001okay we'll go ahead and call this school board meeting to order if please join me in honor of our great nation with the Pledge of Allegiance I like welcome everybody here tonight and those watching online uh I'm your guest host again uh vice president Chris Pinsky Lindsay was unable to attend due to uh surgery today so we'll keep our thoughts and prayers in our in our minds tonight as uh she's recovering hopefully she'll be back for our next board meeting so uh with that do we have any needs for transl translation okay we'll go ahead and can I get approval of the agenda how would you approve the agenda second all in favor say I I I'll oppose same sign okay next on the agenda will uh student reports but we don't have students here
002yet uh so we'll table that and then uh director Gerber what say you on legislation no legislative report evening Al righty uh move on to board member discussion um do we have any board member discussion all right uh do we need a nsba conference commitments now or do we need to we'll reach out to director prow this week and have her communicate to the rest of the board to gauge your interest and start prepping and planning but we'll reach out to her this week okay uh required approvals do we have a motion for required approvals um and maybe we'll table the calendar year I guess we need a motion to table the calendar year till we have a full okay uh we'll just take a motion for acquired approvals I'll make that motion and I'll
003second that all in favor say I I all oppos same sign okay uh required approvals for early accounts payable warrants to for Johnson's class I'll make a mo I'll make a motion to approve the accounts payable warrant to I'll second that motion all in favor say I I I all oppos okay uh next on the items uh superintendent informational items I wanted to sit up here today so we could have U you know from time to time the opportunity to uh have a dialogue or conversation back and forth and I think this is a particularly important topic for us to be discussing with some of the uh I think probably the word I've been using most often is confusion and and tension in the system not only in our community but in our state and
004in our country and I think it's important that we we talk about that so I want to jump in and share um some slides with you about um first we'll start right here with I think is the foundation for all of us which is this really cool collection of people and um perspectives that we have in our community and in our schools uh seven or eight or nine schools listed up there all with very unique cultures to them you know hawat the strong gohawks um all these sort of things that come from Individual School leaders and from school leadership teams bringing their perspective to the work and uh I think it's important for us to recognize and remember that we support and try and Lead all of those different perspectives and voices and and I
005want to talk about how we should think about doing that so if you remember this slide during our strategic planning process and this was really a a a visual or an image to say we really want to be that group on the right tightly woven team headed in the same direction doing some really cool things if you think about um our boys and girls wrestling teams this weekend outstanding showings at the state tournament like second and third in the state some of the best wrestlers in the state of Washington really strong programs tightly woven expectations our goal is to get to the Tacoma Dome and to perform well when we get there that's that's the kind of organization anybody would want to have and why why I wanted to call back to this image is
006uh certainly during election times uh what can happen is you have a candidate who sets a vision right I'm I have a vision for where I want whatever position I'm running for when you ran for Schoolboard you had a vision for the work you were bringing to it this is what I want to accomplish as a Schoolboard member and certainly president Trump has set a vision that he has for America and said this is the way I'm going this is what he said when he was running for office and what he's trying to put into action why I think this visual is important it's for us to wrestle with and think about um what happens during this transition is whether or not we're in Arrow one or two especially in a state like Washington where
007the arrows in Washington might be different than the arrows coming out of Washington DC and how do we deal with and manage and communicate that right I think the other particularly interesting U moment that we're in in our country is that um there's actually I think a move to change the shape of that Arrow either to compress it and condense it or go from Arrow to Arrow much quicker than maybe has ever been done from that level of government and we're all part of that you know part of that experience we're all having that as American citizens and as leaders in our school district but I think it's a it's a particularly powerful image for where we are in the country and where we are as a school district and it's good for us to
008think about that how do we make sure because if you remember the arrows on the left those lead to confusion those lead to frustration uh those lead to goals that aren't achieved and nobody wants that nobody wants that in Washington DC and I I know we don't want that here so our job is to to be sens makers right to think about the things that we're hearing and to think about how we manage them now oftentimes what happens in these conversations is we have um Democrats and Republicans right the left and the right who um have difficulty speaking with one another other and if you remember um when we went to the nsba conference in New Orleans and we heard from some folks talk about the dignity index remember that experience that we had and
009I know that his director pra in particular had a couple of interactions in individual sessions with people from different parts of the country with very different political perspectives it was a very diverse group of Americans in that building what was really cool though I remember when we left was it seemed like everybody who was in there even though they had different political opinions enjoyed what they heard which is we need to talk about this in a civil way we need to at least be kind to one another we might disagree but we should be kind to one another and then uh director Gerber and I and and will Von Brock when we attended the um the wda and Wasa legislative conference the dignity index folks came to Washington and provided a presentation and and know
