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Sequoia Union High School District board meeting, Aug 19, 2026

1 h 34 min · 5 public speakers

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 34 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Sequoia Union board adopts environmental findings for Sequoia High facilities projects 1:29:17

  • Several speakers at public comment raised the board's decision to close Tide Academy and the transition of its students. 3:16
  • The superintendent outlined a timeline for a second cell phone policy survey, with results set for the October 7th board meeting and a possible recommendation at the November 18th meeting. 1:05:59
  • The board approved the consent agenda and a resolution adopting the mitigated negative declaration for facilities master plan projects at Sequoia High School, each by a 5⁠-⁠0 vote. 1:31:32

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

Item by item (10)
  1. Opening and closed session report 0:03
    • The meeting was called to order at 4:03 PM, and the open session began at 6:06 PM. 0:03
    • An interpreter explained in Spanish how to access interpretation services through Zoom. 1:29
    • A quorum was reported present. ~2:56
  2. Public comment on non-agenda items 3:16
    • A speaker at public comment said other options for closing the budget gap were not offered before Tide Academy was closed. 6:36
    • A speaker at public comment said the public seemed to think the program moved to Woodside but that was not the case, and said the bus had been late on the first day of school. 12:03
    • After an audio problem with an online speaker, that speaker listed district payments in June to a law firm. ~18:45
  3. Board and superintendent comments 24:49
    • A board member said trustees attended a graduation ceremony for summer school students. 25:19
    • The superintendent said demolition of bleachers had started at MA and the district launched a new website over the summer. 29:18
  4. Employee association comments 30:46
    • The same speaker asked the board to review its meeting policies regarding personal attacks during public comment. 31:21
    • The speaker for the Sequoia District Teachers Association said policy decisions were made at the district office without input from teachers. 31:59
    • The AFSCME chapter president said the union wanted to continue working collaboratively with the district. 34:34
  5. Consent agenda 35:41
    • Item 11.4 was pulled from the consent agenda to return at a future meeting. 36:45
    • The consent agenda as amended passed 5 in favor, 0 against. 39:33
  6. Revised board policies first reading 39:33
    • A staff presenter said many policies were updated to refer to foster youth, unhoused and military students as highly mobile students. 45:54
    • The presenter said incomplete grades may convert to an F rather than shall convert, and that personal finance will be a graduation requirement starting with the class of 2031. 47:13
    • A speaker asked whether everyone was comfortable bringing the item back as a consent agenda item next time, and the response was yes. 59:57
  7. Cell phone policy survey timeline 59:57
    • The superintendent said the Phase 2 survey would run September 14th through September 28th, mostly with open-ended questions. 1:04:27
    • A staff member said the board had been asked in late spring that any change to a full ban be made before the end of December, to allow a long runway to design the logistics. 1:09:32
    • One board member said at most 2 board members should go and be flies on the wall, observing what was happening. 1:13:19
    • A speaker said everyone was good with the timeline as presented, focused on existing high school families, students and staff administrators. 1:26:34
  8. Contracts for services and equipment 1:27:04
    • The board took up an agreement renewal with Ascend Rehab Services Inc. for AAC/AT services. 1:27:36
    • The board also took up an agreement with ZFA Structural Engineers for a structural study of Sequoia High School's main building and an agreement with Applied Video Solutions for electronic door hardware for East Palo Alto Academy. 1:28:10
  9. Facilities master plan environmental findings 1:29:17
    • The item asked the board to adopt the initial study mitigated negative declaration and mitigation monitoring and reporting program for facilities master plan projects at Sequoia High School. 1:29:17
  10. Future agenda items and committee service 1:31:31
    • A staff member asked for 2 board members to serve on an AI policy committee this fall. 1:31:52
    • A speaker asked about the financial literacy course, and a staff member said it would be discussed in cabinet. 1:32:39
    • The meeting adjourned at 7:39 PM. 1:33:31

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 “SUHSD Board Meeting - August 19, 2026”