The Evergreen School District Board of Directors on Oct. 14 received public criticism over delayed pay for classified staff and learned the district’s director of Student Equity and Family Engagement has resigned, prompting the district to post an equity specialist role as an interim measure.

Members of the public, including longtime district employee Janelle Griffith, told the board the withholding and partial payment of recent paychecks after the strike has harmed staff and left morale low. “What we need is respect. What we need is to be heard, supported and treated like the essential workers we are,” Griffith said during public comment. Jamila Singleton, the departing director of equity, urged the board to redirect resources to bilingual family liaisons and described her resignation as a statement about priorities: “It is because of the leadership like this that I have chosen to resign,” Singleton said.

Those remarks came as Superintendent Dr. Maloney outlined operational and staffing updates. Maloney said the district posted an equity specialist position to provide “immediate support across all 38 schools” while a comprehensive search for the director role is planned. He told the board that 25 applicants applied for the equity specialist posting and that Heather Fowler will supervise the 12 staff members currently assigned to student equity and family engagement for the remainder of this school year.

Why it matters: public commenters framed the issues as affecting day‑to‑day student supports and the district’s equity commitments. Griffith and others tied concerns about pay and staffing to equity and to the district’s ability to serve multilingual families and other historically underserved groups.

What the board heard and discussed
- Pay and classified staff: Multiple speakers said classified employees received partial paychecks after recent labor actions; commenters and a candidate for board said that delayed pay compounded existing financial strain for many staff. The board did not take immediate action on payroll at this meeting.

- Bilingual family liaisons and compensation: Singleton and other speakers asked the board to consider investing in the district’s three bilingual family liaisons instead of immediately refilling Singleton’s position. Singleton recommended redirecting resources from her salary toward those liaisons to reflect the actual scope of their work supporting families across schools.

- Interim staffing and transition plan: According to the teaching, learning and equity update, the timing of Singleton’s resignation did not permit a full recruitment cycle. To maintain continuity, the district posted an equity specialist and scheduled interviews later in October; Fowler will supervise the equity department’s 12 staff for the next nine months. The board asked clarifying questions about whether family and community resource center coordinators were included in that count; the district clarified they are not.

- Inclusion and special education update: Matt Bennett, senior director of special services, presented the district’s inclusive practices framework and anchored it to federal special education law, naming the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the concepts of free appropriate public education and Least Restrictive Environment. Bennett said inclusion at Evergreen is being implemented as “a mindset, a leadership stance, and a system of supports,” and that professional development and data review are being used to monitor outcomes.

- District improvement goals and enrollment: Superintendent Maloney reported enrollment roughly matched projections but flagged that the incoming kindergarten class is “smaller than anticipated, though, by 100 students,” and that the outgoing senior class is “about 1,615.” He told the board the district expects this cohort effect to influence secondary enrollment and budget planning. The district’s District Improvement Plan goals discussed at the meeting include a 5 percentage‑point reduction in chronic absenteeism (from 42% to 37%), a 5% increase in students meeting or exceeding grade‑level standards in math and English language arts, and an increase in multilingual learner growth on the WIDA ACCESS assessment from 32% to 39% by June 2026.

Board action and process notes
The board approved routine meeting business before the substantive updates. Motions recorded in the meeting minutes included adoption of the meeting agenda and approval of the board and superintendent consent agendas. Those procedural items were adopted by voice vote; the board chair called for and received unanimous “Aye” responses on each motion. No formal motions about payroll, classification changes, or the equity director’s resignation were taken at the meeting.

Community and next steps
Speakers asked the board for clearer, faster communication about safety, staffing, and payroll. Camille Luman, speaking as a member of the Community Engagement Board, asked the district to publish specific written protocols for releasing emergent information to staff and families and noted alleged gaps between goals discussed in workshops and actions taken.

District leaders said they will continue recruitment for an equity specialist, report on affirmative action progress at an upcoming meeting, and provide additional TLE (teaching, learning and equity) updates, including Smarter Balanced data trends and school improvement plan trends at future meetings.

The board also recessed to a short workshop with student representatives for further discussion following the meeting. The meeting adjourned at about 6:31 p.m.