Harbor Freight Donates $213K to La Mirada High Program; NLMUSD Will Review Overruns, Raises, and Board Pay

June 20, 2025

By Brian Hews

Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, already well-known to readers of this paper for its annual Prize for Teaching Excellence, has made another investment in public education — this time right here in Southeast Los Angeles County. The company is donating $213,000 to La Mirada High School’s Skilled Trades Program to fund mentor and instructor salaries, tools, student meals, gift cards, and materials that support real-world workforce training. 

Readers will recall Los Cerritos Community News has covered Harbor Freight’s generous teacher recognition program in the past, where the company annually honors public school trades instructors. 

Brent Tuttle, a 19‑year veteran welding instructor at La Mirada High School, was honored in 2020 with a prestigious Prize for Teaching Excellence from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools. His program advances students through a four-year, 1,000‑hour curriculum, blending hands-on welding and fabrication skills with real-world project experience. As Tuttle himself said, “This is the best lesson students can learn… They now value their work and their time.” 

Also noted in this month’s agenda is a $9,500 reimbursement from the California Highway Patrol, covering expenses incurred by La Mirada High for its “Every 15 Minutes” DUI prevention event. The funding offsets event costs and reinforces CHP’s support of youth education and public safety programming.

The board will also consider several significant increases to Measure G-funded projects, most of which are due to delays or expanded scopes of work. 

Converse Consultants is requesting a contract increase for geotechnical services at the Hutchinson Middle School Band Room Project, raising the original contract amount from $20,773 to $56,433, as the project ran longer than expected and required additional analysis and support. 

Similarly, the La Mirada High School Gym HVAC Replacement Project is now projected to cost more after Ninyo & Moore requested an increase from $28,458 to $60,060, as the work required more special inspections and materials testing than initially anticipated.

At Norwalk High School, Sanz Construction is requesting $10,800 to remove temporary locker rooms and restore classrooms, as the permanent locker facilities are now complete, and the makeshift spaces need to be returned to instructional use. In conjunction with this, MB Painting & Remodeling Inc. is requesting $18,500 to patch and repaint the affected rooms, as they must be restored to their original condition before the next academic year. 

The district will spend over $42,000 on AI phone and CAT6 cabling upgrades at five school sites, including Dolland and Glazier elementary schools, because improved access control and emergency communication systems are now a district-wide priority. 

The district is also preparing for California’s new literacy mandate by contracting with the University of California to deploy the Multitudes reading screener for all kindergarten through second-grade students because the state now requires early identification of dyslexia and other reading challenges beginning in the 2025–26 school year.

The board is also expected to approve a 1.57% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2024, for all employee groups, including classified, certificated, non-represented, confidential, and management employees. The raise follows negotiations and will apply to a wide range of district personnel, from aides to administrators. 

However, tucked inside the agenda is a separate request from Trustee Dr. Robert Cancio, asking the board to review its own monthly stipends and reimbursement cap. Board members currently receive $400 per month, along with up to $5,000 annually in travel and conference reimbursements. Under state law, the board may vote to increase that amount by up to 5% per year.

The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District Board of Education will meet on Monday, June 23, 2025, at 12820 Pioneer Boulevard in Norwalk. The public session begins at 6:30 p.m. and can also be streamed at www.nlmusd.org/virtual-board.

Contact Brian Hews at [email protected] or follow @cerritosnews.bsky.social