Board member Odus Caldwell led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Donna Bennett, ECRCHS classified employee in the Main Office, addressed the articles in the Daily News.  She confessed that she was the one who sent the flowers to the HR Manager for Mr. Fehte and signed it "love Dave" because we're all one big happy family at ECR and we always give to each other with love and affection.  She said there are always two sides to every story, as she told parents who called the school, and you can't necessarily believe what you read in the paper.  She orders supplies for the custodians and teachers and the cost is enormous.  She knows the supplies that the teachers receive, all of which goes to better the education of the students. She stated that Mr. Fehte is one of the best principals she has worked for in her 16 years with LAUSD.  He has an open door policy to students and he took time every morning for a special needs student who came in to say good morning to him and the staff when she arrived at school.  She stated that Mr. Fehte is fair, honest, a pleasure to work with and she is blessed to work at ECRCHS.
 

Shelly Marshall, proud to be a graduate of ECR class of '74, and proud to be a teacher at ECR for 30 years.  She stated that Mr. Fehte always gives the teachers 100% credit for the successes of ECR.  But a school is only as great as it's administrators and she compared it to a movie that is not only great because of the actors, but also because of the director and what goes on behind the scenes, which she likened to the administrators. She stated that the administrators, Mr. Fehte, Marshall and the other administrators, are incredibly dedicated to the success of ECR and work hard to assure that ECR will be successful and flourish well into the future.  We would not be the school we are without them and she supports them 100%.  She strongly feels that the articles in the Daily News were extremely biased with the intent to stir up trouble, which they did.  It is human nature to react without looking in to the facts and she thanked the Board members for their own investigations and keeping the staff up to date and for the emails from Mr. Fehte giving his side of the story.  The bottom line for her is that the administrators are for us and not against us and they want to do everything in their power to make our charter school successful.  No one knows how hard they work or the long hours they put in to make that happen.  She appreciates working with each of the administrators.  She addressed Obie Slamon, who's term on the Board is up, and stated that Obie is the epitome of what El Camino stands for and she appreciates having known her and will miss her terribly.  She hopes that Obie will stay in touch.

ECR parent Marlene Widawer, stated that she has attended almost every meeting for the past 9 months, and has observed how the Board works.  Is it disconcerting to her and it explains how Mr. Fehte has been able to charge hundreds of thousands of dollars on restaurant dinners, first class flights, expensive hotels to visit a high-end furniture factory half way across the country and use the school credit card to pay for personal expenses many times, among other abuses. All of this goes beyond a simple mistake which is how Mr. Fehte characterized it in a letter to staff earlier this month.  She stated that his behavior shows a pattern of abuse that cannot be tolerated.  It is irrelevant that El Camino is a spectacular school with several National ACA DECA titles and numerous city championships.  It is well and good that Mr. Fehte promises not to do it anymore and ECR has changed their policies to prevent him from doing it again, but that doesn't excuse past behavior nor does it absolve the Board for letting it happen in the first place. She stated she doesn't believe the Board or administrators take this seriously, as over the past few months Marshall and Mr. Fehte have dismissed the District's increased scrutiny as petty annoyances, stated that it is because the District doesn't like charters and Marshall repeated this sentiment in the article, being quoted as saying that the District's scrutiny was nit-picky.  He equated unnecessary staff with unnecessary meals, as if one was an acceptable waste of tax-payer dollars and the other wasn't because the school had saved over $4MM dollars last year.  She stated that one can misappropriate funds and still demonstrate a savings on the books.  She stated her opinion that none of the Board members have the expertise to run a $30MM a year public corporation.  She questioned the Board members' expertise in finance and business transactions and open meeting law requirements.  She stated her doubt as demonstrated in October when the Board approved the cash purchase of a property that had not been disclosed on any agenda prior to the meeting when the vote took place.  It appears to her that the Board members are either prior teachers, colleagues or friends of the Executive Director and she doesn't believe that the Board members have it in them to hold Mr. Fehte or the administrators to task.  The fact that the reporter discovered this information in the public records and that the Board is trying to blame the reporter and not the people responsible, indicates to her that the Board members are too close and don't want to hold their friends accountable.  She was interviewed by the reporter and vouched that his questions were not misleading.  She said he presented her with his research and asked for her reaction to the facts.  It was not his job to form an objective opinion, his job was to report the facts and that's what he did.  She stated that the reporter is not putting ECR in a negative light - Mr Fehte is and so is the Board.  It is clear to her that Mr. Fehte and the Board should resign.

