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Student reps tell Battle Ground board survey shows students feel levy cuts and bullying are hurting learning
Summary
Student representatives reported roughly 1,600 respondents to a district survey and said bullying, safety and reduced resources tied to the levy failure were top concerns; board members asked staff for disaggregated data and a follow-up work session to explore discipline, reporting and volunteer supports.
Student representatives Itzel Contreras Montiel and Toby Wynne told the Battle Ground School Board that a districtwide student survey found bullying, safety, and reduced resources were top concerns and that many students feel the effects of the district's recent levy failure.
The students said about 1,600 students participated in the survey and presented itemized results by school and theme. "Forty-nine percent of kids said they are affected by the levy failure," the presentation said, and the top themes included bullying, school resources and funding, facilities and academic concerns.
Board members and staff asked detailed questions about the survey methodology and who was reached. Several trustees urged staff to make the results available to families and to use the survey as a starting point for targeted follow-up: "If we're going to get parents involved, we have to get the information out to them," one trustee said. Staff acknowledged that smaller schools had lower response counts and that Prairie High School's in-person visit had been staff-focused rather than student-focused.
District staff and trustees discussed next steps including additional anonymous surveys, a possible deep-dive work session on discipline and reporting data, and outreach strategies to increase parent and volunteer involvement. Director-level staff said some of the data-collection tools the district has used (named in the meeting as Swiss, and local screener tools like i-Ready) require funding that may be affected by levy outcomes.
Trustees asked for more disaggregated data — by school and by incident type — and for staff to return with recommendations on how to translate student input into measurable actions, such as improved reporting processes, increased adult supervision, or targeted supports at schools with higher reported incidents. The board scheduled a community listening session on levy planning and set a follow-up work session to refine strategic objectives and how levy funds would be tied to them.
The board did not take formal action on the survey at the meeting; staff were directed to provide additional data and present options for next steps at upcoming meetings.