010so it was another reminder for us uh because here's what happens right now in in our country is that these these entities and the leaders of these groups to get elected say things and push ideas and agendas that just it's just a budding of heads and at that level maybe that makes sense maybe they should be setting Vision but there's all these details that we have to work out right that we have to think about and those details are represented in these arrows these are some of the small details we have to put into action and I think it's again important for us that when we're communicating with our constituents that they understand what we're trying to do and what pace it's supposed to happen at if all they do is read the headline okay
011so this isn't a discussion about who's right or who's wrong or what we should be doing in the alal school district but it is a reminder for all of us that when we have these we need to have these conversations one we can't ignore them uh and we need to be really clear about what we're saying and why we're saying it and let's say it in a kind way I really wish the students were here today because a powerful reminder for me during the the uh covid experience was the kids watching the adults and how they treated one another and I think the kids are watching us again at this moment they're paying attention to what adults are saying to one another they're paying attention to what their teachers are telling them in class they're
012paying attention to what they're hearing at home and their parents talk about they're watching us and it's important that even if they disagree with our ideas and how what we might be say is the right agenda for our community um they are learning how to treat one another and that's an important lesson that we learned in schools so this is just a a brief it's certainly for the board but also for the community uh when you think about this alignment and this idea of how things flow um the president of the United States President Trump has the federal authority to to do some things and to make some statements and he's done that primarily uh through um executive orders right he said here's what we're going to do and oftentimes what happens is uh something
013will be said at the federal level and then I'll get a phone call or you'll get an email or a phone call saying hey I saw saw this on the news are we doing that tomorrow and people are shocked when no we're not doing that tomorrow well why not I thought it was law well it's that's not how it works so so I think it's again important that we understand and then we can communicate to our community this is how it works so a number of executive orders have come out already that impact k12 and so the Congress has some oversight and certainly in um in the Senate President Trump has a a small majority there the Republican Party does and so there able to get some things done maybe with a little more urgency
014the House of Representatives a much tighter margin but still some some ability to move things forward but they have a lot to discuss and decide now we also know that we have 50 states in the United States and they all have state governments who also think we have some Authority because one of the things that President Trump has been very clear about is education and some of these issues belong at the state level the state should get to decide he said that over and over and so as some of these messages and orders come out layered behind it is what's your state going to do and I've shared this in a couple other settings with other schools in a in a in a red country and a red Community but a blue State there's some
015things we have to manage that can become confusing for people you're going to hear tonight a couple of short video clips from superintendent re doll and I think it's particularly important for all of us to pay attention to the messaging that he's putting out because ultimately if you look look at that sort of chain of command so to speak um as OSI gives us Direction and the State Board of Education it'll be up to us to respond to what they're saying so any questions so far or thoughts uh yeah Pete thanks for um doing this uh just yeah kind of on the federal level like he's he's kind of implemented it's going to go back to the States but if the state doesn't necessarily agree with his view are we not going get is the
016state of Washington going to be limited on funding then yeah that that's a really good question and in a couple of slides I'm going to and actually one of the title of one of the slides is fear of funding are they going to pull those funds away it's actually one of the things that um because again this is a left and a right issue that we heard during covid hey if you open schools we're taking your money right and now they're saying hey if you don't do this we're taking your money it really does come down to those federal funds flowing through to States um and and there will be a brief description of what um uh president Trump has said about his ability to in fact do that and then re doll's perspective on
017that so you'll hear that in just a minute so just um so for clarification so OSI is that red level there they're interpreting the federal and state laws and how that applies directly to us right correct yeah so re doll has been elected in the that's how it works in the state of Washington and so he has a responsibility to listen to the state legislators to the governor and say hey and Washington this is what we do and he's sort of the voice and vision for that he's been pretty public about some of his views that are counter to what president Trump is saying and and he'll be very clear in the video that we're washingtonians and this is what we do here now and we're all we aware very well aware of the political
