Despite increasing community COVID positive numbers, there was no mention of future mitigation measures if cases continue to rise.

There were no school reports and both teacher union FSTO President Angie Cencak and support staff union CSEA President Joe Sliker reported on teacher conferences focusing on mental health issues and support staff performing regular school site deep cleaning and overdue maintenance projects done while students are away from campuses on break.

Administration Contract Compensation

Board President Klatzker complied with State mandated transparency laws by reciting recently negotiated District compensation packages for the District superintendent and cabinet members. Superintendent Dr. Steve McLaughlin’s contract was extended for four years with a 2.5% raise every two years with a base salary of $316,452. Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Ed Atkinson, Assistant Superintendent of Education and Assessment Dr. Sylvia Kaufman, and Assistant of Business Services Dr. Ruben Hernandez each had their contracts extended three years at a base yearly salary of $226,028 with Kaufman and Atkinson receiving additional compensation of a little over $13,000 for longevity and education stipends. Executive Director of Student Services Dr. Karl Zener was also extended three years with a total yearly compensation package of $210,373 including longevity and stipends.

The trustees unanimously approved the compensation agreements without comment.

School Resource Officer Agreements

The trustees approved without comment contracts for School Resource Officers (SROs) for Buena Park High School, Fullerton Union High School, Sunny Hills High School, and one shared SRO for Troy /La Vista/ La Sierra High Schools for $635,303. The SRO contract for La Habra High School and Sonora High School will occur later this year. The District contracts with three separate cities for officers and each contract is a bit different due to different city police training and negotiated pay. The District provides 2/3 of an officer’s pay and requires additional training to serve on a school campus in multiple capacities, which range from emergency medical assistance, de-escalation, and investigation support for student and staff interactions, to protection and safe ty training and prevention.

The District does not control the supplemental officer training, which is referred to as “Cultural Diversity and Discrimination” training or “Ground Tactical Arrest Control” training, provided by the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Officers are answerable to their respective police departments, not the school district, and until recently received little scrutiny. I spoke with Executive Director Dr. Karl Zener. He informed me that Director of Pupil Services Allen Whitten has changed the previous culture by meeting with all district SROs, their supervisors and site administration representatives twice last year to share information and fine-tune goals.The meetings are an ongoing endeavor.

The pandemic and distance learning environments highlighted issues concerning mental health, student and staff relationships, and feeling secure in the school environment.

The next regularly scheduled FJUHSD Board meeting is August 9 at 6pm. Regular Sessions are held at 6 pm monthly in the Ed Center Board Rm, 1051 West Bastanchury Road, Fullerton. For agenda go to: www.fjuhsd.org or call (714) 870-2800.

Photo courtesy of Fullerton Joint Union High School District.