Liza Rankin

All right.

Good afternoon.

I think Ms. Wilson-Jones, can I just start?

Or do I need to wait for SPS TV?

Are we good?

Ellie Wilson-Jones

I think you're good.

Liza Rankin

So I will call to order in just a moment for those joining us by phone please remain muted until we reach the testimony period and your name is called.

This is President Rankin I'm now calling the May 22nd 2024 regular board meeting to order at 420 p.m.

This meeting is being recorded.

We would like to acknowledge that we are on ancestral lands and traditional territories of the Puget Sound Coast Salish people.

For those of you joining us for public testimony today, we have an exit conference with the state auditor's office scheduled today, and we'll begin testimony following that session at or after 5 p.m.

Ms. Wilson-Jones, the roll call, please.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Vandernute?

Here.

Director Briggs?

Geraldine Hamley

Here.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Clark?

Present.

And Director Hersey is unable to join.

Director Mizrahi?

Joe Mizrahi

Present.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Vice President Sarju?

Gina Topp

Present.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Director Topp?

Gina Topp

Here.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

And President Rankin?

Here.

Liza Rankin

All right.

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

Brent Jones

Thank you, President Rankin, board members, and everyone in attendance tonight.

I want to take a few moments to highlight some important and upcoming happenings.

I'd like to acknowledge that many families from Pathfinder are present this evening to share concerns.

While we're not able to discuss or address personnel matters in this space, we'll continue to pursue opportunities for community meetings at future dates.

I wanna just thank you for being here and thank you for being concerned and committed to making sure Pathfinder stays a great school.

Regarding well-resourced school information meetings, I want to remind our families that the district will be holding a series of community information meetings over the next two weeks.

These sessions are designed to provide more detail about the proposed plan for creating a system of well-resourced schools that serve students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The dates and locations for these sessions include Tuesday, May 28th at Roosevelt High School, Thursday, May 30th at Garfield High School, Saturday, June 1st at Chief Sealth International High School, and Tuesday, June 4th by Zoom meeting.

I encourage all to attend.

And as the district begins its course towards becoming a system of well-resourced schools, it's crucial that all families, staff, and students feel informed throughout the process.

I'm also excited to declare gun violence awareness proclamation today.

I'd like to introduce a proclamation that stands against gun violence.

And as a district, we are committed to ensuring a safe and secure environment where students can focus on learning without fear.

This proclamation underscores our dedication to providing safe and welcoming spaces for all students and staff.

And before I pass it over to Director Vander Newt to read that proclamation, I want to recognize grandmothers against gun violence.

Please wave to us.

All right.

They are our partner in advocacy for measures that protect our schools and contribute to a culture of peace and safety.

And they have generously donated to replace starter pistols for athletic events.

So when I was running track, they had the gun.

It would scare everybody.

And now we have starter pistols that are not violent.

It's really cool to see that at a track meet.

So thank you again for your contribution.

And I think they were over.

Something like 2,000 pistols that you all donated?

Okay, well anyway, thank you.

Thank you for your efforts to join us today, and Lola, will you do the honors of reading the proclamation?

Lola Van Der Neut

2024 School District Proclamation declaring the first Friday in June to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

A proclamation of Seattle School District number one, King County, Seattle, Washington, declaring that the first Friday in June, June 7th, 2024, to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the Seattle School District to honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence and to declare that we as a county must do more to end this public health crisis.

Whereas, every day, more than 120 Americans are killed by gun violence, and more than 200 are shot and wounded, with an average of more than 17,000 gun homicides every year.

And, whereas, Americans are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries, and whereas protecting public safety in the communities they serve is the district's highest responsibility, and whereas support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand in hand with keeping guns away from people that should not have them, and whereas gun violence prevention is more important than ever as we see an increase in firearm homicides and non-fatal shootings across the country, increased calls to domestic violence hotlines, and an increase in city gun violence.

whereas in January 2013, Hadiyah Pendleton was tragically shot and killed at age 15, and on the first Friday in June, June 7th, 2024, to recognize the 27th birthday of Hadiyah Pendleton, born June 2nd, 1997. People across the United States will recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Day and wear orange in tribute to one, Hadiyah Pendleton and other victims of gun violence, and two, to the loved ones of those victims.

And whereas the idea was inspired by a group of Hadiyah's friends who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by wearing orange.

They chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods.

And orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human life.

and whereas washington state has an average of 853 gun deaths every year with a rate of 10.8 deaths per 100 000 people a crisis that cost the state 11.9 billion dollars every year of which 171.7 million is paid by taxpayers washington state has the 40th highest rate of gun violence in the us of gun deaths in the u.s and Whereas guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Washington State, an average of 60 children and teens die by guns every year, of which 54% of these deaths are suicide and 43% are homicides.

And whereas the Seattle Public Schools community is directly impacted by gun violence.

And whereas anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear orange on the first Friday in June, June 7th, 2024, to help raise awareness about gun violence.

And whereas by wearing orange on June 7th, 2024, Americans will raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of the gun violence victims and survivors.

and whereas we can renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the hands of people who should not have access to them and encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our families and communities safe.

Therefore, Seattle Public Schools declares that the first Friday in June, June 7th, 2024, to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day, We encourage all schools to support their local community's efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun violence and to honor and value human lives.

Brent Jones

Thank you, Director Vander Knoop.

Please give her a hand.

President Rankin, I'll pass it to you for comments on gun safety awareness.

Liza Rankin

Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Jones and Director Vandernute.

Gun violence is something that touches everyone in our communities and is something that is going to be a full community effort to eliminate and especially keep away from our children.

In incidents with guns on school campuses that involve children, over 80 percent of those were children coming into possession of a gun from a friend or family member.

So there is something that everybody can do to prevent guns coming into our schools.

One of the most important things is to make sure that children don't have access to them.

So if you do have firearms, I strongly encourage and urge you to make sure that they are stored safely.

Thanks.

And there are many other things that we can do collectively to help keep children in all of our communities safe.

And Seattle Public Schools is committed to what we can control and working with partners to create safe schools and safe communities.

We have some resources on our website on gun safety and safe storage.

And for more, I would like to invite Winona Haag, a grandmother and great-grandmother of Seattle Public Schools students, and Sue Carey from Grandmothers Against Violence to come to the podium for a few moments.

We all have a silly group, so I will start.

Sue Carey

Winona must still be en route, so hopefully she will join us.

This was a student-led effort to replace these starter pistols, and Grandmothers Against Gun Violence couldn't be happier to support this effort to accomplish this for Seattle Public Schools, and we are just so very appreciative of your support.

The fact that guns are now the leading cause of death for children under the age of 18 is appalling, I know, to all of us.

Thank you, President Rankin, for stressing safe storage.

I think this is something that all of us can do.

We need to talk to our families and our neighbors about this.

When our children are at other people's houses, we need to make sure that this is happening.

Grandmothers works closely with other gun violence prevention organizations here in Washington State.

There are a lot of people working to make things better, and we are having and a big impact.

And as a quick example of that, while suicide rates are up 10% nationally, suicide deaths by gun are up 10% nationally, in Washington state, they are down by 6%.

And that may not sound like much, but these are real people's lives that are being saved through these efforts.

So thank you for your work in supporting gun violence prevention.

Liza Rankin

Thank you very much, Sue.

I hope we'll have a chance to greet Winona later this afternoon.

I know that you're all here because we have a state auditor exit conference.

And I, we can move into board comments, but I'm thinking that maybe if we have, if we are ready for, if the auditors are, I'm not sure what time, what time did we say for the state auditor conference?

Okay, okay, so let's hold on, let's hold on board comments.

And, oh wait, actually, sorry, I'm gonna take that back.

One quick thing.

Oh, is Winona here?

Winona Hollins-Hague

Hi, I'm Winona Hollins-Hague, a graduate of the Seattle Public School System and a mother and a grandmother who have children here, a member and board member of this organization, Grandmothers Against Gun Violence.

And I'd like to just take this moment to quickly reflect on the fact that we have a partnership with the community and the Seattle Public Schools is one of our key partners.

And Grandmothers Against Gun Violence is a grassroots organization and we actively support legislation, education, and research.

And the reason that we are here today is to accept the proclamation that you've just presented.

And we appreciate the fact that we are a collective, a collective where we build community.

And the children that we see sitting here, You guys give yourselves a round of applause because we are here to keep our children safe.

And that's the reason that Grandmothers Against Gun Violence is an active organization and a partner in the community.

I also was going to be...

joined by davida she is on her way she's from the mayor's office and she's over she's another partner that we have and she's over the office of gun violence prevention for the mayor's office but again thank you so much and thank you dr brent jones for keeping our children safe thank you

Liza Rankin

Director Vanden Heuvel, I realize, do you have student comments?

I didn't mean to skip over that.

Okay.

So I'll just give a quick update on board engagement and then we'll save the board comments for later moving to the auditor, state audit.

The current strategic plan in Seattle Public Schools, which is the plan that drives all of the operations and strategic initiatives for the district generally lasts five years.

The current one is about to expire.

We need to go into the next strategic plan, which will guide the work of the school district from 2025 to 2030. As representatives who are up here on behalf of the entire Seattle community, we represent everyone who lives within the boundaries of the district, whether or not they have children in the district or have anything to do with the school district.

The community that we as your board directors represent is everyone who lives within the boundaries of the school district.

So it's our job to set goals for the strategic plan that reflect the vision and values of you, our community that we represent.

So the goals are one of the ways we provide direction to the superintendent on the expectation of what Seattle as a community expects and prioritizes for students in SPS.

So we are, launching a board community engagement process to listen to vision and values to develop those goals.

We have a survey that anybody can respond to.

We have a couple of public meeting opportunities.

And we're also doing some small group engagement in pairs as board directors.

There's more information on our website.

And at the end of our engagement process, we'll share back out who we heard from, what we heard.

and a draft set of goals that represent what we heard for you all to then reflect back to us if we captured what was said by the community or not.

And then we'll vote on those final goals in the fall.

So highly encourage and welcome participation from all of you to help support us as your representatives in providing clear direction to our superintendent and the district.

Now, let us move to the tables for the state auditor exit conference.

And then we'll do public testimony.

I think it's noticed on the agenda as 5 o'clock, so it will start no earlier than 5 p.m.

