June 4, 2025 at 7:00 PM - Regular Board Business Meeting

Description: 

Kris Howatt, Chair
Holly Riegelmann, Vice-Chair
Blake Petersen, Director
David Ligatich, Director
Dr. Mayra Gómez, Director
Dr. Shawn Farrens, Director
Vacant, Director
John Koch, Interim Superintendent

Description: 

We acknowledge that the land where Gresham-Barlow School District is located rests on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, bands of the Chinook, and many other Tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River. We also acknowledge the systemic policies of genocide, relocation, and assimilation that still impact many Indigenous/Native American families today. As settlers and guests on these lands we respect the work of Native Nations, leaders and families, and make ongoing efforts to center Indigenous knowledge, creativity, resilience, and resistance. We consider the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that bring us here today. 
   
   
Reconocemos que la tierra donde está ubicado el Distrito Escolar Gresham-Barlow descansa sobre las tierras ancestrales y no cedidas de Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, bandas de Chinook y muchas otras Tribus que establecieron sus hogares a lo largo del río Columbia. También reconocemos las políticas sistémicas de genocidio, reubicación y asimilación que todavía afectan a muchas familias indígenas/nativas americanas en la actualidad. Como colonos e invitados en estas tierras, respetamos el trabajo de las naciones, los líderes y las familias nativas y hacemos esfuerzos continuos para centrar el conocimiento, la creatividad, la resiliencia y la resistencia indígenas. Consideramos los numerosos legados de violencia, desplazamiento, migración y asentamiento que nos traen aquí hoy.

Description: 

3 minutes per guest / 15 minutes total

Time has been set aside on the agenda for Citizens’ Requests of the Board. This is an opportunity for the Board to listen and learn from the community. Board members are not able to respond to public comments during the meeting, but appreciate hearing your input. Public comments can be submitted in writing before the meeting, or given in-person during the meeting. Pursuant to Oregon House Bill 2560(3)(a), the meeting of the Gresham-Barlow School Board will be presented online to allow for virtual public attendance at the meeting. If you are a member of the community and wish to provide a written public comment, please use the Citizens Comments to the Board form and email your comments to the board secretary, Sarah Avery, at avery4@gresham.k12.or.us by 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting. If anyone in the audience wishes to address the board in-person this evening, there are yellow "Citizens' Requests of the Board" forms on the table in the back of the room; please complete a form and give it to the board secretary, Mrs. Avery. 

Public Comments Submitted Including Topic:
1. Jamie Justice - Bullying Accountability and Student Safety

Description:  EXPLANATION: There has been no significant change in the District’s financial status since the prior month.  Salary and benefits are trending favorably but are offset by higher than expected expenditures in transportation and other purchased services. The 2023-24 ODE SFF reconciliation shows an increase of $3,572,465 in the SSF allocation and $546,339 in the High-Cost Disability. These changes will be reflected in the May 2025 financial report.
 

Description: 

ORS 332.075(2)-(3), states that, "All contracts of the school district must be approved by the district school board before an order can be drawn for payment." This includes the provision of labor performed by employees of the district. In addition, Board Policy GB, General Personnel Policies, provides that, "The employment contract of candidates to fill licensed and contracted positions will be approved by the Board upon the superintendent’s recommendation."

Salary placement for licensed and administrator positions will follow the terms of the established collective bargaining agreement with the labor association and memorandum of understanding with the administrator group. These agreements are available on the District website.

Description: 

Changes to the policies recommended by the Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA), district staff, and the Policy Review Committee were presented for first reading at theMay 21, 2025 board work session.

Policy	Title
DJC (Delete and Re-Adopt)	Bidding Requirements
DJCA (Delete)	Personal Service Contracts
FF	Naming of New Facilities
GBEBA (Delete)	Staff-HIV, AIDS, and HBC
IIA	Instructional Materials
IKF	Graduation Requirements
JBAA	Section 504-Students
JEA	Compulsory Attendance
JHCA/ JHCB	Immunization and School Sports Participation

ARs have been provided as a reference and do not need to be approved by the board. 

Policy	Title
IIA-AR (Delete)	Instructional Materials Section
IIA-AR(1)	Instructional Materials
IIA-AR(2)	Instructional Materials
IIA-AR(3)	Instructional Materials
IIA-AR(4)	Instructional Materials
IIA-AR(5)	Instructional Materials
IIA-AR(6)	Instructional Materials
JEA-AR	Compulsory Attendance Notices and Citations

   

Description: 

All items listed are matters considered by the board to be routine and will be enacted by one motion.The motion requires a second and a vote. There will be no separate discussion of items on the consent agenda unlessa member of the board requests specific items be removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda. 

