Regular School Board Meeting - May 6, 2026

001Well, good evening, everybody. Good evening. Welcome to our regular school board meeting, Wednesday, May 6 2026 at 6:00 PM. Can you please stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance? Welcome, everybody. Just want to thank Highline High School Jazz Band and the student art display for welcoming us this evening. Can we give round of applause. So this is in honor of Arts Education Month. And a little bit later here, in a few minutes, we're going to be listening to the North Hill choir, so looking forward to that. With that, roll call, please? Director Alvarez? Here. Director Espinoza? Here. Director Tidholm? Present. Director Holien? Present. President Van. Here. And to the left is our superintendent, Dr. Ivan Duran. And with that, any calls or changes to our board meeting agenda this evening? Hearing, seeing none, thank you

002very much. With that said, I would like to welcome our students and teacher, Leah Stevens, to come on up here from North Hill, our choir. So directors, I would love for you guys to come on down here, and we're going to welcome our students in for a quick presentation. My name is Leah. I'm one of the music teachers at North Hill Elementary. While my awesome-- excuse me. While Ms. Reitsma and my awesome students are heading in, I want to say-- [AUDIO OUT] I want to give several quick, thank yous. The first, thank you, is to the school board. I have literally been dreaming about this for years, and I have been planning it for months, and it's finally happening. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Thank you, Kimberly Jones and Kaitlyn O'Leary for also

003allowing me to do this kind of work and supporting me at school and after school. North Hill teachers, thank you for being here after hours to work even longer. Mr Schultz, also, thank you for being here. Parents, families, thank you for bringing your kids here. I've heard the parking is a nightmare. I appreciate your sacrifice for music. We are here tonight, like we've already heard, supporting arts and education. And I was so excited for this opportunity because Colleen Thomas-Reitsma and I have a beautiful program. These students up here are extremely talented. And I don't want you to be distracted with how cute they are. They are adorable. They are precious. They are also extremely skilled. You're going to hear five different songs tonight. They are from five different cultures. They are in four different languages.

004You will hear students singing with different timbres. You will hear them singing accurately across a wide range and with different articulation. To help you focus on their skill and not their beautiful faces, I request that you close your eyes for the first song so all you hear is their voices. Also, please don't clap until we're done because I didn't allocate time for that in planning. [NON-ENGLISH SINGING] For this next song, I suggest you open your eyes because it is very different. [NON-ENGLISH SINGING] It's time for the class to sing the first part. Audience, whenever you hear them go, thank you, your job is to respond, I want. Audience, be the cue. I'm going to sing. (SINGING) I want to thank you. I want to thank you. We're going to say it three times again. Hear

005that? ["THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND'] (SINGING) Thank you for being a friend Traveled down a road and back again Your heart is true You're a pal and a confidant I'm not ashamed to say I hope it always will stay this way My hat is off Won't you stand up and take a bow? If you threw a party Invited everyone you knew You would see The biggest gift would be from me And the card attached would say Thank you for being a friend Thank you for being a friend I want to thank you Thank you for being a friend I want to thank you Thank you for being a friend ["WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED"] We shall not be moved We shall not be moved Just like a tree That's planted by the water We

006shall not be moved We walk this road together We shall not be moved We walk this road together We shall not be moved Just like a tree That's planted by the water We shall not be moved (SPEAKING) We're going to stay together (SINGING) We're going to stay together We shall not be moved We're going to stay together We shall not be moved Just like a tree That's planted by the water We shall not be moved [AUDIO OUT] Can we give our students another round of applause? Please. That was wonderful. That was amazing. Thank you, everybody, for enjoying that. We're going to move on to our acknowledgments and appreciation we have for this evening. First, it's Arts Education Month, and Director Alvarez is going to read. Can we have Adina Thea, Gabby Olivarez, and Tim Nguyen

007come on up, please? We're going to read the proclamation first. Thank you for coming tonight. "And whereas the arts embody much of the accumulated wisdom, intellect, and imagination of humankind, and whereas learning in the arts enhances and enriches the lives of all students, and whereas the arts play a unique role in the lives of our families and communities, and whereas all children deserve a quality arts education, and whereas arts education can teach creative problem solving and cultural knowledge. And whereas arts education increases connections between teachers, students, and their communities, now, therefore, the school board and superintendent of Highline Public Schools do hereby proclaim May 2026 as Arts Education Month in Highline and urge all Highline citizens to celebrate and promote the arts in our school, take action to provide equitable access to arts learnings for

008all students in our learning communities." Thank you. Now you can step up to the mic. Thank you so much for your recognition. Good evening. My name is Adina Thea, and I'm the Elementary Multilingual Services and K-12 Fine Arts Director. And it is my pleasure to celebrate our teachers or all of our Fine Arts teachers and our programs. So allow me to shout out some accomplishments that we have done in the last few years. We have succeeded in creating a mariachi program from just a dream to now a thriving reality. We had started in only three secondary schools in 2023, and this year, we've expanded to five schools, including Evergreen, Highline, Mount Rainier, Cascade, and Glacier. And next year, Chinook will be adding mariachi. For many years, we've only had two South Side Elementary Schools with

009an orchestra program, Parkside and Marvista. And next year, we are expanding orchestra in three elementary schools, Mount View, Hilltop, and Seahurst. And so we are super excited about opening up more access to orchestra for so many more students, and we hope that we can continue to expand this opportunity. As you've seen, our teachers have also grown in their practice to be more culturally-Inclusive and responsive. And we've had specific training in engaging in Somali, Vietnamese, and Spanish music pedagogy and professional development, which now is regularly incorporated into the curriculum. Next year, our secondary teachers will be studying HBCU band instruction. HBCU band, stands for historically Black college and university band, and our secondary music teachers will be incorporating this rich musical cultural style into their band classes, as well as extracurricular drumline experiences. The Fine Arts

010department has also facilitated the coordination of several K-12 regional service area showcase events to celebrate and encourage both music and arts participation and excellence for elementary through high school students. We've also increased so many opportunities with our community arts partners, like Arts Impact and Seattle Art Museum for student engagement and professional development in the arts. And our teachers have also been engaged in transforming their classrooms and having professional development these last few years to implement inclusion, specifically in music and arts classes. So our Fine Arts programs and teachers-- they are something to celebrate. And thank you so much. I'd like to introduce now our Fine Arts specialist, Gabriela Olivarez. Hello. I'm Gabriela Olivarez. I'm the Music specialist. For Highline. As you heard tonight, our Fine Arts programs are growing in exciting and meaningful ways. What

011makes these accomplishments especially important is how deeply they connect to Highline's promise and plan. Our expansion of mariachi and elementary orchestra programs directly supports our commitment to creating a true culture of belonging. Students deserve to see their identities, languages, cultures, and communities reflected in their education. When students walk into a classroom and recognize themselves in the music they perform, they feel valued, connected, and empowered. These programs also support our vision for bilingual and biliterate learning. Mariachi, multilingual repertoire, and culturally responsive arts instructions give students authentic opportunities to engage with language, storytelling, and cultural traditions through performance and collaboration. Our work in culturally responsive teaching inclusion practices demonstrates innovation in Fine Arts education. Our teachers continue to rethink what music and arts education can look like so it reflects the diverse experiences and futures of our

012students. We serve our communities. Our communities do not serve us. And finally, these opportunities help prepare students to be future-ready. Through Fine Arts, students develop creativity, confidence, collaboration, discipline, leadership, critical thinking skills that will support them far beyond the music classroom. We're incredibly proud of the work happening across Highline and grateful for the teachers, students, families, community partners, and leadership who continue to support the arts in our schools. Thank you. And if you're an arts teacher, Fine Arts teacher, can you please stand? We had-- that they're all out there. We had some-- [LAUGHTER] Come on. All right, there's some more out there. Thank you. We just want to recognize them. And stand there. Yes, Mr. Gallego. We have some-- so thank you so much. Well, we would love to have you guys come on up

013for a picture. So come on up here. Yes, yes, yes. OK. 3, 2, 1. And our next appreciation is School Lunch Hero Day. Can I please get our director of nutritional services? Lisa, come on up here, please. And Lillian Shines, Tisha Ward, Grace Garcia, Ann Slater, and Kelly Shines. Awesome. Here's the proclamation. "Whereas nutritional meals at school are an essential part of the school day, and whereas the staff of the school district, school meals and nutrition department are committed to providing healthful, nutritious meals to the district children, and whereas, the staff who prepare and serve school meals help nurture our children throughout their daily interaction and support. Now, therefore, the school board and superintendent of Highline Public Schools do hereby proclaim Friday, May 1-- that was last week-- as school Lunch Hero Day in Highline

014and urge all Highline citizens to express their appreciation to these valued employees and commend their good work on behalf of their children." Thank you very much. [APPLAUSE] Thank you all for your support. We love serving our students healthy meals that have a wide variety of flavors. We want to welcome all of our students and introduce them to new foods. And so I think we do a great job with that. And please come and visit us. We are very fortunate in our district to offer meals at no cost. So go, Highline. Come on up for a picture, please. Pictures. Director Tidholm is going to present the next one. It's our Teachers Appreciation Week. Can we please have Katie Utesch, Veronica Fairchild, and Ben Folgers come on up. "Whereas teachers make public schools great, and whereas teachers

015open students' minds to ideas, knowledge, and dreams, and whereas teachers keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship, and whereas teachers fill many roles as listeners, explorers, role models, motivators, and mentors, and whereas teachers continue to influence us long after our school days are only memories. Now, therefore, the school board and superintendent of Highline Public Schools do hereby proclaim this week, the week of May 4 through 8, 2026, as Teacher Appreciation Week in Highline and urge all citizens to observe this week by taking time to recognize and acknowledge the impact of teachers on our lives." Thank you, Board, for the appreciation and recognition. As an English teacher, one of the greatest joys I have is when a kid opens their book, sometimes for the first time in years, since the Diary of

