Responsibilities of the Board
- 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.
Compensation and Budget
When the board adopted its 2018-19 budget in August 2018, it included $350,000 for election costs. Whenever school districts ask voters to approve a local levy or bond measure, the school district must bear its share of the election costs, and the amount is included and accounted for in the school board's budget.
(Note: To help close the school district's 2018-19 budget deficit, the district decided to delay a previously anticipated bond election and eliminate the $350,000 expenditure from the 2018-19 budget.)
School board members do not receive a salary. The board budget includes per diem ($50 per day) payments for board members attending board meetings or performing other services for the district. State law limits each board member to a maximum compensation of $4,800 per year. Policy 1733R
The board budget includes items such as travel costs for board members traveling on district business, some legal costs, $100,000 the school district pays for state audits and memberships in board organizations such as the Washington State School Directors Association and the National School Boards Association.
The school board budget also includes the cost of salary and benefits for the board's executive assistant.
Interact with Your Board
School board members encourage public participation. Your input is appreciated. If you would like to interact with 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 Meetings
The Tacoma Public School Board values public input.
Thank you for coming to our meeting and providing comments. Please note that Board meetings are public, televised and recorded. Read our
Guidelines for Public Comments 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).
Accommodation - 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, lnolan@tacoma.k12.wa.us, 253-571-1252;
- Title IX Coordinator: Eric Hogan, ehogan1@tacoma.k12.wa.us, 253-571-1191;
- 504 Coordinator: Elementary, Tracye Ferguson, afergus@tacoma.k12.wa.us, 253-571-1096;
- 504 Coordinator: Secondary, Jon Bell, jbell2@tacoma.k12.wa.us, 253-571-1225.
Mailing address: P.O. Box 1357, Tacoma, WA 98401-1357.
