Seattle School Board Meeting April 6, 2022

Here.

Director Rivera-Smith.

Present.

Director Sardew.

Present.

Director Song-Moret.

Present.

And President Hersey is unable to make it today.

We are holding today's meeting in a hybrid format with directors, staff and members of the public here in person with remote access also available through SPS-TV by broadcast and streaming on YouTube and by phone consistent with the governor's proclamation on open public meetings.

For those joining by phone, please remain muted until we reach the testimony period and your name is called.

I will now turn it over to Superintendent Jones for his comments.

Thank you, Vice President Hampson and board members.

I'm going to give a brief update on student outcome-focused governance and our strategic plan.

Over this last month, I've been to about 20 schools seeing the strategic plan in action.

There's dynamic work going on by our educators, our staff, and our school leaders.

The board and central staff have been hard at work aligning and integrating this work on student outcome-focused governance, and we're learning along the way.

I want to thank Vice President Hanson for your work in hosting sessions with stakeholders.

Those have been very informative and a lot of people have resonated with a lot of folks.

I want to give you a visual on where we are with our board work and particularly our internal alignment work.

My cabinet and I are working hard at trying to finalize the interim goals and guardrails.

We're spending focus time each week in cabinet, aligning our efforts to the work on goals and guardrails.

We're engaging our internal stakeholders and aligning our divisional work.

And we continue to refine and mature the strategies necessary for progress monitoring.

Next up, I have a session with you around seventh grade math, progress monitoring, and then we'll follow by college and career readiness.

We're aligning our budget process to ensure that we're adequately resourcing the strategies associated with goals and guardrails and it's challenging to say the least to keep our main thing the main thing but this work is tremendously important.

This exercise in living out our priorities is very healthy and I appreciate the opportunity to really take advantage of this transformational opportunity.

So I just want to give the board a shout out for your hard work on aligning goals and guardrails.

I'm looking forward to the next steps that we have together.

That concludes my remarks.

Thank you.

Thank you Superintendent Jones.

At this time we have now reached the consent portion of today's agenda.

May I have a motion for the consent agenda.

I move approval of the consent agenda.

Second.

Approval of the consent agenda has been moved by Director Rivera-Smith and seconded by Director Song-Moritz.

Do directors have any items they would like to remove from the consent agenda.

Hearing and seeing none.

All those in favor of the consent agenda signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Those opposed.

The consent agenda has passed unanimously.

We have now come to the Board Committee Reports section of the agenda.

We'll hear briefly now from the chairs of each of the board's four committees starting with the Operations Committee.

Director Rivera-Smith.

Hi thank you.

Yeah we had our our last Operations Committee meeting was on March 17th and you were all actually there all our board members were there minus President Hersey so it was a full house.

It was a very it was a very robust meeting.

I mean we use that word a lot but it really was.

Along with our typical committee work plan capital financial budget report and capital operations public meetings report and design modification construction change order review we saw a couple of BAR's on well there were a lot of construction BAR's one about through my notes here.

There's a couple we're going to see today actually so I won't go over them too much because they're actually up for action today.

But we also did excuse me we talked a bit about one that will be coming later.

We are amending Board Policy 6970 and we are also rescinding a policy that's being incorporated into that about mascots and nicknames.

So that is actually one where we rediscovered at the committee meeting that there was more work and more engagement that needed to be done.

On its part excuse me.

And so we look forward to that.

Ronald Boy I believe is leading the effort there because we want to make sure that we are we're really encompassing all of our all of our values in how we name our buildings and how we select mascot names.

We have a lot of buildings that you know have names that we got to really research the name the legacy of and decide if that's still still is in line with our values and our our populations you know what they feel is is important to be highlighting as a school.

So that is going to be coming back to committee because it wasn't ready for action at that one.

Likewise we spoke about we got an update part of an update on Memorial Stadium kind of in that adjoining properties work and we do need to have a full committee well Committee of the Whole probably meeting on that sometime soon.

I know the board office is working on scheduling that so that we can all be kind of on the same page on where our district has been in that work.

It's been ongoing for longer than a lot of us have been here so it's really important that we all get a full understanding of that work so that we have a idea of where what we need to build on and where we need to go with it.

It's obviously a big opportunity to do something great with that area with the stadium and the adjoining property.

in line with what we need and what our future looks to hold and we have to look ahead not just 5 years not even just 10 years but really 30 years plus as we make decisions for that and we'll be doing that as a board.

So I look forward to that.

We spoke about the Student Assignment Transition Plan and kind of how we need to dissect that and look at that.

I know that there is you know a lot in that in that document that is overlaps with other aspects of our departments and committees on our board.

So that is something that I know Ashley Davis is taking very seriously and we will be visiting that topic again to kind of decide more.

We kind of we were going over time on that meeting so we we didn't have as much discussion as we might have liked to and we do need to keep on that to decide how to move forward there.

Otherwise it was like I said it was a great meeting.

I really liked having so many people there.

It was pretty neat.

Our next one is April 21st.

Thank you.

Okay and this is Director Hampson.

I'm going to do the Audit and Finance Committee and the I'll do the Executive Committee after Director Rankin does the Student Services Curriculum and Instruction Committee.

The Audit and Finance Committee we actually met twice last week.

We met on the 21st at 8 a.m.

and then we met again on the 25th at 3 p.m.

and the primary Item for discussion was the Board Action Report for the renaming and amendment of Board Policy Number 3208 Sexual Harassment and Adoption of Board Policy Number 5011 Sexual Harassment of Staff Prohibited.

We on that particular item after meeting having a very hard working meeting on Friday the 25th sent staff away with some pretty clear recommendations about the kinds of updates that we needed to see but that we were comfortable with it coming forward in April.

Not at this meeting but for introduction at the April I believe it's the 20th meeting.

Is that correct.

And so I just got the revised version of that this afternoon and we will get that shared with other directors and then other directors will be connecting each of them with one.

