[0:00] Evening, everybody. We're going to get started here.

[0:04] Looks like everybody has the night before school jitters and ready to go here.

[0:08] So welcome to our regular school board meeting.

[0:11] It's Wednesday, September 2nd at 6:00 PM.

[0:15] I'm going to have everybody stand up for "The Pledge of Allegiance."

[0:33] Roll call,

[0:39] please.

[0:40] Director Alvarez.

[0:42] Here.

[0:42] Director Espinoza.

[0:43] Here.

[0:44] Director Holline.

[0:45] Present.

[0:46] Director Tithem.

[0:47] Present.

[0:49] President Vann.

[0:50] Yep. Thank you so much. Any changes or additions to tonight's board meeting agenda?

[0:59] Okay, hear and see none. So, we have awesome

[1:05] acknowledgement and appreciation this evening.

[1:07] And to my left here is our superintendent, Dr. Ivan Duran. Dr. Duran.

[1:11] Yes, thank you, President Vann. Good evening.

[1:13] Thank you everyone for being here today.

[1:15] Tonight, I have the privilege of introducing new administrators.

[1:18] Some of these individuals are new to Highline, and some are taking on new roles in

[1:22] Highline. Thank you everyone for all you do on behalf of our students, I look

[1:25] forward to working with all of you.

[1:27] As I read your name and share a little about you, please stand up to be recognized.

[1:31] After all the names have been read, I would like to invite everyone to the stage,

[1:34] including your family that's here with you tonight, to the stage, and we'll do a

[1:37] group photo.

[1:39] We're going to start first with Dr.

[1:41] Richard Brown, Principal at Sylvester Middle School.

[1:45] Dr.

[1:49] Richard Brown joined Sylvester Middle School as principal in 2026 following a

[1:53] strategic hiring process. Since 2020, he has served as a high school assistant

[1:57] principal in the Northshore School District and previously worked as a middle

[2:01] school and high school counselor. Dr.

[2:03] Brown holds a doctorate degree in educational leadership, superintendent

[2:06] certificate, and principal certification from the University of Washington.

[2:10] He also earned a master's degree in counseling from City University and a

[2:13] bachelor's degree in business administration from Morehouse College. Welcome, Dr.

[2:17] Brown. Good to have you here in Highline.

[2:22] All right, Richie Garcia, Principal at Des Moines Elementary School.

[2:29] She joined Des Moines as principal in 2026.

[2:32] Most recently, he served as interim principal at West Seattle Elementary, where he

[2:36] also worked as an assistant principal, an instructional coach, and teacher.

[2:40] His experience includes teaching at a dual language school in New York City,

[2:43] teaching in China, and serving in the Peace Corps in Uganda.

[2:47] Richie holds an educational leadership certificate from Western Governors

[2:50] University, a master's degree in bilingual education from Columbia University, and

[2:54] a bachelor's degree in accounting from St. John's University.

[2:57] Welcome to Highline, Richie.

[3:01] And Keona Johnson, Principal at McMicken Heights Elementary School.

[3:08] Keona joined McMicken Heights Elementary School as a principal in 2026.

[3:12] She previously served as an assistant principal at Beverly Park Elementary and as

[3:16] an academic success coach and administrative intern at Highline Virtual Academy and

[3:20] Maritime High school. She also taught at Glacier Middle School, Midway Elementary

[3:24] School, and in the Tukwila School District.

[3:27] Keona holds a principal certification and master's degree in education

[3:30] administration from Western Governors University, a master's degree in education

[3:34] from Walden University, a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Heritage

[3:38] University, and an associate's degree in early childhood education from Seattle

[3:42] Central Community College. Congratulations, Keona.

[3:48] All right. Jodi Robertson, Principal at Gregory Heights Elementary School.

[3:54] Jodi joined Gregory Heights Elementary School as principal in 2026.

[3:58] Since 2019, she has served as assistant principal at McMicken Heights Elementary

[4:02] School and has also worked there as administrative intern, teacher, and success

[4:06] dean. Ms. Robertson holds a master's degree in education from Western Washington

[4:09] University, earned a bachelor's degree in education leadership from Eastern

[4:12] Washington University. Congratulations, Jodi. Great to have you there.

[4:19] All right, Jeff Black, Interim Principal at Raisbeck Aviation High School.

[4:26] Jeff Black was appointed interim principal at Raisbeck Aviation High School for the

[4:29] '26, '27 school year. He has served as dean of students at Raisbeck since 2024 and

[4:35] previously spent more than 10 years as an assistant principal and principal in

[4:38] alternative and traditional secondary schools in Texas. Mr.

[4:42] Black holds a bachelor's degree in science secondary education from Oklahoma City

[4:45] University, an MBA in human resources management from Louisiana State University,

[4:50] and a master's degree in educational leadership from Texas State University.

[4:54] Welcome, Jeff. Congratulations.

