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Cajon Valley board re-elects leadership, approves staffing and budgeting items
Summary
Trustees confirmed Karen Clark Mejia as president (nominated uncontested), Lily Schwarm as vice president and Anthony Carnivale as clerk, and approved a set of routine and operational items including a heavy‑duty diesel/electric mechanic job description, Engineering Partners for bus-charging design and the district's first interim financial report.
Karen Clark Mejia was nominated and affirmed for another term as board president during the Cajon Valley Union School District's organizational meeting, with Lily Schwarm elected vice president and Anthony Carnivale named clerk.
The board followed the procedure described in board bylaw 9,100 for nominations and votes. The slate of officers was confirmed by the board after nominations were closed and a roll-call vote; trustees accepted the superintendent's appointment as board secretary as well.
In business items, trustees approved a new job description to recruit a heavy‑duty fleet mechanic with diesel and electric expertise to support inspections and maintenance of aging battery systems on district buses. During discussion trustees raised safety questions about electric bus batteries and emergency egress; district staff said manufacturers currently provide warranty services and the CHP performs annual inspections. The job description was approved on a roll-call vote (Aye, passes 4-0).
The board also approved Engineering Partners, Inc. to perform design and engineering services for new charging stations for district electric buses and warehouse trucks (vote recorded as passing 4-0) and adopted several routine fiscal and administrative items including a GO refunding resolution (authorization not to exceed $25.8 million), the district's annual reportable fees, and a global closeout amendment.
Trustees certified the first interim financial report for 2025-26 after staff presented revenue increases tied to TK add‑ons and several one‑time federal and state grants; staff said net expenditures increased and the closing of prior-year books produced a roughly $20 million net change due largely to one‑time carryovers. The first interim was approved by a 4-0 vote.
Not all proposals passed: a proposed $13,400 agreement with Energage to market the district's "Top Workplace" recognition failed on a 2-2 tie after trustees requested additional recruitment/retention data. The board will revisit several items at future meetings.
The meeting closed with board members exchanging brief site-visit reports and holiday wishes; the board set a second reading for the updated technology/AI policies to allow more community review.
Ending: The board completed its organizational work and cleared a slate of operational approvals; several policy and partnership items will return for further consideration.
