001Good evening. It is Tuesday, January 13th, 5:30 p.m. Welcome to our regular uh board of directors meeting. Please join us for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Our student board representative Lorelli has our land acknowledgement. Evergreen public schools resides on the traditional lands of the Chinukan peoples and the Kowitz tribe. They have lived on and cared for this land and its waterways since time immemorial. We thank them for their stewardship and make this acknowledgement to open a space of recognition, inclusion, and respect for all indigenous students, families, and staff in our community. Thank you. The first item on our agenda is to adopt the agenda.
002Is there a motion? >> I move to adopt tonight's agenda as presented. >> Second. >> Director Boken moves to adopt the agenda as presented. Seconded by Director Perkins. All in favor? >> I I >> opposed. Motion carries. >> The next item on our agenda is public comments. >> Any community member wishing to address the board may do so during the designated time on the agenda for public comments. Each speaker has a maximum of three minutes. There is no mechanism whereby a speaker can donate some or all of their time to another speaker. No individual speaker may speak more than once during regular each regular meeting, even if there is time remaining. Please state your name and district affiliation. Our first speaker is virtual. It's Mr. Jacob Smith. Hello. >> Good evening. We can hear you.
003>> Okay, hang on. So, um I'm going to go where it's a little bit more quieter. Um uh just hoping everybody had a good holiday and glad that the new year started. Uh interesting times ahead, but um I want to talk about uh tonight's topic which is about communication. Uh, one of the things that I was a bit concerned about was when the budget committee was formed. Um, I didn't know about it until like a day before the deadline was ended or the day um the day before the um the deadline for the budget committee was ended. So, uh, something I would urge this board to do for this year's budget committee once it's sunset is um, one of two things. uh one have like parameters where it says we want a certain amount of
004students, certain amount of community members, certain amount of admin and certain amount of teachers because 30 over four is not an even number. So I would urge the board maybe try to knock it down to 24 members of the committee because we can be functional with a smaller committee uh versus a larger one too and 24 is much more divisible by six and um composition can also be uh there can also be a fight over composition. We saw that with the cat board uh that's going on. Um charter review commission has a parameter in which um it's three people from each district. So I would urge the board to maybe like once the work of this year's committee has sunset next school year's committee to be six students, six admin, six teachers, six community members
005and then trying to do that and then um well that's all I have to say. >> All right. Thank you. All right. Our next speaker is Natalie Worththing. >> Excuse me. >> Good evening. >> Oh, there we go. Okay. My name is Natalie Worthy and I'm currently serving as Miss Greater Vancouver 2026. I am a local title holder in the Miss America organization and with this title I have the opportunity to highlight an issue really close to my heart and that is the importance of arts education. My personal platform is called Amplify the Arts, Every Student, Every Stage. And I'm so excited to also serve my community as an ambassador for the nonprofit organization Arts Edw, an organization dedicated for a to advocating for statewide arts education and guiding systemic change. In May of last
006year, Evergreen students and families advocated to save theater programs in the district that were at risk of being cut. The truth is, many schools tend to cut arts programs and funding first because of the assumption that the arts hold less value than other subjects. Yet, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Because the impact the arts have on young students is invaluable. As a lifelong musician and now private music educator, I want to share how the arts have personally impacted me as well as some data points. Last year, I graduated from the University of Puet Sound with a Bachelor of Music and Vocal Performance. This accomplishment came to fruition because of every music and artistic educator who came across my path. Starting with my instructors in local community theater and directors of my high school,
007community college, and eventually university choirs. During these formative years of my life, I found community in these artistic groups, discovered leadership opportunities, and learned how to express emotions. You see, being an artist, whether big or small, means expressing emotion, creativity, and most importantly, humanity. I think we can all agree that supporting creativity in our youth is paramount to not only their personal development but also their future success. In fact, studies show that students involved in arts programs consistently score higher on standardized tests compared to non-arts peers. Drama programs provide a safe space for students to build self-confidence. And finally, lowincome students who participate in the arts have better long-term academic outcomes. The data is clear. Arts education helps students thrive. So as we enter the spring semester to the board, I urge you all when
008there is potential to expand arts accessibility, support it. When arts programming needs funding, please fund it. Or when students advocate for their passions, listen. Because when we invest in the arts, we invest in students voices, creativity, and futures. Let us choose to lead with vision, equity, and courage and ensure the arts remain not an extra but an essential part of education. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Angie Budna. >> Good evening. Good evening. I'm Angie Bunda. I have two children in the in the district. What is the cost of inaction from our leaders and not speaking up when it matters? Apparently, it's nearly $50,000 so far. Let me explain. On October 10th, 2024, the entire school board, the superintendent, the COO, and an attorney for the district met with
