001Good afternoon. Welcome to the March 30th meeting of the Yakima School Board. Before we begin the meeting are a few details to cover. First of all, we offer Spanish interpretation services from Jorge with Language Connection. If you need translation assistance in person, please check with Jorge. Well, we don't have Jorge. We have And you Teresa, we have Teresa and Teresa, please translate the information for us. Thank you. 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 a little later in the meeting, is for all other topics. In order to speak today, you will need to sign two forms, a sign-in form and a guidelines form. We do provide live streaming for this
002meeting. The link can be found on our web page under board of directors recordings. If you are interested in watching past meetings, you may find them on our web pages YSD YouTube channel. Um, would you call the role, please? Just call the names. >> Shelton >> here. >> Dr. Lucero. Sorry. >> Director Navaro Jr. >> here. >> Director Rice >> here. >> And President Walker >> here. And uh Vice President Beckett is will be delayed. He'll be here in a few minutes. We're going to start with her. Thank you. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. March's character word is collaborative. Promoting working together effectively to achieve common goals. Eivo paralivos. And an example of collaboration is this week's announcement of Yakama school district collaborating with the Yaka or the Capitol Theater for the season
00327 symphony. Today, the schools of the Yakama school district rest on the ancestral lands of 14 Confederated tribes and bands of the Yakama nation. The people of the Yakan nation inhabited more than 12 million acres >> across Adams, Benton, Chalan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Kitas, Kat and Yakima counties, Adams, Ben, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Frank. Today we honor those native peoples who are tied to the land through history, legends, and culture. 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 people's history and culture. It also honors the truth. As a school district, we will continue to build upon our
004relations with the Yakama Nation. >> Thank you, students. Now, we'd like to welcome to the podium Bonnie Smith, director of career and technical education for our annual report. Now you can. >> Is it true we're the only ones presenting tonight? >> Dr. Lucer, does that mean that we have 45 minutes? I'm just kidding. >> I know. I know. Good afternoon, uh, school board president Walker, Superintendent Green, great to see you, and esteemed school board directors. This afternoon, our team, which includes CTE director, Gabe Stoz, uh, CTE program manager Nicole Bass, and myself, um, have a few minutes to provide some insight and understanding our on our district's career and college readiness programs. The Akim School District Career and College Readiness Department brings together two powerful educational programs. career technical education um at our middle school
005and all our high schools, plus the YB Tech skill centers, both with the purpose of preparing our students for successful futures. These programs work handinand to ensure every student has access to highquality career training, college preparation, and real world work experiences that connect directly to jobs available in our community. Please note with that within our presentation we will provide an overview of the programs but please note that you have access to the documents on the that are hidden on the slide of the ones we will talk about today. >> All righty. As technology advances and businesses adopt new practices, our programs evolve to match these changes, ensuring students learn skills that employers need today and in their future. You might be wondering, how do we know which programs to offer? Let me share how we
006use Yakama County employment data to strategically develop career programs that benefit both students and our local economy. Yakima School District and YBT Tech make smart datadriven investments in CTE programs that directly benefit our family's future and strengthen our regional workforce. Rather than guessing what students might need or simply offering courses that sound interesting, we've taken a rigorous approach. Analyzing employment data from three levels, Yakma County, South Central Workforce Development Council, and statewide economy data to identify which careers are growing, which industries are actively hiring, and where the job opportunities will be when today's students graduate. This diagram you see contains real Yakama County workforce data that guides every decision we make about which programs to launch and where to invest our resources. Every new CTE program we've launched was selected because it connects directly to
007employer demand now and into the future. This datadriven approach ensures that program offerings correspond directly to documented career opportunities available to all of our graduates. It is the collaborative planning sessions with building administrators at each school site that administer students interest surveys to gather direct input regarding career pathway preferences and educational aspirations. This dual approach, combining labor market analysis with student voice, informs decisions about whether to implement new programs immediately or initiate feasibility studies to assess resource requirements, including staffing qualifications, equipment procurement, facility modifications, and budgetary implications. Agriculture and artificial intelligence at Davis High School respond to our regionals region's strong agricultural economy and the need for advanced technological skills. Welding fabrication at Stanton Academy addresses the critical need for skilled workers in the manufacturing and construction industries. Artificial intelligence, esports, and college in the
