001Nice. >> Call the meeting to order at 6:30. Um, please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance. >> Yeah. Are there any revisions to the agenda? >> Are there any questions on the consent agenda? >> No. >> Reviewed. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> I'll move to approve. >> Second. >> I'll second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> Uh, special event tonight is the oath of office for our newly elected, reelected board members. So, Erin, I'll turn it over to you. >> Great. Thank you so much. Yes, this is uh it's exciting. At this time, we get to u officially swear a um reelected Jane and Paul. So, thank you so much for your interest in supporting the district in in the
002way you already you have and and ongoing. So, uh can you please join me? >> Stand. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Would you this I think this is Bennis. Okay. Anything glass? >> All right. Please repeat after me. I and state your name. >> You solemnly swearly swear >> I will support the Constitution of the United States. support the Constitution of the United States >> and the State of Washington. >> State of Washington >> and the laws of the state of Washington. >> I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Washington School District number 112-6. >> And I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of school district number 112-6. >> Director District and state which district? to enter district >> to the best of my ability. >> Congratulations. Thank you so much.
003>> Yes. >> Applause. >> Oh, next on the agenda is our student reps. Thank you for being here. Again, turn over to Erin. >> Yes. Great. Thank you. Hi, Olivia. Okay. So, we did receive a notice earlier today um that uh one of our student reps was not going to be able to make it due to the weather. Um so, uh she is not here. I think she shared with Jacob uh some information that she wanted to share. So, um I had asked the students to give a little bit of an update on on AI. We had met with um Mr. Brown last week and Mr. castle to discuss kind of a project regarding AI for this year with our student reps. And I also asked them to share specifically each one of them something
004connected to something they did last week or in Jacob's case his position with the city as the city of Wugal student rep. So Marley, can you start us off? >> Sure. So last week uh ASB a small group of ASB students went to the regional just renaissance renaissance conference and just if you don't know what it is it's like a framework and wash is a just school and it strives to promote student and staff relationships and having everyone at school want to be at school and enjoy it. So Mark Brown was the speaker there and his main topic was to be a hope dealer which is to kind of lead by action, deal hope and to just always strive and not get stuck in the hard spots. And we had they also showed ideas that
005other schools other just schools in the nation have done to build climate and culture in their schools. And some that kind of stood out to us that we might try and incorporate at Google is a standout photo board. So, it would be in the hallway somewhere on the wall and it'd be a big sign that says stand out. And then we'd have disposable cameras and ASB students or anyone any cool events that are going on at the school can someone can take the camera and take a photo and then put it up on the wall so students can feel recognized and can like go look and see their picture on the wall and be happy. And then also custodian plaques because I feel like custodians are often kind of overlooked in the recognition process. So
006custodian plaque would be like a photo of the c custodian on the wall and it says this hallway is cared for by whoever the custodian is and kind of give them a sense of belonging and make sure that we recognize everyone not just students and teachers. Yeah, just a Thank you. And I'm going to talk later on during my few minutes about that specifically because I was there and I got to see our students firsthand interacting with other students and adults as well as the keynote and it was very inspiring u morning for me. Thank you, Jacob. >> Um I'll start with my stuff I guess. So as the city council rep, I've had eight meetings now, I believe. Um, and they've all been really educational, really helpful. Um, really I kind of wanted to
007highlight the three main things that I think that I really get out of it. And the first one is connection. I really I really like to talk with people. I like to meet new people. And I mean, I've gotten to meet an exponentially greater amount of people this school year because of that. Um, not only is it uh community leaders, the people on the city council, but it's also um whoever comes in to speak during our workshops, whe that be a local uh community leader from like Vancouver campus, you know, something like that, or even if it's just um someone who works in the back office that you don't necessarily see, but they're an integral part of making run. Um I think that that's really uh great. And then the second thing is opportunities. I've
008gotten all kinds of cool stuff out of it. Um, I've gotten to go to awards ceremonies like they did one for the people that did citizens academy which is a program where they uh teach people generally that are adults kind of how to be more involved in washable and the goal of that is to get more people onto um committees and maybe even interest in running for city council. Um, but along with that, I've also gotten to personally read proclamations and awards out for people at the meetings. And I think that's something that's really cool and really powerful, especially when we're recognizing people uh like we did at the last one um the Helens who um got recognized for their years of being like Mr. and Mrs. Claus at holiday stuff. And I think that
009it's just really cool to recognize people like that. And I'm really uh proud that I got to do that. And then the last thing is just getting kind of a new perspective on stuff. Obviously, I think that I have my own opinions on a lot of the stuff that we talk about, but really getting to like sit there and listen to everyone's perspective and the community's input during that time of the meeting is really impactful to me, especially such a young person. You know, I think that a lot of young people might be more close-minded than they probably should. And so, I think that that's also just amazing. And I think that as the city council student representative, I get a better opportunity than most, maybe even adults, to really open my mind to more
010ideas and perspectives on faith in our community. And I think it's really powerful. Um, and then I have Joselyn's uh stuff for the ambassador program. So um I'll just read that off for you. Um they got they are set to receive the thousand stars award award. I do not know what that is, but it's for their teens and driver's seat uh program. So, that is teaching kids uh safe, healthy driving habits. Um and kind of like it's a lot of like getting students involved kind of in their own education and like what is safe and healthy when you're driving. Um and so they'll be receiving that on Friday. Um and then on Thursday they're going to Richfield to do a presentation on policy and the role that youth play in their communities uh when it
011comes to making and passing laws. Um, so that's just a good opportunity for political activism. I got to be part of that presentation last year. Uh, they'll speak with uh local or uh I guess not really local, but they'll speak with our representatives. So Kevin Waters, uh, David Stevie and um, uh, Senator Paul Harris. So they'll speak with them because they usually attend that event and they'll get like some hands-on um, stuff there. And then above beyond that, they do their own small little presentation bit where they speak with the students that are in attendance about uh what's why it's so important and how you can be more active. Um they'll be having their meeting um at the end of this month uh to create their program of work for the next year. So that
012means that probably by the next uh schoolboard meeting they'll have a lot better idea for what they're doing for all of next year. And that'll be super exciting to hear. Um, and then their bait uh aid kits, which are like little kits they get out to students who might struggle with that, um, are almost done and they'll be made and sent out um, in the upcoming months. So, that's also very exciting news. And that's all that she gave me to share. >> Your commitment with the city in that position, is it two years? >> Um, no. So, I'm I'm I got sworn in on August 28th, and so it's the meeting before next it's the first meeting next August, but generally what they told me was unless if I don't want to do it anymore