016a Wimpy Kid, and finally finds himself to be a reader again. But I think, while I appreciate it being Teacher's Appreciation Week, I tend to on the side of calling myself an educator because it's more inclusive of all of the staff within our building. And so at this time, I would also like to recognize all the educators are in this room who are wearing red and blue shirts. So if you can all please stand if you're wearing a red and blue shirt. As an educator, I cannot do my job without our classified staff, whether that's from a paraprofessional, our security staff, or our bus drivers. Our schools do not function without all of our Teamster staff. And so I hope that during this week, we can also take a moment to recognize that they all

017also deserve a fair contract. So thank you. [APPLAUSE] Thank you, Board, for the recognition. My name is Katie Utesch, and I've been a teacher for over 17 years. The last 5 and 1/2 to six years have been a very wild ride, and I've learned many different things. But the thing I really cherish the most is the relationships that I've created with my admin at McMicken Heights and my students and my colleagues. I routinely have students that come back and visit me. And at Taste of McMicken, where Mr-- or Director Van was there. I had several students come in and say, I only came to Taste of McMicken because I wanted to see you. And having that connection with children is why I do this work. And having families say, wow, my child has never spoken

018so much, and now we can't get them to stop talking. Great. I love that for them. So I second Ben's thoughts on it's not just teachers. It's educators. It's anyone who works with students. I could not do my job in an inclusive classroom without my three paras at all. And I feel like there needs to be some extra support given to them because without them, our school system would fall apart. Thank you. Hello. Thank you, Directors. My name's Veronica Fairchild. I teach Spanish at Mount Rainier High School. I've been in the district since 1996. And I wouldn't work anyplace else. The kids are great. The parents are great. Our paras are great. So that's all I have to say. And thank you again for the recognition. [APPLAUSE] So I really like the Educator Appreciation Week.

019I was thinking about taking the picture down this way so everybody in red and blue would stand up, and Tove can get a picture of us. So Directors, if we can go down there towards the desk, and then Tove, if you can take a picture down there, that would be great. Can we come [AUDIO OUT] Let's do it, but it has to be quick. Let's do it. But please don't block the doors because it is a safety thing. Oh, we're supposed to be up front. [INDISTINCT CHATTER] Thank you all. And our last appreciation and acknowledgment is School Nurse Day. Director Holien's going to read. Can we get Michelle Jarvis to come on up? Angie Bartlett, Naisha Erickson, Lily Cohen, April Olivas and Jeanine Taunton. I really do love your ice pack and band aids. Pretty

020great. Thank you. Do you have anyone else coming up? I think that will come out all right. They're coming. Yep. Here we go. Well, thank you for being here. "Whereas our children are our future, and by investing in them today, we are securing our business, community, and state leaders of tomorrow, and whereas the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of our children is paramount to their growth and development, and whereas school nurses are dedicated health professionals who work in collaboration with families, schools, and communities to develop and promote comprehensive health programs for our youth. And whereas, in addition to providing for students' immediate health needs, school nurses continually promote healthy lifestyles and provide health and safety education to students and staff. Now, therefore, the school board and superintendent of Highline Public Schools do hereby proclaim that

021May 6, 2026 is National School Nurse Day in Highline and urge all citizens to promote the good health of our students and recognize school nurses for their contributions for the health of our children." Thank you so much. [LAUGHS] I want to share a quick snapshot of the impact health services team has had this year, and express sincere gratitude for the work that you all do to support our students, families, and schools. From September through April, school nurses have provided 34,647 clinic visits, ensuring students received timely care and were able to return to learning safely whenever possible. Our nurses managed 1,113 medication orders, supported 49 students requiring skilled nursing treatments such as diabetic care, G-tube feeds, and tracheostomy care, and developed and maintained 2,483 individualized care plans, including 58 medical 504 plans to ensure that students'

022health needs did not become a barrier to education. Preventative care and early identification remains a priority in our department. Nurses completed 7,244 hearing screenings, 701 referrals, and 7,201 vision screenings, which resulted in 129 referrals helping identify health concerns that directly affect learning. Through school-based dental screenings with Tooth Savers, 480 students received dental care with follow-up arrangement appointments for those requiring additional or urgent treatment. In partnership with HealthPoint and Bird's Eye Medical, the district hosted four vaccine clinics this school year, resulting in 253 people being vaccinated and 642 vaccines administered, supporting students and the community health despite limited vaccine availability. Access to nursing services also expanded across the district. Elementary schools received nursing coverage four days per week, while middle and high schools were staffed five days per week, five schools requiring a nurse on site

023daily and three students were-- and three students were supported with one-to-one nursing, reflecting increasing medical complexity. All of this work was accomplished by my dedicated team of 19 registered nurses and 16 licensed practical nurses, including three master's prepared nurses and six nationally certified school nurses. My team also demonstrated a strong commitment to professional growth, with multiple nurses currently pursuing their RN, bachelor's, and master's degrees. On behalf of the district, thank you for your continued support. And please join me in recognizing my wonderful team of nurses. Michelle, can we have everybody come on up for a picture, please? Still one-- [AUDIO OUT] Alongside the recognition showcase tonight, we have many more throughout the month of May. We invite you to visit our Facebook page to explore these additional recognitions. We have Asian-Pacific, American Heritage Month, National

024Physical Fitness and Sports Month, National Pet Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, Jewish-American Heritage Month. May 1 was School Principals' Day. May 1 through the 7th was National PE Week. May 5 was National Teacher Day. May 6 was National Bike to School Day. May 8 is School Communicators Day. And may 18th is National Speech Pathologist Day. So thank you everybody for being here and being recognized. With that, we're going to move on to our superintendent's reports. Dr. Duran. Great. Thank you, President Van, and I want to thank everyone for being here this evening. I want to add my appreciation for those recognized tonight for Arts Education Month, School Lunch Hero Day, Modified Educator Appreciation Week, and School Nurse Day. Had the opportunity to visit Hilltop Elementary School today. When I asked the leadership team, what they

025were most proud of this year, they shared their work around inclusion and the systems they have built to support all their students. As we visited classrooms, I saw students actively engage in learning, and the moments when students needed a break, clear processes were in place that allowed them to independently self-regulate. In addition, our facilities team met with the Hilltop school staff today, and I'm looking forward to hearing an update on their experience with the buildings based on the concerns that have been raised in the past. This time of year often brings staff and leadership changes in Highline. We have a number of schools going through a transition this year. We are happy to welcome new leaders into the roles, as well as to welcome new team members to Highline. I know that change can be

026difficult, and we are committed to supporting a strong transition for our schools. Our focus is on supporting students and staff for continued success moving forward. Highline Public Schools and teams are working diligently together to bargain a successful collective bargaining agreement. The current agreement lasts through August 31, 2026. We deeply appreciate the vital role these staff members play in Highline and in our student success. We are committed to and fully invested in the bargaining process. It is not only a legal requirement, but a valuable opportunity for meaningful and collaborative dialogue. We share common values with Teamsters, including strong learning and working environments and fiscal responsibility. We believe in the integrity of the bargaining process, and are confident we will reach an agreement together and continue working collaboratively. I would now like to invite Jeb Binns, the

027President of the Highline Education Association, to the podium to share a few remarks and his skills that he is demonstrating with those two shirts. Thank you, Dr. Duran, school board. I'll start off with a shout out to my amazing seamstress friend, who is a Teamster-- was a Teamster. She retired. Her daughter is a HEA member. I thought, what better than to meld them all together with an HEA Teamster shirt? So I Thank Mary Lorenzen very much for her skills and her time to put my idea into action. I can build a house, but I cannot sew a shirt. So let me start off with a couple of things. One, happy School Lunch Hero Day. Happy National School Nurse Day. Happy Educator Appreciation Week. And happy Arts Education Month. My message today is about messaging. Words

028matter. Feelings matter. Sense of belonging matters. Change is hard. Loss is real. The unknown is scary. As a community, we need to continue to focus on transparency and clarity of process. Chaos thrives in ambiguity. We can do hard things. We are HEA. We are Teamsters. We are Highline. Thank you. All right. I would now like to welcome Lita O'Donnell, our Director of Family and Community Partnerships, to the podium. Tonight, we have the privilege of hearing about the good work of our Family Action Committee. This committee represents family members from across the district who bring an invaluable perspective to the work we do here in Highline Welcome, Lita. Thank you for being here. Thank you, President Van, Superintendent Duran and Board directors. The Family Action Committee has been an institution in Highline. They've been around for

029more than a decade. And as Dr. Duran said, it's a group of families that represent many of our schools across our district. And this year, our Family Action Committee worked with district leaders around our four initiatives of secondary redesign, literacy, inclusion, and multi-tiered systems of support. And tonight, I'm really happy and excited for you to be able to hear from our district leaders and our FAC families to share their experience and about the partnership and collaboration. I'd like to first welcome our Student Learning Team of Dr. Tanisha Felder, Adina Thea, and Bernard Koontz. And that will be followed by Val Allen and Rocio Ceja. And you'll also get to hear from several of our families. Thank you. Good evening. We are a group of district staff and families brought together by our interest and passion

030of literacy. This is the literacy subcommittee. Organized in multiple meetings over the school year, we met together, and our aim was to co-design an action or product that will serve both our school communities and the needs of our families. This year, we dream-stormed what celebrations of literacy at the school level could look like. So what we are recognizing together-- in our collaborative, we spent time working with our families, and our families expressed that they really wanted to know more about how to help their students at home. They wanted guidance for at-home reading routines and specific questions that they should be asking, as well as other community resources that they could access. This slide highlights a sample of some parent resources that we are developing to support at-home literacy, including bookmarks that have guiding questions on

