I move that that I move that the what? Sorry, it's late. I move that we approve the staff recommended budget reduction plan with the following modifications and directions. We direct staff to find solutions in order to retain as many school community outre outreach workers as possible through other funding sources like Title One. This includes negotiating with the appropriate labor groups to update Scout's job descriptions so that the role is aligned to board priorities, including attendance improvement, family engagement, and school-based support. We direct staff to develop and implement a district-wide attendance campaign for the 2627 school year with the goal of increasing ADA and to present the campaign plan to board no later than May 2026. This includes providing quarterly progress reports to the board on ADA growth and the implementation of a of the attendance campaign. Well, I'll go ahead and second that motion. Um, Gonzalez Hoy,

thank you. Um, I wanted to add a friendly amendment. Um, my my friendly amendment is that if accepted that we direct staff to work with school sites to leverage Prop 28 funding or other onetime funds and if necessary to retain as many music teachers as we can. Further, we direct staff to investigate the issue around the Spanish or Spanish speakers at Kennedy High School and if there truly is a need for the class that we retain that class for the 2627 school year. Lastly, that the board and that the board of education brings back the temporary contract review committee in March and April in order to do a public review of all contracts in unrestricted and restricted funding. The board president w would appoint two board members to lead the committee alongside with sprint and cotton. That's my friendly amendment.

Why accept or you both do? You both would have to accept if you accept the friendly amendment. So if I retract my second Okay, I accept it. I'll go ahead and

because it's because it's been motioned and second we are able to discuss. Is that accurate? That's correct.

What does this do to the timeline? Please explain the timeline to me about where we are and where we need to get to. Anyone um this would this would keep us on track for a timeline. We would we would modify some job descriptions and we would um meet some of those requirements in the upcoming months. Uh but the the reductions would still come on February 25th for the positions themselves to be riffed. So when it says find solutions for scowls, does that have a financial impact?

If we're finding a solution, right, for scowls, what does that mean? What's the financial impact on that? Um the the scows would still need to be rifted in order to change their job description. Uh so they would still be brought forth on February 25th. Um, but we would modify that job description to allow to rehire those employees back on Title One funding with a slightly modified job description. And that's what you already said the plan was, correct? Yes. Okay. So, that stays the same. Yes.

Okay. And then it says school sites. I believe the the motion had school site music teachers to work with school sites to try to retain music teachers. If that's accurate. Was that what was said? So are we do we already have a plan for that? It's literally what it says working with your school sites to retain music teachers. So there's no financial impact on that. That remains with the site decision. Correct. So if it's using Prop 28, that's a site decision. Okay. And then the other part of this was Spanish for Spanish speakers. That's at Kennedy High School. with that. If we retain that class, is there a financial impact on retaining that class?

Uh the sites would need to modify their master schedule to incorporate that. Um it it may make other things be changed on their master schedule.

I met with the site today to review the master schedule. Um we have two challenges. The the site is projected at 551 students next year. there are not as many students to access the courses. Um, and they're going from an eight period day to a sixth period day. Meaning students used to take between two and four electives and next year they will take between one and two. So, their ability to offer the same variety of electives is going to be limited. um we can go back and and doublech checkck the choice sheet offerings um and make sure that that was done in a robust way.

Is that a one-year class or is that a multi-year class? Spanish for Spanish speakers one and two. Different school sites offer the progressions in different ways. Um some sites put native speakers into Spanish 3 or four based on their competency. The standards for Spanish for Spanish speakers are designed for someone who has a high oral language capability but perhaps less literacy and writing skill. Um so but there is not a uniform district way that students are enrolled. Thank you. I'm complete Gonzalez.

Thank you. Sorry. I just wanted to provide a clarification that the motion would specifically call out for Prop 28 and to investigate other one-time funds that may be available. So, I just wanted to clarify that um because that that was part of that that motion. It wasn't just Prop 28, but to investigate possible onetime funds as well. Could you repeat that? It says use, did you say use Prop 28 to and investigate using other funds? The actual language is we direct staff to work with school sites to leverage Prop 28 funding or other one-time funds if necessary to retain as many music teachers as we can.