013or I just do a horrible job that I get to do it again next year. >> So, I'll probably do it two years. You don't have to. >> Okay. Right. Thank you, Olivia. >> Hi. >> How are you? It's >> okay. Don't worry about it. >> How am I? >> Yeah, >> I'm good. How are you? >> I'm good, thank you. Um, you asked me to do something or to ask to talk about any updates for Unite, right? >> I haven't been to I didn't go to the last Unite meeting, but I went to the one before. >> Okay. >> There's not really much to update you with. There was some volunteering um opportunities that passed, >> so there's not much going on. >> Okay. Was the last event the drug takeback happened in the
014fall? >> I think so. That or the refuel um I don't know what it was called, but it was something with refuel. >> Okay, great. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, now can you summarize the the meeting with Mr. Brown and Mr. Castle for the board like what we discussed and kind of what the idea is for this year? Yeah. >> Um, sure. So, we were looking at an example policy for AI and like how we should promote it and restrict it in the in the school. And I think most of it we thought was really fair and was a good balance between like like we we have to accept that this is like a changing a changing world. AI is progressing and it's it's happening whether we like it or not. So we
015should be teaching students how to use it properly because it's going to be a part of their life in the future. And it was a good balance between like learning and supporting AI but also restricting it. So we're still doing all of our own learning. And then do you want to talk about the like the blurriness before the tweet? >> Yeah, sure. So um on there there was kind of two uh papers that we got two examples. And so in one of them it was essentially like three levels. And so the first one was I believe AI recommended. And in that stage it would be where the teachers actively like telling you that you should try to use AI to finish this assignment or something like that. So in that case it'd probably be an
016assignment where part of your grade is your ability to actually use AI efficiently and effectively um in order to finish like the project that you're working on. Um and then the second tier if I remember correctly was AI approved or something like that. And that one is kind of like you can use AI, but nothing that I should see should be AI, right? So that'd be like uh creating like a source list or something for yourself and then doing your own research off of that source list. Um and then the last one was AI restricted, which means that um you shouldn't use AI. There should be nothing in your project that is AI pretty much. It should be all your own work. And so kind of the key thing that I thought was kind of
017uh blurry between the two on uh was between uh AI recommended and AI uh allowed was that if I were to say if my teachers have me write an essay and I say, "Yeah, I wrote my essay. I used AI to create a source list. Then I'm within the rules, but what if I used AI for more than that and I just don't tell them?" Well, necessarily how would they know that? especially if it were to be, you know, an assignment that maybe I'm uh I'm just doing it to make my life easier and not just say I'm doing it because I don't know the subject material, right? And so there was kind of that blurry line there. And then uh with that too is it's kind of like is there is there a need
018to have the multiple levels kind of written out or maybe is it just you can use AI and here are the barriers in which you're allowed to use it on this assignment or you can't use AI in which case you can kind of just have the two. Um, and then the second handout we got was a little bit more specific. Um, I don't really remember uh it as well. Oh, here we go. Um, but pretty much what it is is it's it's five stages. And it goes from no AI, all personal work to your entire assignment, I believe is what it says basically should be AI. >> Um, to where it's basically an assignment like that, you're being graded off of your ability to use it. And so I think that uh one of the
019curriculums, the first one I talked about or not the curriculum like guidelines is more to enhance the students ability of knowing how to use AI and to more directly tell them when they should use it. Whereas the second one I feel like would be more so used in a sense to where we're creating actual courses to teach you how to actually utilize the AI. Uh that's how I personally perceived it. But we had a very uh great conversation about it and we kind of also came to the conclusion that uh for the first one at least that maybe having the distinction is good just because some students might see the lack of distinction and kind of just be like well you know I'll just do whatever I want. So that's pretty much my takeaway from
020our meeting. >> Great. Olivia, anything you want to add? >> Okay. less anything you want to add to to what they just shared and kind of the the plan. >> So, uh what we were starting with was a Laza Lazda model um of a form that goes on to board policy 2023. So, it's an existing material um policy and then just basically creates a framework for um students to know what the expectations are in any given assignment. um and then to create um um like a model code of fun that probably would become part of our student families. Um so that she establishes that and it talks about things like discipline. um you know if uh students are operating outside the parameters for assignments. Um, our goal overall was to have the students help kind
021of guide the the model language. Um, and then to gather teacher feedback as well, um, along the way and to have them come back in a future board meeting probably later this spring with whatever we think is the right approach for Ash and then have them present that to the board for >> thoughts. But I have a question. >> Yes. Marley, Jacob, Olivia, why are we talking about AI? >> Because students are using it in school currently. And I think that there needs to be a guideline that like like a base base rules that should be followed at all times. >> Plus, we also think you're going to be using it after you get out of school, right? >> So, I think >> Yeah, it's here. So, we need to be educating you, right? This
022is what it's all about. Jacob's very good about like free public education, but that's why we're trying to come up with guidelines on it and like we want your opinion and the teachers opinion and everyone's opinion on it like how you safely use it, but then also be proficient at it because your first jobs it's going to be there. It's also I was going to say this for economist session, but we're talking about AI. I think it's it's a big experiment on society. Neurosychologists and neurossychiatrists are studying what using AI at your age or younger what that does to the development of your mind and your your ability to think independently and stuff. It's just a big experiment and I favor having some guidelines so that it's not just crazy experiment but I agree totally
023with Paul. is here. You're going to be using it. Almost everyone's using it. The teachers are using it. The way that you're evaluated on your work or your learning is going to be changing um because in my opinion, just submitting a written document um is no longer going to necessarily reflect you and your understanding of material, your ability to express things. And it's here. It's changing. Just like social media, you guys are the guinea pigs on that pig experiment. So, very interesting. >> I'm curious when you talk. Sorry guys, long basketball tour. Um, when you guys were talking through the levels, did you discuss when it would be fully restricted and what your thoughts were on like when that makes sense? Um, we didn't really go super into it um on like like what exactly
024it would be that it would be fully restricted, but I mean to my my assumption would be that most teachers would be like if it's a if it's a AO where I'm not specifically part of your grade is your ability to use it. You can't use it at all. That'd be my assumption because once you open that door, it can get kind of kind of hard to uh be able to gauge just how much they used it. That might be kind of hard then if you're trying to uh give a repercussion for whatever they did, right? >> Can you help the board with an AO? >> Oh, uh like what an AO is. AO is an assessment objective. So that's uh what we call pretty much all of our tests. And so for us, I
