001we call this meeting to order if you would all rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance [Applause] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all [Applause] right thank you all for joining us for the meeting tonight board members have you had a chance to take a look at the agenda [Applause] all right there are no changes or amendments so is there a motion I'll make a motion to accept the agenda I'll second that it's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda all those in favor say aye aye aye all those opposed say no hearing none the agenda's been adopted now we'll move over to superintendent Jesse for his report
002thank you board president Davidson other board directors our new student representative community members and staff and parents we had a wonderful start to the school year getting out to all eight schools able to see that the teachers had done a lot of work in their classrooms so as part of our strategy plan about safe and welcoming environments as well as high quality literacy just a lot of work being performed as students come in they can see themselves um really we talk about purposefulness and spaces so that when students walk in things can be really well labeled so that when they go in they know all right this is where I can get this kind of information this is how the expectations are and then we talk about structures and routines so we want to make
003sure that the students can easily access have access to those things not only a lot of times they get that especially for our older students they'll get that on campus or another platform which they get a lot of their notes expectations and syllabi but also an opportunity to see this things visually and of course for our younger students you have to run through um structures and routines all the time I mean this is part of the expectation so it's been a really a lot again a lot of work by our teachers um uh we had all of um our bus drivers hired we so we had a full stable of bus drivers so all our routes ran the first day um I know I have a couple bus drivers um have a couple [Applause] uh
004leaves coming up so there'll be some appointments folks will be out so those every time we're a little short on Subs so I will make my plug that if someone is interested in being a substitute bus driver we are absolutely would um welcome you to Simply call the main line and we'll walk you through that um that step so is you take one step with buses you know there's always something else there but I feel really good about that um watching all the buses line all the way up and around the corner it's really nice kids getting on there um thanks for the pay the patience on the parents you know they're always the first week just trying to mellow out the routes also updating information from family so sometimes when we don't have all
005the so the accurate information of where students live especially for our young ones it does slow us down a little bit and so we have to figure out the timing and make sure we get those things done for them I've also seen the students Express a ton of excitement about the school year coming in I've heard many comments I can't wait to be here um get get the school year started uh many students um especially our secondary students really doing a great job navigating school a lot of our multi-day orientation before school starts really is helpful for them about not only just where are my classes at but what are the expectations how do I navigate common spaces for them those are all really good things to help us just get started right away into
006the school year and learning getting started in our core academics uh my last uh comment is around we had an open house at Shelton High School last Friday a very lovely event for sure um we had a DJ um there was there was something for everyone I think at that particular event so that we had the students with tables we also had Cedar and choice there so there was activities what's going on that we offer here in the Shelton school district for high schoolers really is quite a lot um for our students I feel very fortunate to you know serve in a district that you know there's a lot of community support and the students really step up into leadership roles uh so many activities and clubs our staff stayed there helped answer questions for
007each of the Departments what's what's being offered were the courses expectations how do you navigate High School that was fun as well and then of course um there was the football game for Shelton high school afterwards against Bremerton so a lot of stands are packed so lots of excitement for the school year again I think it's gone very smoothly you know even doing our best intentions of planning for them there can be hiccups sometimes but this one seems to be going very well for us so I feel very fortunate and so we're continuing to work really hard to offer tremendous services to our students and our families so with that I'll hand it back to you all right thank you very much for the report and I know several of us were at many of
008those events and they were they were actually really great it was great to see that much of the community there and the students and staff all right going into Community comments we do have several again so I am going to state right off the bat that each comment will be held to three minutes I will call time at the three minute Mark I'm also going to read the standard language around Community comments as part of the regular school board meeting the board invites community members to make public comments in person and or by phone as conditions allow if speaking in person please follow the public comment procedure by signing in and stating your name and address at the podium when called by the board chair if making comments by phone please dial one two five