I'll connect with two directors to go over how we got from point A to point B so that folks are instead of forcing staff to do the two by twos we'll do them ourselves.

Seems appropriate.

For those in community and on the task force they were also involved in both the Rebecca Milliman who's been chairing the task force since Tina Mead left was involved in that and is reporting back to the task force.

I'm also meeting with the students that were on the task force on Thursday and Friday to go over where we are with that.

And importantly I would note for folks and I and one of the things I asked to be included in the Board Action Report is that the administration is coming out with new rule recommendations in April.

But I want as important as those will be because they will undo some really harmful language in the that was done by the past administration those will have a comment period of at least a year and so we will come back and look at these policies again in a year to a year and a half.

So we'll want to keep that in mind as well.

Those were the primary things.

The other big piece of work that came out of the Audit and Finance Committee is something that is near and dear to many people's hearts which is the concurrence to do the work on the school funding formula which is 610 on the the grants policy which is 6114 as well as a number of others that are in the student category of policies that have to do with fees and other funding that happens in school buildings to support students or charges that are that are incurred by students.

And we are going to take them collectively as a an analysis of how the board needs to represent our direction to the superintendent with respect to resourcing our buildings.

So that's a big body of work.

And we will hopefully have some some structure and some timing around that but I know there are many community folks who are continue to ask us questions about when that work is going to happen.

I'm excited that we'll be doing that work this year and thankful to my committee members for as Director Rivera-Smith reported we've got some really robust work coming up ahead of us in the next two years so.

If anyone would like copies of the materials or recordings those things can always be accommodated.

Please get in touch with the board office.

The Audit and Finance Committee meets next on April 25th 2022. And I'm going to now turn it over to Director Rankin for the report on the Student Services Curriculum and Instruction Committee.

Thank you.

Our next meeting is towards the end of this month and our last meeting was towards the end of last month.

I let's see.

At my my I'm having trouble connecting online here so I don't have all my all of my stuff but so I'm going to zoom us out way out and and talk about some just broader topics that are coming up through our committee.

There are a lot of current policies that come through student services curriculum instruction and our board goals are really really tied to student services curriculum and instruction.

They're about academic outcomes.

So there's lots of work that comes through this committee that I'm doing thinking and working with staff to figure out how to make some shifts in alignment with student outcomes focused governance in the in the way that we have our committee meetings because we have a lot of you know recurring items that come through student services that don't necessarily need investigation as a committee that are better brought to the full board for questions.

And so I'm trying to think about how to focus us in in that time that limited time that we have as a committee on some of these bigger buckets and move work forward and focus on where there are gaps in our in our policy.

The biggest buckets are inclusionary practices and just curriculum in general.

We we don't have a standard calendar or schedule for adopting and updating curriculum in SPS and so you know we're in the middle of a K-5 math adoption right now which is really actually super exciting.

And I know it's going to support support you know better outcomes and just a really solid foundation across the district that's really important.

But we have you know a social studies curriculum that has never been updated since the 1990s.

As my son would say that is last millennium.

So he makes me feel really old when he talks about me being born in the last century.

So so I'm thinking about that and some of these bigger bigger buckets and the policies that come through that are sort of under the Student Services Curriculum and Instruction Committee looking for places like we are across a lot of our district policies looking for places where there's things that are duplicated where there's things that may be are more appropriate to be in procedure that are really management where you know how we can really focus our policy so that the policy is really really really strong in support of of student outcomes.

But probably the most critical one is the special education policy and and other related policies in supporting our whole everyone in our district about thinking of inclusion as a general education initiative not something that's just for students receiving special education services.

And there's going to be a lot of things that connect to that.

So oh another exciting development is a throwback to our outdoor learning task force.

We have a person in central offices who is an educator who had done who was a member of the task force and has done a bunch of his experience teaching has been with a lot of creative implementation of outdoor and project-based learning and he is in in alignment with the recommendations from the task force he has been hired to work centrally on developing and supporting outdoor education through our whole district.

So that is something that seems relatively small but hopefully will have a big impact that I'm excited about.

And yeah mostly I would say anyone who's interested in curriculum instruction policy keep an eye out and reach out if you have questions or suggestions.

On the legislative end I'm not going to be giving a regular legislative update anymore since the session is over but I will bring forward you know if something comes up I'm happy to bring it forward.

In the meantime I do meet monthly with Seattle Council PTSA legislative chair and the legislative chairs from all of our Seattle PTAs.

So if that's something that applies to you and you don't know about it please get in touch with Seattle Council PTSA.

We had a discussion last night about just who makes what decisions.

how governance and management works to influence what happens in our schools.

And we will be continuing great conversation and getting geared up already for next legislative session.

Okay.

That brings us to the Executive Committee meeting.

We've actually had a board meeting since we last met so I won't My apologies all board members are talking to the side and I'm easily distracted.

I just need to pick pull up the date of when the next meeting is.

Okay so we met the Executive Committee met March 23rd.

I won't bother to review what we discussed at that time as that was covered in the prior board meeting.

We will meet again on April 27th.

And the agenda for that should be posted the Friday before.

And with that we've come we've completed our Committee reports and it is not yet 5 o'clock so I would like to ask board members who have comments that they would like to make to provide those now or we will recess until testimony at 5 o'clock.

Would anyone like to give their comments.

Go ahead Director Song-Moretz.

Thank you.

Since our last board meeting I did attend the regular Oversight Committee meeting for the Families Education Preschool and Promise Levy FEPP as our board city liaison.

And typically Director Chappelle will invite the community-based organizations that the levy funds to present to the committee and share the work that they are doing.

And at this last meeting REWA after school talked about their program that serves about 40 students from Maple and Kimball Elementary on Mondays through Thursdays.

And they just really shared a lot of pictures and told stories about our kids.

the fun activities they were doing.

They had recently done a field trip and there are a lot of smiling faces.

And I overall my general impression is that there is a lot of care for our students and a real desire to support the academic needs.

