Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Administration Appeals Hearings topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tumwater School Board designates independent hearing officer to hear appeal
Summary
At a special meeting reconvened at 6:02 p.m., the Tumwater School District Board voted to designate an independent hearing officer to hear an upcoming appeal; the president or a designee will select the officer. Board members debated local control and asked staff to look for model policies, referencing 'WASDA' in the discussion.
The Tumwater School District Board reconvened a special meeting at 6:02 p.m. and voted to designate an independent hearing officer to hear an upcoming appeal, with the board president or a designee authorized to select the officer.
Board member Darby supported the motion, saying the action was necessary because of the parties involved and the need to uphold what Darby called the board's "fairness doctrine," to ensure both in practice and appearance that "fairness is presumed above all else." A different board member who made the motion said the detail was intended to appoint a "special hearings officer" to conduct the appeal on the board's behalf.
The discussion centered on whether appeals should typically be heard by the board or by an outside hearings officer. One board member said they had "often wondered" whether board members are the best people to hear appeals and that using someone with more experience could be an option in future cases. Another asked whether any model policies existed from "WASDA" or other districts to guide the use of independent hearing officers.
Members also discussed preserving local control. One board member said asking for model policy examples would not remove the board's authority to decide whether to use a hearing officer. The motion authorizes the board president, or a designee, to designate the independent hearing officer for the specific appeal under discussion.
The presiding officer called for a voice vote; an "aye" was recorded in the transcript and the presiding officer said there was no opposition and that the motion passed. The special meeting adjourned at 6:07 p.m.
The board did not record a roll-call vote or provide details about the identity of the hearing officer, the timeline for the hearing, or the subject of the appeal in the portion of the transcript provided. Those details were not specified during the meeting and remain to be announced by the board.
