The Coronado Unified School District trustees met on Thursday, April 20th at District Offices where several community members spoke out against district-funded LGBTQ supports. Some speakers questioned the educational value of the $15,000 contract approved in June of 2022 on teacher training from the San Diego County Office of Education and criticized the upcoming Lead with Pride Conference for the Association of California School Administrators. However, according to Maria Simon, the district’s public information officer, CUSD is not sending anyone to attend the conference.
“The district engaged the [teacher training for LGTBQ supports] contract as a result of a teacher survey, where the teachers asked for training on how to best support students, while adhering to recent changes in the California Education Code and law,” explained Simon. “CUSD is not sending any staff member to the ACSA Lead with Pride conference on May 3-5.”
However, the conference, its keynote speaker, and LGTBQ supports were still the subject of several public comments. Community member Carolyn Rogerson said such expenditures would be better suited for academics such as reading, English, or math.
“I suggest there is a vital need for serious educators to focus on academics and not on gender diversion,” she said as she shared two large card-stock printouts with conference info. “Please be careful with where you choose to spend our money … I think we have all studied LGBTQ quite a bit.”
Later in the meeting, Coronado resident Brain Flick also questioned school expenditures, and encouraged parents to look into the conference, as well as its “drag queen keynote speaker” called Alok. Another speaker who identified himself as John Turpit held up a large color poster of the keynote speaker.
“You are facing a culture in California that looks like this,” said Turpit.
He said that agenda for the conference was “totally inappropriate” for children, although CUSD is not sending any staff to the conference.
Video – public comments on non-agendized items:
Community member Mercedes Molina said she wasn’t planning on speaking, but decided at the last minute to present something after witnessing what she called three instances of homophobia. She shared that, according to the Trevor Project, the number of LGBTQ youth in the U.S. is two million, and 45% of them seriously considered attempting suicide in the last year.
“If you care about kids, and you care about their safety, I think a gay and alive child is better than a dead gay child,” said Molina.
Community member Terry Zack said she was surprised and shocked by the “vitriol” and “homophobic rhetoric” in the public comments, while Jean Seager argued that mental health has a direct impact on academic success.
“All of those academic markers that people are talking about, are going to go up if we can support these kids and make them feel safe in our schools,” said Seager.
The Search for New Principal for Village Elementary
In his comments, Superintendent Karl Mueller shared that the district was working hard to find a new principal for Village Elementary after current principal Dr. Heidi Bergner announced that she took on a new position as a K-12 Pathway Director at the Southwestern Community College Consortium. He said the district is busy collecting input from staff and parents to finalize a leadership profile for the next principal. More than 38 teachers and classified staff, as well 161 parents have participated, according to Mueller.
“A lot of work goes into the screening of applicants and reference checks and ensuring that voices from within our schools are participating in that process,” said Mueller. “It’s very important work, so I want to thank those of you who are participating in those discussions, meetings, and interview panels to help us identify new individuals who will be interacting on a daily basis with our students.”
Classified Employees of the Year Recognized, other Celebrations
Earlier in the meeting, the board recognized the CUSD Classified Employees of the Year for their dedication and service. They included: Alanna Rickards, CUSD lead librarian and media tech, Megan Pettit from CMS, Andre Murphy from Village Elementary, Yolanda Gonzalez, from Silver Strand Elementary and Traci Orth from the Technology Department.
Aaron Flores Pelayo from Maintenance & Operations was also named the 2022 District Classified Employee of the Year. Pelayo was celebrated for his energy, enthusiasm, and for his willingness to be on-call 24×7.
Shane Schmeichel, Director of Special Programs, also recognized some CoSA (Coronado School of the Arts) Foundation Board members for their dedication to the CoSA Gala, which raised more than $75,000 for student artists. In addition, the CMS choir treated board trustees and community members to two songs, “Rise Up” and “Dream On.”
Board Votes to Accept Annual Audit, CalSHAPE Program Resolution
The board approved the CUSD annual audit, which was awarded the “highest level of assurance” by an independent auditor, as well as the resolution for the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program (CalSHAPE).
The CalSHAPE Program Resolution allows CUSD to apply for funding for HVAC projects that was previously unavailable due to income restrictions. Although the funding can’t be used for new HVAC projects such as air conditioning, it can be accessed for funding the assessment, general maintenance and adjustment of existing systems. This includes filter replacements, carbon dioxide monitors and installation, and certain minor repairs to improve existing HVAC systems, according to Deputy District Superintendent Donnie Salamanca. He said the district expects to receive about $630,000 in grant funds.
“We’ve done many of these upgrades and retrofits already, as a result of our time during the pandemic,” said Salamanca. “So, we will use these funds to get a reimbursement for things we’ve already done.”
Department Updates and Reports
Salamanca the attendance dashboards for all school sites, and also the opportunity for students to make up lost attendance with “Saturday school.” According to Coronado High School Principal Karin Mellina, between 20 and 40 kids take advantage of Saturday school each week. The four-hour offering allows the district to recoup the average daily attendance (ADA) whether the student is attending for academic or enrichment purposes, according to Salamanca.
In his report, Luke Johnson, Associated Student Body President, shared updates from all school sites. He said that Silver Strand was busy honoring the Month of the Military Child, and was set for its biggest fundraiser of the year, the Silver Strand Luau which is coming up on April 28. The Village Elementary School Jogathon a success, with more than 230 enthusiastic volunteers and supporters cheering on their students and helping them raise more than $45,000. CMS is gearing up for their final dance of the year, “Under the Sea,” and CAASPP testing starts in May. At CHS, the students celebrated spring with a foam party, and created an Earth Day chalk walk at the library with Emerald Keepers. CoSA’s Footloose is in production, running through April 29th.
In her Association of Coronado Teachers report, President Jennifer Landry welcomed new educational specialist Josh Cooper to Village Elementary, and highlighted some recent student trips including the CHS trip to Spain led by Megan Probasco, Alyssa Colehower and Josh Dean, and the CMS East Coast Trip headed up by Ananda Dejarnette, who referred to the trip as “a living history of what I teach.”
Landry also shared that staffing issues continue to plague the district, and that the high cost of living compared to compensation is forcing some district employees to take drastic measures.
“Never before has a colleague asked me about a food bank to put groceries in their cupboards, but this year, it was a request,” said Landry. “This isn’t about greed. This is about survival.”
Superintendent’s Comments, California public education is at a “tipping point.”
In his comments, Mueller shared that he recently attended Legislative Action Days in Sacramento to advocate for Coronado schools. He said that several themes emerged: the need for fully-funded Local Control Funding (LCFF), innovative ways for the state to support districts in recruitment of highly-qualified staff, and discussions of safe and modern schools.
On a darker note, he said that “the state of public education in California was at a tipping point” as the amount of funding allocated to schools has been strained post-pandemic. Schools across the state are suffering from declining enrollment and attendance, as well as staff shortages, according to Mueller.
“We are at a crossroads in public education,” said Mueller. “The cost of living in the state has skyrocketed, and the amount allocated to school districts has been strained as a result of the pandemic … the state really needs to look at how it’s supporting public education.”
The next CUSD school board meeting will be held on Thursday, May 18th at 4pm.
This article has been updated to reflect information showing that CUSD is not sending any staff member to the Lead with Pride Conference. The previous report incorrectly said that the $15,000 expenditure was for the conference; it is actually for a contract with the San Diego County Office of Education for teacher training, approved in June of 2022.