031the back, tailored for various age groups of students, as well as guidance to inform families about how to directly access our local libraries and their abundant services. We also discussed advancing meaningful family engagement events that highlight literacy, and we set a goal for all schools to use at least one strategy from the family engagement catalog, with a focus on family literacy events, and we'll hear more about that in a minute. Our goal is to expand family/school co-designed literacy events that will help our families better understand reading instruction, how students are progressing in reading and writing, and how to support literacy beyond the classroom, as well as celebrating their students' progress and joy in literacy. All right. So what we really worked on this year and we rolled up our sleeves was doing a lot of

032listening with families, a lot of conversations about what does it mean to offer a good event for families to come in. And we had all sorts of conversations about ideas, what people had experienced, what they had read about, different ideas. And we had a lot of conversations about, how do we actually make those things happen in a school. Do we come up with one specific event, create all the materials for that, and expect that to happen at all schools? Do we set a date? Do we do it in one place? What does it look like? And really, where we landed was understanding that schools already have a lot of practices in place. We want to support those and strengthen them and be able to have those match the needs of the school, while also making

033sure that something is happening consistently. So instead of coming up with one set plan, we came up with a toolkit that has a lot of resources that schools can have to design and implement these kinds of activities. And then we wanted to begin to set the expectation that these kinds of events happen on a regular basis. So we put out a survey, which is what you see a little snapshot of there. And from that, we were able to gather some information to understand exactly what's happening and what needs to happen next year to make sure that all families can engage in these kinds of activities. So we had great feedback from schools. Over 2/3 of our schools responded. And now we're really in a good place, I think, to move forward with helping our schools

034and our school leaders understand the feedback that parents have provided to move forward with events to see our literacy goals move forward next year. So what we learned from those surveys were-- and we had 23 schools that responded. 65%, or 15 schools, reported offering a family literacy event this year. 26%, or six schools, have not yet offered an event. 9% of the schools, which are two schools, plan to offer one later this year. For leadership and who led those in the buildings, most commonly, those were led by principals or assistant principals. 26% were led by school leaders, 17% were designated educator/leaders. And additional leadership include instructional specialists, family liaisons, librarians. A key insight that was found was that family literacy engagement is occurring, but leadership and implementation vary by school. So what does this tell

035us? What will we do next? Families are eager partners in literacy when engagement is relevant to their children's learning and clear and accessible. Schools want planning support and alignment and then guidance on sustainable funding, such as Title I. System tools like the literacy event toolkit help reduce barriers. And so some next steps would be to continue encouraging every school to host at least one family literacy event. And we'll use the survey findings to support spring planning and strengthen literacy engagement expectations for the next school year, '26, '27. We'll maintain FAC partnership to center family voice in the literacy work. And then if you have more information-- more information can be reached or shared by myself. I'm Dr. Tanisha Brandon-Felder, or Dr. M. Laura Schneider. All right. So we look forward to the work continuing. And

036if you have any questions, we'd be happy to respond to them. Thank you so much. Directors, any follow-up questions? I just have a comment. Thank you for all the work that you all are doing specifically towards literacy. There's been a lot of conversations regarding Highline's-- I should say where Highline stands with test scores and whatnot. So we're doing the work, and we just need to continue to do that. So thank you very much for all that you do. Thank you. Other questions, Directors? No question. But yeah, thank you for the work that you're doing. It's important, on our end, that we do the work and look at the numbers. But it's also equally important as a parent that we have family involvement. I mean, it starts at home. The babies spend most of their time

037at home. So to really engage the families and get their feedback and allow them to have a voice I think is incredibly important. And I appreciate that work that you guys do. Thank you very much. Thank you. Good evening. So my name is Valerie Allen. I'm the Director of Social Services and Mental Health. And it is my pleasure to introduce to you to the FAC committee that focused on MTSS. I was fortunate to co-lead this work with Rocio Ceja, who's a family engagement and community specialist. So today we're going to just spend the five minutes going over some high-leverage things that we learned from the parents' perspective. So MTSS, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. To break it down-- next slide? It's a framework that-- how the adults are organized in the system and helps us figure

038out how to deliver an organized, evidence-based support so every student gets what they need to succeed, both academically, behaviorally, social, and emotionally. And the tiered approach ensures support is matched to each student's level of need and that families really emphasize, when we're meeting, that this is both about enrichment and about extra support. OK, so our work this year included looking at and developing family-friendly MTSS materials. I have to say, as a parent, I really wasn't familiar with MTSS or what it meant or what these systems meant. And as someone who has had kids both in challenge and with IEPs, we're all over the spectrum, and MTSS is an interesting way to view what all the needs are in the district. So we explored the relationship and communication cadence between school and families. And we focused

039on understanding tier 1, or universal, and the Climate & Culture Team's role in schools. So we looked at materials that were being distributed at Marvista. We also brought in someone from Gregory to talk about the way that they've rolled out MTSS and better understand how data informs decisions and next steps. We also explored transparency and data. There was a lot of discussion about data, a lot of concerns about data, how it's being used, how it's being collected. And then looking ahead, we hope to strengthen family engagement and feedback loops. So this was an example of the family-friendly MTSS materials that we looked at. And we had a first draft that came in. And we looked at it through a family's perspective. What is MTSS? And then we worked with them to really change the materials

040and make them much more accessible, both in terms of language and also in terms of just understanding what the system is, how students get identified, how families get brought into the process, and what the role is between the school and the families. We reviewed student support communication templates that were used at Marvista. These are shared when a student needs additional support or enrichment. Our focus was on how and when families are brought into the process. Key recommendations included clarifying who families should contact, making information easy to access and translated, being intentional with new and multilingual families. One concrete idea includes MTSS and support resources in new student enrollment packets so families aren't learning about it for the first time during a challenge. Hi, everyone. We learned about the tier 1 teams using data and collaboration

041to support all students, and team learning and shared data help reduce bias by emphasizing facts over opinions. And then tier 1 is about prevention and belonging and not just intervention. And we had the opportunity to meet Gregory Heights assistant principal Kim Bradberry, and she helped us understand the implementation of the tier 1 climate and how it's being implemented at their school and the culture team. And I think I'm going to go all over the place on this slide. But we discussed how data can be powerful but also risky. And we raised concerns about the subjectivity of behavior notes from teachers and the data that follows students without context. And our recommendations were to use asset-based language. For me, a parent of-- a parent of three Black boys in public school-- I was concerned about the

042use of language, like targeting or tracking. And so to be intentional about what data-- what data travels and why that data is traveling with the student and to have clear guardrails so that the data supports students without defining them. And there were some central questions that we were holding, such as what does transparency and protection look like for families, concerns about subjective behavior notes, labeling students over time, especially-- which can especially be impactful for our Black and brown students. And the data needs to be reviewed in consideration of context. Like, a student was fine all year, but then at the end of the year, they ran into some trouble, but to really look at the student as a whole person and not just have the last behavior define their experience. Let's see. And the recommendation

043that we had were to move toward asset-based language, like I mentioned, that emphasizes support, to limit behavioral data that follows student between schools, and identifying need-to-know information that is better shared outside of the student information system. I would like to thank Zainab, Fred, and Ashley for coming today. My name is Rocio Ceja. I am also a parent of a Highline High School senior. Looking forward, or moving forward, we are committed to strengthening meaningful partnership, ensuring transparency in data and decision making, making communication ongoing and not one time, providing consistency across schools, centering equity and addressing biases. We will continue engaging families across culture, languages, and lived experiences. We thank you for your time and for your commitment to our students and our families, and we are grateful for the family voices that continue to guide

044this work. Thank you very much. Directors, any follow-up questions? Dr. Espinoza? Yeah, thank you. I just wanted to say thank you for your presentation. I'm really pleased to hear about MTSS because as a parent of a second grader, I just see that as a huge foundational support for him at Seahurst. He just moved up a reading level, and we're so proud of him. It's the result of the support of his community there at Seahurst. You had mentioned that there's a touchpoint where families have to feel empowered to support students at home, and I just wanted to know if you could share a little bit about what does that feel like or look like for families to also do that work with students at home. We're not that far yet. Oh, OK. So we did a

045lot of work this year just helping families focus on our team, like, what is MTSS, digging in the real work, because they all have-- most of them have experiences that maybe don't mirror what we're talking about. And so it was helpful to take time to dig in so that we can help with those, like, what is that meaningful touchpoints? What are some guiding questions we maybe can push out to schools to ask as parents become more involved? OK, thank you. Can I ask a follow-up with that, President Van? Thank you. And just a follow-up to that. So as you're moving through this in the MTSS, will you be developing, then, some modules that are with family engagement and community engagement as you move forward? So that would be in partnership, also, with our Culture &

046Climate that each of our school has. So it would be something that our families, with the school's Culture & Climate, would be working, creating some type of a toolkit that schools can use. Thank you very much for that presentation. When you were looking at this, what kind of timeline is this toolkit going to be put together, if you have that? Well, this group is more an advisory group, trying to work with the charge going back to the MTSS district team to support that work. So there's not a timeline that this group would have. It would be with the timeline, as a district, that we're creating and pushing out. So this was elevating the concerns as well as the strengths of the process to date and to give that back to the district team. Wonderful. Thank

047you. No questions. Just a comment. Thank you again for the work. Again, just the importance of having family involvement and having family voices and the opportunity for families to understand the things that are going on because if you're not in the position where you're in the rooms, you don't know what this jargon means. You don't know what that looks like. I mean, it's all gibberish, right? So I really appreciate those spaces. And as not only the district, but also as a parent, I appreciate being the concern regarding the equity in the testing and how we're looking at that because that is something that I always consider and think about as well. So I do appreciate that perspective and the work that you're doing in empowering families. Very good. I want to thank you all for

048being here tonight and all the members of our Family Action Committee. You guys have been doing some amazing work. And I know in the beginning of the year, a lot of it is just helping our families understand what we are talking about in education sometimes, because we tend to have our own language, along with a whole bunch of acronyms that many of our family members-- even sometimes we get confused on. So just thank you for all your work that you've been doing, and I look forward to seeing many of you on Monday evening. Thank you all very much. And that concludes my updates for this evening. Thank you, Dr. Duran. We're going to move to our directors' reports. We're going to start with Director Tidholm. Good evening, folks. Love your shirt, Jeb. So we had