025believe that they're worth 95% of our grade. And so um it we get like a certain amount of L's and then you have to do 75% or more of those. Um, and then you'll take the test and if you had 75% or more, then you can then you can retake the test. But if you didn't do like any of them, for example, then you can't retake. And pretty much whatever grade you got on that test is going to drastically affect your grade if you're not careful. And so that's that's kind of how our grading system is set up in the high school. >> Also, I'll share with you I shared with with Mr. as an um as a former professor, professors are figuring out how to evaluate whether material whether a work product is the
026students or AI and pretty clever strategies some professors have to um seed the information in a way that AI will generate one output a human brain will generate another output. It's interesting times. Very interesting times. >> Thank you for sharing uh your takeaways from our meeting last week. We have plans to to meet in the future and continue this as as Celeste shared kind of what we're thinking and then at some point in the spring sharing u some information with you. We'll keep you updated along the way. Okay. So now whatever you want to share, is there anything else you want to share about what's going on? Um, I I think that uh just to kind of go along with the AI we already talked about, I think that it's really important that uh the
027district really looks into um especially you guys looks into like what you're actually going to be voting on because I think that it's very important that we have the guidelines. I think that I very much agree with uh pretty much everyone up there that uh it's going to be very important and it's very much here and you have to adapt to it. And so, you know, I think that maybe if you if you don't necessarily think that you fully understand like what you're uh going to be going on, maybe just research it because I think that um it's very important. >> Great. Does the district have a a AI platform that we provide for students or is everyone on their own? So right now I think students can access with their Chromebooks. Chat GBT >>
028and then how about Gemini? >> No. So I think chat GBT and there might be some others that they have access to. Um we've been discussing like what would be one because we're as a Google school district u and we're using Gemini uh as administrated team. Yeah. >> Yeah. So that might be we were talking about for our students that are working on this. Can we give them access to something other than what they have that's that's available? So other than chat and again there's a host of others. >> Yeah. I I guess that's one of my concerns is um there are very sophisticated large language models that go way beyond chat or Gemini. And if you happen to grow up in a in a two engineer family with the resources to purchase some of
029the some of the software um you have an advantage over over everyone and I think it you know thinking forward having a platform everyone uses everyone becomes comfortable with >> um makes sense to me. Yeah, Paul and I attended the same uh session at the WASDA conference from Quincy and that's where this form um they are using this form that that uh we assured our students from WASDA and this is what they've used as their policy and they talked about that the equity like what about students who don't have access at home um and so to being very thoughtful and intentional with with that so um as we have similar concerns >> with our students anything else anything else you want to share with the board. Are you looking forward to winter break? >> Yeah,
030>> you can share that. >> Yeah. Okay. Well, it's going to be a while. So, yeah. I I was not I was in elementary school today and they said, "Yeah, there's been some we see some different behaviors right after uh Thanksgiving >> and approaching winter break." So, kids are excited. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Anything else? Nope. Okay. Thanks so much. appreciate you being here. >> Now, >> thank you. >> Uh yes. So, right before so we get to the next presentation, uh I did want to mention and I and I failed to mention because I was so excited uh to to get the call with the oath that um so Sadi isn't here. So we will go through the same process with Sadi um at the next board meeting and then um what we typically
031would do at this meeting is is make a decision on uh president of >> organization >> and vice president. So yeah and organizing those positions. So that'll happen the second board meeting in January which is January 27th. >> Okay. >> Great. Thank you. Uh, next on the agenda is a a report on the resource optimization workg groupoup. Yep. So, I have a presentation that I want to pull up. >> So, just give me a second. Okay. So we have had two meetings with our resource optimization workg group and those meetings take place in in the boardroom here and uh we we've invited a number of individuals but it's also a meeting that anyone can attend and later on I have uh the upcoming meetings for this Jane was able to make the last meeting. I
032think Paul is planning to be at at the next meeting. And so, uh, two meetings, we've had some individuals attend both meetings and then then, uh, I I chose a day that there's a lot of stuff going on. Festival of trees, we were people were decorating the trees. There was the parade downtown and the tree lighting. So, a number of conflicts on that day. So, um I I am optimistic that at the next meeting we will have a number of individuals um because I I I feel like there's a a fair uh amount of interest and people prioritizing these meetings and they're going to continue to be supportive. So, this first slide is really the slide that I shared with the workg group uh on the the first meeting and then uh brought up this
033the second meeting that the the big issue is is declining enrollment. So that's um that's that's what we're we're analyzing is the declining enrollment and you see in the graph what our enrollment has done uh over those years. It's about a 18% uh decline. And so uh that is challenging in itself. And so um what we've done to to mitigate that is uh we've impacted um our programs with with uh reducing staffing in some cases eliminating programs. And so we're kind of in this cycle and we've been in this cycle for a few years with having to adjust to our enrollment and that's impacting uh what is our our our planning for support for our students. So in in seeing this and and hoping that this group can have a help us with identifying some
034potential uh proposals for the board that we can present uh later on uh this year that might help us in in again mitigating the impacts that we're seeing. It's quite possible I have pulled up just a minute here. I pulled up the wrong presentation. So, I'm going to stop really quick. That was our first row meeting. And so, uh, that's not the one I want to show you. So, just give me a second. The awkward silence. I wish we had a little music or something that would help. There we go. Okay. So this was our our last meeting. These are individuals who attended the meeting. These are the three groups that I'll speak to in a few minutes. So uh so we have a three groups that we have taken uh those in that were
035participating and asked them which groups they wanted to be in. And so these are the three groups that we're going I'm going to speak to. And then you see the dates. So we have our next meeting is January 22nd. Then March 19th, April 23rd and May 21st for those meetings. This is that same graphic that I started with. And then the purpose. So here is the purpose for this group. Uh we've invited staff members, community members and uh again anyone can attend this meeting and we're hoping to get is is different perspectives on uh the resources that we have and what can we do with those resources not only on next year on the next five years possibly the next 10 15 years. Um and again the guiding question is how do we uh best