Trusty Regler. Yes, if I may ask Trusty Gonzalez a question. So would the idea be something like a number of elementary schools looking at employing one person or combining funds or is that kind of the Okay, thank you.

Yes, it is. and if there's other onetime funding that they could use through working with the district that we wouldn't just look at Prop 28, but we would look at other funding. So, it wouldn't just be that narrow look because we know that has been said over and over that some schools might already be spending that Prop 28 and they don't want to switch that, right? So, they can potentially work with staff to look for other avenues. I have a question. Prop 28 expires in June 30th of this year. Our first allocation does. We we get we get an allocation every year. So every year there will be a prop 28 expiring now.

Okay. So every year it comes in a that's the aortionment part, right? So you get a little bit every year. We get about 4 million a year. Yes. Okay. And about how much does it cost to keep music teachers in the district? Elementary music teachers in the district? About 1.5 million. 1.5 million. Okay. So, if we get about four million and it costs about 1.4 million to keep it. So, you do have that Prop 28 money that can be leveraged for music teachers. Correct. If the sites decide to

if the sites decide to leverage that money because it's a decite decision to whether to leverage that money or not. And then if we use one-time funds, if we find one-time funds somewhere to use it for music teachers, it's just that, right? It's one time. So then if you hire or keep hiring music teachers, you'll still have to figure out where that funding comes from. Correct. Yes. And we would lose our one-year exception exemption uh for ex for having arts music banned on expiring funds. So our base level funding for arts and music would be increased for ongoing.

Say it to me one more time. If you Let me just make sure. If you use the one-time funds, then you are going against what the outline of Prop 28 is and then that would decrease. Is that what you're saying? Uh we So for Prop 28, you have to spend the same or more than you did in the prior year. When when you have funds expiring and you have arts and music programs on those expiring funds, it counts as an exception to that supplanting rule of spending more or less more the same or more on the following year. If we use onetime funds to fund arts, arts and music elementary band teachers, uh, that exception, that exemption goes away.

Okay. Thank you for clarifying. I'm complete.

See, no further comments. Gonzalez.

Sorry, I I do have comments, but if I'm the only one that's going to make comments, then well, I'll just make it, I guess. Um, thank you, uh, President. Um, I'll try to be as quick as possible. Um, so these are incredibly difficult decisions. Cuts are not new to our district, as been mentioned by our superintendent tonight. And for years, we have tried to protect schools by using one-time funding to delay the reductions. I have supported that approach because I know how deeply cuts impact our students, staff, families, and community. And we know that the state continues to grow education funding. But we are now out of options. The country is the county is requiring us to act. If we do not rightsize our budget, we risk losing local control and decisions could be made for us that would be even more harmful to our schools. We are making these choices at a time when public education is under tremendous pressure, federal underfunding, a state that does not fully meet ours obligations and plays games with Prop 98, being funded by ADA and our enrollment, our own declining enrollment, and rising costs across the board. I don't blame any one person for where we are. These are systemic challenges, but as leaders, we have a responsibility to fa face this reality even when it's painful. We did not do enough in recent years to adjust staffing through attrition and now we are forced to make deeper changes all at once. I also know that behind every proposal are real names and real people. Many many families love their K8s feel many feel deeply connected to Betty Reid. To those families, I am truly sorry that we are in this position and I'm hoping that this choice will actually be good long term. I want to thank everyone who attended the listening sessions and share feedback. I heard you. For Betty Reid especially, we must address transportation, be thoughtful of preserving the identity of Betty Reid and support student, staff, and families through these difficult transitions and clear communication and real partnership is necessary. I am especially concerned about our English

