Board split over new fingerprint/volunteer letter; motion to delay Jan.1 effective date fails

A district-drafted letter proposing fingerprint-based background checks for "any field trip or unsupervised volunteer activity" prompted a lengthy discussion at the Dec. 9 board meeting.

Board member Kelly Zimmerman raised concerns that parents had already received and signed the existing handbook and that the new letter appeared to change those terms midyear without adequate notice. Principals and site administrators told the board they reached consensus to use Raptor soft checks immediately and give parents roughly 10 weeks to roll fingerprints with DPS so field trips would not be canceled while families obtained clearance. Principal Valdez (Blue Horizons) described the soft-check approach as an immediate red-flag system tied to the Raptor visitor-management system.

Zimmerman moved that staff send the letter to parents the following day but alter the letter’s effective date from Jan. 1 to Feb. 16 to allow time for parents to obtain clearances; the motion was seconded. Board members debated whether the board should adopt a volunteer policy before changing the handbook and whether the administration had sufficient staffing capacity to process roll fingerprints (staff noted a backlog of about 262 people in the queue). When the board voted on the motion to send the modified letter, it failed (2 ayes, 3 nays). The failed motion leaves the administration’s drafted schedule unchanged as of the end of the meeting; board members asked for further clarification and policy work.

Principal and administrative statements during the discussion emphasized student safety as the motivation for the change while several board members emphasized parental access and the need for a clear volunteer policy to avoid unintended consequences (for example, preventing parents with certain criminal histories from ever attending field trips). Board members asked staff to return with additional detail about implementation capacity and recommended the board create a volunteer policy to clarify long-term practice.