BOARD REVIEW
August 2022
Aug. 8 Regular Meeting
During its Aug. 8 board meeting, the Clover Park School District (CPSD) Board of Directors heard a report from Superintendent Ron Banner.

Superintendent's Report
In his report, Banner introduced the new assistant superintendent for secondary schools, Dr. Gloria Henderson, and discussed student achievement and community engagement.

Student Achievement
  • Summer school sessions concluded on Aug. 5.
  • Clover Park High School (CPHS) hosted its Leaders of Change presentation on Aug. 4. Leaders of Change is a partnership between CPHS staff and Communities in Schools of Lakewood.
  • Students took part in a summer of building community, analyzing needs for change and planning for the implementation of strategies to support the climate at CPHS.
  • Transition activities for middle and high school students began the week of Aug. 8.

Community Engagement
  • Banner attended city of Lakewood's SummerFEST, the National Night Out event at American Lake Park and the Lakewood Multicultural Coalition board meeting.
  • Banner noted that three events were being held on Aug. 13: Caring for Kids Ready to Learn Fair, JBLM Beach Bash and the city of Lakewood's Jazz Festival.
As part of the Individual Action Agenda, the Board of Directors:
  • Authorized superintendent to enter into consultant agreement with Helping Hands to provide special education services for 2022-23 school year.
  • Authorized superintendent to enter into consultant agreement with Pioneer Healthcare to provide special education services for 2022-23 school year.
  • Accepted grant from Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to support the district and Clover Park High School's efforts to change and replace its mascot.
  • Approved project and budget increase for the Lochburn Middle School restroom improvement project.
  • Approved contract award to Thompson Electrical Contractors for Clover Park High School high voltage service revision and feeder repair.
Aug. 22 Regular Meeting/Workshop
The school board held a regular meeting/workshop on Aug. 22. It heard a report on redistricting and discussed school board reports during the 2022-23 school year.

Director Redistricting
Executive Director for Capital Projects and Risk Management John Boatman provided a report on redistricting options for school director districts and timelines for adoption. Due to 2020 census data and the district's recent transfer of territory from Bethel School District, CPSD must update its director districts to comply with state law (outlined in RCW 28A.343.040 and RCW 29A.76.010).

The report included a presentation by Parker Howell from the law firm Porter Foster Rorick LLP. He discussed legal requirements, criteria for determining districts and a timeline for adopting updated director districts. The initial timeline includes public comment in September and sets the Oct. 10 board meeting as the date to adopt the final plan.

Chris Melendez from Davis Demographics presented on district demographics, current district populations and three options on redistricting for the board to consider.

School Board Reports
The school board reviewed and provided input on the presentation template used for monthly school board reports provided by district schools. The board also reviewed the schedule for board meetings during the 2022-23 school year and discussed increasing the number of school board reports made each year.
The next regular meeting/workshop of the school board will be Monday, Sept. 26, at 5:30 p.m.
Aug. 29 Special Meeting
The school board held a special meeting on Aug. 29 to discuss director redistricting due to 2020 census data and the district's recent transfer of territory from Bethel School District. At its previous meeting, the district was presented three options from outside organization Davis Demographics to consider for redistricting.

State law and district policy and procedure require the redistricting plan to result in the population of each internal director district being as nearly equal as possible, among other criteria. Based on updated federal census data, CPSD has a total population of 90,811, which means that each director district would contain about 18,162 people if all director districts had an equal population. Currently, Director District 5 has a total population that is significantly higher than that of the other four director districts (27.1% more than the target population).

At the Aug. 29 meeting, the board approved a draft plan for redistricting. At its next meeting, the board will consider option three, which would reduce the total population variance between director districts from 35.2% to 7.8%. The board directed the superintendent to take all steps necessary to satisfy the law for providing a full and reasonable notice of the draft redistricting plan, which includes publishing the plan and organizing a meeting for the purposes of public comment. Information on option three is available on the district website.

The school board will vote on the final redistricting plan at its Oct. 10 meeting.