Port Angeles School Board declines to approve June 18 meeting minutes

The Port Angeles School District Board of Directors voted on Thursday, July 23, against approving the official record of its June 18 session, the meeting at which members voted 4-1 to issue a censure against Director Nancy Hamilton.

That decision means the written account of the proceedings from that evening will not be accessible to the public for a minimum of three additional weeks.

Executive assistant Casey McDonald informed board members that minutes uploaded to BoardDocs remain unavailable to the public until the board gives its formal approval.

Later that afternoon, Hamilton sent an email containing a formal objection to the board, and Board President Sandy Long requested that she read the statement aloud.

Hamilton stated that under her responsibilities as outlined in RCW 28A.150.230, the official video recording demonstrates the draft record contains "material omissions, chronological reversals, and factual inaccuracies."

She identified four specific issues. The draft attributes the calling of a five-minute recess due to audience outbursts to Long; Hamilton asserted that Superintendent Michelle Olsen initiated the pause and that a board employee does not possess the authority to recess a meeting convened by elected officials.

The record indicates vote tallies on her motions to postpone the censure and the superintendent's contract; Hamilton maintains that both proposals failed because they lacked a second.

Additionally, she asserts that the recesses lasted significantly longer than what is documented, and that the draft fails to note that a majority of the board departed the public floor to convene in an enclosed room.

Her fourth point requests that the record reflect that the outcry from the audience occurred following her motion to indefinitely postpone the censure and was in response to how the board handled that issue.

Directors did not debate the merits of her claims and adopted none of the corrections she proposed. One director remarked that the document contained points of disagreement and inquired how the review process would proceed.

Following McDonald's guidance, the board first voted against approving the minutes, then passed a second motion deferring approval to Aug. 13 for further review.

No other item on the approximately three-hour agenda touched upon the censure or Hamilton's July 14 lawsuit against the district and the board. No executive session was conducted.

Five weeks following the censure, the board selected Hamilton to serve as its 2026-27 legislative representative via a voice vote.

A shortfall that keeps growing

During the budget hearing at 6:30 p.m., Olsen stated that the deficit identified by the district in April, approximately $1.9 million, has expanded to about $2.3 million.

She detailed the contributing factors: a Title I allocation roughly $79,000 below expectations, an insurance cost increase initially projected at $180,000 which a May 15 email indicated would instead rise to $360,000, and an unfunded state requirement under the Washington Clean Buildings Performance Standard.

Approximately an hour prior to the meeting, Director of Finance and Operations Greg Geyer provided her with another figure. Clallam County reported an error regarding property within the district's taxing area that Geyer stated will result in a loss of $152,000 in local property tax revenue this month.

Director Ned Hammar estimated the cumulative total of unforeseen costs since May 15 at nearly $630,000. He further noted that the state's prototypical funding model provides for approximately 10 paraeducators, whereas the district employs roughly 130.

The proposed budget forecasts general fund revenue of $64,376,849 against expenditures of $64,524,851, leaving a shortfall of about $148,000. Approximately 85% of general fund expenditures are allocated to staffing, and the plan assumes 135 fewer full-time equivalent students compared to last year's budget.

Olsen reported that the district's OSPI financial profile score increased from 1.9 to 2.6 out of 4 and its state audit returned clean.

Directors also greenlit Resolution 2627-01, which formalizes the transfer of authority to issue the outstanding $110 million from a voter-endorsed bond program. Officials indicated the bond issuance is targeted for mid-October.

The governing board has set Aug. 13 for final adoption of the fiscal year’s operating plan.