Seattle School District No. 1 special meeting, date not confirmed yet
3 h 17 min · 2 videos
Click any moment below to jump the video to that second. Video length 2 h 53 min.
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What happened
What happened at this meeting
Part 2 · 2 h 53 min
Seattle School Board holds first study session on weighted staffing standards 4:34
- The board held its first informational study session, a presentation by district staff on the weighted staffing standards model used to staff schools. 4:34
- A district staff member said the model allocates about $650 million for next year, and about 84% of it is directed by a CBA or another state requirement. 26:23
- Board members also discussed a superintendent evaluation tool, a board engagement proposal and the board's committee structure. 1:48:16
- Gina Topp said the board would vote on the superintendent evaluation tool at its meeting next week. 2:00:41
Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →
Item by item (8)
- Call to order and overview 3:08
- Weighted staffing standards presentation 5:29
- A district staff member said the model is based on the number of students in each school and on student needs, including special education, multilingual students and poverty levels. 11:32
- The staff member said about 84% of the roughly $650 million in the model is tied to a CBA or state requirement and 16% is discretionary. 26:23
- A staff member outlined a preliminary plan focused on transparency in year 1 and work toward a per-pupil model, starting with elementary schools, in years 2 and 3. 1:00:51
- Board questions on staffing adjustments and special education 1:03:37
- One board member said the state requirement is October but the district needs to shift so staffing changes do not happen in October. 1:05:52
- Vivian Song asked how the AAFTE adjustment for special education students at the secondary level works and why the district uses it. 1:08:22
- Kathleen Smith asked whether a student receiving more special education services could affect a school's staff allocations, and a staff member said the concept was accurate. 1:18:10
- Board questions on timeline and funding model 1:19:50
- Gina Topp asked about the board checking in on progress on the preliminary plan in about a year. 1:20:08
- Evan Briggs asked whether board policy or the CBA would need to change for the district to move to a different funding model. 1:24:49
- Joe Mizrahi asked whether moving to a per-pupil model would mean larger class sizes, and a staff member said the CBA guidelines for kindergarten through 12th grade were not part of any conversation about change. 1:26:34
- Superintendent evaluation tool 1:47:54
- Jen LaVallee said the framework draws on the WSDA standards-based framework with 8 standards and was expanded to 3 or 4 accomplishments under each standard. 1:48:43
- Jen LaVallee said each item would be rated distinguished, proficient, basic or unsatisfactory. 1:49:44
- Gina Topp said the board would vote on the tool at its meeting next week. 2:00:41
- Board engagement proposal 2:00:41
- Jen LaVallee said the proposal calls for board engagement in February and May, with sessions in the north and south ends, for a total of 4 sessions. 2:01:30
- Joe Mizrahi asked whether the group had discussed adding or replacing a session with a virtual one. 2:05:34
- The superintendent said the plan might be a burden on staff and asked the board to be thoughtful about what it would ask of staff. 2:15:48
- Committee structure and production calendar 2:20:41
- Gina Topp said the discussion was to confirm the current committee structure meets the board's needs, and the superintendent said the intent is for staff BARs to go through a committee. 2:20:41
- One board member said that if every BAR goes through a committee, that is all the committees will do. 2:30:25
- One board member said they would rather have more items come to committees and let each committee decide whether to batch them for the consent agenda. 2:40:57
- Adjournment 2:52:03
Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.
Who spoke
Who spoke
Video: posted by the district as “All City Band Seattle Schools Board Special Meeting Aug. 19, 2026 Part 1”