Regular Board Meeting (Open Session)

Summary

The LBUSD Board held its first regular meeting of 2026 with President Sheri Morgan presiding alongside members Joan Malczewski, Howard Hills, Dee Perry, and James J. Kelly, plus student board members Ivy and Logan. The board received the FY 2024-25 audit report from Bobby Patel of Eide Bailly (unmodified opinions on financial statements, federal awards, and state awards, with no material weaknesses) and unanimously approved two new LBHS courses for 2026-27, adoption of the Amplify Desmos K-5 math curriculum at a cost not to exceed $310,000, and three pool/bond-related items. The board approved hard-cost contracts for the LBHS Pool Modernization Project at $18,813,222 and soft-cost construction services not to exceed $2,176,305, with total project estimates ranging $21.79M to $25M against $20.4M in assigned funding. Three bond-feasibility contracts were approved (True North Research for polling, Fieldman Rolapp as municipal bond advisor, DWK for bond election legal services); an amendment to the polling item clarified that approval did not constitute a board decision to proceed with a bond.

Key insights (11)

• CSEA representative Scott Wittkop opened with concerns about "trust issues with the board," directly challenging Hills's prior-meeting statements about Option 1 healthcare payment origins; Hills responded that Option 1 was "not under active discussion" at the time.
• Trustee Malczewski delivered an extended statement citing historian Timothy Snyder, asserting that "at the direction of one or two board members, not the whole board as norms dictate, district staff are now subject to investigations initiated through attorneys and now outside agencies," and stated she chose "not to serve on a governance committee created by the board majority but designed to consolidate power."
• Trustee Kelly stated to President Morgan: "I would like to thank you for inviting me to meet with you, but I would never meet with you alone because of the bizarre behaviors that I have observed you present."
• Eide Bailly auditor Bobby Patel reported the district had operating surpluses in two of the last three fiscal years and is projecting a deficit in FY 2025-26, with ADA declining and long-term obligations (pension, OPEB) increasing.
• CBO Manoj Roychowdhury presented pool project funding: $5.4M in Fund 40, an $11M General Fund transfer this year, $4M next year, totaling $20.4M assigned; funding gap of $1.39M-$4.6M remained, with potential sources including projected $1.5M property tax revenue increase and Prop 2 state match.
• On the Vista Aliso property reserve of $4.6M, Glass read a prepared statement based on legal counsel: "The district has reserved $4.6 million in order to be able to exercise that option early if circumstances present that opportunity to preserve that option. And based on the advice of counsel, we are not planning to use those funds for the pool."
• Pool Item 9A (hard costs $18,813,222) passed 5-0; 9B (soft costs $2,176,305) passed unanimously; construction begins June 2026; pool size confirmed at 45 meters.
• The 2001 bond expires in 2028; renewal at the same tax rate would generate approximately $70M; passage threshold confirmed as 55% for a general obligation school bond.
• Resident Michelle Manda commented "I'm hearing 25 [million]... How much more is that gonna go up? And where are you gonna find the money? And it better not be from a bond." Resident Stacy Simenoff stated she was "exhausted by the division we see nationally, and... watching that same division spill into our local school community."
• Trustee Hills moved a sub-motion on Item 9C to add: "Approval does not constitute an act of the board in determining whether or not to proceed with the bond," objecting to staff background language that current resources were insufficient. The sub-motion passed 4-1 with Malczewski opposed.
• Technology Officer Mike Morrison presented the district's in-house "AI Trust You" Google Docs add-on standardizing student disclosure of AI use (assist / collaborate / produce) and teacher guidelines; Trustee Kelly praised Morrison: "I would suggest to our superintendent that we take an ad out in the Chronicle of Higher Education."

Linked timeline events (3)

• Jul 1, 2025 Glass officially begins as Superintendent
• Oct 9, 2025 Glass presents 100-Day Superintendent Report
• Dec 16, 2025 Board votes 5–0 to absorb $850K health benefits shortfall