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Board hears public concerns as district outlines phased childcare changes and tax compliance review
Summary
Public commenters accused board members of seeking private pupil data; the district said it will phase out employee childcare over several years, and attorneys recommended reporting the benefit on tax forms and reviewing three prior years for compliance.
Public commenters at the Cartwright Elementary School District governing board meeting raised allegations of inappropriate requests for staff parents’ child information, while district administrators gave an update that the employee childcare program will be phased out over several years and that attorneys have advised the district to correct tax reporting for the benefit.
Anna Abadiah, who identified herself as a representative of Legislative District 24, told the board she has received multiple calls from staff saying board members reached out seeking her child’s information. "My child is a 2. She's not here for your entertainment," Abadiah said during the call to the public, and she accused board members of violating FERPA by requesting names, addresses and classroom numbers. "If I continue to hear this, it's gonna get ugly," she said, adding she was taking steps to address the matter.
Cecilia Moreno, a resident taxpayer who also spoke during the public comment period, urged better timing and communication when decisions affect teachers’ childcare arrangements. "Teachers were not informed prior to signing their contracts about the day care facility," Moreno said, adding that the district risks losing qualified teachers if arrangements change without adequate notice.
Acting Superintendent Steve Watson provided an update on the district’s employee childcare program. Watson said the district plans to phase out the childcare program for employees over the next five to six years but will allow children already enrolled to complete the program. He said the district will continue to accept applications from pregnant employees so their children can access the program and that the district has worked to place many current childcare employees in other roles for next year.
Watson also told the board he and district counsel learned the childcare benefit had been treated incorrectly for tax purposes. "The child care is a taxable benefit provided by an employer, and we have not been recording this as a taxable benefit on the tax documents that we've been issuing to our employees," Watson said. He said legal counsel recommended the district include the benefit on employee tax forms going forward and advised a review of tax documents for participating employees for at least the prior three years. Watson said the district is working to determine whether penalties will apply and will communicate with affected employees.
Board members said they would not respond to allegations during call to the public but acknowledged the concerns. Governing Board President Lydia Hernandez said she was not aware of specific inquiries and said the board would not tolerate inappropriate conduct involving students’ personal information. Board member Denise Garcia asked for an itemized budget to understand previously reported deficit figures and questioned why some budget decisions had not been presented earlier; administration replied a revised formal presentation would occur in a scheduled public hearing to adopt the proposed 2025–26 annual expenditure budget.
The board did not take action on the public allegations during the meeting. Administration said the childcare change and the tax reporting issue will prompt further conversations with affected employees and that staff will provide additional details and next steps to the board and to impacted employees in follow-up communications.