We talked extensively as a committee about supporting reading and literacy during these after school hours.

And I'm excited that Director Chappelle has been attending some of the.

presentations led by our board around student outcomes focused governance and I'm grateful for his partnership there and I think there will be further alignment in support of the academic goals of our students.

I will also want to say thank you to Seattle Council PTSA for inviting me to meet with the PTA leaders at our district 4 schools a couple of weeks ago.

And I'm also grateful to the several district staff that took evening time to meet with the parents.

And we had a very robust conversation about school budgets and staffing.

And we also briefly touched upon the proposed changes to the bell times from 2 to 3. And so after that meeting I have reached out to building leaders in my director district to gather more feedback on the transportation needs of our students and considerations for the proposed change as suggested by the parents at the meeting.

So thank you.

Other directors that would like to give their comments.

Okay I will and I just realized we can go to or was reminded that we can go to intro items as well.

I will just briefly state as a reminder meant to mention during the Executive Committee report there are twice weekly Student Outcomes Focus Governance call-in sessions.

They will not be that it's just the start of engaging with community about how it is that we show up for our students.

in the context of student outcomes focused governance.

The attendance has been great.

The conversation has been robust.

It's nowhere near enough time.

Thank you to fellow directors that have joined me well within the bounds of we had to kick one director off for a little while so that we could stay within our OPMA guidelines.

So we're watching that very carefully.

But we've had great participation from from leaders and really including Jennifer Motter from SEA I've been really grateful for her showing up and sharing in that space and hope that folks will continue to come.

It's open to everyone.

There's a link on the board website for how to show up for those those meetings.

There's a Friday meeting and anyone can email me if they want to come to the Friday meeting.

We don't have it posted on the website yet.

We'll do that sometime after the break.

And I don't have any.

I did attend the Washington State Indian Education Association meeting this week.

I'm not ready to give a report on that yet.

I got some incredible information but haven't had a chance.

It was actually still happening today and I wasn't able to go to the third day but we'll have some some things to bring back to folks about that.

And would also note I think it's it's National Deaf Awareness Month this week.

And I was thinking about that in relationship to the fact there are two Oscar-winning documentaries that are really important and related to education.

The first is Audible and not that I'm trying to stump for any of these folks make money off these documentaries but they're really important.

And the other is Summer of Soul.

And I encourage there's some really really critical connections I believe to education and to our strategic plan in that documentary.

It's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.

I've already watched it three times and can't wait to watch it again.

But it is just a powerful, powerful view into the lives of Black families at that particular time, sharing about their joy and so many really critical things, the relationship with the city and how the festival came to be, the sense of family, but also just their relationship to kind of the country at that time and the interest of you know somebody going to the moon when when you know kids need to be educated and there's just please go watch it because it's it's really really powerful and it absolutely deserved to win and should have been the highlight of that as opposed to other drama.

There was also the best picture winner was CODA which stands for Child of Deaf Adults.

And yeah any opportunity we can have to learn more makes us better leaders and I'm grateful that that those types of things are getting so much support and press and acclaim.

So we're going to go to introduction items.

We'll start with that and then come back at 5 o'clock to public testimony.

Actually while you're flipping through there I just remembered I have a mini legislative thing which is that the the window is open right now in WSSDA for positions positions being proposed by by school board directors.

So if you all have or haven't gotten that email or have questions about the process for permit for submitting legislative positions to the School Board Director Association that window is open now.

So let me know if you need any support or connections.

And anyone who has students or any students that are listening that want to come join us at this dais please get your applications in for student board member selection.

And that information can be found on our website and applications are open until April 20th.

And if you want to I hope fellow directors are okay with the fact that I told students last night that they should text or call any of us if they have questions.

about what it means to sit up here and ask questions about us because we're the we're who they would be working with starting the fall.

So that's that's super exciting that we're going to have students join us up here in the fall.

I cannot wait.

So we'll go to our first introduction item Amendment to Board Policy Number 5410 Holidays and Approval of the Agreements with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302. Teamsters Local 117. Teamsters Local 174. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Number 160. Local 289. Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters PASS otherwise known as the Principals Association of Seattle Schools.

I think that stands for I believe.

Seattle King County Trades Council and Seattle Education Association adding Juneteenth as a paid holiday to the party's collective bargaining agreements.

This came through Executive Committee on March 23rd and is presented here for approval.

May I have a motion for this item.

Oh I'm sorry this is just intro.

We're out of order so I apologies.

Go ahead.

All right.

Good evening.

Good evening directors.

Noel Treat Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources.

I am very pleased to be here tonight to introduce a proposal to make Juneteenth a new Seattle Public Schools holiday.

As you all are aware Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.

While President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, news of that didn't reach Galveston, Texas and the enslaved people there until nearly two and a half years later, when Union troops arrived.

Thereafter, the communities around Galveston begin celebrating each June 19th to mark that event.

The celebrations eventually spread across the entire country and I'm happy to report that today almost all our states observed this holiday.

It was named in 2021 as a new federal holiday and the Washington State Legislature has added it both as a state and school district holiday.

The proposed board action has has two key parts.

One is to add this as a holiday to our holiday policy.

That will also make it a new paid holiday for regular non-represented staff.

And then the second part of the proposed board action is to approve MOUs with our labor partners adding this as a new paid holiday for staff that work a full calendar work year.

Given the import of the holiday and given the new legal mandate from our state legislature board adoption of this proposal is strongly encouraged.

Do you have any questions for me.

Thank you Mr. Treat.

Well first I just want to say thank you.

And Mr. Treat is the Associate Superintendent of Human Resources.

Yes.

Correct title.

Yes.

And wow that sounds so much better when you provide that history.

So my sincere gratitude for adding that.

Absolutely.

It's a very it's a very important history and an exciting change for us.

And So with that I'll see if directors have questions.

My only question is this would typically fall after the last day of school right.

Correct.

Typically.

Yeah.

So I guess what does that.

me for contracts that don't afford that.