008high school anatomy and physiology at Eisenhower prepare students for technology careers that are expanding across several STEM industries. Financial math and business communications at Yakma online equips our students with essential skills for banking, accounting, and business management roles. These aren't random choices. Each program exists because employers in these fields are actively seeking qualified workers today and will continue to need them in the years ahead creating a c a clear pathway from classroom to career for our students. >> All right. So now you can see the classes that we're offering at Davis Eisenhower Stanton and Yakma online that Gabe mentioned. But I'm also going to talk about the middle school opportunities that we have for our students. So, middle school has that opportunity to now introduce introductory coursework for STEM, esports, computer science, and we have
009our different STEM disciplines that have been surviving in our middle schools currently. These provide opportunities for early exposure to pathways and allow extended skill development. This vertical alignment from middle school all the way through high school and even extending through our YBT opportunities advances the skills and enable students to engage in progressive skill development across multiple academic years resulting in more comprehensive preparation for post-secary transitions. For example, this year we have esports added to our assets of curriculum that our students have access to. And this one we're making sure is tying closely to our math goals that our district is working on this year and making sure that the students are getting what they want but still learning what they need. And so an example of that is I walked into an esports classroom at
010one of our middle schools and they were working on a math skill but they were playing a video game and someone else walked in and they said, "Why are they playing video games? This is this isn't learning." But in fact they were. They were learning that this how heavy their vehicle was determined how fast their car was going to be able to move. And they were able to solve the math equations that they weren't able to solve in their math class, but because it applied to what they wanted to learn and what they wanted to do, they were able to do the skill and then they can make those connections between the two. One of those bragging moments for our middle souls. Now, moving on to earning academic credit through career choices or career courses.
011Like I just mentioned, we tie a lot of our stuff to the core academic skills. So many of those core uh core classes are tied into our career technical education courses and those credits count for graduation. Through partnerships between OSPI, which is the office of superintendent of public instruction with statewide equivalencies and our local association offered equivalencies, students earn our credits like math, science, English while learning in a rigorous industry aligned career skill set. Yakma has 51 classes that have equivalencies 25 of which are ELA or math aligned. At YVTech, they have 18 year-long programs. All 18 of them have equivalencies, eight of them being math and English. The range of credentials available to our students. So, Yaka students and YV Tech students have access to dozens of industry recognized credentials across multiple career fields
012from healthcare certifications to construction safety training, from technology credentials to business and finance qualifications. These certifications give students a competitive edge in the job market. Each credential is embedded into coursework so students earn them as part of their regular class and skilled lab experience without any additional cost for our families. This is an investment in our Yakma students future with which would probably cost them hundreds if not thousands of dollars to do on their own. >> Yet in the AMA school district and at YBTH these IRC's um students can earn at no cost. These industry recognized credentials include certifications like food handlers permits, OSHA 10 safety, para educator certification, department of transportator transportation flagger certification and many other that employees recognize and value. Many credentials also stack, meaning students can continue building on their knowledge
013for career advancement, giving them control over their professional development journey. An example of a stackable credential in a construction class could be an OSHA 10ert, TIG or MIG weldings, and a WBO certification. Stackable credentials allow students to build progressive skills in progressive levels. Starting with OSHA 10 for workplace safety, students move into AWS foundational welding knowledge, advance to Wabo code leving welding performance, and strengthen their skill set further with TIG welding specialization. Each credential builds on the last, creating a pathway towards stronger employability and advancement in manufacturing and welding careers. There we go. Uh, Yakaman uh school district students have impressive access to college credits while still in high school, and the numbers prove it. This diagram you see here shows the various ways students can earn college credit before graduation. Gentle reminder though, I