009five other people presenting at an applet proceeding related to a challenge of a third-party investigation to the September 4th, 2023 supplemental contracts. The third party investigation was the result of a complaint by a teacher. There had also been two earlier complaints, one by a payroll employee in 2023 and one in a by a teacher in 2023. The 2023 teacher who complained um spoke directly to an ESB ESD board director who's still here. After the complaints, the payroll worker was involuntarily separated from his employment after raising concerns. So the cost so far is of course the supplemental contracts for uh the COO for $13,980. Then we have a third party investigation to investigate those for $29,790. We have an ESD attorney who appeared at the applet proceeding on October 10th, 2024 for $2,887.50. and that attorney
010billing to defend the COO in the criminal investigation in October 20 of 2025 for $3,97.50. That total cost to cover up and or defend these contracts is $35,775. In September of 2025, three people raised concerns about criminal conduct with respect to an senior administrator in the district. I was one of them. After a very short period, I was informed that it was at the PA's office, the prosecutors. Then in mid-occtober, I was called out of the blue by a detective and asked some very odd questions, and he informed me that even though it was at the PA's office, he was still apparently investigating this. Uh, this was something the PA's office was not aware of. I've been provided with a number of emails between the district and the detective. And what I have found is
011that on October 28th, 2025, the district, the board, the superintendent, and the COO through their attorney provided false or misleading information to the detective, telling him that no one in the district had complained about the supplemental contracts. No investigator had been retained by the district to investigate, and there had been no investigation at all. As indicated in the beginning, I know, we all know that that did happen in 2024. In late December, one of the ESD board members was provided with these emails and spoke to another board member. The the detective also reached out to another board member and the superintendent. The taxpayers don't want to pay for the district's attorney to provide false or misleading information to the law enforcement. At least four of you should tender your resignations as well as the superintendent
012and the COO should pay back the $49,755 that she has caused from all of this. That's our taxpayer money. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Our next speaker is Ava Cortez. >> Good evening. Um, my name is Eva Cortez and I come here to represent the students of the Evergreen School District. I serve on the LUAC board, national board representing women's youth. I'm the vice president and I'm also the vice president of the LULC club at my school. Um, I have always been told that I talk a lot and that my voice is powerful, but I never believed it until today. I'm sure many of you aware that today at many high schools across Vancouver Public School District and Evergreen School District, there was walkouts and protest. I want you all to know that our voices
013are very important that we care. I thought that there's only going to be a hundred students showing up at the rally today, but there was more than a thousand students today. And I need you all to pay attention to our voice. Our voice matters. There was many students who were at risk of deportation and many students who could face issues if ICE were called on us um at the meeting today. But they took the courage because they knew that it's important. And I think that it's important that you listen to us. And I think that you should listen to us and include us in your conversations because many students don't even know that they can come here and speak to you on issues that are important. And I think you need to show us that
014you want to listen to our voices by including us more in policies. And a lot of us are confused and scared because we don't know what to do if there were to be ice in our communities. And we need you all to communicate with us what we can do um in situations that can become unsafe. And what happened today is very important because you can see that students care about issues that that matter to them. And sorry, give me a second. Um today we stood in solidarity with with students in a completely different district. And I think that from what you all should take from today is that students who care will show up and that if there's an issue that we have, you need to listen to us because many of us risk, you
015know, getting detention, risk skipping very important classes. I'm an AP student. I missed AP classes to be there today, but I knew it was important to get the voices of others out today. So please lean on your students and ask them what they want from you because our voices really do matter. Thank you. >> Thank you. OUR next speaker is Camille Lman. Hello, my name is Camille Lman. In compliance with RCW28A 343360, members of this board took an oath of office which is filed with the Clark County Auditor. The schoolboard oath of office states, "I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the state of Washington, and the laws of the state of Washington, and I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Evergreen School District number 114
016to the best of my ability." The oath places this board in a position of public trust. RCW422100 states, "Whenever any duty is enjoined by law by any public officer or other person holding any public trust or employment, their willful neglect to perform such duty shall be a misdemeanor. Under this oath, the board has a duty to ensure that a public servant who conducting an investigation is not provided with false or misleading information. There is clear evidence that the district's attorney responded on behalf of the board, the superintendent, and the COO. In October of 2025, the district's attorney acting on behalf of this board told a public servant that the EPS board approved the infamous supplemental contracts as a stipend. And that was only the first statement not supported by any facts. There is no record
017of an approval of a stipend. That statement is false andor misleading. Then on October 28th, 2025, the attorney representing the board told a public servant, "No complaint was made regarding the validity of the COO's September 4th, 2023 supplemental contract, and nor was an investigator retained." The district's attorney went on to write, "The suggestion that there was a separate investigation concerning these supplemental contracts is likewise incorrect." But the prior superintendent actually hired an investigator who charged the district $450 an hour to investigate, among other things, the validity of the supplemental contracts. The total bill, $29,790. There was also a hearing before this board on October 10th, 2024, where four of the five people who appeared in person, of which I was one, um, presented on the issue of the validity of the supplemental contract and the