I just just how does it.

Yeah well for those for those years where school might be extended or where we've had to extend due to closure or snow days or things if if if June 19th or 20th when it's observed depending on on the on the calendar year if that falls on what would be a school day because of the calendar then that would be a non-school day.

And then it also means some staff will not have it as a paid holiday because their work here may end before that.

And then another another component is that our educators don't receive paid holidays.

They're paid based upon teaching for 180 days and so non-school days are not paid days for them.

So it that it has that it doesn't have an effect for them for a new paid holiday.

Okay thanks.

Any other directors have questions.

Thank you.

And the ultimate lesson in what happens when laws and policies are passed but they're not well-communicated.

Okay.

Well this also should be.

Okay so that takes us to Introduction Item Number 2 Amendment to Board Policy Number 6896 Drinking Water Quality and Access and Repeal of Board Procedure 6896BP Drinking Water Quality and Access Procedure.

And JoLynn Berge Assistant Superintendent is here to present this to us.

Oh I'm sorry this came through operations on March 17th and is presented here for approval.

Good afternoon directors.

JoLynn Berge Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance.

This BAR was moved forward at the last operations meeting which I know all the Board Directors here were present at.

So we'll go quickly.

The state legislature recently passed a law setting standards to protect students from lead in drinking water.

The law adds a requirement for the school board to approve school action plans to remediate elevated lead levels when they are identified.

So there's a new paragraph being added to the board policy.

The original policy single paragraph remains unchanged.

This is in addition to that.

Both are attached for your reference.

The law also sets the level of lead that is considered elevated at five parts per billion.

Our existing board procedure used 10 parts per billion.

It also changes the way samples are collected and results are communicated.

So our procedure required a substantial revision.

At the operations committee meeting in December when first discussed, the committee requested That the board procedure be replaced with a superintendent procedure.

So this BAR would repeal the current board procedure.

We have also attached a draft of the superintendent procedure for your information.

There were no additional information requests or clarification at the Operations Committee meeting.

So there is no changes to the BAR from committee that have been made.

That would conclude my remarks.

And Director Rivera-Smith did you have anything to add as the chair of the Ops Committee.

Thank you.

No I this was this was something we did speak about a few months back and sort of wanted to eliminate the board policy as Assistant Superintendent Berge mentioned.

It didn't seem unnecessary or appropriate.

So I appreciate that the superintendent procedure is included here.

That's always awesome to have with these BAR's.

And yeah and I think this this brings improvements to our policy and all how we handle this.

I know a lot of schools you know they we have a history of just putting signs on faucets sometimes when it wasn't potable.

So hopefully this will help us eradicate any lead that's left in our buildings and and make sure that our students have the safest drinking water possible.

So thank you.

Many of the directors have questions.

Okay thank you very much Assistant Superintendent Berge.

And that takes us to Item Number 3 on the introduction items.

Recommendation to extend contract terms and amend contract amounts for furniture procurement for 2022-23 bid numbers B01834 and B05866.

This came through Operations on March 17th and is recommended here for approval and will be going to Associate Superintendent of Operation Operations Fred Podesta.

Good afternoon Directors.

As part of its again Fred Podesta Assistant Superintendent of Operations.

As part of its capital program the district maintains a series of contracts for furniture for to be utilized in renovated modernized or newly constructed spaces.

These contracts are with Catalyst Workplace Activation Incorporated Evergreen Furnishings LLC and School Specialty LLC.

The contracts were competitively bid and awarded in 2018. The original terms had a base contract term of three years and two one-year optional extensions.

This action exercises that final one-year extension for those three sets of contracts.

The total value of these Amendments is $10,548,978.

And this will allow us to furnish the many more than eight projects we have under construction at this time.

Director Rivera-Smith.

I think Assistant Superintendent Podesta kind of covered it all.

operational we just want to make sure we have ready with all the furniture we need as we open our new schools and complete renovations.

Thank you.

Do directors have any questions.

Okay and that takes us to item number 4 BEX V Resolution 2-0 I'm sorry.

Yes that's correct.

Resolution 2021-22-16 Approval of General Contractor Construction Manager Delivery Method and Award G.C. General Contractor Construction Manager Contract P5-1842 Cornerstone General Contractors, Inc. for the Asa Mercer International Middle School Replacement Project.

This came through operations on March 17th and is recommended for approval.

Back to you Mr. Podesta.

Thank you.

So this project will construct a new 174,000 square foot building for Mercer Middle School.

And this action this afternoon does two things.

It authorizes the use of the Alternative Public Works process known as General Contractor Construction Manager and adopts a resolution stating that this is required by state law that the board state that they approve using this alternative public works process and that we certify that the district will follow state public works law in exercising it.

This action also authorizes a contract with Cornerstone General Contractors to be our general contractor construction manager and this is an alternative public works process as opposed to the traditional process where we have architects design a project and then bid it out and award to the lowest bidder the construction of the building or the addition.

In this case, we hire our general contractor early on in the process while the project is being scoped and designed so they can be a partner with us.

And then they handle more of the construction management duties and then deliver the project at a fixed price, which in this case is expected to be $100,987,267.

Cornerstone bid on this project in 2020. It was a very competitive process.

Cornerstone was selected among five bidders and now we're ready to begin work and award this contract.

Director Rivera-Smith.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Again I think he said it all.

I think and I just I'll just highlight that this is another project that's only possible through the with the generosity of our voters who approved our levies.

This is going to be coming from the X5 capital levy and we couldn't do it without without that support.

So thank you everybody.

Any other directors have questions.

Oh I have actually something to add that I can't miss the opportunity to add which is that part of funding education by the state doesn't include buildings.

So yes thank you to the voters who make this possible and other districts around our state that struggle to pass levies cannot improve their instructional facilities.

Okay that takes us to BTA IV Final Acceptance of Contract K5-073 with BNB BN Builders Inc. for the Webster School Modernization and Addition Project.

Again back to you Mr. Podesta.