[4:58] And Aaron Coakley, Assistant Principal at McMicken Heights Elementary School.

[5:06] Coakley joined McMicken Heights Elementary School as assistant principal in 2026

[5:10] following a strategic hiring process.

[5:12] Most recently, he served as a school counselor and administrative intern in the

[5:16] Northshore School District. He also worked as an elementary teacher in South

[5:19] Carolina and Atlanta. Aaron holds a bachelor degree in elementary education from

[5:24] Clemson University, a master's degree in school counseling from Capella University,

[5:28] a master's degree in educational leadership and principal certification from the

[5:32] University of Washington, and a school counselor certification from Washington

[5:35] State University. Welcome, Aaron, good to have you here.

[5:42] All right, Sarah Morgan, Assistant Principal at Des Moines Elementary School.

[5:48] Sarah joined Des Moines Elementary School as assistant principal this year.

[5:51] She previously spent 11 years at McMicken Heights Elementary School, first as a

[5:56] special education teacher, and most recently as a student success specialist. Ms.

[6:00] Morgan holds a bachelor's degree in special education and a master's degree in

[6:04] educational leadership, both from Gonzaga University. Congratulations.

[6:12] All right, and Avery Smith, Assistant Principal at Parkside Elementary School.

[6:16] There's Avery. Welcome.

[6:21] Avery Smith joined Parkside Elementary as assistant principal in 2026 following a

[6:25] strategic hiring process. Most recently, she served as a research fellow at Te

[6:30] Herenga Waka-- Did I do pretty good? All right. Thank you.

[6:34] Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, where she also worked as a

[6:37] teacher fellow, project manager, and research assistant.

[6:40] Previously, Avery served as assistant principal at Kimball and Gateway Elementary

[6:44] Schools in Seattle and worked as a special education teacher.

[6:47] Avery holds a bachelor degree in women's studies and community studies from the

[6:50] University of California, Santa Cruz, a master's degree in educational leadership

[6:54] from the University of Washington, and a special education teaching certification

[6:58] from California State University, Monterey Bay, and a doctorate in education from

[7:03] Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Welcome to Highline.

[7:08] Good to see you.

[7:11] All right. Invite you all to come up to the stage.

[7:13] Please bring your family if you're able to bring them tonight, and we'll take a

[7:16] group photo.

[7:24] Thank

[8:14] you so much, Dr. Duran, for sharing our new administrators, but also

[8:20] administrators moving into new positions.

[8:23] I just wanted to share a little story here.

[8:26] Jodi Robertson had my kids at McMicken way back when, just a few years ago.

[8:32] But I just love to see the McMicken family here and just celebrate our kids.

[8:37] So thank you for all that you do in supporting our kids, and good luck tomorrow.

[8:44] With that, while we're not highlighting any particular recognitions tonight,

[8:48] besides the love here, I want to name and recognize the following for the month of

[8:53] September. We invite you to visit our Facebook page and explore these recognitions.

[8:58] Attendance Awareness Month, Hispanic Heritage Month. So with that, thank you. Dr.

[9:04] Duran, it is now your superintendent's updates.

[9:07] All right

[9:10] Thank you, President Vann. I just want to say welcome to the '26-'27 school year.

[9:14] I'm excited to welcome our students and families back on the first day of school

[9:18] tomorrow, September 3rd. I sent a welcome back message to staff today and

[9:22] emphasized the fundamental value of Highline.

[9:25] Every student, family, and staff member belongs here.

[9:29] As our recently renewed strategic plan goal states, Highline Public Schools is

[9:33] committed to ensuring our schools are places where people are welcomed, valued, and

[9:38] safe. Every person and role contributes to this goal and to ensuring our promise

[9:42] becomes a reality. We know every student by name, strength, and need, so they

[9:46] graduate prepared for the future they choose.

[9:48] We will continue to protect the rights and dignity of the students and families we

[9:52] serve and the colleagues we work with every day.

[9:55] Thank you to all our educators, staff, and school leaders for the work you did to

[9:58] prepare for our students' return. Thank you for choosing Highline every day.

[10:03] Thank you for choosing our students every day.

[10:05] I look forward to seeing you all at our Mountain Schools this year.

[10:09] And remember, #HighlineProud if you're taking pictures, especially tomorrow as we

[10:13] welcome our students back. I'd now like to welcome Jeb Binns, the President of the

[10:18] Highline Education Association, to the podium to share a few remarks. Welcome, Jeb.

[10:21] Good to see you.

[10:30] Microphone, and now it is. So let's start again.

[10:32] Good evening, and I apologize for not wearing red. It's been a day.

[10:37] And so we go through. So I want to welcome my new administrator friends.

[10:40] My name is Jeb Binns. My email address is... And please feel free to contact me.

[10:45] I've also already heard many wonderful things about your job that you're doing.

