001[clears throat] >> Good afternoon. Welcome to the May 4th meeting of the Yakima School Board. We're pleased to be here in Robertson School today. Before we begin, we have a few items to take care of. First of all, we offer Spanish interpretation services from Jorge with Language Connection. If you need translation assistance in person, please check with Jorge for a device. And Jorge, please translate that information. Gracias por tu ayuda. If you wish to make a public comment today, there are two options available for you. The first option is for commenting on agenda items only. And the second option, which comes toward the end of the meeting, is for all other topics. In order to speak today, you will need to sign two forms, a sign-in form and the guidelines form. We do provide live
002streaming for this meeting. The link can be found on our webpage under Board of Directors. If you're interested in watching past meetings, and if you have insomnia or something, you can find them on our webpage as YSD YouTube channel. And now, um, would you, um, call the uh call the roll, please, Pam? Director Navarro Jr. Here. Director Rice. Here. Vice President Beckett. >> Here. President Walker. Here. Director Sutton is excused. And today, we're pleased to have two students from Robertson lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and the character word of the month. And would Emily and Eli please join us at the microphone. [clears throat] >> [snorts] >> Ready, begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
003indivisible, [clears throat] with liberty and justice for all. >> [clears throat] >> Civil. Encouraging respectful and polite behavior that contributes to the well-being of the community. Thank you so much. Now, sometimes our board likes to ask a question or two of you. I think we warned you ahead of time. So, is there any questions or comments from the board for us today? Thank you. You did a great job with that. Um, you are what grade level? We're in fifth grade. >> Fifth grade. Both of you are fifth grade. What's your favorite class? Um, like, uh, in class or like, uh, extra? What whichever you would prefer to answer. Mine's music. You like music? Mine's PE. PE? Are you a soccer player? Yes. >> [laughter] >> Thank you for being here. Any other questions from the
004board? Hello. Thank you for for being here. I appreciate your leadership. Uh, this I I think this I'm a little biased cuz my wife works here, so >> [clears throat and laughter] >> So, just outstanding job. Thank you for your leadership. Appreciate that. I just have a question. If you thought that far ahead, what is it that you guys plan to be in the I want to be a kindergarten teacher. All right. Awesome. I want to be a soccer player. Nice. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your year. Today, the schools of the Yakima School District rest on ancestral lands of the 14 confederated tribes and bands of the Yakima Nation. The people of the Yakima Nation inhabited more than 12 million acres. Across Adams, Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Yakima counties.
005Today, we honor those native peoples who are tied to the land through history, legends, and culture. We acknowledge their descendants who live in the world today. We thank the caretakers of this land who have lived here and continue to live here since time immemorial. An acknowledgement is a simple, powerful way to show respect. And a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase indigenous peoples' history and culture. It also honors the truth. As a school district, we will continue to build upon our relations with the Yakima Nation. Thank you, students. And we would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silence to honor the memory of Kay Lynn Buskey, Buskey, a former Yakima School District employee. Please join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. Kay's obituary is available
006on the on the board documents website. Today, it's our pleasure to introduce Principal Kari Davis, who is going to provide us with a full report on what's happening here at Robertson Elementary. Well, good afternoon. I'm Kari Davis, proud principal of Robertson. I just want to welcome everybody to Robertson today. Um, thank you very much, President Walker and members of the board for your support. Um, thank you, Dr. Groom, for your, uh, leadership. Thank you to district, uh, administrators and staff who give support daily, all of our teachers, and obviously both to my leadership kids who just got to see. Um, let them lead all by themselves. We have lots of student leaders, so thank you for allowing us to show a little bit of who we are today. Um, I'll be going through this slideshow
007today. You have access to the slides. Um, you'll be able to see it. Um, and if you'll indulge me in a little bit of humor on this very special day in May, we are going to switch out our Robertson logo for the Millennium Falcon, given that it is May 4th, um, and may the force be with you. Um, thank you, Dr. Larson, for the suggestion. Um, thought it was very fitting. Um, all kidding aside, um, I'm actually really pleased to be able to present to you today, and it was not easy to put together. Three years ago, I was a first-year principal, and I was presenting here to the board. And at that time, I kind of gave a state of where Robertson was. And this, uh, presentation was really challenging for me. It caused
008a lot of reflection on what can we focus on to share what we've been doing in the past several years, um, and getting it really focused down to just something, um, narrowly focused. And so, one thing I'll start with is that we've taken time to revise as a staff our promise to families, our vision, our core values. So, our promise is that Robertson, in partnership with families and community, seeks to create a safe environment where every student has the support needed to achieve high levels of learning. Um our staff also felt strongly about uh aligning our core values to what we call our star expectations for students. And as you know, we're the money talking but typically the Robertson rockets. And so we have a star theme um for all of our students and staff.