If the auditor conference goes over, it will start as soon as the auditor conference is over.

All right.

The school district, as other districts in the state, is annually audited in multiple areas, including how we use and safeguard public resources and how we adhere to state laws.

The team from the State Auditor's Office conducting our annual audit previewed the areas of focus for this year during an entrance conference in March, and now we are seeing the results of that today.

So thank you to the State Auditor's Office representatives for joining us.

The presentation is roughly 20 minutes, leaving us about 10 minutes for questions from directors.

If everybody's good, I will hand it over to you, Mr. Simmons.

Joe Simmons

Thank you very much for taking the time today to hear the results of our audit.

My name is Joe Simmons.

I'm the audit manager for our team here in Seattle.

And I'm here with Eileen Du, who's an assistant audit manager who was the supervisor on the audit.

and here with Carmen Law, who was the auditor in charge of the audit.

Again, thank you for your time today.

And on the next slide, just briefly want to talk about our goal as an office from State Auditor Pat McCarthy is to have audits that provide results that matter and also to help provide increased trust in government through our audits, through our independent transparent examinations, and then also through our performance audits and through our Center for Government Resources to also look at ways to help improve efficiency and effectiveness of government.

And with that, I'll go ahead and hand it over to Carmen and she will walk through the audit reports and the results of your audit.

Carmen Law

Thanks, Joe.

So our first audit area we looked at was accountability.

We looked at the 2022-23 school year.

So our results from this is that in those selected areas, district operations complied in all material respects with applicable state laws, regulations, and their own policies and provided adequate controls over the safeguard of public resources.

In keeping with general auditing practices, we do not examine every activity, policy, internal control, or area.

As a result, no information is provided on areas that we did not examine.

Next slide.

So on this slide, we're gonna go over the areas we looked at for the accountability audit.

So the first area we looked at was professional learning.

Districts receive state revenues restricted for staff training purposes aimed at improving student outcomes.

Districts receive revenues based on three days, but districts can spend the money on any number of training activities for their staff.

So for this area, we gained an understanding of the controls and how expenditures were tracked, confirmed that the district devoted one day of professional learning to social-emotional learning, which is a state law requirement, and we reviewed the allocation of expenditures charged to professional learning.

Our second area is the local revenue sub fund.

Districts are required to use local revenue sub fund to account for local revenues and enrichment expenditures.

Districts are required to develop a sub fund plan that describes the expenditures considered to be enrichment that will be accounted for in the sub fund.

So we reviewed the district's plan and scanned the cost charged to sub fund and compared that to the sub fund plan.

We also reviewed the compliance with supplemental contracts for enrichment activities.

Supplemental contracts provide compensation to district employees in addition to and outside of their regular work assignments.

This can include many things that are not part of the employee's base contract and compensation package.

our audit focused is on the enrichment supplemental contracts and evaluating whether districts who utilize enrichment supplemental contracts comply with the applicable state laws so we reviewed the charges for them and compared them to district policies the state laws and the collective bargaining bargaining agreements our next area was student enrollment reporting a large fund of A large source of apportionment revenue for a school district is basic enrollment.

So we selected one grade from one school and did a recalculation of their FTEs attendance and transfers in and out.

And our next area was district vehicles and fuel cards.

We gained an understanding of the policies and procedures and we tested fuel card purchases and the use of district vehicles and their use of and the allowability if they have a, if drivers had an agreement signed prior to using their fuel cards.

Next slide.

So our next area was procurement of public works and cooperative purchases.

We obtained and gained an understanding of district policies and procedures and tested the procurement of public work contracts to those policies.

We also did the procurement of cooperative purchases, which is also known as piggyback.

We gain an understanding and obtain policies and procedures over piggybacking and tested those contracts with district policies.

And then we did accounts payable procurement cards.

These are also known as purchase cards.

So we gained an understanding of the use of P cards and we tested card user agreements to see if they were in place prior to employees using the card.

We also reviewed the open public meetings and the compliance with minutes, meetings, and executive session requirements in accordance to the Open Public Meetings Act.

And we also reviewed the financial conditions for indications of financial distress.

So we used the SAO financial intelligence tool to perform a baseline ratio analysis to review indications for financial distress such as operating margin, debt service load, change in fund service, and we compared those indicator ratios to prior year ratios and evaluated the district's financial sustainability and determined if there is substantial doubt for the district's ability to continue operating over the next year as a goading concern.

Next slide.

Our next audit area was the financial audit.

We also looked at the 2022-2023 school year.

We issued an unmodified opinion.

Our opinion is issued in accordance to the regulatory basis of accounting.

We also issued an adverse opinion on the US GAAP.

When providing an opinion on financial statements, United States auditing standards requires to express a separate opinion on whether the financial statements presented was performed in accordance with GAAP.

In no way does this additional opinion imply the financial statements are unreliable or unfairly represented according to the school district.

accounting manual, rather the purpose of the opinion is to let reporters know if the financial statement presentation differs or complies with GAAP.

Our audit is conducted in accordance with the government auditing standards.

For internal controls and compliance over financial reporting, we reported no significant deficiencies in internal controls.

no deficiencies that we consider to be material weakness, and no instances of noncompliance that were material to the financial statements.

Next slide.

For the management override of controls as part of our financial statement audit, we evaluated certain risk that we would like to share with you.

Audit standards requires to evaluate the possibility that management may be able to circumvent certain controls.

We are pleased to share with you that our evaluation showed no instances of possibilities where controls were circumvented.

Next slide.

Oh, did I skip a slide?

Okay.

Oh.

Can you go to the next slide?

I think I slipped, sorry.

For the federal grant compliance audit, we also looked at the 2022-23 school year.

We issued an unmodified opinion.

The opinion issued to the district's compliance with requirements applicable to its major programs with the exception of the Emergency Connectivity Fund program, which we issued an adverse opinion on.

The audit conducted in accordance with the government auditing standards and uniform guidance.

We identified no significant deficiencies in internal controls and no deficiencies that we consider to be material weakness.

We noted no instances of noncompliance that are required to be reported outside of the ECF grant.

Next slide.

So we did issue the funding for the Emergency Connectivity Fund 2023-001.

The district did not have adequate internal controls for ensuring compliance with allowable activities and cost equipment and restricted purpose requirements.

Our audit identified concerns during our federal grant compliance audit that will be included in our report as an audit finding.

We would like to walk through these items with you today and answer any questions you may have.

While our audit found the district complied with most requirements examined, we did identify noncompliance in three areas as previously mentioned.

This is also a repeat finding of last year.

So the first area is the allowable activities and costs and also the restricted purpose of unmet need.

For this requirement, the district can only seek reimbursement for the eligible devices and services for students with unmet need.

The district estimated unmet need for eligible equipment and services when it applied for the ECF program funds.

However, our audit found the district internal controls were ineffective.

for ensuring it documented the determination of actual unmet need and only requested reimbursement for equipment and services provided to students.

To determine whether the district has documented Documentation supporting it provides laptops and services to students with actual unmet need.

We used a statistical sampling method and tested 29 laptops and 29 Wi-Fi hotspots for unmet need requirements.

We determined the district did not comply.

Demonstrate if fulfilled the unmet need requirement for 24 laptops and 19 Wi-Fi hotspot services.

Additionally, we identified two laptops that were distributed to students with multiple ECF-funded laptops.

In total, we identified $12,609 of overpayment.

Based on our projection of our statistical sampling, we identified an additional $846,116 of estimated overpayments.

For equipment, the FCC requires inventory records to include specific elements such as the type of equipment or service provided, equipment information, and the name of students and more.

The district maintained asset inventories.

However, our audit found that the district's internal controls were ineffective for ensuring they include all required elements necessary to demonstrate compliance with federal requirements.

Specifically, for 48% of Wi-Fi hotspot services, the school district did not include names for the students serviced.

For a restricted purpose per location and per user limitations, the FCCC allows eligible schools to reimburse one laptop and one Wi-Fi hotspot service per student with unmet need.

Our audit found that the district's internal controls were ineffective for demonstrating it could comply with the FCC's per location and per user limitations.

Specifically, the district did not maintain documentation showing it monitored or had tracking processes in place to ensure it only provided one device or connection per user and location.

As communicated in the prior audit finding, the district thought the determination of amenity provided during the application process was sufficient to comply with this requirement.

Since the funding spanned two fiscal years, the district has already distributed devices and requested reimbursement for the prior audit identifying issue.

The district did not take any additional action and is waiting on audit resolution from the federal grantor.

Next slide.

So these were the four grants that we looked at this year in our single audit.

So it was the Child Nutrition Cluster, the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, Special Education Cluster, and the Emergency Stabilization Fund.

So overall, these four grants totaled 66% of federal funding for the 2023 fiscal year.

Next slide.

So as previously mentioned, the Emergency Connectivity Fund also received a finding last year.

And as part of our audit report, this will be included in our audit report.

So there will be a summary schedule of prior audit findings.

And this will include the district's corrective actions taken.

And as a result from this schedule, it was noted that the district's corrective action taken has not been corrected.

Next slide, please.

Another item we want to bring to your attention but will not be discussing at this exit is the exit recommendations.

These are a list of things that were provided to management for consideration.

They involve control or compliance issues that are insignificant or have immaterial effect on the entity or financial statements, and these are not reported in our audit report.

I'm going to pass it to Eileen for closing remarks.

Eileen Du

Thank you, Carmen.

So now that we have shared with you the audit results, we do have some closing remarks to bring to your attention.

First, we're pleased to report that the cost of our engagement is expected to be within the estimate previously provided to you.

We thank the district for your timely response, which really allowed our audit to progress efficiently and remain within budget.

In addition, we have included information on the district's next audit, and your next audit will cover accountability, financial statement, and federal program or single audit, just like this year's audit.

And we have included a cost estimate for your budgetary need in your exit packet on page two.

Next slide, please.

So your audit report will be published on May 23rd, which is tomorrow.

And we've also included a copy of your audit report in your exit packet.

If you haven't already, we do encourage you to sign up for the notification so you can receive an email when your reports are posted on our website.

Additionally, we'll be sending out a customer service survey.

We encourage you to fill this survey as all feedback is helpful in improving our services.

