Seattle School Board Meeting Coming Up Tomorrow Night

There's to be an Executive Session right before the regularly scheduled Board meeting from 4-4:30 pm. I'm thinking it might be the final sign-off for the new superintendent.

Here's the agenda for the regular Board meeting that starts at 4:30 pm. I will update this post when I see the list for public testimony.

I have to call out the biggest new item that I see which is the return of cancelled Board committees. This can be found under "Introduction Items" number two. It's sponsored by directors Gina Topp, Joe Mizrahi, and Jen LaValle. It will have to be voted on at the next Board meeting but I am hoping for some discussion at this meeting. If approved, President Topp would appoint chairs for each committee and its members. 

The committees would be:

- Audit (a state-required committee) becoming Audit and Finance

- Policy (this would be new and had existed as an Ad Hoc Committee)

- Operations (this had been a previous standing committee)

They left out the Executive Committee which I think is the lesser of all of them. There is also talk in the BAR of an Ad Hoc Safety Committee. 

Each committee has a charter in the BAR. 

The biggest item for Action is approval of "an amendment to Board Policy No. 4311, School Safety and Security Services Program." 

It specifically states that nothing in the policy stops the District with working with law enforcement and officers for emergencies or allowing access to schools and facilities "consistent with state laws and applicable District policies and procedures."

If this passes, what changes would be seen at schools, mostly middle and high? Stay tuned.

Also to note, at the last Board meeting there was a contract introduced with a firm called Novak Consulting "to build a district-wide, effective multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS)." This was for $1.3M. It has been pulled off the agenda for this meeting.

The rebuild for Aki Kurose Middle School is going to cost close to $159M which seems ridiculous. I am NOT complaining about any school's renovation - I am just shocked at how much THIS district spends, especially in comparison to neighboring districts. As well, Capital Projects comes to the Board, repeatedly, for cost overruns so do I believe this will be the end price? I do not.

Oh wait! Right after that item on the Consent Agenda is an item for MORE money for Alki Elementary, going from about $63M to $64M. The Bar is pretty funny because ALL that reasoning for more money could have been done sooner. But somehow Capital Projects couldn't get that done. 

I also find the cost for modernizing the John Marshall building (that is now used as an interim site for populations from schools being renovated) at $90M amazing. 

The agenda also includes approval of the final calendars for 2026-2027 and 2027-2028. 

There is also an item to expand the student directors from three to four for next year. As well, they would be called Student Representatives, not Student Board Member. 

They will also have student reps listen to  the Board Action item discussion and give an "advisory" vote as pro, con, or no position taken just before the Board votes on each item. That should be interesting. 

I do have to smile - the student reps make more money for what they do than the actual directors ($6500 vs $4800).