MISD Board Meeting Recap – March 12, 2026

 

IMS Fine Arts students and teachers in a group photo with the Board. 

Mercer Island, WA, March 13, 2026 – The Mercer Island School District School Board held a Regular Meeting on Thursday, March 12 at the District's Administration Building.

View Board Meeting Agenda

The Board meeting started at 5pm in the District Administration Building with Board Announcements, Inquiries, and Reports. Director Cristina Martinez was not in attendance for this meeting.

Board Announcements, Inquiries, and Reports

Director Burnett – Director Burnett spoke about the recent linkage sessions with the PTA Council and MIEA that occurred last week. She spoke about messages she will be writing on what the Board has been doing for the purpose of keeping the community updated. Burnett attended a portion of LETRS training of MISD teachers for the Access For All reading program and said she was very impressed.

Director Lee – Director Lee spoke about the currently ended legislative session and attending a Town Hall with 41^st Legislative District legislators. She attended the ECAAR Night Market at MIHS and the PTA Council Meeting on Wednesday, March 11. Director Lee highlighted all the events Mercer Island Fine Arts students have been performing in and around Washington.

Director Martinez – Director Martinez spoke about meeting with OSPI Superintendent Chris Reykdal soon as part of a WASA group. Martinez attended the West Mercer PAC meeting, and she attended a robotics event where she saw what MIHS students were up to in this area. Martinez then talked about the work the Student Safety & Well-Being Reporting committee and Follow Up subcommittee are doing and brought in Burnett and Superintendent Rundle to speak to the work the Professional Boundaries and Student Learning and Educator/Staff Training subcommittees are undertaking. Superintendent Rundle updated the Board on what Praesidium will do when they visit the District and the timeline for their visit.

Director Bradley – Director Bradley was in Olympia during mid-winter break and interacted with state legislators on education bills and attended lobbying sessions. He spoke about the site visit to MIHS and how he appreciated hearing from the MIHS Student Senate. Bradley attended the Island PAC meeting last week, which included 15 students who spoke to Bradley about matters of importance to them.

Director Tucker – Director Tucker enjoyed the site visit to MIHS the Board made last week. She spoke about the different classes she visited and that she learned a lot at the visit. Tucker spoke about the Study Session the Board had this week. She also spoke about upcoming MISD Fine Arts events.

After Board Director announcements the first item on the meeting agenda was the naming of a District facility.

1. Board Policy 6970: Naming District Facilities - Presentation of Naming Committee Recommendation

The Board adopted Board Policy 6970 - Naming District Facilities on March 27, 2025, to guide the naming and renaming of facilities owned and operated by the District. 

The District received a formal nomination to name the Mercer Island High School gym court/floor after former boys basketball Coach Ed Pepple. Upon receiving this submission, the District solicited additional nominations from community members and alumni. No additional nominations were submitted.

The District formed a Naming Committee composed of students, parents, alumni and community members to consider the nomination. The first action of the committee was to seek input from community members, alumni, staff and students to assist members in forming their recommendation to the school board. The committee met to review the nomination on October 16, 2025, and again on February 5, 2026.

Tonight, the Board heard both the formal recommendation from the committee regarding naming the MIHS gym court/floor after former Coach Ed Pepple and public input from the community on this matter.  

A summary of the committee's process and the Naming Committee's recommendation were presented to the Board.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

After the presentation of the Naming Committee’s recommendation the Board had a short discussion where questions were asked by Board directors.

After the short discussion the Board heard Public Input from community members on naming the MIHS gym floor/court Ed Pepple Court. Five community members provided public input to the Board on the naming proposal for the MIHS gym floor/court. Those community members were Albert Moscatel, Erik Nordstrom, Kevin Tempest, Ron Cohn, and Frank Schott.

After Public Input each Board member spoke about the proposal to name the MIHS gym floor/court Ed Pepple Court.

The Board voted to name the Mercer Island High School gym court/floor the Ed Pepple Court.

Read the District announcement about the naming of the MIHS gym floor/court Ed Pepple  Court.

After the Naming of a District Facility agenda item, the meeting transitioned to Recognitions, the Student Representatives Report and Public Input.

Recognition

Islander Middle School Fine Arts Students – Superintendent Rundle recognized 17 Islander Middle School students who have been named to Washington Music Educator Association Junior All-Sate Honor Ensembles.

In IMS choir four students have been selected for either WMEA or the Northwest ACDA Honor Choir: Elsie Roeter (both ACDA and WMEA), Carmen Hasenberg (both ACDA and WMEA), Amelie Pfleeger (WMEA), Charleigh Harmsen (ACDA).

In IMS band, eighth graders Terry Kawai, clarinet and Oliver Stephan, trombone, have been selected for the WMEA Junior All-State Band Honor Ensemble.

