001I call to order this meeting of the Issaquah School Board. Today is Thursday, May 7th, 2026. Uh at this point, will everyone please join me in 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. Thank you. Before we um get to public comment, we're going to begin tonight with the unveiling of some student art. Okay. Um Good evening, everyone. I'm Superintendent Heather Telviak, and I'm thrilled here to announce the addition of new student artwork to the Kateri Broe Memorial Student Art Collection, established in 1998. This dynamic and expanding collection honors the life and enduring contributions of Kateri Broe, a former school and community leader. Kateri Broe served the Issaquah
002community from 1971 to 1992. In 1988, she was named Washington State Superintendent of the Year, and led the Issaquah School District as Superintendent from 1987 until her passing in 1992. These four new pieces of art will be displayed on the first floor of this building. Now, I will introduce the leaders, the student leaders, and their titles of their artwork. So, I'm going to start at the very far to my right. Um so, we have Navia Jakku, a fourth grader at Briarwood Elementary School, and the title of Navia's piece is Together We Belong. Beautiful. Next, we have Nathan Quock, a seventh grader at Pacific Cascade Middle School, and the title of your piece is I Belong. Next, we have Mahadi Ravi Shankar, ninth grader at Issaquah High School, and I believe your piece is called The
003Garden of Belonging. And finally, we have Emma Seidel, 11th grader at Liberty High School, and the title of your piece is Nature's Embrace. Yeah. So, I would like everyone to please join me in congratulating Navia, Nathan, Mahadi, and Emma on their creative vision and the recognition um of their incredible work and effort, and enclosed in an envelope that you now have in your hands, I believe, is a check to um officially make you paid artists. So, thank you. I like to also recognize the families who are here in support uh families and friends who are here in support of each of these brilliant people. Um and I believe we might do a couple pictures. Is that right? Okay. Thank you. Okay. Uh while they're clearing here, I'll make a few uh comments about public comment,
004uh which is the next on our agenda. Public comment is an opportunity for the board to receive public statements on items not listed on the meeting agenda for possible board action. If you have a point of view for a specific agenda item, which tonight I believe is the 2025-2026 uh budget extension resolution, I'll ask you to hold your comment until that particular agenda item comes up. Public comment time is not intended to raise an issue uh unique to a particular student, staff member, or administrator. Rather, it is your time to provide your insights on issues more generally and of a wider concern. Uh as a general rule, the board will not respond to public comment. And I ask you to begin your comments by clearly stating your name and your attendance area. Please limit your
005comments to 2 minutes. Uh we will be using a timer, which you can see up there on the back wall. Uh the board neither endorses nor censors any opinions expressed during public comment. Please keep your comments civil and respectful. Uh and avoid personal attacks on others. In place of applause, you can acknowledge a speaker by lifting your hands in a waving motion, like this. And we will start public comment with those in the room and then go to those who have hands raised on Zoom. So, with that, our first person on our sign-in list is Florence. Um good evening, Superintendent and members of the school board. My name is Florence Teong, and I'm a junior at Skyline High School. And this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. So, I want to start by saying thank you
006for all the work you've done to help create a safe and supportive school environment. I'm here today to present a program I co-founded called Misunderstood Moments. It is a youth-led storytelling and art program that pairs real experiences from individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, also known as IDD, with youth-created illustrations. We are requesting district support to bring Misunderstood Moments into our schools as a traveling exhibition program that can support and extend the work already happening around inclusion, belonging, and student well-being. We recently conducted an IDD awareness survey within the Issaquah School District, and the result is on the second page of this brochure I have here. Um And while the data shows very limited exposure in schools and the great desire to learn about it through a school program, what stood out to me was
007what did that mean in real life? At exhibitions, we are we hear from parents, "I just want my child to be accepted as they are." Many individuals living with IDD are already working incredibly hard at therapy, learning skills, and navigating a world that is not always designed for them. And it made us ask, "What are we doing as a school community to help others understand that?" Because many students are still encountering IDD without context, and there's no understanding, behavior gets misread, needs get mistaken for problems, and communication gets lost. That is the gap, not in care, but in understanding. A gap between lived experience and how it is seen in everyday school life. Misunderstood Moments helps fill that gap by giving students a way to see these experiences differently, not by changing who anyone is,
008but changing how we understand each other. We sincerely request the district adopt Misunderstood Moments as a traveling exhibition for the 2026-2027 2027 school year. Each school would host it for about 2 weeks, provide all materials and installation, and schools provide space for optional time for reflection or discussion. Closing even a small gap in understanding can change how students are seen and how they see each other. Thank you for your time, and we hope to hear your decision. Thank you. Right on the timer, too. Very impressive. Um okay, next is Mahika? Hello, my name is Mahika Agarwal, an eighth grader from Beaver Lake Middle School. And I'm both a student and a sister to someone with an intellectual and developmental disability. There have been moments where I've watched people interact with my sister and I could
009tell they didn't know how. Not because they didn't care, but because no one had ever taught them. And in those moments, she's treated in a way that makes her feel separate from others. But she's not. She's a student. She's a person. She just experiences the world differently. And the gap we see in our schools today isn't a gap in kindness. It's a gap in education. We ask students to be inclusive, but we don't always teach them what that actually looks like. Often that shows up in small moments, like students avoiding someone because they're unsure how to start a conversation or teachers not knowing how to explain differences in a respectful way that students can actually understand. And over time, those moments can make students feel isolated, even when no one intended to exclude them. That's
010why I'm asking the district to include age-appropriate education on developmental and intellectual disabilities. Not just as a one-time lesson, but as something students grow up understanding. I'm also asking the district to support bringing Misunderstood Moments to schools across the Issaquah School District because real stories and real experiences help students connect with the issue in a way that statistics and definitions alone cannot. Once students understand differences, they don't fear them. They don't avoid them. They include. Thank you. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Uh next on the list is Felicia. Okay. Good evening Superintendent Talik and members of the school board. My name is Felicia Teong and I'm a junior at Skyline High School and the other co-founder of Misunderstood Moments. So, I want to continue by sharing why education about intellectual and developmental disabilities matters.
011So, you can see on the green sheet of paper in your little pamphlet thing. So, throughout our work, we often hear from parents that they only began to understand autism and other developmental differences after the child was diagnosed. Before that, there was just confusion trying to interpret behaviors or the knowledge to understand them. Many say that they wish they had learned earlier because then they could have changed how they supported their child. One student shared that before they knew they had ADHD, they struggled in school. That they thought there was something wrong with them and that they weren't trying hard enough, which affected their confidence and self-worth. After the diagnosis, they described feeling relief, finally knowing that there was a reason for why. That's why early awareness is critical for early intervention. When developmental disabilities
012are understood earlier, people can better able to recognize and support them. Without that understanding, differences can be missed or misinterpreted, leading to delays in identification, confusion at home and in school, and sometimes isolation for individuals who are misunderstood. Over time, this can affect individuals as they grow into adulthood and even into parenthood. Education about IDDs changes how students understand themselves and the people around them every day. They're a part of brains and bodies development, similar to what we learn about in health class and what we study um about the human body. And that's why we believe that age-appropriate IDD education should be part of the SEL and health curriculum. We do understand that the curriculum change follows an established process and we respect that. We have explored sharing this proposal with the teaching and learning
013services and special services. And today, we are just here to begin this conversation in front of the school district. So, thank you so much for your time and for listening. We hope to work guidance and support. Thank you. Um next is Ali. Hi. Good evening, superintendent and members of the school board. My name's Ali Marcus. I have two children at Maple Hills Elementary. I run Happy Time Studio on Front Street, a music and art space dedicated to bringing people together through arts education and experiences. I'm also part of Art Commons, a local artist-led nonprofit that creates spaces for working and aspiring artists to connect and grow. Issaquah is rich in aspiring artists. Uh many of them are in our elementary schools across the district. I know this because I talk with them about it every
014day. And I talk with their parents about it, who most of them work countless hours as art docents for no pay to make sure their school communities get art lessons. King County recently funded Art Commons to launch a teaching artist residency in three elementary schools next year. About 500 students will benefit from this program, which we are partnering with the district, the PTSA, and Issaquah Schools Foundation to run. But there's more than 10 times that many students who this program will not reach. While we are excited to bring more equitable access to arts education in Issaquah, we know this is not enough. All elementary students deserve year-round sequential arts education. It's mandated by the state and has demonstrated benefits for academic, social, and health outcomes in childhood and throughout life. It teaches empathy, critical thinking,
015problem-solving, healing, storytelling, motor skills, joy, resilience, and grit. It connects people through shared experiences and across divisions. A system that depends on the unpaid labor of parents, nearly all women, is not equitable, especially across school communities with large wealth disparities. I ask the school board to come up with a feasible strategy to bring certificated art teachers into every elementary classroom. How can we as a community come together to help? Thank you. Next, Anne. Anne Kemley, teacher at Pine Lake Middle School. Thank you, Issaquah School Board, for your work on behalf of students and families. Today, I want to address my concerns about a disconnect between district administration and our individual schools and their unique needs. The past few years, teachers across the district have participated in numerous surveys, professional development, and curriculum adoption committees. In
016each of these, we have shared our classroom experiences as it relates to student learning. Our input has been received, but little evidence shown that it matters. Many secondary teachers have classes as large as 34, including a Spanish teacher who shared that the American Council on the teaching of foreign languages recommends no more than 15 students in a world language classroom. We know that smaller classes lead to stronger relationships, decrease behavior problems, promote deeper learning in all subjects, and allow teachers more time to provide feedback and plan engaging lessons. It is a challenging time to be a young person, but school can provide a supportive community. The Issaquah School District needs to make smaller classes one of its highest priorities. It will improve both learning and enrollment. We can do this. Unlike most districts, Issaquah has
017reserves for an emergency beyond the percent required that are not being considered. Huge class sizes are an emergency. Certificated district administrators need to do some regularly planned subbing at the same school. This will help them better understand each school's special needs and forge a clearer understanding of our current classroom realities. Let's work creatively to find ways to make classes smaller. It's a win for everyone. Thank you. Next on the list is Samantha. My name is Samantha Verraya and I teach at Maywood. Congratulations to Navya Nathan, Mahathi, and Emma on the additions to the student art collection. The additions of these pieces shows me how integral arts are to the culture and community of the ISD. Issaquah is a community full of art and artists. I have been advocating for the arts this year. I spoke
018at a profile of the graduate town hall in October about how essential the arts are in preparing our students with 21st century skills and how much of your profile of the graduate is supported in arts and music classrooms. I emailed the board with further concerns. I voiced my concerns at a strategic planning meeting about the students' lack of access to the arts and the impact this has on priority areas of student well-being and authentic engagement. In acknowledgement of Youth Art Month, I spoke at the March 11th school board meeting. There, I spoke to the board about non-compliance with RCW 28A.230. 305. Specifically, at the elementary level. My comments at the March meeting led to an outpouring of messages and emails wondering how our community could help. We have met and many of those people are
019here in the room tonight and on Zoom. Our art docents are great, but ISD should not rely solely on the unpaid volunteers and outside programs to fundraise, plan, orchestrate, and teach subjects that are part of basic education. Our elementary students deserve to receive arts instruction from certificated art teachers in compliance with educational law. The performing and visual arts are essential pieces in every child's education. We have to stop viewing the arts as an extra and less important than other courses. The arts teach us how to be human and how to deeply connect with one another. I'm looking out at all the connections that I have made over the last 7 weeks. Thank you. Sarah. Good evening. My name is Sarah Armstrong. I am the parent of a first and third grader in the Skyline feeder
020pattern. I'm a weekly volunteer now in my fourth year. I know many people may be here to speak about this particular topic tonight and I think the comment period may be limited to 15 minutes. So, if anything I say during this time reflects your family's experience, please feel free to stand. Um school board has received a petition outlining concerns about inconsistent accountability in our schools. I'm not here to repeat it, but I'm here to share my son's third grade experience, what it has actually looked like, and why I was compelled to sign this petition. When I think back on my own third grade, the worst things I remember are my teacher going on parental leave and a class a classmate who accidentally destroyed a beloved book that he asked to borrow. We had misbehavior, but
021nothing like the frequency or intensity of what my son sees week weekly, most recently this Monday. His memories of third grade will include evacuating the classroom because a student became so disregulated it wasn't safe to be near them. Having a chair graze his hair after he declined to move his chair for a student to climb on. Having a student repeatedly sit in his lap and refuse to move. Seeing a student hit staff enough times that when I asked him what he wanted me to say tonight, he couldn't think of a single time that he wanted me to highlight. There were so many that not one single one stood out. He has constant dis constant instructional disruption, and he has even watched the a child aggressively toss books at me twice. I volunteer in the library.