009It is important to align that. Um and the one thing that I want to really focus on today that core value that's strong for our staff that will come out through the presentation today is the aspect of taking responsibility. And as a whole staff, we really collectively strive to take full responsibility of all students, identifying their needs, responding to their needs, and having the ability to collaborate at team level and across team levels to support kids with what they need. Uh we also revised our vision. Robertson strives to build a community of resilient lifelong learners who pursue their future with empathy and respect for all and to contribute to a global society. Our IOT has also worked really hard to look at our data yearly and we created our school improvement goals. We have four
010goals currently. We'll focus on goal one today, which is around reading. And that goal is to increase our English language arts growth for all students um to a 57 student growth percentile. That student growth percentile is when you look at cohorts of students from one year to the next um looking at the SBA scores. And we look at those to see how a cohort's doing because as a system we want to see what are the trends that we're establishing, how are we doing at each grade level in supporting kids in the foundational knowledge that they need, and where can we continue to add support. So as I said earlier, um it's been 3 years since I had an opportunity to be here. And so talking about something to highlight that was really important in the
011last 3 years was creating maintaining our systems across Robertson and in the ways that we support students. I'll talk about some specifics on the next slide. Um but I'd be remiss if I didn't also say we've been looking at data for what are those opportunities. And one area that has stood out as an opportunity is to support our English language learners. When we looked at our student growth percentile for all kids versus our English language learners, they were really similar. But when we started digging a little bit deeper and we looked at their state assessments in in reading, we could see that there was a pretty big gap in kids and that were reaching proficiency. So our ELLs had a gap of about 18%. So we see that even though they are growing, they still
012aren't performing at the same level as other students. So we really wanted to focus in on that specifically in reading. So some leadership moves that have happened in the last few years was a huge focus on our PLC process. So we had grade level teams working to create norms for collaborating, um creating operating agreements so that things run smoothly, and really dove into what does unit planning look like? What are our guaranteed standards? How do we take those apart to understand what it is we're teaching? What's our teaching plan? What are those foundational literacy skills we're including and those practices? As part of that system for our PLC work, we look at the data, we look at student progress, we make adjustments throughout along the way. And then we provide strong interventions with our small
013groups both in class and through our reading interventions and our English language learner interventionist. So focusing in on reading specifically, um this is our assessment for DIBELS. It's our early reading literacy test that students take three times a year. And when we were looking at this, we focused on accuracy, which is the student's ability to read the words on a page. And our kids first grade through fifth grade take it. And so that allows us to look at that trend data to really see, "Hey, are we making the strides and closing the gaps that we want to close?" Um again, looking back at that system support of how are we doing? And so when we started looking at our accuracy in the fall, um you'll see on the on the screen there's fall scores and
014winter scores. We haven't taken spring yet. Um we're still progress monitoring, so I'll speak to that in a minute. But what we did notice was a pretty big gap between um our fall scores with 62% of non-English language learners meeting that benchmark, you know, right where they're supposed to be, and our English language learners at 30%. We saw a pretty big gap there. We wanted to address that. And so in our grade level teams and our interventions, we really buckled down, started looking at those students, um planning interventions, supports, um core instruction, meaning the instruction everybody gets, and then looking at that data every time we progress monitor, how are English language learners doing? Are they making the gains? What can we do to further support? In the winter, we uh moved to 57% of
015our English language learners um at benchmark, which is very exciting. And the way that breaks down is we went from 32 uh students that are English language learners meeting that benchmark in the fall to 58 in the winter. Um and we're continuing to look at progress monitoring data. Our last progress monitoring look in the end of April um showed close to 70 students kind of on target to meet that goal. So we're really excited um to see what they do and they take that test again at the end of May. So more time serves us well and serves them well. Um so we'll be excited to see that at the end. So these are some of the things that we're looking at in our systems, but I really wanted to highlight the work of two