[10:50] So keep it up. Let's go. Also, my presence in buildings shouldn't be a scary thing.

[10:56] It should be a, "How can we work together to solve hard things?" Because we can do

[11:00] hard things, so please give me a shout. It'd be great.

[11:04] We brought you a TA.

[11:06] It's hard work, and we also have more work to do, and that's okay because this

[11:12] is learning.

[11:14] Members got together, ratified the agreement, and it's now up to you to make final

[11:18] decisions. We appreciate you and the work, and we're excited to get going this

[11:24] school year. I'm also excited to welcome the President of the National Education

[11:28] Association, Princess Moss, to the district tomorrow.

[11:32] She just took office on the 1st of September and is on a 30-day mission

[11:38] across the country. On day three, she comes to Highline, so it's pretty exciting to

[11:43] go through and do that. So she will be in the district tomorrow, so I look forward

[11:48] to seeing her and having us highlighted on the national stage.

[11:53] I also wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the equity symposium.

[11:59] And the session with Dr. Bettina Love really resonated with

[12:04] me, thinking about the connections.

[12:08] And she spoke a lot about how kids create neural connections as they take learning,

[12:13] and they tie it to their lives. And so I'm really looking forward to see how we're

[12:18] going to incorporate that really strong message of connecting learning to relevant

[12:24] culture, and then that's the thing that makes those connections.

[12:27] I'm looking forward to seeing us doing that work because it's important.

[12:32] And that's going to be the thing that lights up kids to go through there.

[12:35] And I want to thank the team for putting this together, and the heart team for

[12:39] doing just some great work. We're excited to get going tomorrow and excited to get

[12:43] out into classrooms, see kids, take some photos, and

[12:49] celebrate all the things that we do here every day.

[12:52] And then go to labor management meetings, which is pretty much my life.

[12:56] So, thank you very much. I look forward to getting going.

[13:00] Again, you got questions, hit me up. New principals, I will be in your buildings.

[13:04] See you.

[13:06] Thank you, Jeb, and I wanted to publicly thank you for your work to get that

[13:08] tentative agreement approved last night with your members.

[13:11] So really look forward to the work we're going to be doing together, not only this

[13:15] year, but into the future. That concludes my comments this evening. Thank you.

[13:19] Thank you so much, Dr. Ann, and thank you, Jeb.

[13:22] And we're going to move to our directors' reports.

[13:24] We're going to start off with Dr. Espinoza.

[13:28] Great, thank you. Hi, everyone. I'm also preparing for the first day of school.

[13:32] Tomorrow I will have a first grader, a third grader, and a sixth grader at Highline

[13:38] Public Schools. We're all very excited.

[13:43] And I look forward to having a fulfilling school year.

[13:46] I was also at the Equity Symposium, and one of the things that I took note of from

[13:53] the keynote speaker, Dr. Love, was, "An act of love is having high

[13:58] expectations of ourselves and our students and each other." And that really

[14:04] is meaningful to me, of course, as I'm sending three kids out into public education

[14:09] again. But

[14:11] I think that we do right by our community, our families, and our students, that we

[14:16] have high expectations of them, and we support them to reach their highest

[14:20] potential.

[14:23] Let's see. I was also at back-to-school events at Seahurst and Big Picture this

[14:29] week. Many families are excited, and it's a great

[14:34] unknown. We have a supply list, but we really don't know what's going to happen.

[14:38] That's exciting.

[14:42] Let's see. I also wanted to highlight some good work that has been happening with

[14:47] the Promise Scholars. So in the summer, Promise Scholars from Highline took

[14:53] part in a three-day college visit experience.

[14:56] They went to visit Wazzu in Central Washington and Eastern

[15:02] Washington. And this program supports self-identified male and non-binary

[15:08] students of color from Tai, Evergreen, Mount Rainier, and Highline High Schools.

[15:15] In the program, students are able to explore academic programs, and

[15:20] financial aid resources, and then also visit campus and make new connections.

[15:26] Thank you.

[15:29] Thank you so much, Dr. Espinoza. Director Halene.

[15:32] Thank you, President Vann. Hi, everyone. I hope everyone's having a wonderful week.

[15:36] Thank you to our new administrators that have moved into the roles that they are

[15:42] currently going to be starting tomorrow.

[15:45] Well, you probably already have been starting.

[15:48] But I want to give a shout-out to my wife, who has

[15:54] been setting up her classroom over the last week, going through the

[15:59] days, taking our three-year-old little daughter to try to help,

[16:06] quote, unquote. But we just call it teacher life. Or teacher kids, I guess.

[16:13] Last week, elementary educators from across Highline came together for a

[16:16] district-wide professional learning day.

[16:18] Educators focused on using student data to strengthen literacy instruction and

[16:23] support student needs. They also planned reading, writing lessons that build on

[16:28] students' culture, experiences, and strengths, which I think is very important when

[16:34] we're looking at equity and everything along

[16:40] those lines. The district-wide learning supports a consistent approach to literacy

[16:45] instruction across grades and schools.

