CAMANO: School Board faces questions about multiple academic advisory groups

Cameron Martinez reports from the Stanwood-Camano School Board meeting of Tue., Mar. 4, 2025, for the Stanwood Camano News. Read the whole story.

Public commenters and some school board members expressed worry over the existence of multiple Stanwood-Camano School District academic advisory groups at the school board’s Tuesday, March 4 meeting.

The two groups in question are the academic task force, led by Board President Al Schreiber, and the academic advisory committee, led by school district staff.

The academic advisory committee, which held its first meeting in December, is a group comprised of educators, district staff and parents with visits from Board Director Charlotte Murry. The committee has established goals and scope of work and is open to the public.

In October, three out of five school board members voted to authorize the separate academic task force in October, though the scope of work and task force membership remains unclear. According to public documents, the task force includes Schreiber and Director Steve King.

They Said It

Rick Flores, parent and committee member, said that by reviewing board members’ public email records, he discovered the task force was something that Schreiber and King were conspiring with certain members of the community to establish.

“This sounds a lot like what the academic advisory committee is doing, and I’m wondering why we’re trying to duplicate something that’s already done,” Flores said.

Flores said Schreiber, King and [Director Betsy] Foster — who voted to form the academic task force — should come to an academic advisory committee meeting to see the work being done.

After the public comment period, board members discussed the task force — and Director Miranda Evans expressed frustration around the lack of clarity from King and Schreiber.

Despite Evans asking for a flowchart and a clear structure for the task force, no materials were provided for Tuesday’s meeting.

Evans said she saw a post on Facebook discussing the organization of the task force — which further surprised and confused her.

“I have so very many questions,” Evans said. “Imagine my surprise when I find a structure on Facebook that talks about an organization for a team that I’ve been asking for for months. Like, these are the things that drive me crazy … I don’t understand why we need a secondary task force when we already have an advisory committee.”

Schreiber explained that the academic advisory committee covers student data, and said the two groups cannot merge because he wants the task force to cover topics such as culinary arts and the music program.

Murry also expressed concern over the lack of clarity.

“So you’re telling me this academic task force exists, and we have no understanding as a complete board,” she said.

Schreiber said it did not exist, and that only a framework of the task force exists.

Murry proposed that Schreiber bring a filled-out form about the task force to the next meeting so the board can properly discuss what the group would entail.