016grade levels. Um our fourth and fifth grade um has worked really really hard around this goal of accuracy. Um the grade level teams really tied their goals to our school improvement plan and really wanted to focus on accuracy. And in the fall in fourth grade, only 17% of our English language learners were hitting that benchmark for accuracy. And by winter, they'd closed that gap to 72%. So in the winter, we had 16 of our 22 ELL students at benchmark. In fifth grade in the fall, we had just 38% of students at benchmark. And then we moved to 64%. So in the winter, 14 of our 22 ELL students were at the benchmark. So you might be wondering, "What about those other kiddos?" cuz we don't have all of them meeting benchmark. Um that's where we're
017working with our interventions for supporting students. We're looking regularly at them when we're looking at data, um looking at them by name, seeing what kind of growth they're making, creating interventions within the classroom, but also our reading specialist and our English language uh interventionist as well. These are students, they also do a great job working with teachers seeking out um "Hey, how is this kiddo doing? What are you seeing?" And then getting feedback from the grade level teams that are "Hey, they're struggling in this area or that area." Um and being able to be supportive in that way. So as I wrap up, there are a few pictures I want to highlight. Um you'll see some students that are reading. You'll get to see some teachers in there that are looking at their data. And
018then some pictures of our leadership kids, two of whom you got to meet already. And then there is a picture in that top left corner of a gentleman young gentleman reading. He's one of our English language learners who has struggled with his early literacy skills due to some gaps in instruction. And he has worked really hard. They actually called me down last week and said, "Carrie, you've got to come and listen to him read." And he was reading fluently and he was so confident. And there were like five adults around him like cheering him on. And so it just speaks to that system and that we're really invested in all kids, but even kids at that individual level. So with that, I'm going to wrap up and then open it up to any questions. Does
019the board have any questions or comments? >> [snorts] >> I just want to congratulate you on your focus on those students who are struggling. The numbers look really good. And um the fact that this young man is is uh doing so well. And I hope that he has some continuity in his education from this point forward. And um will continue to improve as as your numbers show that many of them are. So congratulations on that. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? No, I was just curious about what were some of the specific interventions that seemed to work well really well with those kids. Yeah, so we have both a reading interventionist and an English language learner interventionist. Um they're actually in the same room. When we do our tour, I'll actually show you where
020it is. Um they have some paras in there. So they work really well together. Um and so they both have some curriculums that they use specifically. Um they'll look at they'll do some testing and see what literacy skills they might be lacking. And then they build their lessons around those skills to meet them specifically. And then they also take feedback from teachers. Our um our ELL interventionist does a great job of getting feedback from teachers and trying to align some of her work with what they're learning in the classroom around like vocabulary. Um so that way that work is really as well aligned as we can make it. Okay. Thank you. I also had one other question. You you obviously focused mostly on this goal and have great success, but I was a little curious
021about goals two, three, and four. Just quickly just a off the top of your head how much progress do you feel like you're making in those areas as well? So we have some ways we have some growth still to make in math. We did a lot of work this year around the guaranteed standards. We have our end of module assessments. So we've really worked on using those to kind of adjust our instruction and then we're working on some professional development around math fluency working really closely with our teams on that. We're just getting started with some of that work and so that'll probably be what I show the next time we meet. One thing I'll say about our staff is we are workers and we just get right to work and so we're not satisfied
022if and not everybody is learning. And then Um The attendance we have done a lot of work this year actually our assistant principal Ryan Treat has done a phenomenal job with attendance this year. She has kind of been the lead on that. We really worked with teachers to kind of create hey you are the first point of contact here are some scripts and things that you can use to contact families. She also leads our attendance team and so when we get to those students that are missing more she's reaching out to families. What are the barriers? How can we help support you? Creating you know plans for kiddos like rewarding them. Hey you're here on time or you've made it this many days and really celebrating and recognizing that and we also celebrate that in
023our monthly recognition assemblies with students. Thank you. Now I are we doing a short tour today? Is that part of the plan? Okay I guess we're unless there any other questions or comments. No I just want to thank staff for being here. We don't always see staff in our school visit board meetings and I appreciate the the fact that you're giving up some of your own time to come and sit through a school board meeting. We have to do it you don't. So thank you very much for being here. I also very much appreciate you being here. I can't see you cuz you're behind me but I know you're there. For sure. Okay. Tour? We will take a we'll adjourn for about 10 to 15 minutes. Welcome back everybody. Thanks again for a lightning tour.