049College Con at Evergreen. More than 200 students and families attended the College Con. The families and students got to meet directly with colleges, training programs, and career partners and learn about college planning, financial aid, and how to take the next steps after high school. Huge thank you to our Secondary Success and College Readiness team for hosting an event that helped our babies plan for their futures. And that's all that I have this evening. Thank you very much. Director Holien. Thank you, President Van. Thanks for everyone for coming out. That concert was wonderful. It was a good little change-up to our typical board meeting. There was a Cascade Bike Club donation to Midway students in grades two through five recently, and they completed a successful bike safety unit in PE. Students learned how to ride safely,

050build confidence, stay active. And following the unit, all fifth graders received free bikes, compliments of Cascade bike club, helmets, locks, lights. Thank you to Midway PE teacher Murphy Campbell for making this a great experience for students and families. I've also had the opportunity to visit to visit Marvista Elementary the past couple of weeks and see all the work that they have been doing to live the Highline promise, and it has been extremely inspiring to see. Lastly, I want to thank my wonderful wife, who is a teacher at Highline, during Teacher Appreciation Week. You give a lot of love and care to your students every day, and it clearly shows, along with every other teacher and paras in the district. We're extremely grateful for all that you do every day. That's it. Thank you very much.

051Dr. Espinoza. All right. So I'd like to highlight Jorge Velazquez, a special education teacher at Bow Lake Elementary. Supports students in special education services, in general education classrooms. A recent profile on our website features Jorge and his work with students, alongside their peers, during the school day. It's one example of inclusive classroom practices that are happening across Highline. So you can see more about Jorge and his students on our website. Let's see. I visited Valley View late April, and I learned a lot from the staff. I was pleased to see their new little section of the building that they have and how they're using that to really support students. I had really impactful conversations with the principal there and staff about how important it is to invest in early education and early childhood services. I

052really do believe that that's the foundation for healthy families and thriving communities, so I'm really happy about the work that Valley View is doing and about my role in supporting that. In late April, I also attended the 10th annual Tribal Consultation Symposium, hosted by the Muckleshoot Nation. There was a series of school districts across our region. And it was really great to see how all of the districts are fulfilling their mandate to teach tribal, Indigenous history to our students because it's current history. Let's see. I also met with a coalition of students, maybe, like, two weekends ago. It was a coalition of high school students from Federal Way, Auburn, Highline. And it's an advocacy policy coalition, and so they wanted to meet with elected officials and share what their priorities were. And they wanted to

053share with me that for their communities, their families, a priority is for students to become aware about their rights in terms of immigration policies and how to support communities. And one more thing. So I just want to say thank you to everyone who's here. It's really important when there's a room full of people here. I see a sea of blue and so many families and students. I'm grateful that you bring your voice and your perspectives to the board. Earlier today, I met with Tyee students who asked to interview me to learn more about my role as a school board director. And they asked me, what is one thing you want students to know? And my answer was simple. Your voice matters. Your collective voice in this room matters. And when you bring your ideas and

054your questions or your concerns to us as the board, it helps us to fulfill our responsibility as elected officials to support and serve our schools and our communities. Lastly, I also just want to acknowledge that many of those who are speaking today are from North Hill, which is my school, in my community. My son-- he started kindergarten there with Miss E, who's an amazing teacher and is there in the front row. [LAUGHS] And I have a deep appreciation for everybody from North Hill and our community. So I just want you to know that I'm committed to listening to you, partnering with you, and helping to strengthen trust and the communication across the district. Thank you, Dr. Espinoza. Vice President Alvarez. Thank you, President Van. Let's talk a little bit about Sylvester redesign work. So we're

055continuing our school redesign work so all students are future-ready. This year, our middle schools are exploring career-connected learning at Sylvester and Cascade Middle schools. This includes new classes with a career-focused approach to science, through the Career and Technical Education program. Since 2023 to 2024 school year, students, staff, and families have helped shape this work with two clear priorities, real-world learning and high expectations for every student. And being that it is Arts Education Month recognition-- I last night I went to this event at a Evergreen High School, and they had a presentation of the mariachi. They had [SPANISH] --and some other artists. But something that really caught my eye is that Jose Iniguez, who leads the Grupo Encanto-- he had actually called me to invite me over so I could see, firsthand, some of the work

056that they've been doing there, now, for this year. And they have a grant for two more years, offering voice and music lessons for free in the summer. And so from July 6 through August 18, from ages 12 to 17, they offer bilingual voice and music training with some artists. And it just-- it filled my heart to see. It was a good turnout, and yet they don't have that many students signed up. So I encourage you as teachers, if you have students from the ages 12 to 17, this summer program starts July 6, and it's free voice and music classes. So it just filled my heart to know that there are some things, still, our students can do in the summer that are free and that they're able to also hang out. There's some teachers there

057that will be there as well, just supporting the program. And to you all, like Doctor Espinoza mentioned, the sea of blue-- we see you. And we appreciate that you come here with your voice and that we're here to work together and just want to acknowledge that we do see you. Thank you very much. It is great to see so many of you here tonight. Just want to give another shout out to Highland High School Jazz Band and our North Hill choir. They were amazing. So great job, kids. We had an incredible turnout at the Southside Chamber of Commerce Education and Workforce Summit at the ShoWare last week. There was a strong presence of leaders, educators, and industry partners all coming together with a shared focus on our students' future. And I just want to recognize

058Dr. Andrew Benitez for representing our district and sharing the work being done to support our students as they explore and prepare for the paths that they choose. It was really impactful to see more than 1,500 students across the region showing up, engaging with different career fields and beginning to connect the dots on what comes up-- what comes after graduation. So I also had the opportunity to participate in the 10th annual Muckleshoot Tribal Consultation, where I was joined by Dr. Espinoza, Dr. Duran, and the Highline team showed up. So it was a meaningful experience centered on partnership, collaboration, and continuing or strengthening our relationships with our tribal communities. I want to give a special shout out to Sarah Marie Ortiz and John Reamer for doing a fantastic job presenting and showcasing the great work Highline is

059doing. So thank you. On more of a personal note, my wife, daughter, and I had the chance to return to one of our old stomping grounds, McMicken Heights Elementary, for their multicultural night. It was an incredible evening, close to 600 attendees coming together to celebrate, to learn, to experience different cultures. It was really something to see the community coming together and showing up like that. It was great connecting with so many familiar faces. So it was powerful. Moments like these really highlight the strength of our community and the opportunities that we're creating for our students, both inside and outside the classroom. So in honor of Teacher/Educator's Appreciation Week, we'd like to highlight Mario Pilapil, Highline's Teacher of the Year. Mario teaches students English at Highline High School and brings passion to classrooms that reflects the

060diverse, multilingual community of Highline. In his classroom, students engage in projects focused on identity and belonging, exploring what home means in their lives and community. So let's see what Mario has to show us in a video. [VIDEO PLAYBACK] My name is Mario Pilapil. I teach at Highline High School. What inspired me to become a teacher was my 10th grade humanities class at Aviation High School. This humanities class was so interesting and engaging I said, I want to study this more. And at the same time, I was also volunteering at Seahurst Elementary, and I just put the two and two together. My students are primarily from Latin America, Spanish-speaking countries. Our multilingual population here comprises of students from everywhere in the world, and it reflects the growing community of Burien that's changing constantly. This year, we

061created a project on belonging. In that project, students explore what belonging means to them in their first home countries, and here at Highline. They created lenticular art and figurative writing that juxtaposes belonging in those two locations. Ultimately, the goal of the project was to show them that they are here. This is their home. And they belong here. I want to make sure that my classroom is a safe, encouraging community, and to do that, we have to build relationships with our students and students with each other, giving them opportunities to talk about themselves, represent themselves, talk about who they are, their identity, give them space to share their challenges and struggles, too, and just listening to them. It's an honor to be with them, and the reason why I'm here every day is my students. [END

062PLAYBACK] Let's give Mario round of applause. That concludes our directors' reports. We're going to move to our public testimony. On behalf of the board, we appreciate you taking the time to join us and share your thoughts this evening. You'll notice that our norms and guidelines are displayed on the screens for your reference. Please remember that you're addressing the board. Well, there may be students present who are watching, who are listening carefully to what you're saying. Please note that while the board is unable to respond directly to your testimony during the meeting, we value your input. Thanks again for being here and speaking with us. We have a whole slate. We have 20 scheduled communicators-- or testimonies-- and a waitlist of another eight. So if a speaker's not here, we'll just move on to the next

063person on the waitlist. And I'm going to pause after every name because there's going to be people out there with the delay, give them some time to come on in. First up is Kelly Stonelake. Good evening, Dr. Duran and President Van and board members. Thank you so much for the opportunity to address you. My name is Kelly Stonelake. I am a Highline School District alum. I'm a Highline parent. And while I'm here today to speak to today's vote on the i-Ready contract renewal, I also want to say, go Teamsters. So I recently published an investigation into i-Ready's evidence base and data privacy practices. I have brought many copies with me. I learned that there is zero peer-reviewed research demonstrating that i-Ready works as an instructional intervention or as an assessment tool. i-Ready is also currently

064facing a federal lawsuit suit alleging that the platform shares data on students with third parties, including advertising companies. Separately, while i-Ready will tell you that school districts have the right to consent to data sharing on behalf of students, they likely haven't told you that in an amicus brief in the 2025 IXL case, the FTC rejected the idea and said that the school rule must be strictly limited to the notice and consent process. As such, continued contracting with i-Ready exposes Highline to significant legal risk and potential expense. While I understand that assessment continuity is a priority, California and Michigan recently conducted extensive reviews of tools and assessment-- tools for assessment and screening based on criteria like validity, reliability, and representative norming. I-Ready did not make California's list, and it appears on Michigan's explicitly unapproved list. If

