Regular Board Meeting (Open Session)

Summary

At the November 13, 2025 regular meeting, Acting Superintendent and CBO Manoj Roychowdhury presented the staff response to the Bishop & Associates benefits audit, describing cumulative excess district contributions of approximately $1.77 million across multiple years (including approximately $550K in 2024-25 and approximately $840K projected for 2025-26), and offered four options for board direction: (1) do nothing; (2) absorb approximately $1.04M in the General Fund; (3) apply the one-time Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant of approximately $680K to reduce the net to approximately $360K; or (4) offset against future salary increases. No vote was taken on the options. Superintendent Glass was absent (family medical emergency in Kentucky) and Trustee Hills was absent (scheduled kidney surgery related to a 1979 Peace Corps illness). The board approved (4-0) a Prop 2 / SFP state matching-funds resolution and moved multiple CSBA policy revisions to second reading. Public comment was dominated by criticism of Hills and concern about the clawback options 3 and 4.

Key insights (10)

• CBO Roychowdhury's four options laid out for board direction: (1) do nothing; (2) district absorbs ~$1.04M from General Fund / Fund 13; (3) apply ~$680K SSPDDBG one-time state grant (net ~$360K); (4) offset against future salary increases. Roychowdhury stated he wanted negotiations — not board direction — to handle option 4.
• Benefits audit findings: under-paid ~$150K (2020-21), ~$230K (2021-22); over-paid ~$110K (2022-23), ~$270K (2023-24), ~$550K (2024-25 confirmed), ~$840K (2025-26 projected). Cumulative excess ~$1.77M; net ~$1.04M if the unappropriated $350K from a 2021-22 MOU is credited.
• Plan enrollment: 309 employees take benefits across Blue Shield Trio HMO (113, largest plan; 51 on family tier), Kaiser HMO, a second Blue Shield HMO, and Blue Shield PPO (46 employees).
• CSEA President Zuziak on the record using "claw back": "It is deeply concerning to us that we to see one of the proposals that would claw back a modest 3% salary increase while imposing health care cost increases of four to 600% on the very employees who keep our district running through no fault of their own or that of the union." This is the on-record source for Weiss's reference to the CSEA "claw back" quote.
• Trustee Kelly publicly questioned whether the audit recommendation to add dedicated benefits staffing should be adopted; Roychowdhury said current staff could handle it. Perry: "Suggesting staffing is getting into the weeds, and we don't do that."
• Speaker Steve Brown: the $1.77M "is about the same cost as hiring 27 teachers or 44 aides."
• Speaker Carol Nelson described any clawback as appearing to be "a strange commitment to vengeance over morale."
• Item 8 (pre-designated reimbursable events for board members) failed on a 2-2 tie (Morgan and Perry yes, Kelly and Malczewski no; Hills absent).
• Annual organizational meeting set for December 11, 2025.
• Multiple speakers in non-agenda public comment called for Hills to resign or be recalled.

Linked timeline events (11)

• Sep 17, 2021 LaBUFA MOU on above-cap health benefits signed
• Sep 20, 2021 CSEA Chapter 131 parallel MOU signed
• Oct 14, 2021 Board approves 2021 MOUs
• 2022–2024 Above-cap health benefit payments continue without new MOUs
• Jul 24, 2025 Glass discloses health benefits overpayment issue at board meeting
• Sep 2025 Bishop & Associates forensic audit completed
• Oct 2025 Manoj Roychowdhury hired as Assistant Superintendent of Business Services
• Nov 13, 2025 Staff presents benefits options to board
• Dec 16, 2025 Board votes 5–0 to absorb $850K health benefits shortfall
• Jan 8, 2026 Board approves $18.8M pool modernization hard-cost contract
• Apr 24, 2026 Zuziak op-ed reports classified staff no-confidence vote