Christy will be the one who receives the survey, but Christy, please feel free to forward it on to anybody who might like to share their feedback.

So throughout the audit, we work with many wonderful district staff who are extremely helpful.

So Carmen will recognize them in the next two slides.

Carmen Law

Yeah, we would like to thank Christy, Kenny Ching, Michael Stone, and Pamela Falker for their communication and assistance throughout the audit.

All four were instrumental to our ability to conduct an efficient audit and all took part as our audit liaisons at one point during our audit.

Additionally, we would like to thank the following staff, Roger Liu and Lee Tan for their communication and timely responses to audit requests, requested to the financial statements and federal program expenditures, Kenny Ching and Roger Liu for their detailed explanation of the school district's controls and processes over GASB 96. Our controls and testing work really smoothly thanks to them.

Min Yi, Hillary Lott, Ivory Stewart, and David Valterrera for their communications and assistance with requests related to the special education cluster program.

Alicia Festa for her professionalism and providing timely responses throughout the audit.

Daniel Belt for his hard work to ensure that we had all the information requested and being open to feedback.

April Mardock for her quick responses and keeping us updated on deliverables for the Emergency Connectivity Fund Grant.

Chris Riley and Craig Murphy for helping us with our procurement requests.

So we would like to thank all these staff.

Next slide, please.

So after our audit, if you guys have any additional questions, feel free to contact Joe Simmons over here, our audit manager.

His contact information is also included in the packet that was also posted, I guess, to the website.

And do you guys have any questions?

I do.

Liza Rankin

I have four questions.

Do other directors have questions as well?

Maybe?

Probably?

Okay, on, I don't know what, there's no page numbers on here, but on the accountability audit results, the student enrollment reporting, well, I guess everything on that page, but I'm specifically interested in the student enrollment reporting.

What you're auditing is, our process to report enrollment to OSPI not the numbers themselves or what what they indicate just that are the am I correct that the evaluation that what's being evaluated here is SPS following reporting requirements for enrollment to OSPI That's correct.

Joe Simmons

We're auditing the state law and requirements from a report.

Liza Rankin

So the actual data on student enrollment would be on the OSPI website and probably also on an SPS website.

But your audit was of the process, not the results.

Joe Simmons

Right.

Basically the calculations and how those roll up.

Liza Rankin

Thank you.

That was one.

The adverse opinion on GAP, if I'm remembering that right, that's just because GAP is not...

I can't remember what it stands for, but it's not because there's a problem, it's because we don't use GAP.

Joe Simmons

Yes, that is correct, and definitely always wanted to clarify that you, like...

All of the other school districts in the state of Washington follow the required reporting under the district school district county manual and reporting manual and that's all that's required for school districts and that definitely provides information that the users need.

And this is definitely kind of a technical auditing requirement that when we have an audit report where there's a opinion on an other type of regulatory reporting and again everything is perfectly fine as to how you reported there.

We're still required to go and add a little note to say but it's not GAAP which is generally accepted accounting principles and that basically means that There would be some additional reports, but again.

Liza Rankin

And that's just a federal method that Washington State doesn't use as a different method.

Joe Simmons

Basically, there's a governmental accounting standards board that promulgates some requirements, but again, that's not necessary for school districts to be able to show that you're meeting the requirements for the OSPI and the accounting requirements there.

Liza Rankin

And then you probably know what I'm going to complain about.

Next is the finding on the emergency connectivity fund program and what my understanding is of what corrective action would look like.

So basically the emergency connectivity fund program was federal grants from the FCC to provide access to remote learning for students in the United States via laptops and hotspots.

Seattle Public Schools distributed I don't know how many of those.

And my understanding is we're one of three, Washington is one of three states that didn't meet this.

But it was more because the direction that districts got from OSPI about information that needed to be tracked was different than what the, basically I'm saying what's the corrective action when I don't believe it is reasonable to go into basically families houses and make them show their individual device and prove that they deserve to have it when during COVID teachers and principals were doing their best to identify students that needed them and handing them out.

And it may have resulted in siblings at different schools, both getting a hotspot.

That to me seems, I mean, just that it's a, you know, a finding of inadequate control, I just don't feel like is, super reasonable, so I'm wondering how we mitigate, how we would even apply corrective action that doesn't require knocking on people's doors to say, show me your laptop.

Joe Simmons

can do my best to answer that.

Basically, as you said, without trying to editorialize too much on my own, that I would say during the pandemic, there is a lot of COVID funding that came through in a lot of different ways.

federal government was you know struggling to get the regulations out and communicate that.

And I would definitely say in this program I can definitely see that there was definitely based on the fact that we've had findings on other districts on the state that we've seen that there has been a situation where it obviously wasn't clear enough

Liza Rankin

I'm not just giving you a hard time about it.

I also gave a hard time to the director of secondary and elementary education at the state or federal Department of Education.

Joe Simmons

So as auditors, we audit to those fairly stringent requirements, as you said.

I mean, basically, we know what the district's intent was, of course, but we have to audit to these requirements.

And that's where and also to your point that we do acknowledge that our prior finding was issued in May of last year and by that time even the funding that We're talking about in our current audit, basically the work had already been done.

So we didn't, we really understand that there wasn't any corrective action that really could have been taken in this particular instance because.

Liza Rankin

So will that be the case for this year's as well?

Joe Simmons

Yes, basically.

And I believe my understanding is this is the last year that the district has this type of funding.

So again, we're required to note whether there was corrective action since we do have a similar finding.

didn't note that basically we but again we understand why there wouldn't be corrective action.

Liza Rankin

I just kind of want to make sure that that my understanding was was not that you know that was accurate and that yeah so thank you.

Other questions from directors on this?

Oh, no, that was sort of a two in one.

I think I had marked two different places to ask that last one.

You good?

OK.

And I don't see, I'm not seeing any hands raised from our two remote directors.

So anything else from our end?

Kurt Buttleman

This is Kurt Bettelman, Assistant Superintendent for Finance.

I haven't formally met all the board members either.

I do want to introduce Christy Maggia, our new Director of Accounting.

She started April 1st and helped guide this audit.

And I want to thank the audit team for being so responsive and sort of understanding some of the circumstances that are happening at Seattle Public Schools in terms of staff turnover and reductions in staff and appreciate your approach to the audit and how you worked with our staff in getting to the the answers that were needed.

So thank you all.

Joe Simmons

Thank you.

Liza Rankin

Okay.

Thank you so much.

Joe Simmons

Thank you for your time.

Liza Rankin

Thanks for coming.

Yay, the audit.

I love it.

That's really what we want these meetings to be, informative and dry.

This is just business here.

Okay.

I was just notified by staff that there's a little bit of a tech issue that would impact testimony.

So we're gonna take two or three minutes before we start testimony so that they can get that corrected.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

So for directors and staff, whoever may be on the Teams link to participate in today's meeting, if you go into your meeting invite, you will see that Microsoft has created for us two different Teams links.

So in order to hear from those who are calling in for testimony, we are going to switch to the other Teams link.

Liza Rankin

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_37

you

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Testing.

For those who have joined today's meeting remotely to provide testimony by phone, we did have an earlier issue that prevented some of you from accessing the meeting.

And we're stuck in the lobby.

We are correcting that now.

And so I can see that we do have four callers on the line.

And so we will be able to go to you during our testimony period when we resume.

The board is presently on a brief recess while we fix the tech issue.

The board is currently recessed.

They'll be calling back to order.

We can hear a couple of you on the phone.

We are just sorting out some tech issues.

Sarah Clark

Hello.

I think we're just waiting for the public comment period to start.

Hallie Eads Spies

Hi.

Will you unmute the speakers as our turn becomes available?

Is that how it works?

Ellie Wilson-Jones

For those who are joining us by phone, I think we have gotten the tech issue worked out.

You should be able to hear me now.

We had an earlier issue, but if anyone is watching on SPS TV or otherwise was unable to access by phone, if you go ahead and try it again, it should work this time.

And the board is on a brief recess while we adjust some of the tech settings.

Gina Topp

I'm sorry, can you hear me?

SPEAKER_37

Thank you.

Liza Rankin

Thanks for your patience, everybody.

Liza Rankin

We have now reached the public comment testimony, or public testimony portion of the agenda.

Board procedure 1430BP provides rules for testimony, and I ask speakers to be respectful of these rules.

I will summarize some important parts of this procedure.

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.

Listed speakers may cede their time to another person when the listed speaker's name is called, but the total amount of time allowed will not exceed two minutes for that combined number of speakers.

Time will not be restarted after the new speaker begins, and the new speaker will not be called again later if they are on the testimony list or waiting list.

If you have time ceded to you and do not wish to take it, you may decline and retain your place on the list.

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

and the board expects the same standard of civility for those participating in public comment as we expect of ourselves.

As board president, I have the right to and will interrupt any speaker who fails to observe the standard of civility required by this procedure.

A speaker who refuses or fails to comply with these guidelines or who otherwise substantially disrupts operation of this meeting may be asked to leave.

On the podium there's a little counter.

It'll have a green light when you start talking.

It will have a yellow light when you have 30 seconds left.

And then it will have a red light and it will beep when your time is up.

So we do have a very full list.

So please honor that two minute time as I really hate cutting people off, especially children.

Before I have staff call, we start.

Testimony is a You come to the podium, and it's open, and you speak to us.

It's not a conversation.

It's not a back and forth.

It's a legally required opportunity to speak.

And looking at the list of testimony and everyone in the room, I always feel this need to be responsive.

And I'm recognizing that that need comes into conflict with commitments that I have made to center us in effective governance practices and to provide role clarity between governance issues and management issues.

So I'm going to listen.

I'm going to particularly listen for vision and values that may be in the statements that you bring, because that's what our job up here is, is about the whole organization.

and I really encourage and hope to see you all at an opportunity to actually engage with conversation with the board, which is what I mentioned earlier.

We will be having two large public meetings, or maybe they won't be large, I don't know, whoever shows up, an online meeting and engaging in some small group targeted sessions, and I just really appreciate hope that we have the opportunity to focus on goals for outcomes for students.

Those goals, once we set them, are how we provide direction to the superintendent and how we hold the district accountable for what we expect.

So it's really important and we're excited to have you all contribute to that so that we can represent you well.

