001stairs. [Music] That was the most sophisticated for some reason. [Music] Go for everything. Oh, come on. Good evening everyone and welcome to the Moses board of directors board meeting. It's Thursday, October 16th, and the time is 6 p.m. >> Ryan >> here. >> Johnson >> here. >> Carla >> here. >> Amy >> here. >> And Paul is excused. >> Thank you. Um, if you'll all silence your cell phones and remove your hats, we'll stand for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. So, we have some minutes to approve from our October 2nd and an amendment for the meeting minutes from August 7th. All look those over. I'll
002take a motion to approve. I motion to approve October 2nd regular meeting minutes and to amend the August 7th regular meeting minutes. >> Is there a second? >> We'll second. >> Okay. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Okay. Thanks for that approval. Are there any changes or additions to tonight's agenda? Okay. None. I'll ask for a motion to approve or adopt tonight's agenda. I motion to adopt tonight's agenda. >> I'll second it. >> All in favor? >> I opposed. Okay. Thanks for our next section to present for us. Good evening. Tonight we have the opportunity to honor our administrators across our school district that serve our uh preschool through 12th grade students in our school building. So I will call the team of folks up here who are going to do the recognitions.
003I'll do I'll start with the first one. But we have this is a team approach this evening. So um get all of them up here. Okay. So um I have the honor of working with and recognizing tonight the high school building administrators. So I'm going to call all of their names and ask them to come on up here. Don't worry, I'm not going to give a speech about each of you. Um, but we have Sheila Crease, Karen Shotskco, Thomas J, Clint Scriven, Brandon Meyers, Lauren Santo, Ron Mayberry, Christine Armstrong, and Matt Stevens. And so we have a few representatives to come on up here. Um, so one of the things that we're Yep. Just right here. Um, one of the things that we are going to be working on as a high school collaborative this
004year is really taking a look at how we can come together for all of our students around improving our graduation rates. So, I'm really excited to work with all of these folks um who are here and who are not here tonight on that particular goal. >> We're gonna call you as Yeah. Why don't you come on? >> I have the um honor of recognizing our middle school administrators and I have thoroughly enjoyed even the short amount of time I've gotten to work with them so far. And we do have one of those here tonight. So, as I call your names, you can come up. We have Terry Clark, Jake Long, James Yono from Frontier Middle School. We have Annie Heinman, Jeremy Coulter, and Scott Peterson from Columbia Middle School. And we have a Rumire from
005Denver Middle School. And oh, come on over here for just a minute. And um as a middle school, uh we are coming together and are looking to focus on achievement for our multilingual learners. Kind of our number one goal this year. Dean board and and our student reps. I'd like to take a moment to recognize and celebrate uh some incredible elementary principles that I also have the honor of working closely with. Uh the three principles that I'm going to recognize are not with us tonight. They're un available to attend, but these outstanding leaders are the heart of our schools. Uh they are they're mentors, they're advocates, and they're also champions for every student, every staff member, and every family uh that they serve. uh their comm their commitment goes far beyond academics. Uh they foster
006safe, nurturing environments uh to serve our our school communities. So, I'd like to formally recognize and express an appreciation for North Elementary Principal Bo Phillips, Long View Elementary Principal Jennifer Gonzalez, and also Larson Heights interim principal Don Sanh. Thank you. Hello board of directors. Hello students. Hello everyone. Um I am lucky enough to work with uh four of them. I've worked with them in a different capacity as an elementary principal and this year I actually could be in their buildings and see the great things they're doing. Uh and so we're teaming up working on culture in the building. We're working on a lot of different things that we're excited about working towards. But again, it's really exciting to be with them and be in the building and kind of learn from them also. So, the
007first one I want to appreciate is Robin Kimbro from Sage Point Elementary. Come on up and stand beside me nice and awkwardly. You don't have to. You can. Uh, next, Peninsula Elementary. Amy Wright, come on up. Lynn Fry couldn't be here today. She's our early learning director, but I want to appreciate her also. And then also Russell Kovalenko. Come on up. Thank you to all four of you. Thanks for letting me learn from you. >> Good evening. I uh have the privilege of recognizing two of our elementary principles. Uh the first one is Jason Delane who's new to our district. He's the principal at Mull Vista Elementary and he's done an amazing job of jumping right into the the school culture and becoming a part of the the school and getting to know the kids
008and the staff and uh really working hard to develop some collaborative relationships. And then I also would like to recognize Sherry Ward who has been the principal at Park Orchard Elementary for a number of years. Uh her leadership is really founded on building strong relationships with students, staff, and families. Um and just demonstrating her care and compassion for them on a daily basis. They weren't able to make it tonight, but I wanted to give them a shout out. >> Okay. Good evening. I have the pleasure of representing three fabulous schools and two of those principles are here tonight. And I'm going to shake it up a little bit since I'm bringing it home. So, uh, she's here. She's there. She's everywhere. Serving in three different buildings. Oh, there she is. Oh, good. Because I have
009the hook up, too. Uh, she's everywhere serving in three different buildings. We have principal of Roth Elementary, the fabulous Nikki Mackey. Okay. Our next one is what I like to refer to as quickwitted JSON. I think I have a very quick wit that she sure has me beat. Uh, if you don't know that, have a conversation with her for 30 seconds and you will be laughing. Uh, principal of Garden Heights Elementary, Michelle Johnstone. All right. And I love to call her Longevity Baitman. While she is only 35 years old, she has been serving in one building for like 135 years. So, Lake Elementary principal Christy Baitman. So, board of directors and all of our audience members, please join me in giving a big round of applause to all of our students. [Applause] That's a great