014did present uh in early March the in-depth on the dual credits offered through for the Yakama school district. But I do want to point out here, as you can see, that according to the Education Research and Data Center, known as the ERDC, that in 2024 and 2025 school year, that 80% of all of our Yakama school district high school students participate in at least one of the five dual credit programs offered within the Yakama School District. 68% of the Yakimma school district students earn college credits through their career and technical education courses which articulate with Yakma Valley College. 22% of the students at Davis High School access college credit through the international balorate the IB program. At Eisenhower 11% of the students are earning college credit through the advanced placement AP courses. And rounding out
015our college credit opportunities at both high schools are 10% of the students earning credits through the rapidly growing college and the high school and 10% of the dual credit 10% of the dual credit courses and 8% earning college credit through running start option at YBC. Check out these record-breaking career pathway completion rates in 2024-25. This diagram demonstrates students completed at least two credits in a focused career pathway aligned with their coursework in the high school and beyond plan and engaged in intentional preparation for life after graduation, earning industry credentials and excess college credit opportunities and completed state core plus programs connected to real workforce needs. When 72% of our comprehensive high school students graduates and a 100% of Tech students complete career pathways, it means that a vast majority of our young people are entering
016adulthood with more than a diploma. They have professional certifications, college credits, work experience, and specialized training that makes them a competitive job candidates. They know what career fields interest them, understand the steps needed to advance in those careers, and possess skills that local employers actively seek. These numbers tell a story of the of a district fulfilling its mission focused on strategic plan goal five, ensuring every student graduates prepared with purpose, direction, and education, including marketable industry skills and credentials, not just for the next step, but for long-term success and translates directly into economic opportunity and community prosperity. That's it for this evening or this afternoon. Does and does anyone have questions? >> Are there any questions or comments for presenters? >> Well, I'd just like to add a comment. I really appreciated the the growth
017in our our career technical programs and I greatly appreciate the the number of opportunities around dual credit for our students and our families. I think I asked once before and maybe you or Jake has a new figure about how much estimated tuition parents in the Yakama school district are saved have saved in the last year. >> I would like to do an updated one. We have not talked about an updated one. We've been more focusing on the growth versus the cost effectiveness, but we can get that to you. >> Okay. I think that would be good information for the community to have as well in terms of how much money we're saving parents when we're asking them to vote for a bond as well. So, that might be a nice thing to put out there.
018So, thank you again, >> Bonnie. Is there are there any is there any coursework that um that you're looking at adding to either YBTH or or into the high schools? Any other um areas any fields of study? >> We have right now just we are going after a second electrician for YBT. Um we have 278 on a waiting list. Uh in last year we had 212. So we are going to add a second electrician to that so we can uh expand that opportunity. The next um opportunity that was discussed with the superintendent council um that we host each year makes made up of all the superintendents from the 15 different districts is HVAC program um which is a complimentary trade program. That's the next on their insight. We're doing a feasibility study on that right
019now. And then I'd like Gabe to share. Gabe, Nicole have been working on some AI opportunities. >> Yeah. Currently with the AI boom ac across, you know, society, we wanted to layer in an artificial intelligence course under a computer science zip code. So, our students are learning kind of the good, the bad, and the ugly of AI. They need to be able to responsibly use AI as a tool. Um, and that class is really going to dive into that. I feel like the first unit's like kind of artificial intelligence safety and then it really dives into the ethics of AI and really kind of provides them scenarios of is this an ethical re use of AI or is it not so learning about those foundations and we've kind of compared it to when I was
020a school district graduate it was kind of the.com era the internet was just starting and it was a very very similar story that people didn't want to use the internet in schools and here we are 24 years later and it is in all aspects of not only education but various industries. So we really want students to be able to have that skill um as they kind of get out of the ACA school district and graduate so they can use that in a tool with within whichever industry they choose to go into. Would that be also available to what with middle school students where they could start in middle school and then progress to the high school? >> I think the idea for our esports was to get students very excited about the computer science piece.
