001It might help if I turn on my microphone. Thank you. Um, so again, it's hardly So again, um, sorry. Second. >> Okay. Um, so again, public comment is allowed during specific agenda items that are scheduled for possible and anticipated board action. Uh, during those items, this includes a profile of a graduate, OE14, instructional program policy review and language revision, procon statement, committee appointments, and the monitoring report for OE1. So, please wait to be recognized by the board president. At this time, the people I have signed up are for specific items. So, not general public comment. Is there anyone here for general public comment? Uh, no, that one. That's actually okay. Hearing none, I will not go through the spiel for general public comment. And we will move on to the approval of the consent agenda.
002I move the consent agenda be approved as presented. >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. I. >> Any nays? The eyes have it. And uh the consent agenda passes. Establishment of the regular agenda. Are there any changes to the regular agenda? Uh there was a a change that to add um after the advanced notice went out on Tuesday the topic of an OE14 policy discussion, but it was well ahead of the timeline of a 24-hour posting for um the meeting, but I wanted to note that for the board and the public. >> Thank you. Uh the first item on our regular agenda is the board town halls recap. So on October 27th and October 28th, the board held town halls specifically in regards to our um profile of a graduate work.
003So at this time this is an opportunity for the board to share its thoughts regarding what we heard from the public. And would anyone like to start? >> Director Willings. So, as you said, we did town halls on back-to-back nights. One in the south end at Maywood. Uh, good to see some of those folks here tonight as well as then at IMS. [clears throat] What I thought was great about this town town hall and I think a format we need to continue is kind of coming in with more structured discussion and this one was specifically around the profile of the graduate. There was however uh time at the end of each of those sessions to um have open discussion for any of the other topics folks had brought. So felt good that we could do
004both in that in that session. I think um both were pretty well attended which was good to see. I think that we're building up a little bit momentum of having people come out and and join the conversation uh as well as have that opportunity to have a back and forth more of a back and forth conversation or to hear about what we actually think um what our experiences what our questions are which is nice. I know we have a longer discussion on the specific topic of the profile of graduate, but I think it was a good time spent to talk about, you know, looking forward, how can we be shaping the time we have with our students starting in preK all the way up through high school um and use that to shape absolutely their
005academic growth and their experiences. But what are the additional skills we want um all of our students to leave with that will be durable that will help them traverse the changes um you know in our next revolution if you will of the ways of working and so I think um the public who joined us was really happy to have that conversation and happy to think about more of the whole student in the time that we had. So uh very good use of time and glad that we could uh have both conversations. >> Great. Thank you. Director Gallinger, >> I think that uh we also heard at both sessions some themes that were common about youth mental health and uh a more um comprehensive cell phone policy for the district. And then there were individual concerns
006brought by Safo attended and I think one of them that I was I think we should get more information from and obviously we're talking about budget tonight uh would be uh question about how budget allocations are done and what the impacts are for how do we mitigate when we're in an era of decreasing budgets and while still holding true to like what it is we absolutely are impassionate about for kids that we the must haves versus like the hey here here is the part and I think for me I took away is not that there's a question of decision but how do we make sure we communicate the like what it is we're doing and like that we're still open to hearing feedback. So, I appreciated that we had a good mix of parents and
007community members and staff at both of them. And as someone who lives up in Smamish, I would advocate for us to schedule one for Samish, too. >> Director Taylor, >> just a few comments. I made that essentially my colleagues here kind of made all the the key points that I I share as well. But I was very pleased with the turnout that we had at our town halls and we used the whole time. It was a really good robust conversation back and forth. I think we we got a lot of good information, lots of good questions, but I thought the real value was in the reactions we were getting from people to the to the profile work that we were um exposing them to. So, it's great. We'll talk more about that a little bit
008later um tonight. So overall, um, just a really great conversation and I think I'll save most of the rest of my comments for later when we talk about the portrait of a graduate. >> Harley, >> one last thing, uh, shout out to our student representatives who came. So, uh, Chris and Rex, thank you so much. Uh, we appreciate it and I think that the audience who was there also appreciate it and hearing from students and your perspective uh, is really valued. I hope you saw and felt that while you're there. >> Yeah. Great. Thank you. Um yes, and I I appreciated the opportunity to hear from our community that is made up of uh parents, students, and staff. Um so being able to have all of them representing really sharing with us not only what
009they wanted to know around the portrait of a graduate, but what they wanted us to know about their students and about their schools. And I think all of those pieces are really important. Um, and yes, rescheduling for uh the Seamish community. I don't know why they wouldn't want to trek all the way to Maywood. Um, I do know why. Um, but I think uh giving them an opportunity to share. I think what I appreciate is that you'll hear the results of those conversations in the next in the conversation we have around uh the portrait of a graduate. Um, any thoughts, superintendent? Oh, you were not able to be there. Any any thoughts from what you saw as a result? >> Uh, I'm I'm so glad that there was high attendance and I think that's an
010important part of engaging with the community and I appreciate the board for making the time and as a reminder that there was other things happening in the world locally that um did lead to the rescheduling of the Samish area skyline feeder pattern um town hall. So, uh thank you. I also wanted to give an opportunity if assistant superintendent Downey if you wanted to say something or if Chris or Rex wanted to Oh, Rex's not um if Chris want if you wanted to share anything, you're welcome to about the town halls. No, I'm seeing no Chris, come on. You were a superstar when you got there. >> Thank you. Thank you. Um, I think my biggest takeaway is that at least within our district, we all have the same passion for making sure that, you know,
011at the end of the day, what students learn can help them in the real world and the world beyond. And I think a lot of conversation at the town halls went handinhand with what's on the profile of the graduate. So, I'm really excited to see it be implemented and see the next steps. But, I think it's a really good conversation. There were a lot of other conversations outside the profile of the graduate. So, >> great. Thank you. Okay. Any other thoughts or we'll move on. So, the next item on there is board member comments. Um, so I did take a little, you know, uh, privilege of being the president and added this to the agenda item and I'm going to start balling like a baby. Um, but tonight marks my last full board meeting, school
012board meeting after 16 years. And so I do have some items that I thought I would reflect on. Um, first of all, I thought my last meeting was going to be November 30th. I thought it said that on our website that that's when I was no longer a school board member, but apparently this board's going to keep me busy all the way up until the 11th of December. Um, which I love. I love that I still get to be involved in many of those conversations. Um, but I'm thinking about where the district was and where they are today and how vastly different um, our community looks after 16 years. Um, I will say that I started all of this um, as a, you know, I started in PTSA as a legislative rep. I did lots
013of stuff with PTSA. Um but really getting involved in this thing around how schools are funded was my advocacy before I was even on the board. Um one of them was about um needing a 60% to pass a levy back in the day. So that's how long I've been doing work supporting and working towards uh providing best opportunities for students. And for me um I have to say it at least one more time for you. uh at the heart of my work has been all means all and all all means. Um and as a mom of students uh that receive special services, I didn't know when I started how much that was going to impact my work here and be able to say and drive things forward and I had such an opportunity to make
014substantial change and so I appreciate that. So, I am looking back at the work that I feel like I've accomplished. I've served with 10 schoolboard members over my time. Um, the first thing I worked on was looking at um discipline data. So, it's interesting that we're talking about discipline later on, but our discipline discipline data and how skewed it was when we were able to first see that disagregated by race. And it was at that point that I'm like, if I go back to my statement, all means all and that's all all means. And we have a substantial number of students which back in the day was exclusionary practices. You got you were out of school. You may might have gotten a 90-day suspension which meant you weren't finishing that quarter or that semester, which
015set you up for failure. And I just thought we are failing kids on purpose. And that was at the heart of my work. And I'm like, if this really means all means all, what am I going to do differently? And I started to pursue how we were going to implement equity. That's when that apparently it's a dirty word now. That's when equity started to really be a conversation in school districts. And I thought that's at the heart of what we need to do. And how do we codify it? [snorts] And so to be a fundamental reason we have an equity policy today that some people might complain about. Um, and really making sure that it was not about quotas. It was not about winners and losers. It was about every single student, each and every
016student finding success. And so I am really proud of that policy, even being probably the most radically conservative person on the board. Um that I will say that that work is important and um and I'm glad that we're moving forward and that we were able to accomplish that. um over the past couple of years the inclusion process uh policy the inclusion work that our teachers are doing I know it's hard uh universal design for learning and if for our public if you want to go find information about that that's kind of what we're calling when we talk about the inclusion model it is hard work it is challenging work but it's work that we've now decided to do because it is about all students all means all and that's all all means um even discussions
017about the gifted program. I don't know if most of you know that I have served on the OSPI gifted advisory um board for at least 10 of the past 16 years. And uh because I had a kid that was what they call twice exceptional. Yes, he was on an IEP and he also knew how to he knew the concept of negative numbers as a four-year-old. So clearly, how do you marry those two things together? and our system has not been great at that. And yet we lead in so many of the factors of um of as as far as testing and identifying. And so being able to see that we now have a bill and changes are being made so that what we've been doing since before I've been on the board is now something
018that's going to be required for all school districts. Testing of students during the school day at their school, every student. three different types of testing, some of them non-verbal, to be able to identify giftedness. I think that's important work and we've been doing it for a long time um and providing that opportunity. I still think that we as a district have work to do to be leaders in the next step of that. What does gifted programming really look like? And I [snorts] think you heard me say at the meeting when we were talking about that they call it a gifted program because they take what they're doing and they wrap it in a gift and they only give it to certain kids. So how do you take what we do for gifted kids so that
019it's meaningful for them that they're able to meet their full potential um while still making sure that we're providing good programming for all students. My voice is starting to get scratchy. I'm sorry about that. And then I started thinking about the advocacy work that I've done um in my time just 16 years ago. We were under No Child Left Behind. And probably some of the teachers are like, I remember when. Um, but for I think many of you may not be familiar with what that was and that literally state testing was being used to judge schools and if you did not meet certain growth measures year overyear, you could be taken over by the state government and the board would be removed, teachers would be removed, principles would be removed. And so to be able
020to be part of the federal advocacy all these years and it took years. It took at least six years to be able to get that fundamentally changed um working with um you know for us at the time the chair of the education committee in the Senate was Patty Murray. So Washington state had additional influence to be able to come up with the um elementary and secondary education act as it is today. and all of those stringent um accountability measures were removed and that um it is more of a partnership. I also think I was here before the McCclary decision. In fact, was very much a part of my key advocacy was um how we was going to fund schools post McCclary. And while we still have more work to do in that area, um it
021certainly drove more state dollars to Isiqua. We went from being 290th in out of 295 school districts. So now I think what where are we at now? Are we back down there again? We were at the like the 180 point. >> Exactly. [snorts] But we're still at the bottom. >> So we were at the bottom bottom before. Um and then um more recently putting getting more additional funding for special education and that's been a a lot of the work of this whole board has been very diligent in its advocacy. Um but those are my takeaways from how different things have been over the past 16 years. And I truly am going to miss this work and I'm going to miss this board. I'm going to miss these amazing students that I I didn't even put
022that down. Implementing the new um uh student rep program that we have. Um being able to choose handpick this year. I didn't get to handpick all of you, but I did get to handpick some of you. Um I mean it's just amazing. And I'm going to miss all you wonderful staff. Um, I'm thinking Martin, are you the only one? Donna was not in the central building. I think Martin was the only one in this room that was in the central building when I started. So, um, but we really appreciate all the work of the staff. Uh, the teachers, um, really do appreciate all that. Uh, and I'm going to cry about this one, too. I just want to take a special time to give a heartfelt condolence to um to Gary's family. He was an
023amazing teacher. I remember going into his classroom the first time and it was so quiet and I think that was for me one of my kids the thing about my kids is that there was visible noise and there was not visible noise in his classroom and I'm like Gary this is such a peaceful room to be in where kids can focus on learning but he was also a great IEA president and he negotiated a really good opportunity for our teachers and he will be greatly missed And so I want to offer condolence to his family. So that that was my time. Um and thank you for giving me a time to speak to you this one last meeting. Okay. So the next item on the agenda and real easy works in >> I don't think
024that's what we're doing. We're going to take a second and let us say a couple words. I'm not ready to say my words, but we're [snorts] going to start with Haron. Uh there's so much to reflect on there. There's so much growth the district has taken. You know, I think uh when I joined the board, the equity work uh you know, pushing that across the line, but that statement was just the beginning. And to see fast forward a decade later how it's infiltrating every part of our policy and then getting deeper into district operations from finance. You got to see like equity based budgeting come to fruition. >> Yeah. >> You got to see us open an early learning center where we get to focus on equity for our earliest learners. Uh it has been
025a privilege to work alongside you as you are a fierce advocate for change at the federal level at the state level. I certainly wouldn't have been able to get involved at that without seeing and watching you work uh all the work and contributions you did to the state and all of the 1477 school directors as the president of WASDA and the enduring work and legacy that you leave not just here in Isiqua but across the state. You didn't talk about being an SBA board member. There's there's so many places and spaces that you touched and uh we would be here a long time to reflect on all of them. But I just want to extend my gratitude for uh your uh persistence and your joy and your mentorship. I wouldn't be here today without it.
