School Board Meeting Recap: Sept. 12, 2024

The Issaquah School Board held a regular meeting on Thursday, Sept. 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 action 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. 

 

Recap of the School Board Retreat on Aug. 26 and 27 

The School Board met for a retreat work study session on Aug. 26 and 27 at the district office. The meetings were open to the public. 

Board Director Marnie Maraldo said she appreciated getting the opportunity to talk with members of the King County Council. A major part of the discussion was the Best Starts for Kids funding. It seemed like a major “aha” moment for the county council members, Maraldo noted, that none of the organizations in the Issaquah School District receive any funding from that initiative. 

Board Vice President Sydne Mullings shared that there was a great range of topics and materials and that the directors were able to have deep and meaningful conversation. “I think it was a rich couple of days and a good use of our time,” Mullings said.  

She highlighted several conversations that she appreciated, including the career preparation and innovation conversation related to secondary programming and facilities that support those programs, including creative spaces to bring more opportunities and possibilities for our students. And, Mullings shared about an important conversation that the board members had about equity-based budgeting.  

Superintendent Heather Tow-Yick thanked all the staff members who helped prepare materials for the School Board retreat. 

For the full recap of the School Board retreat including all of the topics that the board members discussed during the sessions, visit our YouTube Channel. 

 

Recap of the Work Study Session About a Student Advisory Vote 

Before the start of the regular session, the board had a work study session to discuss the possibility of a student advisory vote to the board. Under the new proposal, when the board is preparing to vote on action and topics, the Student Representatives to the School Board would cast a collective vote that would be recorded and available for the full School Board to consider. 

Director Maraldo said she appreciated the conversation and perspectives of our Student Representatives to the School Board. “It was really good to hear from them why they want to do it and what impact they think they would like to have,” Maraldo said. 
 
Student Representative Aditi Marehalli said she also valued the conversation, including how the logistics of a student advisory might occur, and the opportunity to contribute a vote, while also voting anonymously. 

To hear the full recap of the work study session, visit our YouTube Channel. 

 

Works in Progress 

Superintendent Tow-Yick said it has been a very strong start to the school year, and thanked all of the staff members who have worked hard to help students and families with a smooth kickoff for the school year. 

She highlighted updates from throughout the district, including: 

• Safety and Security is a continued area of focus for us year-round, but also in light of incidents throughout the country. We met with representatives from the King County Sheriff’s Office for some collaborative work and conversation. 
• Smarter Balanced Assessment data was released by the state this week. Data indicates that our students are continuing to perform at a proficient or advanced level, and are among some of the highest rates in the state. 
• Results are similar to the prior two years overall. 
• Results continue to reflect a gap in learning for students in some demographic groups, which is also true across the state. 

For the full report of works in progress, visit our YouTube Channel. 

 

Bond Update 

Tow-Yick, along with Turney and Mullins, offered an update on the School Modernization and Construction Bond. Tow-Yick said the district is focused on sharing information and facts about the proposed bond measure 

Tow-Yick shared a preview of the overview video about the bond that will be included in Monday’s district bulletin.  

Other bond updates included: 

• District staff have been working to update common questions on the bond website. 

• Informational display boards have been up in schools for curriculum nights and at other school events, along with a fact sheet for community members. 

• Teams have visited staff groups at 15 school sites and departmental meetings to share facts about the bond. 

For the full update about the bond, visit our YouTube Channel. 

 

Monitoring Report for Operational Expectation 5, Internal Financial Administration 

Superintendent Tow-Yick opened the conversation, noting that this is a continuation from the prior board meeting. Turney shared that his team updated several items in the monitoring report. 

The board unanimously approved the monitoring report. 

To listen to the explanation and approval of the monitoring report, visit our YouTube Channel. 

 

Monitoring Report for Operational Expectation 8, Communication and Support 

Tow-Yick introduced the report, and noted that we want to make sure that our regulations and policies are allowing us to do the things that we want to accomplish for our students across the district, she said. 

Mullings said she appreciated the conversation about communication, and that in each section she noted and appreciated a focus on continuous improvement. 

Maraldo shared that she views this report as a measure of the relationship between the board members and the superintendent, individually and collectively as a team. “What this shows me is that we have a good relationship with our superintendent, which is extremely important to the health of the organization as a whole,” she said. 

The board unanimously approved the monitoring report. 

For the full discussion about the report, visit our YouTube Channel. 

 

Board Policy Updates, First Read 

The board is in the process of updating policies as part of its work transitioning from policy governance to coherent governance 

Board members shared about the proposed changes, which can be reviewed on our website. 

The board listened to public comments, and discussed proposed changes. 

Gallinger said he wanted to start the board discussion with stating firmly that there is no desire on the board to use this adjustment to get rid of the IB program at Skyline; rather the change is about expanding choice for students. 

The board talked about a number of the other proposed changes, in a robust and lengthy discussion. 

Because this topic was scheduled for a first read, the board was not scheduled to take action. 

“We’re sharing this out with the community and (would like input),” Director Matt Coyne said. 

To watch the full discussion about the board policy updates, visit our YouTube Channel.