One other thing to clarify as I see some comments on the list is that the action that the board took in the last meeting was the receipt of the superintendent's recommendation that school consolidation be considered.

It's not the plan.

It was us saying we understand that that's the hard thing that needs to happen next and we authorize you or provide you direction to go out and bring us back preliminary recommendations that do include supporting analysis.

So I just wanted to clarify that as I know there are comments that are going to be related to that and that also the opportunity to engage with staff into more of that analysis and information is the well-resourced schools conversation.

I know it's the end of the year and there's tons of stuff going on, but I wanted to be sure that folks knew that those opportunities are there and what the difference is between them.

You're more than welcome and we're excited to hear from you and talk with you in both of those.

Ms. Wilson-Jones, please proceed with the list of speakers.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

For those on today's, is this mic working?

I'm having bad luck.

this mic, this one.

Okay.

So for those who are on today's testimony list, if you are joining us remotely by phone to provide your testimony, when you hear your name, please press star six to unmute on the conference call line and then also unmute on your device.

For everyone joining us today, as I call your name, please feel free to reintroduce yourself to the board.

I will not get all of the pronunciations of your names correctly.

So Please do reintroduce yourselves.

And as President Rankin noted, when you see a red light or hear a beep from the buzzer at the podium, that does mean that your time has already been exhausted.

So the first speaker today is Layla Patton.

Layla will be followed by Chris Jackins and then Elizabeth Bullock.

Layla Patton

I, Layla Patton, pass my spot to Evangeline McCary.

Hi, my name is Evangeline McCary.

I go by Angie and I am in fourth grade at Pathfinder K-8.

Pathfinder and all Seattle Public Schools would change for the better if we improve safety and support for all students and teachers.

Last year, there was a kid in my class who was having a really hard day.

They needed help and wasn't getting it, so they tried to kill themselves.

They didn't have the help they needed, so I, a nine-year-old, had to be the one to get the teacher.

A kid shouldn't have to intervene that much to make sure the classroom is safe.

Do you know how hard that is?

Not easy.

For example, it would have been a lot safer if an adult like an IA on staff to help regulate.

Or take the kid out of the classroom just to help them calm down.

This was a horrible situation and it could have been improved with a little extra help and support.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Chris Jackins.

Jonathan Guzzo

My name is Chris Jackins, Box 84063, Seattle 98124. On the minutes of the May 8th meeting, four points.

Number one, the minutes describe the vote on the superintendent's plan to close schools.

Number two, the minutes leave out that one director's vote was cast via text or email to the board president.

Number three, for many elected bodies, this tag team approach does not appear to be legal.

Number four, the district's general counsel provided advice that counting the vote in this way was okay.

The minutes do not reflect this.

On the change order of $862,000 on the elevator modernization project, will this change order cost the district more money than if the district performed the work itself as was the original plan?

On the superintendent's plan to close schools, four points, number one, closing schools is a giant harmful mistake.

Number two, the district has scheduled four meetings which it calls well-resourced schools community meetings, and which the press and the public believe are related to closing schools.

Number three, at these meetings, please allow time for questions and answers with the entire audience.

Please provide written materials and allow audience members to provide written materials.

Please do not confine the public to district-led discussions at individual tables.

Number four, please do not close schools.

There are over 50 people signed up to speak today.

I'm really glad to see you all.

The board president has the discretion with the assent of her fellow board directors to allow everyone to speak.

please consider doing so.

Thank you very much.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Elizabeth Bullock.

After Elizabeth will be Kelly Roberts and then Sarah now.

Elizabeth Bullock

Hello everyone.

I'm here today to discuss the well-resourced schools proposal and advocate for why smaller neighborhood schools like Laurelhurst Elementary are vital in providing quality education for our children.

My husband and I are both full-time students at the University of Washington, and we moved into student family housing about two years ago, not knowing anyone or anybody in the community.

That changed very quickly when my son began kindergarten at our neighborhood school, Laurelhurst, and we almost instantly joined this intimate, welcoming community of teachers, parents, and other fellow UW students who sent their kids there.

As parents, having this sense of security, safety, and belonging made that transition for kindergarten easy and fulfilling.

But this isn't about the parents, it's about the children.

My son, having never been to a formal preschool, thrived in this intimate, small space.

Within days, teachers were welcoming him by name at the gates, and he clearly felt very secure in the environment, which as a parent to a biracial child, this was incredibly important.

He quickly made many friends and many who lived in the same housing complex as us and this community has grown and I give much credit for the fact that it is a neighborhood school.

These smaller schools are vital to these neighborhoods and have a place in the district as well.

i know for many families at uw who have a place who are starting a new journey in a new community look for places like this to thrive my son is thriving now and has received personalized reading help has graduated from his iep and most importantly loves going to school His story is not unique and I'm sure many families and kids share this same story.

Uprooting so many students so quickly from a place of security and joy is not in the best interest of the children.

Kelly Roberts

The next speaker is Kelly Roberts.

I'm speaking today also as a parent from Laurelhurst Elementary School.

Among these school closure discussions, there are a lot of charts and projections being shared, but what can't necessarily be displayed on a graph but is nonetheless vital to a school's success is the health of a school's culture.

At this particular time, there is a palpable sense of post COVID revitalization and flourishing at Laurelhurst Elementary.

People love our principal, Mr. Schneider.

Our veteran teaching staff averages 13.6 years of experience with remarkably low turnover.

If you were to drop into a school bingo night or linger after a class performance, what you would hear from parents is a resounding sentiment of joy and eagerness to support the flourishing of all students.

Classrooms are overflowing with volunteers.

Because of the long-standing history in the community of nearly 100 years, parents whose children graduated from Laurelhurst 10, 20, even 30 years ago still serve as regular classroom volunteers.

We need to keep these resources of time and financial support flowing to SPS students and closure of our school risks permanently severing these ties.

Our building isn't brand new, but it's historic and beautiful with high ceilings, natural lightness, sky bridge, ensuring students can walk into the sprawling Laurelhurst Park without even crossing the road.

Instead of shutting down a thriving neighborhood school, let's extend our arms to welcome a greater population.

Even within the last 10 years, Laurelhurst had enrollment near 500 students.

We must also plan ahead and ensure space for residences and new apartment complexes in development, expansion of UW student and family housing, and single family builds slated to add an influx of students to our boundary.

Laurelhurst isn't a school to close.

It's a thriving, well-resourced, supportive school ready to welcome more students in the future.

Thank you.

Sarah Nau

the next speaker is sarah now sarah if you're online you should be able to press star six to unmute hi my name is sarah na and i'm a parent to two kiddos in sps a sixth grader at jane adams and a third grader at cedar park elementary a diverse option school in lake

Ellie Wilson-Jones

I think we just lost Sarah, so I'm going to move to the next speaker, but then we will try back.

The next speaker is Ari Meiling.

After Ari will be Linda Todd and then Steven Patton.

Is Ari Meiling in the room?

Going to Linda Todd.

Is Linda Todd here?

Linda Todd

My name is Linda and I'm ceding my time to Charlie Todd.

Charlie Todd

Good afternoon.

My name is Charlie Todd.

I'm an eighth grade student in Pathfinder K-8.

I'm here because I love Pathfinder and I'm very worried about the future of my school, its students, and its teachers.

I'm here to tell you about times when the principal and assistant principal did not respond to serious safety issues happening in the classroom, even after teachers called the front office asking for help.

For part of the year, I've been a teaching assistant in a primary classroom.

There have been numerous times where students were aggressive, which created an unsafe space.

On more than one occasion, things got so scary that my teacher had to clear the room and leave the aggressive student behind in order to keep all the kids safe.

During one of these times, I helped a student who was having trouble getting out of the room to evacuate.

The teacher called the front office and asked for help and nobody came to support us until much later.

These are just my experiences but I know things like this have been happening across multiple grade levels and classrooms.

Situations like this are common at Pathfinder now.

One of the most upsetting things is how the current atmosphere at Pathfinder creates anxiety and fear for younger students, teachers and others who are just like me who are trying to help.

It seems like Dr. Holmes does not take this seriously.

That's frustrating because the most important job of a principal is to make sure that the students in their school are safe.

And the students at Pathfinder have not been safe.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Steven Patton.

Steve Patton

I'm Steve Patton, Pathfinder parent.

You've already heard two students tell their story of what it's like at Pathfinder.

Tonight you're going to hear more stories that speak to the culture that the administration has created by failing to do their job for years.

You'll hear stories of failures to provide a safe environment for students, lack of teacher supports, failures in IEP processes, teacher and family retaliations, and more.

Now these students are, excuse me, these issues aren't merely technical problems.

These problems exist in every grade and the shared experiences of so many families over the last three years shows that this is a culture that seems to be born from a lack of will, desire, or competence to effectively do the job.

When this administration first came to the school, I was excited.

Candidly, having my black girls see a black woman in leadership, especially in a city where a lot of people don't look like them, it excited us.

We rooted for her success.

We rooted for their success.

And I'll admit, I had to root for that success in the face of some who were being racist, sexist, and just plain old petty.

But once those were dealt with, real issues remained.

And we supported until three years of failure stacked up to the point that we can no longer support the administration.

Now, some will say that this is just a bunch of racist white folks hating on a black woman and a few token brown folk that want to stick up for them.

This black 22-year equity advocate says otherwise.

Because when my black daughter was pushed by a substitute teacher and no report was filed, no investigation was done, and told when they wouldn't be back, only to discover that that sub was no longer back, not only back in the building, but back in my daughter's class, I can no longer believe that this administration, even if their ethnicity mirrors my own, that they're willing to do the job effectively.

And that, along with other stories that you hear tonight, is why I stand here with a multi-ethnic coalition of 351 signatures asking for the permanent removal of building administration.

Our students and teachers and staff deserve better leadership.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

I see that we do have Sarah back on the line.

Sarah, if you want to unmute, we can give it a try again.

I believe Sarah now is on the line.

If you can press star six to unmute if you're muted currently, and then we will, oh, we can hear you.

Sarah Nau

Okay, good.

Thank you so much.

There's a little bit of a lag.

Again my name is Sarah Naught.

I'm a parent of two kiddos in SPS a sixth grader at Jane Addams and a third grader at Cedar Park Elementary a diverse option school in Lake City that was featured just last spring in both SPS's School Beat and On First Bell highlighting our one of a kind project based learning approach that combines student directed enrichment classes with expeditionary learning to each and every student during the school day.

