Josh Daniels

Berkeley Unified School District Board President Josh Daniels and board member Karen Hemphill participated in their final meeting as board members Wednesday night, delivering advice and parting thoughts.

Members of both the Berkeley Federation of Teachers and the Berkeley Council of Classified Employees spoke during public comment in front of audience members holding signs that read, “Living wages for BUSD employees.”

Six candidates — Ty Alper, Norma Harrison, Dru Howard, Abdur Sikder, Julie Sinai and Ka’Dijah Brown — will be vying for the three open board seats.

The city will have exclusive access to the board room and its supporting facilities for public meetings Tuesdays and Thursdays after 3 p.m.

Demonstrators held signs advocating for a “living wage.” One recurring sign read, “We protect, cook, clean, drive, repair and help students succeed. We also need to eat.”

The Berkeley Unified School District board approved next year’s budget and made recommendations for the Local Control and Accountability Plan, or LCAP, at the board’s Wednesday meeting.

Sylvia Mendez was the plaintiff in the landmark 1947 case Mendez v. Westminster. The case challenged the “whites only” policy of four Los Angeles school districts, and ultimately the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of Mendez.

The board approved hiring a districtwide bilingual substitute teacher, who will speak both English and Spanish. The approved programs also include a $25,000 Berkeley High School African American Studies 50th Anniversary program and a $300,000 Structured Literacy Instruction program.

Berkeley Unified School District is making its special education programs more cost-efficient and suitable to the needs of its students.

The Berkeley Unified School District board agreed to a nearly $1.8 million budget cut at its Wednesday meeting — a necessary decision that will harm students and staff members across the city.