026Thank you. >> Thank you. >> We'll we'll go in age order. Um, so I came to this work six years ago, uh, in some sort of odd predestined manner. [laughter] Um, and when I arrived at the work, there's a lot I just didn't know. Um, I didn't even know that after I was appointed, I had to run for election, which is what Marne chose to tell me at our first coffee meeting. And I was like, "Oh, okay. I guess that's what I have to do." And so for six years now, I have had the absolute honor of serving with you, of learning from you. Um I think that you and I are a very unlikely duo in many ways. Um but has been an incredible uh partnership um and opportunity and hopefully an example of
027how people from different places and different spaces can come together and work uh really hard together for the outcome of our students. I um have many Marne isms that I will take with me and you have given us the all means all and that's all all means and we will remember that but I think there's a a couple of more that I think it's really important that we hold on to and I'll commit to and one is you know when people start talking about poverty is remembering that poverty is calculated on a national calculation and not what it means here local to us and that we have to remain cognizant that um you know income levels here have to be significantly higher in order to support what is living at the poverty line and be
028and be sure that we are taking that into account. So I always remember that piece. I think in my first maybe second board meeting you taught me to pay attention to the message more than the messenger. Um, and that sometimes we get lost in who the messenger is, but the feedback always has value. And that is something I have shared with probably everyone who has met me in both my public work and my corporate work. Um, and I appreciate you for that. Um, I woke up this morning knowing that you would cry and hoping that I would not cry along with you and we both failed miserably at that. Um, but you are a force and have been and will continue to be and someone I hope to continue to have as a mentor and
029a guide. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay, my turn. Uh, so I joined the board two years ago. When I joined the board, Marne was my mentor on the board. And I will say that when I first joined, I've truly felt like I was drinking from the fire hose, trying to get my arms around all of the things that a school board and a school district has to deal with. And Marne was so incredibly generous with all of her time and her experience with me uh meeting for coffee with me many many times me with my tablet full of questions of you know how do I get the answers to this or what you know what how do I navigate or negotiate all these things that we're dealing with. Um so thank you
030thank you for taking that time with me and again sharing your rich experience in this space. I I certainly appreciate that and uh I think you know I've talked a lot about one of my motivating factors for seeking work on the board was our advocacy work particularly around funding for our schools and Marne I've just marveled at all the work you've done in that particular space in particular I've enjoyed our trips to Washington DC and to Olympia to talk to our legislators to carry forward that message uh and you're just so really uh gifted at framing those discussions with our legislators. So, uh, thank you for that and I certainly have learned a lot um, from being in those discussions with you. And then I think about personally, you know, this is we talk a
031lot about the fact this is a volunteer position and it does take a lot of time. I think at least you do feel like you're doing a good job on the school board. Um, but I it's not lost on me that we all spend a lot of time in this work. And then I think of the fact that Marne not only was doing all the work on the ISD I mean on the ISD school board but then all of your work on the WADA board in the past and then on NSBA. It's just tireless. I don't know where you've gotten the energy to do all of this work but um it's really phenomenal and something that uh is should be a model for school board members across the state in my mind. So again I'll
032use the same word. It's been a great great privilege working with you and uh I hope we can carry on the work that you've um advanced. Thank >> Thank you. So, I will say that uh over the 16 years that you've been a school board member, um you've always been uh part of a team that has won the uh WASDA uh which is the Washington State School Directors Association uh board of distinction and you were also part of a team that won board of the year >> Twice. Yes. Exactly. Um, so I think that is just real testament to I think the legacy that you have had and that you will continue to hold on to as you transition shortly. Um, for me it's been an honor to be able to work alongside you this
033past year in particular as you've been as president and um the the human connection and the relationship aspect of the work is really important and you have brought that to light in so many ways uh and as director Gallander said really centering on joy and how we are really making sure that the key moments of where we have opportunities to celebrate and affirm our work and each other has been uh prominent in my mind about working with you. Um and from day one I think you were always clear about that with me as well um when I started and when I was even interviewing. So much appreciated. Um you have had a steadying presence through high growth, high enrollment, high building of buildings and rebuildings through the challenges of COVID and through this next era
034of um market forces that are creating pressures for all school districts but also government agencies. And so I thank you for that. Um and I would just say on a lighter note, you have got a great singing voice that we get to see um shine uh through and key moments when we are, you know, at various um events and um that makes sort of the work, you know what I mean, also have the sort of joy side of it. Um and I've appreciated that and through all of your, you know, relationship driven um focus in addition to the priorities and outcomes for kids and good governance. um the network that you have built that I've been able to witness through WASDA and NSBA has been incredible. And so um your impact is not just on
035students but also the vast vast network of people who hold your ideals and values um to do what's right for kids and to be a good governance model is um really powerful. So thank you. >> Yeah, thank you. >> Okay, thank you all. Um, I was thinking one thing I forgot is how many buildings have been built or remodeled since I've been here, including the fantastic Gibson, which is a true vision of the board and amazing to see that come to fruition and have my daughter graduate from there. Um, so I thought about all the schools that I've opened, one school that I permanently closed and I was involved in the closing of all schools for a period of time. Uh [laughter] so a lot of memories over the years. Um some of them I
036can't wait to forget. Um but most of them I've really cherished. So thank you. And now we'll move on to works in progress. It's very hard act to follow but I will try here. Um so we do have um as part of our works in progress the December and November um upcoming events that feature education, cultural and religious um recognitions and celebrations. And so I just always want to put this up to show the community what's happening and also just we have a quite a busy month coming up. So we did combine uh November and December because there's a lot of um heritage and cultural and religious celebrations in the month of December. So, um, and immediately coming up is a Thanksgiving break. So, we all know that that's happening very shortly. Um, I'd like
037to also say congratulations to the Isiqua High School girls cross country team who took first in Washington State in the 4A Championship in Eastern Washington over the weekend. And I'd like to wish all of our student athletes that are heading into state championships and competitions the best of luck over the next few weeks and hope for more good news as they um uh shine in the coming competitions. Um, I've myself had some wonderful school visits to see um, a couple of our middle schools. I saw the micro school work at Pine Lake Middle School, orchestra at Pacific Cascade Middle School, and a lot of preparations for family conferences at the elementary schools. I myself had my family conference this week and it was um, really great. The work that our teachers do to help our
038young people is incredible. And that was a reminder every single uh, moment that I was with our fabulous teacher. Um and those conferences did conclude for elementary families and their students today. Uh and actually students participated in lots of different ways to prepare for these conferences which was amazing to see how they started to um preview their work with their families but also to prepare with their teachers what they wanted to highlight and what their agenda topics were. So these are precious moments to be able to think about our students and um and that moment with a family and a teacher is so powerful. So incredible. Middle school students are coming up on the trimester close very soon and high school students. Quarter one has wrapped up and and again that's a key moment for
039reflection for progress for our high school students across the board. Um I'd like to also highlight a few events that are coming up next week in particular. So a key series of events is starting next week on Tuesday, November 18th. Um, it's our finance information sessions where chief of finance and operations Martin Turney, executive director of finance Mariah Bonassic, and other members of our team will share facts about our district budget, how levy dollars help cover the gap between the funding we receive and the true cost of educating and supporting our students. We did one last year, but this year we are hosting three to continue to provide current information to the community about our finances. So, this virtual session uh will be from 6:30 to 7:30 on Tuesday. It will be hosted on Zoom
040and participants participants will need to register. It will be recorded and will be posted after all sessions are completed. There's a South End session on Wednesday, December 3rd and there's one in the plateau on Wednesday, December 10th. Uh both 6:30 to 7:30 and um in the libraries at both Liberty High School and Pine Lake Middle School. Also on November 17th, our family partnership team is hosting a virtual post high school planning information night for families of students in grades 9 through 12. That will be from 6:30 to 8:30. This event is designed to help families plan for college, university, or technical school and learn how to pay for it. So, this is an opportunity that I think is important to highlight for the community. The presenters will cover things like what financial aid is and
041how it works, the difference between grants, loans, and scholarships, how to complete the FAFSA, which is a free application for federal student aid, and the WASA, which is the Washington application for state financial aid, um when and how the financial aid process um begins and kicks off. And these sessions will be offered in various languages, specifically English, Spanish, and Chinese. And so sessions in other languages will be um scheduled at a later date. And then finally, um I did mention this in in um board uh president director Mald Moraldo's comments that the board was recognized uh for many of her all of her years, but this is the 17th consecutive year that this school board has been recognized as a board of distinction by WASDA. So huge kudos. Um I think that's actually also the
042entire timeline of when this award was given out. So um there's I know the comment that the board makes uh whenever the application is being discussed about how we have to continue that legacy uh and sustain that excellence. So um I look forward to that. But the research is clear and the board has talked about this in the past that the um the team and the partnership uh between board members and and with the superintendent um has shown a positive impact on student achievement. And that's just a real important thing to note that good governance does equal great outcomes for kids. So kudos and I look forward to celebrating that with you all at the WASDA conference next week. >> Thank you. Um the next item on the agenda agenda is profile of a graduate
043work. Um so there is a resolution that we are going to focus in on. So, I would need a motion. >> I move the board adopt resolution 1254 in support of the district's profile of a graduate as presented. Second. >> Okay. So, um before we have the board discussion because I don't think there's a presentation by the district. So, we will open this up to um public comment. Although no one has signed up for a profile of a graduate, uh we will be likely taking action. So, is there anyone in the room or on Zoom? Okay, seeing none, we can move into our discussion. So, we um had a meeting before this. So part of our um work study today was to finalize details based on what we heard from the community and so what
044was provided out to the public initially um is um we were able to take a look at that. So the draft profile on there is which version? Is that the most current or the first version of the town halls in >> Yeah. And I think there's a few words at the bottom. There we go. Um so this is what the board has presented to them today. and wanted to open it up for discussion about this newest draft. And so I will open it up to board members who are ready to speak. >> Uh, Director Mullings, >> mine was a question. I know I'd been out on bereiement, so I just didn't know. Did we We haven't reviewed this publicly like should we start with what is it? I just don't remember that piece. >> Okay.
045>> We Yeah, >> I mean I think we we have we haven't done this version publicly. So I think that's that's the final stage. Uh I think the hope is the final stage to do tonight because all we did is we infused in the words and changes that were suggested by the community. >> Right. I just didn't know if this is our first public discussion of this one. I didn't want to go too far back in history. if we'd already done a public discussion of this the concept of what it is. >> Yes, we have done that discussion publicly. Yes. >> Okay. Yeah. >> So, you're welcome to start if you're ready. >> Okay. So um as we started in the top of the meeting, one of the chief or the chief reason for the
046town hall meetings was to go through a discussion around the the then profile of the graduate and seek uh input in addition to input that's happened in many other places and forums. So I think those are robust conversations we said before. Since those conversations, there have been some um items raised, some input given that helped shape I think how we want wanted to make updates to this um material. And I I'll just start with the idea of the name of it. So originally titled uh was the profile of a graduate and the suggestion um that's come along the way and looking I guess at some other material was that in other places and probably more representative of the spirit of we're trying to do is to update it to the portrait of a graduate. And
047so, um, being able to infuse additional information around that rounded student, including well-being, um, uh, inclusion in the in the concept. So, to broaden that language and and really get to what we hope for our students, they're prepared to have with durable skills as they leave the district. So for me, I think the the language of portrait of a graduate does sort of strike that the tone that I think is very positive and gets to maybe a bit more creative, maybe a bit more up to molding and shaping based on the individual student versus profile. It's a bit more clinical in nature. So that one stands out to me in the updates of the wording and effect. Go ahead. >> Uh, I would say that I appreciate that based on what we heard to make
048sure that we add the wellness piece. Uh, we know that that is a really foundational part of what we want for every one of our students who graduates from our system. And so I really like that isn't just about wellness, but like to prioritize it because as all our high school students know, you have only a certain number of hours in the day and you have competing pressures on your time. And in spite of all that, we we our hope is is that as we move the system is that we stay grounded in all those other parts like sleep and which I believe is financial for wellness. So I appreciate that that was an important thing that we heard from our community that is there. And then the fifth one about uh trying to broaden
049the language so it is I think more readily interpreted by people to know that isn't just about numbers. Uh that we really care for our students. Yes. Do we want them to be uh good at manipulating numbers and numerousy all the way from when they enter our system through graduation? Absolutely. But just as important, we want them to be able to leverage their abilities to understand like what is good information? How do you use it to create a thoughtful argument? whether it's in history, whether it's bringing in literature, I think those are really important pieces. And so I like that the language is is uh more broad in that sense. And hopefully the way we've rephrased it will help our students and our community understand that it is uh data in a really broad sense.
050>> Sure, >> Taylor. Um, I too just want to say I really uh very much support the change from profile of a graduate to portrait of a graduate because I think what we're really talking about here is a complete framework in pardon the pun, but wanting to make sure that we have a complete picture for our students as to the skills that we want them to be imbued with. Um because that's really what we're talking about here is that we want, you know, we're interested in more than just making sure that our students have a stat status, excuse me, static acquisition of knowledge. It's really the value of teaching them these durable skills that'll make our students successful in a very dynamic and changing world. So, uh, I'm very pleased with how we've captured that
051in these silos because I think these really are the critical, uh, categories, I guess you would say, of skills and, um, other things that we want our students to have developed over their time in our system so that they can go out in the world and be very successful. Um, so overall, uh, very happy with how it turned out. I do just want to point out at the fact at the town halls I think the thing that we heard the most first of all there's a lot of head nodding in an agreement with our with our parents and community members that yes these are the these are important skills we want our kids to have but there was a lot of uh discussion around the word persistence andor grit we heard at times um so
052that's really resonated with me and I'm glad that that is called out so specifically in the first silo so I'll leave it at that >> right um I would say for me. I really appreciated just the even the conversation not only with the public during the town halls but previously the groups that we went to walked through um these items. Um when I look at this I still see rigor and I think that's really important. So even though we're not talking about academic knowledge right um specifically that all of these things still are um include rigor in them. It's it's going to be a rigorous work to get through all of this. Um I appreciate the board's conversation around interpreting information and data and making that change to that title so that it's more meaningful
053about what is it. Um it's not just about analyzing. It's just not data. It's not you know clarity around it includes information that is not um that's qualitative as well as quantitative. It's humanities. It's it's all of those pieces when you get information and how do you interpret that? How do you synthesize that? Um and then how do you apply that? So I think that is really great. Um I like that the icon has AI in it, but that we talk about emerging technology because things are moving so fast. We don't know what the next thing's going to be. Um and that um our students need to know that. So I do appreciate all of that. the work of staff putting together even a draft for us to to move forward. Um engaging the community.