024We've [clears throat] arrived at members of the board updates. Are there any updates for members of the board? Just a reminder that um We've WASDA has uh closed out the period of time where we can enter in new proposals for general assembly. And so the next step will be that the legislative committee will meet. I think they met last weekend and they meet again in the next couple of weeks to um review those that they couldn't get to and to review any that went out to boards and have been sent back. So the next step after that is that um we will get the final product in late July early August in time for general assembly. The general assembly book booklet to be delivered to us in late August and for general assembly in September.
025And we have um regional meeting. That's right. Regional meeting eighth? Uh no the sixth. Sixth? So that's what Wednesday Thursday? That would be Wednesday. Yeah. I believe you were going. Yeah. I probably will not make it to the meeting. So. Any other updates from the board? I have a couple one is just a reminder our retreat is Friday or is that part of your updates? No retreat is >> [laughter] >> to coin thing off. Okay our retreat is Friday from 8:00 to 4:30. Hopefully we will have 100% attendance. And then also there was one other Oh the the program I believe Barb gave you a tentative program for the honors convocation. If there's anything it's not cast in stone so if there's something you'd like to do you're not assigned to feel free to let
026Barb know and we can adjust that however. We just kind of picked who would do what and it's not I don't have any ownership of what I'm doing and if you would like to do something different than what you're assigned feel free. Yeah it's all negotiable. Okay that's my two updates. Zaid? Do we is there an agenda or will that be coming soon for the retreat? The agenda's been emailed hasn't it? What's that email? For the retreat? Okay. Any other comments from the board? Okay. Dr. Green. Thank you President Walker. I will tell you that we do have the retreat scheduled for a start at 8:30 on Friday at our location park. Also at the PDC Professional Development Center. The old Coca-Cola building if you've been around a few years. So 8:30 the PDC. All
027right so >> 8:30 not 8:00. Yes. I'm excited to share a lot of information with you today. I'll try to go very quickly. First I'd like to take a moment to share an update that really does reflect our collective work as a system. I'm pleased to report that the Washington State Board of Education in partnership with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction OSPI has formally recognized five schools in the Yakima School District with the Washington School Recognition Program for the 24-25 school year. So even though we're in 26 that was announced that about a year behind. So of what happened in the previous year. So this recognition is significant because it only identifies approximately about 16% of schools statewide that receive this honor. The schools that are recognized are the following. We have Ridgeview
028Elementary for closing the gaps or closing gaps. Washington Middle School for closing gaps. Adams Elementary School for growth for students with one or more racial or ethnic groups. Gilbert Elementary School for growth for students with one or more racial or ethnic group and Barge-Lincoln for the same growth for students in one or more racial or ethnic group. So what's important for the board to know is that this recognition does really reflect the coherence as a system and one of our strategic priorities which are around instructional expectations and support structures that are in place and sustained over time. So it demonstrates that really that our focus is on student growth and closing opportunity gaps gaps particularly in our district for underrepresented students. I think from a governance perspective I would share that this is a third-party
029validation of what we're doing as a system and that we're functioning in a way as intended. So it it really does inform that we have an emphasis on equity and and the state data informed decision-making and consistent instructional practices what is happening across multiple buildings. So I it's the information is released today. So it was embargoed until today May 4th. May the 4th be with you again. So it will be released and has been likely released today on a broader spectrum. In addition I do want to take a moment to recognize that this is an important week for our district. Um Today marks the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week and it's May 4th through May 8th. So across our district this week provides an opportunity to really pause and and and recognize the work of
030our exceptional teachers. Thankfully I do receive multiple bulletins from all of the different schools every week and it it is a consistent practice to to call out the great things that are happening in the buildings but to have this separate and and call this out as a system as a state as a nation is is something that um we should definitely take pride in in in the workforce that we have making a difference for our students. So I would say that our you know for us here at the central office we do really we do focus on on our educators because we cannot make change in the way that our educators can or teachers can in the building. So they're that you know direct contact with students. And so they're at the center of the