010picture. All right. We really couldn't do without you. Well, thank you all for joining us tonight. That was a wonderful picture. Um, looks like our next section on the agenda is our consent agenda. Uh, for members of any questions, comments about anything in this consent agenda? Look pretty good to everybody. >> Okay, we'll take a motion. I motion we approve the consent agenda. Okay. All in favor? >> I Okay. Thank you so much for approval. And then looks like we have one in person comment for tonight. Okay. So, in accordance with the open public meetings act, the board is not allowed to discuss items that are not on the agenda. The board will direct the superintendent to follow up on any items that arise during the public comment as appropriate. However, you should not expect
011a response from board members in reference to your comments during the meeting. When your name is called, please come to the podium, share your name and where you live. You'll have three minutes to share your comments. Uh please keep your comments civil and remember not to comment on specific students or personnel matters. Uh the board will not address your comments during this meeting and we'll refer them to the superintendent for followup. And let's see our comment is I'm sorry you're going to have to help me with this one. Pita Pita Owen [Music] say that is green. >> Oh, no it's red. Okay. >> Can you see? Awesome. My name is Fita Owen and I'm sorry. Um I know um community member of Mosa. So good evening members of the school board and students. My name
012is Pita Owen and I come before you tonight not only as a dedicated educator but as someone who has spent over two decades decades growing with this district. I started my journey here as a volunteer, a pareducator, a substitute teacher and finally a certificated employee in 2002. I've had the privilege of teaching at Larsson Heights for 17 years. And for the past seven years, I've been teaching fourth grade at Park Orchard. On top of that, I'm a proud parent of three children who've gone through this district. My youngest is now a senior. I share that with you because this district is not just where I work. It's where I've raised my family and where I've grown as a professional and where I've seen firsthand the power of a well-rounded education. I'm here this evening to
013plea with you to reconsider the shortened student school day that has been in place for the past year and beginning of this year. For as long as I've been a teacher, we had a regular schedule that allowed us to give our students a full and balanced curriculum. But with the loss of 30 minutes each day, something critical has been sacrificed. Science and social studies, at least in my classroom. This is now the second year where I haven't been able to consistently teach science. Not because I don't want to, but because I simply don't have the time. The instructional demands of ELA and math, both which have strict time requirements, leave little room for anything else. And that loss is hurting our students. I have students who struggle with reading and math. But when I teach
014science, they shine. It's where they come alive and feel successful. Science give them gives them the opportunity to learn by manipulating and creating. They have the opportunity to use their background knowledge to participate in class discussions. Two years ago, I had a student asked me if I needed help cutting wires because he helped his dad and he knew how. How can I say no to that? Science and social studies are not extras. They're essential. They are subjects that ignite curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity. Without them, we are narrowing the educational experience in a way that fails many of our students. This year, I have been excited to implement we the people in my classroom. It's a new curriculum that will start to teach our students about our government, how we got started, and what civic
015duty is. And unfortunately, I've only been been able to teach it two times a week for 10 to 15 minutes. I also have students who need more intervention, especially with foundational skills like phonics. But again, there's just not enough time. Our kids deserve more, and I urge you to restore the full school day so we can give them a complete, engaging, and education. Thank you. policy 10005 is up for training. Okay. So, policy 100005 is in the section 1000 which has all to do with the board of directors. And so, I'm bringing this one for review. There have been several additions to what it used to say. So, really this policy just goes through the roles that the board has and gives some some details to each of those roles. So the big categories are
016responsible school district governance, creating conditions for dis districtwide for student and staff success, holding the district accountable for student learning, um engagement of and engagement of the community. And so then it just gives the um some more details on what that should look like. And so um I'm just bringing that to the board for consideration and review. I think it's important that we are reviewing all these policies about um the roles and functions of the school board during this critical time because we're going to be bringing on um a new board member very shortly. >> Great. I have a question. >> Yes. Um, Carol, is there a way that we can um earmark this so that it's given to a good board member when they arrive? I think this would have been something that would
017have been really nice to have. >> Yes. when they first started when I first started I can't speak without apparently but um if we can make sure that we've got this available because it's a good kind of line you know line out of what what we would be expected of you know >> absolutely um we will do that um as well as have some some collaborative group trainings for the board anytime you bring a new member onto a team you want to make sure that you're reestablishing what that team is Yes. Thank you. Any other comments or questions? All right. So, we'll bring it back at the next meeting like all to be able to review it, too. And sign off. All right. Next up is a just I think anformational item here. Looks like
018um the title of the resolution that we signed at the last meeting looks like that was changed. Can you just kind of clarify? >> Yes, there was an error in just the title of the resolution that you all reviewed and approved at the last meeting, but we wanted to make sure that we do everything to specifications. So, we wanted to just bring it back. There's nothing different about this resolution other than the title has been updated to reflect accurately what the content of the resolution is. Okay. >> So, should we vote on it then or just let it go? >> I think we should just You should just because then it's all it's all on the up and up and Okay. I'll take a motion to approve the amendment. >> I'll second. Oh, I'll I'll