[16:48] I was able to go to

[16:52] what's called the Liberatory Learning at the Pack, and

[16:59] you should look up what liberatory actually means.

[17:03] And I did a lot more research into it, and

[17:09] the keynote speaker was very wonderful to hear.

[17:14] And there was all the elementary school

[17:20] educators there, and it was sort of a work date with my wife,

[17:26] too. So it was sort of funny. But I wish everyone a good

[17:33] school year.

[17:37] Thank you so much, Director Halene. Director Tinnell.

[17:42] Good afternoon, folks, and happy first day of school eve. Good luck, everybody.

[17:47] Early appreciation to all our teachers and staff at the schools.

[17:52] So HealthPoint's reopening its school-based centers at Evergreen and Tai.

[17:56] We had the first HealthPoint in Tai 20 years ago, followed by Evergreen 15 years

[18:00] ago. These clinics serve our middle and high school students across Highline.

[18:04] They help reduce barriers for access to healthcare and provide services like

[18:08] behavioral health, immunizations, nutrition, physicals, and annual exams for

[18:12] sports, as well as teen services. And that is all that I have this evening.

[18:17] Thank you.

[18:19] Thank you so much, Director Tinnell. Director Alvarez.

[18:24] I also am so excited. I have my grandson, he's going to be a sophomore in Highline

[18:29] High School, and I have a first grader also at Midway.

[18:34] So it's

[18:36] so exciting. I was thinking back about when my kids

[18:40] were in high school. I'm so thankful my kids are all grown, and I get to send my

[18:45] grandkids home whenever I want to. So I have the best of both worlds.

[18:52] So it's just exciting. But back then, my kids didn't have new schools to go to, I

[18:58] remember. So now I'm excited to see all my kids went to Highline High School, and

[19:02] now my grandson gets to go to a new Highline High School.

[19:05] So, talking about that, the bond and levy information is available online.

[19:12] So in November, voters will consider a bond and technology levy.

[19:16] You can learn more about the local funding measures on the Highline website.

[19:20] On the website, you'll find details about what the levy and bond fund, how bond

[19:24] projects were determined, and overall cost information.

[19:28] And also there's answers there to frequently asked questions.

[19:31] So I'm excited to see. I know my kids attended Highline High School when it was

[19:37] old, and now my grandson gets to experience.

[19:40] And he just absolutely loves it, and I get to walk in there, and it looks, for him,

[19:44] like a college. He says that it's just a beautiful school.

[19:47] And so I hope that the rest of our kids get to experience that as well.

[19:52] And that's all that I have for today.

[19:54] Thank you so much.

[19:56] And it's my turn. I had the opportunity to speak at the Equity Symposium, and thank

[20:01] you for all of the participants that were there.

[20:05] Our student emcees from Chinook and Tyee, they were amazing.

[20:09] What a beautiful morning. I was in Dallas that day, so I was able to watch the

[20:14] whole thing. But just the feedback was amazing. So thank you so much for that.

[20:20] I don't have any kids in school anymore, so that feeling is gone,

[20:26] but I do have my daughter that's starting her first year as a teacher.

[20:31] So I am getting the feedback from her about her kids, and it's really exciting to

[20:36] sit and see it on the other side. As what I felt like when I was going

[20:42] to school, what it felt like to see my kids go to school and experience that they

[20:47] felt the belonging in school, that they felt seen and loved, and now seeing my

[20:52] daughter shown the extra love and care that I know that teachers and

[20:58] administrators from with Macon Made had a huge part in her growing up and wanting

[21:02] to become a teacher. So keep that going. Greatly appreciate it.

[21:08] Also, this summer, we highlighted graduating seniors preparing for the future that

[21:13] they choose. Valeria Barrios Rivera, a 2026 Highline School graduate,

[21:19] explored her passion for law and advocacy through Law and Justice program at PSSC.

[21:25] She also built confidence as a leader while fostering belonging and community among

[21:30] her peers. Let's play a short video about how Valeria experiences at Highline

[21:35] helped shape her goals for the future.

[21:45] My name is Valeria. I am a student at Highline High School, and I attend PSSC for

[21:49] the Law and Justice program. My experience at Highline has prepared me for the

[21:54] future because it has allowed me to have resources like being able to attend PSSC.

[21:59] I've always been interested in law since like middle school.

[22:02] Throughout this program, I've learned that things are not just black and white.

[22:05] There's a lot of gray area. But I think what I will take away from this is just

[22:08] fighting for justice, even if that may look like just allowing someone to have a

[22:13] fair trial and giving them a fair treatment, even if it's not necessarily always

[22:18] winning. As a first-generation student, it has been hard to navigate some things,

[22:22] but I also have really good college and career team at Highline.