learners and the changes for the secondary schedules. They must continue to have fully full access through to A throughG courses and graduation requirements. They cannot be overlooked. and I remain deeply worried about the loss of arts and family engagement through cuts of music and music teachers and scouts while I'm thankful the district is now looking for solutions. Those positions are essential to the success and culture of our schools and I ask that we continue to look for that. None of this is easy, but our responsibility is to make decisions that protect the long-term health of our district while standing up for students and families. I remain committed to doing that with empathy, honest, and urgency. And I thank everyone for tonight. Trusty Smith fols understand that if it matters, it gets done. I asked my board colleagues the same question three or four times at our last meeting on January 28th. The question was, what's their plan? We had the district plan. The same plan was brought to us 10 days ago. Was brought to us 10 days ago. Board again, what's our plan? I was met with silence on January 28th, so I will ask again tonight. And I heard some things, but February 11th is way past the time that we should have been having these conversations out loud. Colleagues, if we have an alternative plan, has it been costed out? Has it been brought back to Has there been an impact analysis done and brought back to the entire school community? Because once again, if it matters, it gets done. If it doesn't matter, it gets explained. Board, stop explaining. Start doing. The first thing to do is to stop playing in the community's face like there's an alternative budget plan on the table to

pay for promises the majority of you made. Stop doing that. Stop acting like we have not seen not only this year's proposal, but next year's and the third year's. Stop doing that. Stop pretending that we as a district have a plan or have even discussed how to build back up fund 71 or fund 17. Stop doing that. Stop pretending the timeline did not happen where we saw multiple proposals with prices attached to them. Stop doing that. When the majority of the board voted yes, they knew that they were voting yes to mergers, people losing their jobs, middle school shifts, programming lossings, programming losses, and all the other items sent to the county in the AB1200. To say otherwise, and to say that this is how the district to say that this is how the district will pay, stop saying otherwise is just not true. We have to make opportunities out of chaos now. There is no choice. But we got here. But the way we got here was not through leadership. It was through the highway of politics. Stop playing politics. You are playing with students lives and it's not okay. Stop doing it. I am complete.

Trusty Hernandez.

Before I vote tonight, I want to be clear about how we got here. Our budget crisis did not happen overnight. It's been years in the making. declining enrollment, structural deficits, and decisions that were delayed or not fully implemented. The warning signs were there. The hard conversations were prop postponed. And now we are at the at the point where inaction is no longer neutral. It's harmful. The question before us is not whether these decisions are difficult. They are. The question is whether we are willing to make structural changes that stabilize sorry the district long term. If we do not act now, we will continue to fragment the programs to stretch staff thinner, endor public trust. We cannot become one WCCCUSD if we avoid aligning resources to reality. That said, this v this vote must all also come with accountability. If approved, we need a clear transition plan, protection for our most v vulnerable students, and measurable equity metrics so we can know whether these changes are working. Leadership requires courage. Delaying again will only make the next round of cuts deeper. Tonight is is about whether we move forward as one district and continue and continuing postponing the inevitable is harmful. Thank you. Okay,

regular. Will you repeat the motion again? Let me read it. Let me tell you and then you tell me if I'm right. So, it's to accept the fiscal solveny plan with the following modifications. the scowl. Look at rewriting the scows and retaining those jobs. A district-wide attendance campaign with reporting on a reporting cycle looking at Prop 28 funds. Uh is there is there keeping the Spanish for Spanish speakers if the need is there? Yes,

if the need is there to keep Spanish for Spanish speakers and to reestablish the contract review committee for the spring to go through again the 4,000s and the 5000s. Okay. Thank you, president. May I ask a clarifying question? Yes.

The clarifying question is if the need is there, can that be explained to me what is it seems subjective. What does if the need is there mean? Does it mean if you have enough students enrolled in the class? Does it mean what does if the need is there mean? Does it mean if it's needed for their A to G credits? Does it mean if because if it's an elective, it's needed. You have to have some kind of elective for A to G credits. Does it mean if it's What is if the need is there mean? I'm complete. So, Spanish for Spanish speakers gives students Spanish credit. no different than Spanish 3. Spanish 4 except Spanish 4 is an honors course. Um students can complete their Spanish requirements without that particular course. It is a course that supports the language acquisition of our language learners. Um I think the question I heard was to investigate what the requests were and if there were enough requests for a full class to reconsider the decision. Um, that was the takeaway that I heard.

