Aug. 14 Regular Meeting
During its Aug. 14 board meeting, the CPSD Board of Directors heard a report from Superintendent Ron Banner.
Superintendent’s Report
In his report, Banner discussed a recent fire that occurred at Spring Estates in Lakewood on Aug. 4.
District Support for Fire Victims
- Twenty-five CPSD students and 12 families reside at the Spring Estates. Two families’ homes were deemed by the fire department as having been destroyed in the fire.
- One of the families whose home was destroyed requested clothes for their one-month-old baby, and the district worked with Caring for Kids to provide clothes and diapers.
- The other family requested school supplies, and Tillicum Principal Jeff Miller worked with Caring for Kids to provide a backpack with supplies to the family.
- Remaining families were contacted by administrators from Tillicum Elementary School, Thomas Middle School and Clover Park High School.
- All schools will provide wrap-around services to their respective students at the beginning of the school year and will monitor them throughout the year.
As part of the Individual Action Agenda, the Board of Directors:
- Approved and entered into representation arrangement for participation in mass-action lawsuit against Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat concerning social media effects on student mental health.
- Approved project for emergency electrical repair of Harry E. Lang Stadium to correct an issue related to the stadium’s electrical feeders. The issue was discovered during an adjacent electrical project at Clover Park High School and could have led to power failure at the stadium if not properly addressed.
- Approved lowest responsive contract award for Dower Elementary School temporary playground improvement project to support the inclusion of the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program at the school. A permanent solution is pending development for summer 2024.
The next regular meeting of the school board will be Monday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m.
Aug. 28 Regular Meeting/Workshop
The school board held a regular meeting/workshop on Aug. 28. During the workshop, board members heard updates on the district’s academic improvement committee, levy information sharing, the community eligibility provision and summer capital projects.
Academic Improvement Committee
Deputy Superintendent Brian Laubach provided an overview of the 2023-28 District Strategic Plan. He discussed how the strategic plan connects to school School Annual Action Plans (SAAPs), which are presently being finalized. The plans will be reviewed by council level administrators in October and distributed to the board in early November.
The District Strategic Plan is focused on three goals:
- Goal 1: Prepare all students for college and career readiness by increasing academic achievement and closing the gaps in achievement and college readiness.
- Goal 2: Increase engagement and communication with families to ensure equitable inclusion of all subgroups.
- Goal 3: Create a culture of supportive learning environments for students and staff.
The district will continue to focus on professional learning communities, multi-tiered systems of support, equitable access for all students, inclusionary practices and social emotional learning into the upcoming year.
It will monitor checkpoints along the continuum of a student’s progress through the district schools looking at early literacy scores, reading at grade level, algebra readiness, ninth grade on-track high school graduation rates, along with increased language proficiency, equity and access of students to programming and whether or not the environment is safe and inclusive.
The SAAPs will be reviewed by council level administrators in October and distributed to the board in early November.
Levy Information Sharing
Executive Director of Finance and Business Services Greg Hart and Executive Director of Marketing and Community Relations Leanna Albrecht provided an informational update on a potential 2024 Replacement Educational Programs and Operations Levy.
They shared current and estimated assessed values, collections, tax rate information and a communication plan. Based on the data, the district is recommending a levy with an estimated tax rate of $2.36 per $1,000 of assessed property value (APV), which is slightly less than the projected 2024 levy rate of $2.43 per $1,000 of APV.
An informational update will be provided at the September workshop with plans to recommend a resolution for action at the Oct. 9 board meeting. Election day is Feb. 13, 2024.
Community Eligibility Provision
Laubach and Executive Director of Capital Projects and Risk Management John Boatman provided an update on the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The district announced that the state of Washington has approved CEP for all CPSD schools through June 30, 2027. This means that school sites will offer breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost.
Capital Projects Update
Boatman provided an update on summer capital projects at district sites. Projects were completed at Tillicum and Dower elementary schools, Lochburn Middle School and Clover Park High School (CPHS). The district is currently wrapping up projects at Lochburn, the Auxiliary Services Center and Lake Louise and Dower elementary schools.
The report also highlighted 2024 safety projects and future project considerations. The district is planning safety improvements at Lakes and Clover Park high schools and considering bleacher replacements at Locburn and CPHS along with improvement of the Lakes baseball field irrigation.
The next regular meeting/workshop of the school board will be Monday, Sept. 25, at 5:30 p.m.
