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Residents press board over leadership, code of conduct and repeated levy failures
Summary
Multiple residents and community groups used public comment to criticize board leadership, question a move to rescind a code of conduct without replacement language, and tie governance to three failed levies that threaten district funding for 13,000 students.
Several residents used the meeting's public comment period to criticize board conduct, raise concerns about a recently debated effort to rescind the board's code of conduct (Policy 1821), and link those governance issues to the district's repeated levy failures.
Resident Matt Strebe said he was troubled when, during the board's Feb. 23 meeting, one board member “had their head down for most of the segment” while citizens spoke about rescinding Policy 1821. Strebe said listeners and speakers deserve attention: “If you extend an invitation for citizens to speak out, please listen to us.”
Jessica Cole told the board that the previous meeting included discussion of rescinding the code of conduct based on claimed replacement language that did not exist. She said she emailed to ask which words in section 6 created legal risk, the president promised a follow‑up that did not happen, and no replacement policy had been submitted as of days ago. Cole said the episode showed why a code of conduct matters and criticized the board president for speaking over staff and board members, which she said chills discussion in front of student representatives.
Terry Dodson, chair of Battleground Citizens for Better Schools, urged leadership changes and said the community lacks faith in the board's actions. Dodson emphasized the district's financial risk after three failed levies and urged the board to focus on restoring public trust to fund 13,000 students.
Teacher and resident Tim Snell and student‑voice supporters urged the board to focus on people as well as numbers. Snell, a River HomeLink teacher, urged attention to students' emotional well‑being and closed his remarks with a personal message of care: “You matter to me.”
Resident Ryan Anderson criticized the state's funding model and said it forces districts into cuts. He characterized the legislature as "$14,600,000,000 in debt to the taxpayers of Washington" (as stated in his remarks), said he has shared his analysis with McCleary attorney Tom Ahern, and said he was entering a 'Battleground gambit' Preservation Act blueprint into the public record to propose changes to the funding system.
Board practice, as stated during the meeting, is that members typically do not respond to public comment; the board moved on after the comment period to the consent agenda and business items.