054Um I appreciate every piece of this and to go to why are we doing this uh that director Mullings was talking about is this is going to be the foundation to the next cycle of our strategic planning. And so, um, and I would think that it's also going to be as the board continues to look at its own, um, policies, um, the results and the operational expectations that we weave in or that you weave in what that's going to be because I think it now with a new member coming on is a good time to go back and review um, as we've moved from coherent governance to from policy governance to coherent governance to ensure that we're where possible enshrining um much of this learning. Um I will say that I I would be remissed
055if I didn't start saying procedurally we do have an issue that the word profile of a graduate is stated seven times in the resolution that we have before us. And so I will need an amendment to amend the seven instances of the word profile to change to portrait. Just for the record, there are seven of them. The first is in the resolution title. The second is in the fifth whereas. The third is in the sixth whereas. The fourth is in the seventh whereas. The fifth is in the ninth whereas. The sixth is in the first. therefore and the seventh is in the second therefore and I have said it so you can listen to the tape later to know I'll send that to you Emily. Um so I would need to have an amendment to
056the resolution. I move that we amend the resolution to replace the term profile with the word portrait in each of the seven um locations where it's indicated within the resolution. >> Second. >> Okay. Any further discussion? >> I'll just add that um we also to support and complement this process uh assistant superintendent Dr. Jacqueline Downey and I visited all 29 of our learning sites and had held optional staff meetings. Um, again that echoed sort of what uh what director Taylor said about there's a lot of headnodding um and there's a lot of just this makes sense and a lot of questions came up around the how and how does this work with the other components of our of our district. So um that is something that happened and that was great. We had over 230
057staff members that attended these sessions across the district in the um in that time and um appreciate the attention to the making of revisions from the board to really hear what the community has shared and that's been really it's been really good work that you all did. So, thank you for that and thank you to the team for all of our work to support that as well. Um, and as President Moraldo said, these um, this will help inform our strategic plan updates and refresh as well as I think help inform how we go about our time with the next high school um, planning and design. And truly, this is meant to be a compliment to affirm what we already do and to make it very easy to understand for the community about what the promise
058is that we have to the community for what happens after you graduate from the school district. Um, but we have over the past couple years been talking a lot. This is not something that's surprising. At the same time, the board has been talking a lot about real world skills. Uh we've tal looked at data around high growth, high demand careers. Um so this is well time for us to have this anchor on some of these next big components of our work that are coming down the road. So I appreciate the work the board has done to set us up for that success. Um, I can share that we we know that as we think about some of the uh career pathways and planning for the next high school, I think there's an important element here
059that ties very deeply to career connected experiences that include internships and work experiences just bringing back some of the like many years of work that the board has done and what we have done to um shape those conversations. Um and that specifically we are looking to increasing the level of credentiing and certifications that learn uh that lead to earn readiness. And many of the top pathways and clusters still remain the same in terms of interest both from the community and from our um our parents or our families and our students when asked about what their top career clusters are and what learning experiences are most of interest. It includes health sciences, technology, design, robotics and engineering. So as we move forward to this next phase of work um beyond this sets a really strong baseline
060for us to continue to lift that up and to go forward um with the future of of how educational programming is shaped but um specifically with the eye towards the next high school. So um really want to build upon what we already have and offer new opportunities. So thank you and Nilla I saw your hand out. Yeah, I just wanted to say how I like the change from um profile to portrait. Feels like the student can have a little bit more ownership over it at the end so they can I mean before profile kind of seemed like like something and a little bit of an expectation but then profile kind of feels like you can grow into it which I like. >> Yeah. >> Any other comments from our students? Okay. So, we have a
061an amendment that we need to address first. So, the amendment is to change from uh profile to a portrait throughout the resolution. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? The eyes have it. So, any final discussion on the motion as amended? >> Yes, director Marley. I do have a tangential comment which is that we'll need to note for this uh seismic transition that someone has to take on the procedural knowledge amongst this board as you will be departing with that. >> Thank you. >> You know I think we have a lawyer on the board that would probably be really good at those type of Robert's rules of order. I think you've got some learning to do. >> I'll just note he said I think that's you [laughter] under his breath. Um
062but you know just a note. >> Um great. So any other discussion? Students want to make sure you have one last time. Do they have an advisory boat vote ready? >> I know we kind of we were doing a we were winging this today um this week. Okay. You know you could do it with a hand raise. Um so I could get an advisory vote from the student reps. If you are in favor, raise your hand. Student reps. I see that is a unanimous. So that is the final information to the board is that we have any unanimous advisory vote from our students. So with the motion on the floor, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? The eyes have it and you now have your portrait of a graduate. Thank
063you. The next item on the agenda, if I can bring up my agenda, is um OE14 instructional program policy and review. Um the board um will be taking action on this one. We have um for a second read and action. Uh you will have a hard copy of it. So I do need a motion. I move the board approve the language revision to operational expectation 14 instructional program um with the following updates. Do I need to out read them now? >> No. >> Well, then we can always vote down a motion, but we start the discussion with a motion. >> See what I mean? Someone has to take one. Yeah. >> Can I have a second? Maybe do you think >> or you could let it die without a second? >> Okay. So, the motion
064dies without a second, but we're still going to talk about it. And to begin the conversation, I will hear from the public because we did tell them that they had to wait till this item. So, first I have Molly Peterson. >> Good evening. I don't think that's on, so I don't want to take up your time yet. Good evening. Hello. Uh, Molly Peterson, co-chair of Skyline High School's humanities department. Uh, thank you for the work you do to improve educational outcomes for students at ISD and for your explicit support for Skyline's IB program during your last meeting. I'm here to provide input on the second read of the changes to O proposed changes to OE14. As there were no materials attached to this agenda item on the public website, I'm assuming the second reading is
065of what was originally proposed at the last meeting, even though there was discussion about possible changes to that. In the 23rd October 23rd discussion, it appeared that the primary goal of the change to OE14 was about financial benefits to collegebound students and not about skills or content that we aim to teach students. When looking at the draft of the ISD portrait of a graduate, I see that we are preparing students to do things like adapt to changes to better the world, to foster discourse. I agree that these are the goals of public high schools, not lessening college tuition bills. The change you are proposing to OE14 will require that Skyline add an AP social studies course at 9th grade. That would be AP human geography. This change to our scheduling will negatively impact how student
066learning in our current honors courses is scaffolded towards IB skills in 11th and 12th grade. This change will also mean that some students will choose to take AP human geo 9th grade then global studies 10th grade. Let me be clear that course of study does not include world history which covers content such as the impacts of colonialism, both world wars, historical genocides including the holocaust. I do not ascent to this change. Finally, our 9th grade social studies teachers have been in a constant state of change since the pandemic interrupted our textbook adoption timeline in 2020. Asking them to make another change next fall is untenable. Please do not let the financial burden of college push you to create a demand on our system that ultimately undermines the quality of the programs we offer. Let us
067invest in bettering the system that exists. Thank you. Together we can make this better. Uh, I have Courtney Bey. I'm Courtney Bey. I teach English and history at Skyline. I've been there for 23 years. I'm also a parent of a junior at Skyline and I have um a seventh grader at Pine Lake. Um, I'm just going to piggyback a little bit off of Molly's. Uh, and I'm also going to connect back to the idea of what we just spoke about with portrait of graduate as I've brought up many times. Um, I have a lot of consternation about uh, AP coming into um, Skyline on a general level, but I also believe there's good things that can happen attached to that, but this is a very specific decision. If we are talking about the idea that
068it has to be exactly the same at every grade level, there are very few nth grade college bearing class options. Um the reason for that being is that most places agree and understand like Running Start, IB, most college in the high schools, even tech programs like Wanik, even our own district's paid work experience that that belongs with 11th and 12th graders primarily. Some students are advanced in certain subjects and are ready for that. But most nth graders are not because of this. there are very few options available which means when we are making a broad statement like adding a word like equitable to a kind of generally vague um OE we are literally specifically adding a class that has no other option attached to it. Um most nth graders are not ready for a lot
069of this rigor that we are asking. Some are but many are not. I love the focus in the portrait of a graduate on the idea of health and wellness. 14 year olds are not necessarily ready for that pressure. A lot of my students that are juniors and seniors really really struggle with it. And now we again are taking out like for us it would be taking out an honors track that is all about building confidence and getting them prepared for those college level courses. It's not because it's not rigorous but it's because it's age appropriate. My 13-year-old weighs 72 pounds and is 48. I'm going to say that because she will be 14 in September and she is not an adult ready for college classes and she is a top level student. 14-year-olds are very
070very young and when we look at that we need to keep that in mind for their well-being. Thank you. Okay, having heard is there any other public comment on this issue uh on the zoom? Okay, I'm ready to open up to comments from the board. Director Mullings, >> do you want me to step through the update or do you want to do it? >> Yeah, go for it. I think it'd be easiest if I shared screen with the document that way the >> audience can follow along. >> I can talk. >> Great >> because you know I don't I don't do Zoom. So, and uh Director Mullings and Director Gallinger worked together on amending the language after our last board meeting and discussion and so this is a culmination of their work. Yeah. And I
071apologize that uh it didn't make it onto the board packet. Uh two things conspired. One uh the holiday on a Tuesday made it really hard when we were generating this. Uh, and then second one is it was originally not on the tonight's agenda because I had a work trip that got changed and so I'm happily here and therefore we're trying to finish as much of these discussions that we started long ago with our current board president before she uh goes on to not green our pastures. So uh what you have before you is the just 14.3 to really narrow the conversation. Uh that was the current language as written. It has two subp parts A and B. Uh what I took away uh from the language and listening to the meeting last uh month that
072I wasn't a part of uh was the desire to bring some clarity into it. And with that I hand it off to director Mullins and then we can talk about my thoughts and other people's thoughts on after she go. >> Yep. Thank you. And so we and we have been a little bit of two ships passing on this one. So this will be a good a good conversation. Um so in in the last the last the first read the proposal was to add a single word I believe to point B which was equitable. And and in reading through it for me it felt like in B we were trying to do a few too many things at one time. And so what I took away was trying to um one listen to the conversation we
073were having but then make some make some [clears throat] separation at least for me made sense um as as we talked through it. So, one of [clears throat] I think the simple questions or the basic questions that was asked in that conversation, I think it was from one of our student reps was about, you know, we're having all this conversation about API, what about CTE? And so, I think in going back and looking at it, point A is really where we're trying to get to um in this 14, which is ensuring instructional program offers opportunities. Again, opportunities don't mean everyone has to take them for students to develop talents and interests in more specialized areas. So, A is really from my perspective is where we're talking about the CTE um opportunity, right? With the time
074we have with our students um how do we use that time? My perspective is we have a bit of a try and see and then students will work that out after they're done with us. I think that is a model that many um school districts and certainly high schools around the country have been a lot more aggressive in ensuring that students are leaving with real experience with real certification and I think if we do not see how we can use the time we have our students to prepare them for whatever their path is in a more concrete way then I think it's a lost a lost opportunity. So I think A is really where we get to the CTE path and are we allowing um career certification and credentiing that can help students to be
075earning ready is my term when they leave here whether they're going to the military whether they're helping support themselves through college or they're going on to some other career and not college I think for me A gets there B what at least I'm proposing here is that B should really be about the fact that whether we intended or not, whether we folks believe in it or not, we do have opportunities that are inequally uh provided across our ecosystem that are giving value to some students and not all students. And we are leaving some of our students without the ability to access that value that serves them post high school. For me, that is what B is about. And that is about courses providing opportunity for students to accelerate learning. Again, not all students need to
076accelerate, but when they can, that that leads to equitable an equitable distribution of college earning opportunities and that that can happen earlier. Um, again, I will say as I always do, I took college courses in eighth grade and seventh grade. Um, there are many of our students who are ready for that level of rigor who crave it and um who are seeking it otherwise. and we see that in our data. And so I think to not acknowledge that we have students absolutely today on top of their regular workload seeking these opportunities is short-sighted. Then I've added C, which is to divide out how we deal with the fact that we have unique learning opportunities and that there's some base level of opportunities that we would hope to provide at each of our high schools. So
077C is schools will facilitate access to all students to unique opportunities and course offerings at each high school. We have mastery based programming at Gibson. We have IB. We have um ROC only at Liberty as an example. Like we're giving students unique offerings. Um but I think for me the spirit of what we're trying to do is say there's some that are non-negotiable and for those two are listed are college and the high school and advanced placement. And what I had to what I was struggling with last conversation was well why don't we mention running start and I think where I landed and then speaking with director Gallinger is because we don't in our we don't offer running start kids can go take advantage of it. So it's really about what do we offer and
078commit to offering within our within our school. So that is the that is the offering. There's some alternative language, but I'll tell you it's the same spirit in C, which is at minimum all comprehensive high schools will offer advanced placement college in the high school courses for all core subject areas while maintaining access to unique opportunities and course offerings at each high school. Um, so that is the mental walkthrough and for me that keeps it a lot cleaner to divide B into making sure our students if they choose those opportunities that they have them um and access to college college credit earning and C being that we want to preserve the unique offerings in our schools but also ensure there's a a base level that we can expect across each building. I will pause for
079discussion. Okay. I'll just follow up uh since we're you know kind of jointly doing this uh that I think why the alternative I propose is and I don't feel strongly about it but it's really where do we draw the line with and this is where I'm looking at our superintendent on how how delineated does the policy need to be versus the interpretation and that's why the operational expectations are really where this line in the sand gets drawn among the six of us. And so I don't feel strongly, but I I feel very strongly about what students have the opportunity to do. How the words go on the paper, I I have less care about. Uh and so that's why the alternative is is based on me listening to the conversation from a couple weeks ago.
