Bellevue Education Association

The Bellevue Education Association is a professional association and union that serves as an advocate for its members and empowers the individuals it represents. It promotes positive educational working environments, safeguards members' rights, informs and works with the extended community, provides representation on educational issues and acts to obtain the resources necessary to insure excellence in public education.

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On October 25, 2022, the BEA Representative Council voted to pass the following Resolution Regarding Community Engagement Officers in BSD.

Resolution Regarding Community Engagement Officers in BSD

WHEREAS, the BEA Representative Council adopted an Equity Resolution on November 15, 2018 that outlines our commitment to educators and students of color, and

WHEREAS, the Bellevue Education Association believes in respect for students of color as shown through its previous adoption of a Resolution to Support the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, as well as the goals of the national Black Lives Matter at School movement, specifically, to "Prioritize placement of counselors, not cops in K-12 schools", and

WHEREAS, the Bellevue Education Association passed a resolution on June 11, 2020 demanding an end to the placement of School Resource Officers in our district and recognizing “…that we participate in and perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline and other expressions of institutional racism through our biases, our curriculum, our pedagogy, and our discipline policies, and that we continue to harm Black students and families when we do not act to dismantle institutional racism…”, and

WHEREAS, the Bellevue School District in 2021 declined the Community Based Advisory Council’s transformative recommendation to discontinue the School Resource Officer position and invest in mental health resources for our students, and WHEREAS, the Bellevue Education Association signed the Eastside Pathway Equity Pledge as a partner organization on September 23, 2021, committing to “implement systemic change” and taking action to reduce harm for students of color, and

WHEREAS, the Bellevue School District has implemented the position of Community Engagement Officer for Fall 2022 with the power to conduct “…interviews and interrogations; search of a student’s person, possessions or locker; citations, filing of delinquency petitions, referrals to a probation officer, actual arrests, and other referrals to the juvenile justice system consistent with Policy 3230 (PDF) and Procedure 3230P (PDF) – Student Privacy and Searches…” according to the current CEO FAQ available at the district website in July 2022.

WHEREAS, the Bellevue Education Association recognizes that many students and staff have experienced an increase in violence across campuses in recent years and there exist valid, important concerns regarding safety on campus.

WHEREAS, the BEA supports clarifying the responsibilities and further training of on-campus Administration to respond to incidents of violence and also to increase access to mental health counseling at our schools.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Bellevue Education Association opposes the decision by the Bellevue School District to implement the Community Engagement Officer position as outlined above, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Bellevue Education Association supports equitable policing for public safety in our community beyond school campuses, and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Bellevue Education Association calls on the Bellevue School District Board of Directors and Superintendent to take the necessary budget action to align with this resolution and in so doing reallocate resources for this program to further support wrap-around services necessary for our students and schools.

BEA Executive Board

President: Jill Rock

BEA Office

Vice President: Regen Lorden

BEA Office

Secretary: Abigail Horsfall

International School

Treasurer: Sara Clarke

Highland Middle

Equity Specialist: Marnie Kazarian Olson

Enatai Elementary

Early Career Educator Specialist: Tasha Dhoot

Wilburton Elementary

High School Rep: Anna Silarski

International School

Middle School Rep: Dave Jensen

Tillicum Middle School

Elementary Rep: Kyle Reimergartin

Spiritridge Elementary

Elementary Rep: Lena Pothitou-West

Somerset Elementary

Classroom-Based Services: Kim Hay

Tillicum Middle School

ESA Rep: Michelle Mordaunt

Highland Middle School

Specialist Rep: Mark Wilbert

BSD Central Office

Sammamish UniServ Council Board Representative

Eve Chan

Jill Rock

Regen Lorden

Chad Harper

Maya Vergien

MLK Labor Council

Stephen Miller

Two open seats

BEA Fall Special Election 2022 Results

Special Election Fall 2022 Ceritified Results

BEA Rep. Council Endorses BSD Levy Renewal

On December 16, 2021, the BEA Representative Coucil unanimously voted to endorse the BSD Levy Renewal. The vote will be held February 8th. Click here to read more about the two levy renewals.

BEA Rep. Council supports BSD Community Agreements

On December 16, 2021, the BEA Representative Coucil voted to sign the BSD Community Agreements written by Interlake High School senior Priyanka Mukhara.

The full text of the Community Agreements is below:

Dear BSD community members,

The effort to create accepting, anti-racist communities within our Bellevue schools has persisted for many years. With BSD staff, students, and administrators working towards our own personal ideals, it has come time for us to work together to reach a common vision, and to expand our efforts towards a shared goal.

With the intent to create a tolerant, anti-racist BSD culture and community, we work towards:

1. Adopting the goals of the anti-racist petition on a district-level.

2. Implementing the anti-racist practices outlined in the petition within individual classrooms.

3. Including student representation on high school building REI teams.

4. Encouraging the development of race, sexuality, and other identity-based affinity groups at all BSD schools.

a.Ensuring the presence of a SOAR chapter at each school.

BEA Constitution Changes - Election Results (2/3 voting members in favor needed to pass)

1.) Article VII, Section 4- Representative Council

(Addition of 6 new At-Large Representative Council positions)

PASSED: 87.78% - YES, 12.22% - NO

2.) Article VII, Section 5 - Representative Council

(Term date to start on July 10th)

PASSED: 93.41% - YES, 6.59% - NO

3.) Article VIII, Section 2 - Executive Board

(Addition of 2 At-Large Executive Board positions)

PASSED: 78.28% - YES, 21.72% - NO

Eastside Pathways Equity Pledge

On September 23, 2021, our BEA Representative Council voted to sign the Eastside Pathways Equity Pledge as a Partner Organization.

Eastside Pathways Equity Pledge participants believe that:

Race is a human-invented social construct and a classification system used as a tool for oppression and violence.
Racism is designed to privilege White people and set “Whiteness” as the norm.
Acknowledging racism and its impact on all people, particularly people of color, is foundational to doing racial equity work.
Courage, accountability and collaboration are key leadership skills to reimagine our community and how we operate within it.
Addressing internalized, interpersonal, institutional and structural inequality (particularly racial inequity) leads to more diversity and inclusion.