Thank you Vice President Hampson.

So the BK-4 capital levy included a project to modernize the Webster School building which is the current location of Licton Springs K-8.

The building was originally built in 1908 and there was a major addition in 1930. The district ceased occupying the building in 1979 and leased it to the Nordic Heritage Museum for more than three decades.

So the modernization and re-turning this back into a school was not a trivial project.

It's also a landmark building as well.

The project modernized the existing building structure, made ADA and seismic improvements, installed new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, and also constructed a new gymnasium Uh, all in all the project modernized 43,000, more than 43,000 square feet of space and constructed nearly 10,000.

Uh, additional space, uh, the contractor B and B builders has successfully completed the.

The contract work and the consulting architect recommends that we accept it.

The project included because of the age of the building and the fact that we hadn't really occupied it for 30 years the condition of the building there were some unforeseen structural issues with the building so change orders were ended up being about 12.4 percent of the total contract value.

Because of those changes and also this construction went on during the most challenging parts of the COVID pandemic and so there were extra protocols and costs associated with managing a job site during the pandemic.

But the school is occupied now.

It's a beautiful building and the project was successfully completed and we're happy to recommend that you accept the final product.

Director Rivera-Smith.

I have one quick question.

Assistant Superintendent Podesta what is the capacity of the building now for that school.

I should bring the exact number back at at action.

I believe it's between 250 and 300 students but I'm not I'm not exactly sure of the number.

Okay.

And I just I want to just compare it to I think what the and I'm just going to take this opportunity to talk about You know that that school you know the enrollment is not that high yet.

So I just want us to as we do these projects and and modernize these wonderful buildings for our students that we pay attention to you know supporting that school to to build its enrollment up.

And I know as it's in it's one of our option schools and it's has a long history in our community first for students looking for a certain focus.

So I I just want us to be aware that you know We want to really take advantage of this this wonderful building by working with giving support to that building the building leaders there to definitely just help them to make their school more known get more you know more eyes on it so that we can take advantage of that space we put a lot of money into.

So that's all I wanted to say.

Thank you.

Directors have any questions.

Director Summers.

I just want to echo Director Rivera-Smith's comments.

I have spoken to the PTA leadership there as well the building leader there and they have been working really hard to market their new school building and their amazing programming.

And I think given the challenges of doing a move within the pandemic and it's been challenging to fill those spaces but given the significant financial investment we've made in this building I think it would be prudent to continue to support that school.

Thank you.

Okay we've now reached oh sorry other directors have any.

Thank you Mr. Podesta.

We've now reached the public comment portion of our agenda.

Public testimony.

We'll be taking public testimony in person and by teleconference today as stated on the agenda.

For any speakers watching through SPS-TV please call in now to ensure you are on the phone line when your name is called.

Board Procedure 1430 provides the rules for testimony and I ask that speakers are respectful of these rules.

I will summarize some important parts of this procedure.

First testimony will be taken today from those individuals called from our public testimony list and if applicable the waiting list which are included on today's agenda posting on the school board website.

Only those who are called by name should unmute their phones or step forward to the podium and only one person should speak at a time.

Speakers from the list may cede their time to another person when the listed speaker's name is called.

The total number of time allowed will not exceed two minutes for the combined number of speakers and time will not be restarted after after the new speaker begins.

In order to maximize opportunities for others to address the board each speaker is allowed only one speaking slot per meeting.

The speaker cedes time to a later speaker on the testimony list or waiting list the person To whom time was ceded will not be called to provide testimony again later in the meeting as there is only one speaking slot per person.

To those who do not wish to have time ceded to them they may decline and retain their place on the testimony or wait list.

Finally the majority of the speaker's time should be spent on the topic they have indicated they wish to speak about.

Ms. Wilson-Jones will read off the testimony speakers.

Thank you Vice President Hampson.

I see that we just have a.

We don't have our full list of people joining us yet via remotely so if you are watching on SPS-TV or if you're watching on YouTube and you intend to provide comment today and you're on today's list please do dial in now so that you're on the line when I call your name.

There will be a 2-minute speaking time and you will hear a beep sound when your time is exhausted.

First on today's testimony list is Chris Jackins.

My name is Chris Jackins Box 84063 Seattle 98124. On approval of closure of three instructional programs for interagency academy school.

Five points.

Number one the report references board policies H0100 and 2200 but it did not directly reference state law RCW 28A 335020 which governs school closures.

Number two the report does not include information as to whether requirements about notices and dates of required hearings have been met.

Number three the current action seems to be at odds with board policy and state law.

Number four the action is proposed for both introduction and action at the same meeting.

Number five the board needs a proper opportunity to perform due diligence.

I ask that the board table this action or else vote no.

On the recent superintendent search process five points.

Number one the search process seemed to be at odds with the spirit and requirements of board policies 1430 and 1400 and state law RCW 28A 320 0152 and RCW 42 30 0802C.

Number two problems in terms of a lack of opportunity for public comment at the March 4th and 11th board meetings and a lack of proper public notice.

Number three I have written a letter asking the state auditor to examine these issues.

Number four also a request for court review was filed on Monday April 4th with King County Superior Court.

It is case number 22-2-04749-6.

Number five the board should consider fixing these problems on its own.

Thank you very much.

The next speaker is Samantha Fogg.

Samantha Fogg.

Samantha Fogg I think you were just unmuted if you could press star-6 again to unmute we'll be able to hear you.

I'm going to move to the next speaker.

Angelia Maxey.

Angelina Maxey.

Angelina Maxey if you're on the line please press star-6 to unmute.

Moving to the next speaker.

Bonnie Roachman.

Bonnie Roachman.

Please press star-6 to unmute.

Hi.

Can you hear me.

Yes we can hear you.

Okay great.

I'm just going to start my stopwatch so I know how I'm doing.

Hello.

Good afternoon.

This year Roosevelt administration has been unilaterally making curriculum changes without first collaborating with students and parents.