021And so that would be maybe more of like a vertical progression where they would start kind of with the fun stuff more in middle school explore and then as they get into high school they would kind of fine-tune that into some specialties. That does include Stanford Academy. >> Yes, Stanton as well. >> Thank you. >> My question was kind of around the esports thing is particularly in middle school. Is the curriculum primarily focused on math or is there a more broad-based effort with esports to branch out into other curriculum? So, right now it's focused mostly on math, the units that they're on, but it's progressing through the entrepreneurship, being able to design over at our high school level. It goes, it actually is a state equivalency with ELA and art. So, they can get either
022an ELA or an art credit by taking the esports computer science class that we are offering at Ike. Um but specifically at the middle school it's focusing on getting those core subjects in interesting and so then branching out they have an entrepreneurship a AV the breaking down and putting together of computer uh bases so they can get different aspects and entry points to the different classes that we have over at the high school. >> Any other questions or comment? I do have one other question. You mentioned um the high school and beyond plan. Is every student in completing that plan and when is it created and then who among our staff monitors those plans throughout a student's four years in high school? >> So we are utilizing the school links um program from the high
023school and beyond from OSPI. Uh we were Yakma school district was an early adopter. Gab's actually one of the leads in the state uh across this work. So, it's great. Uh but from that perspective, it starts in middle school at seventh grade. Uh doesn't mean we can't do it sixth grade, but we start it in seventh grade because we need to um and then it transfers all the way up with school links though. They get to keep it as alumni after they graduate. Every graduate in the state of Washington at this point. So then they always have those certifications that are in there, their resume, they can add to it. They don't have to recreate. So we see it as a comprehensive tool. Gabe, what else was that special? >> I think the other part
024of your question was who checks in on the high school and beyond plan. So right now we are having our adviserss at the middle school and high school have conversations with their students. They have that kind of that onetoone time where advisory at the middle schools every day per week and at the high school it's 60 minutes. Um so those adviserss have those students for four years at the high school. So, they're actively checking in on those plans. Does your coursework align to what you want to do beyond high school? And then we're having our counselors do kind of that final check-in. So, the idea is for it to kind of be filtered as they get up towards high um towards their senior year with counselors managing kind of the 24 credits graduation requirements that
025they would kind of do one quick look over and do that final approval for graduation. >> Great. Thank you. >> I do want to thank Mr. No. Uh we've been working on an innovative um opportunity called the navigator through Washington State Achievement Council. Um and with that we'll be able to take graduates from that are ready to do their internship or their teaching practicum or their counseling practicum from Central and have them place to learn some opportunities with us and our counselors in our uh career and college ready department so that we can teach them this college and career readiness around schoolings for the state. Um, we just solidified that a few weeks ago. So, >> thank you. >> Yep. I think we're we champed up. Yeah. Thanks again. Next up, we have updates from
026members of the board. >> You may have seen an article in yesterday's paper. I think it was about House Bill I think it's 2945 where the state has um signed up to has agreed through legislation to um uh Mckin Vento type homeless uh support funding for u Mckin Vento students in our schools right Now, we are um we get that funding from the federal government, but there's no guarantee that that will continue. And so the legislature um took it upon themselves to use create that pot of money for McKenna Vento students um in case the federal government doesn't continue with that program. So, um I'm sure there's way more to it than that, but um it's it's the beginning of something I think that will help support our our homeless population of students. >> Thank
027you. Anything else from the board? >> I do have one update. Um, we do have a board meeting scheduled for May 19th and we've recently learned that the Washington Association of School Administrators banquet is scheduled on the same evening. We do have members of our district staff that are being honored, I believe, at that banquet. So, I'm proposing that we rescheduled the board meeting from the 19th to Wednesday the 20th at the same time. Um, any thoughts on that? A quick picture. Okay. Okay. We have Oh, we're able to get a quorum. We have four that can attend. So, do we need a vote or do we just So, we probably should take a motion and second a motion. >> I move that the May 19th board meeting be um moved to May 20th to
