The Fullerton Joint Union High School District Board More information: (714) 870-2800 or http://www.fjuhsd.net

Honors

The FJUHSD board meeting on May 9 honored teachers and classified staff of the year, handed out Fullerton Secondary Teachers Organization education scholarships, and was the final board meeting for Student Board Member Jacqueline Woo. Ms. Woo, a Sunny Hills High School graduating senior, plans to attend UC San Diego in the fall. The Trustees acknowledged the district employees of the year, including the inaugural Administrator of the Year awarded to Mrs. Sandi Layana, La Vista/ La Sierra High School Principal.

View all the honorees of the May 9 Board meeting at: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=DZhHh7XuEO8

Student Advisory Council

Student board members Chair the Student Advisory Council (SAC) and, in recent years, have increased their responsibilities and agency in the district. Beginning this year, FJUHSD Student Board Member Jacqueline Woo co-led the SAC with Vice Chair Mi Ya Hsueh.

Together they directed and received regular input from the over 100 students districtwide representing both the comprehensive and alternative district high schools. Mi Ya Hsueh, a Troy High School senior, worked closely with Ms. Woo to carry out the new SAC responsibilities; she plans to attend Vanderbilt University in September.

During the past two years, the SAC expanded its autonomy and influence over policies with administration guidance. Last year the SAC created the foundation and wrote the body of the updated district comprehensive dress code, ultimately approved by trustees and principals. This turns around the historical policy of gaining SAC approval from administratively written policies.

This year SAC leadership formed a partnership between the Chair and the Vice Chair to plan and implement their first student-led symposium instead of having an outside agency host the activity. They performed the first student-led districtwide community activity to give back to Fullerton on April 22, coordinating with Rotary, OC United, and I Love Fullerton by cleaning the Richman trail of debris and overgrowth.

Each year the students expand their advisory role and communicate their points of view to the trustees and the administration, sharing student priorities for their high school experience and future educational environment.

New 2023/24 Student Board Member, incoming Sonora High School senior Esmeralda Lazano, and Vice Chair, Sunny Hills High School senior Kathleen Sweeney, will attend board meetings beginning in August.

Public Comments

Brydon Shirk, Fullerton Union High School alum and Fullerton Academy of the Arts Foundation member, pointed out to the trustees and administration that maintaining the Auditorium’s Wurlitzer 1929 pipe organ has historical significance. He requested the administration contact the OC Theater Organ Society for information since it maintained the organ for years.

Mr. Shirk pointed out that the pipe organ is a theatrical, not a classical, pipe organ and must be regularly played to maintain its health. He reminded the trustees that upkeep should be accompanied by an education program for future generations to understand and play the instrument. He requested that the administration reach out to the theater personnel and the Fullerton art community.

Administration Salary Increase

The board unanimously voted to increase the salaries of the Superintendent, the Assistant Superintendents, and the Executive Assistant of Administration to match the recent salary increases to the CSEA and FSTO (classified and certificated labor unions) contracts in the district.

These salary increases reflect the dual increase in state and federal money allocated to the district and the pressure of higher cost of living increases due to inflation. The exact formula options of this increase are attached under agenda reports 6.3.3: (https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36030243&MID=16903)

New Facilities Master Plan

Director of Facilities, Tim Walstrom, introduced the initial steps to forming a new master facility plan and the interview process to find a compatible agency to create the plan. Master Facility Plans usually last 5-10 years, and FJUHSD last created a Master Facility Plan in 2015 to steer the priorities of the $175 million Bond I. Master Plans list infrastructure and long-term facility goals for future education needs, which explains why, even though Bond I voters prioritized arts and classroom upgrades and listed sports upgrades as a final priority, and even with new and modernized theaters and classrooms, a majority of the money was utilized to create new stadiums, gymnasiums, and aquatic facilities. The master plan indicated that these facilities were desperately in need of replacement and helped the trustees approve the new projects.

The next regular FJUHSD board meeting is scheduled for June 6