President, may I respond? Yes, that that was the intention. And also, if there were some discrepancies that we heard tonight about whether they were even in the choice sheets, right? So, if that was the case, then that needs to be rei re-evaluated because of course that's why there's no no uh interest, right? So, so it's it's it's that but doing a deeper investigation on on some of those things that we heard. Thank you. How many students are currently in the Spanish for Spanish speakers class or I'm sorry, Spanish for Spanish for Spanish speaker. Is that the correct title? Okay. How many students are currently in that class?

Let me pull it up. Um, they are small, but I can pull it up and give you exact numbers. That number is not per section. So, if we think about our class size, I wonder if what makes sense is for me to pull it up and send it to uh, Miss Cotton to send it to you in an email. Thank you. I'm complete. Okay. So, we'll move on to the vote with no further comments on Trusty Reckler.

No further comments. Vote yes. Reckler, yes. Trusty Smith votes. Please come back to me. Trustee Gonzalez Hoy. Yes. Trustee Hernandez. Yes. Trusty Smith votes. Smith votes. Yes. And trustee a yes. Motion passes to approve the to approve the fiscal solvenency plan for 2026 2028 with additional um motion. And now we'll move.

President, do we want to take a fivem minute recess to allow people to exit if they choose to? Let's take a five minute recess. Thank you.

Yes. So, we'll now be moving on to agenda item one, expanded learning opportunities program, ELOP program plan. Um, and there's a presentation to this Yes, Miss Sigler.

Yes. Thank you all. Um, we bring to you this evening a presentation for your approval about the expanded learning opportunity program to root us in the vision and the mission. Um the vision for expanded learning in West Contraosta is that our students in our unduplicated count have access to high quality culturally responsive programs that build belonging and academic growth. The mission is to provide them with safe and enriching experiences that extend learning, strengthen relationships, and support whole child development. These programs are in line with our LCAP goals 1, three, and five. You can see that the expanded learning program components represented in the pillars on the left of this slide actually align deeply with our community schools tenants represented in the wheel on the right. particularly that both are supposed to provide students opportunities for expanded and enriching learning. There are key program requirements in ELOP. We must provide afterchool interession and summer learning. We must offer safe developmentally appropriate enrichment. We must operate a minimum of 30 non-school day programs that last for 9 hours a day. We must ensure programs include educational enrichment, physical activity and nutrition. Describing program design activities, safety practice, equity, access processes all have to be in publicly approved plans. The program model is that we deliver an

afterchool program all 180 days of school. These programs are operated by our community partners through BACR, EdMo, Love Learn Success, and YMCA. We also deliver non-school day programs both over spring break and the summer break. And our main partners have been AIMH High, the Ed Fund Freedom School, and the Ed Fund headers. All students in order for us to receive ELOP funding, all students that are in our unduplicated count must have access. So school sites that do not have an afterchool site are considered feeders. There's a bus provided that takes the students to hub sites for their afterchool program access. So if we look by the numbers, we can see the number of total students served in the 2425 school year. And we can see in the 2425 school year the number of students served by race and ethnicity. Uh we can also note that 41% of the participants in afterchool program were language learners. The average daily attendance is noted. Uh there is one um change on this slide. It is actually we do the ADA by uh January to January year, not school year. So this would have been the attendance for all of 2025. The expanded learning program uses a a continuous quality improvement cycle. And so multiple times a year, staff uses

the SEAL PQA, which is a rubric and tool um to observe programs. They also use family surveys, attendance trends, and evaluation data throughout the year to understand the student experience. Uh program partners also use the data to refine programming. ELOP funds are a state fund and they're braided with other funding streams including um our ACEs and our 21st century um grants and what they do is they create a TK to6 afterchool and summer program. So, if you think about AC's funding came first, uh, ELOP actually layers on top to round out our programming. You can see that our students overall have a very positive experience. Um, they 80% say they have a positive experience. We have high rates of belonging and connection as well as almost 100% confidence of our families in the safety of the program and the quality. So we understand that these programs um do provide stability and access to our working families and they provide students with access to enriching activities beyond the school day. based on the SEPQA cycles and the survey data that happens uh within the programs that are offered in after school. The team determines how to prioritize change moving forward. And so the team has determined that this year they would like to expand access

