February

16, 2016

Dear Mead Community,

As many of you know, to address overcrowding the Mead School District Board of Directors
in June of 2015, authorized the formation of a Boundary Review Committee to study and
make a recommendation for changes to current elementary school boundaries. The
committee met several times throughout the fall/winter and at the February 8, 2016,
school board meeting publicly presented a thoughtful recommendation. A summary of the
proposal is posted on District and school websites.

When the Board established the Boundary Review Committee the purpose was to gather
necessary information that would be helpful in planning for future growth. The District and
Board have also been investigating alternative solutions to the overcrowding problem
beyond boundary changes. These include potential real estate purchases, as well as
legislative changes that would allow the District to utilize otherwise unavailable facilities to
house students. Our current situation is also impacted by the failure of the February 2010
bond that would have allowed construction of facilities to meet growth needs.

Even though no action was taken on the recommendation at the February 8th meeting, and
the Board had no preset implementation timeline, simply the possibility of a future change
has created significant tension and uncertainty, as well as concern that the process . . . if
implemented in the fall of 2016 . . . is moving too quickly.

The primary purpose of this letter is to let you know that, even though we are in the early
stages of the boundary change process, in the best interest of the entire school district, the
Board WILL NOT take action on the boundary change recommendation this school year.

The process will continue with the Community Input Forums, scheduled for March 2nd at
Mead High School and March 9th at Mt. Spokane High School. Both forums start at 6:30 p.m.
and provide the opportunity to learn first-hand about the proposed movement areas and
the rationale for recommended revisions. I encourage you to attend and provide
constructive feedback on the recommendation.

While no boundary changes will be implemented for the 2016-2017 school year, our
current overcrowding situation does not go away it only compounds each year as more
students move into the District. After Spring Break, and into the beginning of the upcoming
school year, I will be meeting with community groups to talk about solutions including the
possibility of running a bond next February for a new elementary school and/or new
middle school (grades 6-8). We will also use the ThoughtExchange online engagement tool
to solicit community input. In addition to the facility issues we face because of growth,
other challenges include the number of classrooms needed to fully implement all day
kindergarten and the impact to facilities created by the lower class size requirements
enacted by the state legislature.

We are a very good school district and community. We all care about our kids and their
education. It is my hope we collectively adopt a respectful, community-wide approach to
addressing the needs of our growing school district. However, to meet the needs created by
growth, it will take the concerted effort, support and cooperation of all patrons in the

District, not just those currently impacted by the recent Boundary Review Committee
recommendation.

As always, I welcome your questions, comments or concerns. Please feel free to contact me
by calling 465-6014 or via email tom.rockefeller@mead354.org.

Sincerely,

Tom Rockefeller