028avoid conflicts. >> I hear a second. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. I. >> All opposed. Motion carries. We will move the board meeting to the 20th. >> Um, that's all I have for updates. I believe we're ready for Dr. Green's update. >> Thank you, President Walker. Uh, I'd like to start this evening. Uh, are you ready to go, Jake? We start with you. Okay. So, we'd like to start with Jake uh with a bond update. So, um, he'll share that with the board and then I'll conclude with some other items that I have listed. >> Thank you, Super Green. >> Um, so just a reminder, April 28th, 2026 upcoming bond election. So, tonight we're going to do a few things. I'll highlight a few salient facts and then we're going
029to jump into a a quick tour of the district's website. Oh, I do have a ticker. Sorry, Barb. Apologies. Um just a reminder 60% passage 60% plus one and then 40% of the prior year's general election. So uh as to put a finer point on that last uh general election 2025 about 90 just a little over 9600 voters turned out. Um and again we have one of the lowest voter turnouts in the state of Washington. I think the lowest. So, um, 40% turnout for validation would be approximately 4,000 voters and then 60% of those folks at a minimum would need to vote yes for passage of the measure. Um, and then what if the bond passes? I have talked to you a few times about this. Um, but if the bond is successful, we would
030uh in earnest begin permit and design work and like to be in the dirt by spring of 27, so a year from where we're currently at now. um with a tenative opening for Hoover Elementary in the fall of 2028 and then immediately following um trailing by uh 10 to 12month period would then be uh what I just spoke about but one year uh into the future with a fall of 2029 opening for Garfield Elementary School and then the smaller projects that run concurrently in nature as they don't have the cash draw that the larger school projects and that would be the track improvements, playgrounds, roofs and HVAC systems. And then what if the bond fails? Um generally what would happen would be we would continue to take um repair costs, particularly roofs, HVAC, etc. out
031of the general fund. And when I'm out giving my tours to buildings, I often say you can either buy curriculum for a grade span for approximately a couple million dollars or we could replace a roof or HVAC system. And since Jack does not have any capital money that comes right out of the operating fund, which we've been working diligently to rebuild, so we would still be faced with some of those tough financial choices. And then of course, project timing would be delayed um as we decide next steps if there's a bond failure. I never suppose a future board's action, so I'll leave it at that. And then secondarily, of course, inflation. The elementary projects are estimated around a thousand bucks a square foot all in. And when I do give that figure, that is the
032demolition, design, and then also includes fixtures, furniture, and equipment. When you equip a building, you also have to supply as equipment. So that's another cost. I give the story many times that the first elementary school I oversaw the construction of around the same similar square footage was about 12.5 million and now they're approximately 80 million in total. So if you look at considerably five to six% inflation on construction um those projects on a $80 million basis before five or $6 million more depending upon the inflationary rate and then of course during the eyides of COVID inflation was running double double digits in fact 25 to 30% in some cases on the construction side. Um, and if you want to access more public information, you can go to our website, which we're going to give a
033brief tour of. And then, of course, if you need uh register to vote or know somebody needs to register to vote, you can go to votewah.gov. Thank you, Barb. Uh, just a refresher, we haven't gone through this portion of our information or fact set, but if you go to our website and look at bond 2026, there is a veritable plethora of information. So, those are our band bond fact sheets. They've been given out um uh and used for our factual presentations. They are available in both English and Spanish. And then the tax calculator. Um my job as your chief financial officer is to tell you what is in the bond and of course how much it's going to cost you. So, you can put in um your home value and then you would get the
034uh what the bond proposal would cost you in the form of increased property taxes. So you can get an annual or a monthly rate. Um the goal is transparency uh always with taxes and and them to be stable and boring. Just the other side of the coin. Oh yes, thank you. And then if you're a renter, we talk about this in our presentations as well is rent often has a knock-on effect. So we cannot let you know what your landlord is going to do or not do if there's a property tax increase. It may or may not be passed on to you. But we'd be remiss not to mention that there could be a ripple effect to renters as we move forward. Ah, the mailer. So, the bond mailer, it has has it been mailed?