019motion that we approve the amendment. >> All right. A second. >> I'll second. >> All right. All in favor? >> Any opposed? All right. Thank you so much for that approval. That's for humanity. >> Okay. So, on to our information items tonight. Looks like first up is school improvement plans. Is that is that you? That is me. Hello, Superintendent Lewis and board. I'm actually going to um ask two of our principles. I told them they didn't have to talk, but I want them to stand up here with me because I'm presenting some of their information. So, I have Christie and Scott. They're going to come up. Um Christy Baitman works at um >> Lake View. I was gonna say long Lake View. Yep. And then Scott is the principal at Columbia. So um I promise
020this will only happen once a year. You you saw the laundry list of last year's because it hadn't been done. This is an annual thing and I know there's a lot of attachments on there. Um so there's a lot of information there for that you can peruse. So, I wanted to talk what I've done is I've um broken the school improvement planning process into kind of three chunks so that you can just learn a little bit more as we go through the year. Today, I want to talk a little bit about what principles do to prepare for the school year. And that um that includes a couple pieces. So, we'll go through that first how to use the tools inside. Okay, there we go. because um in order to really um design what's going on
021in the building, there has to be intentional alignment of the work. And that's what this um this work does. It aligns what is going on in each classroom to the broader maybe department goals, the broader grade level goals, the school goals, and then ultimately underneath our district goals. So that coherence in a system is really when we have that as a welloiled machine, we start to see the results that we're looking for. And um the the real way to understand a problem is by looking at the system that produces those outcomes. And this is our system. And so we ask each principle to go and really dive in and say, "What's going on here?" And be inquisitive about it. We're going to have problems, but we really want to be inquisitive about the problems, not
022defensive or try to hide them. It's like, oh, what is that? How can we attack that? And so, the comprehensive needs assessment, it's the first thing that a building does for MIT. Some of our buildings, they were doing this in the spring, others, we're starting this in the fall. We'll need everybody for the spring moving forward. Um, but as you can see, a comprehensive needs assessment is a process where groups of people identify strengths, gaps, and root causes in student learning and in school systems. And it's also required by the school improvement process planning. And I hate to think we only do things because it's the state says we have to do it. This is actually a wonderful process if you dive into it. So you can see the purpose of aligning improvement efforts guiding
023resources, right? There are decisions that get made at buildings around how they're going to spend money. This helps drive those resources and then it um really ensures equity and evidence-based decision- making. So what do they do? They collect data, academic data, demographic perception data, um process data. They look at discipline and attendance. Um they might look at graduation rate. So there's all of these different data points and you kind of almost do what we call data carousel where you're looking at all of that information and you're analyzing it. This is step two. You're diagnosing it. You engage different stakeholders in the information. It could be a group of colleagues in maybe your your grade band. So elementary principles might talk. They might talk with their leadership teams. They bring it to their whole staff. They
024bring it to their community or their PTA maybe at a meeting to really bring in all of the different ideas and have as many eyes on that as possible. They prioritize their needs and then they connect it to a plan. So these are just a couple of the um things that came out of the comprehensive needs assessments at Colombia and at Lake View. So I wanted to kind of give you an idea of what you might see on I have attached on their 20 or almost 20 school year plans. These are some of the priorities that came from their comprehensive needs assessments. So at Colombia, they're creating, implementing, and monitoring systems to track a sense of belonging, to track student data and identify um at risk students. So really putting plans in place to have
025early identification so that they can get those interventions there quickly. And then also they're working on systems to engage families more in the um programs for supports and enrichment at Lake View. Um they're working on increasing math proficiency, specifically closing the gap for EL Hispanic and students with disabilities. That's what SWD stands for. Um they're also looking at increasing reading proficiency and um student writing proficiency. So they're really honing in on those three major skill sets. >> I have a question. >> Yeah. Are you good? I'll take >> Sorry, I have a quick question. Can you go back to that last slide? Um I I presume these are supposed to be goals um supposed to be measurable. Uh question on first well on Colombia's on creating implementing a monitoring systems that track like I'm I'm
026a little confused how what kind of metric you're using to to track that >> you want to for that reason because I ask these questions. So really within our professional learning communities, we're looking at what's called the RTI process, response to intervention. So we're tracking all kinds of data around demographic, gender, uh students with disabilities, EL, and we're pulling all this stuff. So what we use is data systems like home room to identify students at risk. Um right now a lot of our atrisisk students have a high like chronic absenteeism, a lot of tardies, we have some behavior issues, but we also have some gaps in learning, especially for our most vulnerable students. And so what we do especially on Mondays is we have coordination meetings around this data to identify students and to follow
027up with our our professional learning teams to make sure that the proper interventions are being in place for our kiddos. So that we're right now we're just honing in on our systems to be able to do that. So that's that's something >> and that just started this year. >> So I'll pop back up. Being a new administrator to the building, what I get to do is be curious. I don't know if anybody's a fan of Ted Lasso, but that's kind of what we're doing is going through and really honing in on what are the strengths at Columbia Middle School and where are the areas that we can go through and use our expertise. There's a few of us newbies that bring in different skill sets to make sure we are catching uh issues as they
028come and be able to be to to put in system be proactive before things happen. So yes, being a new principal at Milling, I get to be very curious to >> I do have another followup. Sorry. The how how do you measure the sense of belonging? So, are you taking interviews and and surveys with the children? Is that how that works? >> Yeah. So, we get climate data. So, right now we we're going to meet as a parent group on I believe the 28th and start honing in on what parents would believe would be some appropriate questions to ask their kiddos. And then we have through like Panorama CE and then working amongst administrators. So, we're working on this as a district. We're doing a culture audit. We're one of the schools are doing a
