MISD Board Meeting Recap – April 23, 2026

The MIHS Unified Basketball team with the Board this evening being recognized for their second place finish in the State Championship

Mercer Island, WA, April 24, 2026 – The Mercer Island School District School Board held a Regular Meeting on Thursday, April 23 at the District's Administration Building.

View Board Meeting Agenda

The Board meeting started at 5pm in the District Administration Building with an item on the Partial Governance Process Monitoring agenda that dealt with the City of Mercer Island. Board Director Julian Bradley did not attend this meeting. After this agenda item the Board took up one item on the Partial Governance Process Monitoring agenda and one item on the Full Governance Process Monitoring agenda.

1. Board Policy 1800 OE-9: Communication and Support to the Board - City of Mercer Island Update on Final GMHB Decision and Order on Comprehensive Plan

In 2024, the City of Mercer Island adopted a Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update, which was appealed to the Growth Management Hearings Board in 2025. The appeal resulted in a Final Decision and Order, which requires the City to update the Comprehensive Plan to comply with four requirements by July 31, 2026. The four requirements pertain to land capacity, adequate provisions, station area subarea plan and anti-displacement measures. The Mercer Island City Council initiated a strategic effort to align the Comprehensive Plan with the state affordable housing requirements at its annual planning session on January 16, 2026. More information can be found here, and the meeting agenda packet may be accessed here. This item was also on the City Council agenda for their meetings on February 17, 2026; March 3, 2026; and March 17, 2026.

The City held a Community Information Session on March 10, 2026, to provide information to the community and answer questions. Please link here to view the presentation and Q&A. Additional information on the City’s compliance efforts may be viewed here.

City Council members addressed this topic at the linkage session between the Board and Council on February 5, 2026. Mercer Island City Manager Jessi Bon and Community Planning and Development Director Jeff Thomas attended the meeting to offer an update to the Board and answer questions.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

The Board asked questions of both Bon and Thomas and held a discussion.

2. Board Policy 1800 OE-1: Fundamental 5 - Diversity, Inclusiveness, and Equity (L-2)

The Board conducted its annual monitoring of Board Policy 1800, OE-1: Fundamental 5 - Diversity, Inclusiveness, and Equity. Fundamental 5 states: Foster and embrace diversity, inclusiveness, and equity with a focus on respect and acceptance of every student.

The Fundamental 5 Monitoring Report describes the work in District schools to quantitatively and qualitatively meet the goals of Fundamental 5. Each theme included in the report, diversity, inclusion and equity, are addressed as part of the narrative demonstration of progress and compliance. The indicators monitored reflect the guidance provided in the Superintendent’s Interpretation, which was approved by the Board as Fundamental 7 on May 23, 2019, and renumbered to Fundamental 5 on November 12, 2020.

Should the Board wish to request additional data and/or indicators for monitoring, a discussion can be held during post-monitoring language review at the Board’s next regular meeting.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

District staff reviewed the Monitoring Report for the Board. The Board asked questions of staff.

The Board voted 4-0 and the Student Representatives voted 2-0 that the Superintendent was in compliance with Board Policy 1800 OE-1: Fundamental 5 – Diversity, Inclusiveness, and Equity.

At 5:50pm the Board paused the agenda for Superintendent Rundle to speak to the Board about the members of the community who were present to give public input about Crest Learning Center after student and staff recognitions.

Recognitions

New IMS Principal – Superintendent Rundle introduced new IMS principal Katie Gallgher to the Board. Gallagher is currently an associate principal at the school and was announced as the new principal on March 31. Rundle spoke to the Board about how through the screening process Gallagher emerged as the clear leader to be the next principal at IMS, replacing Mary Jo Budzius who will be joining the District office as the Director of Teaching and Learning in 2026-27.

MIHS Unified Basketball Team – Superintendent Rundle recognized the MIHS Unified Basketball team for placing second at the Washington State Championship on February 28. Coach Jennifer Blaser spoke to the Board about the team’s performance.