009three two one five eight seven eight two and enter meeting ID number 854-3386-9913 each person is allowed three minutes to speak 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 public comment as appropriate the board will not allow complaints against an individual staff member or student in Open Session unless that individual has requested an open public hearing all right the first person I have is Barbara Denton [Applause] Barbara Denton 3921 Southeast camelchi Point Road Shelton um I have been a librarian and a school teacher for over 40 years I worked in the public library and the school libraries I was in the middle school for 27 years
010when I read about the fact that you're having parents complaining about books it hit me to my core because I have also had that happen over and over again with things as simple as Rapunzel because her mother locked her in a tower and I know that today's literature is not the same as it has been but I really want to commend the board and the teachers and the faculty who work on selecting their books taking the careful time that they do I know it's not a draw out of a hat process it's done with care and consideration and please do not let a few disgruntled people who do not like something in a particular book sway what you're doing but look at the reviews check your books carefully then if you did deem as a
011group that it's not appropriate for the age then that's fine but please do not let someone from the outside who does not have the background Dean what book is correctly correct to use I'd also like to commend the board for their flyer that they had with their inclusion that is so important in our society today that we take everyone into account without regard to their nationality their race their their language their sexual orientation or any other kind of thing that someone can come up with I really commend the board for sticking with that and against their bullying pot you know process excuse me the process against bullying it is so very very important that those things are taught today thank you very much for your time thank you the next name I have is Donna
012holiday and I apologize if I do pronounce anyone's name wrong hi I'm Donald Holliday commotion Point Road and I guess my sister there took some of my thunder but um I've heard Rumblings that there are people that want to get rid of some of you on the school board and um you don't get rid of people that are actually doing their job I appreciate that you um support everybody your flyer your all of your information that comes out is very inclusive I appreciate that all kids need to be supported no matter who they are no matter where they come from no matter what they are um on books um I wasn't at the one school board meeting on July 11th I believe it was when people were reading directly from books and some of the
013what they were reading did disturb me also um I'm not sure I'd want those books even at a high school level if that's the the content but there are also but what worries me is where we're going with that and um when we see what's happening across this country the books like to Kill a Mockingbird books on Rosa Parks books on Martin Luther King um being banned that's not right if there were books on white supremacy read those two make up your own minds even though I would disagree with that I still want to read it I still want to learn about it I want to understand why why do people hate so much and that's what we need to teach our kids is to think how to think how to read something tell if
014it's truth or a lie we need to understand other cultures other genders kids are finding out who they are give them a chance to find out who they are thank you very much for being a strong board and a strong School administration thank you thank you next up we have Thomas Wolfe hi my name is Thomas Wolfe I live here in Shelton I don't really feel the need to disclose my actual address because my right of privacy is very important protected under a constitution even but I live here in Shelton the first thing I wanted to say is you're paying this dude 240 40 000 a month on taxpayers dollars how did you guys come up with that number he failed in Seattle and now he's going to come over here and do the same
015bad job here I don't support it at all and I actually think you should recall him immediately and find someone that is willing to do the job at a far lower cost he doesn't even have any power you have you read the school boards you have the power he has done literally none so what why are you paying him so much what to sit there and look at you don't even look good in that suit bro I I don't I don't understand how you're going to get paid 240 000 that's ridiculous all the things you could have done for the kids and you want to give this dude 245 are you guys on drugs I really want to know like what are you smoking that is absolutely insane all right and to move on on
016the nihs the National Institute of Health so in case any of you are wondering about who's an expert here I just wanted to say that the National Institute of Health through studies say that the mind doesn't fully mature until mid to late 20s yeah mid to late 20s and what are you guys doing you're pushing political and sexual propaganda to children that are far too young to even understand what you are talking about I just can't believe that see you're pushing LGBT books to children and they had no need to learn about any of that crap their purpose is to have fun and learn things like things you're failing at like math reading science that are reaching a national low those are your jobs that is one of the things that is in your RCW
017is to make sure you are doing that is part of your job and you're failing absolutely failing matter of fact I think that all of you should be recalled because you have failed your job in the most epic fashion I have ever seen you are failing at your jobs and this dude doesn't deserve crap now I want to move on to say that this is not about banning or burning books is about what is appropriate and what has you to the child's education it is not about banning or burning books you can still buy them online but why does the taxpayer need to pay pay for these books to be inserted into our school system that is ridiculous if they want to go and buy it feel free their parents can go and make that