As an active PTA board member for five years ELT parent rep for two proud public school grad and member of Altogether for Seattle Schools I strongly oppose your mass closing plan as a full means to fix the unfortunate budget crisis facing our district.

The lack of adequate input from families staff and students especially those furthest from educational justice Coupled with insufficient communication from SPS about this entire process has unsurprisingly led to frustration, confusion, anger, distrust, and sadness.

You're asking for buy-in to a singular plan that will impact thousands of students in every neighborhood in the city, but we still don't know how it purports to do what you say.

How much money will the district save in closing these 20 schools?

Offering only a range of potential savings is not enough.

Does this number include the costs associated with additional staffing and support in consolidated schools?

Increased transportation?

Does it account for the loss of enrollment sure to come with these closures?

As my teachers would always say, show me your work.

Where is the district's equity analysis in how these closures will impact BIPOC and LGBTQIA students and families?

Multiple studies show that these students are often hit hardest by these sweeping types of cuts.

Show us your work.

Has the district done its due diligence in how these closures will affect student outcomes?

We hear about how consolidation will provide a, quote, comprehensive education to prepare students for lifelong success.

But again, data from districts who have done this indicate that students from closed schools saw overall lower test scores, lower graduation rates and higher dropout rates.

Show us your work.

Families have long been eager for an open and honest dialogue with the district about how we can move forward and face our financial realities while also fully meeting the needs of our students and communities.

I hope you are willing to meet us where we are, literally and figuratively, and truly listen to what we have to say.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Sarah Sense Wilson.

Sarah Sense Wilson.

Sarah Sense Wilson

Good evening, Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones and elected school board officials.

Urban Native Education Alliance is a native-led, grassroots, volunteer-based, student-centered nonprofit organization.

We are the largest and longest-running native education-focused nonprofit serving Seattle area for over 17 years.

We have a broad range of concerns, issues, and recommendations for Seattle Public School native education.

Number one, we need full transparency with native ed program, including data on native student graduation rates, dropout, performance measurements, and disciplinary action.

Historically, Indian ed provided biannual reports to the school board in regular public meetings.

This lack of transparency suggests problems, lack of accountability, and fosters distrust with parents, students, and community.

Number two, consultation and engagement with our community regarding the future of Licton Springs K-8 native-focused school.

We suspect Licton Springs is on the school closure list.

Number three, schedule regular community engagement listening sessions with our native community.

Historically, we have had community engagement listening sessions with Seattle leadership and past superintendents.

To date, we've not had a meeting yet with Dr. Brent Jones.

Number four, comply with the public records requests on the nine grievances filed against the Indian ed manager.

We submitted this request back in early December 2023. Number five, restore the data dashboard, please.

Six, co-develop a restorative justice process to address the extensive contentious history of conflicts and discord with the Hatshepsut and Native community.

Number seven, eliminate the obstructive gatekeeping practices in place which interfere with our direct communication with Indian ed.

Deliberate orders from Indian ed leadership to block communication is harmful to students and to families.

Number 10, what is the role of Seattle Public School appointed native liaison?

Who is it?

What qualifies this person?

What are their responsibilities and duties and how are they engaging with community?

Honor our voices by committing to investigating the concerns raised and act on the suggestions outlined for improving Indian ed.

The first step would be committing to Native American community engagement listening sessions.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Jane Park.

Jane Park.

Jane will be followed by Gordon McDougall and then Karina Schubert.

Jane Park

Good afternoon, members of the school board.

I'm here to address the Well-Resourced Schools proposal, which I believe does not prioritize our students and risks major disruptions to our youngest learners still recovering from COVID-related learning loss.

Firstly, I question why hearings are being rushed during the summer, excluding many families from fully participating, particularly those from underserved communities.

We need broader input to ensure equitable decisions.

Laurelhurst Elementary School thrives because our community values safe, accessible, high-quality public education.

And yet, because we are currently about 25 students short of your 300-student threshold, our future remains in question.

Our diverse student body includes 16.7% English language learners, 32.4% from low-income families, and over 20% receiving special education services.

My daughter who has an IEP benefits from a collaborative team of specialists at Laurelhurst enabling her to succeed despite her challenges.

It's not easy when teachers are so stretched being asked to do more small group work and differentiate the curriculum for different needs.

But this support is possible due to manageable class sizes and caseloads and strong community bonds.

I advocate not just for Laurelhurst, but for all 20 schools facing closure and for all SPS elementary schools that will undoubtedly be impacted by this plan.

Closing schools and consolidating them into larger ones does not ensure students' needs will be met and harms their sense of belonging.

We urge the board to consider the negative impacts of closing neighborhood schools and to explore alternatives that don't place the burden of budget cuts on our youngest learners.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Gordon McDougall.

Gordon McDougall

Good evening.

I note the native art on the wall.

There's no name attached, which is telling for my testimony here.

I'm Gordon McDougall, retired SPS.

I retired in June after teaching for many decades here.

Now I volunteer with the Urban Native Education Alliance, UNEA.

There's a long, terrible history of indigenous peoples being pushed out of places here.

I'm a Seattle historian.

Here is their tragic story.

In 1855, the Duwamish were promised by treaty a reservation in Seattle.

They never got it.

Every colonizing citizen signed a letter, it said, telling feds not to give them a res.

Longhouses were burned.

They got no res.

Outlawed from the city in 1867, tribal recognition taken away in 1922. In 2007, SPS closed most alternative schools.

including two I had worked at, Summit and John Marshall, and a closed Indian Heritage High School.

I collaborated with IHHS's UNEA, this group, a group of educators and elders and youth that twice a week eat together, tell stories, get to the hard work of learning traditions and skills necessary to be wise citizens and good community members.

They helped me with native curriculum in my ELA class at Marshall at Ballard.

IHHS and UNEA and the alts fought but were closed.

Native elders, children, and community forcibly evicted.

They were promised a new school at Eagle Staff.

They were given it.

Two years later, they were kicked out of there into Licton Springs, which is perhaps on a chopping block.

I'm going to cede the remainder of my time to this respected elder, thank you.

Kay Fidler

My name is Kay Fidler.

I'm on the elders committee for UNEA Clear Sky.

I am their memory and their history.

I remember 40 plus years of me coming to Seattle Public School to the school board meetings and expressing concern about the lack of services for the kids for our native kids.

I really hope that you can find the time and the courage and do your job and meet with our community.

Your red light's blinking, so I better quit, right?

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Karina Schubert.

Karina Schubert.

Karina will be followed by Jerilynne Hamley and then Debbie Carlson.

I, Karina Schubert, cede my time to Ren Stone.

Ren Stone

Good evening.

My name is Ren Stone.

I'm not this short.

I am a parent at Pathfinder K8.

I have one child still there and one graduate.

I am also a member of the BLT.

My wife and I are queer parents and have been a part of that community for 10 years.

Tonight I am here to speak on behalf of the teachers.

I am reading an anonymous testimony that really shows that the goals of SPS are not being supported by our school currently.

I am a current teacher at Pathfinder K8, and I fully support the effort to change the administration at our school.

I do not feel at all safe saying this in person, and I am grateful for the amazing families who are leading this effort.

Our current leadership is categorically hierarchical, punitive, and divisive.

We are told that decisions are collaborative and transparent.

They are not.

Our decision-making matrix is routinely ignored.

Surveys and forms are collected and the data is never shared.

BLT and staff decisions are overruled and actively ignored.

And any effort to advocate for staff rights or input are met with anger, refusal, and retaliatory actions.

I am saddened by the inflexible and accusatory tone taken in conversations.

and have learned that speaking up is both unwelcome and risky.

This is a climate that does not support growth, mistakes, learning, questioning, or restorative work, despite the consistent claim that the opposite is true.

Guest teachers, instructional aides, and front office staff are frequently treated as second class citizens, and teachers are leaving, certified teachers are leaving in overwhelming numbers.

I am constantly afraid of doing or saying anything wrong.

I do not feel okay taking risks or making mistakes.

I am deeply saddened by the active efforts to divide staff.

And finally, there is no administrative accountability.

Everything that goes poorly here is blamed on someone else.

Pathfinder is not a safe place for a better educator or being anti-racist or a person.

We need change.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Jerilyn Hamley.

Geraldine Hamley

My name is Geraldine Hamley.

I'm an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Tribe.

I'm a retired school counselor having once worked in Seattle Public Schools, Roosevelt High School, Indian Heritage High School, Washington Middle School, and AS1.

I'm currently contracted with UNEA as a cultural support specialist and serve as a volunteer for UNEA Elders Advisory Council.

My concerns with Indian education dates back two years ago when I began working with UNEA.

Outreach to indigenous identified students is one of my responsibilities to inform indigenous students about UNEA resources, programs, and support.

Much to my surprise, Indian Ed staff systematically ignored multiple attempts to connect.

I thought Indian Education would be happy to help, since we provide high school classes for credit, not otherwise offered in Seattle Public Schools.

Opportunities such as paid internships, mentorship, and work experience.

I have sent many emails to Indian Ed Manager and never received any response.

A parent on the title sticks The parent committee told me Gail doesn't accept attachments.

I noticed UNEA is listed on HUSUSDA, Indian Ed, resource list.

Yet a person, a principal was told by the Indian Ed staff that she didn't know anything about our organization or Native-focused programs.

Working around Indian Ed required me to directly send emails with UNEA info and poster attachments to individual principals, head secretaries, and counselors.

All of them have been more than helpful and responsive since they have a list of the Native American students in their school.

I still wondered why Indian education wasn't reaching out to help or even get to know our community program.

I mean, isn't there an easier way to get information out through them?

I read that SPS is building relationships through community organizations.

Where does Indian education fit into this?

I've been involved with Seattle Native Community for over 65 years.

Indian education programs like this would have really helped us.

This is a wake-up call for Indian education.

Our students need the information and support in our community organizations.

Lastly, we question the misrepresentation of American Indian identity by Hushusana staff.

Falsifying native identity is called pretend Indian.

Cultural integrity, authenticity, and trustworthiness begin with honesty.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Debbie Carlson.

Debbie Carlson.

Following Debbie will be Arthur Doris and then Gail Joblin.