035So, it is not a mailer yet. It will be a mailer. It's a four-page document that runs through uh what is in the bond, how much it's going to cost you, and then the highlights with some lovely pictures of Garfield. I almost call it Harfield, sorry, Hoover and Garfield. um what their current state is and what they might look like in a rendering. Then also touches upon the tax impacts and reiterates the bond date on April 28th, 2026. Um we have a series of announcements going back to the board's adoption of the bond resolution November 18th, 2025 and then um our solicitation of for and against committees and then uh with the Yakimal County and then there have been school tours. So there is also video of principal Brownlow and principal uh Julio uh the
036great as we call him giving tours of Garfield and Hoover in their current states and they talk about some of the potential shortcomings they have in their current operations that would be remedied by a new building. And then of course my favorite is pictures because I'm a very simple man. Um it gives you an idea of a rendering um from our architectural friends that were provided free of course uh at this point in time. Give you a look of what a potential rebuild would look like. We also have a portal on the website. So if you have a question either in English or Spanish. Um you can post it there. We'd be happy to answer them accordingly. Oh, and then there's a link to the PDC guidelines. Um the public disclosure commission, my favorite part
037of the government. um just uh they keep everybody in line when it comes to elections of all types uh from board of director elections all the way to ballot measures that we're putting forth um April 28th and then we have some other videos to explain the difference between levies and bonds and then I think did we miss anything Miss Fiscus? Okay, so the bottom line is if you want to go online there are plenty of ways to look at the information in different forms and fashions. also provides you a tax calculator and then of course some renderings of what could be if the bond is successful. I'd be happy to entertain any questions even though this is the superintendent's update. I'm sorry. Okay, thank you. No questions. Okay, thank you. Um I'll continue then. I
038have some uh other items to share with the board. Uh first and foremost, our summer school dates are Monday, June 29th to Monday, July 27th. So this is a a change in the calendar. Uh it is due not to an error on the part of the district. However, it is dictated by our work with the educational service district number 10 uh number 105. And um uh due to to the needs and working with them, we would be looking at a 20-day summer school course again starting June 29th to July 27th. I don't have many answers beyond that unless but do you have any questions that I can get back to you on with an answer? Okay, then uh next item is uh we do have two bond question and answer community information sessions. One is
039April 1st and the other is April 14th, both from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in conference room A and B. And we're in conference room conference room A and B. So it'll be here. We'll host those again April 1st and April 14th. Thank you. That was a recommendation, I believe, that came from uh our school board meeting here uh a few weeks ago. So, thank you for that. Uh also, we do have an audit that is uh uh now scheduled and this uh there will be the entrance of the audit will be at 9:00 a.m. April 1st. In the past, uh we've had I believe President Walker has attended several times. Uh it's open to any of you. So, if you are interested in attending at 9:00 in the morning, this would be online. You would
040not have to come in. Uh, but we could give you a link and you can participate in that uh uh initi initiation of the audit. Again, 9:00 a.m. on April 1st. If any you're interested right now, we can let Barb know or just talk after the meeting. >> And just to let you know, I'm I'm unavailable on April 1. So, it' be nice if one member of the board would just make that meeting. It's very short. It's usually >> Yeah. It's just >> under an hour. Yeah, >> superintendent just the entrance conference is fairly preunctery in nature. They tell you what you're going to look at even though the audit's almost twothirds of the way done. I often request to wave it, but this audit office here in Yakama likes to have them regardless. The
041exit conference of course is when all the results are made and they go through the reports in detail and usually a couple board members would attend that. We will schedule that in advance so that at least two of you can attend. >> All right, only a few more items here. one being uh I want to thank those of you that could attend uh both on cabinet and I know we had at least two of our board members uh at the Yakama Symphony on on Saturday. So, we appreciate you being there for the announcement that we made in the partnership with the Yakama Symphony Orchestra in using uh as uh scheduled uh with Sam McClung, the executive director of the Yakama Symphony Orchestra uh Davis uh High School Performing Arts Center. Uh we're looking forward to