031way that we think as a system when central office along with certainly the outcomes for our students. But they're the individuals who translate our strategic priorities in a way that go into daily practice and create classrooms that that feel where students feel seen supported encouraged challenged and building the relationships with students as we all know and I I think about being in this room and uh Nicola Blink being here and I do you know just the impact that she has and and and with the students here in this building and having been a principal in Toppenish having her as a choir teacher just seeing the the impact from whether it's older kids or younger kids and that's the same way in our system with the teachers and the impact that they have. Uh no matter
032what the grade level. So, um the work of our students does reflect uh a deep commitment to student success. That we're using data to inform and adjust instruction. That we have a strong alignment to district expectations. And that also we have an unwavering belief in the potential of every student. And um the words of Rita Pierson, uh who is a very well-known educator, is that every child deserves a champion. And that's an adult who will never give up on them. And uh for us that having that teacher in the classroom to be that champion uh is is paramount for our students to to feel seen and and part of a uh of a of a greater a greater system that does recognize them. So, um just do want to recognize uh teacher appreciation week and
033all that goes into that. Uh as far as other items to share with you, I do have a uh let me see. I think there's a three uh I'll give you a bond update here. We have um Uh I I I came back from the state principals conference today. So, it it concludes tomorrow. Uh but I wanted to be here for this meeting. But I do have to share with you that uh you walk in a room with state superintendents uh from all over Westside, Eastside. And uh I felt uh a bit like a a rockstar. And that typically doesn't happen. And it's because of the great work of so many people in uh sharing with our community uh the need uh for a bond. And uh it wasn't about me being back with uh
034you know the the sicknesses that I've had, the illness that I had. It was all about you passed the bond or you're passing the bond, right? So, we know that the final count is come out Friday. And things are tend uh trending in the right direction. But when you see uh what's happening around the state, uh it's it's very telling that so many uh superintendents would come up and see that as uh something that is uh just beyond maybe what is uh comprehension in in in their districts because of of the challenges that we all have in in reaching that 60% mark. And while we're well aware uh that you know 60% is the majority of our community, we also know that there's that you know 40% also that we still have to continue to
035work towards and and win over. But I'm very uh grateful for um the 99.99 now percent uh certification uh that we sit at right now. And it should uh be finalized on May 8th. So, our next steps would then be to get the architects on board to get uh a permit started. Thankfully, we have uh Jake here who has uh I believe this is your fifth bond, correct? Somewhere in there. So, I think if you uh and I don't know how many if we count Dr. Larson having been in Highline, she would have a a large number of bonds as well or having been associated with that. But I think if you look at our administration that came locally here in the last, you know, Maria and Bob and I, uh this is our first
036bond, right? And to pass this, I think the first time, I don't know and maybe uh uh Director Rice might have a a longer institutional memory of how many bonds have passed on the first try. Uh I know it's been at least 30 years since that's happened. So, it's been it's been a quite a while. And again, this is the first bond that's Yeah. Yeah. Are you Yes. Yeah. Are you Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Two. Three. Speak speaks highly of our community. And yeah. Yeah. And And people are very um very complimentary, but also a little bit jealous and wanting to know what we did. And And I shared with the superintendent today that, you know, the the hard part about um going forward in a bond when you're talking about trying to give advice
037to somebody, there's only so much advice you can get because there are so many things that factor in uh when you're talking about different communities and what impact them. And I think for us, you know, when you think about uh the perceived non-completion of Davis with a performing arts center that wasn't done. We had the issue with the blue wall at Eisenhower. These were all kind of lingering things that's that that were in the minds of the community until those were addressed. It you know, we we did that intentionally before we went forward with a bond. And I think it did pay off. So, the next steps are to get architects on board, get a state permit started to have I think we have nine architect bids and bond councils correct so far. Yep. Yep.