036use the resources that you have available to us. So, one of the takeaways from the first meeting that we had, we spent a lot of time at that first meeting talking about the problem with declining enrollment, talking about the impact with declining enrollment and how we need to adjust because what was happening with our our overall budget and and what was happening uh as there's a little bit of context to the last few years with our our fund balance. And so from that um what some of the takeaways from uh the first meeting was when talking about the levy because we went over majority of the meeting was talking about the upcoming levy and we'd already shared with the board in October uh some facts about uh the rate and what would then potentially be
037the resolution is that this is a renewal. So that was pointed out by the committee members. This is a renewal on on a program on programs that are already being contributed to by the EPO and then the improvement on our on our uh facilities by the capital. Uh this is about 20% of our overall budget. um that what a result of the EPO is helping us with our class sizes which we heard through our strategic planning that uh lower class sizes are preferred by our families and then that this investment by the community stays in the community which that wasn't necessarily something that we had been talking about as far as the EPO and the capital but is so true with with this investment that it stays in Wugal. So we talked about as I
038mentioned uh for the the committee uh the work group on the first meeting was just making sure that they had an understanding about the in this case the the levies and bonds information. So in this last meeting we went over our our budgeting uh enrollment patterns in 2425 what we're think what's happening right now in 2526. So as we're looking at all of the data that we have, the resources that we have that we want the individuals participating to have a base level of information as we're getting into the smaller groups and then what are the recommend recommendations going to be. So this was just some context to the upcoming EPO and capital levies. So now we get to what happened the the last half of our last board meeting is we divide up into
039three groups. So, one of the groups is the is future program needs and how do those align with our strategic plan, long range capital investment planning. And so, we're talking about the next 5, 10, 15, even 20 years. If you can imagine planning 20 years out, we're looking at like what what kind of um property are we going to need? what kind of investments in our current properties, our current facilities, and then school consolidation with declining enrollment. And what we're seeing in all of our buildings over the last 12 years, I would say we're seeing this some sort of a decline in some in [snorts] some building it's it's it's greater than others. So, it isn't necessarily we're seeing a decline consistently for each school, but in some schools it's a greater decline than others.
040And so uh that's the third group and that happened to be the largest group but when we asked staff to those participating to choose uh that was had the most individuals in in that group. So individuals might switch uh at our next meeting. Uh it's up to them. We have the QR code for anyone who's interested in identifying which group they want to be in. Questions? wonders regarding the the meetings that have happened so far or future meetings. >> Do you have enough in each group? >> You know, that's a good question. And so, because there were probably I would say 25 to 30% of the um individuals weren't there that were at the other meeting, although we had new members at this meeting. Um, and I don't know what what they're interested in which
041groups. So, that that's kind of challenging. Uh I think we certainly had enough in each group to have conversation. And really what the the big ask on uh last week's meeting was what's the information you believe we need for the January 22nd meeting? And so from that we have a list of items that we will collect now and we will have these in a in an area where they can have access to them. And really once we start the next meeting we're going to be focused in these groups on that information that we uh we've gathered. And so that is the the team is going to be working on that uh in the next couple weeks uh leading up to that meeting. So I'm going say yes on do we have enough uh just because
042we had enough people to have the conversation. But someone also expressed interest in choosing to go to a different group uh based on just kind of I think seeing what was happening in that group and what they were the discussion was about. And really that was for this individual that's kind of where their experience has been which is what I'm really excited about is with the individuals that are that are um joining and the conversations we're having and what their experience has been. We have a number of educators, but we also have a number of community members who have been architects in in different facets that that that I currently I don't have that level of expertise and experience. Any other wonders? Jane, you want to share your experience? >> Um, kind of to your
043point, there was such a good mix of people with different experience and getting a lot of perspective. Uh, definitely good conversations. I think just speaking from the small group that I was in, there were so many different um thoughts and avenues explored that hadn't even been talked about previously. So, I'm really excited to see the level of interest and the willingness to donate time and energy, right, >> when we're all busy. I think it just continues to speak to our community and how invested they are in the district. >> Thank you. I'll give you my trienal rant on levies. And uh I think this group could be very uh helpful and involved in convincing our legislators to fulfill the constitutional duties of fully funding K12 education and not requiring all 200 districts to go back
044to the voters every three years asking for 20% of their budget. So I think educating that group in this context, you know, I think legislators hear from a board member or from a school district administrator. They see that as who has a vested interest in funding. we're hearing from other members of the community that are not directly involved in >> right and I could see well now the timing for January 22nd isn't good if we were to invite legislative representatives but our local representatives I believe would be interested >> after this upcoming session to join us I mean we have a we have a couple meetings that that might work and then we also I my my goal is that this is a a work group that continues to meet after this and so with
045a with a similar uh schedule. So I think it's it's manageable. Uh it's 90 minutes that we meet. There is no ask to do homework. Um but there are a number of people who are very interested in in having more conversation about this. >> Yeah. >> Awesome. >> Great. Thanks, Jane. Uh anything else on that? >> No, that's it. >> Okay. Um proposals for action. Uh there are no citizen comments specific to the action items below. So we'll go right to it. Um first is the appointment of procon committee members for the renewal le levies EPL and capital >> righteous. Yeah. So uh state law requires district to advertise for patrons and we have we have done that on our website. Uh and these are for statements that will go into the the voter pamphlet.
046Um so as I mentioned we we've posted uh on our website uh we're seeking applications for the uh from district residents interested in being appointed to the committees for to write the for and against statements for both Clark and Scami County. Um and so at this point uh other than you know the if if there's interested members they can reach out uh to Corey uh with that which we've had some individuals that are interested in that for the for the for the >> is there a deadline on that for union members? >> Well, so the decision is going to be made um Cy it passed. So that was the date. >> Okay. >> December 3rd. >> So we need to get >> Am I correct? We need to get >> We do writing something. >>
047Yes. before the ballot. >> Yeah. >> Good. >> None for two people come out. >> Yes. Yes. We have two that have Yeah. >> Yeah. So that the board's action is to appoint people and then those three people have to decide on one of them be the person that's supposed to that's my understanding of the federal >> we're doing an action and we have two individuals who have expressed interest in the pro >> and a motion to appoint those two individuals to the pro position. I'll make that motion. >> I'll second. >> All in favor? I >> I opposed. >> Thank you, committee members, for >> And then at this point, if if there's a if there's a a need to continue to to search, um we will we'll verify with the with the counties.