018related investigation. The members of this board were all there. the current superintendent, the COO, and the very attorney who wrote on October 28th, 2025 to a public servant that there were no complaints, no retained investigator, and no investigation related to the supplemental contracts. Well, that very same attorney was also there at the hearing. I met him. I later discovered that the attorney charged the taxpayers of Evergreen 10.5 hours of his time just to be there. So, I have a few questions. Why didn't the district's attorney just tell the public servant to tell the truth? The board paid so much money for the investigation and for the attorney to advise this board. Why not tell him it was okay to tell the truth? The board has a duty to support the law. It is against the
019law to knowingly provide false or misleading material information to a public servant. The cornerstone of transparency is truth. I join Angie Bunda's request for this board's resignation, the superintendent's resignation, the COO's resignation because this is in the best interest of the children of Evergreen and all staff and stakeholders of the district. >> Thank you. The next speaker is Adam Aguilera. >> Good evening. >> Evening, >> dear Evergreen School Board and Superintendent Maloney. My name is Adam Aguilera and I'm a member of the Evergreen Education Association. As a union member, the district's budget and spending choices are of great importance to me for the impact it has on my students and colleagues. In 2024, I raised an issue to the former superintendent relating to supplemental contracts issued on September 4th, 2023. At least one of the
020supplemental contracts was issued for a person who was being paid additional money for a job she was already being compensated to perform. The former superintendent ordered the investigation. The investigator provided a written summary of his work on August 23rd, 2024. When I read it, he had not contacted the original complaining uh individuals uh within the district. I challenged the investigation and there was a hearing before the board October 10th, 2024. You were all there with the superintendent, the chief operations officer, and the district's attorney. The attorney presented um uh present charged the district 10 and a half hours to be there. The investigator build the district $29,790 for the investigation. So when a public servant asked the district's uh attorney multiple times over a sixweek period in September and October of 2025, the answers provided
021that I read shocked me because they were false or misleading. There is no question there were complaints about the validity of the September 4th, 2023 supplemental contracts. There is no question the district retained an expensive investigator to address those complaints and completed that investigation. The district's attorney knows this. Each and every one of you knows this. The superintendent knows this. And the chief operations officer knows this. Why did the district pay the district's attorney more taxpayer money to provide false or misleading information when he stated that on October 28th, 2025 to that public servant? In the final analysis, we paid the chief operations officer $13,980 for work she was already doing. Then the district paid almost three times that amount to either justify it or cover it up. The last part is the worst part.
022No taxpayer would agree to spending public taxpayer dollars to provide a public servant false or misleading information. Evergreen families and taxpayers deserve responsible spending. This conduct cannot be tolerated and the board must hold themselves accountable and district managers accountable to these facts. Thank you. Our next speaker is Sean Gund. Good evening. Uh my name is Sean Gender. I'm a teacher at Henry Adelax. Uh last year in December, I spoke to the board regarding the uh this year's school calendar um regarding Thanksgiving if members of the board would recall. Uh and I advocated for bringing in the idea of a fall break, having a week off. um that coincided with the week of Thanksgiving so that uh those that chose to observe Thanksgiving would have time with their families and time to make preparations and time
023to do things and those that chose to uh not observe Thanksgiving due to its history would uh get to experience like having a week off and not um you know having a week off just for Thanksgiving, right? this uh you will see a uh it looks like you're going to see a preliminary calendar today and it includes a fall break and I just want to say I'm appreciative of that. Um and I'm hopeful that we can have a really nice fall break next year. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Christy Peak. >> Good evening. Give me just a second here. Um, my name is Christy Peak. I am an Evergreen community member and uh the president of the Evergreen Education Association and um I'm here to read a statement uh that the
024Evergreen uh rep council adopted unanimously in last night's meeting. EA stands with our immigrant, refugee, bipok, and LGBTQIA+ communities. We have seen an increase in immigration and customs enforcement activity in the news and in our community. Our community has become a place of fear due to federal agents operating in plain clothes and masks without warrants and without identification and without regard for due process. Families are being torn apart in parking lots, on sidewalks, and even near school grounds. Children are watching their parents disappear and schools as sanctuaries of learning and safety are being left exposed. This is a public safety crisis that has continued to escalate, including the specific targeting and racial profiling of immigrants and US citizens. The continued disruption to students education and the impact that it is having on their physical and
025mental well-being. Our schools must remain safe places for our students and their families and our staff members. The Evergreen Education Association believes that every person deserves to feel safe, respected, and supported at school. Fear of federal immigration enforcement and racial profiling has created barriers to learning and undermines the trust between our schools and community. EA stands for equity, inclusion, and the protection of all students, educators, and staff members. We continue to stand in solidarity with our immigrant, refugee, bipac, and LGBTQIA plus communities against discriminatory policies and in any action that threatens the safety and well-being of our students, families, and colleagues. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Gustavo Vos. >> Good evening. >> Um, I'm going to read the same statement in Spanish for our families and our communities. The Evergreen Evergreen