022This child became combative to the point that I had to walk away. Kids are watching. They see a lack of accountability that spans years, and they're being told to ignore dangerous behavior and to stay calm when adult like when an adult like me struggled to to do so. We're asking too much of children. If throwing chairs, assaulting authority figures, and evacuating classrooms doesn't cross the line, then what is the line that determines the least restrictive environment is no longer appropriate? I would genuinely welcome the opportunity to continue this conversation around ensuring all students receive the safe equitable education they're legally entitled to receive. Thank you. Thank you. Uh next, a familiar face, Bonnie Miraldo. Good evening, Superintendent Tellez and members of the board. My name is Marty Moraldo. I live in the Liberty attendance area
023and I serve as the executive director of influence the choice, a non-profit organization focused on youth substance use prevention and youth well-being in East King County. I'm speaking tonight regarding the 2025 healthy youth survey and the concern lacking concerning lack of participation among our 12th grade students. The healthy youth survey provides critical information used by schools, prevention organizations, public health agencies, and community partners to better understand trends related to youth mental health, substance use, and overall well-being. This year fewer than 40% of Issaquah School District seniors participated in the survey. Because of that low participation rate, much of the 12th grade data was actually all of the 12th grade data was suppressed and cannot reliably be used. That is deeply concerning. We know from prior survey years that substance use rates tend to increase significantly
024by 12th grade. Losing visibility in our experiences and behaviors of our oldest students limits our ability to respond effectively with prevention, intervention, and support strategies during a critical stage of adolescence. The low participation rate is not surprising given how the survey was administered. At the high school level, the survey was conducted during flex time when many seniors have the ability to leave campus rather than attend. In previous years, the survey was often administered during language arts classes where participation was naturally much higher because nearly all students are enrolled. I strongly encourage the district be careful to carefully evaluate how the healthy youth survey is administered in future years. The survey should be treated as an an important source of student voice and community data, not simply another optional activity during unstructured period of for day.
025I also encourage the district to explore additional ways to gather meaningful data from seniors so we can better under stand and support the needs of our students as they prepare to transition to adulthood. Thank you. Thank you. Uh next is Allison. Hello. My name is Allison. I have a first-grader at Apollo and a kindergartner on the way. I'm here to talk about teaching through technology and asking the district to consider the option of being able to opt out through teaching through technology. I'll give a little history. My daughter started at ECE when she was 3 years old. She was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder as well as a speech delay. She did very well through the ECE program and in fact when she entered kindergarten her IEP was discontinued and now she's in first grade.
026According to her teacher she is the best reader in her class. She's testing advanced in reading and math through i-Ready and she's a tremendous reader at home. She reads morning, noon, and night. Our home is a library including the bathroom. So, she does very well with reading and loves analog technology meaning paper, pencil, books, but because of her sensory processing and being that she's a young child the teaching through technology has been detrimental for her. When she comes home from school she's often deregulated so we've turned our world upside down to help accommodate her. We do no screens at home. She's never done i-Ready at home and our backyard looks like Neverland. Trampoline, zipline, climbing wall, swing set, you name it, we got it. We're going out hiking, we're doing all the things we can
027to help her regulate better, but it's very difficult when she has heavy screen use days because she comes home very upset. So, my offer to the school is to consider students like Charlotte. There are plenty of other students out there who thrive with analog methods and we're very limited on options. I spoke to her teacher, I spoke to the principal. They're very accommodating and kind, but as I was told, curriculum is curriculum. So, I'd like the school to consider students like her, families like me, who are trying very hard to keep our kids in ISD, but without other options, we may have to look outside of the school district. So, please take a look at our tech, see how it affects other students, and consider the ability to opt out. Thank you. Thank you. Uh
028Amy. Hi, my name is Amy Eggink. I live in the Briarwood neighborhood. I have two children who will who are going there and will go there. Um I'm also here because I believe that all children in elementary school should have access to quality art education. I, like others, acknowledge the incredible work that the art docents have done, and I'm so grateful for their time. Without them, my child would not have had any art for the past several years. I am a art teacher, elementary art, in another district, um and I have a college degree, got my master's degree, and continuously getting more education to do my job better. So, I find it inappropriate when we suggest that volunteers coming in to teach our children's art is an adequate replacement for certified teachers doing that. I'm
029not going to go on more about all the benefits of art education for children, cuz some of my friends have already done that, but I see every day in my job how essential and important it is for children. Just to give a few examples, I have one uh student who is on the autism spectrum, and generally during the class day, he often isn't doing the activities that the other children do, unfortunately. But, when he walks into the art room, there's a smile on his face, and he just changes. It is his place, and he's acknowledged by the other students. He excels. He leaves the room covered in paint and thrilled. I have another student who is going through a really rough time at home, and she's an eloper, meaning she runs out of every class
030throughout the day. Art is the only place she stays. It's her happy place where she can just be in her art zone and relax and feel safe. A third student that comes to my mind is a very high-achieving perfectionist student who has a lot of high demands and expectations on her. I see when she walks into the art room that her shoulders actually relax, and she knows there that there's no right or wrong answers, and she's able to just feel calm and do what she loves doing. I mentioned these few students because I think Thank you for listening. Thank you. Uh Lisa. My name is Lisa Chung, and um my kids are in the Challenger, Beaver Lake, and Skyline schools. I have three kids. Um I'm an art teacher like Amy. I hadn't planned on
031speaking tonight. I just wanted to be another person in the room, um but I'll be another voice. I have been an art teacher for over 20 years. I have my master's degree. I teach in the Bellevue School District, um where we have paid elementary certified staff, and our students receive art once a week every week. And just like Amy, I could tell you countless stories um about how you know, my classroom impacts the kids, but I think just the most meaningful thing is when you talk to kids, what are their favorite memories, their core memories of school? It's often times the specials, you know, PE, music, and art. And of course, some kids are going to say recess, and the academic areas are important, too, but we are missing a critical piece and I think
032a lot of parents aren't even aware that our kids don't have art. I talked to countless parents, you know, I have my son is a junior, so we've been in the district many years. A lot of parents just don't even know and I think that is really a disservice we're doing. We're not intentionally lying, but we're definitely not promoting the arts the way we should and we should not rely on parents to do this. I've I've been torn about putting my kids in Bellevue where I think they would be getting more than we give them, >> [clears throat] >> but we love our neighbors and my kids have their friends here, so we're here and I think we definitely could be doing better than we're doing. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anybody else in
033the room that would like to give public comment? Okay, not seeing anyone. Stephen, anyone on Zoom? No, there's no seat. Okay, Stephen's sitting sitting further back. Okay, this will close public comment then for the night. Thank you. We will now turn to actually a whole series of to actually a whole series of recaps of things that we've been up to over the last month or more. Uh first of all, though, we're going to have a discussion about our board listening sessions. Uh school board has been meeting with students at our three comprehensive high schools uh starting in late March through April. Uh primarily talking about the issues of grading and homework in our schools. So, I will open the floor for comment. Dr. Quinn. Great. Thank you. Uh I had the opportunity of uh sitting
034in on the listening session uh with Dr. Mullins at uh Issaquah High School. Um and always uh useful to be able to to listen to students in our district. I I do wish we had more students that would show up to these. So, we'll have to figure out um going forward how we can come work to promote it. Maybe we can leverage our student reps to help with that work, too. Um so, you know, one I I guess maybe one thing I would share um you know, I always reflect on there's a lot of pressure that's obviously put on our schools, but I like to also um go back to our community um and ask our community um to to think about some of these things and think about some of the work that they
035can do to help to prepare their students to be in our school system and to be successful in the school system. And one would be um giving everybody in our community some homework, if you've not read it already, but Anxious Generation. Um I highly highly encourage folks to read it. It's been sitting with me uh for a while after I read it and been thinking a lot about it. And I I asked a question um during that um session around structured and unstructured time. Um and I will say that a student who responded has struggled with understanding what was kind of in that structured versus unstructured um category. Um as we were talking about grading, as we were talking about just, you know, the stresses of of being in high school. And you know, I
036think that that's something that's probably I I think a lot of our students probably across our district would struggle with that. So, I would I would just say as parents, as members of our community, um read that book, um and really encourage, you know, help to encourage kids cuz there there are there's a lot of stress on students, particularly high school students. Um and and encourage kids to really lean in into that unstructured time um because I think that in and of itself will lead to broader success in school and outside. So, that was probably my biggest observation. Why don't I go since we were at the same Dr. Mullins, go ahead. session at at Issaquah. Again, under attended, but at least attended. So, we had a engaged audience. Um I think a few things
037struck me. One is when I started the session, I played a video that was made by the school board a number of years ago now to start that session, to sort of set the stage about what is it that the school board cares about um as it relates to homework and grading and why do we care? And one, I think the starting point was just like how long ago that was recorded, how different the makeup of the school board was at the time, and that, you know, we've been having this conversation for a long time. Um that in order to ensure a few things. One, we could have consistent supports for students, uh allow students to have a consistent experience as they go from class to class, to be able to understand what's expected of
038them and not feel like um the students have to meld and mold themselves each door they walk in in the in the course of the the day. And so, it was I think helpful at least to put me in the mood to listen to the the student feedback in the the session. I think what I heard um in that session is probably the same thing I hear in my own house, which is it's gotten better. I think students see that there has been attempts. Um, but there has been a coalescing of approach around things like the amount of homework, around things like um the ability to recover uh recovering recovery opportunities within their class uh classes that they have. So, uh more consistency in their syllabi along the way. And so, I think that was
039encouraging. I think was what was discouraging is that it does seem that the remaining inconsistencies are viewed very much through a fairness lens through our students. A feeling that they are not being treated fairly by um their teachers and that they are not being treated fairly within the system because of these inequities. How is it possible that I am sitting in Islip or held am held to a standard that I can I can recover. Yes, that's an improvement, but it's I'm held to a 77% where my friend I play basketball with goes to another high school in the same district and they have different or additional opportunities. And so, um while I'm sure that the adults in the system have lots of great reasons for why we need to structure things the way we do,
040I think for me I continue to really land on how often do we put ourselves in the seat of the student going to seven six to seven classes a day and what um twists and turns they are required to go through to understand their expectations and to deliver on those expectations to the various levels of consistency across their classes as well as um the active conversations they have not only in their own schools, but across schools because there's quite a bit of um connection across our buildings of feeling um not fairly treated. Now, are all those feelings backed? No. But, I think we have the opportunity to continue to work toward greater consistency in keeping the student experience in the center. And so, I think I leave those um that session thinking it's gotten better