018decision but you aren't even including the parents in your whole agenda you're not including them at all you're just doing whatever the hell you want or whatever you're told by this you and by this dude and that is absolutely ridiculous 44 of the children in this area by the way don't even attend school you're failing your job on all levels and before this even ends I am so sick of the everyone saying democracy democracy democracy Even in our pledge democracy is not mentioned this is a constitutional Republican maybe if you went back to school for a few more years you would learn that none of you are experts and you don't deserve any praise here today you suck thank you shyler rad hello good evening don't want to touch any spit on the microphone my
019name is Shyla radd and I live on Alder Street just moved to Shelton in June with my family we reside in the boundaries of the Third District I was at elementary school for two years and I'm a doctor of educational psychology I'm commenting tonight to urge the board to support policies that diversify types of assessment little history lesson in the 1960s Civil Rights era Congress passed the elementary and secondary Education Act which used an equity-based approach for federal education policy from 1965 to 1994 Congress didn't really care about standardized testing and accountability reforms but by the end of the 1990s there was this emergent bipartisan consensus in Congress in favor of standardized testing and accountability reforms largely led by business groups and Industry lobbyists but they were joined also by civil rights groups which hope
020to use these reforms to document and close opportunity gaps although policies like uh No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and every student succeeds Act of 2015 stimulated progress in educational assessment some advances that had been made in that period in educational assessment had been forgotten or ignored for example an assessment scored with multiple choice or fill in the blank questions measures competency by statistically clustering answers to test questions but an assessment scored with a rubric can measure competency by clustering answers to test questions and levels of mastery this means that a rubric scored test can measure facets of knowledge and understanding that a multiple choice test or fill in the blank scored test cannot measure I want to share with the board an executive summary I did for a project at a school district
021in Texas where I got my doctorate and I hope that helped to ensure proper measure measurement with rubric scored tests I hope this will motivate the board to support policies that make it easy and Urgent to diversify assessments given to Learners in Shelton School District because a diversity of assessment types can measure all facets of knowledge and understanding just bring it up all right thank you Marilyn Aaron [Music] hello my name is Marilyn Aaron I live in Shelton first off I have to say it's very nice to see a lot of community members regardless of whether we agree or not I'm happy to see you all here showing up and showing that you care and that you're paying attention so first things first we several of us would like an update on the reviews of
022the curriculum the book list that you guys approved and adopted on June 27th for the 7th through 12th grade particularly in regards to the 10 books that were in question my biggest concern is the sexually explicit content contained in some of those books which actually I find slightly ironic not sure if any of you have read it but I'm going to read to you the technology use agreement that my 10th grader brought home for us to sign as the parent or guardian of the above name student I have read this agreement and understand it understand that it is possible for the Shelton School District to restrict access to all controversial materials and I will not hold the district responsible for materials acquired by use of the electronic Information Services I also agree to report any
023misuse of the electronic Information Services to a school district administrator now this is the part that I want you to pay close attention to misuse may come in many forms but can be viewed as any messages sent or received that indicate or suggest pornography unethical or illegal solicitation racism sexism inappropriate language or other issues described in the agreement now please take note some of those books that were read and listed contained information that's actually in the technology user agreement that the parents are supposed to sign to report if their child comes across that information in technology just found that interesting the second thing I would like to ask is for an update on the Personnel that have been trained in each of the schools on the administering Narcan in the event of an overdose and
024are the staff aware of where it is located and I'm curious as to what the response time would be to access it because that's a very important thing to be aware of how quickly it'll take them to get there because I'm sure as many of you know especially some trained professionals that time is of the essence something else that was brought to my attention is that students are having to sit on the bus it was mentioned to me at the high school prior to being allowed off in the mornings if the bus gets there too early they're having to wait and stay on the bus I know part of it has to do to Staffing but before in the past I think they were maybe allowed to go to their classrooms and like work on
025homework or maybe the library I guess that's not allowed this year and then something else that was asked for me to bring up is how are the student Representatives selected for the board so that is all thank you that is it for the oh public comments but you are welcome to come up if there's anyone else that would like to sign up that did not have a chance to do that just let me know after you have announced your name and your address Dean Jewett Shelton Washington all right I just want to make sure that uh you know this is sent out by the school district I appreciate it thank you gives you a lot of good information I just wanted to read a section on it gender inclusive schools all students are entitled to