026Education Association Englishific. Noses. Person likeche. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Margaret Hunter. Good evening. Um, good evening, Evergreen School Board Directors, Superintendent, and EPS public and community. Um, I am speaking this evening for people that are not here and for many people that I love and care about. I am commenting this evening to ask you to add a very important safety and health policy to your student parent handbook in the district policy. This is very dangerous weapon entering our schools and buildings and EPS. This dangerous weapon has the potential to send staff and our students to the hospital. Even worse, it can take their lives. To get even more extreme with this truth, some staff members are more afraid of these items coming to their classroom and schools than fireworks, lighters,
027illegal substances, and even knives or other weapons. I have been talking to people around the district. I have verified that this is dangerous material has sent staff and students to hospitals from multiple building sites. There was even a rumor that things like that are going on at the ASC office where there are no students. Can you guess what this material or these materials are? This is perfume, cologne, body sprays, body sprays, and aerosol sprays like bathrooms or air fresheners. I had to save a life on more than one occasion because of perfume or cologne spraying in the building I teach in. Last month was the first time I had to use CPR skills and breathe for my coworker across the hallway who could not breathe because a student sprayed something in her room. Whatever unknown
028student it was that sprayed, they were well informed that they could not use these sprays anywhere in the building. All of the students in this teacher's class have been informed during all class discussions. parent student um parent information letters that go home via email as well as hard copy letters that students receive at the beginning of the year or class. This particular group of students has had at least two classroom clears for the same problem spraying pure frame or cologne in the building or room and I have had to trade trade this teacher places in the classroom as well to prevent her from not being able to breathe in her classroom. There are many more details to this day that I don't wish to share publicly, but I did almost lose a coworker and best
029friend that afternoon. This particular teacher's allergic reaction to perfume cologne and variety of aerosol sprays has been a safety issue ever since our buildings student handbook was replaced with the all student district handbook. Students and staff are allowed to bring them to school and so they will inevitably be used somewhere at the school. In the past, I would collect these items if I saw or smelled them on a student, put them in a Ziploc bag with the students name and send them to the office. A few years ago, I was asked to stop this practice because a parent had complained that I did this and because we have no policy in the district against having these items. I was asked by my administrator to stop this safety prevention practice at my school and I was
030told I would have to wait until I saw the student attempting to use it before I could take it away. We can only control ourselves. So students having these sprays because they are allowed on our school at our schools currently is not acceptable or safe. In fact, it keeps the board directors and Dr. Maloney from fulfilling your promise in EPS policy 6511. To eliminate conditions that are unsafe or hazardous to health or to prevent um the prevention of occupational injury or illness should be given top priority at all times. No one needs perfume, cologne, or body spray at school for learning. It only keeps others from breathing clean and healthy air. It isn't just students that can be spraying. It is anyone in the building because these items are not forbidden to anyone. And as
031I stated earlier, I heard through a reliable source that it has been a problem here at the ASC office where there are usually only adults and employees in the building. Adding these dangerous sprays to our banned items list in the parent student handbook on page 24 with forbidden items >> expired. Thank you. >> You guys have the rest of my comment in your email as well as separate information I was not going to share this evening publicly. >> Thank you, Maggie. >> Thank you very much. >> That concludes public comment for this evening. The next item on our agenda is our board consent agenda. Is there a motion? >> I move for approval of the board consent agenda. >> Second. Director Boken moves that we approve our board consent agenda as presented, seconded by Director
032Wilson. All in favor? I >> opposed. Motion carries. >> Our next item is our superintendent consent agenda. Is there a motion? I >> move adoption of the superintendent's consent agenda as presented. >> Second. >> Director Perkins moves that we adopt a consent agenda as presented. Seconded by Director Boengra. All in favor? >> I opposed. Motion carries. Our next item is our superintendent report. Dr. Maloney. >> Thank you. Um, as typical, I will share the operational um, expectation policy number for the board's uh, reference uh, according to each of the topics I'm going to talk about this evening. And I have three topics that I'd like to share with the board tonight. Uh, the first topic falls underneath OE10 um, safe supportive learning environment. So today, and you heard from one of our speakers um or
033a couple of our speakers today um about the demonstrations, the student led demonstrations in response to immigration enforcement that happened not only here in Evergreen, but across uh Clark County. So according to board policy, which is 3223, students have a right to peacefully assemble and and express themselves before and after school, provided that it does not create a safety concern or significantly disrupt the learning environment. As always, our goal is to keep our students safe. School administrators designated areas on campuses where students could assemble and staff members were present to observe and support students safety. Students who chose to participate during the school day because they were leaving instructional class time were counted as absent. In Evergreen, demonstrations occurred, like I said, at most of our uh secondary schools, and reports from building administrators show