Description: 

Students from the Sam Barlow Theatre Department participated in the State Thespian Festival April 3-5 in Salem. We had 11 categories qualify and perform at the State Championship, all of whom received superior level scores from judges!

A special congratulations to our STATE CHAMPIONS: 
Ania Vilius & Kamryn Michaelsen were the State Champions in the Duo Dramatic Acting category performing their scene from The Miracle Worker. 

Mason Alley was the State Champion in the Playwriting category for his original play, Worn Out Masks.

MAINSTAGE PERFORMANCE
The Sam Barlow Performing Arts Department was chosen to perform a revival of our musical production of Hadestown at the Oregon State Thespian Festival for over 2500 theatre educators and students at the Historic Elsinore Theater in Salem.

Description:  The Mount Hood Community College High school art exhibition was on Thursday April 10th. Barlow represented well, and came home with BEST IN SHOW!  

• Chloe Bradley received best in show
• Eric Dinsmore received 1st in Composition/Use of Elements
• Tay Chamberlain received 2nd in Composition/Use of Elements
• Zoe Taylor received Honorable Mention

Description:  Sam Barlow Band took home a 1st place trophy in the Mt Hood Conference Festival on April 9th, qualifying them to compete at the OSAA State Championships on Saturday, May 17th at Oregon State University. 

Sam Barlow band students represented our school at the OSAA State Solo Contest and the OMEA State Small Ensemble Contest on May 2nd and 3rd.

• Senior Weston Glover placed 2nd in state on the French Horn
• Junior Emma Nuttall placed second on bassoon.

In the ensemble contest, the Percussion Ensemble placed second (performing a piece written by junior Caleb Frederick). The Woodwind Quartet placed third.

The following musicians received All-State recognition:

• Josh Asplund
• Charlotte Baumgarden
• Emma Nuttall
• Weston Glover
• Michael Rapin-Haynes

Emma Nuttall and Weston Glover were named All-NW musicians.

Description:  The Sam Barlow High School Concert Choir took home a 1st place trophy in the Mt. Hood Conference Festival on April 8th, qualifying them to compete at the OSAA State Championships on Saturday, May 10th at Oregon State University.

The District Champions are:

• 1st Place, Barlow Sound, Large Mixed Ensemble
• 1st Place, Bruin Sound, Large Tenor/Bass Ensemble
• 1st Place, Kamryn Michaelsen, Soprano
• 1st Place, Josie Williams, Mezzo Soprano
• 1st Place, Spencer Neighorn, Tenor

This qualified them for the OSAA State Solo Competition and the State Chamber Competition on May 2nd and 3rd. Junior Josie Williams placed third in the mezzo-soprano vocal category.

The following students received All-State recognition:

• Keke Briggs
• Jackson Hamilton
• Alec Moffitt
• Nico Spillett
• Alex Swartz
• Spencer Neighorn
• Ania Vilius
• Josie Williams

Description:  In an effort to recognize students who achieve highly in school activities and academic programs, tonight the Board has the opportunity to recognize conference and state level achievements of the Gresham High School Choir.

The following students earned honors at the state solo/ensemble choir competition.

Soloists:

• Morgan Israelsson - 2nd Place, Bass Voice
• Maggie Zelinka - 5th Place, Alto Voice

Quartet:

• Terry Arnold Munoz, Elliott Maxwell, Robin Moran, and Michael Nedelisky - 2nd Place, Small Tenor/Bass Ensemble

Description:  In an effort to recognize students who achieve highly in school activities and academic programs, tonight the Board has the opportunity to recognize conference and state level achievements of the Gresham High School Softball Team. 

This year, Gresham's Softball Team were the Mt. Hood Conference Champions! They were led by Head Coach Jim Gardenhire, and Assistant Coaches Holly Thorsen, Jack Flitcraft, Elijah Kue, Bryce Granberg, and Janessa Treloggen. 

The team roster included the following students:

• Lexi Phebus
• Despina Seufalemua
• Aspen Scheetz
• Maddy Sagapolutele
• Alyssa Grover
• Daya Nelson
• Reese Gardenhire
• Melinda Herrejon
• Kavehi-Kepanie Tuala
• Keira Downing
• LaTerra Foster-Frison
• Nariah Wagner
• Ayden Gardenhire
• Suntaya Riddle

Description:  In an effort to recognize students who achieve highly in school activities and academic programs, tonight the Board has the opportunity to recognize conference and state level achievements of the Gresham High School Track and Field Team.

