Fullerton School District Packet Summary — August 18, 2026
Key Items on the Agenda
The Fullerton School District Board of Trustees is scheduled to consider a broad agenda covering the Fisler Arts and Recreation Center, labor agreements for the 2026–2027 school year, revised student and governance policies, student support programs, facilities work, and routine financial and personnel matters. The meeting also includes recognitions for the Fullerton Education Foundation and Speech & Debate National Team, followed by closed session beginning at 5:15 p.m. and open session at 6:00 p.m.
Fisler ARC Construction Delivery
The board is scheduled to consider Resolution #26/27-01, which would authorize use of the lease-leaseback construction delivery method for the Fisler Arts and Recreation Center (ARC) project and potentially other future district projects. The resolution would also establish procedures for prequalifying and evaluating contractors through requests for qualifications, proposals, or combined RFQ/RFP processes.
The proposed system emphasizes "best value" rather than price alone. Evaluation criteria may include K–12 and lease-leaseback experience, schedules, personnel, budgeting, safety, subcontractor procurement, bonding capacity, proposed pricing, and other qualifications.
Teacher Assignment for Speech and Debate
The Committee on Assignments is recommending board approval of an assignment for a Speech and Debate elective at Nicolas Junior High School. The stated rationale is to provide students with an alternative elective during the 2026–2027 school year.
Labor and Classroom Agreements
Several discussion/action items involve proposed agreements between the district and the Fullerton Elementary Teachers Association (FETA).
Instructional Assistants in Early Grades
The board is scheduled to consider a one-year agreement providing instructional assistant support for TK, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Under the agreement, TK and kindergarten classes would receive 3.75 hours of general-education instructional assistant time per class, subject to statutory TK ratios, while 17 schools would receive 3.75-hour-per-day instructional assistant positions to support first- and second-grade classrooms.
The agreement also provides up to 45 additional instructional-assistant hours per site, per instructional assistant, to support early-grade needs such as routines, relationships, school readiness, social-emotional instruction, and behavior support. The agreement is limited to 2026–2027 and states that it is not precedent-setting.
Co-Teaching Pilot at Four Schools
A separate proposed MOU would establish schoolwide co-teaching pilot programs for 2026–2027 at Pacific Drive, Orangethorpe, Raymond, and Commonwealth schools. The program calls for one co-teach class per grade level and includes provisions for class size, instructional assistants, professional development, special-education caseloads, substitute release time, and behavior resources.
At Pacific Drive, Raymond, and Orangethorpe, no more than 45% of students in each co-teach class would have IEPs specifying Specialized Academic Instruction services, and each co-teach class would have an instructional assistant for the full student instructional day. Commonwealth would operate under a different structure, with no more than 13 qualifying students distributed between two participating general-education classrooms.
Kindergarten Class Sizes
The board is also scheduled to consider a revised one-year MOU governing kindergarten class sizes. The agreement sets a standard maximum of 31 students per teacher, with the possibility of increasing to no more than 33 through mutual written agreement between the teacher and principal.
Teachers who agree to the waiver and whose classes average more than 31 students during a trimester would receive $666.66 for that trimester, up to $2,000 for the year. Dual Language Academy kindergarten classes at Laguna Road, Pacific Drive, and Raymond may increase to 33 students without the individual teacher-principal waiver, with the same stipend structure for classes averaging more than 31.
Reading Difficulties Risk Screeners
A proposed one-year MOU would support kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers administering Reading Difficulties Risk Screeners. Teachers would generally receive one day of substitute release time, subject to substitute availability and scheduling with site administrators.
Teachers who instead administer the assessment before school, during their duty-free lunch, or after school would receive a $185 stipend with prior administrator approval. Release time may be adjusted based on the number of students requiring assessment.
Individual Transition Plans
Education Specialists responsible for completing Individual Transition Plans or transition meetings from eighth to ninth grade would receive one full release day during the 2026–2027 school year, if substitutes are available. The time is intended for required transition assessments, documentation, and interagency or interdistrict coordination.
Policy and Governance Items
Student Use of Technology and Artificial Intelligence
The board is scheduled to consider revised Board Policy 6163.4, Student Use of Technology. The proposed language explicitly addresses artificial intelligence and states that district-provided technology, including AI technology, should align with district goals, academic standards, and instructional objectives.