080At least what I took away was there was a desire to have greater clarity on on what it is that we're wanting to accomplish. And that greater clarity to me can either come through explicit board policy language or it can come through explicit district interpretation. So at least that was my takeaway from the conversation. Otherwise, what as you as you stated to recommen is uh unchanged, B is essentially just broken into two. And why I only highlight the word equitable and B is because all the rest of words in that sentence are the same and correctly I mean just directly pasted and then C is essentially the same words a little bit reordering then left the uh parenthesis there for us to deal with. So, um, but I just want to find that context at
081least from what I heard from the last board meeting as a listener. >> Yeah, certainly. Superintendent, >> thank you. Yeah. So, I think that the the points that came out of last discussion for me were about deteing credit earning opportunities from programmatic offerings. And so, I thought that this is a nice clean way of helping to delineate that. I think things were all getting um combined into one. And I think I think sort of separating out actually does make things much more clear. Um and as to um the question that I had brought forward at the last meeting around evidence, you know, to me that's one to see clarity as we were navigating a bit of things all put together in one uh sort of uh com combined long sentence at the time and trying
082to make it longer actually um is actually solved by this separation and deteing. So um there is the interpretation opportunity to then go forward from here as we move forward with this as a [clears throat] a proposed change. We can work together on sort of what that next interpretation level would look like. But this does make it more clear by deteathering some of the concepts. >> Director Taylor. >> Yeah. I don't have a whole lot to say here other than you know I agree that everything here now I mean it it captures what has been the board's intent now for quite some time. So I don't necessarily need to go through the um whether I believe you know that these are the things that we should be doing because I like I said we've been
083having this conversation and I just I do agree that this is a cleaner way to get to that intent. We talk about career readiness in one subsection, then credits, and then offerings in in the third. So that does lead to a clearer um articulation of our intent. So it makes sense to me. >> I I think looking at the um first one and so I'm assuming are you talking about just overall or were you talking about for the first one versus the alternative? >> Oh, >> anyone? I'm just I am wondering because I've already moved on to that point in my head. Um I do think that to to Director Gallinger's point about how prescriptive proscriptive do we want to be? I think 143C alternate alternative is very prescriptive. Um, and so I think that's
084why I'm leaning towards the original, well, the first >> bolded >> uh bolded, thank you. 143C. Um, and I think the while also providing would be my preference than just the and while also providing college. I think it is more explicit. Whereas with just the and it may feel like the unique course offerings at each individual high school and it's kind of like and college and it's it's less specific and I think that's the specificity that we want while also providing college and high school and advanced placement. >> I agree with that reading. Any thoughts from our students? >> Oh, we have one. Yep. >> Oh, good day. Um, so one thing I kind of wanted to ask, um, as I know it says like all comprehensive high schools, uh, will offer advanced placement at
085a minimum in all the core subject areas. So, I think um one question I have is uh how would the district like think about like I think some of the like there's been some discussion about how that would change the way like um specifically Skyline because Skyland is the only one with that's like IB centered. How would the board try to mitigate the effects of completely kind of having to restructure the 9th and 10th grade programs to offer those specific core subject area classes, especially when um there's a lot of overlap and either it would end up having students uh like do the same thing twice. I know for a lot of uh history classes or and sorry I'm trying to phrase what I'm saying and like math classes and also uh there's like certain
086I know like for humanities courses at Skyline they teach like the IB method in order to prepare them for IB lang and lit and if that wasn't there then I feel like if those students were to later take IB lang and lit they would be feel less prepared and that would end up kind of disrupting their success in that program. So I guess if there's any mitigation, what would it be? >> Director Gallinger. >> Yeah. So, uh, Skyline is a gigantic high school, right? Way smaller high schools than Skyline offer parallel opportunities. And so you can enter from Pine Lake or Beaver Lake and enter, hey, I'm going to pursue the IB pathway. and that will so robustly exist. Our hope would be that you could enter and also say like, "Hey, I'm actually going
087to do an AP curriculum based pathway instead, which allows them to more uh effectively pick and choose because I know you're still you're out from applying to colleges, but in most colleges outside of the state of Washington, unless you do the full IB diploma, the credits you take actually won't count for college credit." And that's a really sad awakening that happens a year from now. And so if you do that and choose, hey, I want to do these courses in AP, then you would get that college credit and you could pick and choose. More importantly, because at Skyline, the way it's built up currently, the bulk of your stress and anxiety happens in just two grades, and you don't have any opportunity to try and balance that out over three years instead of two years,
088as an example. And so being able to balance out your college credit bearing classes would give you a lot more agency over your schedule and over at what pace and what uh depth and breadth you want to learn. I think what I would offer is what we know today is that students are doing both. they are on top of their existing schedule choosing to prepare and take AP courses. So the conundrum you raise actually exists today and what my hope would be is this is the opportunity to figure out what's the right way to handle student choice. Like we have kids that can choose a multi-year music path with orchestra. We have kids that choose other, you know, what their math pathway is that spans multiple years and that's an informed decision with parent and
089student. For me, I I don't see that as any different. I think there's other constraints in our system. Example would be uh and I'm sure we had an email about this. What about the, you know, today because we have full high schools, the kid at Liberty that wants to take IB cannot because they they can't have that opportunity because we can't shift them from school to school. So, there's multiple constraints in the system. For me, what overweighs it is, is there an opportunity to have a discussion for the kid and for the family that says this is the path I would like to be on? because today we already have I think it was hundred students that are choosing on top of their um IB education to sit and test for AP. And I think
090that is equally as concerning to me as the other way around. >> Okay. Uh Chris, >> thank you. Um, just looking at the policy, I like the 14.3C with the while also providing going back to director Moralda's point about how it's a lot clearer. Uh, the first time I read it, I was actually kind of confused on what the and and I was like, is it like an optional sort of thing? Um, and then going back to AP, I think starting AP early allows students to build up that rigor. Uh, I I know one board member said that, you know, a lot of that stress has combined in those final two years of high school. And something I've liked is I've been able to spread it out and start building those skills necessary to thrive
091in those harder classes at a younger grade level. I think at Liberty, a significant amount of freshmen take at least one AP class. And going back to something I've been saying for a while is that, you know, over a 100 Skyline students take the AP test in May on top of their curriculum, on top of their seven classes. And so if that's not indicative that pe people at Skyline want to take AP classes, I don't know what is because that that jumps out to me a lot. >> Right. Thank you. Any other hands? So I'm I'm squarely in the first version of C. I think I think the prescriptive piece for me goes uh I I think the first version is prescriptive enough. Um I get the point of it all. Um and my hope
092between being clear on what the implementation plan is and then certainly how we monitor it going forward, we could get to the next piece. But I just would add that I I prefer I think there's enough prescription in the in the first version. That's my take. >> Are there any other thoughts about the changes? Uh, Milo, thank you. Why do you all get AP classes? I want an AP class. I was waiting. I'm like, >> and that's actually for me that's in C. So to me that's actually important to me and see like to what is the access for those students who want to take that path. I think that should be available >> at Gib at Gibson >> and I think now that they have online options for AP classes that our school district
093is offering that is possible. We don't have the relatability that online classes are integrated into our comprehensive high schools today. >> Yeah. So, uh, yes, Micah, >> can I speak? Yeah, I kind of want to double what Milo is saying because our school doesn't really offer AP classes at all, but if we had like AP things in math even where it could be like online level, cuz we do all our math on Alex. If there was some sort of way that we could do AP and not have to completely ditch most of our school day and miss everything else, that'd be pretty awesome, >> right? Well, I'd say something other than Alex math would probably be a good thing at Gibson as well. If there's anything that I leave you with um to my successor
094if she could really work on that and focus on that. Um, so I I I would agree what are the options and availability um for online learning across the board and maybe that ends up being decisions that students make um to be able to also do three years or four years of music, right? Or um the uh being able to do theater. Um, so there's a lot of how do we create flexibility for students while not overwhelming them? Milo, one more time. Theater at Gibson. Well, that's up to you to choose to do that, right? >> Oh, that's a different story. Um yes definitely some what are the opportunities there um what I am hearing though is I am hearing a coalescing around words and what I'm not hearing is a desire to step away
095and do something different so to that point I don't have emotion but I also don't have direction further ction. So would want some information about um your thoughts around delaying this vote for a future board. >> Yeah, I mean so if we're coalesing around the language as written and on the screen here, it really isn't different. It isn't substantively different than the first read which just added the word equitable. If you look at it, the delineation of is really just breaking the old B, which is at the very top into two subp parts, but the words are really the same, at least my interpretation. So, as it coaleses around what's currently shown on the screen, this truly would be consistent with a second read with just word equitable. At least that's where I'm landing based
096on what I'm hearing from my board colleagues about word choices and whatnot. But >> so I saw a hand reaching I saw a hand reaching for a mic. I >> So So sorry, take me one step further. So what would you propose happens next based on your your take of that? Just to make sure I understand where you're at. Just depends on if board of my board colleagues feel similarly about my perspective on this or not. >> Yes. But are you are you positing that we would go back to the original read or that this is close enough that we could move forward with um actually voting tonight? >> Yes. Maybe. >> So are you looking to make a motion? So would somebody like to reattempt making a motion? >> It would be the motion
097that was in the board packet. >> Okay, hold on. But I wouldn't move forward with that without hearing some clear coallescence from my board colleagues which so from my perspective if what the version we're moving forward with is the proposed section that is currently on the screen that includes equitable includes the break between B and C which I believe makes it significantly more readable as well as the language update and C which is the while also providing then I'm very supportive of of that as am I. So then I would ask if someone would like to make a motion to adopt the updates to OE14 as presented because this is now what's being presented to the board. >> I move the board approve the language revision to operational expectation 14 instructional program as presented. Second.
098>> Any further discussion? And I want to make sure we have an opportunity to hear from our superintendent. Uh I think it's helpful to just show the B of of the original language so people can see that. Okay. Got it. Oh, the the back the long. All right. So, >> yeah. Course is providing the opportunity. >> Okay. So, the people can see that it's a a restructuring of that sentence. I just want to make sure that's very clear because I think that it was clear to me, but I want to make sure I reiterate that point. Um that it makes the sentence, the prior sentence of 143B um more clear and broken apart to make the concepts um highlighted around credit bearing and then also opportunities that are unique but also um helpful to set
099a baseline and foundation for what's offered. Yeah, I would just say I mean consistent with what the first read was, which was adding the word equitable before college credit earning opportunities, that's really still the only substantive change of 14.3. Director Mullings, >> I think the other one that is substantive is the old the previous version specifies all comprehensive high schools, which is not present in the current V bolded version of C. Now, I I'm aligned with that, but I want to just call attention that that that is a difference and it would be opening up or or attempting to open up that opportunity at Gibson as well. Thoughts because you could amend the and to say uh while also providing college in the high school and advanced placement at all comprehensive high schools, >> but
100that may or may not be what you want to do. To be clear, that is not I my hope, particularly after your comment about there being an online version, >> this beautiful coalescing and then >> but I that's why I call it out to make sure we're being um thorough and you know that isn't like a little Easter egg later, a little gotcha. So we should talk through that one >> that that would require some maybe thought and response from the from us to be able to discuss with Gibson in their online college in the high school is not an easily available online course for Gibson neck. So that change does have some questions I think we should explore and maybe just give some time to think about. >> Well I I mean I think
101my reflection would be that I would want to keep it uh the language retain the language. So we're saying if we're going to truly be a second read that it should just be no other substantive change than what was done in the first read. So I would believe that adding back in the words that exist already with at all comprehensive high schools because I also don't want this to be something that uh has unintended consequences for the thoughts ahead for what our new high school is. And I don't want to be this would be pretty prescriptive when we haven't even decided what the new high school programming is going to be like versus we know already what our existing three comprehensive high schools are and we're really just trying to bring clarity that we want
102students to have those same opportunities because college is really expensive. And so having an extra enough credits to defay another $30,000 a year in costs is significant for half a year of college. So, uh, I would argue that we would then add back in those words of at all conference of high schools. >> I think what you meant to say is I move we amend to insert. >> But we haven't even made a motion yet. >> Yeah, we did. >> We did. >> Oh, >> and it was seconded. >> Oh, yes. I move that we amend this proposed change to include at 14.3 C uh at the end of the sentence at all comprehensive high schools to be consistent with language uh that is intended to be nonsubstantive change. >> Second. >> Okay. I have
103a motion and a second to amend the motion on the floor. Are there any comments about that? >> Yes. Director Mullings, >> how with that change, how might I still get the exploration of AP at Gibson? I understand the complexity of college in the high school, >> but so now that this year they've launched where they have AP courses available online, is that is that a possibility? I think that's what we're asking and I don't I don't know the answer that I don't know the technical answer to that because I have no idea. I can't even imagine what an AP class online it's like. Uh I think we would need to some further discussion on that one to make sure that we are exploring all of those uh potential ripple effects but also how that
104might be you know workable within um the current design which is fundamentally very different. So I wouldn't want to over you know what I mean commit to yes it's easy or yes or or no it's hard but I'd like to make sure that we have that moment to explore that and really see how that could work out and consultation with our our principal. >> Yes. And I have no expectation on like a rough order of magnitude this evening. It's more of a question of how do I properly have noted that that is the exploration I would like to occur next. >> I think you've noted that. >> Okay. Wonderful. So that's >> I have heard it and I think it's noted on the record here. >> Great. Okay. So I'm I'm okay with that. So
105with that in mind, I would suggest we do adopt the last amendment so that we are not >> causing any unintended consequences with our intent. >> Okay. Seeing now there no other hands for comment which I would agree with those. I think um trying to keep it as closest to the original while um uh adding the new intent that was already previously discussed is great. So all those in favor of the amendment, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? The eyes have it. So now we have a fully amended motion on the floor. Is there any further discussion? Okay. Now again, I will tell the students that um we don't have an advisory vote ready for you because again we uh had a very busy week to get all of this done
106um in advance to this meeting. So I will do by signifying by of the um motion. Please signify by raising your hand. I have I see that unanimous. Okay. So, with that advisory vote to consider as well, uh we have a motion on the floor. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I I >> I. >> Any opposed? The eyes have it. Thank you for that diligent work. We thought it was going to be an easy oneword change. Um, but I do appreciate all of the conversation around this as well. Um, and the future commitment that we're making to students. Next item on the agenda is a procon statement committee appointment for the ballot propositions. Uh, so we have three ballot propositions. And do they each have their own motion? They do. And
107are we going to have a presentation on each of them or shall I do something really odd and start with a presentation and then go to motions? >> I'm not sure what you mean by presentation. >> Okay. So, there isn't a presentation [laughter] by Okay, then I'm going to do the second odd thing, which is go to public comment before we have a motion because we're going to be making a motion on all three. So, I do have one item uh one person who signed up for public comment, Jay Sternoff. You are welcome to come to the microphone and you have two minutes. >> My name is Is this on? >> Yes. My name is Jay Sternoff and I uh live close by here in Providence Point. Uh I'm a resident of city of Isiqua
108for the second time. The first time that I lived in Isiqua uh was between the 70s and 80s and during that time the Isiqua school district failed four out of five levies and bonds. During those times, the people of the school district wanted certain things represented to be communicated to them by the school board. And that wasn't done. And I guess I'm reminded of the well-known quote, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Uh there's a new levy that has three parts to it coming up. And on November 3rd uh was the deadline for people who wanted to support pro or oppose con for each of those and had to submit their names. Today is the 13th. We know what the rough uh breakdown of those levies are. We know what
109the rough gross dollar amount, but we don't know of the breakdown to this day. They asked people to submit if they wanted to be pro or con, but they didn't know what they want to be pro or con about other than a dollar amount. And I guess I speak that if the Isqua school district does not want a repeat of what happened between the 70s and 80s, they would be more transparent and before they even begin with pros and cons, they would give a breakdown in the details of what this levy is all about. Students are the most important thing in our uh society. Education has changed obviously in the last 50 years. Uh, I had a son in this school district. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Are there any
110other comments in in uh the room or on Zoom regarding these items? >> Seeing none, we will move to the first um motion. Hello. >> I do want to state before you do that, um, I do want to inform the public we do have an entire page regarding all of our levies with information about what is in them. We had eight meetings with our advisory committee that was 60 members of the community, staff, parents, students um that came to a gave give a recommendation to the board about what items are in all of the levies and there is detailed information on the website. So, regarding the procon statement committee appointment for the EPO, I have um >> Do I have a motion? >> Oh, we have to >> Yes. >> Everything is so backwards. We're
111supposed to have >> And I'm just showing this while you're getting that ready. Uh this is the page you talk about which goes through in detail what proposition one, two and three as well as what every item is included in that. And just for to cut to the chase, not a single penny is about any high school. Um so we are going to do things backwards where we talk about um there are people that have uh offered up their availability for these statements and so we need to make a decision. I am assuming that we're going to choose basically the same slate for all three would be my assumption. Um and so with that cuz because nobody specified they only wanted to speak to one. So they >> there is one uh applicant who specifies
112a single >> um item >> on the call. Yeah. >> So um with that I will move to any board discussion regarding the candidates that presented themselves to us. Yeah. So I think that's maybe the first part of the conversation is just where you left off which is um do we select a single panel for all three? Um that would be my personal preference. Select a single panel that's all three. Um and both pro and con uh on this. I think that's kind of our starting point before like the principle that we're going after would be great. >> Um >> I would concur like I think it should be all three just I would do just for yeah simplicity of >> I would agree that they'll be able to better communicate if they're communicating as
113a group regarding all three rather than one is one set of group of people one is another group of people. Um, I think that that will make it easier for them to come together and form their messaging. >> So then therefore, are we the part where we're stating names to who we're going to do or is that where >> we do have to put names into the record? I am assuming >> the mo the motion will have the specific names >> as provided >> as Yeah, we'll we'll list the individual names. So we need to figure out that's why I'm starting with like what's our principles of selecting and then in the motion we'll name the individuals >> and since it's there's so there's only two people listed for the con for all three levies.
