City & Town Meetings

Recognitions and policy review discussed at last night’s MUSD meeting

Update: In a previous version of this story we reported that “As a result, two items were tabled for further reading: the bylaw updates for legal representation and adoption of a school bond election, despite a public workshop for the latter that already occurred.” The MUSD clarified that the school bond was actually unanimously approved by the Board.

Last night, the Morongo Unified School District Board of Trustees held their regular 6 PM meeting at Joshua Tree Elementary.

The meeting began by presenting Yucca Valley High School nutritional services lead Amy Takahashi with a Certificate of Appreciation, followed by No Kid Hungry representative Robin Hernandez awarding Oasis Elementary Cafeteria lead Desiree Hernandez and Brenda Baker Andrews with the School Lunch Hero awards.

Keeping with the spirit of acknowledging the district’s excellence, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Amy Woods recognized Twentynine Palms High School senior Hannah Grabow, who earned 6th place in the Health Occupations Students of America competition in the dental assistant category. 

Stacy Smalling introduced two new faculty to the Board: new principal of Condor Elementary Dr. Mario Walker, and Dr. Viviana Bravo, next year’s assistant principal at Yucca Valley Elementary. 

When it came time to approve the agenda’s policy changes, Board members John Cole and Christopher Claire opted to review the typically fast-tracked process, citing the hasty nature and lack of sufficient time to read each review item. The Board engaged in a near hour-long discourse, where some members suggested more workshops to discuss important policy while other members had to keep refreshing their memory of normal protocol.

Gabriel Hart

Gabriel Hart is an author and journalist from Morongo Valley, CA. He was a finalist for the 2024 Golden Mic Awards for his continuous reporting on the Morongo Valley Community Services District. His punk-noir novel On High at Red Tide is out now from Pig Roast Publishing, and he's the editor-in-chief/publisher of Beyond the Last Estate, a print-only magazine featuring "creative reporting on contemporary literature."

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