Responsibilities of the Board of Directors:
- Hiring and evaluating the Superintendent;
- Establishing policies for governing the school district;
- Adopting a balanced budget each year;
- Having legal and fiduciary authority for the school district;
- Adopting instructional materials; and
- Serving as community representatives to the district and on behalf of the district.
Meetings
School Board meetings begin at 6:00pm and are held in the 4th Floor Auditorium at the Central Administration Building at 601 South 8th Street in Tacoma, unless otherwise posted. (Get directions) All regular board business meetings and study session meetings are public and everyone is encouraged to attend. Executive sessions are closed to the public. Public parking and the main entrance are located on the west side of the building at South G Street.
We Love to Hear From You
School board members encourage public participation. Your input is appreciated. If you would like to address the school board, you can do so in the following ways:
-
Email/Phone
Find contact info for each Director, email address and telephone number, or you can
send them all an email at once.
-
Public Meeting
To address the board at a public meeting, you will submit a "Citizens' Request to Speak" card prior to the start of the meeting.
- The superintendent will call your name when it is your turn to address the school board.
- You will have up to three minutes to share your comments.
- The Board does not take public comments on issues related to personnel or individually named staff at Board meetings
Student School Board Representatives
The All-City Senate elects two student representatives to the school board each year. These representatives attend school board meeting and share the ideas and concerns of students attending the district's high schools.
Accessibility
The Board of Directors' meetings are accessible to all regardless of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a guide dog or trained service animal (a service animal is an animal that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability).
Accomodation - Persons requiring accommodations for a disability in order to attend a Board meeting (including the services of a sign language interpreter) should contact the District's ADA Coordinator at 253.571.1250, before 4:30 p.m., at least three working days before the meeting to ensure that the District has sufficient time to implement appropriate accommodations.
Interpreter - Individuals requesting a language interpreter for a Board meeting for any language, other than a sign language interpreter, should contact the Board Office at 253.571.1443 before 4:30 p.m., at least three working days before the meeting to ensure that the District has sufficient time to identify an interpreter.
Non-Discrimination
Tacoma Public Schools does not discriminate in any programs or
activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin,
age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or
identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal
and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth
groups. The following employees have been designated to handle
questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Civil Rights
Coordinator: Lisa Nolan, 253-571-1252, lnolan@tacoma.k12.wa.us; Title
IX Coordinator: James Neil, 253-571-1123, jneil@tacoma.k12.wa.us; and
504 Coordinator: John Page, 253-571-1171, jpage@tacoma.k12.wa.us.
Address: P.O. Box 1357, Tacoma, WA 98401-1357.