065the district believes it needs i-Ready continuity for assessment next year, I urge you to approve only the assessment-related portion as a one-year stopgap. Thank you again. Melissa Mafua? Good evening. Most of you guys normally see me here as Teamster business agent. And I'm here with all my Teamster siblings and HEA siblings over here. And you're going to hear a lot from them on how they're feeling about the contract. I want to take that hat off and talk as a parent. I have two kids in the school district. I'll start with my son, Cameron. He has an IEP. He started at three years old in the developmental preschool. He was a kid that could not talk, was shy, did not play with other kids because they couldn't communicate. And now he speaks two languages and is

066a chatterbox. I can't get him to stop. And that is because of all your staff here that worked with him every single day and believed in him when he did not believe in himself. My other kid, Champion-- he's a freshman at Evergreen. He has epilepsy. And I've been so impressed with all the staff at the schools that he's been at to ensure that he's safe and that they understand is medication requirements and all of that. And it gives me a peace of mind to be able to send my kid to school and know that he's safe. And because I'm running out of time, I'm going to skip. So as an alum, as a community member, as a union leader, I want to say thank you to the HEA members, to the Teamsters members, because you

067guys truly give to these kids every single day. And as a parent, I really appreciate it. And the work that you do is not unseen. So thank you. To the board, really quickly, I'll leave you with this. You asked them to know students by strength in need. Do you know them? [LAUGHS] Brenda Limerick? Hi. My name is Brenda Limerick. I'm a paraeducator at Hilltop Elementary in the ECEAP preschool program and a parent of three Highline School District graduates. I'm also a proud rank-and-file member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. I'm a shop steward, an executive board member of Teamsters 763, and a member of the current bargaining team. I'm here tonight because classified staff are essential to fulfilling Highline's promise to ensure every student is known by name, strength, and need. We are the ones

068making that promise real every day. We are in classrooms, on playgrounds, in lunchrooms, in small groups, and one on one with students who need the most support. We are nurses caring for student health needs and ensuring students are safe, supported and ready to learn. We're in the front office keeping our schools running, serving as the first point of contact for students and families, all while simultaneously supporting student health and daily operations. Classified staff are leaving Highline for neighboring districts that offer higher wages. Others don't stay because the emotional demands of this work are not matched by the pay or working conditions. We do more with less in this already short-staffed system. Many of us are parents of Highline students, caregivers, working families, longtime district employees, and college graduates. All of us care deeply about our

069students and our community, but that care should not require financial or emotional sacrifice just to survive. Right now, morale is low. Many of us feel unseen and underappreciated. You see the sea of blue behind me. Today, blue isn't just a color, it's a message. If Highline truly believes in knowing each student by name, strength, and need, then that commitment must extend to your classified staff. Know us. Value us. Invest in us. You cannot fulfill your promise to students without investing in the people that make you that promise possible. I have copies. Who do I leave them with? Thank you. Kristin Price? Good evening. My name's Kristin Price. I'm the parent of two daughters who have attended North Hill. Our family and this community have been fierce supporters of this district. We vote for levies. We

070pass bonds. And we show up for Highline schools. We have invested our trust and our tax dollars in your vision. That investment has paid off because of the community fostered by Ms. Jones, Ms. O'Leary. They didn't just manage a building. They built a sanctuary for our children. But that sanctuary is being dismantled by a, quote, "planned transition," unquote, that feels more like a strategic displacement. In my conversation with Superintendent Duran yesterday, he called the plan-- called this a planned move. If so, why was it kept secret until after the transfer deadline? This lacks transparency and feels vindictive. Furthermore, the flippant and dismissive attitude shown by district leadership during the staff announcement showed a gross misunderstanding of what it means to demonstrate respect and empathy for staff. To tell our teachers that the school's future success

071is, quote, "on them," while stripping away their leaders is an insult to their dedication. I see a pattern of using successful schools as donors to fix district-created gaps. Most staggering, however, is the collapse of psychological safety. Superintendent Duran mentioned that staff can file formal complaints, but they have told me directly they do not feel safe. They believe speaking up is professional suicide. I am grateful, with the understanding I have as of this morning, that HEA is actively stepping in. I implore this board, do not jeopardize the community's trust or our future support for bonds and levies by allowing this culture of fear to persist. We demand an independent third-party investigation into the hostile conditions and the conduct of the district officials involved. Further, we demand immediate agency for our staff and our community in the

072selection of North Hill future leadership. We refuse to let our school face the same fate of decline seen at other donor schools, where decisions were made behind closed doors. North Hill is high-functioning. Thank you. Oh, yeah. That will be who? Oh. Good evening, superintendent Duran and the board. My name is Malia Diouf, and I'm an eighth grade-- an eighth grader. I also am a proud graduate of North Hill Elementary. When I think of North Hill, I think of family. Even when things are hard, the staff make us feel safe when the Highline-- that's what the Highline promise should be. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. O'Leary are the heart of North Hill. They led us through the pandemic with kindness. They serve all kinds of students. You cannot just replace them with a new name. It feels

073like the district is taking our best leaders to fix a mistake somewhere else. This happened to Des Moines Elementary before. It is not fair to the kids. You are taking away the feeling of being safe at school. I am asking you to listen to the community. Please do not move the leaders we love and task them with fixing another school. Keep the Highline promise to the kids at North Hill. Keep miss Mrs. Jones and Ms. O'Leary where they belong. Thank you. Hello, and good evening, Superintendent Duran and the school board. My name is Janet Diouf. I am a fifth grader at North Hill. Tonight I am reading a letter to the adults at North Hill who have supported me. They do not feel safe to stand here and read this themselves. These are their words.

074Quote, "We are writing to show our deep shock and disappointment. Our Gold Star principal and vice principal were suddenly moved. No one told the staff first. This made our whole school community feel disrespected. These leaders are the heart of our school. Removing them without warning breaks our trust. To make it worse, let's talk about the unkind visit. A district leader came to our school. Their tone was not kind. They talked about hiring new people before saying they were sorry for our loss. Then they told the staff that if the school fails in the future, it will be the teachers' fault. This is wrong. It hurts people who work hard for us every day. We believe the district should hire new leaders for other schools instead of breaking up a school that is doing great. We

075deserve respect. We deserve a voice in these choices. We want our leaders back. Our students deserve leadership that they know and trust. We strongly urge you to change this decision. Please talk to us in a way that is honest. Our school deserves better than this," unquote. Now, back to my own words. It warms my heart to see so many parents and students rallying together. Every day this week during drop-off and pickup, we have gathered to make sure our teachers and staff know they are loved and supported by this community. I hope our actions set a good example for how the district should behave in the future. We should lead with love and support, not secrets and fear. Thank you. Hello, Superintendent Duran and board members. My name is Katie, and I'm the mom of both

076current and former North Hill students. I'm here because our children haven't just attended North Hill. They have thrived there. We feel profoundly fortunate to be a part of the community Ms. Jones and Ms. O'Leary have built. They fostered a culture of excellence that made North Hill the number one elementary school in this district. We are told these reassignments are routine, but anyone who knows the leadership of this team knows this move was not their choice. Ms. Jones' strategic nature is the very reason North Hill is successful. She has such deep respect for her staff that she would never leave them in a lurch. If this were a move she sought out, she would've provided her team the professional courtesy of time, time to process and time to seek their own transitions. Furthermore, look at the

077timing. Ms. Jones and Ms. O'Leary take immense pride in the academic outcomes they have worked so hard for. Ms. Jones would never choose to deliver discouraging news on the Friday before state testing, potentially compromising the performance of the students she adores. That lack of consideration for student focus is simply not in her DNA. It is currently a Teacher Appreciation Week. At 6:30 AM this past Monday, I was in front of the school decorating hanging signs to celebrate our educators. Ms. Jones is the kind of leader who, if this were her choice, would've stopped me to tell me herself at that time. She would've never let me spend my morning and the rest of my week rallying a community to fight for her if she were truly ready to walk away. She is that considerate of

078our time and our hearts. Leaders like Ms. Jones and Ms. O'Leary are the rarest resource in education. When you find a team that achieves number one status while maintaining the absolute heart of their community, you don't dismantle it. You protect it. I urge you to reconsider these reassignments and keep the leadership team at North Hill. However, if the district will not reconsider, then you must earn back our trust. We ask you to allow current North Hill staff and community advocate to be formal members on the hiring committee of the next principal. We deserve a seat at the table to protect the excellence that-- [AUDIO OUT] Next. Sarah Crerar? My name is Sarah Crerar, and I am a third grader at North Hill. I'm here today to speak against the decision to send my principal and

079assistant principal to another school. I disagree that Ms. Jones and Ms. O'Leary should leave because they have been in our school for so long and made it a very good place. All the students know Ms. Jones, and she knows every one of them by name. We don't want to lose that. Also, you can help Des Moines Elementary find their own principal instead of giving them ours. It's not fair to make my school have all the stress and complication, and the students will be really upset that their principal is being taken away, and that's just not right. I think that you should not take away our principal, but help Des Moines Elementary find their own. Thank you, Sarah. Adeline Paulson? Hello, Dr. Duran and board members. My name is Addie, and I'm a graduate of North

080Hill. I oppose this decision and yield the rest of my time to Jenny Winston. I am the parent of a third grader at North Hill. My son has had an IEP in place [CRYING] since kindergarten, related to his autism and his ADHD. And without the dedicated support of this staff, especially Ms. Jones, [CRIES]-- whew, high-pitched-- I do not know what would've become of our family. When he entered kindergarten, as parents, we were lost and terrified. But over these past four years, the patience, stability, and kindness of North Hill has saved us. Mrs. Jones's office is a refuge for our son and a place where he can feel safe and reset. And her support to me has been a lifeline. She and the community of educators always see the best in my son, and they encourage