038And then they will still use local labor no matter if it's an outside company. So, that speaks well for our for our city, for our community. Uh a team will be in place in the next couple of weeks as we we don't have to use the request for proposal process. Uh but Jake here uh and then also Kyle Soptic who oversees our um uh maintenance uh and our buildings will be meeting with the city and their planning department. And then uh the the RFQs um uh were due May 1st. And then Jake is going to begin reviewing those with archi- with architects and engineers. And then um bring a bring forward a recommendation uh relatively soon. I believe by possibly even next week. Okay. Do you have anything to add around that component? Sherry, you
039want to give me the mic? Thank you. Okay, we'll go ahead and [laughter] proceed. Um 60.99. So, mathematically speaking, we're just waiting for certification official. I couldn't be more proud of the administration and the community and all those folks that uh pitched in in all different regards. Passing a bond is not easy in an affluent or a community that is socioeconomically challenged poverty. Um so, you know, it's it's awesome. I don't have anything else to say but besides that. So, great work to all involved. Thank you Jake. And then I would ask um See, I have a a proud moment for a visitation We had a visitation from the office of superintendent public instruction public instruction around dual language. Um and Maria, would you share? Yes, on April 23rd, we had about 30 visitors that
040included leadership from OSPI um who conducted dual language visits at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Hoover, and Adams. And um just received a lot of positive feedback around seeing the level of collaboration evident as they went from room one room to the other. Not to say that they're necessarily exactly in the same page in their teachers guide. But you can see similar strategies utilized, um collaboration in the sense of being within a similar scope and sequence and timing. And um lots of questions. So, I really want to thank the multilingual department, Artosas, who were a part of planning and coordinating our the administration at those schools who really just welcomed our visitors with with open arms. And our teachers who had small groups of, you know, really strangers in their classrooms. And and the students
041just went about their business learning and the teachers, you know, teaching. And so, just really proud to share how Goal 4, bilingual biliterate by graduation, what it [clears throat] looks like in real life in our classrooms. And just thanking the leadership prior to me who really started the planning process. And those who are part of the work today that continue to make dual language a highly successful program in our district. Thank you. Any questions for Dr. Lucero? Was this an audit or just uh visit? It was just a visit. They're actually very curious about Yakima. So, you may or may not know this, but Yakima's dual language program is actually pretty famous. And so, every year we have, um for example, a dual language academy that's four days. And other districts are really surprised by
042the high level of participation. We have no more than about five who don't attend. When you think about how many dual language educators we have, they've asked to be a part of that academy. Unfortunately, we usually cannot accommodate that because of space and our teachers take priority. Um so, it was just here's an opportunity. Would Yakima be willing to host? They reached out in the fall. Um so, we've been planning since then. And so, it was just for educators across the state to learn about um how Yakima made that become a reality. And a successful one. Thank you. It's nice to hear that somebody is Yakima curious. >> [laughter] [gasps] >> Thank you, Dr. Lucero. Only two more items. One, I just share, as I mentioned, I was at the superintendent's conference which continues this
043evening uh and as well as tomorrow. And the session that I attended was surprisingly to no one would be the session around uh accountability and the promise of public education. And that was they they have a new structure this year where the superintendents are actually doing different strands, presenting different strands to the superintendents within the within the state. And everything from family partnerships to mathematics and literacy, inclusion, belonging, AI. Uh and there were about 20 to 30 superintendents in the room. And uh the person facilitating uh working as the superintendent lead was Kelly Aramaki, who's my um you know, co-partner, I think, in the in the work that we're doing legislatively, uh superintendent from Bellevue. And we did have Superintendent Reykdal Reykdal from uh OSPI in the room uh as an observer, which was great
044because this was all superintendent generated in the work that we're doing and and and getting that voice out there and making sure that uh >> [snorts] >> um we're already working on legislative legislatively what the changes could be because I could not find anybody that was remotely happy with the um millionaires tax and uh the declaration that we're now providing meals for everyone in the state when we were at 90% anyway and the last 10% are primarily very uh affluent districts uh that are now getting that that money from the quote-unquote millionaires tax. So, uh we're starting early and continuing the work of uh uh generated with OSBI now and uh not OSBI but WASA and um and then the with in conjunction with the University of Washington and the work of that superintendents group
045which continues to permeate uh throughout the state in that work that we're doing. And then lastly, it would be uh I'd be remiss if I did not share something related obviously to the students that we serve because that's the reason that we're all here. And we have some outstanding news that recognizes one of our student athletes um and it just so happens that uh Joshua Whitney who is a junior at Davis High School was named the WIAA GESA Credit Union Athlete of the Week of which there's only one for the state uh by the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Activities Association. Uh so this is a statewide honor to student athletes who demonstrate exceptional performance in their sport while also making meaningful contributions in the classroom and the community. Uh Joshua delivered a remarkable week of competition
