The January School Board meeting was held at 7 p.m. on Jan. 17 at the Capistrano Unified School District Office Board Room in San Juan Capistrano.
The meeting began by highlighting that the CUSD received the prestigious Eat Real Certification, which has to do with the quality of food served in the district.
Superintendent Brown continued the meeting by sharing upcoming events such as the CUSD Safety Briefings, and the Townhall addressing public safety at Ladera Ranch Middle School on Jan. 30 with District Supervisor Katrina Foley and Board Vice President Michael Parham.
Then, Trustee Lisa Davis spoke on the need for a policy that regulates school clubs and their use of the district facilities. She mentioned an after-school Satan Club at a middle school in San Clemente that she felt failed to reflect community values.
In response, a Minister, Congregation Co-Lead, and volunteer for the after-school Satan Club shared how satanism is a federally recognized religion. “The mission of the satanic temple is to encourage benevolence, empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.” She praised the allowance of an alternative religious perspective and noted that the club is “not interested in converting children to Satanism.”
As the meeting turned into an open session, two young children, Donovan and Kylie, spoke on the importance of accessible playgrounds for those in the community. Both children bravely confronted the board members and showed sadness when Donovan’s speech was cut off by the time limit.
In response, the next speaker, Amanda Hicks, was teary-eyed and angry that the time for the autistic children who spoke, Donovan and Kylie, was cut off. She volunteered her speaking time so that Donovan could finish his last couple of sentences.
When he finished, the board allowed Ms. Hicks to share what she had planned. She spoke of Lobos Elementary School and how inconvenient the wood chips are for disabled children. She then found an organization called The Recess Project that helped her raise over $153,000 to design playgrounds with ramps, swings and more accessible features.
Later in the open session, a speaker by the name of Linda recalled the denied Parental Notification Policy that was discussed a couple of months ago. She concluded her speech with, “Five of you trustees fall into a group — a category — of groomers, and this is based on the fact that you continue to deny us parental notification policy. As long as you continue to allow GSAs, which are the gender sexuality alliance…we need you to protect our children…”
Lastly, the meeting concluded with the Annual 2023 California School Dashboard Results presentation. The dashboard is used to monitor how schools are performing at different levels and ensure that CUSD is a functional district.
This year, CUSD met all standards on local indicators with several subjects scoring highly. English Language Arts received a very high score in 2023, 2022 and 2019, while mathematics scored high during those years as well. The English Learning programs also scored high in 2023 and the only category that scored low was chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism was especially notable for receiving a medium score in grades K-8.
The January School Board meeting covered prominent topics in our community such as the allowance of an alternative religious club, accessible playgrounds around the district and a reflection of the 2023 school year dashboard results.