The IMS orchestra had 11 IMS seventh and eighth grade students who won spots in the WMEA Junior All-State Orchestra Honor Ensemble. They are: Aden Beke, violin; Vincent Liu, violin; Peter Smith, violin; Elisabeth Yu, violin; Connor Sun, viola; Emerald Zhang, viola; Neel Suley, cello; Aria Wang, cello; Jessie White, cello; Emerson Crespi, bass; Niko Sauer, bass.

Students from all 22 Washington State Music Regions submitted recordings for consideration through a blind audition process, ensuring selections were based solely on musical excellence. The Washington Junior All-State Honor Ensembles represent the highest level of achievement for middle school musicians in the state.

MIHS Girls Swim and Dive Team – Superintendent Rundle recognized the MIHS girls swim and dive team for winning their fourth consecutive 3A State Championship on November 16.  Clare Watson was named Swimmer of the Meet. Head Coach Chauntelle Johnson was named Coach of the Year.  The Islanders recorded the highest point total in state history with 453 points shattering the previous record of 385. The Islanders won these events:

200 Medley Relay - Clare Watson, Klara Kirschbaum, Emma Nowakowski, Hope Enge
200 Free - Gracyn Kehoe
50 Free - Tatum Enge
100 Fly - Clare Watson (state record)
100 Free - Gracyn Kehoe
100 Back - Clare Watson
100 Breast - Klara Kirschbaum
400 Free Relay - Tatum Enge, Meg Dahlin, Clare Watson, Gracyn Kehoe

Student Representatives Report

Student Representatives to the Board Lucy Dorer and Brody Newcomer presented a report to the Board on all that MISD students have been up to in the last month.

Public Input

One community member gave Public Input at this meeting. The community members was Sarah Hart.

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 four items on the Partial Governance Process Monitoring agenda.

2. Board Policy 1800 OE-9: Communication and Support to the Board - Ongoing Staffing Updates for 2026-2027

The Board heard from a report from District staff on early considerations around preliminary staffing changes for the 2026-27 school year.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

The Board had questions for District staff. The Board took no action.  

3. Board Policy 1800 OE-9: Communication and Support to the Board - Proposed Revisions to Board Policy 1400: Meetings (1st rdg)

Pursuant to changes recommended by the Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA), Superintendent Rundle recommended revisions to Board Policy 1400 - Meetings as well as implementation of an accompanying procedure. Markup and clean versions of the policy were presented for a first reading. As outlined in Board Policy 1604, the Superintendent is not required to seek board approval to implement an administrative procedure; however, proposed Procedure 1400 P was presented for Board review.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

The Board voted 5-0 and the Student Representatives voted 2-0 to approve the modifications to Board Policy 1400: Meetings. The Board will consider further policy revisions at the next regular meeting.

4. Board Policy 1800 OE-9: Communication and Support to the Board - Proposed Revisions to Board Policy 3205: Sexual Harassment of Students Prohibited (1st rdg)

Superintendent Rundle recommends revisions to Board Policy 3205, Sexual Harassment of Students Prohibited to align more closely with language in the Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA) Model Policy. Markup and clean versions of the policy were presented to the Board for a first reading.

This policy requires annual review. The required review will be added as a monitoring item in Board Policy 1800, Operational Expectation 9, Communication and Support to the Board. Revised Board Policy 1800 OE-9 will be included on the consent agenda for Board approval.

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

The Board voted 5-0 and the Student Representatives voted 2-0 to approve the revisions to Board Policy 3205. The Board will consider further policy revisions at the next regular meeting.

5. Board Policy 1605: Monitoring Superintendent Performance - Superintendent Evaluatory Letter

The Board presented their evaluatory letter to the Superintendent, offering narrative feedback in public session on his performance in 2025. The evaluatory letter was read aloud at the meeting.

The Board conducted the formal summative evaluation of the Superintendent at their meeting on February 26, 2026, and found Superintendent Rundle to be in compliance with Board Policy 1605. 

Board Discussion, Action, and/or Recommendations

Each Board member spoke to Superintendent Rundle about his evaluation and his performance as the Superintendent.

The last three items on the agenda for the meeting were the Consent Agenda, Superintendent Report & Announcements, and the Legislative Report.

Consent Agenda – The Consent Agenda was passed 5-0 by the Board and 2-0 by the Student Representatives.

Superintendent Report – Superintendent Rundle spoke about the feedback the District has received from the community about technology in schools. He asked District IT Director Andreeves Ronser to speak about some of the technology changes and upgrades the District is making in both the short and long term. Board Directors asked Ronser questions about technology in the District. Rundle had appreciative words for the work of Director of Transportation and Facilities Tony Kuhn and Assistant Director of Transportation William Gerdes this morning rerouting buses due to a tree on East Mercer way near the 4200 block.

Legislative Report – Director Bradley and Director Martinez presented a Legislative Report to the Board.

The meeting adjourned at 8:28.

We encourage community members to watch the YouTube recording of the March 12 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.