041in my 6 years on the board, but we're not there yet. Director Anderson. Uh so, Director Gallinger and I attended Liberty High School on April 22nd. We also did not get a very well-attended session. Um but, we're in talking with the superintendent, we hope to potentially make it at a better time when it's not Wednesday morning when they get to sleep in, you know, the one time during the week. So, um we did have a good conversation with the junior who's taking four AP classes, so it gave us some perspective on what her experience is like. Um and then one of the the things that came up was homework um and grading and inconsistencies from teacher to teacher and classroom to classroom. So, we did have good conversation, but we only had one perspective really
042to uh gain from that session. Um but, hopefully in the future we can make it at a better time and have more attendance cuz I think these sessions are very valuable to the board. It gives us a lot of perspective on what our students um you know, school academic life is like as well as uh the school life balance. Um so, I'm excited for hopefully doing some more in the fall. Great. Uh thank you. Um I was at Skyline. One second. I'll get to you in my own just a second. Um I was at Skyline uh with uh Director Gallinger. And we had I think seven or eight students uh in the room. And I'll say that it may not have been a lot of kids, but when given the chance to speak, our students
043had a lot to say. Um which was great. Um but I think my two takeaways were this is an area we continue to focus on, particularly around issues of consistency both on the homework level and on the level of grading practices. There is a lot of work going on in the district, which I appreciate and that I know staff's working on these issues. The board continues to um discuss them, but everything that we've identified, I think, is an area where there's an opportunity for improvement. These students touched on at one point or another throughout the conversation about consistency with syllabi, fairness of uh retake options, um homework loads. All of those things came out. Um so, that's both encouraging to know that we're identifying the right areas we need to work on, but also a
044little discouraging from the fact that these problems are persisting. So, um really a great conversation from that standpoint. In particular, I was struck by the conversation around homework loads. Most of our students say that they are doing two to three hours of homework a day. Uh I think about my job, which I work, and I can't imagine going home at 5:00 and 6:00 at night and doing another three to four hours of work on top of that. It's a lot to ask of our students, and the detriments are that our students talk about they choose to miss extracurricular activities in order to do their homework, or they choose uh to not sleep and get the amount of sleep they need at night in order to manage their next day. So, um this is not a
045condemnation on our teachers or staff in any way. I really think this is a more systemic issue and really a societal issue, but I think we really need to ask ourselves, what are we asking of our kids and for what effect? Um so, those are those are my major takeaways. Milo, you had a comment. Yes, I did. I've never been more glad to go to an alternative school where we do not have homework, so good luck with that now, I guess. >> [laughter] >> But I did I do want to say I know you guys have the meetings at the three comprehensive high schools, and I'm sure because there are more students you may potentially be more likely to have them at those, but I would also I would urge you guys to at least
046find a way to try and encourage the gifted magnet students to show up cuz a lot of us are very leadership oriented, and that's I mean that's why we went to the alternative school. And so I think not I think that potentially some of the gifted magnet students have felt like maybe it wasn't their space to join into. And so I think finding a way to kind of bridge that gap. I I never know when they're going on. So I have never been able to to go to one cuz I've never been able to find the information about it. I'm sure it's somewhere, but not on the gifted magnet newsletters, not being talked about anywhere at our school. And then I know we love our high schoolers. They're wonderful. Have we ever considered having any
047of these listening sessions or like conversations with some of our middle school or even elementary students cuz I think they're wonderful, too, and often have better ideas than we do because they don't think about the crushing weight of all the other choices. So just some things to think about. Yeah. Touch points. Yeah. So, thank you for the input. I'll just clarify that we each year we determine as a board what topic we are doing our listening sessions on. This year's topics were homework and grading and given the difference as you mentioned in homework structure and mastery based grading Gibson Ek was not included in this one. We have done in every other year I've been on the board our listening session topic has included um Gibson Ek. Uh and depending on the nature of the
048topic we are having student listening sessions on invitations have different approaches. Some of them are more personal sensitive in nature. So they are not always you will not always find them in broad uh communications. In this case in those schools that have the similar grading and homework circumstances they were broadly broadcast. Um and at that same time we can we've made decisions on who which students we're talking to. So um when I first joined the board we did a set of listening sessions that were um on a particular topic that absolutely included high school and middle. So uh absolutely we I think it's the point of like what is the topic. This happens to be a topic I I think in a at least for me I feel like needs sustained focus to make sure
049we make sustained progress. So uh that is my opinion of the selection of this one. But just sharing that this is one of the very few cases where Gibson Ek wasn't in the loop because of the way Gibson Ek is designed it doesn't have these circumstances. Bishop Different issue. Thank you. Uh I'm going to take a little bit different route here and uh I just want to highlight some of the positives. I think uh there's definitely a lot to improve in terms of like communication and accessibility and making sure students actually realize them. But I do think it's a really big step in uh the district and how they're really trying to you know at the end of the day make the lives of students better. I know there wasn't a lot of turnout but
050still this is the saying I love and it's the thought that it counts and I think although this year there's you know we've kind of fell short a little bit. I think next year as it you know we continue these sessions more and more students will actually realize that oh wow like this is an opportunity for me to go out and share my voice. And there's definitely things we could do after this first time kind of seeing how it went through. So I think it's a step in the right direction and towards a brighter future and there's definitely I'm looking forward to seeing them happen next year hopefully. Great. Thank you. No. Yeah I just wanted to add reiterate from the student perspective. I think especially since after this listening session it was kind of
051identified that these are systemic issues that need prolonged you know attention. I think middle school could really be beneficial for adding to that perspective. I think especially since the way that students form habits around homework and the way that they kind of view it starts you know in ninth grade and how they were first introduced to that especially in middle school. I think that could be a really helpful perspective to get in trying to change and fix this issue. Yes Malia. One last thing. I love what Nila said. Um I also think that potentially asking some of the students who went to Gibson Act I can tell you one of the reasons why I did was because I was scared of the amount of homework that I would have to get um and so I
052think there is I I think it's worth it to maybe ask some of us um just for our alternative perspective too cuz then I mean we can share with the Skyline IHS Liberty students that this isn't how it has to be. This is how another school does it. Let's think about ways that you would prefer to do it. So for if we're really thinking about like innovative ways to do things then having both sides might be nice. Okay, thank you. Yes, go ahead Ava. Yeah, I again also really agree with what Nela said. Um I wanted to bring up something that I think I talk about every time we talk about uh the amount of homework that we get in our schools and that is that I think a lot of the workload and pressure
053that students are taking on comes from kind of this like cultural mindset we have around working hard in school and like having a certain amount of homework get done every day. Um I also think it would be really interesting to break down within those listening sessions how much of that is coming from direct assignments from teachers and how much of that is coming from I need to study for this test or I have this longer term assignment that I need to kind of break down per day. I do think there's a good amount of work especially if you're someone that's taking a lot of AP classes that comes from I need to read at home, I need to make sure that I understand this test because it's not material that I understood in class. Um
054so I think understanding if that's self-imposed or if that's coming from like a larger stressor is also really interesting. And then I also want to second the fact that the way in which that culture and those habits are formed really does happen in middle school. I know that for a lot of reps and current upperclassmen our middle school years were significantly impacted by COVID and so that definitely um shaped kind of our early interactions with homework. So I don't really know what that would look like for underclassmen or incoming students uh today. So I won't speak for that, but um I think it would be really interesting to see what kind of early intervention and mindset shifts can do in that department. Okay. Thank you. Superintendent. Great, thank you. I know that it was a
055small sample size. I think I just counted up 10 by hearing the numbers about 10 uh students that attended, but I I do think it was a powerful moment to just continue to hear the experiences of our students um as it relates to grading and recovery options. And we haven't spent as many as much time in these past six-ish years, right, talking about homework as much. And that really became an emergent topic even even further this year as we were unpacking it. But a lot of good nuance questions came up. Dr. Jacqueline Downey, Dr. Shruti Carboni and I were able to attend across the three different sessions. And we do we did hear the consistent themes around where we're certainly to make some progress, particularly around different approaches to grading and homework within courses, across
056across departments, and also within schools. So, that was helpful. And then when there were things that came up for immediate follow-up that we that we could attend to, we were joined by Principal Andy Bronson and Principal Keith Henning as well. So, there was some follow-up to when there were things that were mentioned that were something to tighten up or or follow-up on immediately. So, I appreciate their attendance. And I do want to mention that Principal Aaron Connolly does have a book club with her families around Never Enough, which speaks to the culture of of high expectations, right, that exist. And so, I know that that book study has been a worthwhile one for the families that have been participating with her. And so, I think there is some good points that you have raised around
057sort of how we how we think through all the different components around around the challenges and pressures our young people face. Okay. We will move on now to report out on our interaction with the City of Issaquah and um our school board and district administrators. We met with the City of Issaquah on April 27th this year. Um so, I will open it up to any comments about that meeting that we had. Anybody? I'll start. How about that? I understand. Okay. Okay, go ahead, Director Moss. >> [laughter] >> It's like I was busy. Um yeah, so always good to be able to um have deeper connections with key partners for the district, just like we're going to talk about at least one more. No, two more tonight. >> this. Which is awesome. So, we have been
058busy making connections and figuring out shared agendas. We um you know, Issaquah is a huge district. We have many city partners. I think the Issaquah City Council is always interesting since the namesake sort of We have We have a We have a shared name and we certainly have some overlap in in purpose. There are a lot of new members of the Issaquah City Council. Um which is really interesting. Um and so, it gave an opportunity just to make that one-on-one connection or you know, group-to-group connection with a very new um city council, at least one new member of the Issaquah School Board, but so many of us had not met before. Um go through a little bit of icebreaker and then talk about shared areas of interest. I believe we talked about I know we
059talked about light rail for sure. We talked about um projected population growth and and what the city is tasked with in uh accepting growth into the uh region, which is just fascinating how that works along with King County, as well as uh some of the status on on new high school. So, for me and then we talked about what are things we might want to collaborate more on in the future. So, I think where we can continue to make the human-to-human connections across key partners and understand the um the questions, the concerns, etc. It's it's always time well spent. Okay, I will go now. >> [laughter] >> Um, yes, agree. I think, you know, it's really great to get to meet some of the new city council members. There's been quite a bit of turnover
060on the Issaquah City Council. So, it's nice to, um, get some time with those folks and, um, learn more about them and also to hear from our mayor for the first time in a formal setting. And, uh, Mayor Mullet had a a lot of great insight and things to share. Um, I think the major takeaways for me was that, again, as you mentioned, Director Mullins, the presentation on growth projections in particular was very interesting. A lot of data shared from the city. Um, the takeaway for me is is that I think this our projections on on growth and enrollment are going to be volatile for a while. There's a lot of moving parts here as we're trying to figure out what the future looks like. Um, many factors in play. For instance, whether or not
061light rail will be coming to Issaquah, whether that will be driving population, uh, into our into our city limits and what those growth projections might be much stronger than they would be otherwise. So, um, it was good to hear that information and for us to kind of think about that and and how we want to move forward. And, uh, then a conceptual discussion, very early, beginning conceptual, all those words, about, um, whether there might be an opportunity for some kind of a housing project for, uh, teachers in our district and what that might look like. Yeah, for the workforce, I should say. That's right, workforce. So, that, uh, we might be able to, um, help in some regard at least with the affordable housing issue we're seeing in our community. So, uh, great conversation overall