034that hundreds of students participated today. under topic two um that would be OE and I just uh communication and support for the board and I don't have the number here by accident. So um changing kind of tone here January is schoolboard recognition month and I would like to take this opportunity to recognize you as elected members of our school board. You selflessly give your time and energy in support of highquality public education for our students here in Evergreen Public Schools. Each of you has a certificate of appreciation at your seat recognizing your service. So, thank you for all that you do. And as board members, you get to lead in great times and in challenging times sometimes. So, again, thank you for that service. Currently, we are in challenging times when it comes to our
035financial status. So, on topic three has to do with our finances 05, OE6, and OE9, communicating with families or with the public. So tonight I am sharing with you anformational video that provides the district's latest budget numbers, the reasons for the deficit and the process that it used to make the difficult reduction decisions. This video is approximately 10 minutes in length and will be distributed to our community today. Hello Evergreen community. As we shared with you many times, EPS, like so many districts across our state, continues to have to navigate severe budget challenges. In December, I shared a message outlining our need to reduce our 2026 27 budget by about $12 million. While this cut is less than some of our neighboring districts and others in the state, for us it comes after multiple previous
036budget cuts, which makes the difficult reduction decisions we need to make even more difficult. The goal of this video is to share our latest budget numbers, educate you on the major reasons why we need to make these reductions, and explain the process that I, along with the board of directors, will be using to make the necessary budget decisions. I want to spend some time reviewing the main factors contributing to the statewide school funding issues. Enrollment. We, like many districts in the state and in the country, are experiencing a significant enrollment decline that directly impacts our revenue stream. inadequate state funding. We'll share more details later, but after the McCclary decision, the state made a promise to fully fund public education. They haven't. So, districts are forced to use levy funds to fill gaps. Inflation. Of
037course, we all know prices have gone up, not just on products and services, but the competitive market has led to higher wages for staff across the board. This is especially a factor in our part of Clark County. Federal grant funds are at risk. Currently, federal funding is in flux. We just can't count on funding that we have received consistently in the past. Let's take a closer look at how enrollment decline has impacted Evergreen Public Schools. You can see that in the 201617 school year, our student enrollment was over 26,000 FTE. This year, we are at just about 21,500 students. The primary way that districts receive funds is through the state on a student FTE basis. So the loss of about 5,000 students equates to over $55 million a year. Student FTE and staff FTEE are
038directly connected. So when we lose students, we also need to reduce our staff numbers. Now, let's talk about the state funding model and give a few examples of the gaps between what the state pays for and what it realistically costs to run a district our size. The state model provides funding for 3.4 security staff. That's for our entire district of over 21,000 students. We currently employ 36 safety and security staff. The model doesn't fund safety staff to the level that meets our students needs at all. Another example, the state will provide EPS with about $550,000 this year to cover all substitute costs. Our actual cost for substitutes is usually over $5 million a year. The state has not increased the amount districts receive for substitute cost in over 10 years. That again does not reflect
039the realistic cost of our operations. Another major funding gap relates to staff salaries. There is a significant gap between what the state allocates for specific positions and what we actually pay for these jobs. The state's aotment just doesn't match up with what the competitive job market demands. These salary gaps need to be bridged with levy dollars. Levy funds are supposed to go to enrichment programming and not to be used for basic education. This is not currently the case. Earlier we talked about inflation impacting our budget. And while inflation impacts the budget across the board, I want to provide one clear example. In 2021, our property and liability insurance costs were about $2.5 million. This year, it will cost us over $5.5 million. Over 5 years later, that's an increase of over 120%. One of the
040largest gaps in funding for districts across the state is in special education. The state has promised to fully fund special education, but they have not lived up to that promise. Last year, our special education costs were $77 million. The state provided us with about $58.2 million. That's a gap of $18.8 million. We needed to use levy funds to cover that gap. This year, we are projected to have a special education funding gap of over 17 million. So, why do these gaps exist? One place to look is how our state is funding K12 education. If you look at the recent history of the funding track, you can see that in the 2019 2021 bienium, 52% of the state's overall budget went towards K12 education. In this bianium, about 43% of the total budget will go towards
041K12 education. That equates to hundreds of millions of dollars in less funding for schools. Now, we will take a look at the district's financial forecast for this year that was shared back in August. In August, we projected that we will spend over 5 million more than we will take in this school year. That means we'll be using our fund balance to cover the deficit, which brings us down to $16.8 million or a 2.5% fund balance. The decision last year to not make cuts was with the hope that the state would provide additional funds to help support public education. The state failed to provide significant additional funding which forces us and many other districts to make significant reductions. Let's talk a bit about the fund balance. Why do we need it? Bottom line, we need money