[22:26] They're always just there, willing to help and answer all my questions I have.

[22:29] My plans after graduating is to attend Seattle U.

[22:32] I'm going to major in business and then hopefully go to law school afterwards.

[22:36] The impact that I want to have in the future on someone's life is just being a

[22:39] positive encounter that they have. I think it's nice to help people.

[22:42] I feel like sometimes we tend to forget about others and just are so self-centered,

[22:46] whether that be me helping them throughout a trial or just being like a positive

[22:50] impact, something that a person can be grateful for.

[23:00] Thank you so much for sharing that.

[23:01] And that concludes our directors' reports this evening.

[23:05] To all of our building administrators and staff, you are excused.

[23:11] You guys can get ready for school tomorrow, and thank you so much.

[23:15] Not all staff, but most staff.

[23:19] Thank you, all.

[23:20] Thank you for being here.

[23:21] Thank you, everyone.

[23:25] No, no, Adriana, you have to stay.

[23:27] Not all staff.

[23:42] We're going to move to our scheduled communication.

[23:45] This evening, we had one speaker that signed up and was unable to make it. Ms.

[23:50] Price will be submitting her communication to us via email.

[23:55] So with that, that concludes our scheduled communications.

[24:00] Consent agenda. Do we have any questions or comments in regards to our consent

[24:05] agenda?

[24:08] I do have one quick comment. I know there's a motion to approve a donation to

[24:13] Raisbeck Aviation High School. I just want to thank the late James Raisbeck for his

[24:19] annual donations. This donation is over $231,000 to graduating seniors

[24:25] for the post-secondary, so that is huge, and I just want to thank you.

[24:29] With that, can I please have a motion?

[24:32] I move the Highline School Board approve the consent agenda.

[24:35] May I have a second?

[24:39] I'll second that.

[24:40] All those in favor? Aye.

[24:45] Aye.

[24:46] Any opposed?

[24:48] Hearing and seeing none, thank you so much.

[24:54] Action item. This is 8.1, motion to approve Learning Assistance Program Readiness

[25:00] to Learn partnership. Any questions or comments?

[25:05] Yes, I had a question.

[25:12] How are schools selected, and then how are the programs for the schools selected?

[25:17] Yeah. So, we did an RFP process. We started out by sending a survey

[25:23] to all the schools and principals.

[25:27] And through that, we learned about the partnerships and how they were operating in

[25:32] the schools.

[25:33] Mm-hmm.

[25:34] Then I opened up a community

[25:38] partnership roundtable where I invited all the partners.

[25:42] And that's where I announced the RFP process. I also sent it out in an email.

[25:47] Once I did that, then I opened up the application. Partners applied.

[25:53] I took all the applications, compiled it into a catalog.

[25:57] Mm-hmm.

[25:57] And then I sent it out to all the principals and office managers, and they

[26:02] basically ranked partners

[26:06] from one to four based on who they wanted in their schools.

[26:09] I took that information, and then I had members from the district,

[26:15] so an ILED, some of the

[26:20] family community engagement specialists, myself, Lolita, and Keisa, and we

[26:25] sat together, and we basically went through and we awarded

[26:33] each school partners based on those criteria.

[26:37] Right. Thank you for that. So the schools rank the organizations that they see-

[26:41] Yeah

[26:41] ... most fit their school population.

[26:43] Yeah. And every school got a funded partner.

[26:47] And we also look at the need, and based on that, some schools might get

[26:51] three partners, some schools might get one funded partner.

[26:55] But we also have those who are our standard partners.

[26:58] We also have those in schools as well.

[27:00] Okay.

[27:00] Yeah.

[27:01] Thank you.

[27:03] Thank you so much. Any other follow-up questions?

[27:08] Hearing and seeing none, can I please have a motion?

[27:14] I move that the Highline School Board approve the Learning Assistance Program

[27:17] Readiness to Learn partnerships in the amount of 250,000 for community

[27:21] partnerships.

[27:25] I second that.

[27:26] Thank you. Roll call, please.

[27:28] Director Situm?

[27:30] Yeah.

[27:31] Director Espinoza?

[27:32] Yes.

[27:32] Director Alvarez?

[27:33] Yay.

[27:34] Director Holien?

[27:35] Yay.

[27:35] President Vann? Yeah. This motion passes five to none. Thank you.

[27:40] 8.2: Motion to approve revisions to salary schedules between the Highline School

[27:44] District and Teamsters 1, Teamsters 2, Teamsters 3, and Teamsters 4 staff.

[27:50] Any comments or questions on this?

[27:57] Hearing and seeing none, can I please have a motion?

[27:59] Oh, I did.

[28:00] Oh, go right ahead.

[28:01] Yeah, I had it. Good to see you. No? Okay.

[28:06] So just to clarify, so this is

[28:09] the contract that was approved?

[28:13] No, this is not part of the TA approval from last night.