ECR Drama teacher Sue Freitag, ECR graduate of '88 and teacher at ECR 16 years.  She addressed Obie Slamon and said she is sad Obie is leaving.  After the Daily News articles and a rough semester at ECR, she is concerned about her home and school that she dearly loves.  She has sacrificed a lot for the students and has probably spent more time at ECR that at her own home.  The bottom line for her is the kids - it is and always will be - and she has always done whatever she could to make it a satisfying and educational experience for them.  She is concerned because all of the good qualities of El Camino are being overshadowed by this force to get rid of the Board and get rid of the administration and to start fresh, for some reason.  Being on the inside, she doesn't see the need for that, as she feels strongly that the theater department, for one, has been extremely supported.  Before charter we didn't function as well as we do now, thankfully to charter, our administration and to this Board, who is new to the charter situation and how to function as a public charter school is a new adventure.  In terms of our programs a  nd the strength of the theater department, we got new seats, new lighting, new paint - anything and everything that the theater dept. needed and requested, was received to make the experience for the kids fulfilling.  Her students in the theater department have never wanted for anything and we have a great facility fully functioning to prepare them for great experiences in college and careers.  One of our students just performed on the Tony's, so the quality of the education and the quality of the students we are producing, she is very proud of that and she thanked the Board and administrations for supporting it.

Terri Keas, who has worked as ECR for 13 years, starting as the School Administrative Assistant and became the HR Manager when ECR went Charter.  She was distressed after the Daily News articles because she believes the articles did a disservice to Mr. Fehte and El Camino.  Working closely with Dave, he always says "students first, teachers second".  In every meeting she has attended with Mr. Fehte, when it came to kids or changes to be made, those have been his considerations.  When El Camino was with LAUSD before going charter, 10 teachers were rif'd (laid off) and wouldn't have their jobs today - they were rehired when El Camino went charter.  LAUSD was going to cut our office staff to 8 from 14.  After charter, we were back to 14 office staff.  8 clerical doesn't even cover each office and she stated she doesn't know how LAUSD expects to run a school when a school doesn't even have enough staff to cover every office.  The staff at ECR has been very well treated.  Teachers and staff got a raise immediately.  They have been given raises and bonuses, every teacher has been given all the supplies they requested as Sue Freitag just stated with Drama.  She has never heard one teacher complain that they didn't get something they wanted.  Anything they requested for supplies from Yvonne, they got.   Dave negotiated with LAUSD to pay for some things so that ECR wouldn't have to.  She confirmed with Marshall that one such item was installing WIFI that LAUSD paid for which, to her understanding, would otherwise have cost the charter $1MM.  Mr. Fehte brought in the Alternative school and those kids graduate from El Camino, can participate in ECR activities and ECR is on their diploma. There were 100 students who graduated from the Alternative Program this year.  She wanted to thank so much Mr. Fehte and the Board members, and especially Board member Obie Slamon, as this is her last meeting - it is also Mrs. Keas' as she is retiring, too -  for their great leadership and the success of the charter.  She is very distressed over what's happening lately and warned the teachers who are feeding negative information because if they are successful in removing Mr. Fehte, or Board members, there's a good chance that LA Unified could come in and take over and they would not get what they;re thinking they would get.  She is glad to no longer be working for LAUSD,

ECR parent Sue Ruopp started by saying that one of the reasons that their family moved into the area was because of the stellar reputation of El Camino, for it's it's tradition of academic excellence and outstanding staff and they had confidence in the leadership of the school.  Sadly that has changed with the recent allegations of misuse of funds by Mr. Fehte and possibly others.  Parents shouldn't jump to conclusions but the evidence is in the credit card receipts for all to see.  She's heard lots of statements tonight in support of Mr. Fehte and the staff here but she hasn't heard anyone address the evidence and it's hard for that support to fly in the face of the evidence.  She believes she speaks for many parents and students when she says that the articles in the Daily News has left her feeling confused, disappointed and angry and she has questions.  Is an audit in process, who is carrying it out, how will the Board keep the parents informed of the findings and appropriate actions to be taken, and what checks and balances will be put in place to avoid future reckless spending and clerical errors?  She knows her questions won't be answered tonight but she wants the Board to know that parents are counting on them to financially manage the school in a responsible manner and do the right thing.   She stated that the parents are watching.