026an educational environment that is safe and free of discrimination regardless of their gender expression or gender or identity harassing or treating students differently because of their gender is not allowed all students have the right to use and be addressed by their requested name and pronouns with or without a legal name change their gender destination or designation and have their gender accurately reflected in school records including but not limited to school ID cards classroom seating charts athletic rosters yearbook diplomas directory information identify with Express and be recognized by staff and student information system as gender other than male or female I don't think there really is any but I don't understand that I participating in sports physical education courses field trips that's maybe include overnight overnight trips in accordance with their gender identity okay keep uh
027keep Health uh and education information confidential and private including information about their legal name sex assigned to birth transgender cisgender or non-binary status so I guess we're keeping secrets so if parents call and want to know what their kids going by or if they hit a a closet library and change clothes I guess we're not allowed to tell the parents that it's really good what you do is you know start to start kids knowing that you lie so if maybe somebody is getting abused you know they know just to keep it a secret because it's the school said they could you know when Jesse backs it up uh so anyway I just wanted to make sure that we were able to read all of that obviously you already know that I do not agree with
028it in any way shape or form and I don't understand and see how the board would allow that to happen because like I said before you guys control the superintendent the superintendent does not control the board we should all sit up here and ask ourselves what is best for kids that's what we need to First middle last what's best for kids okay I'm a super super simple if you break it down if you guys don't want to accept it then resign step aside don't run again and let somebody else that wants to be there okay I mean where are we going to go with this as a next are we going to put litter boxes in for the furries that we have running around I mean where where does where is where's the lines where
029do we stop thank you are there any other public comments at this time you would like to make a public comment hello my name is Courtney Bray I live in Olympia Washington my children are students of the Shelton School District um I just have a couple of really short questions that I hope to get answered later on when you guys speak but my concern is with the shortening of the drop-off times for our students it's impacting students abilities to be able to eat breakfast um a lot of kids depend on the school breakfast and lunch that's offered and it's been told to me by my children that they're not allowed to eat breakfast in class so I'm hoping to hear that this change will be temporary or what Solutions will be offered as it affects
030students it also affects the community thank you all right thank you have any come in over the phone no okay are there any other public comments at this time there does not look like there are so we will move on to reports and recognition 5.01 is the introduction of the 2023-24 student School Board Representatives we have Zeta holler who is not present tonight from Shelton high school and Aiden underberg from Cedar high school and I'm going to let superintendent Jesse introduce that great I guess I just did but we'll let you talk more about it so here in again in the Shelton School District we have three high schools um today we have one representative from Cedar high school I'll get in a minute to introduce him um we also have uh as board president
031Davidson mentioned Zeta holler from the Shelton high school and then we um are in process of selecting the student representative for Choice high school we did update this particular policy and procedure in 20 the 2122 school year this was a um really is about students applying for it and then it's really contingent upon usually the student or ASB Associated student body rep or the principal to run a committee the students interview for it they do have to have a 3.0 or more GPA and in good standing around their discipline record so those are some of the the requirements for this um they they apply and then it's a great opportunity to serve for um up to two years but we want to make sure that it gives everybody a chance and so I feel very
032fortunate to introduce Aiden underberg he's coming to us again from Cedar High School which is great um he did tell me he's like he's going to work on his public speaking so he will get plenty of practice for that I can't think of one of the better opportunities right here on TV and in front of folks I think he's probably like oh I wish he wouldn't have mentioned that but um it's gonna be great and so we really feel very fortunate that Aiden decided to take this opportunity for leadership I know our student representatives in the past have done an outstanding job representing each of their high schools and asking questions and giving us updated information about what's happening at the schools themselves I think it's not only something that I think the board wants
033to obviously know but the public does want to hear a student voice about what is your experiences as we go through this upcoming 23 24 school year so with that I'll hand it back and I'm sure we'll hear from Eden yes we've really value student voice so we appreciate that you are going to take your time to do this with us every other Tuesday so at this point in time we would love to hear your report from Cedar High School I'll introduce myself again my name is Aiden underberg I'm a senior at Cedar high school and it's my second year being there and I'm their school board representative um had a nice first five days back and some stuff I have is first off we have our open house tomorrow and that it's the first