048Um and I'll update you on that. >> Yeah. I mean, we talked about it this morning or sometime today, there must be a deadline when the ballots go to the printing office or the ballot information stuff. And I think sounds like we're doing everything we can to right >> find people >> at this point. Yes, I would say that we Yes, we have we have advertised and then it was just not bit someone expressed interest in the comp. >> Okay. Uh next is approval of construction management BM. So that's Aaron and Les. >> Yes. So um the facilities department is recommending that the school enter into a contract with RNC management. So using a similar process that we did the last time um and so uh if less if you could share just a little
049bit of context to uh to that process and the in the recommendation. >> Yeah. So um we did a request for qualifications for firms that are interested in construction. We posted that um in the daily journal of commerce the same post record two weeks those are required um collected submissions from interested firms um we reviewed those and support those um RNC management which is technically providing support list we'd like them to be working with um the RFQ is for the the projects that would take place in the summer of 2026 six. So that'll be the things that are funded with the residual money from 2023 loving um as well as the Trump project high school which might also include that. um we made uh within the RFP process um a contingency there so that we
050can negotiate um additional years with the same company so that if um voters approve the levy in February of 2026 um that this same firm could provide support for the summer so 2027 2028 and and so we're interested in having If uh the board authorized us any transit contact negotiations, then we would bring that contact back for approval of the January meeting. >> Any questions? >> No. >> So, the scope of that contract with this company would not necessarily dictate what contracts will be going out. It's just >> Okay. >> Correct. Just working with RNC. >> Okay. >> So, a motion to move forward. Not sure how to phrase it. >> Motion is forward. >> Second. >> Okay. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Motion passes. >> So that's approval for the of construction
051management. >> Yes. >> RNC. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Um Okay. Next we have comments. Comments from the board of directors. And way do I only folks member >> start um one I really appreciate the student reps coming in and um give us an update on all the things they're doing dayto-day but also the time that they put into working on this AI project right so as Aaron mentioned we uh he and I attended a really interesting conversation on this from Quincy schools at the conference um lot of great information in there and it looks like it should basically be the was the model policy for most schools moving forward. So, um, as I said in the last board meeting, I like it to move fairly quick to having something in place so that so
052it's ready for the next school year. So, I think that's something that we >> we owe it to these kids to have that ready to go. Um, and along with that, the other couple things that are on my mind is just trying to figure out like we talk a lot about K through 12, but there's a lot that happens after 12, right? And so it's like how good of a job did we really do K through 12 and like how do you get data, right? Because once everyone graduates, it's feels like they're just sort of gone in the wind and maybe you see them, maybe you don't. But I was actually also fortunate to attend several presentations at the WASDA conference on tracking post-secondary pro progress and growth and stuff. So, uh something that Jim
053has been I've heard him in my short time on the board, he's mentioned a bunch of it, but it's definitely something that's on my mind that I want to keep kind of digging into. So, as I get more information on that, I'll be bringing it to you guys just to kind of talk about and you know, how are we doing out once they're out in the world and then how can you use that to cast back, right? Like how do we need to modify anything as we get that new information? >> Yeah, I think I'll comment on that. >> Go for it. Um the uh the emphasis on graduation rates is one thing that the school can do, but the ultimate goal is to have a a well educated society that builds things and and
054thrives. And I think that's the kind of data that tells us how we're really doing in the in the big picture. Thanks, Paul. I think kind of piggybacking off that, I got the opportunity, was it last week? It was still um last week at the high school to participate in an event where seniors come in and kind of share what's next for them after they leave or ask questions about what might be next and you work through with them uh what they can do to get that next level, whether it's applying or FAS or, you know, talking to people in different trades. Um and I found it just it's really heartening to hear from some of these kids. Have you had some that walked in and were just like, I got it all laid out
055for A to B. I don't really know why they were in the room. They did not need me. And then others that are still trying to figure it out, but they've got ideas and are just looking for that extra support. And so I think that's a really cool event that the high school puts on. And there were also again quite a lot of community members in there sharing their expertise. Couple of us in the HR field kind of talking about that. It's just very nice to see and see how excited the seniors are for what's next. >> Couple community members were involved. >> Uh there was two different shifts. So I was only at the first one and I think there was 12 of us. >> Don't ask me to do math. >> No. Okay.
056>> So there were staff Yeah, there were staff uh that were uh in attendance and then probably I would say four or five when I was in there. >> And that's something I think could be expanded. I I think I think back to my high school um career so to speak and having the opportunity to talk to professionals was very valuable motivating me to end up doing great. >> Uh I don't have much uh holidays, lots of concerts and music out there. uh missed my son's concert tonight to be here, but >> thank you. >> Yeah. Uh I'm not actually that sad about it, but um >> great. [laughter] >> You know this is recorded, right? >> I know. Anyway, um yeah. So, there was something else I was going to mention, but I kind
057of lost it. Any rate, I hope everyone has a good holiday. >> Did you make it to the tree lighting? >> No. other commitment I ended up doing. But >> you make that >> I missed it as well, but we talked about essentially being >> next year. >> The parade I hear was >> what successful. >> Yeah. Oh, I was going to mention the LL getting rolled out. Um, I know we've been seeing it in our home. >> Good. >> So, I'm anxious to see how that does for our students and if if that [clears throat] precipitates some some benefits. >> That's all I had. >> Thank you. >> So, I have a few comments. I want to thank the high school um leadership for hosting our site visit there. have submitted. Um I was
058hoping to attend that uh student workshop, but uh coming back from the Thanksgiving holidays hit rain. I told Aaron this from the 33 miles from Wilsonville to Bugville was a solid 2-hour drive. >> So anyway, um I'm really happy about that event. It's has a lot of potential. um learned from our students that there's a continuing debate issue in high school when it and a plan to address it. So I'm happy about that. Um again point to the value of our student reps as you know this is the most involved we've had students in informing board of issues that since I've been on the board it's been it's been great. Um, and I talked about experiments on on the generation social media. There's the big Australian gener experiment of cutting social media. >> We'll see
