Vea la versión en español del Informe de la Junta Directiva aqui.

This is a summary of the Pasco School District Board Meeting on May 14, 2024.

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, celebrated from May 6 - 10, 2024, we took the opportunity to acknowledge Pasco’s Certificated Staff. The week is dedicated to honoring educators nationwide for their significant contributions in shaping students' lives through their dedication to teaching, innovation, encouragement, and support. In our district, we pay tribute to our 1,308 certificated employees, including teachers, counselors, nurses, librarians, specialists, and other essential support roles crucial for Pasco students' success.

At the board meeting, we recognized the following representatives from the Pasco Teachers Union on behalf of our teachers:

• Rosa Perez, Elementary Representative

• Ryan Kahl, Middle School Representative

• Kane Kelly, High School Representative

We extend our gratitude to all our Certificated Staff for their unwavering support of our students.

We were thrilled to honor the dedication and accomplishments of our 2023-2024 PSD Ambassadors, who actively engaged in monthly sessions from November 2023 to April 2024 to learn more about the district.

The Ambassador Program was established to instill pride and knowledge among participants, including community members, parents, staff, and students. These individuals serve as ambassadors and advocates for the Pasco School District. This cohort represents our second group of Ambassadors to successfully complete the program. Throughout the six-month period, our monthly sessions covered a wide array of topics relevant to our district's interests.

We are proud to recognize the following 2023-2024 Ambassadors who graduated from the program.

• Brisi Cano

• Jordan Roberts

• Janiece Stroup

• Adela Valencia

• Nadia Valencia

• Robin White

• Maria Martha Marin Rivera

• Joni Cochran Roney

• Selina Fink

• Jennifer Ness

• Daniela Stratton Balderas

• Holly Woolf

• Ana Magdaleno

• David Cohoe

• Adriana Curiel

• Elyse Dudley

• Brittany Gadd

• Marcia Hernandez

• Jill McLaughlin

• Daphne Klinefelter (Gallegos)

• Melissa Petersen

• Veronica Quintanilla

• Andrea Bamford

• Ivan Barraza

• Isabel Figueroa

• Isaac Marroquin

• Leslie Maxwell

• Vanessa Munguia

• Rachel Gropper

We extend our sincerest congratulations to each of these Ambassadors for their outstanding commitment and dedication to our district's mission. If you’d like to apply to be a 2024-2025 Ambassador, applications will open in October 2024.

During a study session, Mira Gobel, Assistant Superintendent of Schools & Social Emotional Learning, led a collaborative discussion involving teams from Pasco Digital Learning Academy, Chiawana, New Horizons, and Pasco High Schools, along with the board. During this session, school teams presented their efforts for school improvement, shared data on student learning benchmarks and progress monitoring, and outlined the goals and activities aimed at achieving those goals, all aligned with the district’s Outrageous Outcomes.

Board members actively participated by engaging in discussions, asking questions, and exploring strategies to support our schools in reaching their objectives.

View the presentation

Seth Johnson, Planning Principal for Orion High School, presented the board with an update on the program planning progress for Orion High School. The report included research insights guiding Orion's program development, focusing on signature Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway programs in Health Science and Engineering/Manufacturing.

The board was introduced to four educational "propellers" shaping the innovative high school's direction: Design Thinking, interdisciplinary problem-based learning, career-connected learning, and entrepreneurship. These propellers have been and will continue to drive Orion's 2+2 model, providing a distinct experience for 9th/10th and 11th/12th-grade students.

Mr. Johnson also provided insight into the student experience at Orion, discussed the lottery process, and reviewed the planning team's initiatives and next steps.

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Kevin Hebdon, Executive Director of Fiscal Services, provided an update on the district's ongoing efforts to manage staffing cost estimates and other expenditure factors to address the gap between revenues and expenditures.

The report also addressed outstanding questions from the previous meeting on April 23, 2024. Mr. Hebdon also outlined the ongoing development of budgeted expenditures for the General Fund for the 2024-2025 school year and presented budgets for the Capital Projects, Debt Service, Associated Student Body (ASB), and Transportation Vehicle Fund for the same period.

In the coming months, the Board will be presented with multiple budget presentations, aiming for the adoption of budgets for all five funds at the board meeting scheduled for June 25, 2024. The final deadline for budget adoption is August 27, 2024.

View the presentation