[28:17] So this is just salary changes?

[28:20] Yeah.

[28:23] Thank you for that clarification.

[28:26] Thank you very much. Any other follow-up questions or comments?

[28:30] Can I please have a motion?

[28:33] I move the Highline School Board approve the proposed salary schedule changes for

[28:37] representative Teamsters 1, Teamsters 2, Teamsters 3, and Teamsters 4

[28:43] staff for the 2026-27 academic year.

[28:47] May I have a second?

[28:50] I second.

[28:54] Roll call.

[28:57] Director Alvarez?

[28:59] I will be abstaining. I have a daughter who's in Teamsters.

[29:03] Director Holien?

[29:05] Yay.

[29:06] Director Tidholm?

[29:07] Yay.

[29:08] Director Espinoza?

[29:10] Yes.

[29:10] President Vann? Yeah. This motion passes four, zero, and one.

[29:16] Thank you very much. 8.3: Motion to approve revisions to salary schedules between

[29:21] the Highline School District and the professional, technical, non-represented

[29:26] staff. Any questions or comments on this?

[29:35] Hearing and seeing none, can I please have a motion?

[29:40] I move the Highline School Board approve the proposed salary schedule changes for

[29:43] the non-represented professional/technical staff for the 2026-27 academic

[29:49] year.

[29:50] May I have a second?

[29:52] I'll second that.

[29:53] Roll call, please.

[29:55] Director Espinoza?

[29:57] Yes.

[29:57] Director Tidholm?

[29:59] Yay.

[30:00] Director Holien?

[30:01] Yay.

[30:01] Director Alvarez?

[30:02] Yay.

[30:03] President Vann? Same.

[30:06] This motion passes four, zero, one. Thank you very much.

[30:10] 8.4: Motion to approve revisions to salary schedules between the Highline School

[30:15] District and central office administrators and building administrators.

[30:20] Any questions or comments?

[30:28] Hear or see any, can I please have a motion?

[30:35] I move the Highline School Board approve the proposed salary schedule changes for

[30:38] non-represented central office administrators and represented

[30:44] building administrators for the 2026-27 academic year. May I have a second, please?

[30:51] I'll second that.

[30:53] Roll call, please. Director Holien?

[30:55] Yay.

[30:56] Director Alvarez?

[30:58] Yay.

[30:59] Director Espinoza?

[31:00] Yes.

[31:00] Director Tidholm?

[31:02] Yay.

[31:02] President Vann? Yeah. This motion passes five to none. Thank you very much.

[31:07] And that concludes our action items this evening.

[31:12] We have one intro and action this evening.

[31:15] 9.1, and this is Motion to approve Dr.

[31:19] Duran's 2026-27 Superintendent Evaluation Focus Themes.

[31:26] Per board policy and procedure number 1630-1630P, the

[31:31] superintendent shall be evaluated using Washington Standards-Based Superintendents

[31:35] Framework. Each year, the board and superintendent shall mutually agree on the

[31:40] focus themes for the year from within the framework.

[31:44] This motion would approve four evaluation focus themes from the Washington

[31:48] Standards-Based Superintendents Framework for the '26-27 superintendents

[31:53] evaluation. The four focus themes are tied to the district's priorities and built

[31:58] upon the '25-26 superintendents evaluations.

[32:02] Any questions or comments that you guys would like to share?

[32:08] I do have a handful of comments regarding this.

[32:12] I think as a school board director and future Highline parent, I want to be clear

[32:18] that student success and academic achievement is extremely important to me,

[32:24] to our community, to our families, to our children.

[32:29] And in July, the school board adopted the 2026 through

[32:34] 2031 strategic plan goals. The plan includes system-level indicators that measure

[32:40] student academic growth, achievement including reading and math growth, grade level

[32:46] proficiency in English,

[32:49] language arts, math, meetings-- Sorry I wrote this

[32:55] earlier, and I should have tried to remember it actually, but it's all right.

[33:00] Math and science, ninth grade course completion, and a high school graduation.

[33:05] Those are indicators of how we will measure our progress in Highline and hold

[33:10] ourselves accountable for student outcomes.

[33:13] I expect that progress to be tracked and reported so we can see where students are

[33:19] succeeding and where improvement is needed.

[33:23] I do not view the four superintendent evaluation themes before us tonight as a full

[33:28] extent of what I expect from

[33:33] Dr. Duran. These are areas of particular focus for the

[33:38] '26-27 evaluation and build upon last year's

[33:44] evaluation. The focus themes themselves also include student learning.

[33:48] One specifically calls for Superintendent Duran to ensure Highline policies,

[33:53] practices, and resources support learning for each student.

[33:58] The other focus areas address Highline's capacity to improve

[34:03] effective management of operations and providing the board with timely information.

[34:09] I do truly support Dr. Duran and these focus themes for his evaluation this year.

