Committee of concern

COEUR d'ALENE — Continuing discussion on overcrowded schools in Coeur d'Alene and Hayden has led to dueling memos between the school district's board chair and superintendent.

The memos, included in the packet of documents distributed to school trustees in advance of tonight’s board meeting, are associated with an action item called "Attendance Zone Decisions." Board Chair Christa Hazel wrote the initial memo, stating she wanted it made publicly available "in the interest of honoring open meeting laws as well as a desire to be transparent."

"I have significant concerns about the process utilized to assist the Attendance Zone Committee's recent recommendations," Hazel wrote. "Without question, I believe the committee volunteers did an excellent job with the parameters placed upon them. They followed directions well and covered significant issues in a short time frame, however, I am unclear why these parameters were placed upon the committee that, in my opinion, were not board directed."

Hazel then detailed 14 concerns she has about the committee, including an issue with the makeup of the committee itself. A review of the committee members, Hazel wrote, shows that it "was largely comprised of staff personnel or same-household relatives of district staff."

The board, she added, approved members of the committee on two separate occasions, a process Hazel believes led to a committee with a "staff-heavy" makeup.

"The makeup of the committee was so heavily weighted, it could potentially have a chilling effect on the conversation the group needed to have," Hazel wrote. "A few members have privately shared that it was awkward to have committee conversations that were not in alignment with the direction of various administrators."

Hazel questioned why Atlas Elementary, one of the most significantly impacted schools, did not have a staff member serving on the committee.

Several of Hazel's written concerns call into question the timeline the committee was provided with. She refers to committee minutes that state they hope to provide the board of trustees with recommendations by April 2016.

"I cannot find a reference in school board meetings that reflects this dated deadline was board directed," Hazel wrote, adding that the deadline appears in the minutes of other committee minutes as well.

Hazel used the last time an Attendance Zone Committee was formed by the board in 2005 as an example of her concerns over the short timeline its current iteration is operating under. The previous committee, Hazel wrote, took three years to form recommendations for changing elementary and middle school boundaries.

"I am concerned that this current process includes a total of only six meetings," she added.

In the conclusion of her memo, Hazel advocated for the committee to reconvene to consider all options.

"I'm worried not enough time was given to this process in order to examine all factors and therefore am hesitant to support the plans presented because I'm not confident this is in the best interest of the district at this time," Hazel wrote. "I have an obligation to the families and taxpayers to look at all sides of an issue before making decisions that could impact our students, staff, or our credibility with our generous taxpayers."

On Thursday, Coeur d'Alene School District Superintendent Matt Handelman issued a memo addressing the concerns raised in Hazel's memo. The memo details the creation of the committee and the selection process used to choose its volunteer members. Handelman wrote that he told the board last year of "the impending need to consider assembling an Attendance Zone Committee for the coming year so that the board could be 'poised to make an informed decision for the 16-17 school year.'"

After detailing the formation of the committee, Handelman wrote that the volunteer group "planned with the end in mind" by determining when the board would have to make a decision that could be implemented for the 2016-17 school year.

"Given the unprecedented and unpredicted growth (by any model) that occurred at the beginning of this school year, the urgency of having recommendations to implement for the following year was amplified," Handelman wrote.

Handelman concluded his memo by stating that he has confidence the process followed by the Attendance Zone Committee was open and inclusive.

The Coeur d'Alene School District Board of Trustees meets at 5 p.m. today at the Midtown Center Meeting Room, 1505 N. Fifth St., Coeur d'Alene. Both memos are available to the public and can be found online in today’s board meeting packet published on the district's website, www.cdaschools.org.