062and, uh, I hope that we will continue to have those um, interactions. Superintendent, did you have anything to share? Uh it's always great to be able to um provide some assistance with activities to support getting to know each other between um the city council, the mayor, and the school board. So, I'm happy to have helped with a little bit of like icebreaker activities, which was very uh educator-like in nature. Um but I also appreciated continuing to hear the focus of the city to think about plan intentional growth um and to be really forward-thinking and to consider how to be partners with the district overall. Um I think the overall tone and tenor and climate between um city partner and ourselves for the city of Issaquah has been continuing to grow in positivity, productivity, um and
063I know that there is a lot of things they're thinking about as it relates to um how that how that can continue on. So, our team meets regularly with the the city of Issaquah on lots of things because we we need to, but also because we want to, and that's um uh helpful to continue to to grow from our side to complement that work between um the two the two elected bodies. So, it was great. We're good. Okay, moving along. Um we will now have a report report out on our WASDA District Area 2 regional meeting. Um the school board attended the Washington State School Directors Association regional meeting on April 29th, 2026 despite horrific traffic trying to get to Highway 18. Um we did eventually all get into the room that night. Oh, except
064for except for Director Coin, who he turned around and gave up. That's it. >> [laughter] >> So, um anyway, uh I will open the floor to your comments about that forum and the discussion we had there. Director Anderson. Well, I always find these uh of course this was my first regional meeting, but any any way of connecting with uh fellow board members and superintendents across the region um as very beneficial. Um great insights and experiences. Uh, Tahoma graciously hosted the event. Um, it is the largest high school in Washington state, so we learned a lot of facts about um, them having nearly 3,000 students and uh, we gained a deeper understanding of their community and educational environment. Um, the session was focused on community engagement, relationship building with our legislators, and then navigating the legislative
065process. Um, this was a helpful refresher for me, um, because of being ledge rep on the board and being able to kind of re-engage myself on what are the things I need to be doing, um, even when the legislators are out of dis or out of session. Um, and the year-round advocacy work that we need to continue to do, um, as well as understanding what WASDA is doing advocacy-wise for all of the school districts statewide. Um, yeah, it was a great session. I really enjoyed there was a lot of interaction that occurred. Um, we were able to talk to I was able to talk to board members from Bellevue, uh, from Tahoma, uh, Tumwater. Um, so it was really neat to interact and and have those discussions and kind of again think about what, uh,
066you know, since two of the three were legislative focused, um, thinking about the things that we need to do to advocate. So. Thank you, Mike. Director Rawlings. Uh, yeah, so first I would say uh, definitely prove that Waze is a superior navigation >> [laughter] >> application to uh, either Apple or Google Maps because I followed Waze and I was the first one there and I'm never the first one anywhere. So, um, I'll just that's my first shout out. Uh, second was just to slightly veer because these looking at the city of Issaquah, and then this engagement in between, I had the opportunity to also be the moderator for our fifth LD town hall. So, I felt like I spent all week engaged in the business of uh school boarding and advocacy with our legislators. You
067You made me think of that. I was like, "What's our engagement when they're not in session?" And that was a a really good opportunity for the community to meet all of our fifth um representatives. So, WSSDA regional conference, um outside of the traffic, it was it was actually really cool um to be in Tahoma. It's good to kind of step back and be be in the work we all do together, but not on our specific topics. So, with other people who are working on similar challenges or have similar questions that they're thinking of, and just sort of be, I guess, in community with those people is refreshing in the work that we do. There is not a lot of um uh I think appreciation sometimes for how hard these seats are that we that we
068sit in. So, for me, I think those connections are really valuable to just talk to other people who are maybe feeling the stress or the burnout or, you know, the wonderings of are we going in the right direction? Are we making the right choices? So, I find those connections to be a really, not only a learning opportunity, but a bit of a re-energizing um and a gratitude for the number of other people who step up and choose to do this unpaid, volunteered, and spend their their time and energy on it. And so, you meet some of the most incredible people from all kinds of backgrounds doing this work. And so, for that piece, which is the re-energizing and the commit me the commitment I have to doing work like this, that's the my biggest [clears
069throat] takeaway from from the regional connection. Good. Um Yeah, I would just add I I really do think I mean it's always a good program that they run at these uh meetings, but it really is the opportunity to sit and talk with other board members, exchange ideas, hear about the issues that are confronting um and just have a nice open fluid conversation around those things. Um and good to see old friends, too, that you haven't seen for a while. Um and uh Director Anderson and I had the opportunity to sit with the new president of WASA, too, so that was a nice conversation as well. So, uh overall a very good event. Superintendent, did you have any comments? Uh great. I also faced some traffic challenges and I actually had to call uh Mr. Martin
070Turn to see maybe he had an alternate way. I was thinking I could just use human uh indicators about where someone was on their journey to be able to say where should I avoid or where should I veer to a different pathway for, but uh but Martin and I were both happy to attend. I think it's important for us to join in so we can be of support to board members as board members think about advocacy. I love the concept um and the theme around growing relationships to deepen impact and the kinds of skills and toolkits that are being provided to um board members across the state. I think the association efforts um to be a part of, whether it's for school board directors, um I myself just came back from uh WASA superintendent convening
071um a little further uh I guess east and north of here and that was is just being in the space with others can really just help your understanding of what's happening, make sense of it, gain resources, and also I I guess the growing of relationships to um and and see old friends. I was also pleased I was uh I was uh the superintendent's mentor in her first year. So, for me to be able to actually get to see her present uh at the end of it on a lot of the work was just very helpful because I had other contexts about sort of um what was going on in Tahoma and it was just really beautiful to see some of that work and a lot of it was informative as we think through some of
072our new high school efforts and as well for uh some of their programs for to support robotics. So, um thanks. It was a great night. Although it was three nights, we had three nights of events. Yes. Yes. Okay. Oh, but wait, there are more meeting recaps. Next up is our work study recap before our meeting this meeting tonight. We had an opportunity to meet with cabinet, superintendent, staff and discuss new high school the new high school updates. I will open the floor for any comments about that discussion. Ready. Yeah, I mean I am jazzed up about the new high school. I am really excited that it feels like we're getting to it. We're getting to it now. We are able to really talk about what do we think is the plan forward, the work the
073detail of material that came forward to share with us on on shaping what should be the right level of programming that happens at high school was fantastic. Being able to see kind of student interest aligned with Bureau of Labor and Statistics information, career path information of where students in our own district have gone like to be able to get to see just myriad of different information to triangulate to what are the most high value high value high interest high earning all those things programs that we can put into place with this opportunity. I think is phenomenal and I couldn't be more excited. I I continue to stand on we have lots of constraints within our system. One of the biggest ones though is space. It is space. It is space and it is space. And
074so I am really excited about having line of sight to um only think about new programming and the use of new space and look at the potential of the design of more flexible open space, but also what that will mean um to lessen the amount of students in any of the other all of the other high schools to allow for more breathing room, less stress in those schools, but also hopefully the rethinking of space and and other items. So, um I am incredibly bullish on the work we have ahead of us and and just feel like um with the material and the data presented, we're narrowing in really quickly to what it will look like. Director Coin. Um and I would second what Director Mullins said to you. I, you know, I'm very excited about
075the new high school. I think, you know, a few things come to mind for me is really the idea of choice and flexibility that we'll be giving our ISD students, which is very exciting. Um you know, we had good dialogue around pathways that we'll really be focused on career connected learning as we think about um what the needs are of our students to prepare them for their futures. Um Director Mullins mentioned this, too, but I just think, you know, flexible spaces. That that was really was good to hear that from the district, too. Um spaces that even open up to the outside. You know, spaces that have a garage door. You know, we think about we we think about the different types of learning that will take place at that um high school. Uh it
076was great to see the level of flexibility that's going to be built into the facility itself. And there was a good conversation to around middle school preparation as we think about preparing our middle schoolers um you know, to be prepared for that new high school and those new pathways and um good connection back to the micro schools that, you know, currently taking place at at Pine Lake and May Wood Middle School that will then be rolled out to all six of our middle schools next year that will have a good connection to many of the pathways that we'll see at the at the new high school. So, really good dialogue and I think just very exciting in terms of um um the opportunities that our students will have here in the Squamish School District. Yes,
077I would um echo a lot of what was just said. I I thought one part of the conversation that was particularly interesting um raised by uh Director Mullings is this idea of making sure that we're mindful about introducing either curriculum or programs or opportunities for our middle school students to become familiar with the disciplines that we're potentially going to offer at the at the new high school. I think that's critically important, and I'm glad that we're thinking about that. So, we want our we want our middle hit middle school students to be excited about the opportunities that the new high school is going to offer, and I um I was glad that we had that conversation. And then the only other thing I would say is, you know, we're 18 months out from opening this
078school, so we will be charging ahead with these discussions. You're going to hear a lot about this more and more so with more intensity, I'm sure, as uh we move along, and we will also um be looking forward to engaging the community and and getting our community's input, too, as we move ahead. So, um anything else? Superintendent. Uh agreed. I think that the timeline in my mind it's a year. I don't know how 18 months is more accurate, but yes, it's but in my mind it's a year, so um that 2027 calendar year is coming up quite soon for me and the team as well. And I do want to share I think, you know, we've we've seen um Julia Bamba really take the lead on all all this work over the past few years
079and on behalf of the district, and I want to really recognize her publicly for all of her efforts and all of her acumen as it relates to navigating uh different world as we think through high school experiences um uh both in terms of founding Gibson Ek, but now what has to happen next to have other opportunities for young people to thrive. So, um if it's not apparent, she is the, you know, going to be the planning principal. So, she we she technically is a principal on special assignment, but she is also the planning principal. So, if that wasn't clear, I think I should have just made that more clear and we're excited for her to continue that work since she's been such an instrumental part of all of this. So, thanks to the board for
080all the input and guidance. Very helpful and appreciate all of the questions and all the future options that we can also think about as well. Very good. Now, our final meeting recap. >> [laughter] >> Um also, before our regular meeting tonight, we had the opportunity to engage with our Issaquah PTSA council and have a nice conversation um with those folks as well. Would anybody like to comment on that? Dred Coy. Um I another great connection tonight with the with PTSA council and first and foremost, I just want to thank them for their service and all of the work that they do to support our students in the district. You know, we recently had a connection to with the Issaquah Schools Foundation. You know, I think about the Issaquah Schools Foundation, I think about PTSA level
081work they do, particularly fundraising work because it supplements so many of the programs across the district. So, want to first and foremost thank them for that. I think one of the things, I know I talk about this a lot, but just the the decline in volunteerism post pandemic, that is an area of opportunity and they stressed it the Issaquah Schools Foundation stressed that. You know, I think we just need to continue to promote. We need more people involved. We also I think need to make more entry points. You know, it's hard for people to find a way to connect during the day. I think 10 years ago pre-pandemic, there were more opportunities for people found that they could slide in midday. That's a bit harder now. You know, most of our families or many, at
