Summary of Joint Meeting Shoreline City Council and Shoreline School District Board of Directors

Shoreline City officials and Shoreline School District officials joint meeting
Photo by Marianne Stephens

By Marianne Deal Stephens

Education Reporter

On Monday, November 9, 2015 on the third floor of Shoreline City Hall, ten City of Shoreline officials and seven Shoreline Public Schools officials met to discuss topics of mutual interest. Mayor Shari Winstead welcomed everyone and opened the meeting.

Promoting Shoreline Project
City Economic Program Manager Dan Eernissee presented the project, which aims to “Introduce Shoreline to those who will invest in our community by making a home here for themselves and their business.” The project administered a survey to 600+ Puget Sound area residents living outside of Shoreline.

Source: City of Shoreline, Promoting Shoreline Update November 9, 2015

When respondents heard a description of Shoreline without hearing the name, 61% found it appealing. When they found out that it was Shoreline, the favorability dropped to 42%.

Mr. Eernissee described this perception problem. The drop in favorability was mainly from people who have lived in the Puget Sound area for a long time; they may associate Shoreline with Aurora Avenue, and not be aware of recent improvements. Newcomers, who largely did not have a drop in favorable perception, simply need an introduction to Shoreline.

Source: City of Shoreline, Promoting Shoreline Update November 9, 2015

Mr. Eernissee explained how the “nonspecific conception of Aurora as an unsafe and unsavory stretch of highway” is out of proportion to the actual crime statistics, and hoped that information will change this and other misperceptions of Shoreline.

Project Shoreline’s three recommendations:

1. Reach those most interested where they already get their information.
2. Debunk myths and generate positive buzz with those who dismiss Shoreline.
3. Continue to invest in Placemaking (amenities and culture). 

In reference to the schools, Mr. Eernissee conveyed that “we hear over and over that people are here for the schools” and that the schools are important for recommendation #3, since the schools provide Arts and “add texture” to the community. Mr. Eernissee will work with Curtis Campbell from the Public Schools, and with Shoreline Community College in the effort to accurately portray and promote Shoreline.

Mayor Winstead summarized the effort as making Shoreline “a place you drive to instead of drive through.”

Shoreline School District Priorities
Superintendent Rebecca Miner presented the 2015-16 Board/ Superintendent/ District Priorities. See previous School Board Meeting Summary. When discussing Capital Projects, Superintendent Miner mentioned that since the District is at 99% capacity in elementary schools, “we need to adapt.” The rest of the District’s portion of the meeting related to the plans for adaptation.

2015 School Demography Study
Superintendent Miner explained that the District is using the “medium” enrollment projection from the recent Demography Study to plan both short and long term. (See a summary of the May 2015 Presentation). 

Source: Shoreline Public Schools

In response to increased enrollment in the elementary grades, the District has already discontinued boundary exceptions and distributed ELL programs to neighborhood schools.

2015 School Facilities Study
Deputy Superintendent Marla Miller presented results from the Facilities Survey which assessed the condition of all School District properties. This study, along with the Demography Study, will inform a Capital Projects plan. The middle schools are in need of major improvements, and the elementary schools, while well-maintained, require some attention. Cedarbrook, which is owned by the District but not used for District programs, is in the worst condition, followed by the Children’s Center.

Source: Shoreline Public Schools

Deputy Superintendent Miller noted that the District will need 10-15 new classrooms in the fall of 2016, and about the same number of additional classrooms the following year. New construction would take too much time (3+ years), so the district anticipates both “carving out space” in existing buildings and reclaiming leased properties for District use.

The group discussed demographic changes. Deputy Mayor Eggen asked wither the demographer took rezoning into account. Deputy Superintendent Miller answered affirmatively, though she explained that the anticipated housing may not draw families and so may not affect student populations. While student populations are increasing, they will not reach previous highs of 18,000; people still generally age in place in Shoreline. City Manager Tarry mentioned that 65% of Shoreline households have 2 or fewer people.

City/ School District Joint Use Agreement
Parks Director Eric Friedli discussed the Joint Use Agreement between the City and the School District. The most heavily used shared facilities are the Spartan Recreation Center, the Shoreline Pool, and Shoreline A / B Fields, though there are also other athletic fields, the cross country course at Hamlin Park, and tennis courts. The city would like more access to some of the facilities, and the pool and Shoreline A / B need to be upgraded.

Maintenance and scheduling are often worked out together. The District helped finance a new bulkhead for the Shoreline Pool, and the City delayed closure of the pool (for renovations) until after the swim team season.

RADAR Program
City Manager Debbie Tarry discussed the RADAR (Risk, Awareness, De-escalation and Referral) program in which police work with families who have mental illness or social interaction conditions to build trust. It is hoped that having knowledge and a relationship could prevent escalation.

When Manager Tarry expressed a desire to work with the School District to identify families, Board President Mike Jacobs explained that while “we can make knowledge of the resource available,” the District cannot share private information. Debi Ehrlichman suggested alerting the District’s Homeless Liaison and reminded everyone that it is not always those who have a particular identification who need assistance.

Homelessness and Human Services
Deputy Mayor Chris Eggen asked how closely the District works with local human services providers. Director Ehrlichman replied that the Family Advocates and nurses connect families with resources. Superintendent Miner added that the District has recently added a full-time counselor at every elementary school and a Director of Equity and Family Engagement.

In response to a question from Mayor Winstead, Superintendent Miner explained that the District has 375 homeless students, identified according to McKinney-Vento guidelines (see Shoreline Schools Homeless Education page). Councilmember Jesse Salomon pointed out that 375 means about one student per classroom.

Other circumstances that complicate communication were discussed: the District’s families speak 77 different languages, 18% speak a language other than English at home, and slightly over 6% access ELL (English Language Learning).

The meeting ended with a shared aim to address the needs of Shoreline families. Superintendent Miner related that when she speaks with community groups about the District’s challenges, and particularly about student homelessness, groups ask “what can we do?” Manager Tarry expressed that Shoreline has an “opportunity to make sure that our city programs and services are available to all residents.”