This lack of collaboration and transparency is contributing to an atmosphere of confusion and frustration.

Many of these changes took root under the leadership of a first-year principal who was eagerly welcomed but ultimately walked the halls of Roosevelt for just four months and will end his employment June 30th.

I'm here today to address one specific change being pushed forward to the detriment of a full 25 percent of the student population.

Some background.

For nearly two decades Roosevelt has required all sophomores to take AP Human Geography or APHG.

It's one of the most beloved classes offering a global perspective that's never been more essential in these times of conflict.

It also serves as an intro to AP classes showing every student regardless of their background that they're capable of doing advanced work.

Next year Roosevelt will comply with the district's requirement to offer sophomores a one-semester World History III class.

APHG will no longer be offered.

As a result next year sophomores will be unable to take a full year of history.

The good news is that the administration acknowledges it's hardly ideal to offer just one semester of history so it's committed to developing history electives for sophomores.

The bad news is this change change came about so quickly that there was no time for the department to develop history electives for 10th graders for the upcoming school year.

With that in mind this plan needs to be put on hold for the upcoming academic year.

Until Roosevelt creates history electives to allow for a full year of history for sophomores It needs to continue to offer both a full year of APHG and the district-mandated one-semester world history free class.

So sophomores have the option of taking a full year of history.

History is a core subject along with language arts math and science.

Many colleges across the country expect students to have taken full four full years.

Offering only one semester puts Roosevelt sophomores at a disadvantage compared to their peers at other Seattle high schools.

The solution is simple.

Roosevelt should follow the model of other high schools in the district including Garfield and Lincoln that offer both APHG and World History III.

Please put this hold this plan on hold for one year to allow Roosevelt time to develop history electives so sophomores can take a full year of this critical core subject.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Jenny Rhodes.

Jenny Rhodes if you're on the line please press star-6 to unmute.

Hello this is Jenny Rhodes.

We can hear you.

Great.

Hello I'm Jenny Rhodes the Race and Equity Chair for Meany Middle School PTSA.

Thank you for your work during this year of transition back to in-person learning.

We are advocating to request the reversal of proposed staffing reductions planned for Meany next year.

A loss of 2.3 FTE.

Quoting directly from Seattle Public Schools website quote Seattle Excellence our five-year strategic plan is laser-focused on supporting students of color who are furthest away from educational justice beginning with African-American boys and teens end quote.

Meany Middle School serves the highest proportion and number of African-American males about 70 percent of any district middle school as well as 13 percent students experiencing homelessness.

Meany also serves approximately 51 percent students eligible for free and reduced price meals.

as well as about 18 percent special education students including those in moderate intensive and distinct programs.

These students have suffered disproportionately as a result of the pandemic and they deserve a stable and effective learning environment not school staff reductions and uncertainty.

Since Meany reopened in 2018 the district has made consistently inaccurate and low enrollment projections.

This has led to staffing instability overcrowded classrooms and teacher losses that threaten both student learning and educator excellence.

By failing to accurately project student enrollment and to appropriately staffed our school the district is effectively failing to serve BIPOC and low-income students that they have otherwise committed to prioritizing.

Despite these failed projections and instabilities Meany has continued to thrive.

Increased enrollment in fact speaks to family desire to attend Meany.

In a young and growing school such as ours inadequate staffing appropriations can be a particularly destabilizing force.

threatening to do to undo all the relationship building and growth that the school has been able to accomplish in its young 4 years serving a diverse and vibrant student population.

We understand that additional budget adjustments will be made in early summer and in the fall but these will come far too late to maintain the cohort of educators we currently have and to allow our administration and staff to properly plan ahead for next school year.

We also recognize that it is difficult to make accurate enrollment projections so long before the start of the school year and that the school-level budgeting timeline is closely tied to the district's hiring schedule.

While we fully support the need to provide employment stability for educators we submit that it should not be prioritized ahead of stability for students especially those furthest from educational justice whom our school board and district have rightly chosen to center.

Where it is within your power to do so we urge you to address the assumptions and practices that prevent the district from making the right choices for students and to immediately act to protect vulnerable students at Meany and other district schools from adjustments that do not prioritize their needs interests and abilities to survive.

Thank you.

The Meany Middle School PTSA board.

The next speaker is Annie Tiegen.

Annie Tiegen please press star-6 to unmute.

Annie Tegan.

Moving to the next speaker.

Sophia Harrison.

Sophia Harrison.

I'm going to move back to the top of the list to see if anybody's joined us.

Samantha Fogg.

Samantha Fogg please press star-6 to unmute.

Next speaker Angelia Maxey.

Angelia Maxey.

Annie Teegan.

Annie Teegan.

And Sophia Harrison.

Sophia Harrison.

Vice President Hampson that concludes today's testimony list.

Someone else.

Oh is that Sam Bob.

Yeah this is Sam Fogg.

Is it too late.

No go ahead.

Okay.

I am Samantha Fogg Seattle Council PTSA's co-Vice President of Advocacy parent to three children at Cascade Parent Partnership.

And while I serve on the BLT for Cascade which now includes BOP I want to be clear that I am not speaking on behalf of the BLT.

This pandemic has been really hard and we've all talked a lot about that.

But for some of us not all of us but some it has also been a time of increased access and opportunity to support that were previously considered impossible and a time to explore new ways of engaging in school and in community.

And for some but not all learning remotely provided distance from racism experienced at school.

And today I want to talk about this in reference to VOP.

Our our district stood up VOP on a short timeline timeline under pressure and having to make assumptions about who would show up.

Plans are being made now for next year and there is confusion about what Cascade Parent Partnership K-12 with virtual option will be.

We must look to see who actually showed up in VOP and who is staying.

And what may have felt like a temporary response to a short-term emergency is turning out to provide a needed and necessary program for students who face a range of challenges that aren't related to the pandemic from students with significant medical needs some logging into school from the hospital to students who do not feel safe at their neighborhood school.