082least in our district, they're two-income families households and so harder to find that time midday when you're working to try to be able to slide in. So, I'm hopeful we'll be able to find some creative options for more parents to to engage. And then I would just say too, if you are volunteering now, invite people in. There are a lot of people, great people, who are on the sidelines looking for opportunities, and they may not know about PTSA, they may not know about the Issaquah Schools Foundation or other opportunities to engage in our schools. And so, if you are engaged, look for those people and and and invite them in. Director Anderson. Yeah, it was a great connection. Very eye-opening data that was shared by the PTSA Council. Over a million dollars comes in from
083our community for teacher grants, classroom materials, student programs, and enrichment, which a lot is art related. And then PTA related events. So, that's very eye-opening and and big thank you to the community who helps support that for our schools and our students. And then just the the sheer number of hours of volunteer hours. I think So, I started 6 years ago as an art docent. So, I'm in my sixth year. That led to joining the PTA, which then led to here on the school board. So, I'm a good example of, you know, getting started in the process of volunteering and and, you know, seeing what else I can get involved in. Um there's a lot of hours put in by our current volunteers. The more that volunteer, the the the, you know, more it takes
084off of other people to share the load. So, you know, again kind of voicing what Director Quinn said about, you know, try to bring people in on the sidelines, have those conversations because we definitely need the help there. Um just looking through the presentation here real quick. Really enjoyed the special education portion of it as well to understand all of the great things this five-year-old organization is doing to help our students and our families and our parents. These, you know, power hour power hour meetups are great. All of these wonderful things that they're offering to help bring those families together. So, it was it was a really good. I enjoyed the presentation a lot. Dr. Mullings. Yeah, um you know, we're we're an incredibly rich and lucky community to have the partners that we have
085in support of our students, in support of our schools. It is um it is awe-striking the amount of um not just work and volunteerism, but joy and engagement that um the PTSAs that they bring into our our schools every day. Um and then to look at like I loved then on top of that seeing the really what are the hard numbers, right? The the decline in membership, the decline in volunteer hours. And you know, for me it's they're they're sharing a parallel story in many ways to what we see in other organizations in the in the school district in general. And so, I I think I spent the whole conversation just wanting to figure out like what is what is a distinguishing item to to help. Um there was a lot shared across the the
086the discussion. And you know, a lot of rich insights, a lot of challenges to that are being pointed out. I think for me, I always try to get to like what's the thing that that can put energy behind and and hopefully bring the right level of attention to and hopefully resolve or or empower. And so I am as I sit here I'm still trying to figure out what I think like for me what that thing is after listening to the the conversation. I mentioned that to a couple people just as the meeting was was wrapping up. I think maybe that feels like a good follow-up um with that organization is you know, one to acknowledge like truly value the what you're bringing to the district, completely hear the level of challenges, but we need to
087prioritize and we need to um figure out what we can and should put more energy behind. And so I think that's that's what I leave the conversation wondering is just how to get to you know, they joke that I always want the Gantt chart, right? How do I get to the next thing that we can do to resolve? So I feel um I I feel activated by the conversation. I'm just not 100% sure what to do with the energy I'm feeling on the topic. And so that might be the the best next step maybe for my perspective is like um how can we how what what thing and in what way can we can we try to solve that that helps bring more of that support into our buildings at this group these groups these
088all of these groups in our PTSAs are so you know, so dedicated to bring in. So how how do we help how do we help? Uh very good point, Director Mullings, and uh adding to that um one of the takeaways I had for sure is you know, our the number of that um Director Anderson referred to earlier, 81,000 volunteer hours in our schools for PTSA members. Just a phenomenal number. Our schools are better s- better places with our families, parents in the schools themselves. Uh so, I guess that's my plea on behalf of the PTSA is uh they will always take money. Money you can do lots of wonderful things with money. Um but they're really um hoping that people will find a way to get involved with their schools and and spend time in
089the building, spend time with their kids. Um so, I am also hoping that we can continue to partner and have continuing conversations on how we can help enable that and work with the PTSA Council to try to drive that actual volunteer hours in the schools, which is just so so important. Um Superintendent. Yeah, uh they present uh the PTSA PTA leadership presented so much great information. This is newer information, so we're really excited to take our next step and one of their goals is to strengthen, you know, the partnership and collaboration always with the district. So, we look forward to talking with them next immediately on some of these topics that um we can help with since the data that was collected was really is timely. And as we make plans for next year, really
090helpful. So, um and they brought over 10 people to join us, which was great to have all that expertise also to show the dedication across all the work from the executive council for um for the district. So, also just want to say thank you to all the parents who have helped and families and also grandparents because grandparents may also join the PTA PTSAs, um which is very powerful. And um it just thanks to, you know, all the families out there that have made um all of our schools better for their their support and for their volunteerism and and for all the work they've done to help with teacher appreciation week as well. Okay. Moving along, next on the agenda is works in progress. This is a standing opportunity for the superintendent to provide a brief
091status report on various projects and activities in the district. I also think this is the latest we've ever gotten to works in progress. That was a lot of recaps. But I'll I'll Yes, well I'll remind the board to like and the community that you know we have a a longer amount of time between the prior board meeting and this board meeting. So there was a lot that happened in the meantime. Um before we put that presentation calendar up I just want to make sure I have a actually have some breaking news important information to share with the community. So I just want to keep it centered without having the distraction of that share. So thank you. Um but there has been a Canvas outage. So we just sent out a communication to the whole community
092about the Canvas outage. It's a pretty big um issue. Um so I want to communicate with the board and community about the current nationwide Canvas outage which is impacting school districts, colleges, and universities across the country including the Issaquah School District. Um so some context Canvas is operated by Instructure and external reports indicate the outage is connected to a cybersecurity incident affecting the vendor platform. At this time this is not an Issaquah School District um system issue uh of origin. And so while the situation remains under investigation, um Instructure has indicated that um criminal related activity resulted in unauthorized access into user account data that may include some personal information. And the school the full scope of this incident is still being reviewed. Um the company has engaged with cybersecurity experts and notified federal law
093enforcement agencies. And our technology and education technology teams immediately began monitoring the situation and coordinating with the vendor and put in precautionary steps to help protect district systems and user accounts. So we have we have communicated already directly with student um student staff and families this evening to provide as much information as we have to date. It is in the news right now in Seattle Times and other news outlets. Um and we will give uh instructional guidance and reminders about any suspicious activity as well. So but right now Canvas is currently unavailable, so our teachers and staff are continuing to use an alternative instructional tools including classroom based materials and backup communication methods to minimize disruption for students. We understand that situations involving technology outages and cybersecurity concerns can create significant uncertainty for family, students,
094staff and so we'll continue to provide timely updates, but this is just a breaking news kind of announcement not a typical works in progress. So, that's what I've got right now, but the people do have some information in their inbox across our community. With that, we can put the calendar of the celebrations up right now. I don't have any more information, so I I'm happy to take a question or comment. Okay, great. Okay, well things are progressing. Thank you for that update. That was a live update as well. Thank you. >> [laughter] >> Yes, all breaking news. Thank you, Ava. I appreciate that. So, in the spirit of continuing to highlight the significant, you know, district community education, heritage, cultural and other events in recognition of our very diverse community as well as really we've
095got to start looking ahead at the graduations. A reminder that that's coming up right around the corner. But, I do want to highlight this month is Asian Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Jewish American Heritage Month. So, and this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. So, something to highlight and always want to refer back to this as the that represents the range of all the things that are happening in our community and what we all celebrate and what we want to highlight for for others. It is Teacher Appreciation Week, so I will share a couple comments here and I wanted to say again thank you to all the incredible support for our staff. I think everyone feels quite loved and also quite full from all of the all of that love, but also all of the
096food. I think that's a a thing that has happened a lot this week. I cooked uh 3 lbs of ground beef on Tuesday for Taco Tuesday. Uh that is a great thing. Thank you for for that, Director Anderson. Um but just really incredible work and it's really also extending appreciation for um all of our staff that um help support our students to learn and to thrive and to grow. Um and it's been fun to participate in some of that at my own child's school. Um in the spirit of Teacher Appreciation Week as well, um this really speaks directly to the hard work of all of our teachers, but the Washington State Board of Education has shared the list of schools in the Issaquah School District that are recognized by their uh Washington School Recognition Program
097for performance and specifically focusing on growth. And that was for the 24-25 school year. And I want to congratulate and name the following schools for recognition for growth um in many many areas. Um and I won't list all of them, but sometimes it uh happens to be recognition for growth um for different groups of our students, uh whether it's related to achievement or attendance, but I'd like to start and share um all of those schools right now. So, Cougar Ridge Elementary School, Endeavor Elementary School, Grand Ridge Elementary School, Sunny Hills Elementary School, Cascade Ridge Elementary School, Cedar Trails Elementary School, Sunset Elementary School, Beaver Lake Middle School, Cougar Mountain Middle School, and Issaquah Valley Elementary School. So, this recognition is truly an honor. Thank you for the hands. Um only 16% of schools statewide are
098recognized this year. So, congratulations to all of our schools for this recognition and to all the staff uh that work to make learning happen every single day. Um I am going to talk a little bit um also about our budget. I know that's been a topic. So, on the operational side, this has been an uh a regular update that we've had as part of the regular agenda for the meeting for board members um and for the community, but we do recognize that this is a period of change and we're approaching um everyday with care, clarity, and a strong focus on all of our students. We are committed to protecting high-quality instruction and student supports in every decision we make including counseling intervention, inclusionary services, mental health, and family engagement. Voter approved levy funded programs and
099investments are being preserved while we are facing measures to ensure that we are right-sizing our staffing to enrollment while also finding cost savings where we can and thinking differently about how we do our work to be as effective as possible. So, we are really working to align our structures to that enrollment picture for next year and thinking about the funding and program needs not simply just about adding staffing in certain areas. So, we do have what was shared last meeting about approximately a 15 to 16 million dollars in identified cost savings which is sufficient for the next upcoming budget cycle. And no more staffing adjustments are planned at this time beyond that. We're not implementing a reduction in force. All changes are being made through attrition, reorganization, and reassignment in alignment with the established timelines
100and collective bargaining agreements in coordination with our labor partners. Organizational adjustments being made within administration, central office, and operations are happening to protect classroom instructions. And some positions are being restructured, not filled, or discontinued and some programs may be also adjusted to ensure sustainability and alignment. It's important to recognize that state and federal funding has not kept pace with the rising costs and evolving student needs. My example will continue to be transition to kindergarten this year which was noted in an article this week about how Issaquah was most significantly impacted across all the districts in the state for the reduction of funding from the state for transition to kindergarten. So, we are continuing to align our our resources with enrollment and and think through how we can uh, those shifts in the funding landscape successfully.