KMIH 88.9 The Bridge & MIHS.tv – Superintendent Rundle recognized KMIH 88.9 The Bridge students and staff and MIHS.tv staff for receiving awards and recognition at the International Broadcasting System (IBS) Awards in New York in early March. Students brought home top honors across multiple categories in podcasting, sports broadcasting, storytelling, promotions, engineering and station operations. The IBS Awards celebrate excellence in student-run media programs across the country. Competing against high school stations nationwide, KMIH students were recognized for their creativity, professionalism and commitment to producing meaningful and impactful content.

2026 KMIH IBS National Award Winners:

• Best On-Air Personality – Kylie Oordt
• Best Specialty Show – Edward Li (Poppin’ Politics)
• Best Celebrity or Band Interview – Brooke Newell (Interview with SYML)
• Best Radio Drama – Ginger Schwartz (Under Your Bed)
• Best Sports Interview – Sophia Rodriguez (Eating Disorders in Female Distance Running)
• Best News Feature Story – Emerson Woods (The Rise of Women’s Wrestling)
• Best Station Promotional Event – 4th Period (Curriculum Night)
• Best Website – KMIH (Aadyaa Singhal, Maggie Anderson, Lauren Schechter)
• Best Promo Series – Students Are Back! (Maggie Anderson, Will Prock, Porter Larsen, Mia Tamarkin, Cooper Jensen, Justen Beinstock, Magnus Zettel, Kylie Oordt, Brooke Newell)
• Best Event Promo – What’s New on KMIH (Mia Tamarkin & Maggie Anderson)
• Best Underwriting/Commercial Spot – Breakfast on The Bridge / Christy Shiers (Alisha Khan)
• Best Music Director(s) – Brooke Newell & Ava Chastain
• Best Student Staff Member – Ethan Schaps
• Award for Outstanding Engineering – Toly Odievich
• Best Faculty Advisor in TV – Michael Ketchum

Public Input

There were 20 community members who gave Public Input at this meeting. The community members were Diana Wiseman, Mason Wiseman, Christy Sheirs, Nova Sheirs, Carrie Thompson, Katinka van Eeden, Elise Forester, Jennifer Blaser, Patrick Rigby, Shayna Smith-Cutright, Ali’l Reek, Ben Shanafelt, Roslyn Ray, Ann Gretsch, Ronan Dow, Ellery Dow, Josiah Townsend, Lisa Paladin, Holly Loeffler Figueroa, and Tracy Woxland.

To find out how you can give Public Input at a future Board meeting visit our Public Input page.

After Public Input the Board took up the five remaining items on the Partial Governance Process Monitoring agenda.

3. Board Policy 1800 OE-7: Financial Administration (L-1)

The Board conducted its annual monitoring of Board Policy 1800, Operational Expectations 7 (OE-7), Financial Administration.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

District staff presented the Administrative Report of Compliance. The Board had a discussion

about how state funding is negatively impacting the financial administration of the District.

District staff also answered questions from the Board. The Board voted 4-0 and the Student Representatives voted 2-0 that the Superintendent was in compliance with Board Policy 1800 OE-7: Financial Administration, with the exception of Item 5 in the Report of Compliance.

4. Board Policy 1800 OE-7: Financial Administration - Fund Balance Projections

The Superintendent and District staff updated the Board on the projected fund balance available for 2026-27. The table presented at the meeting is the anticipated ending fund balances for 2025-26 based on current revenues and expenditures to date.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

The Board asked questions of the Superintendent and District staff about the District’s Fund Balance. No action was taken by the Board.

5. Board Policy 1800 OE-6: Budgeting/Financial Planning - Proposed Changes to 2026-2027 Student Fees

At the board meeting on March 26, Superintendent Rundle shared that the District was considering increases to student and District fees to help mitigate against reductions in staffing for the 2026-27 school year.

The proposed Student Fee Schedule for 2026-27 was reviewed by the Board at this meeting and will be included in the 2026-27 budget document for anticipated Board action in June. No action is required at this time. Increased fees are denoted in red. The 2025-26 fee schedule was provided to the Board as a reference.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

District staff presented the 2026-27 fee schedule. No action was taken by Board.