and reduce waiting lists for unduplicated students, strengthen tier 2 and three literacy and language supports, expand career exploration, integrate summer school and ELOP planning timeliness for seamless delivery. deepen the SEAL alignment with community schools and our multi-tered systems of support and specifically they mean they want to integrate some of the tier 2 supports from the school day to ensure students have targeted intervention and tutoring um and then expand enrichment by adding highquality specialty providers. So they use these CQI cycles and the coaching for the staff to try and continuously improve both the program that's offered and the efficacy of the staff. We just want to show you a few photos um of our students participating in our elementary programs. This is Richmond High, so not under ELOP funding, but a wonderful program. Thank you. I'm happy to answer any questions. You have any question? So, I see no questions or comments from the board.

Oh, sorry. Could we move on to public comment? There is no public comment.

President Yenna, I move that we approve the expanded learning opportunities program plan. Reckler will second. Okay, we have a motion on the table by Gonzalez Hoy, second by Reckler. Um, moving on to the vote. Reckler. Reckler. Yes. Smith vess. Smith votes. Yes. Gonzalez Toy. Yes. And Ernnandez, yes.

And then Jana Za. Motion passes. Can we We will now move on to F1. I'm sorry it's late. On to F1. the annual financial audit for 2024 2025. Yep. Thank you. Uh we have our auditor from Christy White, Mr. Hugo Luna on to uh do a presentation for the audit.

Thank you everyone for having me here. Um it's it's a pleasure to be here with you all via Zoom. Um I'm going to go over the uh results of the financial audit for the year ended June 30th, 2025. Next slide please. Oh there. Um so uh our our responsibility as the third party auditor is to issue opinion over the financial statements um ensuring that they are materially stated. Um and uh so there's basically four components of the audit. There's uh four there's four different opinions. One over internal controls, one over the financial statements. There's state compliance and federal compliance. Um we uh we issued an unmodified opinion which is the best opinion possible. Now this opinion does not um this this opinion is not uh is not over the fiscal solveny of the school districts. This is uh over the financial statement and um federal and state um compliance. So um next slide please. Um, I just I'd like to read the opinion fresh off of p page one. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly in all material respects the respective financial position of the governmental activities, each major fund and the aggregate remaining fund information of the West Contraosta Unified School District as of June 30th, 2025 and the respective changes in financial position and were applicable cash flows thereof for the year that ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Um, next slide please. Um so so in in order to issue this opinion over the financial statements there are a series of internal controls that that we take a look at and that's um over accounts payable um accounts receivable those transactions that are

really close to the fiscal cutoff that June 30th. So anything in July August we make sure that transactions are acred in the um that they hit the correct fiscal year. We're also looking at the journal entry process that went into closing the books. We look at long-term debt uh associated student body cash testing to ensure that what is shown at the county treasury matches what's recorded in the district books. Um and then we're also looking at capital assets ensuring that everything is capitalized appropriately and that depreciation um is being taken where applicable um annually and for new assets. Um we so there was um there was no material weakness and they were um in compliance with uh financial statements were in compliance but we did find one area that um we considered a a deficiency in and that was over capital assets. Next slide please. Um so basically in capital assets um uh the district did not appear to be tracking or maintaining um the a listing of construction in progress. So that's that that construction that uh is not yet complete. Once something's complete it becomes capitalized but in the meantime while it's in progress you know it has a special category of construction and uh progress. Um and it appeared that uh uh it appeared maybe due to a transition but the communication between the construction in progress and the project being complete and then um communicating with the capital asset software. So the two different um people performing the two different duties. It was not happening in a timely manner. Um so that um that is uh there was a finding in that in that department um related to capital assets and the district correction corrective action plan reads the district is working to reconcile the