046winning five races across multiple uh distance of events. At his league meet, he swept the 800, 1600, 3200 meter earning maximum team points. He then followed that performance with additional victories in the 800 meter race with a time of 1 minute 57 seconds. The 3200 meters at the Davis invite against against strong competition. So, he continues to build on already impressive season including a personal best of 4 minutes 20 seconds in the 1600 meter. Uh so also then, this is not just about the athletics but it's also about academics and uh Joshua maintains a 4.0 grade point average while taking college level coursework through uh Yakima Valley College. And so he is recognized uh with a certificate of achievement, a scholarship gift card provided by GESA Credit Union, and statewide recognition through WIAA. And he
047represents really the best of our students in demonstrating dedication um discipline and excellence uh in in what he's doing. And I will have an update for the board because I did mention WIAA, uh Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association. We did have a meeting up at the superintendents conference and there are 22 new changes that are happening with our athletics this next year. So, I will make sure that I I get those to you and maybe address those at the next superintendent update because it is so fresh. So, unless there are any questions, I'll go ahead and conclude but I'll open it up if there's questions. Any questions for Dr. Green? Okay. Great. Then I guess the well, I'm going to take one more one privilege. Just want to congratulate as I conclude then uh we did
048have a our largest uh bargaining unit, our teachers union did have a vote and I know that Chad was Nels here um is going to be the incoming president from what I understand and then Jennifer Hernandez will continue as the vice president. Of course, she was here. They both were here addressing the board at our last meeting. So, I want to say congratulations to both of them. Okay. Next step, uh just be sure and check your board documents for highlights for community engagement. It's kind of the typical things for uh a few cultural activities left in the spring and a few athletic opportunities. And then just pay attention also to the graduations coming up. Make sure they're on your calendar. There are also a number of uh sessions for honoring different groups of students. You're
049not required to be at those as a board member but it's nice to have two or three board members show up to to most of those if they can. The families really do appreciate that. So, do as many as you can on those. I know it gets crazy in the spring. Lots of evening stuff. Okay. Um Any questions about that or Okay, we have arrived at our first opportunity for comments from the public on agenda items. Is there anyone here public that wishes to Okay. Welcome Juan Hernandez. Um The foundation. Listen. I was There's I I heard you guys were going out for architectural firms right away. Um and I was just curious if the district has thought about progressive design build as part of this? I've been in the construction industry for 11 years.
050Graduated from Davis, went to Washington Middle School and so just bringing my experience and I'm thinking like, man I think with tight budgets that would be something >> [clears throat] >> the school district might benefit from going through this design build process. So, it was just out of curiosity. Yeah. Okay. Um Normally, we don't uh uh we want to respond immediately but I think this is appropriate to do so In a prior district, I've done hard bid, GCCM which is kind of the hybrid and design build. Um generally, since we have not conducted a significant amount of projects historically, we have to get approval from OSBI be able to be a district that actually does design build. So, since we have not had that in our past, um it's a little more difficult for us
051to do uh here in Yakima. So, like in a prior district, we have a track record of executive projects cuz it is a little can be a little more complicated risky cuz it's more private sector like. So, Mhm. Um I have had some interesting results from the process depends upon who what architect and general you bring together to do get the work done. Um but currently, we're more likely to hard bid at this point in time. Got you. Okay. Thank you all. That's all. Cheers. Thank you for coming today. Next step, we have some approvals. Uh first up with Dr. Green's request to travel for AASA governing board meeting. Thank you, President Walker. As the board is well aware, I'm not much of a traveling superintendent um especially outside of the state, I should say.
052Maybe focus on that effort cuz I do go quite a bit to Olympia. Uh but the request before the board is that the board of directors approve travel for Superintendent Green to attend the July uh superintendents uh National Superintendents Association AASA governing board meeting and legislative advocacy conference in Washington, D.C. from July 6th through the 9th. Uh I am one of three superintendents in the state who serves representing uh the state of Washington. Uh the There are 135 members that represent seven distinct US geographical regions and um we're all voting members uh within the organization organization itself. So, there's kind of a dual responsibility to represent the home state uh but also then um um um we elect officials and work with our legislators to uh on on policy and bills and what not. So,
053uh the good thing about this is that there is a uh about as small of a fiscal impact as we can make. So, by being a part of the board uh it's only going to be a fiscal impact of about $1,500. So, there's a lot of this is picked up uh by the National Association by serving on the board. So, that's the request in front of you. Thank you. Do I hear a motion? I move that the board approve um >> [clears throat] >> travels for Dr. Green to go to the AASA. AASA stands for Association I I don't know how they do this but it's AASA and they call themselves the School Superintendents Association. So, they don't match up but it's the >> Their I think their real title is Association of something American
