The 4-1-1 on the Aug 30 Irvine Unified School District Board of Education Meeting

Welcome New Student Board Members- Embracing Normal Post Pandemic

*Full Disclosure*- I was about 20 minutes late for the Aug 30 meeting. That said, I tuned in to the livestream while driving to the meeting so I was able to listen to the beginning of the meeting virtually and I went back and reviewed the video and transcript as well to provide as accurate of a synopsis as possible.

The Aug 30 IUSD Board of Education meeting was one of the shortest we’ve had in a while. It had only been two weeks since the previous meeting held Aug 16 so there were not a lot of “Items of Business” to be covered. The flow and format of the meeting was consistent with previous meetings. Meeting was called to order at 6:30pm and adjourned at 7:59pm. All Board members were in attendance as were the newly appointed Student Board Members representing each of IUSD’s high schools. There were approximately 16 people in the audience upon our arrival- four of whom were parents present to share public comments. Sonia Kearny, President of Irvine Teacher’s Association, was in attendance as well as at least five other IUSD staff who were seated in the audience (as opposed to Board area) to make room for the five Student Board Members to sit at the semi-circle. The lone item of business on the agenda was 19(a) Measure E Appointment of Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee Members which is a standard and routine item of business. If you’re interested in watching a replay of the meeting, you can access it here.

After the meeting was called to order and The Pledge of Allegiance, there was a moment of silence in memory of University High Senior Gavin Hilgeman. Condolences were extended to his family but nothing was shared about the circumstances of his passing. An internet search revealed A Memorial service was held for Gavin on Sep 9.

The meeting proceeded with updates from closed session where the Board shared that recommendations from Legal Counsel regarding Existing Litigation have been passed along to staff. Approval of the meeting agenda followed.

Public Comments

Public Comments came next. There were 4 Public Comments summarized below:

1. Portola High mom Michelle shared two public comments. In her first comment, she raised awareness of and concern about the chaos of the parking lot during drop off and pick up at Portola High. She indicated that there is not enough Handicapped parking near the main building to be able to safely accommodate special needs students during drop off and pick up. She notified School Staff and Special Education department of her concerns. Additionally, she met with IUSD Facilities Department Staff who accompanied her to visit the parking lot. IUSD Facilities staff agreed that, although IUSD is in compliance with the required number of handicap spots based on the lot size, not having enough spots to accommodate the special needs population during drop off and pick up is a problem that needs to be addressed. The Portola High Principal has been notified of the situation. During Michelle’s second Public Comment, she shared feedback regarding the portables at Eastwood Elementary where her son used to go to school. She was speaking on behalf of other Eastwood families that were not able to be in attendance and had mutual concern about segregation and discrimination against special needs students at Eastwood. She questioned why, once again, Eastwood Mod Autism students are being placed in Portables- segregated from the rest of the students and without bathroom facilities. This problem arose in 2019 and was escalated to the Superintendent for resolution. The resolution implemented was a move of the mod Autism students back into the main building which was assumed would remain a permanent arrangement. Presently, Eastwood students with special needs are once again being placed in portables where there are no bathrooms. Michelle pointed out that Eastwood was not designed/built to accommodate special needs classes but IUSD made the decision to hold special needs classes there anyway.

2. IUSD Loma Ridge Father Jeff brought up two concerns:

1. Overcrowding at Loma Ridge which is displacing the primary grade students (second graders) into portables. There are no bathroom facilities within the portables meaning that primary students have to walk unaccompanied to the main building to use the bathroom. Jeff asks that the Board re-evaluate their methods and consider building more permanent solutions for the children in order to address overcrowding especially given that there is still a lot of new development underway in Portola Springs.

2. How IUSD is planning for the future and whether they are adequately accounting for population growth across all campuses and can provide the necessary facilities to support the population growth

3.IUSD Loma Ridge Father John brought up the same concern as Jeff sharing that putting primary (second grade) students in portables is a safety issue because primary students have to walk by themselves to the main building to use the bathroom on an open campus. He requested IUSD come up with a permanent solution and that the Board hold a meeting with concerned parents.