059how that one works out. Um, AI is a big experiment that we're doing on our on our children. It's fascinating. Um, I I am concerned about the impact of AI on on developing language skills, math skills, mine. and I came across a study of college freshmen at UC San Diego. So, one of my former competitors in the UC system, but it's uh top 10 public universities in the country. Looking at freshman math skills, only 64% of the freshmen could could uh perform at the fourth grade level. only 17% of freshmen could perform at the eighth grade level in math. And that's that's our problem as a as a K12 district. Universities are providing remedial services. As a taxpayer, I would rather see our schools that we fund, what we provide that, and not have to
060pay again at the university level to do remedial math. And then really I'm really freaked out about it because you know math I had the experience of myself of of ninth graders not ninth graders not college freshman not being able to do simple addition or multiplication without a calculator and call the phone in their hand and sometimes you need to be able to multiply and subtract without a calculator. Um, as I said, I I really uh am am uh happy that there's a concerted effort on among citizens to be involved in in the levy passage. And really, as I said, the ultimate goal that should be to get our state legislature to the legis legislature to fund K12 education in the way that our constitution says they should. um concerned about Unite funding. I see
061Battleground lost their Unite federally funded drug-free schools grant. I don't know what we have uh as as plan B if that federal funding disappears, but I think that's been a very effective program, continues to be an effective program, and I'm concerned about that potential loss of federal funding. Um, I want to mention uh the passing of Molly Coen. She was kind of a mentor for me and uh very supportive of schools, very supportive of everything in in Wugal and um she'll be missed. Um and that leads up to the last thing I want to talk about. So I spent time with my family and in uh over Thanksgiving and I learned something learned. I knew this all along, but pretty profound that, you know, parents see their kids grow up and they grow up really
062fast when you become a grandparent, you see just how fast can be. And uh what used to be a one-day trip down to see people became a two-day trip now takes four days because we're getting older. Um and I think my wife and my priorities are changing. um period. Much as I love WashU and committed to WashU, um much as I'm grateful for public education that served me in my my career and my life, um it can't ever make up for what I got from my family and the values, the work ethic, kinds of things that allow someone to be successful with or without an education, maybe more successful with a good education. Um, but that that focus on family and realizing we're missing out on these kids growing up. We did we did get
063to the sixth grade choir concert. That was a that was a blast. Um, funner when it's your sixth grade granddaughter rather than random sixth graders, but um, still fun. Um, and they actually did a a great job of honoring a a number of different um, holiday of the lights festivals that happened. This time Christians call it Christmas, but most of the major religions have a big holiday right around this time. Um, and that was that was kind of a neat concert. Um, so having said that, uh, yeah, my wife and I are going to are planning to spend a lot more time in California. And because of that, um, I'm going to resign effective the end of January from my position on the board and hope someone else from district 1 will step up and,
064uh, play play the role that I've had the the privilege and honor of playing. My comment Okay, Erin. >> So, uh, based on on that information and knowing we have two board meetings till the time. So, uh, thank you for your commitment. Seven years. >> Six years. >> This is the seventh start. >> Seven. Okay. So big commitment that you and you've been very extremely generous with your time and so I know we'll have some uh additional time to share uh our appreciation for you. So um again support your decision understand certainly understand why uh but we'll we'll miss you and appreciate all your contributions. Thanks. Okay so I have a few items I want to share. So last week we had because of Reed Northwest there were two concerts one at Cape uh in
065the morning and then one a little bit later uh Vancouver uh Symphony Orchestra uh performed at both schools and this was for all the students. So this is happens to be at CRG uh so that's every one of our students and they played a number of songs. It was uh very well attended. uh they did an excellent job and our students were really appreciative students and staff and we also had Reed Northwest volunteers who were there. So appreciate that partnership uh with Reed Northwest. So, walk, which is now drive and drop, occurred on Saturday. And so, the picture on the left, we have Interact students and student volunteers working with Rotarians. And then Xander uh Cook, who is our Interact and National Honor Society advisor. So we have students who are supporting our community in
066this initiative that this was I think it's been 40 plus years of walk and now drive and drop this is at the high school parking lot. Um I think close to 4,000 pounds was was donated. Uh I'm involved in this not only in my role as a as an educator watch school district also as a Rotarian. And so through Rotary and the connection with those Rotarians. Uh so I appreciate the time that was spent probably uh in total like six, seven hours of getting ready and then participating. Ida came by and dropped off of food donations. So thank you for that. We also had Girl Scout troops that were there. So at a at a very young age, students would because of Girl Scouts are learning how to how to service, how to give to
067their community, uh how to work hard because those bags were really heavy and so at times we needed multiple Girl Scouts to carry one bag. So I really appreciate uh this initiative and the support our student provided, our community provided. Uh yesterday I attended in the morning a visit uh to Cascadia Tech with a number of administrators in the in the area and legislative representatives. So appreciate interacting with them, touring the programs at Cascadia Tech. And when you talk about college ready and work ready and just the decision that students make, Cascadia Tech that starts their junior year, it can be a two-year program. We're hosting two programs here uh forestry and and teaching. Uh we visited construction, diesel, mechanics, uh uh so a variety of programs and so see the need for this. They
068also are saying their numbers are growing. And so, uh, what we really want is our students to leave Wuka School District prepared for whatever future, uh, they're desiring that they're ready, whatever it is that they're ready. So, I was a part of the pop uh, Papa Plan as well and got to ask students after they spoke with you or with Mrs. Bennett or with Mr. McCrosski, I got to say, and what's your plan? What is it exactly? And it's so appreciated all that they shared. Perry Institute in Yakama, University of Washington, waiting for to hear if if I've been accepted. Uh so, uh excited for their their plans and knowing that their plans right now, that's the idea. They have a plan that may change. There's a lot of things that may change that. So,
069appreciate those that uh were that were there. Uh and then as Marley talked about, I really enjoyed this uh this morning. Uh Mr. Castle and I drove down, met the students there. So I I imagine there were a few superintendents there. I don't know. I know there were administrators. There were uh leadership teachers. Majority of the participants were students and it was a very inspiring morning to talk about climate and culture and what is climate and that's the vibe that you feel. And so what kind of kind of vibe and feeling do we want our students to have, our staff to have? And so it was very intentional talking about things that that we can do to increase uh the experiences uh more positive experiences to feel connected for our students. So very motivating, inspiring