101Um, and we do know that we have, uh, continued, you know, uh, potential projection of declining early early elementary school, but with some sustained high enrollment above capacity at the high school level through 2033, which is it seems confusing for people sometimes cuz it seems like it's a different picture, but that's sort of the the nuance and detail behind it. Um, I do want to make sure that we highlight the importance of continuing to keep our staff and families updated periodically. And, um, as we look to next year, community involvement with our finances and budget development will continue. We do currently have a structure with the financial advisory core team, also known as FACT, which brings together parents, staff, um, students, local finance, business, and accounting professionals to engage in the budget process. Um, and
102Director Collins sits on that on behalf of the board, and that's where we get get some feedback as well as strengthen our transparency and, uh, make good decisions with informed information from our community. Um, I do want to share some other operational successes that are important to highlight for the the community and for the board. Uh, our transportation team is recognized again this year, two years in a row now, for outstanding school bus inspection results by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, OSPI, and the Washington State Patrol. I want to congratulate our transportation team members, specifically our mechanics, across both the Issaquah and Plateau sites for the diligence and tireless efforts to protect, um, uh, and maintain, you know, our safety for our students on all of our school buses. Um, the recent Washington
103State Patrol annual school bus inspection illustrates our district's exceptional results under the leadership of Colleen Sedaro, and I will note that the inspection criteria is quite strict. So, um, under Ms. Sedaro's and her team's diligent efforts, um, in providing, um, students with safe transportation to and from school as well as to extracurriculars, um, are truly commendable. So, uh, most importantly, bottom line is, uh, the team helps to keep our students safe every single day. I also want to talk about the audit and that will be publicizing this more next week in all of our communications, but we have received a clean audit. Yeah. Um, this is a big deal. Um, the district remains focused on our financial sustainability, which depends on very strong systems and processes and transparency all working in alignment. Um, independent ratings
104and audits from third parties were recognized as valid and objective are a critical part of our accountability. The Issaquah School District is one of the few districts in the state with a double A+ long-term rating from S&P Standard & Poor's, reflecting strong credit credit credit quality and financial stewardship. As recently shared by our finance leaders, the Office of the Washington State Auditor has completed this most recent review and we've received this clean audit making the making it the first clean audit in 3 years. Um, the audit covered financial statements, accountability, and federal compliance areas. Um, during this period more than 75% of federal programs that we received funding for were reviewed, including major programs such as child nutrition and special education. And across all audit areas, there were no findings reported, no material weaknesses, no
105significant deficiencies, and no material non-compliance were identified. And this really reflects our strength in internal controls, improved processes, and ongoing organizational focus on accuracy, compliance, and accountability. Uh, which coming out of COVID was a important part of what happened for all districts, but also Issaquah School District in particular and an important component around how we build our strength and muscle in being responsible with taxpayer dollars. So, huge thanks to Mariah Benaseck for leading the work under our finance and business operations and with the oversight obviously of Martin Turney, but I do want to make make sure that our entire finance and business office team really sees their work quite mightily in such a huge win for our district over this past audit. So that's that wraps that for me. Yeah. Thank you, Superintendent. Next up
106on our agenda is a discussion about the 2025-2026 budget extension. May I have a motion? I move the board adopt resolution number 1264, which increases appropriations for the 2025-2026 debt service budget. I second. Thank you. We're going to have a presentation from the administration and then followed by public comment if there's any in the room or on Zoom and then we will have board discussion. So Superintendent, I'll pass it over to you and your team. I will just pass it over to to Mariah Benesik and she will lead on this. Thank you. Before we get started, I want to just talk about the debt service fund and what it is. So we don't typically as a district have budget extensions. We usually have capacity built in the all our funds and we have a budget
107hearing in August. We are having this budget extension because of the bond refunding that we've discussed earlier in this year with Piper Sandler who came and gave a couple of those financing plan presentations. The most recent one was March 26. And so the debt service fund, it is a restricted fund. It accumulates resources from voter approved bonds that are collected and those resources can only be used to pay for principal and interest of debt obligations. Um, even if another fund, if any of our funds, um, the general fund, our operating fund, it has a negative fund balance, has no funds in it, debt service cannot but cannot give any money to that fund. It is restricted and it can only be used for that principal and interest. So, I just want to give a just
108a little bit of background cuz this is a very specific fund that we don't talk about a lot. Um, most of our budget presentations, they're on the general fund and about operations. And so, feel free to check out that, uh, more information at the March board meetings for the bond refunding. Um, and today, so the resolution is before the board to consider, um, this would give capacity to make an additional payment in our for against our bonds. Um, so I'm going to go ahead and go forward. So, what this does is, um, and this is the way, uh, Piper Sandler also talked about it. It's like, you know, if you were refinancing, if you did have some money in reserve, you might go ahead and make an additional principal payment. So, that brings that amount
109owed outstanding down to a small a lower amount. And what that does is that decreases how much interest you're going to pay over time. Um, so we do have, uh, some reserve accumulated over time from prior refundings as well as interest over over years. And so, now we're able to make an additional payment towards our, um, bond principal of about $11 million. We also are we build in some additional capacity for the transaction itself and that is why it's, um, an extension of 16 million. And so, for the bond refunding itself, so with this additional payment as well as just refunding the bonds at a lower cost, that's going to give uh, taxpayers an estimated savings of 17.6 million dollars. And this is consistent with our prudent financial stewardship. And so, um, if open to
110any questions, um, in regards to this and thank you for your time. Um, Ms. Vanessa, can you just clarify one thing that I know that we discussed in preparation for this evening? So, uh, when we talk about having to right-size for enrollment, um, and and we see a reduction in our expenses uh, and or seek cost savings to um, ensure our our general fund is healthy and our fund balance is healthy. So, you're just to clarify, you were saying earlier that the savings from the debt service fund cannot be applied to that. Yes, yeah, the debt service uh, savings, they cannot go we could not even loan the funds to the operating fund. It can't be given or loaned. Um, so it is something that is restricted and must stay in that debt service only
111to pay principal and interest for outstanding debt. Thank you for clarifying that cuz I think people might see that as uh, an opportunity to claim those funds and apply that to something else as part of our budget, um, but it's it's not and I think your uh, explanation of that was helpful, but I wanted to make sure that was clear. The sources and uses of funds is actually pretty complicated um, part of public school finance and I just appreciate your detail orientation acumen on all of that. Thank you. Director Anderson. Um, thank you for explaining what debt service budget is. >> Director Anderson, I'm sorry, just a second. I missed I missed a step. I missed a step. Uh is there any public comment in the room on this topic? Is there any on Zoom?
112Okay. Director Anderson. Again, thank you for explaining what debt service budget is. Not being a finance person, this was very helpful. I just have one question about what assumptions are used to calculate the 17.6 million. So, that is part of our finance financing plan with Piper Sandler. I'm I'm not going to go into specifics of how they calculate that. We we have that presentation on March 26th that goes into that calculation. He does dive into that 17.6, but it is an estimate. So, right now we did check in with them. We asked, you know, is that about the amount that you're estimating for what we would potentially see on the bond sale date, which is right now for May 27th. And he said, yes, you know, it's pretty close to that. It might be a
113little less than that, but it it might be more, you know, just cuz a lot can happen in the next few weeks. But that is the estimated rate. So, it's the rate of interest in when they originally sold the bonds. The you know, it's the rate of interest, so that change, that's the saving. So, it's a different rate. Just like if you were refinancing if I want to, you know, refinance the house from 6.2 to 4.5, you know, in that regard. So, you get savings in how much you're paying in interest over time. Okay. Thank you. I'll go back to that presentation to get that the details as you mentioned. Thank you. Director Quinn. Uh Mariah, again, thank you for the presentation tonight. I think Um, you know, and thank you to you and Martin
114and the team for um, as superintendent said, your your public school funding acumen. It's complicated. Um, and so I was thinking I was sitting with this as a finance professional myself. I was sitting with this last night thinking about, okay, let's talk about I kind of wanted to pull some So, maybe just um uh, humor me for a minute. I wanted to kind of talk through this a little bit um, and have you kind of confirm some of this cuz it on face value, this idea of increasing the debt service uh, fund capacity could sound bad, frankly. And I think members of the community might see it and say, "Ooh, this is really bad." But if you actually look it up it will tell you it's a good thing. So, I want to walk through
115this again. You already did but I just want to go through it again. Um So, um, you know, face value this sounds bad but I want to you we go we go back to kind of what in you know, instigated this. So, bond refinancing essentially instigated it which is good at face value. That, you know, I think everyone in the community can understand that because it allows taxpayers, you know, to lock in a lower lower interest rate and then and that thus reduce their taxes. Um you know, I think when we do that bond refinancing may require an increase to the debt service fund um, because new uh, bonds may alter uh, debt service obligations and reserve fund requirements necessitating additional funds to ensure timely payments um, using existing debt service reserves which are restricted
116so they already here. They're um and I think we've you know, we've clearly we've made that very clear um, and it's no change to what's already been voter approved so this isn't pulling from anywhere else. Um, and then just bringing me to my last point around an increase in the debt service fund is a positive sign as it indicates the district has more resources available to meet its debt obligations. So, I want to just make sure we're sitting in that cuz again, face value and again, I'm talking to whoever is out in the ether which probably is one person um, listening to this, but um, I want to make sure people understand that this is not something that is bad. And I think sometimes we tend to go there in the community thinking, "Hey, and
117and at face value again, this could sound bad." So, I just want to reconfirm that this is in fact a good thing. And I don't know, Maria, if there's anything you would pull from what I mentioned there, too. Oh, sorry. Yeah, thanks, Director Coin. I'll just I'll just say it a different way, too. When we started when we budgeted last year, we budgeted for what we knew our debt service payments were going to be, our principal and interest. We went into the year. We knew we had We knew we had these reserves, but we didn't know that there was an opportunity. So, now we know that there's an opportunity with the refunding to utilize some of our reserve. That's why we're asking for the authority to use that reserve. So, that's why it's a good
118thing. It's to say, "We've identified an opportunity in the district. We'd like to utilize it." This gives us gives us the authority to use the full extent of our reserve. No. And those And those funds were there, too. That's the other thing. We're not pulling from from taxpayer dollars, additional taxpayer dollars. Thank you. Trustee Billings. Great conversation so far. So, um I'd like to do a couple things before I get to my question. And one is, again, I will always go back to this concept of transparency. And um I know after 6 years of this that this is an incredibly hard bouncing ball to follow. Um what makes up the budget and finance, and I'm just so glad they have quality people like you to do this. But the the best place that I always
119reground when we get to topics like this, so when this was on the agenda that I pulled back up was the guide to understanding the budget. The guide to understanding the budget lives out on on the district website. And just in case no one can find it, it you go to ISD 411, cuz I just did this so I can get it myself, cuz I didn't have my printed copy. And then under about us, there's departments, and in departments, there's a section for finance. And so by budget year, there's a new guide to understand the budget cuz there's changes each year. So there's a finance and budget section. The most important page for me to just get re-grounded in this topic to prepare myself, it's page 24 in that document. And it is the description
