Transparency and Community Engagement

The words transparency and community engagement were brought up during the PTSA Council candidate forum. Many times when I hear these words my initial thought is, “WOW a school district is the most transparent of any governmental agencies”, well at least ours is. We publish meeting minutes of all our board meetings as required by law. We are govern by the Open Public Meetings Act (OMPA) and are required to take training yearly. We publish a “Citizen’s budget” every year. Our Ambassador’s program is one of the leading program’s in the state for community engagement. Every other year, we provide an opportunity to educate and share detailed information with people from the community about school district finance, maintenance and operations, teaching and learning, curriculum development, nutrition and transportation. This multi-session program ends with a bus tour of the school district which is 250 square miles the largest land mass for a school in King county. Upon graduation of the program, we now have “Ambassadors” of the district who can help advocate on the behalf of the district. Additionally, members of the community are involved in many key decisions as they lend their voices on committees such as re-opening, hiring, technology, and at board roundtables. We have a strategic plan for community engagement and encourage all who want to support schools to participate.

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About the author: Lori

Lori Oviatt has served on the Riverview School Board of Directors since 2006, she lives on an acreage in the wild woods near Lake Joy and loves to serve in the public school system. She is a Learning Solutions Provider for many corporations and non-profits around the globe. She loves to talk education and learning!