Board, staff and guests conducted the pledge of allegiance.

Refer to the attendance information recorded above. S. Perez, Student Board Member, was present.

A. Kaplan, Principal at Magnolia Science Academy (MSA)-5, made a comment that the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) approved and granted MSA-5 charter renewal for 5-years. He thanked staff, Home Office, and the community for their support.

A. Rubalcava, CEO & Superintendent, congratulated MSA-5 for the charter renewal. 

G. Serce, Chief Academic Officer, thanked everyone who joined in on the 20th year celebration of MSA-San Diego. Founding staff attended who contributed greatly during the first years of the school's existence. Richard Barrera, San Diego Unified School District Board President, was also in attendance as a keynote speaker. 

M. Muhammedov, Board Chair, reported that the Board will be going into Closed Session to discuss the following: Public employee discipline/dismissal release, conference with legal counsel on anticipated litigation, and conference with real property negotiations and will report out.

Item was discussed in Closed Session.

Item was discussed in Closed Session.

Item was discussed in Closed Session.

M. Muhammedov, reported in open session at 9:02pm that on all items in closed session, the Board took no action and directed staff to take next steps.

U. Yapanel moved the motion to go to Action Items first, following Information/Discussion Items starting with IVD: Data Presentation: Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP) Mid-Year Update.

D. Gonzalez seconded the motion.

S. Perez, Student Board Member, gave her preferential opinion as a statement of yes for this item.

J. Lara, took roll call vote:

M. Muhammedov - Aye

S. Covarrubias - Aye

U. Yapanel - Aye

S. Dikbas - Aye

D. Gonzalez - Aye

B. Olivares, Chief Impact Officer, updated the Board on the enrollment work and monitoring progress on meeting enrollment targets at the school sites. She went over targets such as the budget driver target, first day of school target, and registration target which she detailed. She presented progress to date of current enrollment numbers, and schools that are off track and schools above the monthly application goals. Board Members questions were addressed by staff.

There was not enough time to review this item due to loss of quorum.

There was not enough time to review this item due to loss of quorum.

As documented during the Reporting Out of Closed Session, this item was discussed first when transitioning to Information/Discsussion Items.

D. Yilmaz, Chief Accountability Officer, reported on the mid-year update progress on the LCAP. He stated that everything done at the schools are supporting the actions and goals on their LCAPs. To measure whether the schools are effective in implementing the actions there are a number of metrics, some required by the state and others which were locally developed. There are fifty-two (52) metrics on the LCAP. He added that staff updates their performance on the metrics on a quarterly basis, and they just closed quarter 2. Each school submitted their report which has their mid-year outcome data. Board Members questions was addressed by staff.

As documented during the Reporting Out of Closed Session, Board moved to review and take action on the Action Items first.

A. Rubalcava, CEO & Superintendent, stated that staff recommends the appointment of C. Turan as Interim Chief Financial Officer. He stated that this appointment is in compliance with Article X of the Magnolia Public Schools Bylaws, which states “The officers of this corporation shall be a President, a Secretary, and the Chief Financial Officer, who shall be known as the ‘Treasurer.’” This action is consistent with the vacancy provisions set forth in Article X and the Board of Directors general authority to appoint officers. This action reflects the Board’s responsibility to ensure required officer roles are actively designated and that financial authority and oversight are clearly established. All other Board appointments that were approved on June 26, 2025 will remain the same.

M. Wittek, Director of Student Services, reported that CDE compliance is to submit these plans by March 1st for the following school year. She reported that in accordance with CA EdCode, all public schools are mandated to establish a school safety plan. She added that the plans include all legal updates, emergency procedures and regulations as advised by legal counsel, and feedback from the Parent Advisory Committees at the school sites.

She went over updates that were legally mandated to include in the safety plans: 1) Each school site is required to have three goals that are related to their school site safety plan. It must include a goal related to the physical environment and a goal for the school social climate. They used SEL survey data to help them develop that goal. 2) Immigration Enforcement Notification Procedures was added. This is aligned with SB 98 particularly connected to the Safe Act passed in 2025 stating that this information must be included in the safety plans and letting students, faculty, and staff know when a confirmed site of immigration enforcement activity occurs on or near the campus. 3) Procedures for Supervision and Protection of Children from Abuse, Neglect, and Sexual Offenses was added. In line with SB 848 which takes effect on July 2026. It requires inclusion in the safety plan of specific procedures for supervision of students to combat child abuse, neglect and sexual offenses. It is aligned with school employee misconduct and child safety regulations which went into affect January 1, 2026 and it expands CA child abuse prevention laws, mandatory training for all staff, more thorough hiring process to review statewide databases, and new policies on professional boundaries and student safety education. 

D. Yilmaz, Chief Accountability Officer, reported that the revision to the teacher evaluation protocol is connected to the MPS 2030 Strategic Plan in which a core initiative is strengthening instructional quality across all campuses to a more intentional teacher observation and coaching model. He reported that staff previously shared with the Board on MPS partnership with inField to develop a new teacher observation rubric. The work was piloted at Magnolia Science Academy (MSA)- Santa Ana. Additionally, Home Office Instructional Support Team has lead systemwide trainings for principals, academic leads, student service leads and teachers, and conducting learning walks. The coaching model is now being implemented across all schools.

E. Acar, Deputy Superintendent, reported on the continued work of the Magnolia Science Academy (MSA)-5 project for occupancy on August 2026. Board was updated on the budget schedules and scope of the project. He added that to complete the MSA-5 project, additional long-term financing is required beyond amounts already received under the CSFP and to be received under the Charter School Facilities Program (CSFP) as a final apportionment, and proceeds of the 2025 grant anticipation notes. Board questions were addressed by staff.