120of the overview of the budget, the different components that make up um because the budget of the school district isn't a singular thing. It is made up of 1 2 3 5 different funds. And those funds in concert are used together to operate this wonderful ecosystem. As you said, Maya, earlier, we normally will talk about the general funds. Usually general fund, we're talking about general fund. Um for building, we talk about the capital fund. We sometimes talk about transportation very very lightly. We rarely talk about ASB. I can't remember the last time we talked about the funds for student activities. And then the one we never talk about is the debt service fund. Um which is what we're talking about now. But that dollars come in from different sources to serve different purposes. In this
121case, just to go back to my trans So that is how people get to this, cuz I know I was talking about this guide to understand the budget, but I thought, how do I find it? And I could tell people that, so I did that. In this case, we get back to transparency. We are on, I think, our fourth conversation in the public around bond refunding. It's at least three. I think this is number four. So we did one to kind of set up the opportunity two with Piper Sandler and the other lawyers, again, in public meetings, and now this one. So not only is it complicated, not only are there multiple funds, but we're going through it in a sequential way that we have to in order to make this all work to get
122to this this piece, which is about the debt service fund. Am I repeating all that in an accurate way about what we're doing? Yes. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Because again, I think I think there's tremendous transparency. It There's also tremendous complexity. And so sometimes people will be confronted by that complexity and believe that there's a lack of transparency. In this case, I know that you guys are just The transparency is there. So, in this wonderful page 24, there is the description of all the different funds and what they do. The debt service fund, again, we I think I've talked about this three times in my six years. The fund is used to account for the accumulation of resources for and the payment of mature general long-term debt principal and interest. That's what this fund is
123for. It's not for anything else. Not for paying people. It's not for painting buildings. It's not for fixing roofs. It's not for salaries. It's not for anything else. It is for this unique purpose. Yes? Yes. So, the So, we had prior bonds that were voter approved. Yes. And those had payment schedules, um typically over 10 years. And so, every year during the budget process, we look at what are the, you know, upcoming bond payments. We um we have a levy certification that's put in front of the board in November. And that certifies to pay for those. And so, we monitor that very, very closely so that we keep our high bond credit rating. Cuz if we don't have enough money, you you know, that would impact um our bond credit rating. And so, um and
124over time you do have some accumulation. You also want some buffer in there as well. Um they they do want you to have that in there. Um so over time and now we're able to uh use those funds that have accumulated for an additional debt service payment. And that is all that it can be used for. Yes. So, if I go back to the examples that I I know and love, I have a house, I have a mortgage, I'm going to pay for that over time. If I happen to win the lottery, I get, you know, a little bit of extra money. I'm like, "Hey, I can't pay off all of my house, but I can pay a little bit more of my house. I can do that and then save the interest that I
125would pay for the rest of the 30 years." Yeah. Same concept. Correct? >> Yes. Yes. It doesn't mean like but in my but in your case, I could also go to Hawaii with my lottery money. You can't. No. The only thing the money's available to do is it's the lottery of paying down the mortgage principal and interest, right? It's a very specific lottery win unlike in my real-life scenario where I could be like, "Let's go to Hawaii." It we are ecstatic that this will save taxpayers money. Yes, so am I. That's why I'm spending a little time on this. So, I'm going to ask so so cuz I know these questions. So, now that we know what the service is, what what this fund is, what it's available to be done that it is the
126whole point is our fiduciary responsibility to save the taxpayer money. Once they've entrusted us with the funds, we're lowering the burden. That's our responsibility. This is our opportunity again after four meetings. I think it's four, but it might have been three, but I think it's four meetings. We come to the completion of the process. The question becomes, but is there a way really? Could we maybe petition someone somewhere or do some other fancy process that allows us instead of paying principal and interest only to do something else? You'd have to change state law. Of the state of Washington? >> Yes. Perfect. >> You'd have to change the Washington State Accounting Manual. Great. >> And the guidelines within that. Which clearly the five of us don't have the opportunity to do. So we are going to
127execute our fiduciary responsibility. At least that's With which the same state law has given us to do, which is to take the opportunity to save on the interest to save the taxpayer money. Um I think those are all my questions. Thank you. Any other comments? Oh, George Cloutier. I want to just highlight one more thing. I know we're kind of leading you to these, but um the high high bond rating. We talked about that earlier. I know we talked about that a lot, but just prudence around that and maybe just kind of surfacing that. These are all of the things we do to retain our high bond rating and maybe just the high bond rating means what for our community again? Well, that helps us get the best interest rate possible um when we're going
128to do this bond sale. And so um that saves taxpayers money over time. Um so it's it's very it is it shows also a lot of credibility for our finances. Um the different They look at our processes, our outlook. Um they dig in quite a lot and we have um you know, we have presentations and back and forth um them asking us questions to determine that outlook with us. Um so yes, it's a it's a very important and we are at in the at the top of the state with our um bond credit rating. Well, that brings us kind of full circle, too. I mean, that's what allowed us to really be able to do the bond refinancing is that high bond rating. So, again, I think, you know, want to make sure the community
129understands that. You don't just get a high bond rating. There's work that goes into that, too. So, all right, that's everything I have. Way to put a bow on it. Okay. Um all right, any other comments? Okay, we have a motion to accept resolution number 1264. All in favor, please say I. I. No one opposed. And the motion passes. Great. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay. Next up on our agenda is a strategic plan update on priority area five, organizational effectiveness. Uh I believe we have a presentation from the administration. Great. So, as uh Mr. Marcel Hazard takes the podium, um this is the last of our strategic plan priority areas updates for the board. Um and this is a helpful setting of the stage as we move into reflecting on some opportunities for
130how we might adjust our strategic plan for the next 3-year cycle. So, over to you. Good evening, board, student reps, and potentially the more than one person at home watching. A special hello from Director Coin and I if you're watching. So, I we hope we hope. So, this one will be a little quicker. So, we we have our third our fifth and final priority area, so organizational effectiveness. So, we're going to share some updates on the work. This will roll into results one, which will be in the June 9th, I believe, board meeting. So, we hope this this sort of sequence of of sharing out what's here will what lead into a productive conversation on the night. So, with that, again, this has been shared the previous three board meetings. We ground ourselves in our
131mission, vision, and goals for students. The how tonight we'll talk about the strategic plan in organizational effectiveness, the work primarily in that priority area. And again, this is another reminder slide that there are system health indicators that we've tracked over the past 3 years. Now, I would say related to this priority area, it supports all of the the the system health indicators. So, I think about it as the the engine to the car. So, organizational effectiveness is enabling, right, the other system work to take place. So, it then leads to the results that we hope we see for students. And again, we shared this last board meeting around alignment. So, this is work that we'll continue to do to think about how the work is aligned to the the board policies. And this, you know,
132as we go into the refresh, this will also be part of the exercise, I would assume. That is as we think about how is it directly aligned to the board policy. And with that, I would say this was the fastest I've been on the mic because we're at Martin now. So, with that, before the chief attorney takes the mic, we're going to talk a little bit about enabling conditions. And I would just say it's super supportive. Like, this has been an area that sometimes we don't talk a lot about or it's sort of the last thing we we speak on, but I really do feel like it's it's been a really important area the past 3 years to support the other work. So, with that, chief attorney, let's hear about the good work that's been
133happening over this last year. Mark. Awesome. All right. Thank you, Mr. Hauser. Here to talk about priority area five, organizational effectiveness. These are two strategies. First one about continuous improvement and getting a cycle in place for the district. And the second one is really about an equity-based budget framework to meet our goal there. Just going to put this up. I'm not going to read the bullet points. This is from last year when we presented 24-25 just as a reminder of what we took from that review. Now kind of getting into the current year 25 26 progress. First goal area being the continuous improvement. Um, wanted to share that we've been expanding our Actually, before I do that, I want to thank Laura Carmichael who was the lead on this. Tremendous work, been doing putting a
134lot of effort in. There's a lot of creation of some standard operating procedures and things that she's been working on. So, I just want to say thanks to her for going to it. Um, and so we've been expanding. She's been leading this um getting our lean capacity through some training. Leadership alignment really meaning that we have folks who are coming on board in our district who have a background in this and have been trained. And so we're really getting ourselves connected together. Um, as we go forward as a team. We're establishing strategic partnerships. I think we mentioned this previously, but we actually had another opportunity to get connected with the state auditor's office that has their lean um continuous improvement section where they provide training and project assistance. So, a little bit on that. We
135partnered again with the state auditor's office. We had a lean continuous improvement training that we had all of operations, some other departments communications comes to mind. I know some others joined us. So, we had a nice long afternoon of learning about the the tools and strategies. We use this to kind of start thinking about how we're establishing our own framework in the district and having some common tools and language that we use. Um, and we begin to launch with kind of the operations departments being that we're going to we are going to start documenting some projects having a repository and if we start in operations we can accumulate those before we expand out in the further uh district departments so that we already you know, we have a kind of a a demonstration, some examples
136to show folks when we do that. All right. So, um, next steps in the continuous improvement area is again, um, moving on to those expanding out into other uh, departments, launching those district level improvement projects by trained leaders, um, sustaining this relationship with the state auditor's office. Um, one um, reason being that when we get to larger projects, we take on larger interdepartment projects, they will come and they will actually help us. They'll sit down with us and and make sure uh, we can go through those. Some of our initial projects going to be some of those things that are a little bit, you know, things that we've known we need to improve or they're a little simpler to don't take as much time. We're going to get our um, ourselves trained up and then
137we're going to tackle some bigger stuff. So, we're going to build that capacity with staff over time. Um, okay, quickly one slide on goal area two or goal two. We have talked about this um, in the past. We have now embedded this equity-based budgeting uh, framework into our annual budget process. All right, so this is just a normal part of our routine now, uh, aligning those resources to student needs using data uh, and directing the target investments to schools um, and programs with the greatest need. So, uh, just have some, you know, just added a graphic up there to remind us of what the investment looks like, um, but again, this is now part of our annual budget process. One spotlight, I'm going to just take another step back to continuous improvement. Did want to
138show this. This is kind of the the framework that we're using. This is what um, the auditor's office uh, teaches on and this is kind of that simple lean circle. You you may have seen something like this in other forms over time. It's kind of that plan, do, uh, check, adjust. So, you you formulate the pro, you know, you define the problem and the approach. You do a revision to whatever you're you're working on. You check and measure that and then you adjust as needed. So, these are the things that we're looking to do, making that a district-wide framework, establishing our common tools so we're speaking the same language. People can interpret and look up examples and and know how they can potentially apply it to their departments and focus on process, not necessarily people