042that uh collaboration and uh the many opportunities that it will provide not only uh students but uh having our teachers uh be able to be a part of at least seeing our professional musicians that are coming in and doing uh some work there and preparing uh for uh uh symphony performances that will take place at Davis u in the coming years. So that's a wonderful collaboration that we're grateful for. I know Maria was there. Uh Chris was in attendance as well. And again, it I think it speaks volumes of the high turnout that we had at the Aqua Symphony Orchestra on Saturday and uh being able to get in front of the community and let them know about that wonderful opportunity. Uh the last item that I would share with you is uh I think
043since our last meeting uh we've had the uh visitation by the governor to Davis High School. That was on the 20th of this month. And um it did not necessarily go as planned. I see that we have again it's nice to have our Yakama Herald reporter Alexander Banks here. Thank you for being here. Um hopefully I give you some interesting information here. My understanding is that there has been some outreach by the governor's office. I'm not happy about uh u the information that was shared about the meeting with the governor not going the way that it was planned. And I would like to state publicly that um I was scheduled to have uh 10 to 15 minutes with the governor and I think it's really important to share that uh that meeting was uh was
044to be an opportunity to to share a perspective on on what the inconsistencies uh and equities around funding are doing to our district uh in a very respectful way. However, I was not able to make that happen because the moment the governor stepped into the room, he was um leaving that room. So, it was more of a statement that he would not meet with me to discuss anything no matter what the subject was, which was contrary to the team that went out ahead of time and had met with both uh me and with principal Hasty. Uh that is Patricia Laura uh was his senior policy adviser. And then also we had uh Rudy Almeida who were both part of those meetings. Both um Eastern Washington uh residents at least originally and uh they're aware of
045uh the the work that had gone into making sure that we were able to at least make a case for funding here on the east side of the state. The reason I bring this up is uh I just want you to know the effort that's going into uh making a case uh for uh either equitable or even equal funding at this point. But I'm currently looking at a document that was put together uh by David Knight, the foremost researcher University of Washington on educational funding for the state of Washington. And um we are a top 20s size district in the state. We're number 20 and I have 23 of the districts listed here. And I can tell you that the closest we get to equal funding uh would be with Kenowick. And that's per person.
046If if we had the same uh if we had the same funding as Kenowick, we would have $4 million more per year in our district. Just if we had the same funding, if we had the same funding as Pasco, we would have almost $13 million more per year. If we had the same funding as a Northshore, we're looking at 7980 million a year. So, we're not funded equally across our system. Uh, which is one thing, but we're not we're also not not funded equitably, which means the districts that have greater need or students in poverty that that that need additional resources are certainly not even coming close. And uh I am definitely not convinced that the governor understands the impact of what uh what is happening across K12 pre-K12 education and uh am just disappointed
047that I was not able to uh respectfully uh share a perspective and some potential uh solutions as we continue to work with the University of Washington and superintendents across the state uh to come to a solution that would be uh equitable for everybody um across our our state. So, uh, just want to let you know that one, um, I'm thankful for, uh, thank you, Pam, for, uh, writing a letter that, uh, gained some momentum and some traction with the governor's office and in reaching out and making a statement that, at least my understanding is that there was an outreach to the to the Herald, uh, that the letter that went forth was not accurate. What I would tell you is it's 100% accurate and I have receipts. So, if the Herald would like to come
048forward and and ask us about, you know, who was in the room, what was planned, um what are the solutions, we would be more than happy to share that. However, we also understand that's not on our local paper. Uh it's a state issue and um we're not going to sit idly by and wait for the right thing to be done. we're we're going to start applying some pressure uh because we we already know that uh you know as as challenging as things are for us, we know that there are districts in in much greater uh dire straits across the state as we continue to see uh enrollment decline and um really inequitable resources mainly uh committed to the I5 corridor on the west side of the state. So with that, I'd be happy to entertain
049any questions or I'll just conclude for the evening on my update. I'll look forward to a call from the governor after this hits the uh airways. >> Yeah, we just thank you for stepping forward with this. >> We've now arrived at our first opportunity for comments from the public on agenda items. Do we have any signups? Get one. Oh, okay. Okay, we'd like to welcome former employee Anthony Marietta to the podium. >> He found a way to circumvent me from letting him speak at the mic for six plus years. So that's a fact. Wait till she begins. I live on uh 32 south 32nd Avenue in district boundaries and I am here to speak on behalf of the bond and to encourage everybody um who has the right to vote to vote for this bond.
