October may seem far away, but now is the time to begin to identify your PTA's voting delegates for this year's WSPTA Legislative Assembly so they will be able to register when registration opens. Legislative Assembly will be held remotely through the Whova App on October 21 and October 22, 2023. Registration will open soon!
About Legislative Assembly: The Washington State PTA legislative platform is a two-year platform to mirror the Washington state legislative cycle. On the even-numbered years, the new platform is voted on by members at the legislative assembly in the fall. The top five issues become our short-term platform and consist of our priority issues when advocating throughout the year. Other issues are placed on an “also supported” list. Learn about WSPTA's current legislative priorities and other supported issues. More on Advocacy:
Northshore Council PTSA invites you to attend the School Board Candidates Meet & Greet. Enjoy coffee and baked treats while getting to know the Northshore School Board candidates in a casual setting at the park. There is no formal Q&A at this event. All four candidates who filed to run for Northshore School Board have been invited to attend by Northshore Council PTSA.
Questions? Email advocacy@northshorecouncilptsa.org Primary elections will be held on Tuesday, August 1st. Voter registration information available. Register to vote or update your registration information today! Disclaimer: Northshore Council PTSA does not support or oppose any candidate (appointed or elected) for public office. This event is to assist the community in making an informed judgment in the election of its school board. School Board Candidates
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Director District No. 2 Candidate
☐ Elisabeth Sotak Candidate is unopposed and will not appear on Primary Ballot in August, but will appear on the November ballot. |
Board members represent the district at large although they must reside in specific geographical areas of the district. Voters within the Northshore School District boundaries are able to vote for all school board director positions.
- You are new to Washington State
- You have recently moved
- You have a new mailing address
- You changed your name
Important Dates: |
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July 11 - King County July 12 - Snohomish County |
Voters' Pamphlet mailed |
July 12 - King County July 13 - Snohomish County |
Local ballots mailed. |
July 24 |
Last day for voters to register or update voter information online. |
August 1 Election Day |
Last day for voters to register or update voter information in person. Last day for voters to return voted ballot by mail postmarked by today or dropped in ballot drop box by 8 p.m. The August 1 Primary features local races and will narrow the field of candidates to the top two who will go on to the General Election on November 7. It also features local ballot measures. |
August 1, 2023 - Primary
November 7, 2023 - General Election
February 13, 2024 - Special Election
Snohomish County Election Information: https://snohomishcountywa.gov/224/Elections-Voter-Registration
WA Secretary of State: https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections
We welcomed NSD’s Director of Food Services Juliana Fisher as our guest speaker. Ms. Fisher shared with us that about 2500 NSD students qualify for Free and Reduced rate breakfasts and lunches, but unfortunately only a fraction of them are currently enrolled in the program. As a result, Food Services is partnering with schools to make sure that all families are aware of the benefits and services to their students, and to encourage them to sign up if they qualify for the program. Ms. Fisher also shared with us that Food Services has faced some recent challenges due to the COVID pandemic and the impact that it had on providing meals at all schools. The main challenges have been a decrease in staffing, as well as supply chain issues. These issues have impacted the capacity for menu varieties, scratch cooking, cultural access, increasing vegetarian/vegan options, and cultural/linguistic/emotional access. Recently, Food Services created and implemented a picture food menu for our schools, which has been a hit with some of our students! Thank you, Ms. Fisher, for joining us and sharing with us how NSD Food Services continues to feed our students in our schools!
Council Business:
Council Treasurer Serena Xu presented the February Financial Report for review and approval, as well as the proposed Council budget for the 2023-2024 school year. Many thanks to the Council Budget committee (Mary Khouzam, Rachel Fitzgerald, Serena Xu, Brenae Brix, and Melissa Kline) for all of your hard work in helping create and proposing the new Council budget! Serena also shared with us that the Standard of Affiliation (SOA) is complete, and all elected Council officers have completed all of their required training, including PTA and the Law. Speaking of the SOA, Council Board member Diana Christiansen shared that 6 NSD schools participated in our SOA Raffle Drawing. The participating schools were Lockwood Elementary, Innovation Lab High School, Woodin Elementary, Frank Love Elementary, Cottage Lake Elementary, and Canyon Creek Elementary. The winner of the SOA Raffle Drawing is Lockwood Elementary! Congratulations, Lockwood!