042to pay our bills and payroll. We need the fund balance to cover gaps in cash flow. The state doesn't provide the same amount of funding every month. Some months the funding provided is much less than what our bills cost for that month. For instance, in December, when the state provides less money than other months, the board passed a resolution to borrow money from our own capital funds account to pay bills. Other districts in our state have been forced to borrow from OSPI and the county to pay bills and payroll because they didn't have available funds in their district accounts. Our district policy requires us to have a 5% fund balance. We have fallen below that. So, reductions are needed in order to build us back up to that 5% mark. Here is the three-year plan
043for how we get back on track and up to that 5% fund balance. This is frustrating and disappointing information, but is important that everyone understands the reality of where we are financially. In August, we projected that we would be making 11.5 million in reductions for the 202627 school year. Our updated estimate shows that we will probably need to cut between 12 and 13 million. These numbers can change depending on cost and could be impacted by state and federal funding decisions. We are also currently projected to make additional cuts of 7.5 million in 2027 28 and 6.9 million in 2028 29. Like we have done for previous budget reductions, we have a detailed process that we will use to make these difficult decisions. That process has already started. We've reviewed the community input data that we
044have gathered from previous reductions. Budget and staffing calendars that help guide our plans for next year have been established. We are currently conducting budget review meetings with staff to gather their input and assess needs. The EPS budget committee continues to meet with our financial staff and myself to help share information and answer questions. And we will be using our equity lens and the strategic plan's core values to guide our decision-making. Unfortunately, reductions of any kind equate to less support for our schools, which is in direct opposition of why both these tools exist. All cuts will hurt and not everyone will agree with the decisions we make. But I can assure you our intentions are to make the decisions that are best for our students. I do want to share a general timeline for what will
045happen and when. We have a detailed schedule of budget meetings. In January alone, we will have well over a dozen meetings scheduled. In February, budget meetings will continue. And at the February 24th board of director meeting, a draft of the recommended reductions will be presented to the board. At the March 24th board meeting, the board is expected to pass a reduced educational program resolution. This allows the district to make the reductions we need to remain financially solvent. Following the passing of the resolution, we will begin the process of notifying staff that will be impacted by the reduction in force. A key date here is May 15th, which is the legal deadline for all certificated staff to be notified if they will be impacted by the reduction in force. As I have mentioned before, EPS has
046been through multiple budget reductions recently. So, we have a lot of input from our school community about reductions that has been extremely consistent each time we gathered the data. These main themes are preserving educational programs, advocating for student support, which includes safety and security, the request for us to be creative when thinking about our budget, and look for efficiencies. I can assure you we have done this and will continue to do so. Our community wants us to continue to be culturally responsive leaders who think about how reductions impact all students. Prioritizing teachers is a consistent theme, as is being transparent with our communications and information. With that in mind, a reminder that we continue to share budget information on our website. The information includes all our financial statements, board presentations, and the videos and messages
047that are shared with our community. The QR code here links directly to the budget web page. We also have a budget specific email address for you to ask questions and provide feedback. That email is budget questions at evergreenps.org. And if you are interested in advocating for public education, you can visit our legislative information webpage to learn how to get in touch with your local lawmakers. I want to sincerely thank everyone for taking the time to watch and listen to this presentation. Going through budget reductions is difficult for our entire community and stirs up anxiety for students, staff, and families. I and the board of directors will be thoughtful during this process and we will do what we feel is the very best for our students. And that concludes the superintendent report for this evening. >>
048Thank you. >> The next item on our agenda is our teaching and learning and equity update. Dr. Fox. >> Good evening, President Weatherspoon, members of the board. Tonight's teaching, learning, and equity update is focused on a simple but important question. What is actually moving learning forward for students? And how do we know? This evening, we bring you an overview of the PDSA cycles that school administrators have been learning about and using over the past several months. Executive Director of School Programs, Dr. Dr. Heather Fowler will share about ways that Evergreen principles and associate principles are leading the charge for continuous improvement at each of Evergreen's 38 sites. Dr. Fowler. >> Good evening, President Weatherspoon, board of directors and student representatives. Which do you want me to use? This or the Well, that doesn't work. We'll
049use that. During the October 28th TLE update, I briefly mentioned that we are intentionally leveraging a previously underutilized element of our school improvement plans, the plan do study act cycle, more commonly known as PDSA cycles, to drive results. Tonight, I want to walk you through why we are making this shift, how PDSA cycles are being embedded into school improvement plans, and how we are preparing our administrators to change practice in a meaningful and sustainable way. Mark Twain once wrote, "Success is a journey, not a destination. It requires constant effort, vigilance, and re-evaluation." That distinction between success as a journey rather than as a destination captures the heart of this work. We are asking administrative teams to refocus school improvement planning away from largecale infrequent year-end measures and toward more frequent short cycle measures that support
