Strand Elementary principal Gilane Groeneveld told the Prosser School District board that the school's improvement plan is already showing measurable progress for students at the district's lowest performance level. "Our goal is to get those students at that level to make 80% of those students to make a year's worth of growth," Groeneveld said, describing interventions, coaching cycles and weekly PLC data work aimed at accelerating learning.

The presentation outlined two SIP goals, recent school activities and assessment work. Groeneveld said the school had tracked an identified "emergency" cohort that was about 8% on track in October and that the cohort's on‑track rate had risen to roughly 40% after targeted interventions. The plan sets a target that 80% of that cohort make one year of growth and that 35% exceed annual growth; teachers use ARC for reading and i‑Ready diagnostics for math to monitor progress between statewide tests.

Board members pressed for clarity about assessment methods and asked the administration to provide more frequent growth snapshots rather than only annual SBA results. Administrators said the SBA is a single‑day summative measure but that ARC and i‑Ready provide daily or quarterly data that the district can use to show growth; staff offered to redact and circulate PLC tracking spreadsheets or to present monthly snapshots for the board and public.

Public comment and board discussion also turned to district finances. A community member, Jim, said he had listened to recent budget presentations and told the board "there's something... doesn't smell right with the budget," urging trustees to "dig in" and make tough decisions if necessary. In response, a board member said they had already begun a data review and another trustee reported arranging a detailed review with finance staff to produce the documents needed for a deeper analysis in January.

On routine business the board approved several motions by voice vote. The board adopted the second/final reading of Policy 5.005 with no changes, approved vouchers after questions about ESD services and child‑nutrition commodity charges, and approved consent items A and B. Administrators noted vendor line items such as services from an educational service district (ESD 123), security/maintenance vendors and OSPI Child Nutrition commodity orders.

Other reports included district work restarting MTSS meetings, defining nonnegotiables across attendance, academics, SEL and behavior, development of common formative assessments and continued focus on math instruction. District staff said additional dual‑language grant funds were sought after a smaller award this year; the prior grant award referenced was larger than the current allocation and TBIP funds supplemented bilingual PD costs.

Administrators also reported human resources work: the district is implementing a Red Rover time‑and‑attendance system with vendor uploads that take about 6–8 weeks and a phased rollout planned to begin March 1; HR modules and payroll interfaces are expected to follow so the system is in place before next school year.

The board set a next meeting for Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. and adjourned.