139during this. So, that is my round up of the priority area five. Quickly, next steps. The strategic plan refresh first read on May 28th. The second read on June 9th with results one report also on that date. And that rounds it out. Great thing. Yep. Thank you. Can you go back to slide eight, which is the enabling conditions? I think this is an important part to build upon what uh Mr. Haser said and sort of your set up for next steps, Mr. Tony. The commitment to operational expectations and excellence is very deliberate here because because of the policy coherent governance model that the board operates under, we have operational expectations. And so, I wanted to name here that I as we continue to think about the next round of strategic plan in the years, we
140want to make sure that we are looking at our operations and our operational expectations to really be the sort of undergirding kind of force behind teaching and learning. So, you'll see for example, number one, which might have lived potentially under a priority area that we've heard about already, diverse talent, as really the fuel across everything. The engine, I think is in the car as Mr. Haser mentioned. So, you'll see some of our work kind of shifting and molding into sort of what we just do as part of our commitment to these expectations and our our excellent work. So, as number five would be to really continue to allocate resources effectively and use continuous improvement methods. So, that's how we're starting to make that that thread and that through line from what's happening operationally um to
141support teaching and learning. I don't know if you want to comment more of it. I just want to add to that. Thanks. Um just a bit of feedback. Um so, for slide 12, uh lean work that's being planned but hasn't happened yet. Um in the future, I would love to see what those measurable improvements are that comes from that lean work. Um I think that that would be helpful to just to understand, you know, the impact of that. Um and then on slide 14 in regards to equity-based budgeting, um I'm just curious what information was used to identify the five schools uh that were listed as high need against our other 22 in the district. Yeah, the So, for the equity-based budgeting, it is a this composite of IEP percentages, um multilingual learner information, math
142proficiency, and low low-income status. So, um I have I have further detail. We can get into some of the how the scoring works, but um just right off the top of my head, that's kind of the high level. Okay. Yep. Thank you. Yep. Um I have a reflection before I get to my comment and I don't know if there'll be a question. My my reflection is just to really thinking back to when we started this process of the strategic plan and um just the incredible amount of effort it took to shape the plan um three years ago, I guess, when we did it. But now looking at the output in each of these sections, Just I I have an incredible amount of gratitude for the execution against that strategic plan and the amount of um
143individual effort and structures and just even looking at um you know, you get into lean, you're speaking to my like my love language, but finding like identifying that there was a need to fulfill as the groundwork across many of these initiatives and being able to find a provider provider that could help support in the learning an existing partner at no cost, it it's just a tremendous um uh accomplishment, right? We it it's very hard to do all those things in one in in one step, right? You can pay consultants to call you all day. Um you can think about doing one piece then just in the silo, but um what you just went through, while short and sweet, just actually very elegant um in the way it was approached, elegant in the um the way
144it's been pursued, and I think the the outcome of it, like we sat in this boardroom communicating even the concept of equity-based budgeting to other school boards 2 years ago, and people were like, "What are you talking about?" We're like, "We we have to figure out a way not to do this as a peanut butter approach. And oh, by the way, I know that that causes disruption. I understand that." But ultimately, the service it provides to this community to look at the series of data points you mentioned, we spent time in a work study going through them, what they meant, and across schools, and to really say we will have the conviction to put additional resources where we see um an increase in need is just not conviction we saw in any of our peer
145districts at the time. And so, I I just my reflection is just this is a short presentation, but I I really couldn't let the moment go without saying, "This is This is transformative what exists in these slides. And are we there yet? No. But the process of becoming is is It's clear that it's underway, and it's clear that we're um that the district is taking the steps in order to become. And I'm just I'm very grateful. Again, short, but really elegant in in what we see here and as the underpinning for everything else. Um now my comment I probably made my comment about the zero dollar on the lean training. People pay a lot of money for lean training, so that's really cool. Um And then the I like the scaling out um approach. I
146I think uh the nerd in me would love to, you know, get into this methodology on continuous improvement and talk about like how do we insert some good checkpoints or phase gates in here so the board can kind of we can do some check for understanding, we can make sure we keep alignment, but um I I'm just deeply appreciative of of all of the um work against the strategic plan. And I want to acknowledge that it is a tremendous amount of work to get here as well as change where has been driven in the district, and that's not always I'm sure the happiest thing people get to do every day, but is incredibly necessary. Yeah. Can I just on the heels of that just mention that I forgot to thank Mariah Bannister for the equity-based
147buzzword. When you start talking about how much work was put into it, I totally skipped over her when I had that slide, so let me just Yeah. Sorry. Director Cohen. Um well, uh I hate to go after you cuz that that praise was the way to end it actually. I just have two things I want to elevate. Um yeah. >> [laughter] >> I'm going to get it on it. Uh but one, yes, wonderful work with this. I think two things I want to pull out because when you mentioned Laura Carmichael and um, the uh, district wide lean framework and that she had really helped to lead that. Um, just the idea that I know district leaders were assigned to the five priority areas and I think that that's something that's useful to remind the community
148of. Like this was a a group effort and people were put were were assigned across these areas and so it's great to hear someone who, you know, was leading our nurses across, you know, the district was the one who who really led this. So, pretty cool. I thought with that. And then just one note too on equity-based budgeting um, to also elevate that great work, too. That this is also something that's a, you know, I I know the superintendent I think mentioned with the fact meetings, but we have these open meeting up meetings with uh, members of the community and members of the district that are part of that as well. Um, we've had several conversations around equity-based budgeting, you know, as just broadly about the budget, too, but um, just want to stress that,
149too, that this isn't just a post-conversation. We have representatives, again, who are who are part of that committee that you're part of that that dialogue as well. So, again, great work. Yeah, just what Director Moling stole all of my thunder, just about. But, uh, >> [laughter] >> um, but yeah, I'm going to say, you know, the same thing I think having the opportunity not just tonight to go over this portion of the plan, but over the last many weeks, all portions of the plan and really to be able to see the fruits of the efforts that have been made across the district is really great and it shows the importance of the need for creating a strategic plan. I love a strategic plan like nobody's business, but for this reason, because it categorizes the work.
150It um, shows the work that is being done, easy to point to the work that's being done, you know, as you proceed through the the periodic time getting getting the work done. And then it categorizes it for our community where we can easily point to hey that these are the these are the priority areas we've worked in. Here's the cascading impact we have had in these spaces and easy to go back and reflect on that as it in in summary. So I'm very excited for the new strategic plan. I know there's probably a lot of lessons learned in that you know this will work will even get more tightened up as we move forward and it's just it's an exciting way to look forward to what we can anticipate in in the near future. So
151thank you to everyone that has done all of this work. Any other comments before we Superintendent do you have anything? I just want to say thank you to Marcel Hauser who's led us all in this effort to keep us on track, but there is a very deliberate methodology that he has been trained in which is around deliverology and that's about delivering impact and results. And so when Director mentions there's ownership and assignment to a priority area, a goal, a strategy, it's a very deliberate intention of trying to line up the work, but also of providing potentially leadership opportunities for others in the system who might be not exactly doing that work in their day-to-day, but how it can connect has been a real part of how we build capacity and capabilities, but it's about delivering
152impact. A lot of times and we talked about this in the very beginning with Mr. Hauser as as he was launching in the in the in the initial strategic plan for the district. A lot of strategic plans are like 90% policy and 10% implementation, but we have a lot of policies, right? So we don't need more policy, we need more focus, prioritization, and ability to to implement to execute successfully. So this really help bring a laser-like focus. I mean we still have a lot of work to do. I'm not suggesting that we're only focusing on this, but it does it does bring that level of commitment to the things that we want to prioritize and and adapt. So, it's a 3-year cycle deliberately so we can change and adjust course as well. So, just thank
153you, Mr. Hauser, for bringing that to the district. Great. Thank you very much. Okay, next up on the agenda is legislative matters. Uh this is an opportunity to share any legislative updates that we are aware of. Director Anderson. Well, we've discussed uh legislative matters as part of our plethora of recaps. Um uh looking forward to potential uh city engagement uh with Sammamish, Newcastle, and Renton. I believe Newcastle might be next. I don't know. I I think I think I saw Yeah. I think it Yeah, I don't think we've heard formally. Um so, that's exciting. Um I also wanted to highlight uh Director Mullins mentioned moderating the fifth legislative town hall, which I also attended. That occurred last Tuesday, April 28th, and featured uh Senator Hunt, Representative Callan, and Representative Hall. Um the event was held
154at Gibson Ek High School. Um so, thank you to Gibson Ek for hosting. And I think we had about 50 or so community members attend. Um they submitted uh questions, which I think we got through about seven or eight of them. Um which centered around things like energy cost, education, cost of living, recycling of mattresses, >> [laughter] >> which is an awesome topic. Yep. Yep. >> Um anything else, Director Mullins, that you can think of that in regards to the town hall? >> Yeah, I mean, I learned quite a bit about the battery Mhm. Um like recycling facility. I I think that's what it is in Snoqualmie. And um I thought it was I thought it was great. I thought people, you know, to give up their evening and to come in and share. And
155I think you know, we're so lucky. We have such engaged legislators who are like, "If we have to leave the building, I'll talk to you in the out in the parking lot." And so, that isn't everywhere. So, I I was happy to participate, and it's harder than you think to go through what people are trying to ask on those cards. >> [laughter] >> And read handwriting, I'm sure. What was there any discussion about educational funding? Yes. >> There There was. >> Yeah, go ahead. Uh there was, which um to which uh Representative Callan had a spirited spirited and lengthy um you know, answer to. But yes, there was a conversation about what can be done. And you know, I think they shared their They all shared their disappointment and some of the recent changes, their
156continued commitment to helping support what we're you know, what we're trying to get done and their understanding that we're not done done yet, but I think that was maybe one of the questions of the night. Okay. Yeah. Uh wrote I I learned that Washington has, >> [clears throat] >> I guess, one of the highest levels of waste on our roadways. And I thought, "Really?" That was at least what was on the card. Yeah. So, there you go. Okay. Um and then just the only other thing is it is filing week this week for uh PCOs, legislative representative, and regional and Supreme Court judges. Um so, they're going through that filing process this week. I was reflecting on my own filing process a year ago. Um and so, that's happening as well. Okay. Yep. Thank you
157very much, Director Anderson. Um next is announcements and correspondence. This is an opportunity for the board members to add any other correspondence they've received that is not already reported. Does anybody have anything? Yeah, okay. Moving along. Uh and now we're to our final agenda item, calendar and future agenda topics. Uh I think the only thing we have to discuss tonight is moving the start time for our June 9th regular board meeting to 7:30 p.m. I have a motion. Oh, there is a motion to do that as there should be. Yes. >> [laughter] >> Yes, please. I move the board move I move the board move the start time for the June 9, 2026 regular board meeting from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. I second. All those in favor? Oh. So, do we vote on these? We
158will, but I just don't know what what is the reason >> Executive session is fine. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oh, wonderful. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All in favor? I. >> I. Very well. Anything else that we need to discuss? Hearing none.