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Conejo Valley Unified board meeting, Sep 2, 2026

1 h 31 min · 1 public speaker

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 23:39Enrollment ▶ 23:39

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 31 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Conejo Valley Unified board adopts Unity Day and bullying prevention resolutions 43:21

  • A district staff member reported the district started the year with about $40 million in fund balance and ended the year with $37 million. 23:39
  • The board adopted a resolution declaring October 21st, 2026 as Unity Day on a 5⁠-⁠0 vote. 45:14
  • The board also approved, 5⁠-⁠0, a memorandum of understanding with the Ventura County Community College District, Moorpark College and Conejo Valley Adult Education. 53:46
  • Board members discussed wording in a board policy on investigating, resolving or engaging with complaints, and Karen Sylvester said a revised version would come back as another discussion item. 1:01:58

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (14)
  1. Opening, closed session report and agenda 0:55
    • A motion was made to approve the agenda with item S removed from the consent agenda. 4:26
    • The agenda was approved 5⁠-⁠0. 4:49
  2. Student reporter updates 4:49
    • Student reporters gave reports on start-of-year activities at their schools. 4:49
    • A Conejo Valley High School reporter said attendance broke 90% the previous week. 7:51
  3. Unaudited actuals report 19:17
    • A district staff member reported total revenues increased about $6 million from the prior year, total expenditures decreased by about $4 million, and the adult education fund ended the year with just over $700,000 in fund balance. 23:57
    • A staff member said enrollment was 15,332 students as of the meeting, compared with 15,333 on the last day of the prior school year. 32:02
    • Karen Sylvester asked how the district moved from an $11 million deficit a year earlier to $4 million, and a staff member said the district made significant staffing reductions without touching classrooms or class size. 36:42
    • The motion carried 5⁠-⁠0. 43:06
  4. Bullying prevention month resolution 43:05
    • Bill Gorback moved to approve Resolution 26.27.04 on National Bullying Prevention Month. 43:21
    • One board member said that in the past they had voted no on the resolution, preferring a title focused on kindness and respect, but approved the resolution this time. 43:42
    • The motion carried 5⁠-⁠0. 44:31
  5. Unity Day resolution 44:31
    • Cindy Goldberg moved to adopt resolution number 26/27⁠-⁠05 declaring October 21st, 2026 as Unity Day in the district. ~44:44
    • The motion carried 5⁠-⁠0. 45:15
  6. Item 45:15
    • The motion carried 5⁠-⁠0. 48:11
  7. Public hearing on instructional materials 48:11
    • Karen Sylvester convened a public hearing on the sufficiency of instructional materials and textbooks, closed it at 649 and said there was no vote on the item. 48:11
  8. Adult education partnership with Moorpark College 48:11
    • Lisa Evans Powell, DSW moved to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Ventura County Community College District, Moorpark College and Conejo Valley Adult Education. 49:35
    • A staff member said the agreement covers dual enrollment for adult program students, involves no direct compensation from Moorpark to the district and allows use of underutilized district rooms. 50:41
    • The motion carried 5⁠-⁠0. 53:46
  9. Remainder of consent agenda 53:46
    • Bill Gorback moved to approve the remainder of the consent agenda as amended. 53:59
    • The motion carried 5⁠-⁠0. 54:23
  10. Limits of board member authority bylaw 54:23
    • A speaker at public comment asked the board to consider three revisions to the proposed bylaw, including clarifying terms and preserving a trustee's ability to listen and gather information. 54:58
    • A staff member said the language came from the California School Board Association policy service, and one board member said they had a problem with the phrase actively engage. 57:47
    • One board member said the section needed more of a rewrite, and another board member said a revised version would be brought back as another discussion item. 1:06:53
  11. Board policies bylaw 1:10:06
    • One board member noted the bylaw references a policy committee and said they were a proponent of more regular policy review. 1:10:39
    • A staff member described a quarterly review process for policy updates and said a board report would show how many policies remain at the 2008 level. 1:11:46
  12. General obligation bonds policy 1:19:30
    • A staff member said the updates reflect legal changes, including allowing bonds to extend to 40 years, which the staff member said the staff member would never recommend. 1:19:49
  13. Committee reports and board comments 1:21:05
    • Karen Sylvester said the Finance Committee previewed the unaudited financials and discussed how expenses are allocated to enterprise funds. 1:21:05
    • Board members thanked staff for the start of the school year. 1:22:45
  14. Future topics and adjournment 1:29:37
    • After a speaker raised a future presentation on adult education, Karen Sylvester said it would probably not come at the next meeting but probably in the spring. 1:29:52
    • Karen Sylvester adjourned the meeting at 7:30 PM. 1:30:06

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Conejo Valley USD Board Meeting - September 2, 2026”