029culture audit. Um, so the solution trees coming in and doing those interviews, but part of what we want to do is is what is an appropriate survey to take in the fall and then in the spring. So, we're going to get data in the fall, identify our gaps, put systems in place, make sure that we're shorting up things. Right now, we're shoring up advisory, the types of social emotional learning lessons and things we're doing in advisory to really hone in on those personal skills and interpersonal skills. And so we're going to measure our success based off of our baseline and our interview data. >> We won't go too far down a rabbit hole, but I know surveys is something that people are interested in. And I can tell you that a lot of times it's
030do you have um a trusted adult that you can go to in if you need one. That's a question that you'll see a lot of times when you're trying to build a healthy culture. You want kids to feel connected. Do you have friends that you feel comfortable being around at school? Right? those those kinds of questions are important because they they we need to make sure that we're allowing people to feel comfortable to be able to perform at their max level. So those kinds of questions are what you might seek if that's a anything else. >> Yeah, just curious. Um so these surveys are given to just this like every student or just the vulnerable students or >> all students. Okay. Because is that voluntary or is that like voluntary? >> Okay. Okay. And in
031conjunction with parents and families so people will know. >> So and is it just students or parents take the survey too? >> You said they were taking >> Oh, okay. Sorry, maybe I missed that part. >> No, we're working with parents to develop it. Right now we're focusing on our kiddos. Our hope is that we're doing this for students, staff, and families. >> Okay. >> Right now, we're focusing on our kiddos. >> Okay. I always like a good picture. And again, this is all about systems and the idea that every system is perfectly designed to achieve exactly the results it gets. So, that's just kind of a funny, you know, comic about that. But, as we look at systems, and that's the work that we're doing, when we look at systems, we make differences for
032kids. So, this is just a snippet out of our um school school board policy. This is a policy that is approved quite some time ago. I looked at the um law and model policy and it still holds the same for um our current um expectations. So, this is what we do. We set goals around English language arts, mathematics, and um graduate is another one that we put in there, but those are things that we have directed as a board that are in our goals. So, schools make smarty goals. This is what a smarty goal is. You'll notice that the I and the E, those are newer. We used to talk about smart goals. We talk about smarty goals now. So, you asked that question about measurable and things like that. Those were focus areas we
033were looking at from the pumping. That's what I'm going to show you now is how do we then convert that into something we can measure and make sure that we're um getting where we want to go and if we're not, we need to be able to change colors. Okay. Um, so here are some smarty goals right now. So you'll see that um, Colombia did their third goal. They have a math and an ELA goal, but they were extremely long. So I think that might be why you picked number three. Um, but their third goal is around social emotional. So you can see that it has their time frame by June 2025. They'll be increasing students sense of belonging um, and implementing schoolwide practices that affirm who they are. They foster connections to others. They promote
034inclusion. um it's measured by a 10% increase in positive responses on a um climate survey compared to a fall baseline. So you can see that's what they're looking at. They're also really looking closely at their multilingual language students with disabilities and other historically marginalized groups specifically. When when we talk about those kinds of call outs in a in a goal, what we're trying to make sure that we do is when we pull data, we want to not just pull data for all because some many times marginalized groups are a small number of kids. So if I'm going to I'm going to say that Columbia has a thousand students, they don't. But if Columbia has a thousand students and maybe 50 of them are multilingual, the overall data may not represent a subgroup. That's why you
035pull what we call um disagregated data. And so that call out in there is saying we're going to look at all but we're also going to make sure that some of those um you know frequently marginalized groups are also making sure we're attending to their needs. They do differently. Um in Lake U they went ahead and gave you gold or actually I pulled gold in the way and put it on there for you. Um, so theirs is by spring of 2026, they want 68% of all students, including EEL, special ed, and Hispanic students to meet or exceed their annual typical growth in reading. So that's probably more of an I Ready measure when you're talking about growth. It may not be necessarily looking at ESL. And 35% will meet or exceed their stretch goal, which
036is again an I Ready diagnostic. So um, that's that's one of those three goals. So again, these are examples of what you'll see littered throughout all of those school improvement plans that you are seeing. Um, each of our principles, as you noticed, that we have they have support systems or a an administrator that works closely with them. We will dive in very closely with their school improvement plans and make sure that you're having to work with them in a healthy way. And then instead of saying, "Are there any questions?" I thought I'd do something nice and teacher friendly, proactive, and say, "Question everything. What do you got? Okay, >> my my OCD is kicking in, but the Columbia goal was set for 2025. I don't know if that was just a typo on this typo
037on this one or if it's it's good on the rest of them, but just >> update it because it probably >> I don't want you to fail the goal already. you know by three months. >> Thank you guys. Next we have good evening again everyone. So I am going to break this into two parts. Um the first part is going to be in response to a request from the board to share some information about um our students and their library time. So we'll start with that. Um oh before that though just as a reminder to the board and the public that we have a really unique opportunity to have a joint work study session with our city council a week from tonight and it will be held not here but at the city council chamber.