070keynote. Uh our students were fantastic. So very proud moment to see them interacting and game planning for this year on what they're going to be doing as student leaders and Marley is one of them that and they're working on that. So she talked a few about a few of those things and then what came up in our uh meeting the RO meeting that was last week one of our uh participants when I shared that our listening tour the last listening tour wasn't very well attended to the high school and she she is not uh she does not have kids in our system. So she said I didn't know that there was a listening tour. So, I I wanted to mention it that our next listening tour is January 13th at Hathaway Elementary School from 4:30
071to 6:00 in the in the library. And so, this is for anyone who wants to attend. We'll we will be talking about the EPO and Capitol Levy. So, we will be sharing information. So, uh the wonder is I think sometimes what's a listening tour. So that's an opportunity for community members, staff members to interact with the board and district administration and and have two-way communication. So we will be providing a a presentation for the levy and information at this listening tour. So please share uh that this is uh coming up early in January. Okay. Uh, I think the last thing I don't have a slide is we've been receiving quite a bit of rain recently and I want to say thank you to our maintenance and operations team who when I went up to Cape
072this this morning to see how uh things are going and and notice right away the level of the the river and then the different streams that now are turning into rivers and just appreciate what our maintenance operations team is doing to mitigate the potential for any flooding that's that's happening. So, not only up river but here uh behind uh our property. Uh so there are areas that we know historically um when when we get this much uh precipitation that we need to um be working on it. So uh good job to our team uh for helping support uh that and as it continues for the next couple days. >> Great. >> Okay. Thank you. >> The um actually I wanted to comment on on Jacob's recognition or Marley's recognition of the janitorial staff. Yes, I
073learned early on that um if you don't appreciate the custodial staff, the clerical staff, you're not going to get very far. >> Right. Been recognizing to high school kids. >> Yep. that one example and I know that uh Brooke and actually one of our custodians at River Lucia shared that with me that that Brooke does a really good job of introducing her to the students each class so they're they can they know who is uh who's supporting the keeping our our buildings clean. That helps. >> Yeah. [snorts] >> Okay. Now we turn to citizen comments for general. We have I think five of them here. So I'm going to read the script. There is an opportunity for citizen comment at tonight's meeting, both for proposals of action in the past and for general comments. The
074board and administrative staff like to hear comments from the public. This is our time to listen to you. Because this is a business meeting of the board of directors, the board will not respond to any public comments or questions or engage in conversation with a speaker. If follow-up action is appropriate, we will direct the superintendent to do so. Please address comments to the board as a whole, not individual members, staff, or other audience members. We ask that you state your name. Please keep your comments to three minutes or less. You will hear a bell. If you hear or when you hear a bell, we ask you conclude your comments, remarks. Up to 30 minutes will be allocated for public comment. The board, and I say this and mean it, that's been this case since I've
075been on the board. The board appreciates, listens, and cares about the broad range of perspectives in our community. We value everyone's comments. Thank you. And the first first general comment will be Ashley Crawford. Follow-up comments from last meeting. I ask if you are not going to keep those to please either give them back or shred them because those are personal documents. All right. Uh, I'm here tonight to follow up on concerns I previously raised regarding transportation safety, record handling, retaliation, and the district's response to ongoing issues affecting my son, Hudson. First, I want to address transportation. Before Hudson even started kindergarten in early 2024, I attended my very first Zoom meeting with Connor and the director of transportation, David S. I entered that meeting with the legitimate legitimate safety concerns. Hudson's history of alopment, my
076handicapped mother needing to chase him down the street with some warnings and the danger he was faced during t temper tantrums in the middle of the road. These were clear safety issues, not complaints. Yet, I recently discovered an old email that from the same director claiming all I do is complain. This was written after the very first meeting before my son had even begun school and it it is damaging precedent for how my concerns would be interpretive moving forward. No parent should feel that their safety concerns minimized or mislabeled especially at their very first interaction with district staff. Second, I met with the superintendent who informed me and my attorney last week that an internal investigation was underway and asked me to rec create a timeline. I want to clarify that I have already paid
077for district records through a public records request. I'm willing to explain the timeline, but I should not be asked to recreate documentation the district holds itself. Additionally, due to personal relationships with and prior comments made to me, such as you're going to do whatever you want to do. I have concerns about neutral neutrality. I respectfully request that the board reconsider the oversight of an external or an external reviewer to ensure fairness. This is exactly why families don't come forward to board meetings. Retaliation. You can clearly see this as a problem as the board meeting regarding these topics last week has 177 views compared to the normal 20 to 30. That that speaks volumes in itself. Third, I need to address retaliation. This fear is not theoretical. It comes from past experience. After after advocating strongly
078for Hudson, Coner transferred my child out of Cape and into CRE without consulting his IEP team and without legal doing the legal requirements for placement decisions. I explained my reasons for objecting yet I was told that the decision had already been made and that there was nothing I could do this game or uh after a heated IEP meeting. During litigation, I canled an IEP meeting for legal reasons. Despite my cancellation, the meeting was held anyways. I now fear that the district deleted or altered records reflecting my cancellation. These concerns are backed by documentation inconsistencies and should be investigated at the request to cancel meaning can no longer be found in anybody's emails. Why I while I am not accusing anyone directly, these inconsistencies raise serious concerns about record integrity and I am asking that the
079B board ensure immediate preservations of all related communications. I am grow I have growing concerns about a sudden dramatic drop in communications from members of Hudson's IEP team. We went from communicating multiple times a day to almost no contact at all. Um you guys are I've done some research. You guys can do a motion to allow me to finish reading and it could be passed or all my kids are here to finish reading. It's um there is laws regarding that. So, does anybody motion to let me finish? I've only got a couple more paragraphs. >> I motion to let you finish. >> Is there a second? >> I'll second. Thank you. >> Vote on >> Oh, yes. You have to vote on it. Sorry. >> I'll second. Oh, >> all in favor >> I >>
080question clarification. Will that eliminate some of these other comments then if you finish? >> You don't want to speak. Do you have a speech prepared to cadence? Kylie removed them. >> Okay. >> Are you speaking? >> Uh Kelly and Jacob. >> Okay. Um sorry, let me figure out where was that. Okay. I have growing concerns about the sudden and dramatic drop in communication from members of the IEP team. We went from communicating multiple times a day that can be backed by a record request um to almost no contact at all. In some cases, emails are not being answered whatsoever. This does not feel coincidental. I fear staff may have been instructed verbally to avoid electronic communication in order to prevent records from being created. While I cannot speak mo I cannot speak to motives, the
