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Franklin Pierce board unanimously approves safety, program and contract measures
Summary
The Franklin Pierce School Board unanimously approved several revised safety and operational policies, a technology lease, a JROTC memorandum and interdistrict swim agreement; the meeting included Title IX policy updates and public comment on classroom temperatures and student safety.
The Franklin Pierce School Board on Thursday voted unanimously to adopt a package of safety and operational measures, approve a master technology lease and greenlight partnerships for student programs.
The board approved revised policies on suicide prevention (Policy 2145), restraint and isolation (Policy 3246), emergency procedures (Policy 3432) and a new access control and keys policy (Policy 6801). Director (speaker 6) moved to adopt the suicide-prevention update; the board "Aye"-ed the motion without discussion.
Superintendent David Goodpaster said the access-control policy accompanies districtwide hardware upgrades and asked for a follow-up report at the start of next semester or at the end of the school year to assess what is working and what is not. "I would just love a follow-up," he said.
On contracts and program agreements, the board approved a memorandum of agreement to establish an Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps unit at Washington High School, with program staff reporting a roster of about 94 cadets and plans to exceed 100 next year. Director Bremner presented the program and the board approved the memorandum of agreement by voice vote.
The board also approved a renewal of the cooperative swim program interdistrict agreement with Tacoma Public Schools; staff noted one outstanding wording item in the agreement that currently references "qualified girls swim coaches" and said they are seeking to change it to "qualified swim coaches" to accommodate boys who wish to swim in the winter season.
District staff presented the master lease agreement with Insight Investments LLC (Insight Financial Services), a leasing partner the district has used since 2016 for 1:1 student-device initiatives. Francisco Voss explained the district uses multi-year leases (three- to four-year cycles) to manage device refreshes and related projects, and said the current package—covering access control rollout and a refresh of approximately 2,700 student devices—triggers an "opinion of counsel" requirement from the leasing company. "The opinion of counsel is simply stating that our legal counsel has reviewed the lease proceedings," Voss said. The board approved the master lease agreement.
Votes at a glance (all motions passed unanimously): - Adopt agenda — moved by Committee member (speaker 2); outcome: approved. - Consent agenda — moved by Board director (speaker 9); outcome: approved. - Adopt revised policy 2145 (suicide prevention) — moved by Board director (speaker 6); outcome: approved. - Adopt revised policy 3246 (restraint, isolation and other uses of reasonable force) — moved by Committee member (speaker 2); outcome: approved. - Adopt revised policy 3432 (emergencies) — moved and approved. - Adopt new policy 6801 (access control and keys) — approved. - Approve memorandum of agreement to establish an AFJROTC unit — moved by Director Bremner; outcome: approved. - Approve cooperative swim program interdistrict agreement with Tacoma Public Schools — approved. - Approve master lease agreement with Insight Investments LLC — approved.
The board also heard a series of Title IX–related policy presentations and received public comment raising concerns about classroom temperatures, the district's equity implementation, and specific student-safety incidents. The board announced it would enter a short executive session on personnel matters and then adjourned at 9:12 p.m.