038So, we'll be there and it'll be a work study session and of course the public would be welcome to be there as well. Um, so library usage, I want to thank uh Chris Palach for putting together this information for us. So, there's been a lot of questions about um do our kids get to use our libraries and the board has specifically asked that I share some info about that. So, here we go. Who is this? So, um so at most of our schools the kids use the library. Now, I do want to point out though that um when I look further into the data, there's a couple of schools that say no one uses the library, but the kids have access to books in different ways. So, that could be a little misleading. So, the
039physical library may not be used if kids are having access to library books. Um so, all students use a library. Um in most cases, the library use is a class byclass decision at schools and so so teachers are deciding what would be best for their students. So then there was a question about you know what what's what's the best description of how the library is getting used at your school. So mo in most cases that almost 82% some students take books home and some leave them to school. I know we've had a lot of questions from families and parents saying well why can't the kids bring books home and really that's individualized decisions based on um student needs, teacher needs and just the systems that we have in school. So, um, but in one school
040all the students check out the books and leave them in class. Um, in another school all the students check out the books and take them at home. But in most instances, just like whether or not people are going to the library, it's a mixed situation this year. And then how is it different or what was your school's practice in the last school year? Um, and so that is very similar. Everything's pretty much the same this year as it was last year as far as how that setup goes. And then how are books checked out? Um, in most cases, teachers are doing that. In other schools where they've had some more flexibility, they've had other staff members like counselors or volunteers coming in to help the kids check out books. And then same thing for how
041they're checked back in. Very similar. Um, and then for how they're show. So we have lots of people contributing to how our libraries are being used or how kids are getting books into their hands this school year. So um any questions on that? >> Yeah. >> Is the question uh coming from a perspective of where are children going to access books or are they more concerned about library time? >> Well, it's a mixed question. So in some cases, people are are worried that kids aren't having access to books at all. In other cases, um folks are worried that kids aren't spending a a big amount of time in the library like they may have in the past. So, it's new >> and and we I guess just to kind of say it out loud like
042due to uh like I guess just say it one more time since last year's budget cuts, personnel cuts, that's why it was reduced. Correct. >> Yes. Yep. And and uh as I will talk about shortly, that's a it's a temporary situation. We we absolutely want to get our libraries back before we open and fully staff as soon as it's reasonable to do so. But in the meantime, I do want to say thank you to everyone who's come together to make the effort to make sure that our kids still have access to books. >> So each school has a library that is accessible by teachers. >> Yes. In a couple situations, they're using it as a teaching space also, but um it doesn't mean that the books are completely off limits. You just have to look
043at it a little different way. Again, you have 11 elementaryaries and they're all unique in their staffing and in their facilities and everything else. So, great. >> Okay. All right. And then as always when we when we lift each other up and don't jump to conclusions or accusations, trust each other and share resources, we collaborate and we become team Moses Lake. All right. So now I know there's been a lot of a lot of talk about um something that I was going to say tonight. So I'm just about to say that um to the board and to the public that may be listening to this. So, all right. This is the only slide. I'm just going to talk. So, um, normally I don't, um, I don't read off of something, but I really wanted to
044make sure I said everything exactly how I how I wanted it to be tonight. So, that's what's going to happen. So, here we go. So, tonight I want to take a moment, one final time, to talk about something that's been at the heart of nearly every conversation we've had since May of 2024. Keeping our promises. I may not have lived at Moses Lake for my whole life, but it has quickly become my home. When people ask me where I'm from, I don't talk about the place I grew up. I proudly say I'm from an amazing town in the middle of Washington called Moses Lake. A place I'm proud to call my home. It's a community I'm committed to through thick and thin. A year ago, when I was asked if I would leave if the
045levy failed, my answer was no. When colleagues from around the state ask me why I don't look for an easier job that pays more money, I give them two reasons. First, over 8,000 kids in Moses Lake seek and deserve a quality public school experience now and for years to come. And simply, Moses Lake is worth fighting for. This is the last time I will use this platform to address our school district's decisions about how to spend this year's partial levy collection or our commitment to maintain the board's minimum required fund balance. Those who continue to publicly debate these topics will only erode the fragile trust that grew in our community over the last several months. A year ago, our town was divided about whether or not to support the Lake School District. I spoke with
046countless staff and community members who made abundantly clear reasons for mistrust stem largely from what many view as a date and switch after voters approved a bond to build a new high school in 2017. Ironically, many of those same people are now asking the district to take actions that would undoubtedly be seen as another bait and switch. How quickly some forget. I cannot and will not allow negative history to repeat itself under my leadership. Levy promises were developed in collaboration with staff, community members, and representation from our labor unions. Every person who stood out on a freezing street corner last winter waving signs in support of our kids. And every person who graciously voted yes did so knowing exactly what was going to happen this year and next year if the levy passed. Can any