4.IUSD Loma Ridge Father Nick expressed similar concerns brought forward in the previous 3 Public Comments. He noted that Loma Ridge told parents they had requested a villa as a more long term solution and it was denied without any transparency to the community as to why it was denied. He emphasized the need for more transparency throughout his comments.

Board members Cyril Yu and Ira Glasky responded to these concerns immediately. It should be noted that in the time I have been attending the Board Meetings (more than 17 months) I hardly ever hear Board members provide direct and immediate feedback on public comments shared as they did on Aug 30th. Sharon Wallin addressed the matter during her Board Member Read out.

Mr. Glasky noted that the Principal at Loma Ridge has been made aware of the situation, and there is a meeting in the process of being scheduled with the Board and in conjunction with the PTA. He encouraged families to attend the Fall Facility Study session where this will be discussed.

Cyril provided background on and context for why Loma Ridge is experiencing overcrowding explaining that COVID interfered with facilities planning and growth projections/forecasting. He clarified the requirements needed to build a villa indicating that certain population thresholds must be reached in order to trigger Irvine Company to build a villa- these have not yet been met. He shared that California State Law prohibits 2nd grade classrooms from being on the 2nd floor of a building which further complicates planning. He emphasized the Board is aware of the issue and plans are being made to address it but acknowledged IUSD should’ve done a better job of communicating with families on this matter. Furthermore, he admitted the PK program mandated at a state level is creating additional space constraints across IUSD campuses.

Student Board Member Reports followed Public Comments. The names of the new student Board Members, along with highlights from their reports, are included below.

Ida Aloha- Northwood High- Shared this year’s focus is on re-establishing a sense of normalcy for students and parents; Northwood is eager to bring parents back on campus for events and activities. Preparations are being made for “Night At the Grammies” themed homecoming

Mannat Bawa- Irvine High- Shared that first Vaquero Pride Rally was held and had strong attendance ahead of the first Vaquero football game which finished in a 31-10 victory over Portola HS; Homecoming preparations are underway and it will be a “Glow In The Dark” theme. ASB is focused on gender inclusive nominations for homecoming so “King” and “Queen” will be replaced with “Royal Vaqueros”; Student newspaper is underway to keep students and families informed.

Madyson Chung-Lee- Portola High- Shared there has been strong interest in Class Council participation; Portola welcomed Freshman class of 650 students- its largest ever since campus opened. Portola is undergoing a lot of change and is launching new initiatives: student forum, voter registration drive, monthly cultural events

Elise Feuerborn- University High- Shared Uni held its first indoor pep rally in over 2 1/2 years; Their campus is slowly returning to normal and they are very thankful for relief from COVID restrictions; Football season off to a good start and interest in student council has been high; Uni is focused on reviving old traditions that COVID stopped as well as making new ones.

Shrinidhi Sriram- Woodbridge High- Shared that Spirit week would soon be underway and there are many events planned such as “Funchies” (fun lunches), Teacher vs. Students Dodgeball and a “Party In The USA” themed Homecoming planned for Sep 24. Woodbridge, as part of inclusivity initiative, has launched a “Warrior Life” Canvass page to keep students informed since not all students are on social media.

The Bio for each of the newly appointed Student Board Members can be found on IUSD’s website here.

Superintendent Report

Mr. Walker shared that it has been a smooth transition back to the start of the academic year for the traditional academic calendar. He celebrated the opening of Solis Park (the newest K-8 addition to IUSD schools in Great Park) and the ribbon cutting of Canyon View which had recently undergone Measure E improvements. He emphasized that stimulus funds continue to be infused throughout the schools to reduce class sizes and allow for the hiring of many new staff. He made reference to a shift back towards normalcy after multiple years with a focus that was all things COVID-19 related. The emphasis on mental health continues with efforts to re-engage our students into campus life post pandemic. He reminded the public that IUSD

“Continues to remain one of the lowest funded school districts in the country- not just the county or state but in the country. We do a tremendous job leveraging partnerships and that includes [partnerships with] our developers. We recognize that it's imperfect and we're cognizant of it. We will continue to work on that. We will again stretch those dollars and other resources because we know that at the end of the day that directly impacts students.”