034like major project we're doing is our ecology class is uh planning to build a compost system at calaman Park starting this Thursday that is sponsored by hope garden and Green Mountain Tech out of Seattle we have three new teachers out of our seven total teachers and our first orientation had about 98 percent of students including all the new students and then our second orientation had every student there and that's all I got all right thank you very much for your report we look forward to hearing more about what's going on with you and the students there at Cedar high school as this year progresses all right next up is the consent agenda we have a lot of the usual items there the proposed minutes from previous meetings Personnel report general fund warrants associate Associated student
035body fund warrants typical items are there any questions or is there a motion and make a motion to accept the consent agenda second emotion been moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda all those in favor say aye aye aye all those opposed say no hearing none the consent agenda has passed this evening we do not have any discussion and action items so we are going directly into board member comments I'm going to start with you Matt you're right next to me first I would like to thank everybody that put together the open house and tailgate party thing that the the high school the other night I had a great time I met a lot of really cool teachers I'm excited to to see how the kids progress through the year it was just neat
036I did geek out on the drama apartment drama department just a little bit when I was explaining to him how some of the old equipment worked they were surprised um uh one of the things that that I've been wrestling with recently and it really came to light at the the football game and then again here tonight I want to thank everybody that shows up even the people that we don't necessarily agree with civil discourse is how we have incremental change in the world I saw a bunch of people that I know have gone chest to chest uh in disagreements and then at the football game we're all cheering for the same people we're all fighting for the kids um I I can't thank you enough for being here so uh yeah as far as Aidan
037underberg goes he was one of my linemen a couple years ago probably doesn't think that I remembered who he was he's a quiet awesome kid and you will be thrown out of your shell at the wazda conference I hope you're able to go as a student they do have a whole student session um Embrace this you're going to have a lot of fun okay thank you all right thank you director reelander Sandy do you have any comments this evening well second or you know support what Matt said about uh thanking everybody that shows up for public comment Community comment every voice is important and um whether we agree or disagree I'm glad to see the discussions being had in the viewpoints that are presented and want to welcome Aiden I had a chance to visit
038with him a little bit before the meeting started and look forward to well working with him and hope he enjoys his year here all right thank you Sandy Carla do you have comments this evening yes I do it's the beginning of the school year and I just want to celebrate that all the people who have put effort into making a brand new school year and a fresh start for our students and I started thinking back to my teaching career and knowing the effort I put into it but it wasn't just a teacher so I I made a short list and I'd like to well it's kind of a long list but it I would like to recognize all these people who work together and make school what it is for the children in our community
039and so of course we know teachers and staff they prepare and and are on the front line but the counselors the physical therapists the speech pathologists and all the special services those are people too that are very important to the success the administrators and office staff and the central office workers such as business and HR all getting those new teachers going and started on their career path and then the classified employees that we really need those people to support what we're doing in the buildings the maintenance and custodial staff who work extra hard to get the buildings ready and they look so nice again in the fall of course there's food service and we know about transportation department and then volunteers there are people who volunteer and come in our superintendent is a hard worker
040and I know that his team and they work hard to make sure that we have things lined up curriculum wise and policy wise so that we can run a smooth program so when I was thinking about all that and remember my enthusiasm with a new group of kids starting a new school I just wanted to spread that to all the people involved who work hard to to make it a brand new beginning and it the other thing I wanted to say is that I do appreciate the speakers tonight it's really nice to hear people who have ideas and they present them calmly and with respect it's that's what we're about hearing new ideas and I hope that we can take some of those questions and get answers back to people and that's all I have
041thank you Carla Lauren do you have comments this evening hi everybody I just want to thank you for coming out and speaking and sharing with us and those who are will be viewing from home I'm excited for the new school year and all the great work the school district members are doing and we'll be preparing for us this year in the upcoming meetings one thing I was able to attend was the Bordeaux Elementary School revealed their accessibility portion of their playground they raise money from generous donors in the ptso to create a fully paved sidewalk to the swing set for students who previously could not get across the wood chips and they put this beautiful accessibility board it probably has a better name than that on the playground for students to communicate I was really
