Board Brief

During the December 19th meeting, new Board Members, Heidi Herrick and Lena Meum, as well as returning Board member, Sarah Ahmad, were all sworn into office by Superintendent Dr. Johnsen.

Each year, the Governing Board nominates and elects officers of the Board during the December Regular Meeting. The Board unanimously elected Sarah Ahmad to serve as Board President, Andrés Martín to serve as Board Vice President, and Stacy Carlson to serve as Clerk of the Governing Board for the next year.

Dr. Andy Johnsen shared a brief update with the Board and community. Dr. Johnsen began his update by welcoming new Board Members, Heidi Herrick and Lena Meum, as well as welcoming returning Board Member, Sarah Ahmad.

Dr. Johnsen then shared a brief recap of the recent California School Boards Association Annual Education Conference where he, along with Board Members, gained valuable insights and knowledge regarding governance strategy and practice, learned about current Statewide budget challenges, and gained insights on student mental health & wellness. The conference also covered the announcement of Moody’s credit rating which recently issued a negative outlook for K-12 public schools in 2025.

Dr. Johnsen concluded the presentation by sharing previews of several items on the meeting Agenda.

During the December 19th meeting, Student Board Representatives, Sydney Corke from San Marcos High School and Trinity Moon from Mission Hills High School shared school updates.

Sydney Corke shared an update on school activities at San Marcos High School including a Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Pathways program, Ceramics Teacher, Brady Stout, was awarded the CBS 8 News “Classroom Hero” Award. She also shared about the exciting holiday festivities happening around campus including a student-led Giving Tree project that garnered $6,000 in donations to families in need. She also shared about student achievements, including Anne Sun who received a surprise on campus recently with a full JROTC scholarship to Harvard University.

Trinity Moon shared about recent events on campus including Homecoming, a recent dance showcase, and upcoming events. She then shared a robust Athletics update featuring recent sports accomplishments. She then concluded her presentation with an Academic Achievement update, which featured student Adriel Bibiano, who recently earned a full-ride scholarship to Stanford University.

Dr. Tiffany Campbell, along with Community Liaison and recent SMUSD graduate, Quibey Gonzalez-Hernandez, shared a presentation outlining revisions to the current SMUSD Smartphone Policy, BP 5131.8: Mobile Communication Devices.

Dr. Campbell shared that in September 2024, she presented an information update to the Board on AB 3216, or the Phone-Free School Act, a State policy limiting the use of smartphones in public schools by July 1, 2026. In October and November 2024, staff collected data from families, staff and students in the form of a district wide survey as well as in-person focus groups. Ms. Gonzalez-Hernandez then presented the student data collected in the survey and Dr. Campbell presented the staff and families data.

Dr. Campbell recommended next steps which include:

December:

• Begin preliminary communication to staff & families that pending Board approval in January, an updated smartphone policy will be implemented in January 2025.

• Finalize revisions to policy per Board input.

January:

• School sites prep campuses for implementation

• Final reading of revised policy and Board decision during January 16th Board meeting.

• Pending Board approval, implementation of new policy begins January 20th.

June:

• Review implementation data with site administrators

• Report to Board implementation insights

• Determine if any updates are needed for fall 2025.

After discussion, the Governing Board reached consensus that staff will bring back the policy for second reading and possible approval during the January 16, 2025 Board meeting.

Nancy Rorabaugh of Engie Energy Services provided an overview of Phase 2 of the Engie Energy Savings Project, which focuses on the Transportation Yard.

In December 2022, SMUSD entered into a contract with Engie Services for Phase 1 of the Energy Savings Project, which included identifying multiple energy conservation measures (ECMs) that helped pay for upgrades. These upgrades included District-wide energy-efficient LED lighting, installing solar photovoltaics at San Marcos High School, the District Office, as well as the Transportation Yard, and installing a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), new HVAC units, and roof replacement at the District Office.

Phase 2 of the project includes significant upgrades to the SMUSD Transportation Yard, including five solar canopy structures, a Battery Storage Energy System (BESS) & microgrid and 35 fast chargers for our new grant-funded electric buses. These upgrades ensure that electric buses will withstand any future Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). After these upgrades are complete, SMUSD will have the largest electric school bus fleet in Southern California.

On September 24, 2024, SMUSD received a petition from Pivot Charter School to renew its charter with the San Marcos Unified School District. On October 10, 2024, per Education Code 47605, the Governing Board held a public hearing to determine the level of support for the petition. During this time many members of the community came out to support the charter school renewal.

On December 4, 2024 the District posted findings regarding the charter renewal petition. The next step in the renewal process includes a second public hearing, which took place on December 19th.

For a complete and detailed overview of any of the items above, please see the full Board Meeting Agenda by clicking here.

For a link to the Board Briefs on the SMUSD website, please click here.

To watch a video of the Board meeting, please click here.