114So I would >> not want to choose would choose both >> as would I. >> So I think I'm ready to make motion for the con. Not make motion. I don't make motions if I'm ready to go forward on that conversation. Um the way it is written, we have to do the pro and then the con on each resolution or each item >> on each >> unless we want to do six. >> Can we do six motions >> a pawn for each one and then fine >> I I'm fine with just doing getting to the So I mean I know I want to coales around two. So >> no I think we can figure out who we're doing and then at the end we can literally do with one. >> Okay. We could do it
115with one motion. I'll list all three resolutions and then the panels for each one. >> Okay. I just want to know legally, do we need three motions? >> That's a good point. Do we need >> versus >> We must have three separate motions. >> Correct. At the end, you'll just need to do three. >> Okay. >> One for each. >> Okay. So, we're just going to repeat ourselves three times. >> It is three resolutions that have >> Yeah. each will list a pro a pro group and a con group. >> Okay. >> No, no, I got it. Don't worry. That's why I'm asking. Um, so we'll do all three resolutions. So on the con again, while we have three applicants, we only have two that are providing to do all of them. So it sounds
116like we coalesed of we'll select the two people for the con that applied to do all three resol all three letters. Correct. Okay. >> So then I think I would want to keep it at just two for the pro if we only have two for the con, but I could be convinced otherwise. Um, >> what I appreciate about the pro is the opportunity to put a student. >> So that you would have two adults as well as a student. >> Yeah, we got three student applicants. So, >> three >> at least. >> How do you know when they're I I see one that's like states that they're a student. How do I know the other two? >> I can tell you number one, number two, and number six. >> Yeah. Are all students. I thought
117I read it in there >> in their description. At least on two they did. >> Yeah, there's three. So, number one, number two, and number six are students. >> All Seamish. Okay. Mhm. >> And also >> then I would that makes it easier for me. Then I would choose two Isakiqua >> adults and one Samish student. >> Yeah. I have a preference on the student if that's okay. >> I [clears throat] do too, but I don't know if it's the same. >> Number six. >> Oh, see I was number one. >> I've we've just interviewed this one before, so we >> Okay. We know >> yes >> this one and their quality and their thoughtfulness they've been on multiple committees which they state >> okay so con >> so it's the first one that's why
118it's what >> well I don't have any preference on the students but I would recommend number four and five for the adults >> I would too for the adults I agree with that >> number five uh uh I heard director Gall say you had no preference on the students. Director Taylor, did you have a preference? >> Um, I do not. I would defer to my colleagues if they're familiar with these folks. >> Yeah, I would um prefer to do six. >> Okay. It's not something I'm willing to >> um >> I think the thing is our f our students are fabulous >> and it's really hard to pick. >> Throughout the student rep process, we get access and opportunity to meet a number of our students. There's one on the list that we were able
119to spend time with that I think would be phenomenal in the role and has served on multiple committees. >> I was going to say and served on the >> in the past. So, I uh if I'm the only one who has a preference, I would like to >> Okay, >> I'm in favor of six as well. >> Okay, there you go. >> Okay. >> I just want to go on record to make sure that we understand that we're choosing two adults for pro and two adults for con. >> Two adults for pro, two adults for pro >> because of a student voice, which we >> value up here at this on our board. And had there been a con student voice, we would I'm assum put a student there as well. >> Correct. >> Okay.
120I just want to get that out there so there's no question like how did we get to this uneven number, >> right? >> And it's because we have a student. >> Correct. And to be clear, half of our applicants for the pro were students. So um very excited to see their interest in doing this work. >> Okay. All right. Okay. >> So, are you ready for a motion? >> All right. >> Having done this completely backwards. >> So, sorry if this looked like we were confused and wondering what we were doing. It's sometimes you just have to do it. >> That's cuz all our work is done in public. >> All our work is done in public. >> There's no >> We didn't pick them beforehand. >> We got to make the sausage. Yep. >>
121Okay. We'll go with the first one. So I move the board appoint the following individuals and that is Kelly Mun Wright Null and Nyall Dala to the pro committee and Jeff Borman and Michelle Williams to the con committee for resolution 1250 school bus levy. >> Second. >> Okay. Any other comments? All those in favor say I. >> I. I. >> I. >> Any opposed? The eyes have it. >> Okay. Capital. I don't have Okay. I have to go back and open one more. Okay. The next one. I move the board appoint the following individuals. Kelly Mun Wright Null Na Della Diala. Sorry if I'm pronouncing his last name incorrectly. uh to the pro committee and Jeff Borman and Michelle Williams to the con committee >> for resolution 1249 replacement capital levy capital projects levy >>
122second. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? The eyes have it. >> Sorry I am missing the last one. Crap. So last one I did bus. I did bus. I did capital. So EPO. Yeah. Okay. >> EPNO is coming up. If it was open. Great. I move the board to appoint the following individuals. Kelly Mun Wright null anal >> dila. Delila to the pro committee and Jeff Boardman Michelle Williams to the con committee for resolution 1248 replacement for educational programs and operations levy. >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? The eyes have it. Thank you for doing that. And that is the making of sausage when a board meets and does all its work in public. So I appreciate that. The next item
123on the agenda is a monitor monitoring report for operational operational expectation 11 discipline. Um we will have public comment. Is there a um staff presentation first? >> Okay. We will start with that and then move into public comment and then board discussion. We did do a we did have student reports from both of them. So after public comment, we'll have our student report. How does that? Good evening, director, student representative, superintendent Talia. I'm Melinda Rinban, executive director of elementary education, and Dr. Dr. Jacqueline Downey is joining me at the podium this evening and we're here to share the OE1 monitoring report with you. As you'll see in the report, we've maintained full compliance. Are we going to have the report up for people to see? Sorry. I'll give it a minute. Perfect. Thank you. We
124maintain full compliance with OE1, ensuring safe, inclusive, and equitable learning environments. Our district leadership team has been collaborating closely around our problem of practice, implementing positive, proactive supports to reduce disproportionality and discipline. As we see in the report, exclusionary discipline in school and out of school suspensions remain very low, impacting less than 1% of our student population for the past two years. While this trend is slight and predictable, it underscores the importance of sustaining and strengthening our proactive systems. This work aligns with our commitment and we know there's always work to do so that all students feel safe and valued. Our most recent data shows continued progress at the elementary level, which may be based on our intentional revisit of common agreements after every calendar break that we spoke about last year. We'll continue to
125implement this and see if this positive trend continues. Understanding that these results reflect the impact of tier 1 and tier 2 supports and restorative practices. We also continue to focus on high leverage practices at all levels such as universal design for learning and culturally responsive education. At the same time, we remain focused on addressing disproportionality particularly for students and opportunity gap groups. This includes following our comprehensive coordinated early intervening services plan where we allocate federal funds to address systemic inequities and incorporate root cause analysis into our work. In preparing for this report with our student representatives who shared the surveys of their peers in valuable insight, one thing continues to resonate. We can't get too much of a good thing. The more visible and consistent our common agreements for pro-social behaviors are, the easier it
126is for students to understand and follow expectations. We deeply appreciate the time and energy our student representatives invested in the process and their collective voices will continue to guide our efforts to strengthen belonging and engagement. We know you value hearing what's next. While OE1 was finalized before that feedback came in, we want to share what we're planning on moving forward. We'll continue to set goals to reduce disproportionality, especially for black students and students with disabilities. We'll expand proactive supports and refine our tier one and tier 2 systems. Based on feedback from our student representatives, we can increase our tier one supports such as code of conduct posters and common areas, particularly at the secondary level, having handbook copies in Canvas for easy accessibility and provide userfriendly communication around positive behavior intervention systems. Uh we also
127can use PowerBI tools to identify students needing support earlier. Uh other plans for eliminating disproportionality. Uh we are having collaborative data studies on discipline data. We have an multiple multiple tiered support system of supports fidelity of implementation rubric uh that we are piloting this year. And we also have a discipline matrix that is going to be consistent across K12 and that will be finalized in the spring of 2026. We just want to thank you for your continued commitment as a board to our problem of practice and the strategic plan themes of wellness, academics, equity, and engagement. The more students there are there are that feel that they belong and can participate to their fullest potential, the closer we come to achieving our mission of students thriving and making a positive impact. Okay, thank you. Um,
128we do have uh for public comment, we have one person signed up, uh, Camille, Wright. [clears throat] >> Good evening. My name is Camille Wright. I'm a teacher at Maywood and I'm my feeder school is Liberty. I appreciate that the purpose of this OE1 report is to show how the district works to maintain a safe, inclusive, and equitable learning environment through clear communication and consistent enforcement of discipline policies. The focus on restorative and non-exclusionary practices reflects a genuine effort to support students and reduce disproportionality. However, while the report provides detailed information on suspensions, it doesn't include data on lower level behavior infractions, the daily incidents that shape how progressive discipline is actually carried out. Without that information, it's difficult to know whether in interventions are effective, consistent, or equitable across schools. We also need dis
129disagregated data that shows whether repeated infractions lead to escalating consequences or simply result in repeated interventions. Without that transparency, it's hard to see whether accountability and support are truly in balance. Equity doesn't mean avoiding consequences. It means applying them fairly, consistently, and transparently so expectations are clear and trust is maintained. When pa p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p patterns of misbehavior go unressed, confidence in the system erodess and the learning environment suffers. Teachers are seeking the same dis seeing the same disruptive behaviors every day without meaningful consequences. So my question is how far must progressive discipline go before real accountability is
130applied? And when will we see disagregated data on all behavior infractions and progressive responses, not just suspensions. So equity and accountability true go truly go hand in hand. Clarifying these thresholds and sharing that data would strengthen consistency, rebuild trust and ensure the fairness and accountability remain central to a safe and supportive learning environment for all students. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we had two students provide reports. And so, if you want to come up to the lectern Hey, >> state your name for the record. >> Is this on? Okay, great. Hi, I'm Abad, the student rep for Isqua High School. Um, this OE1 report was, I think, really interesting because it had the same questions that I reported on last year. So, there's kind of some comparative analysis going on. Um the window was
131October 27th to October 30th. It was pushed out on Canvas. Got a total of 164 responses, which is 7% of the IHS population. Um I've broken this down into two primary categories compared to like the year-on-year growth or decline. So I'm going to start off with the decline and then we're going to get positive. Um but we saw less positive associations regarding how students feel about the disciplinary process when they go through it. Um this can be seen in three main questions. Number one, to what degree do you feel disciplinary action at IHS is motivated by restoration? For example, reflection, conflict resolution, and growth as opposed to simply punishment or punitive action. Um the number one option being I feel that most disciplinary measures are restorative had 24% of responses but that's down 10% from
132last year. Uh we also saw a similar decline in the questions do you feel that you or other IS students were treated in in a respectful manner in disciplinary situations 12% down in positive responses. Um and then the third one do you feel that disciplinary measures taken in response to IG's actions are reasonable? um which was a 9% drop from last year. Now, students took the uh question at the end, which was kind of a free response portion to explain some of that. They felt as though new attendance policies and flex policies were a little bit misplaced, especially since they often resulted in suspensions where students were missing more school. Um but on the positive note, we had a lot more questions that showed growth. So, we've seen improvement in district communications with students as
133well as a reduction in bias regarding the implementation of disciplinary policy. So, more students said that they had received a copy of the student handbook. That was a 7% increase. Um, we saw a 5% increase in students who said it was easier to find and view district discipline policies. Um, and we saw an 8% and 6% respectively increase in students who felt as though all disciplinary policies at IHS were applied equally regardless of either a students relationship with staff or b students demographic including race, gender, and background. Um, and then lastly, we saw growth in students who felt as though disciplinary action at IHS preserved positive learning environments, which was up 3% from last year. So although we've had a good amount of fluctuation across the board, um I would say that it was largely
134positive and it's really interesting to see that growth. Parish, student representative from Liberty High School. Um the OE1 report land at Liberty. Uh I sent out Microsoft form between October 27th and October 31st. There were 155 student responses around 10% of students. Each question asked uh had a specific tieback to OE1 with the main focuses revolving around student awareness of discipline policies, ensuring policies were communicated in a way that was meaningful to students and that expectations were fairly uh upheld amongst all students regardless of race, gender, any other criteria. I'm going to dive into some of the specific question findings. Uh first going off with 2B, the rules are explained in a way I can understand. So about a third of students indicated that although current communication efforts were effective in communicating discipline policies, there's
135still room to grow and making sure policies are communicated in a way that is again meaningful to students. Uh 2D I'm aware of the consequences for breaking a rule. Overall, this is a pretty positive question that students know consequences of breaking rule and that discipline disciplinary outcomes are clearly communicated. Uh going to 2E, when students make mistakes, the school focuses on repairing harm and helping students get back on track. This is kind of an interesting question because 30% of students responded negatively. Uh after asking students and prompting them more about this, students highlighted that there was weak if any support/communication following a disciplinary incident. So prior there it was going great and then following the incident and the consequences it really plummeted. 2F I know how to report a safety concern. Um 80% of students
136responded positively but 80 is not 100. So the 20% you know was kind of shocking to me. Um there is a gap in communicating you know on communicating who to contact regarding safety issues and when to contact them. Uh 2G I feel comfortable reporting disruptions that affect my learning. Again kind of similar thing here. 30% of students responding negatively. Um because of you know fears of speaking up or fear of not being taken seriously. Uh one question that I added in uh was when was the last time you referred to slashopen slash read the Liberty Student Handbook? And this by far is the most shocking question because over 70% of students said they have never opened it slash cannot remember the last time they opened it and I am part of that 70%. Um I
137I asked I asked students about this because I I was I was a little bit curious and the biggest responses I got where the information was difficult to understand partly because of the abundance of what I like to call legalo jumbo but also because of the length and this length makes regulations unclear especially when the handbook is often referred to as a first place to go for disciplinary consequences. Uh there's a lot of bad but there's a lot of good. Question four revolved around enforcement of discipline and the execution and responses were pretty uh positive that classroom disruptions are typically handled quickly. Um that students trust school staff to address safety issues and that adults treat students professionally and respectfully. Uh overall question five and question six were just uh overall questions. So question five,
138how safety feel at school? Overall students feel pretty safe with an average of 7.60. Obviously, that's not going to be 10. Um, but the discipline policies and their enforcement are mostly effective. And question six was, overall, how clear are the school discipline rules and processes? The average is 6.6. So, what this does show is that the policies are being communicated, but there is still room for improvement again and making sure that they're communicated effectively in some in a way that is meaningful to students. You know, taking the legalo jumbo out of it. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Okay, we will open it up to board comments, questions that you might have. Director Taylor. >> Um, I do have some questions. Uh, first of all, I just want to say, you know, uh, overall, I
139think the data here looks pretty static and in this case, static is generally good. I'm talking uh I should say I'm talking about uh the big general interpretation of the report um and the fact that we have less than 1% of our district students receiving exclusionary um discipline. I mean obviously we would like to keep our students in the learning environment as much as we can. So I you know that's a great number that we are maintaining and sustaining. So I'm glad to see that. Now that being said, uh, turning to page 11 and I look at the middle school data for out of school exclusionary discipline and in school, I found this to be rather surprising in that we saw a 53% increase in incidents with students receiving out of school ex um, exclusionary
140discipline and the 54% for in school exclusionary discipline. Do we have an explanation as to why? >> We do. Um we actually had um some legal advice of how we were coding some of our instances and so that was corrected. But that is one of the explanations um behind some of the numbers between the year before and this year. >> Okay. And then I just had I think one other question. uh two actually. Um on page 17, there's a discussion about um IEA and the district discipline committee which met regularly. It just wasn't clear to me what the outcome was of those discussions and we um I don't know if there's a place that I can find that that I can learn about what came out of those. they uh were through the um negotiated
