The Olympia School District (OSD) is opening a brief public comment period for its Policy 6000 Series, which specifies timeframes and procedures for discussing school closures.
The public comment on the policy series related to management support is from October 1-11 at 4 p.m.
“The Olympia School Board welcomes your feedback about the 6000 'Management Support' Policy Series that is currently being reviewed by the Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) - Policy Review. The board will accept feedback for policies currently in review,” stated the district’s news release.
OSD’s September 26 meeting the board approved Policy Series 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, and New Essentials), and held the 6000 Series for review and public comment.
The series was put on hold after a procedural inquiry was started, and it was later confirmed that the version presented at the meeting for the supposed second reading and approval was not the one presented for the first reading and public comment.
“Although the board had access to the first reading of the 6000 Series before August 1, 2024, the public did not have access to it at that time. Therefore, the first official reading of the 6000 series occurred on Thursday, September 26, 2024,” the news release stated.
The second reading of the series will take place at the board meeting on Thursday, October 24.
OSD4All’s comparison
OSD For All (OSD4All), an organization of parents fighting against school closures, questioned why the district is adopting a new policy based on a much older policy than it currently has.
OSD allegedly claimed to be modeling its policy after the North Thurston Public Schools (NTPS)’s 2006 policy, adopted 18 years ago. This is older than the current OSD policy adopted in 2011—13 years ago.
OSD4All’s table shows that the proposed version of policy 6883 (closure of facilities) will provide a 14-day minimum period before closing schools, far from the Washington State School Directors’ (WSSDA) 90-day model policy.
“The drafted OSD policy permits a quicker school closure process, lacks detailed planning for implementation, and does not specify when the closure process begins. So, why is OSD considering adopting a policy that is older than the one it currently uses?” OSD4All’s email stated.
The public may send input on the Policy 6000 Series until October 11 at 4 p.m. through this form.
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JasonS
This is a transparent attempt by OSD to implement a weaker policy to make it easier for them to close schools as quickly and quietly as possible. Using a bait-and-switch tactic for the so-called "second reading" is not only shockingly duplicitous, but could even open them up to legal action since it borders on fraud. Did they really think no one would notice?
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