Parents Want More Transparency; Highline Proposes Less Board Oversight

Calls for greater transparency and accountability have become a recurring theme in Highline Public Schools this year.

An increasing number of parents have raised concerns about district oversight, leadership decisions, and public accountability.

Some parents and community members have become increasingly vocal, speaking at board meetings, posting on social media, and launching a whistleblower hotline (protecthighlineeducators@protonmail.com) intended to support employees and families with concerns about district operations.

At the same time, the Highline School Board is considering two policy changes that would reduce some existing board reporting requirements and increase the dollar thresholds requiring board approval. In both cases, responsibilities currently assigned to elected board members would shift toward administrative processes and oversight.

Student Learning, Improvement, and Accountability

One proposal (policy 2000) would replace three policies governing student learning, improvement, and accountability.

Current policy requires the board to adopt graduation, reading, and math improvement goals and publicly report progress toward those goals. The proposed policy removes those requirements and instead relies on school action plans, state accountability measures, strategic plan metrics, and superintendent-developed procedures.

The new policy opens, "Highline Public Schools is committed to erasing historical inequities that continue to have negative impacts today, as outlined in Policy 0010 'Equity, Race & Identity'."

Donations, Grants, and Contracts

A second proposal (policy 6101) would increase the amount of spending that can occur without board approval.

Currently, contracts exceeding $250,000 require board approval. Under the proposal, that threshold would increase to $500,000 for general fund contracts and $1,000,000 for many capital contracts.

During the June 3 board meeting, Chief Policy & Strategy Officer Holly Ferguson acknowledged that some items currently appearing before the board would no longer require approval under the proposed thresholds, and would instead be handled administratively.

Director questions fiscal accountability

Board Director Dr. Damarys Espinoza questioned how directors would remain informed about contracts that no longer require board approval.

"How would we be kept abreast of these items?" Espinoza asked.

Ferguson responded that staff had discussed the issue but had not developed a formal process.

"We certainly could—we talked about that. We didn't come up with an idea," Ferguson said, suggesting board updates or Friday communications as possibilities.

Broader transparency question

The exchange highlighted a broader question facing the district.

As parents and community members continue calling for greater transparency and accountability, should information continue to be presented publicly even when formal board approval is no longer required?

The board is expected to vote on both proposals June 18.

Links to the full policy documents and board action reports are available below.

Resources:

Thursday, June 18 Highline Board Meeting AGENDA
8.1 Motion to approve creating a new Board Policy 2000 Student Learning, Improvement, and Accountability; repealing current Board Policy 2000, 2004 and 2005
8.2 Motion to repeal current Board Policy 6101 Grants, 6114 Donations, and 6225 Contracts and replace them with new Board Policy 6101 Donations, Grants, and Contracts.

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