054Association of School >> American Association of Superintendents. >> I think school administrators probably. >> School administration. Okay. Um that Dr. Green attend the AASA governing body meeting and legislative advocacy conference in Washington, D.C. from July 6th to July 8th 2026. So, despite the fact that it's in D.C. in July Yeah, it's not Hey, do I hear a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded to approve this travel. Are there any other questions or comments, board? All in favor, say I. I. I. I. Opposed, say nay. Motion passes 4-0. Done. Thank you. Next up we have approval to purchase diesel school buses. Because this is a more than a $250,000 expenditure, we have to get board approval for that. Thank you. You're up. Thank you President Walker. Before you this evening is the purchase of three
055traditional school buses, diesel in this case. They're purchased off the state bid and they are to replace buses that are coming up with depreciation cycle. And as you know this round legislature they increased the useful life of a school bus. It's amazing how they can do that. So we want to continue to keep our buses current. We're using existing transportation vehicle funds. First recommended do pass on this one. Do I hear a motion? I move that the board of directors approve of three 78 passenger diesel school buses from Chuskey Northwest in the amount of $760,352.94 for the purpose of replacing buses that have reached the end of their useful service life. Thank you. It's moved and seconded. Any other question or just comment? Okay. All in favor say I. I. [clears throat] All opposed? Ain't
056no opposed. Thank you. Motion carries. Now we need a grant to purchase the diesel. >> [laughter] [snorts] >> Do they come [clears throat] with does it come Do they come with like diesel dollars or something? Whole tank full? >> [laughter] >> Yes, we're hoping the diesel prices do come down shortly. We hope so. Yes. I I just wanted to comment that I I appreciate Jake at one of our previous meetings talking to the board about our bus fleet and the the mix of diesel and electric and even propane and the rationale as to why because I know that the public might be interested in that again, but that was I believe two meetings ago. Recorded it, but just to have that flexibility of what we can do and being in an area where you know
057we don't know. We don't We just need more options with different variation of vehicles. So thank you for explaining that Jake. Okay. Next up we have two approvals for Perkins grants. These are annual things that we do, but Dr. Larson you want to fill us in again. Yes, thank you. So I'm going to explain the context for both of these at the same time and then I'll diverge and be specific about proposal three and then let you take action and then proposal four. So on September 16th of 2025 you approved for a Perkins grant allocation both for um the YV Tech Skill Center which is proposal three and then for the Y for Yakima School District CTE which is proposal number four. So that was an initial grant award and what you're looking at today
058is an additional award. It's a reserve award that is given out later. There's some money that was like left over extra and so to be in compliance and receive this money as well you need to approve an updated version of what our actual allocation will be. So that's the context for both of these. So for proposal number three there is an additional 24,000 Perkins reserve award that will be added to the initial allocation for a total um 119,000 $174. That's proposal number three. Do I hear a motion? I move that the board approve the Carl D. Perkins grant application for proposal number three. Is there a second? It's moved and seconded. Any other questions or discussion? All in favor say I. I. I. Motion passes 4-0. And then proposal number four has to do with
059Yakima School District CTE program and there's an additional $20,000 in Perkins reserve award that will be combined with our previous award for a total of $286,251. Do I hear a motion? I move that the board adopt accept the proposal for proposal number four for the Carl D. Perkins grant application. Second. It's moved and seconded to approve proposal proposal number four regarding CTE Perkins grant. Any questions or comments for Dr. Larson? All in favor say I. I. All opposed say nay. Motion carries 4-0. We now arrived at our second opportunity for public comment on any item of interest or concern to community members. We have a Have a Nope. Okay. Next up we have policy governance item. There are two items ratings and reviews. We all responded on SurveyMonkey for 1000.2.2 and policy 1000.2.1. The first
060one is working environment of staff and the second is treatment of students and their parents and guardians. On all of those items you voted the superintendent was in complete compliance on all those items. Do we need to break it down to for further detail? Would you like Can I hear a motion? I move that the board approve the um ratings and reviews for policy 1000.2.1 and 1000.2.2. Do I hear a second? Second. It's moved and seconded to approve the ratings and reviews for policies 1000.2.1 and 2.2. Any other questions or comments? Hey. Um all in favor say I. I. All opposed say nay. Motion carries 4-0. We now have a We need to adjourn for executive session for I believe an hour and five minutes or to deal with personnel issues. So do I hear
061a motion to adjourn for executive There's two one and two for the fund. Yeah, performance of public employee 45 and 20 minutes. Move to adjourn for an hour and five minutes for the purposes of the perform reviewing the performance of public employee. Do I hear a second? Moved and seconded. Any further discussion? Where are we going? Are we going to stay in here? No, we will we have a room arranged. Okay. Okay. All in favor say I. I. All opposed? Motion carries. Is there anything else for the good of the order? Meeting adjourned. Thank you. All right. We're good.