Board Read Outs

Lauren expressed support and enthusiasm for re-establishing a sense of community across the IUSD campuses and applauded Student Board members for their efforts in building that sense of community. She shared updates from her involvement with Legislative Action Committee and the planning for spring student to Sacramento to meet with Legislators. She mentioned she had the opportunity to meet the Secretary of Interior who, along with Congresswoman Katie Porter, visited with IUSD 4th grade students and talked to them about the role of National Park Services. Lauren disclosed a fact she learned from the meeting: Fourth graders and their families can go to National Parks for free during the entirety of their 4th grade year of school. She provided an update that curriculum planning for the ROP program is ongoing. She concluded by sharing that Orange County School Board Association had recently held their meeting and she attended.

Cyril shared updates on school visits made and events attended since the last meeting highlighting a Pancake Breakfast at Oak Creek in celebration of their 20th anniversary that he attended. He remains engaged with local campuses, their administrative teams and their PTAs. He concluded his remarks by reminding everyone to pay attention to the California Department of Public Health Guidelines pertaining to COIVD-19 particularly the guidance on what to do if you have had a COVID-19 exposure. He urged the District to reconsider their decision to broaden the COVID-19 exposure notifications that are sent out so that “students and parents be given information that is useful to them to make decisions.”

Sharon gave a monologue that lasted more than 15 minutes. It started out by talking about back to school- acknowledging how good it is for things to be returning to normal. She addressed the hiccups with Aeries and offered the suggestion that class assignment announcements be staggered moving forward so that the system doesn’t crash. She noted that this is how it was done years ago. She addressed the population growth within IUSD and provided history on the master plan for schools and how certain decisions were made as to whether to build a lot of small schools or build larger schools but fewer of them. She reminded us that avoiding the displacement of students from their neighborhood schools was at the crux of all the decision making. She indicated funding (or lack of funding) played a role in the decision making and planning processes. She went on to tell us about a conference she had just attended on Anti-Semitism put on by UCI as part of the Diversity/Equity/Inclusion focus initiative. She raised concern that sentiment of hate amongst K12 age has really gone up- up 34% from last year to this year. The fundamental question the seminar was addressing/answering was how to stop hate. She hypothesized that there are two reasons why students are showing hate/ expressing anti-semitism:

1. They learn from what's going on in their home

2. We have not taught them well enough about the damage that hate and antisemitism causes (she made reference to lessons from the Holocaust) and expressed that IUSD should do a better job of incorporating this into its curriculum.

She concluded her Read out by expressing distaste for the Public Comment shared during the Aug 16 meeting which called the board out for the abundance of self praise and lack of humility expressing to the public “We really want to model what staff should do, wish to do, and parents should do. Don't ever miss an opportunity with your student or your child to praise them about something that they did well.” **It should be noted the Public Comment she was attacking was the one I shared at the end of the Aug 16 meeting. The comment I made was based on facts and personal observations from my attendance of the Board meetings for the past 17 months.**

Paul’s comments were brief. He welcomed the Student Board members and welcomed everyone back to school. He reminded the public that IUSD is all about students and that’s why Student Board Members are incorporated as part of the Board meetings and planning. He articulated IUSD is earnestly interested in hearing from students and their families.

Ira spoke about his involvement in the Emergency Preparedness Interagency Collaborative (EPIC) program during his brief comments. Through this program, Board participants, Irvine Police and members of emergency response teams engage in planning, preparation and exercises so that their response to an event or crisis can be fluid and immediate.

Upon conclusion of Board Member Reports, the consent agenda was breezed through and the one item of Business addressed:

19(a) Measure E Appointment of Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee Members

For more information on the Measure E Oversight Committee along with its current list of members please click here.