018diversity in Washington you get over the past it's a different context and climate we work in that right but we're still I'm still responsible for responding to direction from obbii and if we're we're going to alter from that or defer from that or share our voice about it um we should just at least be aware of it what's he saying and if we don't think that that's what we should be saying we share our voice we share our peace but yeah this is really meant to demonstrate to the community again that there's a process for how this should roll out and some of those layers cause inefficiencies it just takes time to get through so again when you're getting a phone call saying hey I saw on on my Facebook account that that this is
019just that was just was announced when are we doing that in ell you know certainly reach out and we can help you think through that but most of the guidance we've been giving is we're going to wait 90 to 120 days that's what most of these orders say he's actually giving the agencies in that blue chunk some time to figure it out hey I want you I want this done here's the vision so if I go back to this slide right here what he said right now is here's the vision here's the big Arrow you figure out all the little arrows and you have 90 or 120 days to do it and and again that that's when people can get confused how come those arrows aren't aligned yet well number one much of this has
020ended up in court already so there's going to be some of that to deal with and then it'll be a matter of sort of the negotiating back and forth of where it's going to land in each individual State uh and and I also want to highlight in particular executive orders are not a new thing it's not something that President Trump invented he's certainly not the only president to do it on day one many of his executive orders were to take away a bunch of executive orders that Biden put in so there's this again there's this is not a conversation about who's right and who's wrong and what what we should be doing it's really a conversation of here's how the structure works here's how governance in America works and here's how we need to think
021about it now president Trump's style is very different he's been very vocal about um the executive orders and and he's he's been using them to communicate his vision for the country and the fact that we're talking about it I think demonstrates that he's had some success in communicating that this is where I wanted to go and this is what I want done and then again it's up to us and the supports in our state to try and make that happen we good I think it's this image in particular it's also reflective of the pendulum of American politics you swing one way you swing back the other way you swing one way uh we're all here every day dealing with kids and families and and and teachers and and all the folks that work in our
022schools every day trying to make sure that we pay attention to those small details now over the last uh few weeks we've received what's called a dear colleague letter and this is a letter from it's an official correspondence and it's sent out to sort of um U to let you know hey you better take this seriously and these dear colleague letters come from the house of repres Representatives um or the United States Senate and they send them out to communicate these broad ideas so president Trump has put out a few of them around um diversity equity and inclusion uh I think there's some out around uh transgender issues those kinds of Hot Topics that he talked about a lot during the election and on the right what I think is important for us to to
023note is okay we have this upper level Federal Authority here's what Trump said now we're getting down to so the dear colleague letter that's going from Trump to Congress hey guys this is what I want done they get this uh oversight committee and they send out this letter this is what we're doing then it goes to state governments and OPI which is where it's at now and you can see um what re doll said about that letter this is a direct quote from him I want to be really clear this is not law um the letter even States and then he quotes the letter furthermore here's what we do in Washington so this is re doll's effort to say hey remember this is a state's issue states rights this is what we do in Washington
024he's reminding all of us we don't discriminate and then here's here at the very next paragraph he tells us and here's what I'm telling school districts to do and so in this instance I take school districts as me certainly as superintendent and then it's also coun in advice for the board who can make some decisions and have some flexibility but we should not make any changes again when you hear that headline and you read it executive order Dei is gone away you get this dear colleague letter saying you better do this and then you get a letter from the state boss who says don't do anything hold your horses right that's sort of the context that we're dealing with every day what messaging is coming out how do we process that locally okay just this
025letter sounds like very authorative like it's his point of view and not necessarily the state point of view right which which I know is is g to be the sedate but that just the way that wording is it sounds like if you weake any changes punishment's coming yeah I think one of the things I would uh we're going to talk about here in a bit but I'll just skip ahead before we do all this and hope that it works when I go back remember the eight levels on the dignity index when we we had a chance in New Orleans to read some of them and say hey where does this fit because what I think I just heard you say is um I think you would say R doll's letter feels a little bit like
026a three or a four hey I don't think the people who put out this dear colleague letter they're bad people it's US versus them we shouldn't listen to this letter that's how you read it right uh that's the same gentleman I can't remember his name I just know he was somehow related to Arnold foregger but that was the the meeting that we went to where he just said if you could just change the way you say something somebody would take it differently or not offensive yeah and that's what this conversation is about well ultimately this is the last slide but I'm going to go back and show you some of rll's words it really is to say um we might disagree a lot about the concepts or ideas that come out but we have have
