Committee to keep eye on school bond spending

Eight citizens serve on capital projects oversight committee

Information from the Highline School District

Eight community members will be keeping a close eye on the progress and spending on Highline Public Schools bond projects.

These community members have agreed to serve as the Capital Projects Oversight Committee to ensure accountability on school construction projects. Committee members are appointed to serve a two-year term. They will meet monthly starting June 14.

Four members represent the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) that planned the school bond. Other members were appointed for their experience in finance, construction and real estate. All are residents of the Highline community.

Please meet our Capital Projects Oversight Committee:

Dave Bush, Real Estate Broker, Windermere Realty
Dave is a City of SeaTac councilmember and has been a real estate broker for Windermere Real Estate in Burien for the past 25 years. His business experience includes serving as vice president of two corporations. He has served as a Highline Schools Foundation trustee, President of the SeaTac Rotary Club, Matt Griffin YMCA board member, and Tyee High School PTSA President.

Scott Gifford, Attorney, Scott Gifford Law

Scott was born and raised in the Highline community. He is a local attorney focusing on estate and business planning. He serves as a trustee with the Highline Schools Foundation and is president of the board for both Burien Actors Theater and Des Moines Police Foundation.

Michelle Sipes-Marvin, Councilmember, City of Normandy Park
Michelle is a Normandy Park city councilmember. She grew up in Highline, attending Bow Lake Elementary, Chinook Middle School, and Tyee High School. She has two daughters who attend Marvista Elementary. Michelle is a registered nurse and co-owner of two local businesses, MSA Legal Nurse Consulting and Sipes Homecare Solutions. She also represents the City of Normandy Park on the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee in 2017-2018.

Rose Clark, Chair, Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC)
Rose is a long-time resident of Highline. Her three children and two grandchildren graduated from Highline schools. She volunteered in local schools and was a district employee for 21 years. She was PTSA president at the North Hill, Riverton Heights, and Tyee schools and served on the district PTSA Council. Rose worked with the state health department to conduct the first health study related to SeaTac Airport in 1997. She helped craft the first Burien Comprehensive Plan adopted in 1997, and was a City of Burien councilmember from 2000 to 2013. She is the Burien Lions president and the founder and president of Des Moines Memorial Drive Preservation Association. She was co-chair of the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee in 2015-2016, and will serve as chair in 2017-2018.

Michel Hansmire, Member, CFAC
Michel has lived in Highline since 2005 and has two school-aged children in the district. He owns the Seattle video production company Sparkworks Media. He previously served as local board president of the national nonprofit Independent Filmmaker Project and taught video production for Seattle Public Schools. He graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in economics. Michel served on the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee in 2015-2016 and will continue in 2017-2018.

Tonita Webb, Member, CFAC
Tonita is a Highline parent of four children. Two graduated from Mount Rainier High School and two are current MRHS students. She was previously a parent at Pacific and Sylvester middle schools and Des Moines Elementary. She served on the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee in 2015-2016 and will continue in 2017-2018. Tonita is executive vice president and chief operating officer for Seattle Credit Union with responsibility for capital facilities. She is also a board member for Southeast Effective Development for Seattle (SEED), which promotes arts and economic development.

Pat Patterson, Owner, P2CS
Pat has been a resident of Highline for 32 years. He has a 38-year history in the construction industry, including 20 years managing public works construction projects such as fire stations, libraries, and schools. He is a member of the construction committee for the Highline Historical Museum and the SeaTac Community Building Committee. He previously served on the Construction Oversight Committee for the South Correctional Entity (SCORE), the Citizens Advisory Committee for the federal detention center in SeaTac, and a Highline Public Schools citizens advisory committee. Pat has three children who attended Highline schools from kindergarten through graduation.

Brooks Powell, Owner/General Manager, Powell Homes
Powell Homes has been building homes in the Highline community for over 65 years. Brooks and his brother Todd have been operating the family construction business out of Des Moines since 1985. Brooks has a background in finance, construction budgeting, and real estate. His three children are graduates of Mount Rainier HIgh School.

More information is at highlineschools.org/KeepingOurPromise.