[34:15] I also believe that we can strongly support our superintendent while having high

[34:20] expectations. They go hand-in-hand.

[34:24] So I would

[34:26] move.

[34:29] May I move-

[34:31] Let's see if there's any other directors that-

[34:33] Yeah

[34:34] ... would like to comment first, and then I'll give you the honor to.

[34:38] Directors, any other comments or questions?

[34:43] Just questions in general or questions to the superintendent or

[34:47] any which way? Okay.

[34:50] So I know that we've had conversations about student outcomes, but we've had

[34:56] questions around student outcomes and how these proposed four themes

[35:01] capture that, and I know Director Holien just spoke to that, but if you could just

[35:07] share a bit about how you see this.

[35:11] Yeah, definitely. I would say that it would tie right back to our strategic plan

[35:13] goals and the indicators that we have created and that we're going to be using.

[35:18] We're using multiple measures to determine the outcomes that we're looking for,

[35:21] which include both academic outcomes as well as on the well-being of our students

[35:26] and how our system is doing overall to improve as a whole because we know that

[35:31] student outcomes are important. We know we have student outcomes and we have strong

[35:34] systems that are in place in order to support our students.

[35:36] So the indicators that we have right now are set up in a way where we have some

[35:40] that are coming from our previous strategic plan that we call now.

[35:44] We have some that we're working with in order to fully develop, and then we have

[35:47] some ones that are new that will take a little bit more time to develop.

[35:51] But I believe these indicators are going to help us collectively as a system to

[35:55] improve the overall outcomes and supports we have for our students.

[35:59] Thank you so

[36:01] much.

[36:01] Directors, any other-- I do have something but...

[36:07] No? Director Alvarez?

[36:08] No, I just wanted to say thank you for

[36:12] Director Holien for

[36:15] mentioning. A lot of times, if we were to spend here the whole time trying to

[36:19] explain all the things that we cover when we're behind closed doors around what

[36:23] we're measuring and what we're not, we did

[36:28] pick some of the four. So we chose to pick these four standards.

[36:33] Doesn't mean that this is the only thing he's being held accountable, right?

[36:37] And thank you for Dr. Espinoza for

[36:43] just

[36:44] These are all things that we have discussed.

[36:48] And it's hard to bring all this on the dais around every single little thing that

[36:53] we've discussed about what's really being

[36:59] measured, what's really being held accountable, because ultimately, this is

[37:03] something that if we are

[37:08] trusting, but also we are at verifying as we move along,

[37:14] and where do we course-correct? But where are we supporting as we move along as

[37:20] well? And so, I appreciate the fact that we can question, but yet we can move

[37:26] along. We're not questioning because we don't trust.

[37:28] We're questioning just to see also where can we come into play and to support.

[37:32] And I'm appreciative in, there's ways that we can work together because

[37:38] ultimately

[37:40] we want our students to have high expectations for them as well, for our

[37:46] teachers as well, for our staff. But as we all work together to make sure that's

[37:50] happening, and it's not in a way that we are undermining anyone

[37:56] because, we all want what's in the best interest for our

[38:01] district, for our students, for our staff, and for our superintendent as well.

[38:07] And I think that there's ways of doing these things and doing it together.

[38:11] So appreciate

[38:13] our superintendent. I appreciate the rest of the board directors who are really

[38:18] looking for the best interest. How do we move the needle in this?

[38:22] How do we get our students to graduate ready for the future they are choosing?

[38:28] Thank you so much for that, and I'll conclude it.

[38:32] Dr. Grant, your evaluations and your metrics of these standards, the

[38:38] buck stops with you, but it cascades down, right, to cabinet, to LEDs, to building

[38:43] leaders, to our teachers. So your goals ought to be their goals, and the success is

[38:49] going to be everybody, but the failures ultimately lies with you, but also with us

[38:54] as a board director. So,

[38:57] we encourage you, we encourage our staff and our community to support and get

[39:03] meet those numbers. And that we're doing this together, and it's not just you,

[39:07] right? This is us as a collective team getting to those metrics and having our kids

[39:13] succeed. So with that, Director Holene, I'm going to give you the honors here.

[39:19] It's a long one. I move the Highline School Board approve the following 26-27

[39:25] superintendent evaluation focus themes for the Washington standards-based

[39:29] superintendent framework. Standard one, theme E, mission, vision, and core values.

[39:35] Develops explicit strategies and processes to steady improve the district's

[39:39] capacity to improve. Standard three, theme C, curriculum, instruction, and

[39:45] assessment. Ensures that the district policies, practices, and resources support

[39:49] learning for each student. Standard seven, theme D, operations and

[39:55] management. Effectively manages key elements of district operations.

[40:01] And standard eight, theme C, collaboration with the board.

[40:06] Provides the board with timely information. May I have a second?

[40:11] I'll second that.

[40:13] Roll call, please.