047of us imagine the loss of trust those who voted yes would feel if we didn't keep our promises? The promise to increase pareducator support for student safety and learning. The promise to give our kids access to Boys and Girls Clubs. The promise to provide our students access to athletics and activities. The promise to hire more elementary music teachers so our kids could have music all year long. The promise to hire more elementary PE teachers so we can increase PE time equitably for all students. The promise to increase our custodial and maintenance services so our students have access to cleaner, safer schools. The promise to provide adequate funding for basic supplies and materials needed for teaching and learning. The promise to begin offering our secondary students the courses needed to fulfill their personalized graduation pathways. The
048promise to provide for safety by maintaining resource officers, security personnel, and healthcare staff. The promise to begin restoring lost instructional technology. And finally, the promise to build a balanced money in money out budget. What would our students, staff, and community be saying right now if we hadn't done those things starting this school year? Running a school district is complicated. Every day we face conflicting pressures. People want us to hire this, replace that, spend here, or cut there. But our responsibility is to keep the longevity and stability of this district at the forefront. It's my job to carefully consider our financial situation and make decisions that secure the future for our students, for our families, and for our staff. Even when some may not see it, we have each and every employees long-term best interest in
049mind. Short-sighted thinking focused on immediate gratification is in direct conflict with a steady long range plan that will continue to build the trust, resilience, and stability necessary to ensure the students of Moses Lake have access to a quality education delivered by educators who have the support they need to be effective in their jobs five, 10, 20, and even 50 years into the future, long after most of us in this room are no longer part of the Moses Lake School District. In recent years, we have seen many examples across our state of school districts developing short-sighted spending plans that sent them into devastating financial positions. Several of those districts have remained in financial crisis for many years, including entering into binding conditions with the state. Moses Lakes's conservative financial plan that began in the spring of
0502024 and our willingness to remain committed to that plan have turned us in the right direction. And rather than struggling for years, we plan to be in a healthy, stable financial position by the 2627 school year. In the coming weeks, we can expect outside voices to come into Moses Lake and try to tell us our spending priorities are out of order and not focused on kids. Those voices are not part of our community, and they won't care about what happens to Moses Lake or our kids in the long run. In fact, their intent will be to create division and confusion. These are the same voices that have pressured school district leaders across our state to make quick decisions that resulted in overcommitted long-range spending plans. I'm proud that Moses Lake is no longer on the
051list of districts in severe financial trouble, and I intend to keep it that way. Every time I mention money, it's with the image of Moses Lakes's kids in my sights. I am well aware that kids only get one shot at each grade level. It's true that there is only one time in kindergarten, but that's true for every grade level. The district's priorities cannot be so shortsighted that we would jeopardize their future for short-term gains. Right now, we need to be asking ourselves how we will protect the opportunities for our current kindergarteners when they start third grade in 2028, sixth grade in 2031, go to high school in 2034, and graduate in 2038. The fact that we temporarily shortened our elementary day to get through a two-year financial crisis was never ideal and was never intended
052to be a long-term plan. The intent is and always has been to restore elementary start times to 9:00 in the fall of 2026. In spite of rumors you may be hearing, there was never a promise made to restore the elementary start time this school year. Beginning now, you will see and hear us focus on what truly matters. What students are learning, how we are keeping everyone safe, and how our staff continues to make learning possible every single day. We will show through our actions that we honor the promises made during the levy season just eight short months ago. Finally, I know some will pick phrases out of what I've just said, looking to invent ways to tell you that I'm not being honest or to take advantage by misrepresenting my statements. I will not respond
053to those kinds of accusations, not because I can't, but because continued public conflict will only lead to division in our community. As an advocate for all students and a careful steward of your taxpayer dollars, I stand behind my commitment to the students and staff of Moses Lake School District. And I intend to keep the district's promises to the greater community. I will always be open to dialogue with students, staff, and community members. Even when conversations are difficult, please reach out to me if you have questions, ideas, or constructive criticism. There is no game to be won and there will be no glory in keeping score or having the last word. The youth of our community are counting on all of us to continue coming together and they're watching how we behave. It's time for Moses
054Lake to turn the page and that's exactly what we're going to do starting tonight. That is my superintendent report for tonight. Any questions from the board? >> No, but thank you very much. Thank you. >> Thank you. [Applause] >> I can. Okay, thank you so much. All right, student representatives, other either of you have any comments, make sure your mic's on. Did you guys? >> You did? >> Oh, okay. >> These past few weeks have been quite fun for us Vanguard students. We have as the ASB done a car wash to fund raise. It's had a good turnout and the fall advisory board was very fun to attend. A lot of our culinary students put a lot of good effort into it. And one thing of note is we are preparing for our annual community