Sophomore Mark Tabiolo was the Mt. Hood Conference Champion for Boys Shot Put, which earned him a place as a State Qualifier. Junior Paula Reis also earned a position as a State Qualifier for Girls Discus. 

Description:  In an effort to recognize students who achieve highly in school activities and academic programs, tonight the Board has the opportunity to recognize the achievements of a Gresham High School Disc Golf athlete.

Junior Dallas Garber is a nationally ranked disc golfer. He initially started playing disc golf as a way to help his dad build cardio strength following heart surgery. Dallas is now ranked in the top 100 nationally among all age groups. He recently traveled to California to compete in Disc Golf Tournaments. 

Description: 

Students completed a rigorous language assessment where they were tested in the areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students excelled in the following languages this year: Dari, Farsi, Kinyarwanda, Oromo, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian. A total of 42 students who are graduating seniors have met the Oregon State Biliteracy Seal proficiency level criteria of Intermediate-High. This is a record for Gresham-Barlow School District. The recipients are a combination of students who tested this school year and also in past school years. They have also met all other graduation criteria and will now receive the Biliteracy Seal on their diplomas. 

It is with great pride and excitement that the administration recognizes the valuable asset that these students' linguistic abilities represent for themselves and the community. Their ability to fully communicate in at least two languages truly puts them well on their way to becoming "Culturally responsive graduates who will thrive in an ever-changing global community."

Underclassmen who tested will continue to have their scores banked and they will be candidates for the Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy in the future.

Due to increased access, promotion and recruitment, each year more and more students are participating in testing. Students communicated that they were proud of this accomplishment and were excited to share the results with their families. 

The following Seniors earned the State Seal of Biliteracy for their diplomas:

Gresham High School

• Hanna Rubio Welsh
• Estela Dominguez-Calderon
• Gabriela Martinez-Gonzalez
• Cithlali Villanueva-Cervantes
• Ashley Camara-Uc
• Leonel Marin-Sanchez
• Jessy Perez Gonon
• Anthony Tejeda
• Magali Chanocua-Lopez
• Yvonne Ingabire
• Esmeralda Murillo-Montes
• Yessenia Reyes Tejeda
• Sophia Lopez Alvarez
• Keila Gonzalez Salazar
• Gabriel Ferreira
• Elideth Vera
• Jorge Picazo
• Leon Kostin
• Moise Shyaka
• Germaine Uwase
• Dalia Tomas Sebastian
• Oscar Farfan Lemus
• Jorge Garcia
• Oswaldo Chacaj Cano

Sam Barlow High School

• Alexis Avalos-Ruiz
• Bratzy Bautista
• Stefania Bircea
• Victoria Camacho
• Fatima Chanocua-Ruiz
• Emilen Drozd
• Llarely De Jesus-Galindo
• Ruby Garcia Vazquez
• Weston Glover
• Susana Heredia
• Christian Manarang
• Itzell Mendoza-Romero
• Marisol Romero-Ruiz
• Magali Santos-Guzman
• Guadalupe Silva Ruiz
• Mariana Villalta Ramos
• Hadia Zia

Springwater Trail High School

• Jocelyn Lopez-Salazar

Description:  After seven years of service, Dra. Mayra Gómez's term as a member of the Gresham-Barlow School District Board of Directors ends June 30, 2025. In recognition of Director Gómez's service on the board, and of her dedication to the patrons and students of the district, a presentation will be made during the board meeting.

Description: 

The Gresham-Barlow Education Foundation has identified the following dates for 2024-25 reports to the school board:

October 2, 2024
December 4, 2024
February 5, 2025
March 5, 2025
April 2, 2025
June 4, 2025

Accordingly, a Foundation representative will be present this evening to provide an overview of recent Foundation activities.

Description: 

Time has been set-aside on this agenda for the superintendent to provide a brief update. District leadership members may also provide an overview of current work and upcoming events taking place in the schooldistrict.

Description: 

Time has been set-aside on this agenda for the board members to provide brief updates. 

Description:  The board will take a brief recess from the meeting. 

Description:  This portion of the board meeting agenda has been provided for the presentation of advisory committee minutes. No action or discussion is required by the board; however, there may be occasional reports or discussion regarding work being completed by the committee(s).

Description: 

This portion of the board meeting agenda has been provided for the presentation of advisory committee minutes. No action or discussion is required by the board; however, there may be occasional reports or discussion regarding work being completed by the committee(s).

Description: 

A representative from the Gresham-Barlow Education Association (GBEA) will provide a report to the board. 