The revisions emphasize digital citizenship, academic honesty, data privacy, online safety, copyright, evaluation of information accuracy, and awareness of bias, errors, and potential harm in AI-generated content. The policy also states that students have no reasonable expectation of privacy when using district technology and allows the district to monitor such use, while searches of personally owned devices require reasonable suspicion of a violation.
Physical Education and Activity
Revised Board Policy 6142.7 would update the district's physical education framework. The proposed policy calls for age-appropriate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during at least 50% of physical education class or session time and directs the district to develop strategies for monitoring that activity.
The revisions also address accommodations during religious fasting and require district weather protocols based on California Department of Education guidelines for extreme weather. The policy retains instructional requirements of at least 200 minutes of physical education every 10 school days for grades 1–6 and 400 minutes every 10 school days for grades 7–8.
Education for English Learners
Revised Board Policy 6174 would update the district's approach to English learner education. The proposed policy describes students' home languages as academic and cultural assets and calls for differentiated English-language development aligned with student proficiency and state standards.
The policy addresses access to core and advanced coursework, language-acquisition programs, parent participation, staff qualifications, assessment, reclassification, and monitoring. It also provides that reclassified students be monitored for at least four years and calls for annual board reporting on English proficiency, reclassification, academic achievement, long-term English learner status, and other program measures.
Conflict of Interest Rules
The board is scheduled to discuss and consider Bylaw 9270, Conflict of Interest. The proposed bylaw addresses financial and personal conflicts, statements of economic interests, recusal requirements, campaign contributions, contracts, gifts, honoraria, incompatible activities, and ethics training.
Among its provisions, the proposed language addresses campaign contributions of more than $500 in certain proceedings involving contracts, licenses, permits, or other entitlements. It also describes circumstances in which officials with financial conflicts must disclose the interest, refrain from participating, and, in applicable cases, leave the room while a matter is considered.
Major Financial and Contract Items
$18.3 Million in Purchase Orders
The consent agenda includes approval or ratification of district purchase orders covering the reporting period in the packet. The purchase-order report lists a total of $18,317,924.83, spanning instructional materials, technology, transportation, maintenance, facilities, construction, expanded-learning programs, professional services, and other district operations.
One of the largest individual entries is $7,302,805.88 to Model 1 Commercial Vehicles under a redevelopment pass-through account for replacement equipment. The report also contains numerous construction and facilities expenditures and substantial Expanded Learning Opportunities Program purchases and consultant commitments.
Pizza Contract Cap at $400,000 Per Year
The consent agenda includes a second addendum to the district's Papa John's Pizza delivery contract. The original contract was approved in 2025 with a $283,500 not-to-exceed amount, and an earlier addendum increased the 2025–2026 limit to $400,000.
The new proposal would establish a $400,000 annual not-to-exceed amount for each remaining contract year: 2026–2027, 2027–2028, 2028–2029, and 2029–2030.
Budget Adjustments
The board is scheduled to consider two budget-adjustment resolutions on the consent agenda. Resolution 25/26-B052 recognizes $11,185 in additional restricted General Fund revenue associated with After-School Education and Safety and school-site donations and adjusts projected expenditures.
Resolution 25/26-B053 recognizes $2,927 in Children's Center fee revenue in the Child Development Fund and directs that amount to classified salaries as part of California State Preschool Program budget adjustments.
Technology Software Renewals
The consent agenda includes a $24,500 Marcia Brenner Associates renewal for PowerSchool-related plugins, including Alert Creator, Report Creator, Incident Creator with Chart-It, and Attendance Monitor.
The board is also scheduled to consider a one-year SmarteTools license and maintenance renewal for SmarteHR and SmartePCR. The agreement provides read-only historical-data access for an annual fee of $9,500 plus applicable tax.
