At the Sept. 25 Bainbridge Island School Board meeting, district leaders approved policy updates and heard reports from district department leaders.

Rules surrounding use of military leave for employees, staff development and employment of student teachers all saw changes in accordance with state recommendations. But the state gave districts no guidance on how to respond to the biggest wave of new technology this decade — publicly available Artificial Intelligence tools — so district technology director Kiyo Toma tried to create some in-house.

“There are some very good frameworks of how school districts may think about doing this, but it is a complicated conversation,” said Toma at the Aug. 28 school board meeting. “We have to be willing to help ourselves understand what this means, and not wait for the state or the federal government.”

Policy 2022 governs the use of technology in classrooms in the Bainbridge Island School District. District leaders last reviewed the policy procedures, or the rules outlining how to practice a policy, in April 2013. The new language folds the “appropriate use” of AI into the district’s existing language about technology use by students, and adds lines to explain what is and is not allowed.

While nonspecific, the district will try to maintain staff and student access to AI tools to ensure that everyone can practice using them and “leverage efficiencies and productivity” where appropriate. Inappropriate uses include creating misinformation in order to bully or harm others, passing off AI-generated work as one’s own and feeding confidential information about students or staff into an AI.

The policy also notes that “any use of Artificial Intelligence that does not align with expectations outlined by a classroom instructor or building administrator” is considered inappropriate; however, “it is ultimately the teacher’s responsibility to determine the appropriate level of use of Artificial Intelligence in each classroom, and for each assignment or project.”

BISD director of facilities Dane Fenwick offered an update on ongoing projects at the district level.

Capital projects, maintenance of existing structures and student transportation remain on track, despite some setbacks, but staffing changes and new amenities have added strain to some staff departments, Fenwick said.

“Our custodians, while short-staffed in comparison to past practice due to our reductions in force, had a lot of illness at the moment. They’re working really hard just to keep our day-to-day operations going, keep our schools healthy places to be,” said Fenwick.

Additionally, groundskeeping staff have a new softball field at Woodward Middle School to maintain. Maintenance staff have to tangle with refining the schedules for heating and air conditioning equipment. The solar array installed on the roof of Woodward Middle School in June and July has not yet been connected to the electrical grid due to a delayed response from provider Puget Sound Energy, Fenwick added.

“September’s always a very difficult time for our maintenance staff in scheduling and refining schedules for our HVAC equipment,” said Fenwick. “In mid-September, we can have a really hot day and a really cold day. These temperature fluctuations are hard to deal with, because our equipment is not as dynamic as you think — a lot of it having been installed 30 years ago.”

On the other hand, facility rental revenue is through the roof, Fenwick explained, up 236% from Aug. 2024 for a total of $17,000.