081him to shine and support him when he falters and reassure me through my tears. So to have that stability taken away abruptly, without discussion, without respect of the students, the staff, and the families that depend on her leadership is devastating and unacceptable. Mrs. Jones has my trust when it comes to the welfare of my son and our school. But sadly, the school board does not. I know the parents and families at Des Moines Elementary have had real challenges, but they are equally capable of engaging in a thought exchange process to inform the leadership profile and hiring process for a principal and assistant principal at their school without removing the pillars of our own hard-working and dedicated institution. I wish that every school could have a Mrs. Jones and a Mrs. O'Leary, and if more educators

082could be trained, appreciated, and paid enough to perform these essential duties, maybe we could, maybe someday in this country. But for today-- [AUDIO OUT] Maria Corsini? Thanks, everybody. My name is Maria Corsini. I am an educator-- a paraeducator at CBS. I'm also a Teamster with the local 763. And I am on the bargaining committee. I'm here today to talk about impact. Right now, there is a gap between the impact paraeducators have on students' lives and the way the value of our work is treated. Schools run on the hearts and dedication of paraeducators, but for far too long, the system has relied on our silence. Every single day, a paraeducator is part of a student's world. We serve students from pre-K through age 22. We support classrooms, buses, offices, maintenance, and specialized programs. We build the

083relationships that help students feel safe, seen, and supported. We show up for their best days, and we stay through their hardest days. We are often the constant. The system has depended on our willingness to keep showing up, no matter the cost. And there is a cost, financial, emotional, and, at times, physical. Paraeducators carry the weight of students' struggles, their trauma, their fears, and their victories. We absorb the hard moments so students don't have to face them alone. That emotional labor is real. It is heavy. And it is rarely acknowledged. At the same time, we're being asked to do essential, complex, high-impact work without compensation that reflects the responsibility we carry. Many of us are struggling to stay in these roles, even though this is where our heart is. Many are working multiple jobs just to

084make ends meet. We are asking you to recognize our impact on-- not just in words, but in action. Help us stay in these roles so that we can continue-- [AUDIO OUT] Thank you. Anne Slater? My name is Anne Slater. I work for the school district, and I live in SeaTac. I'm addressing the contract negotiations with the Teamsters 3 bargaining unit. The district's proposal of a half-a-percent wage increase doesn't touch the impact of skyrocketing prices. Our lowest paid paraeducators and library assistants would have to work over 39 hours to be able to pay for one gallon of gas at Costco. We need better than that. The T3 contract covers about 800 staff and 79 job classifications, like paras who work with special needs students, interpreters providing immense family support, office staff, licensed practical nurses, preschool instructors,

085finance technicians. We are the backbone of Highline. Many T3 members live in district and are parents of Highline students. The majority are women, and many are people of color, immigrant, and queer folk. Some are Highline graduates, and some own homes and pay property taxes here in this district. We are Highline. But if this half a percent stands, you will force many to choose between continuing to serve the students they adore or providing for their own families. It's one thing to not get a COLA or to get a pay cut if your salary is $125,000, $200,000, $250,000, like those on the admin schedule. It's something else to demand that from folks who make $30,000, $40,000, $50,000. Investing in T3s is supporting our students, their families, the district, and the local community. I urge you to do

086the right thing. James Moore. Last call. No James Moore. OK. Trina Giesey? Hi. Good evening. My name is Trina Giesey, and I'm an LPN. I've worked for the district for six school years. I graduated from Highline High School. I want to start by acknowledging something that feels a bit confusing. Tonight, you're celebrating nurses, recognizing the critical role we play in-- play in student health, safety, and learning for Nurse Appreciation Day. But during bargaining, you've only offered LPNs a 0.5% wage increase, half of a percent. It doesn't feel like recognition. I want to be clear about what LPNs in schools actually do. We're licensed practical nurses. We're Teamsters. Our role is licensed, specialized, and carries a medical responsibility. LPNs care for students with chronic life-threatening conditions every day. We support students with diabetes. We provide nutrition

087through G-tubes and accompany students with seizure disorders and traits on buses so that they can travel to school-- to and from school safely on the bus. We run clinics, perform assessments. We run to emergent situations, fractured bones, seizures, breathing problems, situations where seconds matter. I've even administered Narcan to a young student and saved their life. We're using clinical judgment every single day to make decisions that impact students' health and safety. And now, during bargaining, we're even hearing about the possibility of adding health tech positions, unlicensed staff, initially being presented by the district in a way that would directly replace LPNs. The health techs won't add support. They won't increase staffing. Oh, is it time? Thank you. Sue Docekal? Hello to the board. My name is Sue Docekal, and I've worked at Tyee High School for

088seven years as an office assistant, a receptionist, and now as the counseling secretary. I live just up the street from the school, so like a lot of other T3s our students and families are my neighbors. I stand in line at Safeway with the parents, and we compare sticker shock over the price of hamburger, fresh veggies, gasoline, and rent. In short, we cannot survive without a decent raise to cover these rising costs. I wanted to bring in another look at this, which is from Highline's own policies. It's Procedure 0010-P2, Institutional Practices. It says institutional practices are those actions taken by an institution, a school, that intentionally or unintentionally advantage or disadvantage certain groups. I don't have time to read it all, so I'm just going to hit a couple highlights that struck me. It says, "The

089equity lens should be considered in decisions such as staffing, budgeting, and allocating resources." And then it skips to, "To truly apply an equity lens to our work, it is important that decision makers be involved in the broader Highline community to ensure an understanding of our students, families, and staff." Under process, it says, "When using the equity lens, you have to consider the groups affected and will it increase existing disparities." And we T3s are the lowest paid. So I want you to consider that. Finally, we've come here often. A lot of T3s leave-- [AUDIO OUT] Patty Boyd? Thank you. My name's Patty Boyd, and I have been generational of the Highland school district. My mother graduated in '55. I graduated '77. I had kids that graduated from '88 all the way to 2006. I have three

090grandchildren here. I've been a paraeducator for over 20 years. And I will advise you as I advise many of our paras. If we work hard and if you are young, please do not stay in this role. You can't afford it. Our single parents can't stay here and work this job to be with their kids. We're there every day supplying the need for our students, and right now, the need isn't being supplied for us. I will tell our paraeducators, go get your teaching certificate. Don't stay here because it's not doable. I just recently lost my husband, and had I been younger and had not planned well, I would immediately have to change jobs. And that's a position that every single one of us paras are in here. We work hard every single day. We get kicked.

091We get hit. And we do that out of love for not only our students, but for this district. I've been here a long, long time, and I want to stay here for another couple years, but not too much longer. But these younger paras-- if you look at the average age group, the average age group is about 45 to 50. You are losing those paras because they can't come in here and earn an income without working at least one additional job. I work with somebody that has three additional jobs and is going to school just to get out of here. You need us just as much as we need those students, and the students need us. And I just wanted you to take the time to realize that. Thank you very much. Jessica Ambriz? OK. No

092Jessica. Papa Silla. No Papa. And then Sarah Peterson. OK. Good evening, everyone. As we have heard tonight, your paras are in negotiation. We are underpaid. Cost of living is increasing. And we are not just talking about compensation. We are talking about retaining your paras in their buildings, and your support staff, because let's not forget the other ladies in the front office, and your nurses. Sorry, nurses. So we want to retain your paras, all of your paras, and your T3s would like some respect. We would also like to maintain our positions and be able to live successfully and support our families. We work hard, as it has been stated many times, and we also work to support our students. In order to satisfy us and our needs, we need to be-- you need to know our

093names. My name is Sarah Peterson. There are five Sarahs that work in my building. Some are paras. Some are teachers. There's even a woman in this district who has my exact same name, first, middle, and last name. So please make sure you get the right one. If you need to contact me. We need to be seen. We need to be known. We need to be heard. We need a seat at the table. We need all the things that you are encouraging us to give to our students, our name, our strengths and our needs. Our strengths? Obviously, we all showed up tonight. There's lots of us. [APPLAUSE] So please come to the table at negotiations, willing to work with us. And this could entail what we would like in our fair contract. Obviously, cost of living

094increase. We would like-- thank you. [APPLAUSE] Prabhjot Kaur? Good evening, everyone. I'm a para. Hi. Yeah. I'm a para at Tyee High school. And now I'm practicing my student teaching. I've been para two years now. So it's true. I'm here to support my-- all team as a para, as a classified staff here. And it's true because as we're moving towards our transition, like inclusion, para support is much more needed. If we are missing one then it's double. We do double. And it's because our students need us, because it's a new transition to them. So please consider their concern. Thank you for listening. Thank you very much. Emily Spoor? My name is Emily Spoor, and I'm a paraeducator, too, supporting the ILC program at Tyee High School. Previously, I spent eight years at White Center Heights

095Elementary, where I served as the Teamsters shop steward. I graduated from Mount Rainier High School, and I'm a second-generation Highline educator. Several questions come to mind in response to the proposed half of 1% cost-of-living adjustment. Do you want the people in charge of supervising your young children at recess to have been out late delivering takeout for Doordash? Should the person translating for a parent-teacher conference be bleary-eyed and slow because they worked the closing shift waiting tables? Should the people reminding students to wipe their noses and wash their hands after coughing and sneezing be unable to afford to take rest days after inevitably succumbing to viral load? Should the person lifting a student in and out of a wheelchair be tight and sore from unloading retail inventory? Should the person who puts their body between kids

096and cars in a busy intersection have to visit a food bank while waiting for the month to end? We have all felt the economic squeeze lately. We have all been startled at the register by the cost of picking up just a few things at the grocery store. We have all had to put only a few dollars into our gas tanks at a time and hope that it will be enough. We have all had to stop thinking about the future and focus on survival. We also acknowledge that the district faces a daunting budget deficit to the tune of $8 million, but the cost savings-- [AUDIO OUT] We have three from our waitlist. Ann Radford? Last call. No. Thank you. Katie Gilliam? No Katie Gilliam. OK. Christiana Nelson? No. OK. Jaimee Shaug? Good evening. My name is

