School Board Meeting Recap: December 12, 2024

The Issaquah School Board held a regular meeting on Thursday, December 12, at the Issaquah School District Administration Building. The meeting was open to the public, and was broadcast live on the district’s YouTube channel, where a recording of the meeting is available.

Today we’re sharing a summary of a few of the topics the board and district staff discussed and actions the board took at the meeting. It is not an official record or meeting minutes. To review official minutes from all board meetings, please visit our board meeting archive webpage. Or, for other board information such as upcoming meeting dates, times and agendas, and more, visit our School Board page.

 

Annual Board Reorganization

Each year, the School Board elects a president from within its members. The members of the School Board voted unanimously to select Marnie Maraldo as the new School Board president.

Additionally, the board selected A.J. Taylor as the legislative representative; Matt Coyne as the second liaison to the Student Representatives to the School Board; Marnie Maraldo as the Federal Relations Network Representative; Matt Coyne also as the representative to the FACT (Financial Analyst Core Team) group; and also reaffirmed that Maraldo and Dr. Harlan Gallinger, as the past president, will serve as representatives to leadership meetings with city officials.

To watch the annual reorganization of the board, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

Annual Conference for WSSDA (Washington State School Directors Association)

Maraldo and Gallinger attended the annual conference; other directors and Student Representatives to the School Board had been scheduled to attend but were unable to do so because of the windstorm.

Gallinger and Maraldo shared about sessions they appreciated content from, including about bond and levy measures; and about Artificial Intelligence in education and preparing students for the workforce.

For the review of the annual WSSDA conference, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

Report About Works in Progress

Superintendent Heather Tow-Yick shared highlights from around the district including:

• The district shared its plan to make up the three days of closure due to the windstorm. Details are available on our website. If we have additional closures due to inclement weather, further adjustments are possible. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is not yet accepting applications for waivers; they have advised districts to wait to apply and to plan to make up the days in the meantime.
• The FOCUS newsletter was delivered to residents throughout the district last week. It shares news about district programs and initiatives.
• Tow-Yick offered an update about the IB and AP classes at Skyline High School.
• In the new year, the district will look cross-functionally at enrollment; this work could lead to formal engagement with the community about enrollment.
• While the November bond was not approved by the required 60% of voters, the district had planned to launch a Bond Oversight Committee. Tow-Yick said that the district will move forward with this plan despite the outcome of the bond. The committee will help oversee the spending of bond and levy funds and will include industry experts and a variety of members. Meetings will be open to the public.

To watch the full report about Works in Progress, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

Debrief of Windstorm and Power Outages

Administrators shared an overview of how the windstorm impacted the district as a system and as a community. The storm took out many of the district’s critical systems, including power, the internet, phone systems and more. Tow-Yick and Chief of Finance and Operations Martin Turney thanked all of the team members who worked diligently during the seven-day emergency. Partnerships with the city, county, first responders and Puget Sound Energy were also vital to the operations during the storm and the recovery.

Tow-Yick emphasized that staff members were flexible and responsive throughout the emergency. She also thanked the members of the Equity, Belonging and Family Partnership Department, which partnered with the PTSA Council to provide warm food and no-cook options for families and community members.

Executive Director of Operations Jason Morse talked about the schools and facilities with the highest impact, including Holly Street Early Learning Center, which sustained significant damage from high winds and a tree that fell on the school. Multiple trees fell across the site. Repairs are in progress.

Impacts across the district were significant, including access to many sites, damage to fencing, The district’s emergency radio system was a vital method of communication, and likely was able to function thanks to updates that the Safety and Security team had made in recent years.

The district is still assessing the full cost of the damages and the repairs.

For the complete report about the windstorm, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

Bond Next Steps Discussion

[Editor’s note: We will share a full update with the community in a special bulletin about the bond this week.]

Chief of Finance and Operations Martin Turney summarized events since the board’s November 14 discussion about the November 5 School Modernization and Construction Bond, including a ThoughtExchange, two listening sessions and a reconvening of the Bond Advisory Committee to hear feedback. On November 14, the board had asked staff members to bring back a potential bond measure package with a much smaller total cost, as well as at an amount that would not raise the total combined tax rate. They asked that the package include funds to cover the most immediate safety and security needs, and for high school capacity and program expansion (including the remainder of the funding required for the New High School).

Additionally, the board asked staff members to assess the feasibility of possible short-term and long-term contingency options including:

• Reconfiguring the structure of schools by either:
  • Repurposing a current middle school campus for ninth grade students from across the district; or, from Issaquah and Skyline high schools.
  • Changing the grades that are included in school levels:
    • Elementary would be kindergarten through sixth grade.
    • Middle school (junior high) would be seventh grade through ninth grade.
    • High school would be 10th through 12th grade.
• Redrawing school boundaries and feeder patterns to balance enrollment across every building and level.
• Double-shifting at high school: Have two different start times across the day, with some students starting earlier in the day and some starting later in the day, with overlap in the middle of the day.

Board members shared about what they have heard from community members, and what steps they would like to see the district take to repair trust, increase transparency, share facts about school funding and more. They also listed topics they would like to have very clear communication about, including the timeline of the New High School and what overcrowding looks like at the high school level.

Next, the board directors and Student Representatives to the School Board talked in detail about short-term and long-term contingency options in case a bond is not approved.

Lastly, the board discussed the timing of a potential bond package. They weighed factors such as the urgency of the overcrowding at the high school level and the fact that the permits for the New High School project will expire in April.

To watch the full presentation and discussion about the bond and next steps, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

Bond Resolution

The School Board directors discussed a proposed February 11 bond measure of $231.6 million to complete safety and security projects; and to create high school capacity and program expansion.

Board members talked about how they could demonstrate to the community that they are committed to completing the New High School, that they do not plan to repurpose funds to other purposes, and other key points that they would like shared with the community.

The board unanimously approved the resolution to place the measure on the ballot.

For the conversation about the bond resolution, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

“Pro” and “Con” Committee Appointments

King County Elections requires that jurisdictions appoint volunteers to the “Pro” and “Con” Committees. The committees will write the pro and con statements that appear in the Voter’s Pamphlet.

Board directors appointed members to serve on each committee; the members are volunteers who applied to serve in that capacity. Board member Sydne Mullings abstained.

To listen to the full discussion about the committee appointments, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

School Improvement Plans

Each 2024-25 School Improvement Plan (SIP) report had been previously presented to the members of the board during prior meetings on November 19 and December 3. The board members reported out about the SIP reports and meetings.

The board members unanimously approved the SIP reports.

To watch the full discussion and action about the SIPs, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

Advancing Inclusive Education

Dr. Sharine Carver, Executive Director of Special Services, shared an update with the board about the departmental mission, vision and values, along with the philosophical and legal foundation. Carver also talked about the continuum of Special Education services, best practices, ongoing work and system development.

Board members shared comments and reflections.

For the full report about inclusive education, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

Monitoring Report for Organizational Expectation (OE) 12, Regarding Learning Environment

Administrators presented a monitoring report for OE 12. Student Representatives to the School Board shared their advisory vote, then the board members voted to approve the report.

Board members voted to approve the monitoring report.

To watch the presentation and discussion, visit our YouTube Channel.

 

Budget Development Guidelines

Administrators presented about the 2025-26 Budget Guidelines, which the board approves on an annual basis and are used by staff in the creation of the upcoming school year’s budget. The board was also presented with the timeline for the development of the 2025-26 budget.

At a future meeting, the board is scheduled to formally adopt the budget guidelines.

For the full presentation and discussion of the Budget Development Guidelines, visit our YouTube Channel.