042impressed with all of that and I just wanted to put a plug in for all the concerned parents out there and family members that your school's ptsas ptas ptsos are really looking for people right now and uh I know for Bordeaux on October 14th they're going to have the Bulldog bite auction at the casino and I recommend you all go to bring money into Bordeaux it's a Bordeaux parent but I would love to hear about other opportunities like that coming up too thank you all right thank you Lauren and I want to thank everyone for coming tonight too this is one of the bigger crowds that we've had and it's nice it is a busy time of the year with school starting back up we our previous board meeting was almost three weeks ago and
043between that period of time I went and met up with the superintendent at the back to school celebration and that happened before school started at OMS it was packed the road was lined with cars that were parked all the way down through Mountain View you could not find a parking space in the parking lot there were young kids older kids there were staff from every school that was there volunteering and helping get kids and families resources that they need and get excited for the school year and books and it was a wonderful event and it was I mean it's really one of those things where you see just how much a school and Community come together it was great to see that Matt and I were able to greet the new teachers for new teacher
044orientation which was actually more than just teachers we had speech and hearing therapists there as well as counselors so it's not just teachers and that to me was really important too because it reflected again too that we had hired people much earlier on than we typically have because of the practices that the school district is putting into place so many of those teachers were able to go to the professional development and Summits before this new teacher orientation so this was just one final step and they were very excited to be a part of the Shelton school district and and that was just great to see as a school board member I was asked to be on the land trust advisory committee this is a group within wasda for any school districts that are affected or
045get funds we do get some funds through the timber sales of the state and I'm learning about what that's all going to be about and I will report anything back or any legislative changes as far as that goes I was able to go to the tailgate party and the football game I've got two high school age daughters who were very interested in learning about the clubs um who also and it was wonderful it was a wonderful event the weather was great there was a big Community turnout there was music there were food trucks there was every club sports the length You Know Drama Department English Department math department and so you could go up and it was really nice to see this because I don't think that um you know covet hit and a lot
046of things like that really haven't been able to happen and this has been one of those times where the community can come and just actually walk right up and talk to anybody in those departments you could walk into the school you could go talk to see within the culinary Department it was just a really great opportunity for people to be on campus and connect with somebody there at the school and so I thank you and your team for all of their efforts with all of that the first day of school was great I know that the first day of school every parent wants to drop off their kids so the roads were crazy and the parking lots were crazy but as I drove past many of those schools you could see that the principals were
047out and everybody was trying to man things and it was nice to see all of that um we did I complete the board of Distinction application I do want to thank the superintendent and any administrative staff that helped with that um I took the lead on that and the due date for that was this Friday but we actually submitted it uh today and so that has gone through and we will find out how that goes in early November before the wasda or actually gets announced at the wasda conference and I want to say thank you for all of you for if you haven't completed I think most everybody has the board self-assessment that's also important because that is just a questionnaire and then wasda will give us those results back and that just helps guide
048and direct you know what we're doing and how we're thinking so once I get that back I will distribute that to all of you and I was there's a lot of different events going on I personally was at the volleyball JV volleyball game for the first 10 minutes before coming to the school board meeting tonight because I have two daughters that are playing volleyball tonight so I know that all of us do sacrifice time and events that we could be doing with our families to to be here because we do care and we do really appreciate comments regardless of what those are we need to have a civil discourse and we do need to hear what's going on and what the thoughts are from our community so we do thank you for doing that we
049do have one item in the exempt session tonight so we are going to close this portion of the meeting sign some paperwork and probably have because there is possible action it's probably about 20 minutes where we are going to go into an exempt session but then we will come out and do that action in public and then adjourn the meeting at that time so you're welcome to stick around for the end of that as well but at this time we're going to take a few moments to sign paperwork and then we will head into exempt session thank you [Music] all right we are back from exempt session it is 7 15. we were looking at item 9.01 the proposed 2023-25 bargained agreement with the educational support personnel I motioned to approve the proposed 2023-25 bargained
050agreement with the educational support personnel it's been moved and seconded to approve the proposed 2325 bargain agreement with the educational support Personnel all those in favor say aye aye aye all those opposed say no hearing none the proposed 2023-25 bargain agreement with the educational support personnel has passed the only item left is to adjourn and then we will need to sign the agreements is there a motion to adjourn on move for adjournment I second the motion all those in favor say aye aye all right we're adjourned sorry Matt