Student and Family Services
Tiny Home Program
The consent agenda includes renewal of an MOU with Pathways of Hope for the district's Tiny Home Program from August 19, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The program is designed to provide temporary housing and supportive services for district-identified families experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
Under the proposed framework, the district would identify and refer eligible families, oversee the properties and safety requirements, and provide McKinney-Vento liaison support. Pathways of Hope would provide trauma-informed case management, housing stabilization planning, and connections to resources including housing assistance, employment support, counseling, financial literacy, food, transportation, and childcare. The organizations would also conduct monthly family progress meetings and house checks.
Teacher Induction Partnership
The consent agenda includes renewal of the Fullerton School District Teacher Induction Program partnership with Buena Park School District and La Habra City School District from August 10, 2026, through June 30, 2027.
The two-year induction program carries agreed-upon expenses of $3,015 per participating teacher per year. That consists of a $1,515 support-provider stipend and $1,500 per participant for program cost recovery.
University Fieldwork and Student Teaching
The board is scheduled to consider renewed placement agreements with Point Loma Nazarene University covering student teaching, counseling, and other fieldwork experiences from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2029. The agreements establish supervision, background-check, confidentiality, insurance, and placement requirements for university candidates working in district schools.
Arts, Facilities, and Student Programs
Proposition 28 Arts and Music Report
The consent agenda includes the district's 2025–2026 Arts and Music in Schools annual report. The report says Proposition 28 funding supported credentialed music teachers, a theatre arts specialist, arts lead teachers, the STAGE after-school theatre program, clay and ceramics programming, mariachi programs, and the Junior High K-Pop Battle of the Bands.
The report identifies 8.7 full-time-equivalent certificated teachers, 0.5 classified FTE, 10,716 students served, and 20 school sites providing arts education.
Completed Facilities Work
The consent agenda includes notices of completion for multiple projects, including:
- Stage curtains, a valance, and cyclorama at the Parks ARC.
- Theater lighting and control systems at the Nicolas and Parks ARCs.
- Shade structures at Sunset Lane, Richman, and Woodcrest.
- Baseball netting and field upgrades at Nicolas Junior High.
- New carpet at Fern Drive and in seven classrooms at Acacia.
- Tile and carpet abatement work at Acacia and Fern Drive.
- A Wildcats mural on two buildings at the front of Woodcrest.
These are notices documenting project completion and are distinct from proposals for new construction work.
Collective Bargaining
The administrative reports include the district's initial bargaining proposals for 2026–2027 reopener negotiations with both CSEA Chapter 130 and FETA.
For CSEA, the district identifies pay and allowances and health insurance as subjects it wants to negotiate. The health-insurance proposal includes review of plan levels for current and retired association members.
For FETA, the district identifies evaluation procedures, class size, salaries, and fringe benefits as bargaining subjects. Both "sunshine" reports make the district's initial proposals available for public discussion before negotiations proceed.
2026–2027 LCAP
The board is scheduled to receive information regarding the district's 2026–2027 Local Control and Accountability Plan. The LCAP projects $214,132,993 in total revenue, including $146,241,872 in Local Control Funding Formula revenue, $40,938,469 in other state funds, $21,262,707 in local funds, and $5,689,945 in federal funds.
The district plans $210,098,515 in spending for 2026–2027, with $192,713,182 tied to LCAP actions and services. The plan projects $18,978,468 in LCFF funding generated by enrollment of foster youth, English learners, and low-income students, while the district plans $23,025,737 in expenditures toward increased or improved services for high-needs students.
What to Watch at the Meeting
- Fisler ARC: Whether the board authorizes lease-leaseback as the construction delivery method and adopts the proposed contractor-selection framework.
- Classroom staffing: Several separate FETA agreements would shape instructional-assistant support, co-teaching, kindergarten class sizes, reading-screening workload, and transition-plan responsibilities for 2026–2027.
- Technology and AI: Revised student technology policy would explicitly bring artificial intelligence, digital citizenship, privacy, academic honesty, and AI-generated errors and bias into district policy.
- Governance: The proposed conflict-of-interest bylaw contains detailed recusal, disclosure, campaign-contribution, and ethics requirements.
- Labor negotiations: The district is publicly presenting its initial bargaining positions with both FETA and CSEA.
- LCAP spending: The administrative report provides a districtwide view of more than $192 million in planned LCAP actions and services, including more than $23 million identified for increased or improved services for high-needs students.