Right now we have a high school that was put into an existing K-8 school.

That means we have a high school with no library.

These students are online for their school.

We need a book bus or bookmobile to get them books and potentially special education services.

We have a high school that isn't currently offering any CTE classes.

which means that students have no graduation pathway.

We have high churn with students still trying to enroll in VOP and get onboarded and students who are realizing that VOP doesn't meet their needs giving them no option to graduate and leaving.

So registrars are overwhelmed and counselors are overwhelmed as well.

To make sure we're staffing VOP so that it truly supports the outcomes for the students.

Thank you.

Okay I believe that does in fact conclude our public testimony.

Unless someone else has popped on since then.

This takes us to our action items.

Action Item Number 1. Approval of closure of three instructional program sites for Interagency Academy School.

May I have a motion for this item.

I move that the board approve the closure of the following Interagency Academy School sites.

Youth Education Program site located at 810 3rd Avenue Seattle Washington 98104. The Opportunity Skyway site at 6524 Ellis Avenue South Seattle Washington 98108. And the CMAR site at 10001 17th Place South Seattle Washington 98168. With such minor additions deletions and modifications as the superintendent deems necessary immediate action is in the best interest of the district.

And.

This has been moved by Director Rivera-Smith and seconded by Director Song-Moretz.

And this came through operations on March 17th and is recommended here for approval.

This is here for introduction and action.

And this will be presented to us today by Associate Superintendent Concie Pedroza.

Dr. Pedroza.

Hello everybody.

Yes and first of all I want to thank the board directors that were actually present at the operations committee.

The majority of you were there.

We had a really good robust conversation and hopefully We can address any other questions that you have before you.

But to introduce this this action report we are working we are working towards ensuring that the agency academy is a robust learning environment for our students.

And as you know it's been it's a unique learning environment with a targeted interventions approach.

being led by Principal Willingham who is actually here and has done a considerable amount of work.

And so I want to thank Principal Willingham for all of the work that they've done to get this in front of us.

Just a couple pieces of information just for all of you is that we currently are operating 13 sites across the city.

Overall enrollment has decreased by over 150 students.

Approximately 40 percent of previous enrollment from 2019. In addition the physical space we have physical space issues including safety and costs would prevent the district from continuing to operate interagency program in these locations.

And then also we actually have a plan to we've selected two sites.

to consolidate into other sites where space is available the Youth Education Program and Academy and the Opportunity Skyway Academy.

Finally I just want to add that equity analysis and the data was used to determine those types of structures and decisions including safety.

And then finally I want to add that Principal Willingham and her team will engage authentically with our families to ensure that the students are placed properly in the programs that are needed.

I'm here for any questions.

If there's some technical questions we also have Assistant Superintendent Podesta to answer questions about facilities.

But if there's any additional questions here from the board I'm happy to take them now.

First to you Director Rivera-Smith.

Thank you.

Yes.

Thank you.

Associate Superintendent Pedroza for sharing this with us.

We did have a really good discussion and I'll leave it to some of the other some of my committee members who had some really good questions there if they want to share those after this.

I won't go into it too much but I know we were definitely focused on how is this a student-centered decision and not simply a a site or financial or you know sort of otherwise not student-centered decision because Changing moving kids from a school to another is is a big deal.

It is something we don't want to take lightly.

I appreciate Principal Willingham I don't see her name in front of me on the papers but if she wants to share anything I was left hearing from her.

I appreciate her being here at this meeting.

So happy to hear anything she wants to share on that work being done to engage with the students and make sure that we are at the school is being responsive there.

That's all I have to share for now.

Thank you.

I'll just add and this is just and we can ask her to come up at the end but one of the things I would say is that we actually invest a lot of resources because buildings matter for learning.

We know that.

Buildings matter for learning.

They have to be conducive to learning.

They have to be structured for learning.

They have to be safe for learning.

And it's really important that that is a component of student learning and a good foundational building is actually foundational to student learning.

So I just wanted to state that there's a lot of research around that.

Okay.

Thank you.

Do other directors have questions at this time.

Director Rankin.

Thank you.

For clarification the school is interagency.

Yes.

So for clarification the school is not closing.

Not a school closure.

Yeah it is.

This is not a school closure.

Yeah.

So for clarification thank you for stating that.

This is not a school closure.

We are talking about collapsing the 13 sites into 10 structures and spaces and so that's what this board action report is addressing but if there was a school closure that would be a much more robust process.

So thank you for that clarification.

So adding on to that my understanding is that this was sort of initiated or or triggered by enrollment but that also there is sort of a broader I guess I don't know I hate to use the word neglect but neglect of of maintaining these sites to the level of other that other schools are maintaining and giving attention.

So my question is from the board side of things how can Is there room in policy or how can we support making sure that interagency is included with the same level of consideration about space and updating.

And I know some of these spaces are not all Seattle Public Schools spaces.

They're partnerships.

But I think that's really important to think about and we don't want to mean you know we don't want to especially some of our most marginalized most disenfranchised students you know trying to learn and and be you know told that they're important and can succeed in you know random spaces that other buildings let us use.

You know how can we.

How can we center.

What what opportunity does the is there from the board from the policy level to make sure that this is.

Yeah I think you know what I'm asking.

Yeah I'm going to pass this to assistant superintendent for this.

Thank you for the question Director Rankin.

I don't think this is so much a policy issue as we are because there are policies in place about master facility planning.

The nature of the interagency program since it hasn't really been associated with a building with district-owned facilities it has kind of slipped through the cracks in this process which our capital projects and planning team is correcting this year.

We are doing a program placement.

element to our long-range capital planning and the interagency will have a plan just like any other school building will have a plan.

And these steps, in this case both these locations that are occupied, one isn't, but the youth employment program, now I think we call it the youth education program, uses space at the city.

in an office building.

It's not designed as an educational space.

The Operation Skyway is at the county airport and we're not the landlord.

We don't own the facility.

We had very loose agreements with our partners in these cases.