Debbie Carlsen

Good evening.

My name is Debbie Carlson and I'm a parent at Olympic Hills Elementary with a first grader.

Olympic Hills Elementary is a Title I school in Northeast Seattle and one of the 13 early literacy priority schools that is working to increase reading outcomes for black male students.

I am also an educational advocate and member of All Together for Seattle Schools.

We are a growing grassroots group of over 160 members in 60 different schools across the Seattle School District.

We oppose the proposal of mass school closures as the main vehicle to balancing the 2025-26 Seattle Public Schools budget.

This proposal was developed without meaningful feedback with SPS families, educators, labor partners, or the wider public.

This proposal does not explain how it will solve SPS financial challenges.

It doesn't decrease class sizes and may even increase class sizes.

And we know smaller class sizes is one of the biggest indicators for better academic outcomes.

This proposal, without sufficient data and equity analysis, can lead to further loss of trust in the system, prompting more families to leave.

This proposal potentially repeats past mistakes.

In fact, in Seattle, from 2007 to 2009, SPS closed 11 schools and then did an about-face to reopen all but four because of unpredicted increased enrollment.

Lastly, without even a mention of LGBTQIA students in the current strategic plan, there isn't any enforceable accountability from the district or school board on the impact these school closures will have on young trans and LGBTQIA students.

We urge you to provide alternative proposals to balance the budget with financial and equity data, as well as a narrative around the trade-offs of each proposal.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Arthur Doros.

Arthur Doros.

Arthur will be followed by Gail Joblin and then Megan Lozama.

Arthur Doros

Thank you all for these great accounts about individuals and about the district.

In 50 years working in with the district, this is shocking.

People from communities of all kinds around the city come here often in tears as a district closes program after love program.

District solution, build big schools for 500 to 650. SPS has been saying that will save money.

How?

A primary SPS response maintenance costs.

Now small schools are on the chopping block, yet the district has responded for years without showing numbers.

I ask for three basic numbers.

One, average annual cost to maintain a small under 200 school.

Two, average cost to maintain a school of 500. Three, average annual cost to bus a student.

If the district does not have such numbers, stop saying vaguely that this big building program you readily spend billions on, billions, will save money.

If you do not have numbers, please show them.

If you do have numbers, please show them.

SPS leadership said the district can better manage the new quote smaller footprint.

This small footprint for SPS has monstrous impact on students and neighbors that will shake Seattle for decades.

Giant new elementary schools that have been called office buildings.

Thousands more kids traveling hours on buses to fill them.

Priorities?

Instead, massive capital budgets can maintain and fix schools.

Seattle history, large schools were still underfunded and communities of all kinds around the city overwhelmingly welcomed a return to local nearby schools.

Please stop the garden path false narrative of years of more community participation.

For our huge new school in two years, we were not able to get SPS to have even one in-person all community meeting, not one.

rather than truly engage sbs as a team of paid experts and lawyers that thwart community input people talk about a notable teacher class program families flock to schools with great programs please rather than new shells help create with communities educational substance that people can love the next speaker is gail dublin gail i believe you're on the phone

Sarah Nau

Gail Joblin Good evening.

My name is Gail Joblin.

I'm a Pathfinder parent and I would like to cede my time to Arnav Bhakkar.

Thank you.

Arnav Bhatkar

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Arnav Bhatkar, and I am the parent of a second and fourth grader at Pathfinder K38.

I am reading this testimony on behalf of another parent.

During the 2022-23 school year, my daughter's third grade class had a student who was causing harm to others.

This student engaged in sexually harassing behaviors towards female classmates involving explicit actions and physical contact.

Additionally, he assaulted a kindergarten student in the school elevator.

Surprisingly, the parents of the affected children were never informed about these distressing incidents occurring in the classroom.

Concerned parents initiated conversations leading to widespread awareness among the affected families.

Despite numerous attempts to contact admin, responses to our inquiries were infrequent and often provided only vague references to student and confidentiality without any concrete plans to ensure our girls' safety.

The emphasis seemed to be solely on protecting the confidentiality and rights of the student in question rather than addressing the lack of support.

My daughter had to leave her classroom on multiple occasions due to these incidents, yet the student responsible for consistently reintegrated without proper assistance, appropriate assistance.

Following the students' transfer to another school, we were invited to participate in a restorative circle.

During this meeting, families of male students were taken aback by the detailed accounts of sexual assaults shared by the girls' parents.

When we questioned why all parents were not informed of these events, neither admins provided a satisfactory response.

Because of this, we and many other families filed numerous harassment, intimidation, and bullying complaints.

None of those, sorry, nothing came of those.

We were also certain nothing were filed with Title IX about our civil rights being violated.

I'm here today on behalf of these parents and many others to ask why Pathfinder Administration did not take these assaults seriously.

Why is it allowed to continue?

Why was there no investigation?

Why was there no restorative justice process for these students?

We need a new administration team who will understand the gravity of these incidents like these and ensure that our students are safe and offered support afterward.

We also demand an administration team who will work in collaboration with families, not keep half the class in the dark.

We need an administration that cares if your child is being sexually assaulted.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Megan Lizama.

Megan Lizama.

Megan will be followed by Joanna Ariaza-Taylor.

Megan Lizama

I'm Megan Lizama, and I cede my time to Tasman Bose.

Tasman Bose

Hi, my name is Tasman Bose, and I'm reading the testimony of a fellow Pathfinder K-8 parent.

When my child started kindergarten at Pathfinder, he was a well-adjusted, easy kid who was excited about school and came home every day beaming, pronouncing best day ever, talking about his new friends.

Two weeks later, he was tearing apart classrooms, destroying property, and physically hurting students, teachers, and staff.

I knew something was very wrong with my child.

This was behavior I'd never witnessed before, and seemed beyond the realms of anything that could be solved with a behavior chart or even switching classrooms.

I needed evaluation, advice, and help from experts, support I thought I would get from the school.

Instead, for weeks I was told that he was just having a hard time adjusting.

A safety plan and behavioral intervention plan were put in place but didn't seem to help.

I know the administration needs time to get to know a new child before pursuing support resources.

But while I waited for them to get to know him, I was required to stay with him every morning until he was ready to go into his class, pick him up at 10.30 a.m., chaperone him through lunch and recess, and basically be on call in case anything happened during the day.

On multiple occasions, I'd go to the office begging someone to help me with him and would be told that everyone was too busy.

As a first-time parent and new to public school, I was made to feel like it was my responsibility to manage my child while at school and it was completely within reason for them to only allow him to attend school for two and a half hours a day.

It was only in talking with other parents and staff members that I realized this was not the case.

Once I was made aware of my rights and his, I finally said enough was enough that I needed to hand him off to someone in the morning and pick him up at the end of a full day.

It was only then, two months later, that an evaluation for an IEP was started.

While I'm grateful my son finally got the assistance he needs, even though it's not enough, I've witnessed other parents of kindergarteners at Pathfinder going through the same struggle I did to just get the administration to take action.

Dr. Holmes seems asleep at the wheel, ignoring the pleas of teachers and parents, putting band-aids on gaping wounds, and responding to concerns with academic rhetoric and theory that comes across as insensitive and tone deaf.

All the while, kids are getting hurt, physically and emotionally.

Teachers are exhausted, frustrated, and quitting, and parents are transferring their students out of the school at an alarming rate.

I beg you to please take action on what's going on at Pathfinder, and to take that action immediately.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Joanna Ariadza-Taylor.

Joanna will be followed by Tamisha Watson.

Joanna Ariadza-Taylor

Hello, my name is Joanna Arreaza-Taylor, a parent of a kindergarten student at Pathfinder.

Tonight I want to share some highlights of what brought us here.

I represent a group of caregivers, students, and staff members who are concerned about the safety of all at Pathfinder and the lack of support offered by administration and the district when needed.

Throughout the school year alone, the kindergarten class has had over 40 incidents happen from evacuation, elopement, physical and emotional violence towards students and teachers.

During a recent kindergarten meeting requested by parents, over 90% of the audience stood up when asked if their child had been hurt so far this year.

These incidents are not being reported and when parents request information, we are being ignored.

Weeks go by with no answer to our emails or meetings request.

The deterioration of the work environment at Pathfinder is deeply concerning for teachers as they believe it directly affects the student learning and safety.

They express sadness and frustration about the school's unraveling and the loss of opportunities for our students.

Students are not motivated to attend school.

Many are fearful of what they'll experience at school during a simple school day.

We have an urgent need to address the issues at Pathfinder around safety and lack of clear communication.

We need to create a positive and supportive work environment for teachers who are the center of creating the environment that shape our children's learning.

Our children deserve a safe space to learn and thrive.

We need change at Pathfinder, thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Tamisha Watson.

After Tamisha will be Jonathan Guzzo.

Joe Mizrahi

I began my employment at SPS as a special education teacher at Pathfinder in 2022, following my graduation from Seattle Teacher Residency, a program that cultivates anti-racist teachers.

Unbeknownst to me, I walked into an anti-Black hostile environment.

One month into Dr. Holmes' appointment, following the retirement of their beloved principal of 22 years, a noose was found hanging on the school grounds.

After this incident, Dr. Holmes has been the subject of anti-black targeting, harassment, hostile work environment at the hands of a coalition of disgruntled Pathfinder staff, family, and local media, making it nearly impossible for her to do her job as an administrator.

Some incidents that have occurred since my time here, the N-word being written all over the bathroom walls directly in front of my classroom, black staff being told they are lazy and incompetent, Due to these perpetual issues, I helped facilitate two wellness spaces for black students and staff.

As a result, a federal lawsuit was filed against us by Pathfinder families and teachers alleging we were segregating students by offering this space.

There is an anti-black racism problem at Pathfinder.

Superintendent Jones and board Your strategic plan lists as its priority to recruit a diverse representation of our entire community and prioritize those furthest from educational justice.

In doing so, black staff are experiencing great harm and distress, making it difficult for us to do our jobs with fidelity.

Nearly all black staff in this building have left due to race-based bullying and harassment from white and white-aligned Pathfinder staff and families.

What is your plan for addressing these racial hostilities on not only this campus but across SPS that affect your black faculty and staff?

I urge you to find ways to protect your black staff.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Jonathan Guzzo.

