October 22 Forest Grove School Board report

The Forest Grove School District (FGSD) Board of Directors met Tuesday, Oct. 22, starting with a work session followed by a shorter regular meeting.

During the work session, board members heard a presentation on the Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS) and local benchmarks from FGSD Director of Teaching and Learning Arturo Lomeli.

After the work session, board members took a short break and moved into the regular business meeting.

Following a report on high school activities from Student Rep. Paola Garcia Andrade, Board Chair Kristy Kottkey gave a report noting her work in the community in listening to community concerns about the district and in building legislative priorities to push the district's needs to the state's lawmakers.

The Oregon Legislature will convene in February 2025. It's through the legislature that the bulk of funding for schools across the state is determined.

She also addressed a recent news story in the Forest Grove News-Times that noted that students in the district had shown a slight improvement in math and science test scores, but remained below statewide averages.

The story cited state data from the Oregon Department of Education, and did not quote any Forest Grove School District staff.

Kottkey said during her time staffing a city of Forest Grove-run booth at Octoberfest, she heard from community members concerns around growth in the school district and how district schools would be able to handle growth.

FGSD Superintendent Suzanne West gave a report, with the caveat that much of what she had planned to discuss had already been covered by Student Rep. Paola Garcia Andrade earlier in the meeting.

"I was thinking just a moment ago that I might need to start arm-wrestling our student advisor on who gets to say what," West quipped.

West reported that the district's homecoming parade was a success.

"During the parade, I think many of the youth of the Forest Grove community had an early Halloween," West said. She described the amount of candy netted by parade-goers as a tremendous haul.

"My takeaway from the parade was just how much fun people were having," West said. "Us who were walking in the parade, of course, but the community as well, they were cheering as we went past, they were high-fiving, they were engaged with each of the different floats, and especially the students."

West also thanked the wider community in the Forest Grove School District for approving a 2022 bond, noting that one-quarter of the funds were being used for security enhancements in facilities across the district.

West also noted that the district would soon open applications for three positions on the district's budget committee and updated staff on several other items.

After a short budget update and an item to approve up to $192,300 to hire a Speech Language Pathologist and a licensed Speech Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) for the remainder of the school year, the meeting was adjourned.

The Forest Grove School Board is scheduled to meet next on November 12, 2024 starting at 5:30 p.m. Meetings are held in-person, with a livestream on the FGSD Communications Youtube channel.

Watch the entire work session and regular meeting on Youtube. The regular session starts at the 1 hour and six minute mark.

What's the difference between a work session, a regular session, and an executive session?

At most government meetings in Oregon, there are three basic types of meetings. A work session, which is typically open to members of the public, but does not usually have opportunities for public comment, is usually held when information is being presented to a board or a deeper discussion is needed. Votes on items before a board are not held during a work session.

A regular or business meeting is a more formal meeting held by members of a governing body, requires a quorum, and is held to conduct regular business. At a Forest Grove School Board meeting, you'll typically see reports from the superintendent, board chair, student rep, adoption of the consent agenda (routine items adopted as a whole), decisions on hiring and firing, and other regular items that are required to run the district. There's typically an opportunity for public comment from community members as well.

You'll also occasionally see what's called a public hearing, sometimes held during (but technically separate, you'll hear whoever is presiding over the meeting open and close the public hearing) a regular meeting or completely separate. A public hearing is a more formal meeting that includes time for public comment and is often held for land use actions.

Finally, you'll frequently see what's called an executive session on an agenda, usually before or after the regular meeting. An executive session is mostly closed to the public—in most cases, members of the press may attend, but not report on the contents of the meeting—and you won't see meeting minutes of an executive session.

These sessions are used to conduct meetings for items exempt from Oregon's public records laws, such as labor negotiations, student disciplinary actions, legal action, and other items "not for public consumption."

Find out more about the Forest Grove School Board online.

Who's on the board?

The Forest Grove School Board is made up of five elected representatives elected by registered voters in the Forest Grove School District, which includes the cities of Forest Grove and Cornelius, and the unincorporated communities of Gales Creek, Dilley, Glenwood, parts of Hillside, Verboort, and other communities near Forest Grove.

Also on the board, but not a voting member, is a student representative.

Current members according to the FGSD website:
Kristy Kottkey, Board Chair, Position 5, term ends June 30, 2027
Kate Grandusky, Vice Chair, Position 4, term ends June 30, 2027
Brad Bafaro, Position 1, term ends June 30, 2025
Valyrie Ingram (Not present at meeting), Position 2, term ends June 30, 2025
Mark Everett, Position 3, term ends June 30, 2025
Paola Garcia Andrade, Student Representative, term ends June 30, 2025