097Jaimee Shaug, and I am the Attendance Specialist at Tyee High School. I am also a Tyee High School graduate. My father attended Glacier High School. My son graduated from Choice Academy. And I currently have a freshman at Highline-- or, I'm sorry, at Tyee High School. I'm here to speak directly about the work office staff do, work this district relies on every single day. School districts do not run without us. We're the first point of contact for families. We manage attendance, emergencies, communications, and legal compliance. Every student who arrives, leaves, get sick, goes on field trips, or is marked absent goes to our office. When something is wrong, we fix it, immediately and accurately. And this is exactly where the Highline promise lives. Office staff are the ones who truly know students and families by name,

098strength, and need. We track them, support them, call home, notice patterns, respond to crisis, and make sure no student slips through the cracks. The Highline promise is fulfilled through our daily work. We come every day and give our all to our students and families. And I believe Highline is not giving its all to us with a 0.5% offer. We love our jobs. We love our families we serve. But love doesn't pay the electric bill. If office staff are the backbone of school operations and the people who make the Highline promise real, then our compensation must reflect that reality. This is about fairness, sustainability and respect, and it's time for that to be reflected in action. I also serve on the bargaining team and look forward to getting back to negotiations. Thank you. [AUDIO OUT] Johnson?

099Good evening. I'm going to be using my time to my daughter, a student at North Hill. Good evening, Superintendent and school board members. My name is Rosie Davidson. I am a fifth grader at North Hill Elementary. I am here because I care about my school, and I'm worried what's going to happen next year. North Hill is a place where I feel safe and where I belong. I have friends. And the adults at my school really care about us. Ms. Jones and Ms. O'Leary are a big part of that. They are always around checking in on students, making sure everyone feels included. There have been times when I had my personal struggles, and with the help of Ms. Jones and Ms. O'Leary, my teachers and my counselor, I have felt heard and seen. That has made

100a really big difference for me. I've also been given opportunities to be a leader, to share my voice, and to feel safe being myself. That has helped me grow into who I am today. That is the kind of school every student deserves, not just me, but the students here now and the students who will come after us. That is why this decision is hard to understand. If our school is doing well, why change the people who make it that way? Thank you. [APPLAUSE] So next up was Jenny Winston, but her time was ceded. Somebody ceded her time. So we're going to move on to Veronica Simmons. No Veronica Simmons? OK, and we made it through the entire waitlist. Last one is Nicholas Smith. Last call for Nicholas Smith. No Nicholas Smith. Well, that concludes our

101communications for this evening. Thank you, everybody, for showing up and sharing your thoughts with us. Appreciate that. With that said, we're going to move on to our consent agenda. Are there any questions or comments regards to our consent agenda? We'll give it a minute, and-- go ahead. Thank you, everybody. Back to our consent agenda. Any questions or comments in regards to our consent agenda? I have none. Can I please have a motion to approve the consent agenda? I'll make a motion to approve our consent agenda. I'll second. All those in favor? Aye. Yes. Any opposed? Looks like Director Holien just stepped away for a quick minute. We're good with that. Thank you very much. No items removed from the consent agenda. We're going to head into action. This is 8.1, Motion to Approve Revisions and

102Renaming Board Policy 4321, Advertising, Sponsorship, and Contest. Any questions or comments on this? I have one, just a comment. You don't have to get up. I just want to thank staff for looking into this as an opportunity to generate revenue, but also looking at things a little bit different. So thank you for this-- bringing this forward. With that, can I please have a motion? I move that the Highline School Board approve the revisions and renaming of Policy 4321, Advertising, Sponsorship, and Contest. So I need a second, please. I'll second. Do roll call, please? Director Tidholm? Yay. Director Espinoza? Yes. Director Alvarez? Yay. Director Holien? Yay. President Van? Yay. This motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you very much. 8.2, Motion to Approve Revisions to Board Policy 4330, Use of School Facilities. Any questions or comments?

103I just have a comment. I just want to say, again, thank you. I know that now we are all going to be on the same page, now that we're aligning. So everybody will have the same understanding regarding facilities, in which-- I mean, before, I even was like, OK, which one does this fall under? So I just want to say appreciate that-- did a lot of research. And I know we met and just had-- really had to look at making sure that there was equitable practices as we were supporting our communities with these. So I just want to say, thank you. I know it took a lot, but I appreciate it. Thank you guys. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Hearing and seeing none, can I please have a motion? I move the Highline School

104Board approve the revisions to board policy 4330, Use of School Facilities. May I have a second? I'll second that. Roll call, please? Director Alvarez? Yay. Director Holien? Yay. Director Tidholm? Yay. Director Espinoza? Yes. President Van. Yay. This motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you. 8.3. This is Motion to Approve Resolution 0426, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association for the '26, '27 school year. Any questions or comments? Hearing and seeing none, can I please have a motion? I move that the Highline School Board approve Resolution 426, approving the delegation of authority to the WIAA for the 2026, 2027 school year. I'll second that. Roll call, please? Director Espinoza? Yes. Director Tidholm? Yay. Director Holien? Yay. Director Alvarez? Yay. President Van. Yay. This motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you. 8.4. This is Motion to Approve Resolution 05-26, Tyee

105High School Replacement Project, Acceptance of Building Commissioning Report. Questions or comments? Hearing and seeing none, can I please have a motion to approve? I move the Highline School Board adopt Resolution 05-25, Tyee High School Replacement Project, Acceptance of Building Commissioning Report. May I have a second? I'll second. Roll call, please. Director Holien? Yay. Director Alvarez? Yay. Director Espinoza? Yes. Director Tidholm? Yay. President Van? Yay. This motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you very much. 8.6, Motion to Approve Resolution 07-26, authorizing the district to sell property located at 18330 4th Avenue South, Burien, Washington, to Millennial Builders, LLC. President Van, you skipped 8.5. I'm jumping. 8.5 Let's go to 8.5. Thank you. Motion to approve Resolution 06-6, to issue non-renewal notices pursuant to a reduction in force to achieve balanced budget and to properly staff district

106educational programs and departments. Any questions or comments? Yes, I have a question. Yes. So is this something that happens every year or-- during the spring of each year. Yes, ma'am. Yes. Yeah. It's an annual resolution, an annual process. Sorry. Yes. Annual resolution, annual process. Under statute, there's types of employees that have continuing contracts. They expect employment unless we say otherwise. So this is the deadline for us to say otherwise. Well, we don't have a position currently-- We've chatted about this. OK. Thank you. I remember. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Thank you very much. Can I please have a motion? I move the Highline School Board approve Resolution 06-26, authorizing the superintendent to direct action to implement the reduced educational program for certificated staff for school year 2026, '27, and notify certificated non-supervisory staff

107adversely affected by the reduction prior to May 15, 2026. May I have a second? I'll second. Roll call, please? Director Tidholm? Yay. Director Holien? Yay. Director Espinoza? Yes, Director Alvarez? Yay. President Van. Yay. This motion passes 5 to 0. OK Thank you. Now 8.6, Motion to Approve Resolution 07-26, authorizing the district to sell property located at 18330 4th Avenue South, Burien, Washington, to Millennial Builders, LLC. Any questions or comments? Hearing and seeing none-- I do have a question. And Dr. Duran, you can probably answer this, that the purchase price of $725,000-- that's current market value-- it's across the board. Yes, it is. Thank you. Thanks for clarifying. With that, can I please have a motion? I move the Highline School Board approve resolution number 7-26, authorizing the sale of the district property, and approve the

108purchase and sale agreement with Millennial Builders, LLC for the sale of the property located at 18330 4th Avenue South, Burien, Washington, for the purchase price of $725,000, and authorize the superintendent to execute the agreement and take all necessary actions to complete the transaction, including conveyance of the property. I further move to authorize the superintendent to review and approve reasonable adjustments to the purchase price, if necessary, based on findings during the buyer's due-diligence period, including but not limited to, utility easements or related site constraints, provided such adjustments are supported by documentation and determined to be in the best interest of the district. Can I please have a second? I will second that. Thank you. Roll call, please. Director Alvarez? Yay. Director Espinoza? Yes. Director Tidholm? Yay. Director Holien? Yay. President Van. Yay. This motion passes 5

109to 0. Thank you very much. 8.7, Motion to Approve Highline Public Schools Student Proficiency and Growth Assessment Systems. I do have a question in regards to this, in regards to the privacy Dr. Duran, I just want to make sure that our students' data and everything else is, is protected. So can you share a little bit more about that, please? Yes. We take all of our student privacy seriously, and we protect our student data with care. And we expect all vendors, including i-Ready to meet state and federal privacy laws and standards. I have another question. I know it says here this is a one-year contract, with the possibility, obviously, if we want to continue. And I think I read that we can cancel this at any time, or-- I mean, it's a one-year contract, but after

110that, we're not-- we don't have to continue if we not see fit. We would have to go through another process based on how we determine to measure growth. As you read in the bar, we had a subcommittee that was working with us to provide input and guidance, representing our entire district staff, to consider other options because we did look at other options that are out there. But in the end, this was a tool that our team believed would be the most impactful without creating a level of distress and change, so. And also, I think I remember that it has an ability to have it in Spanish as well, or the testing in Spanish, right? Yeah. Do you want to just come speak to that part real quick? Thank you. Since you're here. Good evening, Directors.

111Yes, so the Spanish-- sorry. The Spanish component does cover the K through 6 adaptive assessment. And then there's the fixed-form assessment for 7 and 8. So we would still get the data for Spanish reading and that. Thank you. OK, thank you. And I think we-- I asked the exact same question last time. But I'm like-- I know that it was revised since then, so I just want to make sure that we still were having that component there. Yes, the revisions were primarily due to the personalized instruction component. The diagnostic is the same. And as part of that revision, we ended up gaining more personalized instruction licenses for all K through 12 instead of just ninth grade on the original quote that was intro'd, but we saved about $23,000 off of that through different discounts offered.