So we're we're just trying to correct that as in a staff process issue.

I think the existing facility master planning policies covers this we just need to recognize interagency and some other programs like this that are a bit nomadic in the district.

Our goal is to make sure that they all have a long-range facility master plan.

And and along with the master plan for places like Middle College has been some of the locations in the past and then this will continue to be true for interagency is there room in the master plan or a way for part of the master plan to be about the partnerships for spaces.

Like how do we I guess.

In some cases that might be a strategy.

The center schools another example that where we lease space but that doesn't mean that we don't need to plan for capacity have in the budget.

If if if lease space is the right thing for some of these programs and may well be for energy energy agency that's fine but it needs to be treated the same as if it were district dome and managed space.

Yeah I guess that's my question is how can we how can we kind of document that so that it you know a board 10 years from now is not having the same like oh we sort of forgot you know or didn't didn't apply this to that school.

The Facility Master Plan has been kind of facility-based to a fault.

It needs to be student-based.

So is there a plan for the capital needs for every student.

That sounds great.

Thank you.

Oh can I just add also that the the responsiveness I think it it always feels uncomfortable when We we are here of a site closing.

There's a lot of negative connotations with that.

And so I'm wondering what we can do with this and also thinking about other expansions and contractions that may be happening just that you know things change.

And as long as we center students and and make sure that spaces are the best they can be and support our goals for students I think we should be you know less afraid of making those decisions when they're the right thing for the students that we serve.

Yes I think that's a point well taken.

I think direct Director Rivera-Smith brought it up about the Webster building and and so we will make sure that our facility master planning process you know has that communication has engagement where needed and again is focused on making sure there's long-range plan for current students and future students.

Other directors have questions.

I was just going to bring up Principal Willingham who's just going to talk very briefly since it's a rare opportunity we get the principal and she is willing to talk about some of the engagement work they're going to proceed with if this gets approved.

So Principal Willingham.

Welcome Principal Willingham.

Good afternoon everyone.

I just wanted to touch bases with what we're doing with engaging our families around the site closures.

We have our student family advocates at interagency who are reaching out to the students and families to find out what campuses would they like to go to that are within our existing structure.

And also if they're interested in going back to their comprehensive school, that option is also being available to them.

What are the commuting plans from their homes to the new site?

We're also going to have an internal open house the last week of April for those families to go to the sites to be able to see the feel and understand where they could go and be able to do that and visit all the sites.

So those are the things that we're doing to ensure that there is a transition plan for those families as we consolidate our programs.

Any questions.

Thank you.

Good to see you again and thank you for for being here.

Okay.

Please call for the vote.

Director Rivera-sorry Director Rivera-Smith aye Director Sargeant yes aye yes.

Director Song-Moretz aye Director Harris aye Director Rankin aye and Vice President Hampson aye.

This motion has passed unanimously.

Thank you.

Thank you Dr. Pedroza.

And the next item on the agenda is the approval Item Number 2 Approval of Additional Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Emergency School Waiver Application.

May I have a motion for this item.

I move that the school board approve the superintendent's application to OSPI.

which requests permission for Seattle Public Schools SPS to not make up a missed school day on March 23rd 2022 at Leschi Elementary.

Immediate action is in the best interest of the district.

Second.

This has been moved by Director Rivera-Smith and seconded by Director Song-Moritz.

This came through Operations on March No.

I think we requested permission to put this directly on the board agenda.

Oh this did not come through committee.

Oh I'm sorry.

Thank you for that.

And with that I will turn it over to you Assistant Superintendent Fred Podesta.

Thank you Vice President Hampson.

I was here on March 16th requesting a handful of waivers for a variety of incidents over the school year.

I have one additional one since that time.

We had an incident at Leschi Elementary.

There is a construction project at the school for a classroom addition and the contractor was applying sealant in the attic space.

and had a device to handle fumes from that material that was being added to the attic floor but it was not configured properly.

So odors became present in the school building.

School operations did a great job and evacuated the building immediately.

And then but the following day we wanted to make sure that our ventilation system in the school could completely exchange all the air.

We did also do our quality readings mid mid-plant the following day.

Because the evacuation procedures were done quite well everyone got up and left and did not necessarily retrieve all their devices to be ready to do a remote learning the following day.

So we missed a school day and this fits the parameters for a request for a waiver from OSPI and this action would authorize Superintendent Jones to make that request.

Thank you Mr. Podesta.

Do directors have questions.

Okay Director Rankin.

When do we so we're just I mean as before we're approving the superintendent's request to OSPI.

What's the timeline or when do we know if that was or wasn't approved.

These applications will be reviewed in early May and we should.

All of them together.

I believe that's the timing.

Okay thanks.

Director Rivera-Smith you're good.

Just double checking.

All right.

With that could you please call for the vote.

Director Sarju aye Director Song-Moretz aye Director Harris aye Director Rankin aye Director Rivera-Smith aye Vice President Hampson.

Aye.

This motion is passed unanimously.

Thank you Mr. Podesta.

Okay.

Thank you directors.

That takes us to board comments.

And does anyone have let's see if you either passed or already went then you're done.

Otherwise I think that just leaves you Director Harris.

Continue to pass.

Okay.

Thank you.

With that as there's no further business on the agenda this meeting stands adjourned at 535 p.m.

Thank you all very much.

Pįnagigi.

I wish you all a blessing all the blessings of the month.

It's also School Library Month so thank you to all of our librarians who support our students in all of our buildings.

And it's Sexual Assault Awareness Prevention Month which I think is is in line with all the work we're doing right now on our sexual harassment policy and work.

So there's a lot there.

I guess I won't go on.

I just wanted to mention those and I'm sorry I couldn't be with you all tonight but I'll see you next time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Bill Butter Director Rivera-Smith and I assume it's okay if I just leave the adjournment time at 535. Sure.

Council Member.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you all very much.

And be safe out there.

Don't go getting COVID or anything coming back from spring break.