ECR teacher Melissa Charters began by saying she heard a comment from behind her that all the speakers at the meeting are teachers, so she pointed out that many ECR teachers attend the Board meetings and want to speak out on behalf of our school.  A year ago she was told by another teacher that Mr. Fehte didn't care about her, that he only cared about padding his paycheck and mentioned Marshall as well.  She knew that wasn't true - she knows that Mr. Fehte cares about the teachers.  It's obvious he cares about the teachers and the students at this school.  Many students want to talk to him when they have trouble at school and they know they can go into his office to see and talk to him about what may be bothering them.  Her own students have told her they are very comfortable contacting him and that they appreciate that he talks to all students.  We have a huge school so not every student can go see him at all times. He cares about staff and staff's families.  She doesn't know all the facts and doesn't know all of what is going on but she's read the articles in the newspaper and it's complex.  She knows that teachers who work at this school went out into the community a year ago and spoke negatively about our principal and our school and hoped to stir up parents to have disdain for our school.  It hasn't worked all the way.  Many of our parents still support our school and she invited many of the parents attending this meeting to visit the school and see how Mr. Fehte works with the kids, see what he does for our programs.  He has constantly supported the teachers - the administration and the staff support the teachers and they are honest and have integrity.  Their integrity is not being applauded here.  People make mistakes in life but it doesn't mean they can't do well.  Mr. Fehte isn't here to be able to tell him but he, Marshall, the staff and the Board are all intelligent adults and we've appreciated all you have done and with all the attacks here, she hopes that the Board and administration stands tall and support our school in every way they have done so far.

ECR teacher Terry Fischer came to the meeting not to malign anyone but to give thanks.  He has retired after 26 years at ECR - he doesn't have a horse in the race.  He's so grateful to the great teams of administrators he's had the opportunity to work with, the fabulous students and parents, the community support, the amazing faculty and this wonderful school board.  He thinks positivity is contagious and he is so glad that every administrative team, and especially this one, as he finishes his career, has allowed him to present to his classes, the teams he has coached, the choirs he has led, to offer them opportunities to dream.  And the administration, Board and faculty, parents and community facilitated those dreams.  He has been so fortunate to have the ECR choir perform in Europe 4 times, Carnegie Hall 4 times, at Disneyworld, Disneyland 14-15 times, and to be surrounded by tremendously dedicated kids. That's the story that needs to be the headline because it's about the kids.  He got to be the wrestling coach for 25 years and worked with amazing kids who saw a dream and fulfilled that dream and saw their dreams come true.  17 city titles - to be on the sidelines as a football coach and watch in '97 them win the football title - they're great kids and he's been able to keep in touch with them. That's the story and that's what he came to share with everyone.  He thanked everyone and bid goodbye.

ECR teacher Kevin Williams starting his 10th year teaching.  This was his first time speaking to the Board and definitely wanted to say thank you.  He stated the fact that the Board members get paid nothing to be on the Board but are obligated to listen to everyone who has legitimate concerns or people who are virtually opposed to everything.  The Board has always acted in the best interest of the school and during a turbulent year or year and a half, he thanked the Board for being the anchor.  He also gave a work of caution, that, although he might not be telling them what they don't already know, the articles that have come out in the Daily News have their origins from within our own walls.  There are people from within the school who are disgruntled, who claim to speak for a majority and we currently live in a political climate where people who speak the loudest and have a disproportionate amount of outrage, do this to give substance to their own views.  This article was a hit piece, this was yellow journalism and the Board has all the facts, they are the ones with all the facts, and he expressed that he has faith that the Board will act as they always have, in the best interest in the school, and he thanked them for that.

Cheryl Aldridge thanked the administration and the Board for all their hard work and dedication to the kids.  She graduated from ECR in '77 and is a parent of two sons who graduated from ECR in '08 and '11 and she and her husband have volunteered at ECR since 2004, working in charge of the Snack Shack during football season and working at graduations until their son graduated.  They were also very involved in most of the fundraising events for the kids.  Since going charter, everyone's a winner, the kids have increased enhanced learning with more class offerings, more technology, new textbooks and athletic opportunities.  The teachers have more support, resources and greater pay compared to any other LAUSD school.  She understands that mistakes were made but she also understands that they have been corrected and new policies are in place so they can't happen again.  Until recently she was a corporate secretary for 28 years for 2 multi-million dollar companies.  She has seen first hand that mistakes happen and she's also seen when corrected, they don't happen again.  We're all human and we all make mistakes.  If everyone's major emphasis is what's best for the kids, then we all need to move on and continue to be the best public high school education and experience in the state.  She and her husband were always involved in their sons' educations which did not stop when they graduated from high school.  They have seen several principals over the years at ECR and Mr. Fehte has been the best, hands down.  If there were any issues, no matter what they were, he always made sure they were taken care of immediately.  Even though their children no longer attend ECR they will continue to support the Board, administration and most of all the kids for a job well done, which makes ECR what it is today, tomorrow and what it will be in the future.  She and her family are and always will be an ECR family.

Motion made to combine and approved in Item A above.

Motion made to combine and approved in Item A above.

Motion made to combine and approved in Item A above.

No break was taken at this point in the meeting.

