During his report near the end of Wednesday’s Long Beach Unified School District board meeting, board member Juan Benitez noted the lack of public comment that night.
“I have noticed over the last several board meetings that we haven’t had as much public comment as we’ve had historically in our district,” Benitez said. “So I want to encourage our community members to please stay engaged and participate in any way that you’re able to.”
The board member acknowledged that showing up to the district office at 5 p.m. on a Wednesday may be a challenge for working families, which is why he encourages folks to attend the upcoming special board of education meeting on Saturday, Dec. 7.
The meeting will be hosted at the Educare facility located at 4840 Lemon Ave. from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The meeting will focus on building district and board capacity, moving forward with student outcomes and updating the board’s goals and guardrails. Benitez highlighted that an essential part of board governance is public participation and civic engagement.
“This is a very important meeting, and it doesn’t just set policy, procedures and bylaws on how we do business, but it is also meant to uphold community involvement in how we do business,” Benitez said.
Saturday’s meeting will not be live-streamed via YouTube, so family and community members are encouraged to attend in person to learn about the board’s plans and to provide their perspectives during the public comment portion.
“We know you could spend a lot of time doing other things on Saturday, but you have an opportunity here to help guide and shape what this board, your board, will look like, how we’ll operate, how we’ll handle business and how we advance our community’s vision for success,” Benitez said.
Upcoming meetings include a swearing-in ceremony on Dec. 13 for board members Erik Miller and Doug Otto, who will remain in their positions for another year. The next regular board meeting will be Dec. 18 at 5 p.m. at the district’s main office on 1515 Hughes Way.