055trick or treat at Vanguard. So we'll be serving the community candy, but uh we're asking the community to also give us candy. But um yeah, it's going to be very fun. A lot of student volunteers and we're all excited about it. working hard making decorations and other things are our cross country teams doing really well. So is our football team and a lot of our Vanguard students are excited for the next winter season. >> Can you remind us when the um fall service parties happen? >> Um are you talking about the Halloween? >> This will be on 31st from I think uh 5 to 8:00 p.m. somewhere around there. >> Bring your kitties. >> I'd love the chance to like talk with uh students and staff at digital. So I kind of want to give
056you guys uh starting with student voices. Students have been enjoying the new space. Um there are also better testing environments and more one-on-one tutoring. And um there is noticeably more room to work with students which has helped both staff and learners be more supported. And then um some student success highlights. Um, in terms of student success, we had a few highlights with Gordon Martinez reached an impressive athletic milestone over 500 kills in volleyball throughout her high school career. Emmy Wilson earned a grand champion in the round competition at the ground county fair and um I got the chance to talk to some staff over there like I had said. Uh but based on enrollment, more students than ever before taking advantage of the online learning model this time of year. And uh just to close,
057I really appreciate being able to share my perspective on the online learning model and I enjoy hearing from other representatives because you know there are schools functioning differently but all the same students just different. >> Thank you so much. Okay. Board members, >> circle back. Circle back to me. >> Oh, sure. Amy. Well, I just want to say um it's been a great week. Uh you know, we're start we're starting to fall into our fall weather and it went from like 90 degrees yesterday to like 40 something degrees today. So, I'm I'm excited that most of us are staying as healthy as we can with that big change in our life. Um, really, I want to kind of pat ourselves on the back. You know, being a representative on this board has been an interesting
058um for me specifically, it's been an interesting journey. Um, and I've appreciated seeing and being able to be more mindful of how this kind of business model works. The school district is a very different kind of business model. Um, and it's very important that we keep in mind what's already been um, taken care of and what's what's going to get us to move forward. So, I just want to reiterate, I think I spoke on that last thing as well, but we really do need to push forward and and uh, and just get get right and get get on track and be um, what our kids need. So, please be mindful of that. And I appreciate Carol and thank you to our principles and vice principles. >> Yes, I'd like to say thank you to our
059principles, too. And thank you for being here. And um I'm excited to turn that new page and and um my son actually was in kindergarten when we moved here. Well, he had graduated kindergarten and he was on a long bus ride from Royal City and um it was like an hour bus ride and I'd been hoping to get to Moses Lake for my kids. So, because all of their sports and church activities were here in Moses Lake. So watching him grow and and voting on those levies and new schools and being in the growth area and and all the things that have happened in the school district and then COVID happening with my son being in fifth grade really really hurt him and um seeing children masked and things did not go well with how
060I felt we should have children being not a very good learning way our kids and I think it's impacted our kids and it's been very hard to see. I know it's impacted my kid. I had two kids graduate back to back and I've had one really suffer and it's been very heartbreaking for me and so I want to do better and that's what I got on this board for all kids and so I'm doing my best and I'm going to continue. I got on this board in a fiscally very hard time for our community and I'm proud where we are and I'm proud to keep climbing mountains and getting there and we did it as a team and that's what we are and so we're going to continue to fight and grow and do the
061best for Moses Lake kids. Thank you for having Amy. I love hearing you guys talk. Um, I just wanted to kind of collect my thoughts a little bit before I I went on a little bit of a soap box. I So, I grew up here and I moved away several different times to several different places. I've lived in several different states and it's it's interesting how I can find people that know or have lived or have been through Moses Lake, Washington uh several several states away. And um the reason I bring that up is because Moses Lake has a an appearance that only a mother could love. You understand what I mean by that? because I sit there so proudly and say I'm from Moses Lake and and I hear all these nicknames that I
062had no idea that Moses Lake had and things that it's infamous for that I had no idea that it was infamous for and um and I say that because it's home, right? And and home is where you make it. And um I I had the honor to sit with uh Superintendent Lewis and sign her contract with her. And I remember looking at her and you know she she obviously has a healthy contract. Um but it's much less than than comparative. And uh you couldn't pay me triple to take on the PR issues that happen in that in that spot. And I remember looking at her and asking her why are you doing this? and and also I have three daughters and I I don't want any equity issues. It's like, okay, why are you doing
063this? And she said, because Moses Lake deserves it and I love Moses Lake and I like only a mother could love Moses Lake, right? And a mother of Moses Lake. And uh and I I just want to I wanted to share that because it it helped me gain a little bit of a better understanding of of our superintendent and and her motives and and I really appreciate it. Like it's it's a difficult time. Like there's no other reason why somebody would take on 2023 2024 without having a true love and desire. Um, and so I just these these things are really coming into my mind where we are a a unit and we are a home and um, it's it's people being present and it's people caring and even even the opposition that that happens