027to be careful in how we engage and talk about it when a principal gets in front of their teachers they have to understand that that room is filled with a that whole spectrum of political beliefs um those classrooms are full of people who believe all across that that's what our our country is about 5050 the way that the last several elections have come out um it's important how we talk about it and so I do want to step back as second though and and your point I think is a good one Chris if we read the dear colleague letter you might read it the same way and say wow that's a that's a three or four I'm not sure we want to be that direct about it and then you read again re doll's response
028who saying hey this is what I've told schools to do so um they need to slow down just a bit Al so let's listen to a few words and if you want to take a few notes each video clip's about two or three minutes and then maybe we can talk a little bit about what we've heard there this is different this is going to require us to have a Civility and a respect for each other that's really really compelling us to support our kids in a different way this is derived of politics National politics a presidential election we have different opinions about that and that's okay we're we're of different parties we're of different political values we're from different regions of the state different religious backgrounds that's really good that's what makes us Washington State
029that's what makes us strong but it also means it's harder to be in common about this stuff because there are folks who just flat out believe differently than somebody else it doesn't change the fact that we can be on the same page about the law what our state laws do and what the federal government owes to our state and all of this process and it doesn't change the fact that every single day a million Washington kids go to classrooms they're in front of teachers and parent Educators and building leaders and school bus drivers and so many people who care about them because no matter what no matter who we are politically as individuals we have a common interest in our public schools and on that I hope we can unite so let's get into some
030of what we faced over the last three and a half weeks and where we go from here first we got an executive order from the president around undocumented youth there was clearly an effort here to use his immigration enforcement processes to do something that we've not seen in decades which is potentially use our schools our churches and our hospitals previously safe havens to enforce IM migration now we're not federal officers in the state of Washington and we we're going to follow all the laws and that's the guidance that we've given our school districts but it's really important for All Families to know that in this state in this state in particular our constitution guarantees every child who resides here a basic Ed they have a civil right to basic education regardless of their documentation status
031that's our law that's what we're going to follow and that's what we've told our districts it means that they absolutely are going to stand strong to gather the appropriate information if ice officers ERS or Enforcement Officers seek access to students or data on our schools within the law we get to expect a court order or some kind of Court requirement that that officer is there we get to identify who they're seeking out and what information we get to notify parents and Guardians local attorneys we get to notify our principles and our superintendant we've got a framework here for protecting kids within this current executive order we won't violate that our state laws and our federal laws allow for us to protect kids while we follow the federal framework any questions or comments about what you
032heard him say maybe as it relates to the index good or bad he okay uh he just said undocumented kids I I thought it was just undocumented immigrants is what the executive order was I I don't remember hearing that they were going after kids I mean just that that's caught my eye on them he just said undocumented kids and I I don't remember hearing that but maybe I didn't hear all the the orders but yeah but it brings into mind your your question about uh I I mean perhaps a question to your mind about is he telling the whole story is he sharing it accurately right and we we have those thoughts about both sides what I think he was sharing around that particular issue which he highlighted with some language about uh he did
033because he did say it pretty forcefully we haven't done this in decades right like hey this isn't usual we need to be careful with this and that's the idea that um law enforcement U immigration enforcement officials may ask to come into schools may be present at schools and what that and then what we have to think about locally is well how does that feel here in ell how does that feel in our community again it might be that Vision that's being set at the federal level but what's happening in local politics what's happening with us here and how do we feel about it um other comments about what what he shared I just like to sit there and say I I commend the uh School District uh for having that meeting to inform the families
034parents who are worried about such a thing and and to let them know that they do have rights and that they just can't come in and uh ask questions that they can't so in that in that behalf I I just want to say thanks to the school district for for giving that time and and place for a gathering to explain to our our fames they can be safe here yeah and I think the really nice thing about your comment zaro is that we took some heat from a few folks who said why are you having this meeting and really if we shared it the way you shared it and what I did hear rll say which is all we were sharing is what their legal rights are we were sharing the law and this idea
035about immigration is really tied to um is it lawful to enter the United States illegally right it's about a strong Southern border is what we hear over and over and what's the law around that and what we were sharing in that meeting was here's the law here's your rights as a as someone who is in this country the other thing that I I I heard re doll say um he pointed right to State's rights by saying um in this state he also said the feds ow us right sort of really setting up this contrast between Washington DC and the state of Washington and I think it's important to pay attention to where that goes um and then he walked the line line on one one comment in particular which is uh he said common interest