Final Public Comments

Prior to adjournment, there was one final opportunity for public comments. There were 3 public comments shared:

1. Myself; I shared a public comment in response to Sharon’s monologue. The entirety of my comments can be found in the appendix below. My asks of the Board (on behalf of many concerned community members) were as follows:

   • More Transparency

   • Reconsideration be given to the Explicit focus on Social Justice

   • Modernization of and ongoing review of Board Policies

   • Hold discussion, via public forum, about COVID and the effects it has had on our community

   • Honor the “Speak Up We Care” campaign by responding to the feedback you’re receiving whether positive or negative

2. IUSD Mom Debra Kamm commented on the importance of transparency and raised concern as to the lack of it within IUSD. She eluded to the matter she had added to the Aug 16 Board Meeting Agenda and the Board’s response to it where they did not have interest in adopting a resolution that would list litigation against families of students with special needs on Board Agendas.

   She articulated

   • Refusing to show this litigation on the agendas,

   • Absence of votes by board members to sue these families AND

   • Refusal to provide settlement agreements per the California Public Records Act

   paints a picture of a district that does not want the public to know about these costly lawsuits, which often enrich private law firms. She emphasized that according to Irvine contracts, some are making up to $1390 per hour. These law firms are incentivized to initiate and keep these lawsuits going for as long as possible.

3. IUSD Mom Michelle, who shared comments at the beginning of the meeting, supported Ms. Kamm’s assessment indicating that these settlement agreements ARE an issue that a lot of parents deal with in Special Education. She provided her own personal example on a matter that is not yet settled where she received an agreement which, if signed, would sign away crazy amounts of her parental rights.

Prior to calling the meeting into adjournment, Mr. Glasky stated “All I will say is that we are in full compliance with the Brown Act and all state rules and our own local policies as it relates to these items and what's on the agenda. So I just want to make that very clear.”

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APPENDIX

The transcript from my public comments shared prior to meeting adjournment is below. I hadn’t planned on sharing public comments during the meeting so what I said was not pre-scripted.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my comments this evening. I hadn't planned on sharing comments, but I felt that I needed to respond to some remarks that Sharon made. Sharon, I appreciate your feedback. Thank you. I believe and feel that your comment was directly aimed at me. I’ll own it. I'm the person who called this board and leadership out at the last meeting. I called you out because I am a realist. I'm going to call things like I see them. That said, it doesn't mean I am ignoring all the work that goes on behind the scenes. I love the teachers here. I will sing them praises left and right. We have tremendous leadership. It's a great district. I applaud everything that you all have done and how far we have come. But, we have some deficiencies. When we sit here and we hear the public bringing forward issues and concerns- not just once, not just twice, repeatedly- the same issues- the same concerns-and we're not hearing from leadership or the board what is being done to address those-nor are we hearing from you offline about steps that are being taken- nor are we seeing or hearing of an olive branch being extended to work with us- then I cannot sit here and listen to all this praise. Praise is due, and I acknowledge and accept that. I appreciate all of you. We're asking that you please work with us. What we're asking of the board and have been asking for for more than a year now is more transparency. We're asking that you reconsider the explicit focus on social justice. With some of the hate we're seeing- if we could just like peel back the layers of the onion and look at the annual survey results- we could see that maybe this explicit focus on social justice is causing some of these issues. Not just in Irvine, but I think it's a societal issue right now. I think it's something we need to talk about in a public forum. I think we need to modernize the policies we are asking for that. We need to hold a discussion about the COVID effects on our community. I'm elated to hear the student board members here tonight talk about returning to normal. We just haven't given this topic the amount of time that it deserves and we need to hear from all the people that have gone through this period of time. We need to hear their stories. We need to understand what we can do different for this to never happen again. And we need to honor the “Speak Up We Care” campaign by responding. I don't even know if that still exists because I don't see the signs out there anymore, but hopefully it does. We are here speaking up and we want to see you show us that you care. But in closing, I'll just say, we do appreciate you. We recognize this district as a district that others wish to emulate, but with that come high expectations from the community. So thank you and appreciate you listening.