064is healthy and it's important. It helps us stay levelheaded as as things get difficult. And um you know I just want to I want to appreciate uh out loud all the people that have supported this this movement and this time and this difficulty over the last two years. And the the little bit of call out that I would like to say is how have we already forgotten how difficult it was was 16 months ago. Um, we we were all distraught and and it was so difficult and I had no connection with the school district although I had four kids in the district. I had no idea what a superintendent did really what a principal does. I didn't understand that format and um and it was so bad that even I wanted to go figure out
065what was going on, right? And you know, three months later, I'm on the school board. It's kind of an interesting escalation, but uh tag me in >> tag I'm in. And but it's been a it's been a true blessing to to get involved. And the the reason I want to bring all that up is that like I said, it how have we already forgotten how difficult and painful that was? If if we had a $100,000 home budget and someone were to tell you, "Okay, now you don't get $20,000. how well would you fare and then how well would you recoup that $20,000 and how long would it take? It doesn't happen in 12 months and you still got to operate and run. And um and that's a very basic model and I don't want to
066get caught up on numbers and on finances because it is for our children but without these numbers and finances we cannot facilitate to these wonderful kids that all need it and these demographics and you know my my my family is very fortunate to have a unit together um in one home and I recognize how um uncommon that is and how difficult it is to you know see these children show up to your schools every single day and and not know if they have a jacket, not know if they had breakfast, not know if they have somewhere to go after school. And um but we have to care for those children. And we have to be responsible and sound the way we structure things. Um or else we are telling them we really don't care about
067them. And and it's hard. You have to make hard decisions. It's not going to please every single person throughout the entire community. And uh but I I'm very confident that um as the only male figure at the board that that that this is motherhood at its finest. Um and uh and I appreciate all the efforts that are coming in and to humans pretty well and and they love you guys and I I admire that and appreciate that. So thank you for putting in some effort and caring about my community. um it it means a lot and it'll move us forward and so keep trying, keep pursuing and keep um fighting through the the opposition that that it's always going to happen and that's normal and it's healthy to have opposition. Um but we h we
068have to be responsible and we have to take care of these kids in the best way that we know how and and I think that we are. Um, so I just I want to commend everybody that is in the sound of my voice at this moment that you're involved, you're listening, and you care about our children and about our our growth. I was just curious, what grade were the student representatives in when COVID was shut down in 2020? Was it seventh grade, sixth grade? >> Sixth. >> And uh, middle school's the hardest time ever anyways, right? And to put it through that time, I commend you for being where you're at, sitting here as representative. of your age group and um of the school district below you, right? And it's impressive to see your growth
069and to have your confidence levels and and to shine through. So, good job. Thank you for all that you do as well. And I will step off of my sto. >> Thanks, Ryan. >> Um so, I brought up a topic at the last meeting that I was hoping it would have a lot more coverage in this meeting. But looking back, it was probably the wrong time to bring it up because we hadn't put the financial discussion to bed yet. So, I would just like to thank Carol for finally taking that on and making that happen. And now I would like to encourage the community to and our community as a school district to move forward and actually get some hard work done and to address some of the issues that we would you know some
070of the things we'd like to solve as a district. I know that you know all of us have talked about different things that we would like to address. So um yeah so let's let's do that now. Let's do all the good things now. Now that we can, right? Can put the money stuff behind us and we can move forward and do good stuff. So anyway, um that's all I had and thank you so much principles for being with us tonight. It's wonderful to have been able to celebrate all of you and your hard work. Um and it looks like we have an executive session um to discuss the performance of a public employee. It does not look like there will be any action to follow. However, um and to discuss potential legal action. We will
071also um be reconvening afterwards. Um the executive session is expected to last approximately 30 minutes. >> So thank you all so for joining us tonight and have a good night. >> Yeah. >> Okay. See you Monday. >> Bye. We're doing [Music] There you are. I'll just shoot you an invite and you can That's okay. [Music] That's [Music] Okay, thank you. They were surprised at how much money [Music] come from. My favorite Nightsty. >> Night Misty. >> You need help? >> No, we're good. >> Got it. >> Thank you. >> Pick you up. Let's come out here. probably She's She's there. I'm not [Music] It's still cold here. >> Does the microphones work like >> this mic is live? >> Yeah, we're already working on it. Sometimes when this kind of stuff happens, it's like in
072a little baby school, you know? >> I got so cold too quick. >> Yeah. 7:38. >> Okay, we're back from our executive session. Time is 7:38 and we can adjourn. So, I have a motion to adjurnn. >> I motion we adjourn. >> All right. Thank you. Good night. >> Thank you. >> We turn the mic up before you sing. >> No, but this one's not. I don't care. People know I'm animated. >> That was awesome. >> Okay. receive.