Description: 

A representative from the Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA) Chapter 8 employees willprovide a report to the board. 

Description:  The governing body can adopt the budget only after the budget hearing has been completed. The authority and responsibility given the governing body to adopt the budget and to make appropriations by which the budget is administered is ORS 294.435. The proposed budget was approved by the Budget Committee on April 9, 2025.
 
To comply with the requirements of Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS), the school board needs to adopt the 2025-26 Budget, make appropriations, and impose and categorize the taxes prior to July 1, 2025. 
 
The Gresham-Barlow School District must appropriate legally adopted budget amounts for 2025-2026 prior to making expenditures or transfers, in accordance with ORS 294.435.

It is recommended that the school board approve the following resolutions as presented.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS: 
1. Resolution 2026-01 Adopting the Budget (1, 2, & 3 in one document) 
2. Resolution 2026-02 Making Appropriations (1, 2, & 3 in one document)
3. Resolution 2026-03 Imposing & Categorizing Taxes (1, 2, & 3 in one document)
4. TSCC FY24 Gresham-Barlow SD Certification Letter 
 

Description: 

The board reviewed a draft schedule for 2025-26 board meetings at the May 21, 2025 board work session. Policy BC/BCA requires the board to provide for the date, time and place of its regular meetings for the fiscal year in July of each year. The 2025-26 proposed calendar includes July and August for the 2026-27 school year for planning purposes. 

The board's regular business meetings are typically held at the Public Safety and Schools Building, 1331 NW Eastman Parkway, Gresham, Oregon. In the past, work sessions have traditionally been held at the Center for Advanced Learning. The administration is recommending moving these meetings to the Public Safety and Schools Building. When exceptions to this practice occur, advance notifications are published. 

The proposed schedule is being presented for a first reading this evening, and will be presented for adoption at the July 2, 2025 regular board business meeting.

Description: 

In compliance with Board Policy, IGBHA, and state law, ORS 581-022-1350 (correction OAR 581-022-2505), the board annually approves private and public alternative education programs contracted by the district.

This spring, a multi-district team evaluated alternative programs in Multnomah County to determine whether they should be included as an alternative program for district approval. The evaluation process covers requirements set forth by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). Any alternative program under consideration must already have met ODE accreditation criteria.

The attached list of alternative programs is being recommended for continuation into 2025-2026. These programs have met the evaluation criteria described above.

Description:  This item was presented to the board for a first reading at their May 21, 2025 Board Work Session.

Oregon’s Transformative Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Framework and Standards were adopted by the State Board of Education on June 15, 2023, to be implemented in districts by July 1, 2024 (ORS 329.045, Section 4). During the 2023-24 school year, the district began implementation of the standards by training teachers and adopting a new set of materials to support social emotional learning in K-12 classrooms. A committee of counselors, liaisons, teachers, administrators, and coaches spent multiple sessions evaluating social emotional curriculum and resources. Student feedback was gathered from classrooms in kindergarten through high school across the district. Final committee recommendations will be provided. 

If authorized to move forward on the adoption of these materials as the foundation for social emotional learning, they will be implemented in the fall of 2025.
   

Description:  This item was presented to the board for a first reading at their May 21, 2025 Board Work Session.

The district seeks approval of fee schedules for secondary schools for the 2025-26 school year.  Many fees have not been in place since the 2020-21 school year due to the impact of the pandemic on our families and community.  At that time, supplementary ESSER funds offset the lost revenue from not charging student participation fees.  ESSER funds are no longer available. 

For the 2025-26 school year, the district will continue to offset course fees utilizing appropriate grant funds.  However, the district proposes that some previously required and optional fees presented in the attached documents are reinstated.  The majority of fees remain flat from pre-pandemic years to reduce the financial burden on GBSD families.  As always, the district will offer our families the option to apply for reduced fees and waivers on an individual basis.

High School Fees

• Textbook fees
• Graduation fees
• Yearbook fees
• ASB fees
• Athletic participation fees & family passes
• Extracurricular Activity fees

Middle Schools

• Student body fees
• Yearbook fees
• Band instrument rentals
• OST Athletic Fees

Elementary Schools

There will be no elementary school student participation fees.
 

Description: 

During the 2022/2023 school year, Instructional staff selected 95 Percent Group core supplement reading materials and reading intervention materials for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades and began implementation during the 2023/2024 school year.

95 Percent Group provides structured and explicit phonics strand materials specifically for grades 3 through 5 in each of our elementary schools. We will need to purchase student workbooks and teacher digital presentation slides each year for the duration of our current curriculum adoption.

