Fall Back

after a spooky Halloween weekend

Author

Charles DiFazio
November 04, 2025

I don’t know about you, but I’m still adjusting to the time change from this weekend, along with the long evening of trick-or-treating. I had a great time walking through our neighborhood, marveling at people’s decorations, and seeing the amazing costumes everyone had on.

Today is also Election Day in California, so I urge you to vote if you are able. Voting is an important part of our civic duty, and one of the many ways for the people to have their voice heard. Polls will close at 8 PM, so if you are eligible to vote and have not, please make a plan to find your nearest voting center or ballot drop box and vote today!

If you ever have questions, comments, or feedback, don’t hesitate to send me an email at my official district address, [email protected] or click the button below to schedule office hours with me.

School Site Plans

For the past two weeks, I have been meeting with the principals at all of our schools to review and discuss their School Plans for Student Achievement. I’m thankful for all the hard work put in by our Schoolsite Councils, English Learner Advisory Committees, and district staff to prepare these plans. It has been an opportunity for me to learn from principals about the unique characteristics, opportunities, and strengths of their communities, and how they plan to work towards our overall goals in the coming year.

MVW Residences Corporation

We had our first meeting of Board of the MVW Residences Corporation on October 20, 2025. Our meeting location is on-site, so ahead of the meeting, the new Board members had a tour of the facilities. Although I have already toured the building and grounds, I joined the group to meet my new colleagues.

In our meeting, we worked our way through the agenda. This included introductions and background presentations, along with some initial actions we needed to perform to complete our 501(c)(3) formation. Finally, we started discussions for some of our short-term work, such as hiring an executive director and sustainably reducing rental rates.

At the end, we began to plan our meeting schedule, with the next meeting planned for next week, November 10, 2025. I am excited about the work ahead of us! Now, on to this week’s MVWSD Board meeting:

Board Meeting

The Thursday, November 6, 2025 meeting begins at 6 PM with a school showcase by Stevenson Elementary School, followed by closed session. Here are some items on the agenda once we return to open session:

Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) Update

Staff would like to provide an update on the expanded learning programs within the District, including information about program elements, costs, and considerations.

Our MVSWD+ Expanded Learning Programs are services that currently provide after-school and intersession care for approximately 900 students in the district. The programs include a safe place to stay until 6:00 PM, homework support, snacks, outdoor activities, and enrichment connected to classroom learning. This presentation covers the program services and some of the funding challenges, and staff has been investigating revenue options, including one-time grants and fee structures. They are also exploring options for ELOP past the 2026-27 year and will bring them to the board for further consideration.

This is an important part of the conversation we have been having about the long-term stability and sustainability of the services we provide to students and families.

Board Policy Updates (First Reading)

The Board Policy Committee met on October 23, 2025, and reviewed CSBA's recommendations

This batch of policies is the result of the October 23, 2025 meeting of the Board Policy Committee, where Trustee Henry and I worked with staff to make our recommendations for policy updates for our district. This will be the first reading of the following policies, and with final approval coming at a second meeting:

  • BP 3311 Bids

  • BP 3312 Contracts

  • BP 3555 Nutrition Program Compliance

  • BP 3100 Budget

  • BP 5145.3 Nondiscrimination Harassment

  • BB 9222 Resignation

  • BB 9310 Board Policies

  • BB 9323 Meeting Conduct

  • BB 9332.2 Actions by the Board

  • BB 9323.2 E (1) Actions by the Board

  • BB 9324 Minutes and Recordings

In addition, there are a handful of old, outdated, or redundant policies that we recommend rescinding.

Inventory Process

Staff is presenting a presentation on inventory in the district. The attached inventory reflects current items at all school sites and the Technology department.

This presentation describes the systems the district has in place to track the inventory of supplies that support our schools. It highlights some interesting challenges and improvements to maintain accurate inventory of our physical items.

Staff Housing

Towards the end of the meeting, we will have a sequence of items related to staff housing. These are some of the last major board actions related to housing, as we created the MVW Residences Corporation to oversee the project. To further the handoff, the Board will consider:

If those are approved and finalized, we expect the MVWSD Board’s future consideration to primarily consist of the required updates from the MVW Residences Corporation.

Upcoming Events

As I said at the beginning of the post, November 4, 2025 is Election Day in California, so I will use this space to once again remind you to vote if you are eligible. Make sure your voice is heard!