HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-05-06 Special Minutes - City Council and Tukwila School Board Joint MeetingCity of Tukwila
• City Council
Joint School Board — City Council Meeting
Summary
May 6, 2015 — 5:30 p.m.; Tukwila School District Administration Building Board Room
PRESENT
City Council: Kate Kruller, Council President; Joe Duffie, Dennis Robertson, Allan Ekberg,
Verna Seal, Kathy Hougardy and De'Sean Quinn
From City: Mayor Jim Haggerton; David Cline, Derek Speck, Joyce Trantina, Evie Boykan,
Kirsten May, Tracy Gallaway, Darren Hawkins and Laurel Humphrey, Staff
School Board: Steve Mullet, Vice- President; Mary Fertakis, Alicia Waterton, Dave Larson,
Directors
From School District: Nancy Coogan, Superintendent; Maria Gonzales - Millsap, Martin Turney, Staff
Other: Vicky Fogarty, Hannelore Makhani, YMCA
The joint Tukwila School Board and City Council meeting consisted of discussions on the following
topics:
1. Before and After School Programs
2. District and City Summer Programs
3. Legislative Action — Support for Homeless
4. Municipal Public Wi -Fi
5. National League of Cities Youth Program
6. Early Learning Center Location
7. Future Joint Meeting Planning
8. Miscellaneous
The meeting came to order at 5:35 p.m. Council President Kruller and Board Vice President Mullet jointly
welcomed the group and thanked participants for their time.
Before and After School Programs
Elementary Reach Program
Reach is a new partnership between the School District, the City, and the YMCA to provide afterschool
academic and recreational programming to elementary students. Staff gave a presentation that discussed
successes, challenges, program framework, enrollment, attendance and goals. The demand for the
program is high and registration is at capacity.
YMCA /CSC
A partnership between the YMCA and Community Schools Collaboration has been serving students at
Showalter Middle School and Foster High. A representative provided information on registration, goals,
programming, partnerships, and improvements for next year.
District and City Summer Programs
Superintendent Coogan provided an overview of elementary, middle and high school summer programs.
Tracy Gallaway noted that the City offers several summer programs including Camp Tukwilly, Teen
Venture Camp, supervised drop in at Cascade View, and free sack lunches at Cascade View and the
Community Center.
Joint City Council- School Board Meeting Minutes May 6, 2015 - Pape 2
Legislative Action: Support for Homeless
Director Larson stated that House Bill 1682 is still alive in the legislative session and requested the City's
assistance in supporting it. The bill has two components, one that provides grants allowing qualifying
districts to hire staff support and another that provides for a grant program linking homeless students with
housing in their district. There is an ongoing effort to keep legislators informed about this problem in
Tukwila.
Public Wi -Fi
Director Larson noted that access to internet is increasingly important to students and equity in this area
is also crucial. Districts are increasingly providing electronic devices to students and the next priority is
connectivity. He noted that Kent is piloting wifi kiosks in low- income housing developments. 27% of
eligible families have signed up for a Comcast program called Internet Essentials, which provides
internet for 10 dollars per month depending on eligibility.
Early Learning Center Location
Director Larson provided an update on the District's efforts to obtain space for an early learning center.
Pre -K programming is increasingly viewed as critical to closing the student achievement gap. The district
is working on a bond measure to address space issues, and one idea if funding is acquired is to put an
early learning center on Cascade View Elementary property.
National League of Cities Youth Program
Councilmember Seal described her work on the National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education
and Families, noting that YEF provides an education track for high school students that allows them to
attend the annual NLC conferences. She has spoken with representatives from other cities and learned
that funding sources vary, including city budgets, district budgets, corporate sponsors and donations.
Councilmembers and Directors discussed this as an opportunity for Foster students. Mayor Haggerton
offered to do business outreach in his Business Brief e- newsletter. Director Fertakis noted that Tukwila
Children's Foundation could serve as the vehicle for donations to this effort.
City of Opportunity Scholarship Program
Council President Kruller shared that the City of Opportunity Scholarship only received three applications
and asked the District for assistance in promoting the opportunity in future years. City staff did work with
District staff last year and will increase those efforts going forward.
Future Joint Meeting Planning
Directors and Councilmembers briefly discussed the next meeting. Late August was tentatively
identified as an appropriate timeframe.
Miscellaneous
Councilmember Robertson brought up parking issues around schools and would like to see City and
District staff meet regularly to discuss problems and solutions.
Director Larson mentioned a desire to have the District boundary match the City boundary, noting that it
is a complicated process to change it.
Meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m.
Summary by LH