Jackie Keene reported that elections were held for the 3 year teacher rep board beginning July 1, 2016.  The votes were counted publicly and the teachers elected Scott Silverstein.  Peter Vastenhold, who presently holds the position, also ran and it was a tight race and Scott prevailed.  She congratulated Scott and thanked Peter for his dedicated service on the Board.  Additionally there are 2 community representative positions available and the ad hoc committee, consisting of Obie Slamon, Odus Caldwell and herself, met after the submission closing date.  There were four applicants and after discussion and consideration of the applicants and reviewing their statements and available background material, the committee presented Mr. Alex Placencio, with 10 yrs experience as a teacher and then an administrator and principal with LAUSD, as a very strong candidate.  They also recommended Larry Rubin for a second term, a current Board member and strong advocate of the ECRCHS charter movement and served as a previous LAUSD administrator.  Larry's background speaks for itself.  The committee presented them to the Board for consideration.
Larry stated that it has been an honor to serve on the Board and knows it's been a challenging time for everyone present and he assured everyone that the Board is always decides according to what is best for the students and thanked them for the opportunity to serve on the Board.
 

Included in "A" above.

The Secretary position will be held open until the first meeting of the next school year to include new Board members in the process.

Chair Jon Wasser called for a 10 minute break from 6:46 - 6:56pm.

After reviewing the issues regarding the School Psychologist position the Board committee deemed that this is not a Board issue and should be decided by the school administrators.

David Hussey reported that Summer School was in session and 1089 students enrolled the first day with 400 of the students enrolled in enrichment (elective) classes.  He hopes to start building on the Bridge program for "at risk" kids or kids who qualify for the Bridge Program, to get more kids into AP classes and they will be looking into that for the upcoming year.  They have also started "Cyber High" and have 50 students piloting that online program - starting with 10th grade English and math - where the kids come one day a week or they can come every day if they want, for computer access.  This program will be piloted in the regular school year and 500 online user accounts will be available. Students are required to attend at least once a week and are required to take their tests here on campus.  Right now, and for the upcoming school year, it will be credit recovery but they can look into it becoming enrichment classes as well.  This is the online program that Lisa Ring talked to the Board about last year.  He also addressed that some of the LCAP goals can be done quarterly, but some, like graduation percentages, cannot. Another big focus will be our students not meeting A - G requirements and allow Algebra II and maybe Spanish I and II or French I and II, which are like the gatekeepers for A - G requirements.  They will also look into whether students are not qualifying for A - G classes because they are getting D's in English 11.  (A- G is history, English, math, science, foreign language.)  He reported that ECR had over 1,000 kids graduate June 7th, so it was a good culmination to the year.  It was the largest graduation class in memory.  Over 96% of the kids who were 12th grade eligible participated.  That percentage will go up after summer school because of kids who were short credits prior to the summer.

Chair Jon Wasser deemed no break was necessary.

Melanie Horton reported that this issue can be removed from the Agenda.  The cheerleading coach was unaware that many of the items they planned to fundraise for could be purchased for them by the school and they have enough funds in their trust account to purchase the remaining items.

Chang Patel from Ed Tec presented the April financials.

Marshall reported that ECR's enrollment will begin shrinking at LAUSD's request which might cause some financial trouble in a few years.  The certificated staff for Special Education will remain the same despite the enrollment shrinkage. Since conversion in 2011, teacher spending through 2016 is expected to increase 52%, about 7.2% increase per year, not that teachers got that much in pay increase, but additional staff was added.  Also during that same period the cost of benefits, pension and retirement about 9.9% per year, which will continue to increase rapidly in the coming years.  Funding concerns include the LCFF funding, of which ECR is among the bottom 5% in the State of California among high schools, districts and charter schools and the differences are quite high.  He showed comparisons with other schools and districts. The difficulty will be trying to maintain the salaries of the teachers.  Our average teacher takes home approximately $90,000 when you factor in all the extra pay for auxiliaries, summer school, NBC, etc. and ECR provides lifetime benefits, which many districts and charter schools are now saying they can no longer afford to offer. ECR tries to operate with as little staff as possible.  Mistakes are made and we get called out on them but we are trying hard to make ECR work financially because when you look at the funding difference, it's huge.  Even though ECR has a healthy net income, what ECR spends of a percentage of income on teachers' salaries is higher than LAUSD, higher than Granada, higher than a lot of schools. He has concerns for the future that future administration may not be able to operate within such tight parameters. FCMAT will be reviewing our processes upcoming in the middle of July and review in the fall that any recommended changes have been implemented.  The new ERP system was just installed.  FCMAT will stay on as a resource to train our staff annually.
The financial audit has started and should be done in September and the financial statements should be presented to the Board in November. 

Melanie Horton will take Minutes at Board meetings beginning with the 2016-17 school year.
Future Agenda items:  look into new sound system for Board meetings, address the Board page on the ECRCHS website, fill the position of Board secretary, get an update on the Shoup property, discuss the 37% rent increase by LAUSD and the possibility of negotiating rent going forward,