6. Board Policy 1800 OE-9: Communication and Support to the Board - Proposed Revisions to Board Policy 3210: Nondiscrimination (1st rdg)

The Superintendent is recommending revisions to Board Policy 3210, Nondiscrimination to align more closely with language in the Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA) Model Policy. Markup and clean versions of the policy, as revised, were presented to the Board for a first reading.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

The Board discussed the new policy. The Board voted 4-0 and the Student Representatives voted 2-0 to adopt Board Policy 3210 – Nondiscrimination.

7. Board Policy 1800 OE-7: Financial Administration - Draft Resolution No. 754 - 2026-27 Reduced Education Program (Certificated Impact)(2nd rdg.)

Draft Resolution No. 754 sets forth a proposed reduction of 2.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) certificated staff positions across the District. The Board heard a first reading of the draft resolution at its regular meeting on March 26. The draft resolution is being presented as a second reading at this meeting. As a reminder, the District must notify certificated employees of non-renewal (RIF) due to probable cause no later than May 15, 2026, to comply with the statutory requirements outlined in RCW 28A.405.210.

Before recommending any reduction in staffing, the District engaged in a thorough review of its operational and programmatic expenditures and identified and evaluated non-staffing reductions in an effort to lessen impacts on personnel. Staffing reductions are proposed only after those alternatives were determined to be insufficient to meet required budgetary targets.

The resolution establishes the authority to implement reductions but does not require that such authority be exercised. Whether, and to what extent, any reductions are ultimately implemented will depend on several factors, including the availability of additional funding, employee resignations, approved leaves of absence, and other staffing changes that may occur between now and the start of the 2026–27 school year. Please note that reductions achieved through attrition, such as decisions not to fill vacant positions, are not reflected in the 2.5 FTE figure referenced in this summary.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

The Board discussed Resolution No. 754. The Board voted 4-0 and the Student Representatives voted 2-0 to approve Resolution No. 754.

Following the Partial Governance Process Monitoring the meeting moved to the Student Representatives Report, Consent Agenda, Superintendent Report & Announcements, Legislative Report, and Board Member Announcements.

Student Representative Report – Student Representatives to the Board Lucy Dorer and Brody Newcomer highlighted activities and accomplishments of District students in their Student Representatives Report to the Board.

Consent Agenda – The Consent Agenda was passed 4-0 by the Board and 2-0 by the Student Representatives.

Superintendent Report – Superintendent Rundle talked about the Breakfast of Champions at MIHS next Tuesday. He also reminded the Board Praesidium, a nationwide abuse-prevention and intervention firm, will be visiting Mercer Island April 28-30 to conduct a full audit of the District’s systems, policies, and procedures. As part of this audit, Praesidium will interview students, parents, and staff. The Student Safety & Well-Being Committee will present to the Board in May and Praesidium will present to the Board in June.

Board Discussions, Announcements, Inquiries, and Reports

Board Discussions - All four Board Directors, the Student Representatives and Superintendent Rundle had a robust discussion about Crest Learning Center and impact the District’s financial situation could have on Crest.

Legislative Report – Director Martinez updated the Board on conversations OSPI and state legislators are having about school funding. She also spoke about coordinating with PTA Advocacy on connecting with legislators.

Director Lee – Director Lee spoke about attending the PTA Council meeting before Spring Break.

Director Tucker – Director Tucker talked about the Board’s Site Visit to Northwood the week before Spring Break and the morphology presentation that saw that included Greek and Latin words used to instruct spelling.

Director Burnett – Director Burnett talked about enjoying the Northwood Site Visit and seeing morphology instruction in action. She attended the IMS artist in residence concert before Spring Break and attended the Student Safety & Well-Being meeting on April 7. She also spoke about recording a Student Safety & Well-Being video at MIHS prior to Spring Break in the MIHS TV studio.

Director Martinez – Director Martinez thanked 41s Legislative Representative Janice Zhan for attending the Board meeting to listen to the Board’s discussion.

The meeting adjourned at 9:12 pm

We encourage community members to watch the YouTube recording of the April 23 Board Meeting to learn more about what was discussed by Board Directors. 

To see when the next Board Meeting is visit the Meeting Calendar and Agendas page.

To learn more about MISD’s School Board Directors visit our School Board Information page.