050continuous improvement. PDSA cycles help students focus on what is happening right now, not just where we hope to end up. This decision is grounded in evidence and research based improvement practices. Specifically, the work of Dr. Brian Van Gronigan whose research focus is school improvement through through short cycle planning and the collective efforts of the Institute of Education Sciences research into continuous improvement. What the literature tells us is that when schools shift from strategic planning to operational planning, from big data sets to small data, and from compliance-driven work to empowered decisionmaking, improvement efforts are more likely to result in real change. PDSA cycles provide a structure for making that shift. Traditional measures like SBA and WEDA scores, youth truth survey results, and graduation rates are important. They tell us whether our long-term goals are being met
051and whether system level investments are paying off. However, these data sets measure a destination. They are collected annually and often reviewed long after a practice or intervention has been implemented. While valuable, they do not provide actionable realtime information that allows teams to adjust quickly. In contrast, PDSA cycles reside uh rely on short cycle data, typically collected over 60 to 90day cycles. Teams return to this data often, using it to make adjustments along the way. This shifts the work of school improvement from static compliance-driven document to a living responsive process. Examples of short cycled data include PLC notes, classroom walkthroughs, formative assessments, staff reflections, discipline referrals, and student feedback. Short cycle data helps teams answer two critical questions. One, is what we are doing working right now? And two, if not, do we need to change
052course? And how? At this point, you may be wondering how we are supporting a change of this magnitude. When educators move from the classroom into administrative roles, we don't stop being teachers. We simply change who our students are. And in this case, the adults in our system are our learners. So, we approach this work the same way we had approach uh instructional change in a classroom through planning, practice, feedback, and reflection. This year is intentionally designed as a practice year. Administrators are learning and applying PDSA cycles using a real relevant problem of practice. Building highly effective professional learning communities. During the October leadership gathering, building administrative teams analyzed staff staff survey data related to PLC effectiveness. Using that data, they identified a priority area for improvement, selected a change practice to test, planned concrete action
053steps, identified the short cycle data they would collect, and then reflected on that process. Schools then submitted those PDSA cycle plans, which we intentionally treated as a formative assessment. This information allowed us to identify patterns across buildings, pinpoint areas of strength, and surface where additional clarification or support was needed. We use this information to design targeted professional learning activities and scaffolds to deepen the understanding of the PDSA process. What we learned from October directly informed the design of our December leadership gathering. In December, we introduced a detailed PDSA rubric and built in time for administrative teams to calibrate their understanding by scoring sample PDSA plans. Teams reflected on their scoring, discussed areas of alignment and difference and then used the rubric to evaluate their own plans from October. Using this new learning and evaluation of
054their cycle one plans, administrative teams were then given uninterrupted time to revise and submit their PDSA plans for cycle 2. Here is an example of just one school's progress from their cycle one goal to their cycle 2 goal. You'll notice the revised goal from December is more clearly defined. It is rooted in data and linked to student learning and equitable outcomes for students. While this is just one example, this level of improvement was seen across nearly all schools and the feedback from teams indicated the rubric and calibration aided them in meaningfully revising their cycle 2 plans. Learner feedback also guided the planning for our next two leadership gatherings where we are providing administrative teams time to collaborate and engage with the process rather than introducing new learning. As we look ahead, our work reflects a
055clear commitment to continuous improvement both for our leaders and for our students. This year, teams will continue focusing their PDSA cycles on building effective PLC's. We are supporting teams as they shift from planning at a strategic level, often centered on big broad goals with very few concrete steps, to planning at an operational level. Through PDSA cycles, teams are able to be nimble and responsive, building the foundation for real lasting change. When we come back together in August, building teams will engage in intensive work to examine math and English language arts data. Teams will define a problem, conduct a root cause analysis, identify aligned change practices, and plan their PDSA cycles for the year. By embedding PDSA cycles into school improvement plans, we strengthen leadership capacity. We normalize reflection and adjustment, and we move improvement from
056a one-time event to an ongoing process. This is not easy work, but it is the right work. It positions our schools to respond more quickly, to learn continuously, and ultimately improve outcomes for students. Thank you and I look forward to sharing updates as we move through this process. >> Thank you. January is a midpoint for the school year and it makes it an appropriate moment to revisit the work our building leaders are doing with regard to the 2025 2026 school improvement plans. As we build consistency across the district in our use of PDSA cycles and embed these cycles into school improvement plans, we believe we can better answer that question. What's moving learning forward and how do we know? Thank you, Dr. Fowler, for sharing this update tonight. Looking ahead to your meeting on January