141agreement that it was co-f facilitated by IEA in the district >> and so we had district representatives there were agendas created um from both sides and they met quarterly and they did range from um having guests come and talk about some of the data and some of the proactive strategies. Uh we talked about transitions. I know the board is also interested in hearing about transitions from um school level to school level, how we're supporting students and how we're having positive supports when students start, particularly I think between like elementary and middle school um and what that looks like and how it impacts behavior. We also talked about the schoolwide information system that we recorded instances on. Um so it depended from meeting to meeting what the agenda was and it was um co-designed with IEA
142and the district >> and the outcome was like a calibration of policy or I [clears throat] think that's the piece that I'm missing. >> It was a a two-way communication opportunity for us to hear what their topics were and for us to share um what we were hoping to gather feedback on. Um and the topics ranged around discipline. I think initially when it started the laws had changed around discipline policies by the state and every year we have um a professional development for all staff and so initially we created that collaborating with IIA so they we both understood the interpretation of the new state regulations and then every fall when we kicked it off that's where we started but we also used it as an opportunity to collaborate around um opportunities for ideas around discipline
143and we still have conversations around how can we invite families and community members to help us co-design some of our discipline supports. >> Okay. And then uh my last question is really just for me to get some education. I'm just curious when there is a disciplinary issue or misconduct I guess I should say on a school bus what happens? What is the chain of reporting for that and how are those issues dealt with? I just don't know. >> Well, the I it says in the report a little bit about how um there is definitely the primary source of who's there at the time and so our transportation department does play a role in investigating. There are partnerships between information that's found out on the bus and if things might impact things at school, there's always
144a collaboration between the transportation staff and the school staff. So, it's depends on what the situation is. Um, you probably know that we do have cameras on our buses, so there's a lot of investigating that goes on and they always try to have um a fair and just success plan for all students. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any other questions, comments? Director Gallinger. So uh in past years we have had information that pertain to more than just what was out of school or exclusionary discipline. We would have by building breakdown for Swiss data as an example. Uh and so I think I do want to know like how it looks beyond just exclusionary discipline and love to know why the pivot away from having that information as part of our monitoring report. Like what's the
145sort of why behind that? >> We've noted that and I'm going to have an opportunity to get back to you. I do remember last year we did have a work study session and we did look at data together and I would have to go back and look to see if we talked about Swiss data there but I think that's what I can recall is that we talked about it in a work study and we can talk about noting that and seeing how we can get back to you on the Swiss data. Was there any other information other than the Swiss data? >> Yeah >> and by school. Yeah. >> Yes. Because I was going to ask about that as well. We did see to, you know, to the public comment earlier, we did, I think
146it was a work study that we had, we did have the this exact conversation about frequency of um additional incidences. And so that was one of the things we were able to look at. Uh and actually I remember it being quite interesting to look at how few like the the small number of students that were returning to behavior concerns or disciplinary concerns after the first time. So I know we had a we did a full work study on that. It's not here but I that that's the conversation we've had. So um I know that that's been available to us in the past. I don't know if that's the same thing you were remembering. Um, but that was actually going to be my comment that we've certainly had that discussion and what that looks like. Um,
147so just adding to that, I have other comments that I was having the same remember. >> Then I would say page 18. It's interesting that this minor report includes things that happened like just last month. I'm not used to seeing that. So to me that would be a an exception for so I understand why for this year it's not an exception because we're monitoring last year but just as you guys move forward I would consider that an exception as far as for this report next year. >> Yeah noted. Yeah >> noted. Thank you. >> And I appreciate the early notification. So thank you for that. And hopefully then a year from now there'll be a more robust like here's what we've done. You may not even have answers, but I suspect you'll have done more
148than what you just you've listed here today. >> Okay. Any other thoughts? >> Um I do have a maybe it's a comment. So I think I think one of my questions is is the disconnect between what I feel is a disconnect between how we communicate to students um you know what the discipline structure is and what the consequences are and how they are choosing to uh absorb that information and I think that comes out in the both of the reports in in different ways, right? And so I think I understand why we operationally are are so heavily are heavily dependent on my opinion on the handbook. Um, and I see like some of the other cases, right? We're teaching in different ways. But I do wonder what is our opportunity to figure out how to
149break through on that topic of like what is the behavior and what are the consequences in a way in which students are absorbing it. Um, the handbook is it's a way it's a way to have the documentation, but what's the way to actually get to the absorption? I think the other thing that comes up Um, so I don't know if you've done any thinking about what might be a modernized way to get to get to that level of agreement and alignment, understanding with students. I think the other thing that came up in this the student feedback that I really have questions about is is the what happens after discipline because to me that is directly related to if discipline happens again. Um, and I think what students have communicated and continue to communicate through that
150feedback is that it is it can be an unsatisfactory experience for them post discipline. And so what what are we doing in that area? whether we're calling it restorative or we're calling it something else, but there's something in the in the communication and the restorative piece that isn't isn't working on the student end of it. Um, which I think leads to why we have um or at least as a contributor to why in the amount of cases we have, we have the consistent repeat, right? So what what conversations or what approaches fall in that category? >> Thank you. >> Sorry, I was forming my own thoughts. Ava, >> wait. Sorry. I was hoping to hear something. Hoping there was like a discussion. I was hoping there was a discussion on that one. >> I didn't
151hear one forthcoming. So sorry. >> I can just note. >> Silence. Yes, >> I mean I think restorative practices are very important um in resolving situations at school and involving students in that process. Um speaking for myself, uh being still newer to the district, I'm learning what our processes are for that and that's something I'm interested in um continuing to inquire about. I think a challenge for students sometimes when they see discipline uh or actions that warrant discipline amongst their peers is not knowing what happens as a result. Um sometimes if there's an issue in a classroom, restorative work can happen in that space and that makes sense. Sometimes the discipline is not shared often is not shared um to protect students privacy and so that is a difficult thing sometimes for students when they
152say I don't know what happened um in terms of consequences for students. So I just want to note that tension. Yeah, I mean that's difficult for every everybody and it kind of hits at one of my core concerns around discipline in general is that and it goes back to my handbook comment which is I think we need a new a new way in which we talk about discipline. I think we tend to get down this path of an a specific incident happened with a specific student and therefore there's a privacy reason in which we are not talking about the consequences. I think that can all be avoided >> if we were to talk about what are the categories of discipline and what are the consequences for those categories without an incident on the table >>
153and directly connected back to my comment which I'd love to go back to which is about modernizing this approach of the handbook. So I think those are all interconnected to me and I know that's a I saw the handwave. Uh I know that's a huge dissatisfier for parents as well >> and I think it is an un it is an unself-inflicted crisis >> because we could choose to just say more in the beginning >> like we know we know what typical behaviors are. So what are typical what are typical responses? what are typical caveats in which there may be an unexpected response um or you know like not that response right there might be a circumstance of ability or some other uh concern to the student that might be a caveat. So I I would
154just I guess maybe my my ask is that the I think the work to be done is to figure out how we talk about discipline without the specific incursion >> and do that more consistently, more openly because it leaves everyone in a bit of dismay. And I think for whatever reason, because again, as Marne said in her opening, I came here for I came to this work as well because the discipline isn't working. >> I've had a lot of other topics to deal with in the last six years, but I still come back to that as what what I sit in this seat. >> And so my ask is like how I don't know what the committee is doing, but how do we just talk about this like regular people? Kids make bad decisions and
155when they make bad decisions, things happen. And let's just put that on the table a bit more clearly. And the handbook clearly is not operating if Chris has to >> has to like out himself as like not opening his handbook [laughter] tonight. So, uh, I really need to figure out how we because I I go discipline report to discipline report on the same topic. So, I'll ask in the way I asked it earlier, like what what do I need to ask or say in order to specifically address this topic prior to this next viewing? >> I do think um that's part of the power of what uh Director Taylor's doing is taking notes like this is something we want addressed next time. I think the process that I don't have in place is how that
156piece of paper with those notes gets included as part of the packet of information that we as a board get to remind us >> of what it is we said last time. >> Yeah. I just want to be >> leave that process with you. >> It should be attached as a an addendum to it. Yeah. But even in that case, while I love that, that means I will be reminded next year. >> And so, >> well, it's supposed to be used to remind the district this year. >> Okay. >> So, as they're as they're proceeding through the year at next year, they know that information is going to be presented to the board. >> I will just confirm that that is we took look at those notes uh that the board is on the disposition
157of uh the outcome of the monitoring process. So we look at those notes and incorporate that and we have a system for how we do that. >> That's helpful. But we have but that's a great suggestion to also make sure that that note that you wrote is extreme. >> So my lever is with AJ in his note takingaking to ensure that I would like uh progress updates on how we become more non occurrence specific. How we provide more clarity on discipline so that students can absorb it and so that our whole community understands what happens and how it's handled that is proactive and not in the individual privacy concern of the occurrence. And I also have to say I saw um executive director show looking tently intently at us as we're having that conversation because
158it is a communication speed uh piece. How do we better communicate our overall discipline so that the public knows that we are looking at restorative justice that the public knows that by the way you are not going to be able to find out the exact results of discipline for a student because they are owed that privacy. Um and so but overall this is how we handle these things. If you come to homecoming and you have alcohol with you, what is the result going to be? And so that the we as a community can go that's what I expected. Not that that ever happens, but um just a case in point. So I think that is important information to have. Any other comments? >> I would. Yes. Because I'm here and now I'm warm on the
159topic. So I think maybe I'll offer instead of just a vague like I want this he wants I'll offer an example. So um there's a lot of compliance we have to deal with in corporate America. I say this for my peer next to me and one of the things that's challenging is like how do you get a lot of busy people in this case kids parents moving a lot of different directions to absorb that. So I would just say in the last few years we've gone to much more of scenariobased training. D um you know it even has a disclaimer in the beginning. This is no specific person and no specific circumstance but how do we um maybe up the production value or the interest value of what we're sharing because these disciplinary I I
160doubt that there's a new need to discipline that has been discovered this year. I think kids are repeating the same disciplinary things over and over again. if there's a new one, you'll let me know. But I think there's an opportunity to say like here's circumstances that happen in our schools, don't do them or these things happen and put that in a much more um digestible format that actually shares the concern and shares what can happen versus reading. I think that was one of the student comments, right? Just merely the length and the word count is too high. So, I would just offer that as maybe something I would love to see since you got into the communication side of it is what are the vignettes of concern because I know these reports of the categories
161have always been the same, right? So, how do we share it that way? >> I got it. >> Okay. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt the discussion there earlier, but um just because I have some of the survey data in front of me and I've also been talking to students about specifically like the way district messaging comes across to them and what channels that happens in via our um like student voice interviews that are currently not currently ongoing but just concluded. Um a couple things that I wanted to talk about. Number one, a lot of students have been talking about how anytime it seems like we need to get a a good amount of information from the district that is deemed to be really important, it happens in home room. Uh but I think there's
162a general sense among students that home room is not a viable method of communicating the most important information. Students are oftentimes checked out in home room. they're working on other things which is of course not ideal um but is very present and there are a lot of students who are just not going to home room in the first place uh which especially if we're talking about things like disciplinary policies if those are the students we want to be talking to then I think it's also important to think about like what our channels of communication are and how we can reach students when they're most engaged. Um, the other thing is when I presented a second ago, I grouped in students at Isqua having more access to handbooks as part of our growth. Um, but I
163also want to make it really clear 21% at Islequa had looked at their handbook. Um, which was 7% more than last year. So, it's it's still pretty dismal. Um, and I think that part of that also comes from like Chris was saying, if you go on the ISD website, and I'm just looking at Isqua High School Handbook right now for I'm for the first time in a while. Um, but there's there are a lot of tabs and if I'm trying to find a specific instance or disciplinary circumstance, there's a lot that I have to navigate through. Um, and there's a lot of listing of prohibited behaviors, but not a listing of those consequences like you guys were talking about. So, I think that just looking at how we are communicating those to students and when
164we're communicating that is something to think about. >> Great. >> Um, yes. Uh, Chris and then Leia. >> Thank you. I want to add on to all this point. It's not just about when it's being communicated, but how. Currently, you know, if you were a student at Liberty High School and you were uh being informed about the discipline policies, it typically happened at the start of year, you'd walk into your advisory class, you'd sit down and a 30 minute long video would be played with and it typically be a counselor and administrator going through slides and they'd be reading off the slides in the most monotone voice you can imagine. And I think you can kind of see the issue with that is especially when it's a long video like that, all the content is
165covered but students stop listening after one minute. Um, and the other thing is I think with discipline policies, you know, they're supposed to be restorative in nature, but a lot of times it feels like the discipline is administered but not a lot of followup or support is given. And I feel like that's why you see a lot of those repeat offenses and that's what students at Liberty are saying as well. >> Great, Leia. wanted to say something like pretty similar. Um I think in our schools and like just how we've grown up, we always see the same students that are again and again making these mistakes and then that disciplinary action has to happen. And so I think one point um even more than communication at least for for me to focus on is like
166pinpointing that group group of kids and seeing how we can use restorative actions to make them um not make those mistakes again rather than just the discipline which a a lot of students will tend to ignore and just not not really pay attention to that. So just I I think um maybe going forward it may be important to see how resto more restorative actions can be used to help further students. Yeah, >> thank you. Yes, Vida. Um, definitely like p um building off of what Chris and Maya said, um I definitely think the like the baseline knowledge that people have in the district about like how like the consequences of actions and just how generally the discipline system works is not the best that it could be. I mean, uh, flex time, I think it's
167differently called in every single school, but flex time is a time where students really want to do work. They want to catch up on like academics or they just want to like decompress. So, trying to cram a bunch of information about um like discipline, I said kind of exactly what they said. It wouldn't be the most effective um method of communication. And I feel as the communication is the most important aspect as it's kind of like preventative even before someone has like say like done an action worthy of discipline if they are like reached out to and like communicated transparently with beforehand. I feel that is kind of getting ahead of the problem. um often when there's like less communication then these sort of like mistakes happen within like students. >> Thank you. Um I
168had a few questions and they actually are different kind of a different topic along this um and then might be more appropriate for Shireen. Um I was looking at the data with regards to student with disabilities um and really trying to get at the um manifestation determination meetings and so are there being are there meetings for each student when they're being excluded from school. So 11.1 evidence talks about the annual training for school psychologists but I don't know is the number of manifestation determination meetings correlating to the exclusionary discipline of which in our middle schools there were 49 students and uh in our high schools 37 students with disabilities um who received exclusionary discipline. that represents 110 incidents at the middle school, 56 incidents at the high school, but they represent 62% of all middle
169school students excluded and 64% of all high school students excluded. So my question is around what are the supports if they are on an IEP, if they are students with disability, what is the um and it's IEP or 504 that they should have a manifestation determination meeting for the public. That means the the guidance team needs to determine is the behavior um a result of their disability and if so what are the processes around that? So I I just I am questioning when it comes to 62% of all students who are disciplined are have a a 504 or an IEP. Um that's middle school students. 64% of all high school students. And so I have concerns that our students who are the most vulnerable are the ones that are also the highest excluded. >> Yeah.