[40:14] Director Tidholm?

[40:16] Yay.

[40:17] Director Holene?

[40:18] Yay.

[40:19] Director Espinoza?

[40:20] Yes.

[40:20] Director Alvarez?

[40:21] Yay.

[40:22] And President Bam.

[40:25] Yay.

[40:26] This motion passes five to none.

[40:28] Thank you so much. And that concludes our intro and action items.

[40:32] We have a few intros this evening. 10.1, this is motion to approve Synergy Student

[40:38] Information Systems renewal amendment.

[40:42] Any questions or comments?

[40:48] Hearing and seeing none. We'll move to 10.2, motion to approve Pacific Middle

[40:52] School replacement project, approval of contractor Skanska USA change order number

[40:58] seven, purchase order number CP240033.

[41:04] This item was originally on the August 19th board meeting agenda.

[41:08] It was pulled prior to introduction.

[41:10] So after some due diligence, this item is coming for introduction tonight. Dr.

[41:16] Grant, I believe you had some additional comments that you wanted to share on this

[41:20] item.

[41:20] Yes, I do. And, yes, I think in the due diligence, we've done some research on

[41:24] this, and in the spirit of the conversation we just had around my evaluation, there

[41:28] are times when questions come in, and we need to do some additional research and

[41:32] work. And so I humbly share this with you now.

[41:35] So the question was about how are we able to use bond dollars for the Pacific

[41:40] Middle School project to complete the, or to redo the tennis courts at Mount

[41:44] Rainier. So we've done some research on that.

[41:46] I want to share that with the board and public, so everyone's really clear on how

[41:51] and why we're able to do this. For the Pacific Middle School bond replacement

[41:54] project, Highline submitted this project proposal to the State of Washington

[41:57] Capital Projects Advisory Review Board's Project Review Committee.

[42:01] The committee approved the project, including a variety of sports fields located

[42:05] between Midway Elementary and Mount Rainier, and to the west of Pacific Middle

[42:10] School. This approved scope encompasses the tennis courts.

[42:14] Incorporating the tennis courts replacement in the existing Pacific construction

[42:18] contract is consistent within the scope approved by the state's Project Review

[42:22] Committee. It allows us to use the contractor, project management team, and

[42:27] competitively selected subcontractors already working on the site, reducing

[42:33] additional mobilization and administrative cost.

[42:37] District staff authorized up to $250,000 in work on the tennis courts through a

[42:42] construction change directive. That allowed demolition and initial work to begin in

[42:47] July with the goal of completing the courts before the school year.

[42:52] A misstep occurred when work continued beyond the $250,000

[42:57] authorization without receiving the additional approvals required from the chief

[43:01] financial officer and the superintendent to proceed, as outlined in board procedure

[43:06] 9240. Once district leadership became aware that work had proceeded beyond the

[43:11] authorized amount, Chief Financial Officer Jackie Bryan stepped in and stopped the

[43:16] work. It remains stopped pending board action tonight.

[43:19] Or not tonight, but the next board meeting.

[43:22] I acknowledge that this should not have occurred.

[43:25] It is important that our team understands how the breakdown happened and how we

[43:28] will take the appropriate steps to address it.

[43:31] We're also looking into this matter and reviewing our processes and operational

[43:35] practices to identify improvements and ensure an error like this does not happen

[43:39] again. Approval will allow construction activities to proceed while final field

[43:44] coordination and pricing are complete, with the goal of making the courts available

[43:48] for student and community use as soon as practical.

[43:55] Thank you.

[43:55] Thank you, Dr. Grant for clarification on that.

[44:00] We have a few weeks to discuss that.

[44:03] So-

[44:03] President Bam.

[44:04] Yes.

[44:05] I just have a comment. I

[44:10] appreciate the clarification and being transparent

[44:15] about a mistake. It happens, about situations like this.

[44:21] So I just want to say thank you, Dr. Grant, for coming out and

[44:27] admitting that things happen. It's all right, but we can learn from it.

[44:33] We grow. So thank you.

[44:36] Thank you, Director Holene.

[44:39] Directors, any other comments or questions?

[44:43] Hearing and seeing none. Well, that concludes our intro items this evening.

[44:48] Would any director like to make a motion to move an agenda item to consent at the

[44:52] next meeting?

[44:58] Hearing and seeing none. Okay. With that, do I have a motion to adjourn the

[45:03] meeting?

[45:06] I make a motion we adjourn the meeting.

[45:09] Can I please have a second?

[45:11] I will second that.

[45:12] All those in favor?

[45:14] Aye.

[45:15] Aye.

[45:15] Yes.

[45:17] Any opposed?

[45:19] No.

[45:19] Hearing and seeing none. Thank you, everybody.

[45:21] Have a great first day of school tomorrow.

[45:24] Good evening, folks.

School Board Regular Meeting - September 2, 2026

Transcript