Mr. Ricardo Favela, Board Clerk
Ms. Suzanne Lundin, Board Member
Ms. Mary McBride, Board Vice President
Dr. Stacey McRae, Board President
Ms. Diane Sebalj, Board Member
Ms. Suzanne Lundin – Yes
Ms. Mary McBride – Yes
Dr. Stacey McRae – Yes
Ms. Diane Sebalj – Yes
Ms. Jasmine Uresti spoke on behalf of Jessica Folkes, the mother of a former student at Potter Jr. High, about her experience regarding locked restrooms.
Mr. Rolando Uresti spoke about the school policy at Potter Jr. High regarding locked restrooms.
Mr. DJ Campe spoke about the book “My Shadow is Purple” and his experience with teaching staff on campus.
Mr. Bill Cavanaugh spoke to the Board about reviewing parliamentary procedures.
Ms. Diane Sebalj spoke about attending the back-to-school days at San Onofre School and Mary Fay Pendleton and how much she enjoyed visiting the schools and learning about the programs. She thanked Dr. Huesing for the information she provided about Camp Pendleton and thanked Superintendent Hazel for a wonderful lunch.
Mrs. Suzanne Lundin thanked the facilities team for their hard work over the weekend to prepare for Hurricane Hillary. She also praised the decisions made by the administration team to remain committed to opening schools after the storm, when other districts had decided to close.
Mr. Favela thanked the facilities team and school staff who worked over the weekend to ensure the district was prepared to open after the storm, and was glad it continued as scheduled. Mr. Favela thanked everyone for making the back to school day a great occasion for our students. He began the Masters in Governance program with Superintendent Hazel and Trustee McBride and appreciates the opportunity to learn more about governance, protocols and what is best for our families and district. Mr. Favela expressed his appreciation for the ASES Program and the Boys and Girls Club after-school assistance for working parents.
Ms. Mary McBride expressed her appreciation to the facilities staff and everyone who worked to get schools ready to open after the storm. She also thanked the administration for the great job they did to stay on top of everything. Ms. McBride attended back to school events at San Onofre and Mary Fay Pendleton with the leadership team and Trustee Sebalj and echoed her sentiments regarding the wonderful experience they had. Ms. McBride attended the first session of the Masters In Governance Program and found it to be extremely informative. She looks forward to attending the next session.
Dr. Stacey McRae expressed her appreciation to the Executive Cabinet who gave up their weekend to keep the Board informed of all matters relating to Hurricane Hillary. Dr. McRae also got to attend the welcome back caravan at the Mike Choate Center and got to see how excited the staff are to welcome back our smallest learners. She thanked Mrs. Amy Haessly, our CNS Director, for preparing a very special lunch and managing to make a delicious vegan cookie. She also thanked Mrs. Elaine Winn, Executive Assistant to Mrs. Cindi Martin for always going above and beyond to answer emails and any other requests.
Mrs. Monika Hazel thanked the executive team, Mr. Bryson Bickler, Mr. Steve Carr and their teams of custodians, ground keepers and maintenance workers, who were working hard until 7.30pm Sunday night and were back at the sites at 5am Monday morning to make sure we could open for school. Mrs. Hazel thanked Raul and Luz for their work translating and sending out communication alerts to the staff and community over the weekend during Hurricane Hillary. She also thanked the principals, assistant principals, office staff, crossing guards, and supervision support. Mrs. Hazel attended welcome back caravans at each school site with her cabinet and got to share the district’s mission and vision. Each school site team had an opportunity to share what they love about the district and community and Mrs. Hazel found it important to learn about the culture and what people love and value about the district so she can hold them close and make sure they are continued. She thanked trustees Sebalj, McBride and McRae for attending some of the welcome back caravans, and who represented our Board so well.
Mrs. Hazel thanked the Fallbrook Rotary for inviting district staff to a back-to-school staff appreciation BBQ. She recognizes how much the community supports our schools and wants to make sure she is available to our community when things go well and when there are challenges.
There were amazing meet and greet events at every school site so that before the first day of school, students and parents got the opportunity to know where their classroom was and meet their teacher before their first day of school. Mrs. Hazel thanked trustees Favela and McBride for giving their personal time to attend the five sessions of the Masters in Governance program which takes place all five days on a Saturday through the end of October.
Mrs. Hazel shared that our enrollment numbers increased to 5,184 including preschool, up from 5,048 last year, which is a testament to our staff, district and leadership. Our after-school programs began on day one and there were 850 students who participated this year, which is 214 more students than last year. Our parent community really support the program and Mrs. Hazel thanked the Board for their financial support to continue to offer this program.
The Human Resources staff have been working very hard to fill positions and there are some hiring announcements on our website to showcase our schools, and to continue to hire classified positions. It has been a very busy, feel-good two weeks for the start of the school year.
It is recommended the Governing Board approve the amendment to the contract of employment with Mrs. Monika Hazel, Superintendent of Schools.
Mr. Ricardo Favela commented that it was important to mention that the amendment to the Superintendent’s contract is something that was originally intended in the contract. The amendment is a correction that is being made to bring it up to date with what was originally planned.
Ms. Suzanne Lundin – Yes
Ms. Mary McBride – Yes
Dr. Stacey McRae – Yes
Ms. Diane Sebalj – Yes
Ms. Diane Sebalj asked that Mr. Armando Farias, Assistant Superintendent, HR’s request to attend the Future Superintendent’s Institute be put on hold until a later date.
Mrs. Monika Hazel explained that the title was misleading and that the training was actually professional development that was offered to all members of cabinet. It focuses on general leadership that will support them in their current roles.
Mr. Armando Farias commented that he does not have any aspirations to become a Superintendent in the next few years and his goal and commitment is to FUESD. His goal is to grow professionally so he can be an added value to the district.
It is recommended the Governing Board approve the Consent Agenda as presented.
Ms. Diane Sebalj enquired about Item V.8. Contract with Leadership Associates. She was under the impression the fee that was paid to Leadership Associates for the Superintendent Search included follow-up assistance to the Board after the Superintendent was hired. Ms. Sebalj also inquired about item V.9 Contract with CSBA Governance Consulting Services, for the reasons she stated previously regarding the scope of the Superintendent search contract. Ms. Sebalj requested a copy of the original contract with Leadership Associates.
Mrs. Hazel was not aware of any post-search assistance from Leadership Associates. In her conversation with the consultant, she was informed that was not part of the original contract. She mentioned that in her contract, her due date for an evaluation by the Board is coming up in September, so it is necessary to have a Board study session to come together and set the goals and vision of the district, as well as develop her evaluation. She mentioned that CSBA offers this consulting service to support these efforts.
Mr. Ricardo Favela made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Lundin, to pull item V.8 and table it until the next Board meeting. The motion passed unanimously. A request was made by Mr. Favela to look at some other options for coaching and have them discussed at the next Board meeting.
Ms. Suzanne Lundin – Yes
Ms. Mary McBride – Yes
Dr. Stacey McRae – Yes
Ms. Diane Sebalj – Yes