170And just following up on that specifically about 11.3 when the interpretation sentence states, I interpret this to mean that the district has a plan that is updated with goals and milestones that reduce inequities and disproportionate outcomes with a goal of no gaps. And yet there's nothing that actually follows that sentence that talks about those things. Not one part of the following thing. >> We start with Go ahead. I was going to say for you know students with IEPs we strive to have proactive plans with the students and particularly in their qualifying areas but if behavior occurs that results in a suspension it indicates that our proactive measures need to be revised and so the typical measures do include calling an IEP meeting and that would involve the family communication participation. um it might mean an
171adjustment in a behavior intervention plan or creating one. Um we look at emergency response plans. We review their specially designed instruction to make sure that is meeting the student needs. Um we're exploring other supports as needed. And so um it is looking at what are the proactive supports that have been put into place having a meeting to talk about does there need to be more individualized intensive supports and what does that look like and it is individual because it depends on the student and also looking at the entire student. Sometimes there's frustration levels that students are having that results in behavior. So it's having the team across the table including the family to talk about that. So does that happen before the dis discipline is executed? Anytime there's going to be a conversation around exclusionary
172discipline, we have a system where the school does talk to an executive director at that level. So say an elementary school has an instance come up, then the principal would be talking to Susan Mandell or myself. Or if the middle or high school has an incident come up that could result in exclusionary discipline, they're calling the executive director. We're always asking questions about does the student have a 504, do they have an IEP, and we actually have um kind of a checklist that we're going through every time an incident comes up just to make sure that we're following the protocol. And we are looking at all of the different characteristics and profile of the student to make the best decisions for them. >> Y Dr. Carver and I were actually just recently talking about um
173manifestation determination meetings and the importance of them. Um, so they are required if a student is reaching 10 days of suspension. Obviously, that is a lot and we don't want to reach that point. So, we were talking about how can we bring the IEP teams together and encourage that conversation as soon as we're having a suspension or behaviors that are leading to uh behaviors that could warrant a suspension. Um, speaking to your point, Director Gallinger about 11.3, one of the main things that we believe is going to help um improve the disproportionality in the plan, the comprehensive coordinated early intervening services, I'll call CCIS, it's a little bit easier to say, um, which addresses the overidentification of students with IEPs who identify as black or Hispanic. Nick Latino and the over representation of black students
174um receiving discipline. We believe that our tier one practices are what we need to continue to strengthen um to improve these outcomes. So the CCIS plan really focused on the multi-tered system of support um both implementing tier one interventions and um tier 2 in targeted locations. um similar to like our equity based budgeting process looking at our data seeing where there are needs. Um so while this doesn't name a specific plan with goals related to uh as as stated in the interpretation uh the CCIS plan we believe is a plan that is getting at the need underneath that. Now moving forward um as Dr. Rinband mentioned we are crafting the plan with the specific goals and strategies and milestones including uh data analysis just in a couple weeks about our current discipline data. >> And
175as a reminder this this was a new part of the policy that was added. So this is our first year monitoring for first time monitoring for last school year. Um and we did have some discussion around the CCIS plan that is referenced here as well um as something possibly to include in the future. So now that we know that there's that interest, we can do that as well um or highlight key elements of that. So this is a helpful calibration. Now this is our first year providing evidence for this particular item. So thank you for the questions. Any other comments? Okay. Uh, do we have an advisory vote ready for our students? Okay, waiting for two more. Is everybody ready? I only see three responses. Oh, if it's refreshed, they're all there. Okay. Somebody might
176have voted before they walked out the door. Um, we've had two students that had to leave already. Um, great. Thank you for your advisory vote, students, and for your input as well. So, with a motion on the floor, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Nay. >> I have two eyes and one nay. The motion passes. Next on the agenda is the budget development guidelines. So this is an annual um process that the board reviews there are budget development guidelines. These provide information to the district um as they develop the budget. So yes, we are already talking about a budget that will be in September of 2026. And apparently the students are looking at the clock going, "It's time for me to get to my homework." >> So, thank you
177so much. >> Okay. >> By the budget, >> CFO attorney. >> So, we start the budget and everyone walks out. That's okay. That's okay. I love numbers. >> I did bring we did bring a presentation for this one [laughter] like earlier. Um so thank you. Um so we are at that time again. Yes, we've we've uh finished the year. Maria and team have done a lot to uh close and get the financial statements uh done and off to OSPI. So, we're at that stage where we can give you some uh final financial information, um some of the current information, and then of course what we're thinking about for next year. And that leads into um the budget development guidelines, that kind of first stage of what we need to do to get direction from you.
178So, we're hoping at the end of this we can um have maybe a first look at what they look like last year and any thoughts from you on how you might want us to maybe start tweaking those for you and bring you back something a little different uh next meeting. So, I am going to hand it off to Mariah. She's going to walk you through these slides. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, board of directors and community. So, we're going to provide a 2425 financial update. um look at key trends that will help our budget development for 2627 as well as enrollment changes for the beginning of the 2526 school year and then gather feedback from the board for the 2627 budget development guidelines. So for 2425, we began with $52.1 million in the bank.
179And at our last budget update, we projected 46.3 million to be what we would end up with. And we had an actual ending fund balance of 45.9. So we were only off by less than $400,000. Um, which isn't typical for a district our size. Uh usually it is in the multi-million dollar range because we have over a $400 million budget. So we are uh very happy with that. And um we also have the planned uh 6 million uh $6.2 million in the decline in the fund balance for 2425. So you'll see here with our trend we um grew the fund balance and up to 2324 and then we started up we had investments for 2425 um which brought our fund balance down by 6 million and uh to note is the change is our uh
180budget keeps growing as expenditures do continue to grow each year and so as that um fund balance number declines you'll notice that the rate of um ending fund balance to budget expenditures will continue to decline if you um continue to have a that $6 million. So we went from 13% to 11% for and this is a detailed view of our ending fund balance. Um, and so we want to keep this between three to 7% for as part of our board parameters uh for our unreserved amount. And so for the 45.9, the unreserved amount was 4.5% within those parameters. Some things to note, we we were able to reserve the $20 million for the future school facilities. Um, as well as something to show is that our prepaid items were lower than usual. us. Um, in
181the last couple years they've been around 6 to7 million and they were um around $3 million and that's something that we continue to monitor as we have to reserve those funds each year. So for our revenue trend with uh the biggest driver for enrollment for uh revenue is enrollment. So we had over a 400 student decline for 2425. So you'll notice that we we did decline in revenue with that enrollment. And with our expenditures, we had planned investments. So we had um curriculum adoptions with implementation staff for 2425 as well as other student supports throughout the system. Um and so that's that jump from 4 to 7% in expenditures for 2425. So for 2526 fund balance, we're um we are projecting that we will have a a a similar decline as 2425. And so that
182would if we do reserve that $20 million that's going to bring the unreserved below that 3%. And but we will continue to preserve as much as we can while maintaining that 3 to 7% um policy compliance. So enrollment um is a year- round process but it formally starts in October uh with our enrollment coming in with that first count date and um throughout the year once we get that we look at every school grade cohort looking at the historical trends housing developments birth rates um the rollup as well at each of those levels um and so we start that process on October and Then we also work directly with the external demographer flow analytics who also ensure some external benchmarking. We compare um by those classes by grade by school as well to to what
183they show um for 2526. We we did go at the midpoint um in that with what they also had a midpoint scenario. We were just below that. And so I'll I'll go into what our 2526 was at um in the next slides coming up. But um some milestones. So we finance uh gives the staffing allocations to HR. They work with the buildings um to staff those buildings and then we make um a lot of changes depending on you know movement in the district uh [snorts] different schools all the way from spring to August. And so we're working very closely as a team uh finance, HR, and the principles having a lot of conversations about classes and class size. And we're also looking at open positions as well as um in August if we need to
184we will excess. And that's a very difficult decision to do. Um and we we only do that as absolute we have to at that point in August. Um I have been talking to other districts. Some districts do actually excess and move um classrooms in October. So I was very surprised to learn that. Um and they were like I hate October. They literally told me that. So they were like, "Oh my gosh." And so I was like I told them about our process and they're like, "Okay, maybe we we might try try to change that if we can." So um largest one-year enrollment decline since the pandemic. That was what happened for 2526. So we did decline by almost 560 students and um we that's over 3% of our enrollment. The main driver of that was
185in migration out migration of families. And so we although birth rate is low in King County by 14% the number of kindergarten kids came in 7% below that birth rate. So that was over 78 students um just in kindergarten. And then we also do see families relocating uh to more affordable areas within Washington or out of state. And so this is the main driver for the enrollment decline. and also some of our neighbors as well. Um I've been talking to other districts and they also did see a large decline in 42526. So with the projection we came in um the enrollment came in 200 F 215 FD below and so because of and the the the main reasons for that is that running start did increase uh by 84 FTE and then the enrollment um
186was below expected birth rates. However, although this was a historic enrollment decline, the net staffing impact was minimal. And that's from the work of um the finance and HR teams and the principles working together all the way through spring to um the beginning of class to help minimize that impact and making those moves um when needed. So, we haven't hit our ceiling and running start. Um we did grow uh over 800 students in Running Start. We expected to still be in the 700 range and so we'll continue to monitor that. And what you'll notice is 22 23 to 24 we stabilized as a district after CO and now we have a uh steady decline since then. So we are at 2013 levels in terms of enrollment for uh 2526. Okay. So some context for as
187you consider your budget development guidelines for 2627. So we would do expect a continued draw down in our fund balance. Uh we do expect to have continued enrollment decline. We also are going to be projecting more at the low scenario rather than at the midpoint until it stabilizes. And then we also are making a lot of strategic efforts to help mitigate that. So we're leveraging attrition when it's appropriate. We are, you know, filling positions with substitutes and um we're also though we're still keeping in focus um student learning and student need at the core as we make these decisions and moves. And then also we are already develop started developing our long range financial planning and that will help assist us with sustainability as a district long term. I also want to mention that um
188going live next week we you if you are interested parents community staff you can apply to be a part of our expanded financial analysis core team. So, if you would ever like to learn more um and have more discussion around budget, enrollment, different things that drive revenue, expenditures, um there will be a process for that and you can apply. It'll go live and it's four annual meetings um a year and you also at the very end will be able to provide your feedback and insights along the way. But we will be developing the annual budget guide. So that can be a lot uh if you are interested in that it can be a lot of fun. So [laughter] um we provided the prior year guidelines and we also um provided critical steps and dates the
189legislation dates coming up for this year. um the fact team meetings and different things like that. And some recommendations uh would be to reduce the $20 million for the future school facilities to 10 as that construction phase is close as well as preservation of the equity based investments in student supports. um continue enhancing our multi-year budgeting forecasting which will be very important to our long-term sustainability and also taking proactive strategies for um a lot of different potential impacts to revenue loss. Um continue to look at legislation statewide um locally and federally and thank you and if any questions or feedback please let us know. Thank you. So, um this does not have any proposed action. So, this is not a time where public comment is um for this line item. So, we'll go directly into
190comments from the board. And this is somewhat of our time to look at what we've proposed in the past and what we might want to change for this year's uh board development. That really should be done hopefully by the next meeting to support staff January at the latest latest latest. >> So do I have any >> do you want us to show the uh last year's development guidelines on the screen as well? >> If we can move to that item >> start at the top. >> Do we need to look at the timeline that's also attached or not? just the guidelines. >> Um well the critical steps are for the biggest one for us is um putting together that that timeline. I mean the timeline is the timeline. So if you need information from that
191>> and the main thing to highlight here is that uh as as per the last board budget development guidelines um the inclusion of making sure that we we we get this you know approved by the board um by the February meeting but I think because of the variability in our you know economic climate we were as as president Moraldo said hoping to do this earlier so we could actually move towards both multi-year planning and contingency planning to be able to have a strong sound budget um proposal uh as the board could work through that and iterative nature. I >> think in the technical question so from the consent done item this looks like the first year that I can remember that we don't have a levy roll back so in the budget that was for
192this school year was it budgeted with the anticipation that we would have $70 million for this collection cycle into our budget? >> Yes, it was. Yeah, it was budgeted at 70 million. >> Thank you. >> Sorry, I maybe you didn't ask my question. I There's two documents attached to the agenda. The first document has the overarching budget development guidelines timeline like the critical steps and target dates. Is this one of the things we need to discuss tonight because it had first read. So is this one of the things we just need to confirm that we're comfortable with this grouping or just the other document? >> Usually it's just the other document. This is to show that we are at the beginning step and that that's anticipated to be done well at this point in December
193cuz so we're we're developing our guidelines this month and next month. >> Okay. I'm just asking because this one says first read. So I didn't know if we were you wanted to start the conversation here to see if there's any changes or if we were proposing any changes. >> I see your your question which is I believe that the first read is uh probably an erroneous moment uh because there actually is not new language to propose. So this is really meant to be a first discussion. So that was um an error on our end. So we can note that and the critical steps is just a reminder of the steps that's the but the approval processes of the language that you would want to develop to change modify. So additions, deletions or modifications from last
194year's board budget development guidelines. I will also note already where there would be some modifications which is that the language in there refers to policy governance versus coherent governance. we could we know automatically that we would want to change the language from executive limitations to operational expectations and ends to results and then um uh Miss Bonessk did show some recommended you know things to consider that would help us too as we move forward with the budget cycle. So that's for your consideration. >> Yeah. So I think for me I don't have anything that jumps out at me that I would want to change from our budget development guidelines from 2025. I understand the concern about the $20 million and how that encumbers our fund balance. I still feel pretty strongly about it. However, that we
195have way too many unknowns over this next 12 to 24 months, even before breaking ground, that I think we need to grab hold of every dollar we can for that. And I think that I would go on record saying if we need to address that number or adjust language and policy to say we expect a board exception in uh this period if it drops below 3%. I would rather probably do that than to reduce the amount just on a personal level. But I understand the concern. Obviously, it would be uh at cross purposes to have a budget development guidelines that is asking the superintendent to go against board policy. So, I I think that's what you were trying to subtly tell us tonight. >> Yeah. I I I would agree with that assessment that to
196me maintaining that 20 million is going to be the biggest priority given just the nature of things in that project that have been happening in the past that I would expect to happen in the future. Um and the uncertainty of the day we put shovels in the ground. I share that same point of view. Okay. >> Um I would say of the of the recommendations from um Mariah I would agree with the preservation of equity based budgeting in investments. Um, and I would assume I'm not seeing any nos to that. um enhancing the multi-year budgeting forecast to support sustainable financial planning I think is going to be critical if we um are noting even with the passage of the levy what will those incoming revenues look like um based on what we've gone out to
197the public to ask for um and then the the impact of if we continue to see the the [clears throat] decrease the decline in in student um attendance and how we manage that and what that really because at some point it's going to really make an impact on our budget. >> Absolutely. I mean I think tighter part of that but also back to the comment I made earlier about the roll back. Even though we're not doing a roll back this year, the calculation you provided said we still left $2 million on the table for what our authority could have been had we four years ago forecasted what the legislature would do. Uh so I think there is that gap that we will close by virtue of this next levy that will help. It's not going
198to be like a silver bullet help, but it will certainly help and not it will go in the right direction, not the wrong direction. So, I I do think that there is ways that we are fundamentally trying to address those gaps that you're alluding to. >> Thoughts? >> Um, yeah. So I'm I'm in agreement with maintaining the buffer on building if I guess the uh the suggestion here though is to reduce it to 10 million. It's not sort of what I heard you all say. >> The recommendation from staff is to >> to reduce it to 10. Okay. >> At least director Gallinger and I are like please maintain it at 20 million >> and director Taylor. and director tail >> I guess the the projection we saw we didn't see a projection maintaining that
19920 million into next year yet so that would still come into the future f the future budget conversations is that right like what the impact of that choice is >> yeah so we will continue to update the fund balance projection for 2526 as the year goes on and we'll have a formal update in the spring um but right now We are estimating about 2.6% is what you know we're looking at for uh with the reservation of the 20 million. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Yeah. [clears throat] Got it. Okay. Okay. So, the I guess the other thing that's going through my mind, I'm reserving my right to decide what I think about that later, is is there anything in the conversations we've had earlier tonight, particularly the portrait of the graduate, that I don't
200see represented in these bullets about what we want the programs to um maintain? And I feel like maybe it covers it. I'm wondering, I'm saying it out loud to see if there's another set of eyeballs that might help me ask that question. Do we feel as though these bullets are have a good representation of what we just talked about in the portrait of the graduators or anything else we'd want to call out specifically, but I feel like it's okay, right? It's um student driven opportunities. It's >> yeah in the very first bullet first bullet under a program that allows student to >> Mhm. >> even before that. >> Oh, I was going to say for that bullet because it referenced the strategic plan. >> So that's not going to be necessarily the items in the
201strategic plan by September. Correct. uh the we're kind of straddling in the strategic plan refresh. So the profile of a graduate would certainly be an input into what that looks like next. I think that there's been a lot of uh sort of helpful details that will be kind of in parallel constructing as we go through the budget process. So I think that we'll we'll maintain that fidelity and proximity to the strategic plan. Um, and at this point, you know, a lot of it's affirming what we're doing now and a lot of just how we like use that to inform strategies moving forward into the future that will continue to be, I think, codified here, uh, for future budget development guidelines as well. So, I see it embedded in that versus being called out separately. And
202if you just remove the word ends, which is dated language anyway, >> and just left it as learning goals, then that would be more comprehensive of >> I mean our graduate is our learning goals for students >> as well as all of our results that we want. So if you just >> strike ends instead of >> then it would be comprehensive of all of it. >> That gets to what I was >> would you want to keep executive limitations as well? I think that to change to operation updated to operation. >> Yeah. No, I know. I mean, sorry. I said the first part about change of language to coherent governance, but would you want to just keep a district mission >> and you might just say coherent governance policies? >> Oh, yeah. That makes sense.
