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Board divided over sunsetting two ad-hoc committees; safety and facilities committees draw sharp disagreement
Summary
Directors clashed at a study session over a chair proposal to dissolve the board's ad-hoc safety and facilities committees. Some members argued the committees are obsolete under current administration; others said they remain necessary given pending facilities and safety work.
At the Aug. 18 study session the board engaged in an extended and often contentious discussion about whether to sunset two standing ad-hoc committees: one on facilities/transportation and one on safety and security.
Chair Rita Evans Becker proposed dissolving the committees, saying the new superintendent and staff are addressing safety and facilities operationally and the board should not duplicate management-level work. Several directors disagreed. Director Colin Bassett and others said the committees had performed oversight and community engagement functions and that committee members and community participants had been left without meetings since March, leaving outstanding work and memos undone.
Supporters of keeping the committees said pending decisions about the district's long-term facilities plan, possible school closures or repurposing, referendum options and safety-levy work require focused board committee work to prepare community materials, solicit input and brief the full board. Opponents said committees created earlier in the district's transition were now obsolete because the administration has new staff and capacity.
The chair sought a nonbinding sense of the board by a show of thumbs; the vote reflected mixed views and no final formal action was taken at the study session. Several directors asked for committee reports, resolution language establishing the committees and proposed sunset dates to be provided before the board considers a formal change.