036we all have this common interest of the million students that go to schools in Washington but right before that he said man it's really hard to to be in common because we we have such different opinions and perspective around these things so I'm not sure where he's going with that idea about um if he really believes in that statement that we have common interests we want the best for all of our kids um how does he manage such a diverse state with the know this these uh ends of the political Spectrum um but he his comment about the fed's OS I want to show you another video where he talks a little bit about um the funding fear that director binsky brought up and that's this is actually from um a link to a letter
037that uh superintendent rll put out to support superintendent and it really outlines that they can't just take your federal money it describes the process that they would have to go through and really what it felt like when I read it was hey you better knock it off or we're going to take your money and you have 30 days or 60 days or 90 days to tell us what your plan is and so the state would have an opportunity to respond and prepare are we really going to you know fight this fight and turn down the federal funding that comes in but re doll does talk about the amount that that is out there and he pushes back in a in an interesting way about the state of Washington so I'll show you one more clip
038from him that that is bipartisan now I want to SK SC this for you our state uh spends about 7% uh of our education budget comes from federal sources so you know 7% is not small but it's also really really doable if they'll protect the real key Civil Rights elements what we call Title One for high poverty communities meals for kids and supports for students with disabilities those three program and function areas alone are nearly all of our federal dollars and we will go to bat to protect those because that's what the federal law states laws say at the same time again no matter how you feel politically about the size of federal government shrinking or Cuts in the federal government they can't happen absent changes in state and federal law and right now we're
039going to protect those as we sit today our commitment to washingtonians is that we're going to protect the civil rights of every individual here we're going to stand up for our Washington values which absolutely tend to put more protections around students and populations that need it than the federal law does does that's just the way it is and again as long as the federal government doesn't change their legal stance interpretations from the US Department of Education they're not going to change us executive orders from the president that are outside the scope of federal law that's not going to change who we are either and I do want to remind you that even in the in the dear colleague letter that we got from the US Department of Education that threatens to take away our federal
040money they say right in it that that they don't have the power of law to actually do that they're trying to intimidate us into that which we will not be intimidated about that St thoughts about that statement sorry it just takes me back a few years a couple years to the pandemic yes yeah what what what parts of that experience Ken are you reminded of uh on the mask mandates and how s were threatened on our funding being taken away if we them I just L and everybody knows on this board and whoever elected me to get hung here that I'm probably the loudest one and the most vulgar one but doesn't seem like they like the shoe when it's on the other foot when the tactics are being used on them at the end
041of the day I don't care what law says or or whatever we're here for the kids and that's who we're going to fight for um we're gonna I'm pretty sure we've had many of discussions at the end of the day politics is game and we're dealing with little kids at the end of the day that's who we're going to protect whether we lose funding whether we lose whatever it is this community will come together one way or another to figure it out we always have and we always will that's the good thing about living in a small town so so here remarks about the funding the federal funding That Couldn't actually be taken away without significant legal and policy changes that would there would be a lot of roadblocks and loopholes to go through to
042even do that um so he's just saying that that you know couldn't actually happen unless they did those huge things that couldn't happen right away way like they kind of threaten correct correct and and the other interesting part I heard him say though was um if if losing that funding means we protect the civil rights of all students in Washington keep your money I I heard him say that too um and and so he really because he also used this language which was um uh they are trying to intimidate us so if you think about the dignity index he's really saying to them like wow they're we're really good people we care about all kids in Washington and these bad people they're they don't you know that's that's probably at least a level three maybe
043a level two right some of that language but it's also some of the language you hear from the other side who are saying I can't believe you're doing these things in your schools I can't believe you would allow that to happen in Washington can't believe you board members and your superintendent would have a meeting like that right again the ention on both sides of it acknowledging that it like you said is Aro they don't like it when the tactics are used this way or this way and what I want us to think about is what's our responsibility for every student and every family in in our school district and for us to really work towards um because if I think about um maybe what I maybe what I would have encouraged superintendent reall to think