05727th, uh the TLE update will feature the six schools currently piloting a recently developed family engagement guide. In fact, we have a couple of principles who will be here to share some examples from their school and their school community. And this concludes the TLE update. >> Are there any questions? Thank you very much. >> The next item on our agenda are matters reserved for board action. Director Gomes. Good evening. >> Good evening, President Weatherspoon, members of the board. I am here to present the uh calendar for first reading. Prior to doing so, um on the agenda isformational and update to this year's current calendar based on the power outage, we had December 17th and we extended the school year by one day u making the last day of school June 22nd. In regards to the
0582627 calendar, there were three calendars initially uh developed. We sent those out for all employees to vote on. There were 1,852 employees who responded there. That was 400 more responses than last year. Of those employees that responded, 60% selected the calendar that you're looking at tonight. The main changes from our typical calendar is the week of November and the week of February. Otherwise, the regular uh bargained professional development days, new employee orientation days, holidays, and spring break and winter break are on there. Graduation dates are currently set for June 10, 11, and 12. Otherwise, everything is a standard uh calendar with the exception of those two weeks. It's before you tonight for a first reading. Any questions around the calendar? >> Any questions or comments? >> No, I was um when I first saw it,
059I I like the breaks throughout the year and I'm glad that we pulled this staff and that we got overwhelming responses in favor of this um calendar. It feels like school will start early, but um that'll be okay because it'll be made up with the longer breaks throughout the school year. >> I was about to say something very similar. Uh does this uh calendar differ in any way from the one we workshopped and and selected last time? >> It's um from what we workshopped last month, it's the same. There haven't been any changes. >> Okay. >> Yeah, I'm really happy with this. >> 60% is overwhelming. Yeah. >> Yeah. Any comments from our students? You love it. >> Okay. Um, is there a motion to move to a second reading? >> I move uh we
060move the 2026 2027 school calendar to a second reading. >> Second. Director Boken moves that we move the 202627 EPS school calendar to a second reading. Seconded by Director Wilson. All in favor? >> I. >> Opposed? >> I. >> Motion carries. >> I'm in favor. There we are. >> Thank you. Um the next item is ourformational item on the financial statement and the revised calendar. And so now we are at board comments. Anyone have any comments for this evening? I did spend the last weekend at the legislative conference and um a couple of things that came out of um the conference that I thought were particular interesting. Um I don't feel like there's a lot of optimism for additional funding. Unfortunately, I think that's the um sentiment from across the state that people that the
061people are getting. Um they know that there's a budget deficit at the state level and so they're trying to figure out how to overcome that. and hopefully they're going to maintain or increase, but I don't know that we're going to be able to get back to the levels that we need um from the mccclary decision. So, a couple of things I did find interesting that it looks like uh they were thinking about making cuts not necessarily in K 12 education, but looking at early education cuts or post education cuts, which is unfortunate. So, hopefully that doesn't happen either. Um, and then they were looking at some of the ways that maybe we could become like or the state can be more efficient with our insurance and our utilities, but I'm not sure that that's going
062to create a big enough um reduction in the budget that we would it would make a difference. So, really some of the things that they're looking is those unfunded mandates. Um, there's a financial literacy bill, but that would be a mandate that would be probably unfunded. And then boiler operator certification. And I don't think that that should be like the highest tier, but it's on there. And then um addressing AI in schools. >> Yeah, I'd like to thank everyone for their public comments tonight and I know some of them dealt with a similar issue and I need to share my concerns on that with my fellow board members. And then also, um, Maggie brought up, uh, the issue with, uh, perfumes and air fresheners, and I'd like to suggest we look at that in a
063future board workshop or add it to a board workshop in the future. Just, you know, maybe look at a possible policy on protecting our staff. So, >> I would be good with that. >> Me, too. I have friends who've suffered that kind of anaphylactic shock and it is is horrifying to it's just horrifying and it deserves a policy review definitely uh in my hope that we can keep everybody safe because at those levels it's just a safety issue. I'm also really appreciative of uh oh I lost her name Miss Worthy's comments about the arts especially in terms of uh 30 or 40 year tradition um that this community has of strong support for arts in schools uh broadly more than uh just abandoned choir or uh you know a limited thing is that for decades
064students have uh had broad opportunities uh to participate in the arts and I know from my own experience and from my kids' experience how much of a of um an attractor that can be to keep kids in school studying both the arts and the subjects that the state considers important. Uh, I think it's worth reminding um or just reiterating that the state of Washington at the legislative level and at the state funding level has never sent a single dollar for the arts. Um although I know you could make an argument the allocation model is for us to do what we'd like with it. We know from the presentation today uh and the video. Thank you that for that by the way that uh it isn't even enough to reach the reading, writing and arithmetic and
065special education levels. Um so I am really glad to be in a community that passes levies sufficient that we can maintain funding uh for drama uh band choir orchestra and uh visual and uh pottery all ceramics really uh I could go on and I'm just in favor of being mindful those are the happy thoughts of kids as we go and discuss uh the budget uh in the next few weeks. I don't want to let that go. >> Yeah. All right. The next item on our agenda is an executive session under RCW 423110G review of the review the performance of a public employee. The time is 6:31 and at 6:34 we will go into an executive session in the hemlock room to review the performance from for 20 minutes from 6:34 until 654. Thank you. It
066is 6:55 p.m. I am reconvening the meeting. The board will go into a recess to sign documents and then go into a workshop. Thank you.