Following Jonathan will be Katie Domingue and then Holly Eads Spice.

Jonathan Guzzo

I'm Jonathan and I would like to cede my time to Ed Lee.

Ed Lee

Good afternoon, good evening.

My name is Ed Lee.

I am a 10-year parent at Pathfinder.

I've also had the privilege to serve two rotations on the building leadership team, and I'd like to give some accounting of some of the experiences in that capacity.

2023 was a rough year for us.

There were lots of, I'll say, Issues of safety that came up that teachers have brought up asking for help within the BLT, I would say that they were not only ignored for the most part, but there was also retaliation and other punitive forms of reaction.

I've had one staff member tell me that repeatedly asked for help in a classroom.

And not only did she not get help, she was told that if you continue to do that, you'll get written up for this kind of behavior.

My personal experience, like I said, I'm a Pathfinder parent.

I still have a seventh grader.

My daughter Lila, and I'm gonna like to repeat her name again, her name is Lila, suffered, was a target of sexual harassment.

I found out during a school event when I find my daughter bawling, Because, well, like I said, sexual harassment, there was a boy, unwanted touching, saying things and explicit sexual acts.

I went to the administration for help.

We agreed on a set of mitigation.

Not only did they not do it, when I follow up, they claimed that they never made that agreement, even though I documented it, shared it with them, and said that I'd be following up.

That was at the end of the 2023 season.

Beginning of 2024, the day before BLT retreat, I was removed for no other reason given other than I wasn't fitting in.

So I'm here to say that my daughter matters.

We're here to say that our children matter.

And I hope that you recognize the gravity of the situation here.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Katie Domingo.

After Katie will be Holly Eads Spies and then Jana Parker.

Katie Domingue

I'm Katie Domingue and I'm ceding my time to Freya.

Linda Todd

Hello, my name is Freya Batolan and I'm an eighth grader at Pathfinder K-8 completing my ninth year.

I had a medical emergency at school for the first time in October 2022. We had many meetings with the school about my needs and documented them in a 504. Despite those meetings, asking admin violated my 504 that day.

After I got home, my family called the administrator to ask what had happened, was told the facts leading up to the event, and also told that my 504 was canceled the year prior, seemingly in an attempt to protect her liability.

When asked how it was canceled without our consent, admin told us that our consent was not required to cancel the 504. We followed up with an email asking to verify if my 504 was canceled and did not receive a response for over two weeks where she confirmed the 504 was not canceled.

When it came to re-evaluate my 504, the admin continually attempted to remove content from it saying it is standard practice here at Pathfinder and so doesn't need to be in the 504. We ask that the content remain in the 504. Later we find out that she submitted the 504 to the district for approval.

without letting us review the final version.

For over two months, June 2023, multiple times we asked to see the version she sent to the district and only received it 10 days before the end of the school year and found content was removed.

We had to wait until the new school year to get my 504 fixed and even then it took a month into the new school year.

In conclusion, this is why I think waiting this long to get proper supports in place for ANCID is unacceptable, dangerous, and unsafe.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Next speaker is Hallie Eads Spies.

After Hallie will be Yana Parker and then John.

Hallie Eads Spies

This is Hallie Eadsby.

I'm no longer able to attend in person, and I'm ceding my time to Yvonne Lin-Chen.

Yvonne Ling-Chen

Hello.

Hi.

This is Yvonne Lin-Chen.

Good evening to Seattle Public School leaders.

Again, my name is Yvonne Lin Chen, and we are here to support Laurelhurst Elementary School.

Please do not close this school.

We are a family with prior experience and then transferred our kids from one public elementary school to another.

The previous school called our kid Ben, a typical child.

Ever since transferring to Laurelhurst Elementary, our kid has improved significantly.

certain behaviors that used to be a daily struggle have decreased dramatically due to the following three efforts that Laurelhurst Elementary Education Team made.

Effort number one, LES Education Team, they respect not only the individual kid or student, but also care for their parents.

A year ago, we made a very difficult decision to transfer our kids from one school to another.

for further educational resources.

It was a very rushed decision.

We only had four days to decide.

We were still trying to process what happened.

We almost gave up our hope.

It was Principal Tim Snyder's words saved us and made us believe in SPS system again.

He said, yes, we will receive a report, but we would also want to hear the parents' perspective.

There, it tells us that this school is not just my way is the only way.

They respect parents and truly view parents as an active participant in their child's growth.

They take our kids in with open arms.

Effort number two, we are amazed by both special education and general education team teachers.

They are so open-minded.

They work with each other super closely daily.

They identify a list of expectations for our kids, but yet flexible enough to tweak their teaching style to meet the needs most critical part they keep parents informed right away with all the changes we had pre prior experience that we didn't know that our kid was being isolated alone for lunch break for three weeks until we found out later and les they didn't do it like this they let us know every day or like as soon as there's a educational strategy change they let us know right away Effort number three, most important part, they teach the students to support each other rather than reporting out to the teacher or bully with each other.

My kids shared with me one day after we transferred to Laurelhurst, one day my kid came home and told me that, hey, mom, a student told me today that I should not use color marker to write.

I should use a pencil.

So I did.

I was so amazed because in previous school, It's only reporting out to the teacher and then my kids got in trouble every day.

So all I want to say is my kids gained a lot of peer support and then his strength also being seen at this very nourished lab learning environment at Laurel Hearst Elementary.

This is not just for typical children but also a great places for special education children's need.

Therefore please do not close LES.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Yana Parker.

Jana Parker

my name is sienna parker co-president of seattle special education ptsa i'm also a pathfinder parent and for the last two years of our 13 years at pathfinder i've been a special education parent liaison i am aware that a school board meeting is not the intended not intended for grievances about the district's failures to serve the community today you are seeing what happens as a reflection of the district's dysfunction when issues remain unresolved for years It is understandable that families have no other option but to try to address the lack of responsiveness and accountability here.

Pathfinder enrollment of students with disabilities is significantly higher than at an average school in SPS, and yet we don't get enough support from the district.

Currently, about one-third of the students have been formally identified as students with disability, which includes nearly 24% of students with IEPs.

And I know there are more who have not even been assessed when they should have.

Special education evaluations, IEPs, and even 504 plan accommodations for struggling students have been unreasonably denied.

Students who struggle academically often don't get evaluated until they have failing grades.

Students' behavioral needs are dismissed until incidents happen and are treated as a discipline problem, and yet the incidents are not officially reported.

Behavior is communication.

We need to be responsive to what children are communicating to prevent unsafe situations for all children and staff.

Again, behavior is communication.

And the IDEA is clear about what is supposed to happen when a child's disability impedes their learning or the learning of others.

We need appropriate and timely assessments of behavioral and academic and functional needs of children and adequate early intervention.

Staffing needs to be a priority, including paraeducators and qualified support on the playground during recess.

We need leadership that is proactive and responsive.

Thank you for your time.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is John.

Following John is Jen Lovely.

Jonathan Guzzo

I'm John and I'm sending my time to Posey Gruner.

Megan Lizama

Hi, I'm Posey Gruner.

I'm the parent of a Pathfinder kindergartner.

I also teach K through eight classes at Pathfinder as the garden educator, so I teach a lot of these kids and I work side along with a lot of these educators.

I'll be the last scheduled speaker from Pathfinder tonight.

You've heard stories tonight from students, parents, and faculty.

They've told stories of civil rights violations, of toxic work culture, of a failure by this administration to provide a safe place for us to drop off our kids.

These are just a few of the stories and we have many more.

They all highlight how this administration has failed to meet the criteria you have set for them, which they must meet in order to satisfactorily do their job.

Now, I take no joy standing up here as a white woman with all the historic power of my face and my voice asking you to remove a black woman from a position of power.

I know racism has operated in this story and it pains me, but it is not always in the way that it seems.

I urge you to look deep into the story of the noose, which was mentioned earlier tonight.

I think you will find it speaks more to what we have been talking about than anything else.

I look around this room and I see signs that say black leadership matters.

I absolutely believe that.

The data bears it out and I know it in my bones.

Black leadership matters.

But look at the signs.

Black leadership matters.

I ask you to look at the criteria that you have set for the leaders of our schools and the data and the stories that we are sharing with you and this divided, hurting community.

And ask yourself, is this leadership?

Here are the criteria at issue tonight.

Criterion one, creating a school culture that promotes the ongoing improvement of teaching and learning for students and staff.

Criterion two, providing for school safety.

Criterion six, managing both staff and fiscal resources to support student achievement and legal responsibilities.

Criterion seven, partnering with families and communities to promote learning.

Our stories and our data show an unsatisfactory rating on all these criteria.

Now let me be clear, we are not asking for correction or collaboration.

We have asked for and worked towards and sought help with correction.

We have asked for and worked towards and sought help with collaboration.

The ask was not met, the work was fruitless, and the help did not come.

Now we are asking for change.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

The next speaker is Jen Lavely.

Jen Lavely.

Jen Lavalee

Dr. Jones, last meeting you said that you were hesitant to consolidate schools and your staff convinced you that it was the best option.

I implore you to share with us how they did that.

I'm going to cede the rest of my time to Jessica Zhou on the phone.

Can you hear me?

Jessica Zell

Yes.

We can hear you.

Yep.

Good evening.

I'm Jessica Zell, a parent advocate and a member of All Together for Seattle Schools.

We are a growing grassroots group across the Seattle School District.

We oppose the proposal of mass school closures as the main vehicle for balancing the 2025 to 2026 Seattle Public Schools budget.

I am also a former Seattle Public School parent.

My children were at John Rogers Elementary a Title I school for six years from 2016 to 2022. But they are now in charter schools in South Seattle and West Seattle.

We have been commuting three and a half hours every day for the past two years.

We decided to leave SPS because we don't believe you cared about our children's learning.

For the last two years at John Rogers I served the beauty leadership team as a parent representative and tried to save our program that more than half of the students and the parents wanted to keep but failed repeatedly.

Parents and I talked to the legislators, the superintendent at the time, and the board of directors and advocated for our students so they could learn to express themselves through visual arts.

But nothing changed.

Closing schools not only hurts the school system but also impacts the students and the families tremendously.

We're asking for alternative plans.

The alternative plans should focus on addressing students' need and outcomes.