044about when he's thinking about that they're trying to intimidate us might be um hey I've heard something things and maybe this is a level five or six hey I I I'm part of this National superintendent cohort and I heard in DC that they're really going to push this idea about taking some of our federal fundings and some of our federal funding and we use a lot of that money to feed every kid in Washington in communities like ell where every student gets a a meal for breakfast and for lunch I don't want to risk losing that in Washington so tell me why you feel this way about risking taking that away from our kids what do we have in common here right and then you engage in this conversation what I'm pushing us to do
045is for us to behave like that um I'm not giving re doll Direction I'm not I'm not critiquing him but I am uh sort of a call to action for all of us when our phones ring when we get emails when we hear from staff and we hear from families that we stay informed and we um we do the best we can to make sure that we're aligning those arrows in our community right and that we don't move with too much urgency we want to move quick and we want to be responsive but um I've shared this saying over the years with the principles on some initiatives ideas that come my way uh sometimes I I'm uncomfortable saying let's be third right let's let number one go out there and make some mistakes let's let
046number two clean some of that up and then let's be third with everybody else right as you're getting pressure from people and as people are coming to you and approaching you about these ideas I'm I'm I'm want to provide resources for you and information for you and encourage you to think about this you gave me some feedback last year and the word that was used was decorum and that's really landed with me and I I tie that to this as well trying to be um not quick to respond I want I want to be responsive but also being thoughtful about what's being asked of me what's being shared and I'm encouraging you to do that as well not because I haven't seen you do it but because this is a particularly confusing time right now
047and how we respond and what the kids see us do with one another is so important because just like Ken said he remembers years ago and every kid that went through that co uh experience remembers what their teachers were saying to one another what we were saying to one another in board meetings what was happening in community protests um because like you both said a small tight-knit community we remember how we treat each other so my mind goes back to the public comment and it's funny you brought that up you you want want to be first or you want to be second you want to be third think about what you say well that's been two weeks ago we had somebody come in with public comment and I'm going to ask that if the public
048can come in just remember that we got three kids sitting in this room that are watching how we behave and yes I know that the board never answers or we don't ever answer questions but doesn't mean we might not want to um this is probably not correct for me to come out and say but everybody's willing we're not elect I mean we're not appointed we're elected and there was uh a few of us that ran unopposed uh if people in the community are want equality they're more than welcome to put their name on a piece of paper uh go through the go through a race and and be elected uh and I I'm Different once again I'm not going to let anybody come in here and bad mouth four other people that sit with me
049on this table donate their Time for Kids we'll talk we can talk all day long you can tell me but two weeks ago it felt like the same thing they're fighting for is what we were being attacked for um and and you're never going to get nowhere with that um I just we have to we have to be role models for the kids that we are putting through this school uh as a community I I I tell everybody if you're more than welcome to come up here and speak your mind do it professionally don't don't come in here trying to intimidate somebody point something out speak to them you want to record it go ahead I don't think none of us are very well maybe aon's really good looking but I don't know about me
050but we we need to set an example as grown-ups for our kids they look upon us to be the role models that they need to be growing up and if we're going to act like Childs we can't expect much more from them so if you do come in with public comment if you do want to have a conversation we're not not always going to be on the same side but we could definitely talk through something and get to a common ground that's the only response I have to last week two weeks yeah I appreciate you sharing that perspective and and uh maybe clar a few things for the the public and for the board as well the board is certainly um has the ability to respond to public comment and can take questions they're just
051again a a best practice and a caution about how much back and forth you want to have with an individual so I don't want you to feel like you you couldn't uh challenge or question someone who's here so I want to make sure that I'm I have been clear about that with you and the other part of uh this evening was making sure that whoever sits here and whoever sits there thinks about being dignified when we do it so I appreciate your comments and you know we'll make sure that we hold ourselves and everybody else accountable so again tonight was more of an opportunity to provide some clarity for you because I know you're getting lots of questions and I know you're getting lots of emails and to uh to let you know that we're
052getting those as well and we'll always keep the board informed and continue to process and as we move into the next 30 60 90 days we we have plans that we use in the school district 30 60 90 uh our jobs are going to I think look different here in a little bit and um some of the tension that we feeling we're feeling this summertime we're going to have to get after it if there's policy changes that you'll have to manage and deal with and Communications that will come from Wasa so thank you for the time this evening and uh for your attention Aon more quick question I hate I hate to bring it back around to numbers the 7% that you mentioned that was like a Statewide average but for school districts like us