050Um seven years ago or approximately seven years ago when you hired Trevor Green the the grounds were in bad shape. Schools had graffiti, broken windows. It it was a blight. and through his leadership and your leadership by hiring him and having the directives that you've had uh we have spent a lot of time cleaning up the district, painting the district, uh fixing concrete, fixing areas of safety, and if you look at uh the Davis auditorium, um just to drive home the points that Jake had made earlier, that project when it was delayed originally saved about a million and a half to$2 million dollars We estimated it was going to run about 4 and a.5 million. Set aside six to redo that and it turned out to be $11 million. Hoover is over 80 years old.
051Garfield, I I don't know how old it is, but those two neighborhoods, those students, the staff that work there, they deserve uh a better facility than what they currently have and what they're working with. The bond also puts ADA accessible uh playgrounds in every elementary school which will protect the district uh from lawsuits or potential lawsuits as we have had uh in the past because of the lack of current ADA standards that are being met. Our ladies softball at Davis will get an upgrade in the facility that they need. um fixing these facilities will enhance the neighborhoods. If you look at Barge Lincoln, um when in 2019 when Trevor got here, they had one swing set and that was the only thing those kids had to play with. Through the work of Hector and uh
052he's gone now, but uh we applied for grants um partnership with the Sounders, put in new mini pitches, new playground facilities. We've painted it. We don't get uh tagged anymore. We don't have windows broken out. It has been an improvement to that entire neighborhood. I think the entire district deserves that same type of attention. It will help with our community. It will help with real estate. It will help uh all the way across the board. I I can't see any reason not to do this. I know that times are tough and I know that people look at the numbers that you put up there, Jake, and on a $400,000 home approximately $20 a month, but what is it costing us as a society when our children are working in uh or going to school in
053uh poor facilities? So again, I urge everybody to support this bond and thank you very much. >> Thank you. Next up we have uh Mr. No for approval of the interlocal purchasing agreement with by board. I believe this is an annual um process that we do. >> President Walker, members of the board, actually this is a new one. We have other ones that are similar to this. This would allow us to basically enter into a local agreement with several other public entities through buy board and piggyback on their bidding process. So would allow us to kind of avoid the expense of the bidding process and doing all that in order to make purchases. Plus there's so many different entities involved that there's kind of this economies of scale where vendors will come in with lower
054prices because they know there's opportunities for several entities to piggyback onto the bid. um just makes sense for us to get involved in this. We're asking approval of enter the interlocal. >> Are there any questions from the board about this process? >> Are these all local entities that we would be um bringing into this agreement? This one to my understanding is nationwide. So it's it's very vast and allows us greater economies of scale than some of the some of the ones we have are just a few local entities. This one's very broad. I think Jay could speak to this. It's similar to the one we have one called TIPS which is the Texas interlocal. So it's again the size of Texas drives the economies of scale. There are some things that we'd like to procure
055with KCDA as an example of a traditional piggybacking agreement that most districts have. This agreement also allows us uh access to a huge amount of vendors without having to go uh directly to bid and complies with all Washington state bid laws. So again, economies of scale and then also vendor choice um based on quality or quantity etc. So it's just another way to open up the procurement uh avenue so we can get the best price for the school district. >> Thank you. Thank you. Do I hear a motion? >> I move that the board of directors approve an interlocal purchasing agreement with by board. >> Is there a second? >> Second. So moved and seconded to approve the inter local agreement. Any further questions or discussion? All in favor say I. I. I. >> Any
056opposed? Motion carries. We've now arrived at a second opportunity for public comment. Are there any takers? None. There's no need for executive session today. So, unless there's anything else for the good of the order. >> One more thing. >> Yeah. One thing I just would uh like to clarify. I appreciate uh Mr. Maretta in his statement and wanted to clarify that uh he did share uh when talking about the Davis Performing Arts Center a $4 million price tag that then elevated to above 10 million. I just wanted the public to know that uh that was due to the supply chain issue with COVID and that was not an overrun by the district but it was because of what was happening with our our nation at that point that that uh skyrocketed. So just one of
057clarification. >> Thank you. With that said, no further business. Meeting is adjourned.