In June of 2023, the board approved the purchase of 95 Percent Group curriculum not to exceed the amount of $300,000. In order to purchase student workbooks and teacher presentation slides for the next four years we will need to exceed the approved amount by $90,527.07. In addition, we may need to replace lost or worn intervention materials.

Description:  Due to some transactions being categorized in an appropriation function different from the adopted budget, there is a need for appropriations transfers. In the General Fund, materials in Instructional Services resulted in higher than budgeted expenditures that included higher than projected vacancy fill rates and Paid Leave Oregon leave expenditures. Increases in Support Services included contracted services, including transportation and professional services related to the January 2024 ice storm, and increased product costs. An appropriation transfer from Special Revenue funds will offset the General Fund appropriations. In the Capital Project fund, a transfer from Support Services to Facilities Acquisition will address transactions that were categorized differently than appropriations.  Additionally, transfers are necessary to address items documented in the 2023-24 fiscal audit.  These include debt management and payroll liabilities.
 

Description:  Gresham-Barlow continues to have an excess ending fund balance of an excess of three months operating balance in the Nutrition Services fund (Fund 299). The balance at the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year was $3.8 million. In an effort to reduce the excess balance, the District is continuing renovations to school kitchens. A bid process was undertaken, and Perlo Construction provided the lowest bid of the two firms that submitted. The schools that are included and the amounts of the contracts are as follows:

1. Highland ES -               $378,597
2. Sam Barlow HS -          $581,592
3. East Orient ES -            $285,671
4. Powell Valley ES -         $268,237
5. Dexter McCarty MS -    $259,885
6. Gordon Russell MS -     $365,030
   Total Cost                    $2,139,012

Description: 

The iReady diagnostic test is designed to assess a student's skills in reading to help teachers understand their individual needs and provide personalized instruction. The iReady Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment designed to identify a student's strengths and weaknesses. It uses this information to create a personalized instructional path for each student, which is a sequence of online lessons and activities. Research has shown a high correlation between student diagnostic scores and Smarter Balanced Assessment scores.

We have been utilizing the iReady diagnostic and path alongside our previous and current adoption, and plan to continue with this approach for the next four years of the adoption.

A purchase of iReady assessment and personalized instruction for the next four years amounts to $440,841.80.

Description: 

EXPLANATION: The administration has approved the following out-of-state trips for Gresham-Barlow Schools since September of this school year: 

Trip Date	School	Location	Group	Tier Level	Est. Cost per Student	Approved
March 14-16, 2025	Sam Barlow HS	Seattle, WA	Concert Choir	Tier 1	$350	Approved
March 24-28, 2025	Sam Barlow HS	Anaheim, CA	Varsity Baseball	Tier 2	$700	Approved
April 25-30, 2025	Sam Barlow HS	Orlando, FL	DECA	Tier 1	$150	Approved
May 30-31, 2025	Gordon Russell MS	Tacoma, WA	Concert Choir	Tier 1	$215	Approved
May 30-31, 2025	Gordon Russell MS	Federal Way, WA	Symphonic & Jazz Band	Tier 1	$215	Approved
May 31, 2025	Deep Creek Damascus	Federal Way, WA	Band	Tier 1	$0	Approved

The trips are tiered based on cost. The tier level breakdown is as follows:

• Tier 1 - Annual trip, cost of up to $350
• Tier 2 - Trip taken every 2 years, cost between $350 - $700
• Tier 3 - Trip taken every 3 years, cost above $700

Description:  The City of Gresham is proposing the Gresham Civic/Downtown Urban Renewal Plan.  The letter included with this agenda item outlines the details of the Plan and the required statutory process.  The District may provide a written comment to the City prior to July 10, 2025.
 

Description:  EXPLANATION: There has been no significant change in the District’s financial status since the prior month.  Salary and benefits are trending favorably but are offset by higher than expected expenditures in transportation and other purchased services. The 2023-24 ODE SFF reconciliation shows an increase of $3,572,465 in the SSF allocation and $546,339 in the High-Cost Disability. These changes will be reflected in the May 2025 financial report.
 

Description: 

The board will review announcements. A Zoom link for virtual meeting attendance will be provided for upcoming meetings.

June 18, 2025: Regular Board Work Session - 6 p.m.
                         Partnership Room
                         Center for Advanced Learning

July 2, 2025:    Regular Board Business Meeting - 7 p.m.
                        Council Chambers
                        Public Safety and Schools Building

Description:  Estimated time for adjournment: No later than 9 p.m.