203>> I agree with what Dr. Maldo just said. >> Okay. Sorry. Now that you've cleared that >> instead of the executive indication, it actually shows that vision, mission, policy, strategic plan. Yeah. >> Goals, right? So, it it cascades in a >> Okay, thank you for that because I was like my brain I couldn't let that one go. So, now I have space to think about the fund balance question now that that's out of my head. Um, and I'm going to ask this next question knowing I never took an accounting class in my life. Are there is there no other category than um like it's assigned to something or it's not assigned to something? >> Oh. Uh well there's the un unreserved. Is that what you mean? >> Yes. So if we go back to the
204breakdown of what's in the fund balance. >> Yeah. >> And our concern about the $20 million which again I would love to maintain. I guess my question is, and again I am stipulating that I never took an accounting class. Um, are those really our only two categories? It's aligned to something or it's not. >> Well, yeah. Yeah, they're designations and uh different ones fall very specifically into different designations. Um and uh it's you know there are some that we have control over because we like the board reserve you know different things that you're signing uh some fluctuate like I mentioned like the prepaids different things like that. >> So the board reserve in for the nature of this exercise falls in assigned. Okay. So, I either agree with I was just wondering if that had
205any flexibility, if there was a gray space I could choose to say, I want to reserve the $20 million but not have it deduct that. >> Yeah. So, I think the the ultimate um question is it because what the um limitation is is about the the last number, right? >> So, everything above that changes that very last number, right? But whether we assigned it in a different way or not, it would it's still the math of the end >> number down in there. >> Yeah. >> Now I think what's interesting is in this you have restricted and so when you look at that third column you have restricted reserved. >> Yeah. Hey, there's lots of >> committed assigned >> and they all essentially mean >> that's where the accounting part comes. >> They're restricted. They
206are assigned or designated, right? They're designated towards something. >> So the money remaining left that is undesated to anything specific. >> Okay. But I mean, we have what our budget development guidelines can be and they're just not >> Yeah, we have guidelines percentages. >> But I mean, we don't adopt a budget until August, >> right? >> So, there will certainly be way more clarity post the legislative session, post enrollment projection. I mean, there's a lot more opportunities between now and August. So that's why I would rather keep down this path and if we have to adjust I'd rather it be a late adjustment and I would still probably rather have us suggest board wave board policy for a finite period than adjust our targets. >> Do you want to codify that here or just have
207that be as part of the discussion notes um as it relates to maintain the unrestricted reserve fund of 3 to 7%. or do you want to just have it be part of the notes that we then come back to, you know, as part of the discussion? >> Personally, I would rather have it be just kept on notes at this point because we we are still so far away from doing those operational expectations. >> As we get close to those, I would absolutely want to provide that clarity to your team before. So what I would need to know from you guys is hey in on May 31st we start working on those whatever the date is you start working on those reports and that would me be the bright line that I would need to make
208a move. >> I don't know when it is you start on those reports but that would be the line I think the timing we should do because I I know you guys don't wait till August to do them. So but all those essentially we we in August we adopt the budget and we go over those first sets of operational expectations that are really about the budget and the unreserved fund balance. >> Yeah, we can plan to keep that as part of also our ongoing budget presentations, right? And and and and name that as we move forward. >> Yeah, >> I think I see no changes that I would be looking for then um further down on the the remaining portion of number two or any portion of number three. I don't know if anyone else
209has thoughts around that. >> Okay. >> If if it's helpful to your team to have us go forward and move to adopt these next meeting, I would feel comfortable with that >> as well. >> Yeah. >> It's just if you want the caveat in the language about what we just talked about or not, that's the question that I refer to your team for. We could just we could have put a note that just says good and in italics that just says to revisit along as we go through the budget uh process because it's a tight it's a tight set of circumstances and uh so I we can we can make a notation about that just to refer back to it and just have that codified that would be something we could handle um and then
210in a version that comes back to you and then I did hear the that we add an explicitly somewhere an acknowledgement of the preservation to equity based budget investment since that's a newer set of terms that we've been using in practices. Um, so that's another change I think we would then make as a proposal to you all. >> And then I mean the board may also decide to take action earlier stating that if under certain circumstances they would wave the requirement and that might just feel like a release. >> Mhm. you know, so set the circumstances by which you would um wave the 3 to 7% and then codify that as as action by the board. Guess it would be a small resolution. Okay, I will move on to the next item which is legislative
211matters. >> That's me. Uh let's see. um wanted to just share the fact that we had the opportunity to tour um some of our schools in our district with Representative Janice Z. Um what was that a week ago? Friday, I believe. Um and had a nice discussion with her uh about school funding and levies and bonds and scap funding and lots of other questions that she had while she was in our school space. I thought it was a really great discussion that we had with her. is very much engaged and uh also we had a very interesting discussion around well maybe I should phrase it as I think that she is clearly interested in perhaps helping us with lowering the thresholds on our bond votes from 60% down to 50 55%. Uh but she did
212want us to express a firm opinion on that which we did. Um but anyway, that was a nice conversation with her and I certainly appreciate her taking the time to come into the district and see some of our facilities which was great. Um also want to share the fact that we are also going to have an opportunity on Monday um the superintendent and uh CFO and myself are going to be meeting with um our fifth LD legislators to talk to them a little bit about um our hopes and plans for the upcoming legislative session and to answer any questions that they may have um and just have a discussion about things that are on our mind anyway as before we get into the session. So, I'll report back on what the outcome of that discussion
213is, but um all three of our legislators in the 5th um have confirmed and will be in that meeting. So, that'll be great. And then lastly, we are getting closer to um our regional town hall school funding crisis meeting. Uh the planning uh is moving ahead on that. Um that's actually going to include 10 school districts this year. um in that town hall forum scheduled for January 7th. I think we're going to talk about this with our scheduling here in just a minute, but we're already getting um some acceptances from legislators. There's going to be 20 to 20 20 to 30 legislators uh invited to that event. Little bit more structured program this year, I believe. and also an opportunity for our student reps, who are all gone now, but um uh an opportunity for
214our student reps perhaps to also share um some anecdotes or some of their thoughts on school funding and how it impacts their experience. So, uh I'll continue to participate in those planning discussions and uh we will see where that leads, but I think it's going to be a a good um event which is scheduled at Newport High School in Belleview again on January 7th. So, those are my updates for now. >> Um, I will say from a federal advocacy standpoint, um, my ad advocacy institute is going to be the beginning of February. Um, I serve, um, I actually chair the beliefs and resolutions committee. So, we're going to be looking at any changes, but one of the things that I asked for was a survey. So, we will have a rep prioritization. I haven't seen
215what the priorities from the membership uh state associations who are members of NSBA as associate state associations uh provided in feedback on prioritization of issues. So that should come out. uh NSBA also has a new um uh director of um of advocacy and so we um he we have formed a legislative committee which I also serve on and um so we're looking at having trainings so if you've registered for advocacy institute you'll have access to uh four pre-conference trainings uh that will occur um to support that work and we've talked to him about what used to be because that's been really lost at NSBA, the how things used to be. Um, breakout sessions that dealt specifically with for this issue, here are the talking points, here's the perspective um that you'll be hearing from your
216legislators. So, um I think much more driven towards um pursuing advocacy and and uh building knowledge base so that when people go to the Hill and talk with our legislator, they're more prepared on those top key issues. Um so definitely excited about that. What I'm not excited about is the fact that next week the Washington State School Directors Association will be voting on whether or not the state association stays in NSBA. If you were to ask my personal opinion, I my opinion is that it will be a resounding no. Um included in conversations that I have been I had one today with the executive committee plus the Federal Relations Network chair and vice chair who all of them are like I don't even know why what we get from NSBA. And I was shocked. They're
217like Logan um the Wazda um legislative person, you know, Logan gives us these great federal updates and I'm like, where do you think they come from? Um so I'm very disheartened because I am leaving the ISD knowing that things are better than when I started and I will not be leaving WASDA that way. And so it is very disheartening. I mean you have the Federal Relations Network um team. You have a vice chair who's never been to ADV advocacy institute going I don't know what I get for this. Okay. So one of the impacts for us is that it will be likely additional costs. Well it will not actually for us because we're cube members. So we already are um direct members of NSBA. But for districts that are not um either a cube district
218or a national connection uh district, they will have an increase in costs going to any NSBA event with no reduction in their dues. So WASD is actually taking away a service without reducing any costs associated with that which I find really shocking and I would say because it impacts large districts. Um the execut the current president gave a presentation in October at a Pacific reg an NSBA Pacific region um convening in which he talked about all the ways that people are involved in WASDA and the one thing he forgot which large school caucuses. He talked about all the other ones but didn't talk about large school caucuses. And so I'm really concerned that we want to continues to have leadership that does not listen to its large schools. And I thought I today I asked
219this I mentioned I said I could say the same things about WASA. What's the point of going to Day on the Hill if our legislators aren't available? Right? What's the point of going to the conference if we're just going to do Day on the Hill by ourselves? So we choose to prioritize that because we find interest in it, but there's school districts that don't. So then why should they have to be members of WASDA if they don't value it? So I really don't understand their arguments. It was very disheartening for me. Um and I think that there is a real risk that eventually large districts will say why why do I have to pay the dues that I pay to WASDA? What's the return on investment? Because that's the only words I've heard from WASDA
220people. what's the return on investment? I'm like, there's joining a a um let's say you join a um fitness club. You expect like I'm paying for a service, but then there are other times where you donate to things that you believe in because you know that they're doing work that you can't do on your own. And apparently people at WASA don't understand that because they're looking for the gym membership. It's become a very small-minded organization that I don't think drives a lot of value, which is why you see two of the the board members here leaving the WASDA board. >> Yeah. Oh, I'm being kicked off. >> Well, I'm happily leaving. >> Um because I will maintain my position on the NSBA board until after annual conference in April, but I will no longer be
221the NSBA liaison to the WASDA board. Okay, with that um announcements and correspondence. None. Um and then calendar and future attend uh agenda topics. I always need Emily to really tell me what I'm supposed to be doing now. Um so we have some upcoming SIP meetings that have already been uh declared to the public. December 2nd, 1 to 4 pm, the Skyline Theater Pattern, and December 8th, 1 to 4 PM, the Isqua Theater Pattern and Gibson. Um, on Thursday, December 11th, there will be a farewell celebration for somebody. And then there's going to be a wonderful opportunity for the community to come out for the swearing in of our newest uh board member and our returning board member. So much celebration. Um we have um the regional talent hall uh that uh director Taylor was
222speaking to on January 7th. And so um if there are more than two people anticipating to go from the three that are here, uh you would need to have action. But if there's not enough people to determine that, we can always take action at the December meeting. Okay, >> that would be two of us. Yeah. Well, we'll have a new So, I guess we have to postpone. >> So, you'll have to postpone. >> Um, and then do rescheduling the June 11th meeting uh 2026. Due to scheduling of the comprehensive high school graduation on June 11th, the board will be rescheduling the June 11th regular board meeting. And is that something that you want to do now so that the public and staff and everybody can be prepared or should you wait until you have your
223newest board member to determine that date. Okay, great. So that will come back to you at a later time. Are there any other items for the good of the order? >> Yes. I think that uh we need to start planning our day on the hill when Isqua is going to go sooner rather than later uh so we can coordinate that with students. I also think that we need to reschedule the board town hall for Samish. So I didn't know if after one of our SIP since we'll all be together then if there would be a date that the 5:30 would work for those. Oh, so you're asking this board member. >> So either the second or the eighth. >> Well, you were uh very keen on our portrait of graduate work. So >> Hey, Uh,
224either will work for me. >> Is this I'm sorry. Is this a terrible time when I realize I'm not in town on the ETH? Meetings go 28% f 20% faster with each person who's not there. except today. >> So the second >> So that would be the second would be your choice. >> Are you available the second as well? I guess I'd rather have it just be whichever one works best for Matt because yeah, >> I think what's most important is that Matt and I are both >> at that one. >> That one. >> So the eighth might work better. >> And so while I would love for all of us to be there, I think it's most important that the two Spanish folks are there. >> You only had a second. There's a chance.
225>> Does the eighth work for you? Would it be since that would be considered a special meeting, does the board need to take action prior or did they just need to give an announcement as to the date? >> You could also just take action for either or depending on, you know what I mean, the availability either. Yeah. Just two. >> Either either neither neither. Let's call the whole thing off. >> We need a motion for that. I move that uh the board schedule the Samameish uh town hall for either um December 2nd at 5:30 p.m. or December 8th at 5:30 p.m. second. >> Okay. Um all those in favor I >> I bless you. >> I >> Any oppose? The eyes have it. >> Okay. Anything else for the good of the order? Then with
226that we are adjourned. >> Thanks. Congratulations. Congratulations. I didn't congratulate you.