Students, community members press district after $100,000 restoration funding was declined

Community members, students and a former teacher urged the Highline Public Schools Board of Directors on Feb. 19 to explain why the district declined to continue a contract that would have completed a student‑led forest restoration project and made available roughly $100,000 in replacement grant money.

The speakers said the work began when Wells and Big Picture students designed and planted a restoration forest on the Woodside campus and later stewarded it. “Through all of this hard work, a relationship was formed with the Snohomish And King Conservation Districts, and funding was brought back to the site only to learn in an email that the Highline School District declined to continue the contract, thereby forfeiting the money given by DNR to complete the project,” parent Crystal German told the board.

Why it matters: Students and community volunteers spent more than 1,000 hours on the site, speakers said. The restoration included plans for an outdoor classroom, an ADA‑accessible trail and a habitat restoration element that partners had agreed to fund after an earlier contractor withdrew. Speakers said the district’s decision removed an opportunity to complete a multiagency project that had community stewardship and student learning as central goals.

Former Wells teacher Michael Stein Ross described the early project and a later funding rescue by the Department of Natural Resources. “Eventually, they found about a hundred thousand dollars to replace the lost grant money,” he said. Ross said the conservation districts were contracted to finish the original student vision but that Highline later denied individual pieces of the work, including the outdoor classroom, an ADA‑accessible trail and habitat restoration.

Student leaders also addressed the board. Lachlan German, who identified himself as a Big Picture High School student and tree‑team leader, said district communication about the decision was “spotty” and that neither students nor other major contributors were contacted directly. “It would mean a great deal to me if someone in the district reached out to us and told us why the decision was made and what it means for the future of the forest,” he said.

Former student steward Irvin described hands‑on learning and the community feeling the project created: “This forest…is a safe place for everyone to enjoy and a place to learn and grow,” he said, adding that working on the site helped him secure later work in the field.

District response: At the meeting no district official provided a substantive explanation on the record for the contract decision. Speakers said they learned about the change through partner organizations rather than direct district outreach, and they asked the board to reopen communications and give students and partners an opportunity to participate in next steps.

What speakers asked for: multiple speakers requested that the district notify student leaders and community partners about the rationale for ending the agreement, and asked the board to consider restoring or revising the decision so the funded elements could be completed.

Next steps: Board members did not announce a formal follow‑up at the meeting. Several speakers asked for direct outreach; any next steps would depend on the board or staff initiating contact or placing the item on a future agenda.