081drastic change in communication patterns is deeply concerning and absolutely something that should be reviewed. The director of special education remains in his in his role during this investigation. Given the nature of the concerns and the potential impact of evidence, I believe the board should evaluate whether it's appropriate to maintain the integrity of an investigative process. No remorse, no accountability was taken, rather bloating, almost like a game was won against my six-year-old. Additionally, I want to raise broader concerns about the financial impact in the community. The district the district is currently asking families to support the upcoming levies. Levies that are critical for maintaining programs, staffing, and essential services. Yet, when the district allows behavior that leads to legal disputes, investigations, and potential procedural violations, it creates unnecessary financial strain on the entire system. Many families
082in this community are already choosing between gas and groceries. Yet, they should not be asked to shoulder the financial consequences of preventable issues causing an employee whose conduct goes unressed. Fiscal responsibility includes ensuring that staff actions do not expose the district to avoid to avoidable legal and administrative costs. Let me be very clear. If the director of special education is allowed to continue with access to alter or otherwise interfere with these records or engage with any other form of unprofessional conduct related to them, I will have I will immediately pursue every legal remedy available without further notice. This could cause the district to potentially lose federal and state funding and I do not want this and I doubt the district wants that as well. But I have to do what is right for my child
083and this is not right. In summary, this situation began even before my son started school. My very first meeting resulted in safety concerns being labeled as complaints. Retaliatory actions followed then I ad when I advocated for him. Records appear inconsistent. Communication has abruptly diminished. Internal oversight feels compromised and the broader financial impact of families cannot be ignored. These issues are not isolated. They reflect reflect systematic patterns that directly affect families, students, and community trust. Okay. >> Okay. >> Who wants to go first? Jacob. >> Thank you. >> All right. Let me know whenever you're ready. >> Hello. My name is Jacob Crawford and I'm a former graduate of High School and Cascadia Tech. I am Hudson's older brother. I want to speak because my family has been living through this situation. I've watched how it
084affected my little brother and my mom. Hudson is not just a student in the district. He's my baby brother. I see the stress, fear, and confusion he experiences. When routines aren't followed, he doesn't feel safe. I also see how my mom's hard work every single day to make sure he's protected and supported. When the school dismisses her concerns and retaliates her, it affects our whole household. I personally had a 504 plan in high school and if my 504 plan was disregarded like his was, I personally would not have graduated. Um, [clears throat] I've seen my mom spend hours documenting this issues and recording records and trying to communicate with the district. I've watched her break down because she feels ignored or pushed aside. No parent should be treated that way when they're trying to make
085their child get the help they need. I feel like Wugle is very based to their students. We even have messages like up there, our vision together and trusted with and accountable for the success of each student. I really feel like we should be doing everything in our power to be true to what we're saying we're doing. >> Thank you. >> And finally, Kelly. >> Thank you. I'm Kelly Gutman, Hudson's grandmother, and I want to share my perspective just because I've um witnessed firsthand the challenges Hudson has faced, especially regarding transportation and safety. Um I routinely watched Hudson last year, so I was part of his everyday school life. Um and also I just want to say that we're not here because of a specific concern that's just happened. We're here because of concerns that have
086been ongoing since Hudson started his education and the fights we've had to do in order to get him taken care of. There were many mornings when I was when I was the one walking Hudson to the bus stop. Now, I'm handicapped, but I don't expect the district to make any um any um can't think of the word, but to to make any concessions to to my handicap. It's more about Hudson and the behaviors he's done with me, I've seen him do with his sisters and I've seen him do with his mom. Hudson is part of his autism is he is routine-based. If his routine gets messed up, it can cause him problems. Hudson is an eloper, which if you don't know what an eloper is or you if you have not experienced an eloper in
087your care, it's a child who suddenly can take off at 90 miles an hour down the street and catching them is very hard. Um, so with with the bus stop, that routine if if he's expecting and not only routine, but what Hudson is expecting to happen. So, if he's expecting somebody to be there and they're not there, that throws him off and he can have a total meltdown. If um Yeah. So, let me go back. So, um frequently that would result in me having to chase him down the street or his sisters having to chase him down the street or even his mom at times. I can't keep up with him when he runs down the street, but that's kind of my issue, right? not Hudson's. Um there were times when he would have fold
088meltdowns in the middle of the street and he would have to be dragged across the street. So what we had to battle to get his IEP changed. So instead of Hudson being picked up and dro dropped off across the street and one house over with another child that met there at the school bus that Hudson the school bus was supposed to stop in front of Ashley's house with the door facing her house so he could safely get out and it was easier to get him inside. um routinely over several months, anytime there was a substitute driver, not anytime, I won't generalize, but many substitute drivers would drop off across the street. They would not drop off in front of the house, and they would say they didn't know that they were supposed to do that.
089They would We saw one time where they didn't put the crossing arm out when they were dropping him off. Um we had times where they couldn't take him out of the seat. Dang, that took a lot longer than I thought it would, but thank you. >> Oh, they said you could. >> Okay. >> Who wants to come up? >> No, they said you could. >> Oh, I can't. >> It's only one page and I'm halfway through. >> I know. Um, >> it's been hard. Let's see. It's been heart heartbreaking to watch my daughter fight constantly just to make sure Hudson receives the basic protections he is entitled to. Um the retaliation she experienced after advocating for him has affected our whole family. We are exhausted. Taking care of a special needs child is exhausting in
090itself. Fighting to get him taken care of is double exhausting. Um the the retaliation we saw with the threat of the change of the school district or or the school that happened within a week of us being in a meeting and talking about how great we felt at Cape Horn, how comfortable Hudson was, how we researched it, how we talked to the teachers. And then a week later without any transition plan, we were told starting Monday he would be at a different school. and transportation then contacted and said his his bus schedule has been changed to go to the other school. All email, no back and forth with Ashley. Just this has been done all within a week. That has to be retaliation. Um I am asking more to ensure that what has happened to
091Hudson and to us as a family is taken seriously. The district has a responsibility to protect students, to honor parents' voices, and to act with integrity. We are simply acting for safety, fairness, and accountability. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um, that's it for citizen comments. Unless you guys want to speak to or >> Okay. Um, do we have any future agenda items? Yes. 11:47. Thank you.