SPS Meetings This Week Reveal a Couple of Interesting Items

As I previously reported, the Board Policy Committee meets Wednesday, June 3rd from 2-4pm. It's a fairly brief agenda:

Policy Committee
June 3, 2026, 2:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Board Office Conference Room, John Stanford Center
2445 – 3rd Avenue South, Seattle WA 98134

Remote access:

By Microsoft Teams
By Teleconference: +1 206-800-4125 (Conference ID: 900 837 310#)

1. Call to Order
   1. Roll Call
   2. Approval of May 20, 2026 Policy Committee Minutes
2. Resolution Discussion
   • Resolution Draft
3. Scheduling Discussion
4. Adjourn

That resolution is to address issues in some initiatives coming before voters. 

Partial:

A RESOLUTION of the Board of Directors of Seattle School District No. 1, King County, Seattle, Washington Opposing Initiatives IL26-001 & IL26-638, concerning parental rights relating to their children in public school and participation in athletics at K-12 schools in the state of Washington.

WHEREAS, lnitiative IL26-001 would repeal legislative amendments to statute listing certain rights of parents and guardians of public school children, rolling back legal privacy protections or students and families; and 

 

WHEREAS, requiring the disclosure of certain student information would interfere with the ability of school personnel to appropriately protect student confidentiality and safety in circumstances involving child abuse, neglect, harassment, or mental health concerns, and conflict with state and federal law to protect vulnerable students and comply with mandated reporting obligations; 

and

WHEREAS, the Board believes that students must be able to seek support from trusted adults at school without fear that disclosure could place them at greater risk of harm, abuse, bullying, violence, retaliation, or homelessness; and

WHEREAS, Initiative IL26-638 would impose requirements related to student participation in athletics that undermine student privacy and dignity and create barriers to participation in school activities, contrary to WIAA’s inclusionary policy in sports that has successfully supported equitable access to participation since 2007; and

WHEREAS, subjecting students to invasive genital exams to play sports would violate student privacy and safety, and create liability and inappropriate crossing of boundaries for schools, coaches, and teachers; and

WHEREAS, the Board supports fair and inclusive opportunities in athletics, as in all school activities, and asserts that thoughtful, evidence-informed policies by athletic associations and medical professionals are appropriate to determine participation guidelines that support and protect all students; and

WHEREAS, the Board believes that these two initiatives, if passed, would create substantial legal, operational, financial, and administrative burdens for public schools, in addition to increasing harm and exclusion for some students, exposing districts and the State of Washington to costly litigation; and

But those minutes from last month's meeting! It's basically:

Directors and staff participated in a discussion.

So what was said about say, gifts, grants donations, and fundraising proceeds? Who knows? 

But I have said before and I still believe it - these are NOT the only minutes for these meetings. I say that because if you have staff that need to go back and review the minutes, then there is nothing for them to read. What if it's a couple of years down the line and some directors are gone as well as staff? C'mon.

As for the Board meeting, here's the agenda.

The Personnel Report reveals one departure that I think some at JSCEE will be happy about; Patrick McCarthy is leaving as Executive Director of Athletics. I have heard from several staffers that say he plays favorites and doesn't always follow-up on issues. The fact that there have been several issues relating to coaches that are now lawsuits also appear to have happened under his watch. 

Also under the Consent Agenda, is a large number of contracts and costs to be paid, mostly for special Education services as well as JSCEE services and Capital projects. 

Under Action Items, there is the approval for the two new Student Board Representatives.

There is also an item - Acceptance of B.F. Day Elementary School Parent Teacher Student Association Grant for the 2026-27 school year. It appears that the school has an additional $92,500 PTSA grant. There is no documentation attached so it's unclear to me exactly what the issue is. It is in the item notation that this is more than the "total grant amount" that a school may receive without Board approval. 

One very interesting, chockfull of data item is the Goals and Guardrails item. Here's the presentation.  The appendices are where you will find that data information including goals for specific groups of students. 

I have covered some of this before but here are my topline observations on this presentation:

- "Top 5 of 5" (meaning top 5 goals in 5 years for the Superintendent), page 4

- Launching the "Framework for Great Schools" as a "theory of action" for schools. My question - as always - is how much this will cost the district?

-  Update schedules to increase instructional time

- Reorganize central office by school level to strengthen school accountability and support

What could "by school level" mean? Thoughts?

- There are a number of comparison charts to other Washington districts as well as those in other states. 

One fascinating data point is when you compare Seattle SD with Issaquah SD and Everett SD. In terms of pupils enrolled, Issaquah and Everett are fairly close to each other while Seattle SD is more than double. 

Those other districts rank high in graduation rates across the board, especially for FRL and ELL students. Both Issaquah and Everett have an overall 96% graduation rate versus SPS at 86%.

Issaquah is 70% white and Asian which might explain some of its success. But Everett does very well, even beating Issaquah in some categories, with their graduation rate. 

Issaquah's FRL rate is 15% with Everett's at a whopping 42%. SPS has a 33% rate. 

What is Everett doing to get these results? I may try to get an interview with their superintendent.

After this presentation, the Board will recess for an Executive Session and surprise! The notation actually has some detail.

To review the performance of a Public employee, RCW 42.30.110(1)(g); Request for reconsideration of transfer to subordinate certificated position, RCW 28A.405.230.

Who could this be?