Naming the LouAnne Rundall Library at Highland Park Elementary School

So the first item is approval of the naming of Highland Park Elementary School library in honor of Mrs. Luann Rundle.

May I hear the motion.

Approval of this item would authorize the naming of the Highland Park Elementary School library as the Luann Rundle library at Highland Park.

I second that motion.

May we hear from the chair of the operations committee?

This item was heard by the operations committee on June 15 and moved forward for approval.

Do we have somebody who can speak to this item?

Flip Herndon associate superintendent for operations and facilities and I am going to turn this over to principal Cronus to get everything going.

Hi, how are you?

Hope everyone's doing well.

This is Chris Robert and behind us is Pam Wilson.

They're both teachers at Highland Park.

Luanne Rundle has been a volunteer at Highland Park for 45 years in the library.

She actually started there, she's been living in the Highland Park community forever.

And she was a paid library assistant back a long long time ago when those existed for two years and the funding got cut and she just stayed and never left.

And she's the most tenured person in probably all of Southwest Seattle.

She's an amazing person.

And Mr. Robert and Miss Wilson came up with the idea of naming a library after which the community wholeheartedly agrees with.

And perhaps he could say a few words about her.

Well hopefully Mrs. Rundle will be here so you can meet her.

She's an extraordinary woman and it's been a privilege to work with her.

This is my first year, I just completed my first year at Highland Park and I'd heard all about Mrs. Rundle before I started work and I have to say that library runs like clockwork with her in there.

She's just amazing.

She's 81, she'll be 82 in December and loves coming there to work with the kids and she's making bookmarks for the kids and she makes bookmarks for the kids at the Roxhill Library as well which is where I also work and she's just an incredible and very sweet woman.

And there's no doubt that the library should be named after her.

And so we're hopeful that that's going to happen tonight.

She'd also be with us but we were told this might take a little longer.

She she should.

She could arrive any second.

And she actually she was about three minutes late this morning to our morning assembly where we told the community what our intentions were and she arrived just in time.

So if we wait long enough.

Just kidding.

Can we defer this until she arrives.

Thank you Director Harris.

Mr. General Counsel is that acceptable to you sir?

Yes Noel Treat General Counsel yeah I think that's just fine I think unless there's any objection the board can just move this and move to the next item and then come back to this when she arrives.

Thank you.

I don't think I see any objections so let's do just that.

Right.

She's a little nervous.

So we talked a little bit about this already.

This morning we honored her in front of our entire community and to be being the first day of school.

It really helped because we had so many families there dropping their students off who joined us in our gym for a morning assembly which we do every day.

And at that time we surprised her and this is a bit of a surprise for her as well.

So.

Peters All right.

So what we are going to do is this well to start discuss and vote on approving the naming of the Highland Park Elementary School library in your honor.

This is Luann Rundle.

Does anybody have any questions or comments?

Thank you.

No thank you.

Thank you ever so much.

And thank you for what you do with Roxhill as well.

It's noticed and it's hugely appreciated.

Well you're very welcome.

Director Blanford.

I'll just say that before you arrived we heard a little we heard of your exploits over the many many many years.

And we are all so grateful for your commitment to Seattle Public Schools particularly the two schools that you've been working in.

But to the probably the thousands and thousands of kids that have been impacted by your generosity and your commitment to Seattle Public Schools.

So thank you so very much.

You're very welcome.

Director Burke.

I just want to echo my colleagues thanks and express gratitude for the work that you've done and the number of students you've reached.

All right.

OK.

My name is Dan McGee.

I taught at Highland Park in the past.

I'm a retired teacher.

I'd like to say a few things about Luan.

And evidently you've discussed it before I walked in but this might be repetitious but I'd like to say it anyway.

She worked.

She started in 1968 and she has worked in the library for 49 years.

And she when I when we have a little retired breakfast from Highland Park on the first day of school to celebrate the first day of school as retired teachers.

And she told me don't say 16 don't say 49 because there were two years that I got some money for doing it for doing it.

I'm sure it was from PTA or something.

So she wanted 47 instead of 49. But she would come to school every morning before the bell and she wouldn't leave until after school was over.

She worked in the library all day long five days a week.

She rarely was absent.

In fact if she was absent everybody is saying where's Lou Anne.

Because she came every day all day long.

She checked out books.

She put books away.

She read to the children.

She did everything that a regular librarian would do.

And.

She even my wife taught there before I did when my wife was teaching there she would bring three coffee cakes every morning to put on the faculty table.

She still does.

Does she bring does she bring three.

OK.

What.

Once a week.

Once a week.

OK every sheet for most of the time that she was at Highland Park.

She did it every day.

And so three coffee cakes every day.

And one day the secretary said you know Luanne you've got to stop doing this.

We're too spoiled.

You've got to show us that you know we shouldn't get this thing.

Just every time we walk in we're expecting it.

Why don't you cut it down to one day a week.

So she cut it to one day a week but she really wanted to do five days a week.

So I understand that your name in the library after and I think that's fantastic.

I'd encourage you to figure out another way to honor someone who volunteered every day.

from beginning to end of the day for 49 years to try to figure out some way as a group you can come come up with an idea that maybe a plaque in the hallway with her picture and a brief statement underneath something that would really embarrass her but something something that would last forever.

So thank you very much.

Thank you very much for that wonderful testimony.

How about if we vote on this and then we take a picture.

Ms. Shek the roll call please.

Director Burke.

Absolutely.

Director Geary.

Resoundingly yes.

Director Patu.

Definitely yes.

Director Harris.

With extraordinary enthusiasm.

Yes.

Director Blanford.

I'm trying to think of a.

Enthusiastically.

Did someone use that one already?

Director Peters.

Resoundingly yes.

This motion has passed unanimously.

Let's all gather for a photo.

Okay, squish together.