work in progress balances and update our facilities capital asset tracking. The routine the routine updating of this information is a responsibility of the facilities and budget staff but with the transition of staff. This workload was not transferred to the new staff. This oversight has been communicated with appropriate staff to ensure the task will be done routinely moving forward. Full implementation is expected by July 1st, 2026. And um just from my observation being there on site, I will say that it appear the district appear to be moving in the right direction with this um the document I saw for um uh tracking the work in progress um appear to have all the uh required elements uh necessary to get it right um this next fiscal year. So it appears to be trending in the right direction. Um and uh there there is a federal com um component to this audit. Um the district spent 44 million uh approximately 44.6 million in federal funds. Uh we tested uh three major programs title two part A um special education cluster and child nutrition cluster. Uh upon testing of these funds. So these these are restrict this is restricted money and each federal program has their own compliance supplement their own audit guide that we have to follow and test. Upon testing of these areas we issued an unmodified opinion which again is the best opinion possible. Um no significant deficiencies to report and no material weaknesses. And when it comes to the to state compliance, it's extremely difficult to not have any findings because we're not working with materiality here like we are in other areas. With state compliance is it's either you're in compliance or you're not. And then sometimes audit guide will say that even

if one word is off, does it match? Um one one example I like to use is the SARC. If one of the facility inspection tools categories does not match the school accountability report card, you know, we have to issue that a finding. Um it's very hard not to have findings. Um we we issued an unmodified opinion, no significant deficiencies, no material weaknesses. But there was one finding and if you go to the next slide, I can go over it. And that finding was over um was over the uh the LCAP not being um approved by the by the June 30th deadline. Um this was the 2425 LCAP. So this process would have happened in uh June of 2024 if if my late night brain is uh is working correctly. So um we did have to issue uh a finding over that. But um that that's something I feel the district was aware of and then uh it's already been corrected. It's not going to be an issue um for the next audit, the 2526 audit. So, um, next slide. Is there a next slide? No. Well, maybe that's it. I guess I guess that that concludes my my presentation.

Thank you for that presentation or comments. Just

I do have a question for the auditor. Hello. Thank you for being here so late. I just have one question. So on this um capital assets um listing, you do say that there should be a policy. And so if uh if I I just wanted to read something to you and see if the if this makes sense by X date and you can give me the date. The superintendent shall ensure that uh system is established to uh accurately maintain uh a list of capital assets related to construction in progress. And so I just I just wanted to know if if you were if that is something that you'd see in the policy

uh correctly in the in the policy to have a like a deadline to have it in compliance. Is that is that kind of what you're Yeah, because you do you do say here I'm sorry I can't find the page number, but you do say that there is a lack of adequate policies and procedures. So the board would be responsible for the policy and the superintendent would be responsible for the procedure under an administrative regulation. But if the board was to write something um if what I have be adequate.

Yes. I guess uh when it comes to specific uh board policies in the language um I I it I don't I don't just because they're so um it's it's just so it's it's very official. Um I I don't like to say yes, that's good. I always say, you know, consult with um whoever's consulting with the district to create the policies, but um but yes, I you know, I I from the audit side, I don't see an issue with it.

Okay. Thank you. And then is there a date that the that this um like on a yearly basis that this should be done or or is it? Uh it's an ongoing process so it would just be uh ongoing. This is maintained. Correct. Exactly. It's an ongoing process and because there's a lot of construction activity um I would say um at the very minimum um monthly um just to you know oh any new projects what's going on just reconciling the costs for each project. Has anything been paid on X project? Let's make sure we add it to the work in progress schedule. Okay. Okay. Thank you very much. I don't have anything else.

Do we have any public comment on this item? There is no public comment. Okay. With no further public comment, do we have any comments from the board? On this item, seeing none, then that concludes our agenda for tonight. the next scheduled board of education meeting for February 25th, 2026 at Avana Dejan Middle School and we will call it adjourned at 12:30 a.m. Thank you everybody.