053who like you said provide breakfast and lunch for all schools what would our federal funding percentage be it would be higher than than the 7% right yeah I knew Amy would have it I asked her a few weeks ago but I let those things roll off um that number so it's 10 so actually it would have be closer to to 10 yeah so 10 10 12% would be the number so like if it was T taken away that would affect our district more than other districts on the other side of stat correct so correct and in another part of the video what re doll also challenges is um the what he calls sort of us compensating other states with lower tax BAS so what he's actually saying is don't send us that 7% but don't
054take all our state taxes either just let us keep that money and we'll be ahead of the game so again it really is this Us Versus Them idea we send all these extra taxes to other states across the country so they can run their schools and run their states we're not going to give you that money anymore just let us keep it and it's that sort of isolation idea that I think is dangerous not only for Washington but for every state so and and again I was thinking about what are our leaders saying to one another and how are we behaving with one another that's so important uh quick question to Pete um ragd doll didn't didn't comment on it but I know president Trump has when he had referring to education at the state
055level but uh he has made aware that the money should follow the kids has been much discussion about that yeah so uh you know there there would be one side that would say that's a school voucher idea it's the subsidizing of private schools primarily um faith-based schools where you would you might pay $10,000 in tuition uh but the $10,000 that the state sets aside for your kid to go to school you don't get access to that money and so the idea is give me my $10,000 check and let me go to that school over there Washington has been one of the strongest states in the country in pushing out Charter Schools uh by law there are only a handful here that idea in concept if it does take hold and states begin to subsidize um
056what essentially would be a private education with public funds that's going to end up in the courts but I think you would have to look to States like Oklahoma in Texas Arizona maybe Idaho if it starts to happen there then we'll see what happens across the rest of the country I would be shocked if that happened very quickly in the state of Washington uh the power of the lobbyists particular in Olympia they they have done a job for decades in keeping charter schools out of Washington you you see some of that in California and certainly in some of the southern states U but not any options here in Washington really so again that's a really good question about Federal idea Federal Authority and if it is State's rights Washington will be one of the last
057ones to go there all right well thank you for the dialogue and for the questions I uh actually kind of cool sitting here watching so maybe I'll maybe I'll sit up here from now on MAA if that's okay then I can monitor the I just like to say thank you for taking the time to put this together so that you know the public and some of us um could be a little bit more engaged not engaged tutored I don't even know what the word I want to use the No No not one this is not education this is politics you you can learn that but once again thank you Amy for the numbers you don't get enough credit every soon thank you yes thank you Amy and and Dr Perez for putting that together I
058think it's something that uh we we need it as the board and uh the community needed it as well at this this time and uh yeah no appreciate you putting the hard work in because it's it's good to hear from the superintendent uh of the the state level to to know where we all sit and and as we go forward and how we're going to navigate the upcoming situations and stuff so thank you um yeah we'll go go ahead and move into public comment and uh we got one public comment tonight Robert petta the floor is yours thank you I'm G to stand up because these chairs too small for me uh I I appreciate your time and I just have a quick comment on on REO um I I think kind of going off
059of what uh board director petta said as a teacher um I remember standing in this room talking about the mass mandate and I wish I would have saw something like this saying it's okay this is what's going to happen you're going to have 30 90 60 days you guys have rights I feel as a teacher in this District that the board and the state superintendent basically said no if you don't wear the mask you're done there's no and ifs or butts and we're not going to do it because we're not going to get Federal money and now that it's reversed I I kind of feel like it's better explained which I agree with um but I just kind of feel as an employee that was on the other side during the m mandate that this
060should have happened um and that's just the comment I have about that but the real reason I'm here is I'm upset and there's a lot of people in the community upset about Jake Mendes and his comic slandering uh board director prous and I'm here as a as a teacher on my own time nobody um asked me to come but I feel that it's a disj ustice of what he's doing he's slandering her on social media and I feel like it's a discredit to what you guys do and I'm going to ask him if wants to make a change he can put his name on the ballot and we'll see how that goes for him uh I don't think he understands uh the time that you guys put in and the things that you do that
061I see on a daily basis as a teacher and I just want to reinforce and thank every single one of you guys in here for the time that you guys put in and taking a school board member it's it's not easy to psych politics you have both sides but I have personally witnessed the zaro petta spend money on kids at the FFA I've seen him more times in his short uh time here with the board including with uh board member Gerber at my school just strolling around asking questions and at McFarland Middle School when there's like an issue that we are very it's very sensitive the first person that we called is board director gerbert because he's out there with his notebooks whatever is said is written and we can count on him we at