112I like that. Thank you. One additional question. So, Dr. Duran, you mentioned that there was a subcommittee that researched-- so when was that? Over this last year, because I think the concerns around privacy are fairly recent, no? I think it's been a combination. There's been connection between some pushback on educational technology, student privacy, screen time. It's kind of a collective thing. I think we saw a real increase in this when there was some information down from Los Angeles and some of the information that happened down in that school district. And since then, we've just seen an increase in some backlash across the board. Is there any language in the contract or clause that would permit cancellation of the contract in the event of any extenuating circumstances before that year was up? Yes. If there was

113some sort of data breach or privacy agreements, we do have a data privacy agreement in place with Curriculum Associates. With that would be a cancellation and destruction of the data per our request. Is that the only permitted event if there was a data breach? Nope. At any time we can cancel and do that. We would want to provide justification for it, but it is-- yeah-- available. OK. Thank you for confirming that because that's what I thought I had read, that we could cancel at any-- I mean, it had to be a justifiable reason. But I just-- I think it's important for our community to know-- I mean, having the committee do the research and stay-- and then for us to be up to date because things change. We know-- like, I heard Dr. Duran talk

114about there's an uptick because of concerns of other districts coming down-- well, specifically LA, I would say. So it's good to hear that, you know, if there's anything that we feel that as it's moving forward-- that if it's justifiable-- that we don't have-- we're not stuck with this. I have one question. My biggest concern with i-Ready is finding out how much time is spent on assessments on devices for your kindergarten through third graders. As a parent, we spend a lot of time avoiding iPads. We spend a lot of time avoiding technology at a very young age. I'm just curious how long the assessments take and all of that. Yeah. So on average, it's about 25 to 35 minutes per subject, so reading and math, for our early elementary students. That's three times a year. And

115in those segments, they break them up to two or three different sessions during any testing time. So in total, we're looking, about average, 2.5 to 3.5 hours per year spent on assessment. Additionally, with our kindergarten students, they only test winter-spring requirements, so that's one less testing window they have during the year. Older students get more-- it's a longer testing time because the reading passages are longer and a little bit more involved, so we would expect to take more time. But that's still 40, 60 minutes, up through eighth grade. High school, maybe 60 to 90 minutes, mostly for the reading pieces. And then also, too, the younger elementary students- there is the literacy tasks that are an optional feature of that, another assessment, and those tasks can take as little as one minute to complete. I

116mean, you said optional. Does the student decide on that, or how does that work? Usually it's teacher, classroom-based. And so it's an opportunity for targeted instruction. So based on the baseline diagnostic or any diagnostic throughout the year, if there's a particular area where they're needing some additional practice with word fluency, those literacy tasks are there for teacher to assign help-- see what the student's doing, and then use that data to inform their instructional practices in the classroom. I think the other part I'll just add is that this is an assessment that we do not do just to do. After the student takes that assessment, we get information on the strengths of that students, next steps for that students. And then, in some of our classrooms, students then have the opportunity to follow a personalized learning

117plan. So they can do some practice, reinforce the work that they're trying to do to continue to support them. So it is used to help provide a wide range of diagnostic information to our educators to ensure that our students' needs are being met and that their strengths are being developed. And I do have one more thing to add for that. With the new, branded I-Ready in form that's replacing the diagnostic for next year, they are reducing the number of test items so that they're really working towards that preventing over testing. And so with the reduction in test items, we're going to see shorter test times for all students. Great. Thank you, Sarah. Thank you. Directors, any follow-up questions or comments? Thank you very much, Sarah. With that, can I please have a motion to approve

1188.7? So I move that the Highline School Board approve the contract with Curriculum Associates i-Ready for a one-year contract in the amount of $532,763.08. Tax-exempt professional learning is subject to Washington sales tax under SB 5814. And now need a second. I'll second. Roll call, please? Director Espinoza? At this moment, I don't have enough information to make-- to vote yes. So I'm going to abstain. OK. Director Tidholm? Yay. Director Holien? Nay. Director Alvarez? Yay. President Van? Yay. This motion passes 3-1-1. Thank you. 8.8. This is Motion to Approve the Contract with Garland for Replacement Roofs at Original Beverly Park and Puget Sound Skills Center. Any questions or comments? Hearing and seeing none, can I please have a motion? I move the Highline School Board approve the contract with Garland/EBS Incorporated for the Roof Restoration of the

119Original Beverly Park and Puget Sound Skills Center, in the amount of approximately $1,805,220 plus applicable taxes and a 15% contingency allowance, approximately $270,783 for a total authorization of approximately $2,076,003. I further move to authorize the superintendent or designee, the designee, the executive director of capital planning and construction to execute the contract and approve change orders within the approved budget. May I have a second? I'll second that. Roll call, please? Director Holien? Yay. Director Alvarez? Yay. Director Tidholm? Yay. Director Espinoza? Yes. President Van? Yay. This motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you, Director Holien, for saying it all. And that concludes our action items. There's no intro in action. We'll move into introductions. 10.1. Motion to Approve Board Resolution 08-26, requesting that the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction approved three waiver days for the purpose

120of student-led and family-teacher conferences. Any questions or comments? None. OK. 10.2 this is Motion to Approve the First Amendment to ILA 01-26. This is the Interlocal Agreement for Partnership and Cooperation Between Highline Public Schools and the Port of Seattle. Questions or comments? 10.3. Motion to Approve Purchase Order Increase for First Student, Inc. Contract Addendum for the '25, '26 School Year. Questions or comments in regards to that? 10.3-- 10.3. Just a quick question. So this is an increase, again, on this contract? Hi there. I can provide some context. Yes, please. So if you can recall back to the beginning of the school year, we ran into not only a crisis with our routing software going down, the inability to change those routes that were printed, and then a staffing crisis. So we amended our contract with

121First Student to supplement drivers to be able to provide that baseline service. We have since ended that contract, and this is the total amount that was outside of what we had anticipated spending with First Student. Thank you. That makes much more sense. I was like, wait a minute. We've talked about this. But I do remember that, at the time, we specifically were needing help, and we got the help that we needed, so-- We sure did. --we now gotta pay for it. Yes, we do. Thank you. Yeah. So it also mentions ongoing challenges with staffing. So what are those about? Yeah, that's a great question as well. The great news is that we've made-- and I can bring back some numbers or share numbers, the actuals-- but some strides to not only fill trainee positions, so

122to hire new staff who are training to get their CDLs to become drivers. But we've bolstered our sub pool. And we've also got our monitor pool to a stable level with our sub pool. So we still have vacant driver positions, but we were able to staff our gen ed and field trips, our baseline service. That's why we've ended the contract with First Student for that supplement service. So I think that goes to show the progress. We still have work to do, but we're in the right direction now. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you, Claire. Appreciate it. 10.4, Motion to Approve a Multi-Year Contract with Copiers from Northwest. No comments, no questions. OK. Motion to Approve Revised Tyee High School Replacement Project, Grant of Easement to Highline Water District. Easement. Any questions or comments? Hearing and seeing

123none. And our last intro item is Motion to Approve Closeout of Sylvester Middle School Emergency Floor Repair, CP 260067. Any questions or comments? That last one is just basically closing out the contract of the work that was done, so it's just paying the last bill kind of thing. Correct. OK. That concludes our intro items. If there are any questions or concerns, please email Dr. Duran, myself, and we can answer them before our next board meeting. With that, any additions to our upcoming consent agenda? I'd like to add-- oh, Director-- [AUDIO OUT] I was just going to ask to move 10.5 and 10.6 to consent agenda. Is that feasible? So I have a motion to move 10.5 to 10.6 to consent, unless there's any other-- I'd like to add 10.4. So it's the Copiers Northwest that

124we have-- it's just a renewal of our contract, that we go every-- So Director Holien has motioned to move 10.5 and 10.6 to the consent agenda, and Vice President Alvarez would motion to move 10.4 to consent. Do we have all-- Is there a revised motion or an amended motion for that? Yes. We have a revised motion. So Director Holien made a motion to move 10.5 and 10.6. So now there's a motion to revise that, so I could add 10.5. One second, please. Aaron's coming to the-- Can I just make a motion to move 10.4, 10.5, and 10.6-- One second. We do have a motion on the table. We already have a motion on the table. I wonder if I have to have to second-- We could've done two motions, but yeah. You could've done two

125motions. One option might be you could withdraw your original motion. It hasn't been second or voted on yet. I don't believe you've made a formal motion yet, but if you have, you could also withdraw your motion for 10.4 because there hasn't been a second or vote on that. And then if someone would like to, they could make a motion with all three. Can I push Rewind? Yeah. So I want to withdraw my motion. I want to withdraw my motion of 10.5 and 10.6. And I will just specify, withdraw my thought of making a motion of 10.5. Thank you. I mean 10.4. I'm sorry. [LAUGHS] 10.4. Thank you very much. So any calls or additions to our upcoming consent agenda? I move 10.4, 10.5, 10.6 to go to the consent agenda. Can I have a second?

126I will second that. All in favor, or aye? Roll call. Oh, roll call. Let's do a roll call. Do roll call. Director Tidholm? Yay. Director Espinoza? Yes. Director Holien? Yay. Director Alvarez? Let me think about it. No, just kidding. Yes. President Van. Yay. This motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you very much. And that concludes our board meeting this evening. Thank you, everybody, for joining us this evening. Can we have a motion to adjourn, please? Can I please have-- I'll make a motion to adjourn. I'll second that. Joe was just ready to go. All in favor. Aye. Any opposed? Aye, aye, aye. Thank you, everybody.