Specific attention on how each alternative will affect marginalized students including students who are BIPOC, LGBTQIA, unhoused, low-income, multilingual, immigrants, and refugees, and those who receive special education services.

Parents want alternative plans and are concerned about access to optional schools and alternative learning programs that meet the diverse students' needs and support families.

If keeping families from leaving Seattle Public Schools is your goal, Please hear parents' voices.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

Before we go to our wait list, I'm gonna check back one more time for the one speaker we did not hear from is Ari Meiling in the room.

Going once, twice, Ari.

Okay, we already have one spot remaining then.

So we will go to the first speaker on the wait list, which is Nicole Patton.

Jen Lavalee

Hi, I'm Nicole Patton and I cede my time to Olivia Jacobs.

Olivia Jacobs

Hi, we just wanted to read a statement from a teacher provided to us for Pathfinder and this is from a current teacher.

I'm writing as a concerned teacher at Pathfinder K-8.

My primary concerns as a staff member have been the safety of our students and staff, the lack of support offered to staff when they need it, and retaliation if when they ask for support with students, particularly challenging or unsafe situations with students.

I would love to be there in person to read this, but I do not feel safe doing so for fear of retaliation.

My first two years with our current administration, I was able to lay low.

I knew several staff members who I trusted were not being supported by administrators in serious behavior and safety situations, and that some of those staff members felt that they were being targeted by administration for continuing to ask for support.

From the experiences of a few colleagues, I knew well enough to keep my head down and try to solve my challenges within my classroom.

This year, I have needed support with one of my special education students who is in crisis.

As soon as I started to ask for more support, especially in unsafe situations, frequently administration would not come or even contact me back when I called the office repeatedly.

I was also involved with a group of staff who were coming together to discuss school climate and how we could work together with our admin to make things better for everyone, most of all our students.

Shortly after these meetings started to take place, I started to be targeted by our administration.

I was sent an email about concerning allegations in my classroom and was asked to meet about it.

I requested a meeting as soon as was possible to discuss this and they continued putting off the meeting.

When the meeting finally happened, they said that all allegations were unfounded and all was well, making me feel like they were trying to intimidate me and purposely put off my meeting to make me feel scared, even though I knew nothing wrong had occurred in my classroom.

This all started happening within one week of me asking more directly and continuously for support with my student and meeting with a group of staff to discuss a climate review process.

At Pathfinder, we don't have any union representatives.

It is my belief no one feels safe enough to step up to the job.

We had five reps last year.

It feels very scary and vulnerable to be without building union representation knowing that we don't have someone in-house to support us in times of retaliation or contract violation.

I love Pathfinder, and I do not want to leave the amazing community and students, but I have seriously considered leaving after many years of teaching there because it feels unsafe to speak out in support of our students.

Thank you.

Ellie Wilson-Jones

president rankin that was the 25th and final speaker for tonight that was the 25th and final speaker for tonight's testimony what time is it all right um do do i need to

Liza Rankin

I know we don't have a long agenda ahead of us, but I think taking a five, 10, what do we want?

10 minutes?

Okay.

We, let's see, we will take a 10 minute recess and return at, I can do math, 6.33 p.m.

Thank you.

Directors Clark and Sarju, how you doing in remote land?

Gina Topp

Can you hear me?

I can hear you.

Can you hear me okay?

Liza Rankin

Yep.

Just letting you know we haven't forgotten about you.

Okay, thanks.

well you missed your chance you can all right we are now at the uh business item portion of our agenda i'm looking at the wrong thing yeah um so uh uh staff just fyi Director Sarju, Vice President Sarju is on the call, but rather than unmute and whatever for seconding and motioning, Member-at-Large Briggs will do the motions.

And then Director Topped, can you take on seconding?

Yes.

Alrighty, we have reached the consent portion of today's agenda.

May I have a motion for the consent agenda?

Evan Briggs

I move approval of the consent agenda.

Gina Topp

Forgot my role already.

Liza Rankin

I second directors have any Questions about anything you need to pull?

No?

Okay.

The approval of the consent agenda has been moved by Director Briggs and seconded by Director Topp.

Oh, now I'm supposed to ask if anybody has items, but no.

Seeing none, all those in favor of the consent agenda, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Jonathan Guzzo

Aye.

Liza Rankin

All right.

This motion has passed unanimously with six directors voting yes.

Wait.

Aha.

And we're done.

No.

So that was...

I knew we had a short agenda, but that was very short.

Oh, okay.

Gina Topp

So...

Yeah, why is it not set up?

Liza Rankin

Oh, OK.

So we're done with action items.

The next that we have on here is evaluation portion of the meeting.

We don't have time use evaluation for April, but we'll pick that back up at a future meeting.

And the progress monitoring for guardrails are in information items.

So that was it.

I would like us to...

In our next cycle, according to our governance model, guardrail monitoring can be on consent agenda.

We should be voting to approve or accept the monitoring reports, which we haven't implemented.

Gina Topp

And so in the future...

Is it ever common for us to actually hear them talk about their guardrail reports and ask some questions?

So...

Yeah, yeah.

Liza Rankin

That's not the practice.

I don't know if Dr. Jones isn't here right now.

But it looks like Dr. Swarovski is maybe acting as though he might stand up.

I don't know.

Are there questions about that that you wanted to ask that you didn't have a chance to ask ahead of time?

Gina Topp

I'm good for now.

Liza Rankin

OK.

I guess I'll just say let's be in the progress monitoring for next year.

Let's make sure that we are really clear about when we get monitoring reports and that for guardrails, the practice is for reports to come as often as we think they need to on interim metrics, but that are part of the consent agenda.

that we wouldn't discuss, but we would have the opportunity to send questions to staff about it, and then the monitoring on the goals happens in a session.

So the other thing I wanted to check in while we are here is our engagement.

I know I sent like a flurry of emails.

I sent like a flurry of emails yesterday and I know we're kind of like making the process work as we go along since this is something that's new for us, but I just wanted to check in that board directors feel like you understand what we're doing and are getting the right amount of information from me at the right time about our different engagements and getting them scheduled.

So we have so far nine, I think, have been scheduled.

And I have...

Whoops.

One or two.

Oh, one I just added is with a senior living community that had asked, had reached out to me in the fall and just wanted to see if, can somebody from this, Yeah, I know.

We have a lot of residents that are interested in education.

Can somebody from the board come and talk to us?

And I said, well, you know, we're going to be doing this stuff.

Let me add you to our list.

And so we've got an appointment with them.

If anybody knows right now that they're available on Friday the 28th at 11 AM, I can put you in.

Otherwise, we can figure that out.

But are the, I guess, weekly updates and then periodic texts working for everybody in terms of getting...

Sorry, I feel like we talked about this the other day, but...

Evan Briggs

It feels hilarious to use this when there's four people.

It's OK.

Oh, yeah.

So you said you sent out a spreadsheet that has all of the assignments, like the dates.

Is that right?

I'm tracking in a Google Doc.

A Google Doc.

OK.

But we're not getting calendar invites.

Liza Rankin

So you will get a calendar invite from staff for.

Instead of everybody getting all of them right you'll get the one that you've said you're going to go to right OK because I feel like you and I talked about one.

Evan Briggs

When I was driving to jazz on Monday that that you that I said I I could go to and now I don't remember which one that was OK, I just want to make sure I calendar.

Liza Rankin

I think it was the one on June 2nd and I'll double check with staff.

to make sure that we have all the same ones.

Evan Briggs

So we will get calendar invites for all the ones that we said that we could go to.

Liza Rankin

You get calendar invites for the one that you're gonna do?

Yes, okay.

Evan Briggs

Okay, I don't currently have one for June 2nd, so I will just try to remember.

Gina Topp

President Rankin, what I still think I'm looking for is sort of the toolkit or the script that we're going to use.

Oh yeah.

So that as we go out and do these engagements, they're consistent throughout the process.

I don't know if that is, I know my first one, my first engagement session's coming up next week, so there's a little bit of time, but just wanna be prepared.

Liza Rankin

Yep.

So mine, let's see, Michelle and I have one tomorrow.

That's the first one of the cycle.

And I do have, let's see, Director Hersey's not here, but he was finalizing, he offered to finalize the talking points.

And then there's slides that can be used as talking points if you want to, or they can be the slides.

And then is there anything else that we need in the toolkit?

Talking points, slides if you want them.

There's gonna be a Microsoft form for when you're done with a session to record it.

So link to that.

Gina Topp

Just looking at the form of who else signed up for that session to coordinate with them as for like who wants to take what part of the talking points.

Liza Rankin

Yeah.

Gina Topp

Just to clarify.

Liza Rankin

And I imagine we'll probably get more

Gina Topp

fluid as we go i think and probably also depending on depending on the community we might talk less right why is this a show can you hear me yep would it be possible to have someone send out a list of the currently scheduled ones i sent one to you yesterday oh yesterday okay well i haven't checked my school board email it was late it was late at night

Liza Rankin

It was late at night, but I did send one, and it's in a Word doc.

It has them all.

Gina Topp

Great.

Thank you.

Liza Rankin

Yep.

Gina Topp

Thank you.

Liza Rankin

And then I see Director Clark, your hand is up.

Sarah Clark

Oh, I was actually going to ask the same question, so I will check my email.

I was also curious if I may have identified a group that

Sarah Clark

that we might wanna meet with, how would I go about?

Oh, yeah.

Liza Rankin

So I think it was maybe the meeting, I don't think you were here, but we talked, we had like a, like I kind of crowdsourced from us, like who we should meet with.

So just send it to me or just go ahead and reach out to them and let me know if they can commit to something and I'll put it on their calendar.

Sarah Clark

Oh, okay, great, thanks.

Evan Briggs

I have a specific question about the Seattle Council PTSA virtual one, but I'm not sure if that needs to be a, we can also talk after this.

I don't know if everyone needs to.

Liza Rankin

Yeah, I was just like, since, because this is the only chance to be like, is everybody cool with the, here's an email that you can't reply to.

Right.

But I just want to make sure that we all have the chance to say, yeah, this is totally not working, or yes, I'm getting the information.

And let's see.

I think.

Anybody have any other board comments or liaison updates?

No.

OK. all right um then there being no further business to come before the board the regular board meeting is adjourned at 6 51 p.m amazing go storm bye-bye