062McFarland feel like he uh is doing a great job and I appreciate him and everything that he's done including every single one of you um Ken Johnson I have personally seen him spend hundreds of dollars on the choir and band banquet out of his own money and a lot of people don't see that because he's a humble guy he doesn't want want people doing that Lindsay prow I've seen her donate uh this year uniforms for the girls that they get to keep out of her own money you guys raised a lot of money for that student that had cancer and people need to know what you guys guys do and sometimes it doesn't get out but my job today is to thank you and I have a lot of friends who want me to also
063thank you guys for every single thing you do Chris I've seen you at wrestling matches I've seen you at assemblies um you have a business as uh does uh board director uh Johnson and you guys are important influential people for for us for the teachers and I just again want to reiterate the fact that uh as much slander as you've received the last couple weeks understand that there's people that love you including myself and without you guys we are not doing it for the kids and so thank you guys for everything that you do um and your your job does not go unseen there's a lot of people that see you guys doing your own things showing up to games but again uh thank you for your time thank you for everything because you guys
064don't make any money and you're out here under one for one reason it's for the kids and that's what the teachers do for the kids and it doesn't matter what you know what you are red blue whatever in the end like um superintendent Perez said we're here for the kids and without any of you guys here including the directors behind me uh we don't have a school district so thank you uh for all that you do Robert I just want to really thank you for your comments tonight um I wasn't here at the last meeting and I missed those comments but I caught them the next day really quick and it was disturbing what I heard uh because one particular board member was being uh picked out because of her choice or her candidate uh
065for president which we all have our choice for president and I'm going to make it known that I was a trump supporter too uh people are entitled to their own opinion and I respect that very much but they're not entitled to tell me what mine is mine is for the kids of this District and I believe every board member here is the same thing too that's why I really appreciate your comments today yes thank you Robert appreciate your uh words of encouragement I appreciate uh the letting the public know um how you feel how the community feels because that's how we feel so uh thank you for taking the time have your busy night have a good night okay uh upcoming events we got uh the next board meeting um March 10th um hawaa site
066visit on the 17th and then another regular board meeting on the 24th uh any other upcoming event we can think of we need to make not don't remember the date off the top my had but they'll be having the FFA dinner to support the kids so yeah March March 15th there you go yeah Jr Ranch sailb Barn FFA banquet yeah good idea aaro just one more well we'll do it on Bo assessment okay okay yeah we'll go ahead and move on to board assessment for the meeting I got to say shout out to uh OS boys and girls wrestling they kicked but um unfortunately due to uh family issues I wasn't able to make it down but I think I was on my phone for I don't know seven eight hours the kids did amazing
067and it was great to see so missing Lindsay yes uh Mr Lindsay U but I know she's watching and Madam president we're hopefully you feel better soon and we're we're here for you you got our full support um no matter what the comments may bring um yeah shout out to the wrestling teams yeah that was great great for the community I don't know to me it uh I know some of you here weren't weren't born in 1984 but it kind of had that Vibe again for me anyways director Johnson probably remembers that but uh kind of had that feel just you're always uh watching your phones and seeing what's happening and yeah no it was it was I don't imagine we'll have the wrestlers in here at some point for a c celebratory gratitude and
068guess big thank you Pete this was a well needed um topic that we needed to discuss and I think you you did a great job in going through it and and uh teachings so not just for us but for the community as well yes just to add to what uh dor PR said I know that I know that director um superintendent pres you know works hard on this as well and that he's he's also um criticized a lot but he um does a great job at keeping everything civil um I I also should should have brought up in board member discussion but I was able to attend the Jazz night last week um they they did a great job all the choir and band kids there and they raised a ton of money for the
069music boosters so that was really good I just got to come in here on this haircut I just have to I'm sorry looking good there buddy one of the changes we'll make for future meetings uh Marisa and I will uh make an effort to uh set up a meeting with our three student reps just to make sure that they're up to speed on the schedule and and notification of conflict so we'll do better with that moving forward just so you guys linday at home we don't ever get to really out too much because of the rules that we got to follow but um I appreciate each and one of you guys sitting on this board and sticking up for these kids and trying to do the best and so even though we don't get to
070hang out too much um or have conversations as a group um when we do I really cherish those momentes with you guys thank you yeah agree on that and uh just while the Public's on and and can watch this that the public should know that we do have the the we're are 100% for the students and and the safety of the students regardless of the rules so um just so the parents uh know that their kids are are in a safe environment whether they're on the bus or or on the in the classroom that um all all laws have to be taken and and uh the board is is always 100% on safety and and uh so I just wanted to let the public know that okay with that we're gonna adjourn for 30 minutes
071for an executive session on the sale release of land but no imediate action will take place so with that uh meeting