Council Nominating Committee member Cherry Holmes presented nominees for Council Executive Officers, and a vote was taken to approve the nominations. Our new Council Executive Board for the 2023-2024 school year are as follows:
President - Rachel Fitzgerald
Vice President - Grace Jurado
Treasurer - Brenae Brix
Co-VP of Advocacy - Holly Muenchow
Co-VP of Advocacy - Terra Droney
VP of Communications - Jennifer Snyder
VP of Elementary Support - Diana Christiansen
VP of Secondary Support - Jennifer Drury
Congratulations, new Executive Board members!
We currently have two Executive Board positions that we need to fill. Those positions are Secretary and VP of Events. If you like keeping accurate records and creating meeting minutes and newsletters, or if you love throwing parties or events, please consider throwing your name in the hat for one of these roles. Council will continue to seek volunteers for the OPEN positions of Secretary and VP of Events with the goal of holding an election at our General Membership Meeting on May 15, 2023.
Advocacy Chair Jen Drury gave thanks to all of those involved in advocating for the best superintendent candidates, and thanks, also, to all of those who spent time during this last Washington State Legislative Session advocating for the Special Education bill, which passed in the Senate. Thank you, advocates! Half a dozen of advocates, including parents, spent much time in Zoom meetings with our legislators, and 2 dozen NSD parents, students, Superintendent Tolley, NSD school staff, and school board members traveled to Olympia on February 20th to meet with our state legislators and shared their voices in advocating for things that impact our students and our schools. Thank you for all of your advocacy!
On behalf of the Grant Committee Chair (Grace Jurado, who as unable to join us), Mary Khouzam shared that another round for grant application submissions was open until March 24th, and the Council Awards Nominations form will be available soon.
Reflections Chair Jasmine Fry shared that online showcasing is now available on Council’s website, and several NSD students did well! Carissa P. from Leota Middle School is advancing to National Reflections for Videography. Congratulations, Carissa!
After several other committee updates, including info for an upcoming Mental Health Fair on May 23rd at Skyview Middle School, and a reminder that the Washington State PTA Convention will be held in May at the Bellevue Hilton, Co-Chair President, Mary Khouzam, brought our meeting to a close by reminding us that planning for Council’s Spring Recognition Even is underway, and details will be shared shortly. To help determine the time of day that works best for attendance, Mary shared a link to a poll asking us if a morning event time or an afternoon event time works best for each of us.
Thank you to everyone who took time to join us!
Northshore Council PTSA General Meeting
Thursday, January 19, 2023 6:30 PM Meet & Greet 7 PM Meeting Begins Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88665634062 Meeting ID: 886 6563 4062 Passcode: Available Upon Request |
Please join us for our membership meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2023 via Zoom! Meet & Greet: Join us before the meeting, at 6:30PM, to chat with Council and other local PTA Leaders! Come say hi, ask questions, or just hang out for social time before the meeting. Agenda: In addition to our regular business, we will be electing our Nominating Committee Members. (See First Notice of Election) |
*A meeting passcode is required to join. It will be sent to local leaders via email prior to the meeting. You can also request the passcode by emailing Council PTSA Communications VP, Jenn Snyder.
Current Election Information: November 8, 2022 is General Election Day. Confirm or update your voter registration information today at VoteWA.gov. If you are registered to vote, your ballot is mailed automatically and there's no need to request one. View the Online Voters' Guide or the list of Candidates Who Filed. October 21 ballots are mailed out by county election offices no later than 18 days prior to election day. Ballots for eligible military and overseas voters are mailed 45 days prior. October 31 is the deadline to register or update your address online. You may also register and vote in person at a county voting center through election day. | Ballots will begin arriving in two weeks! Learn more about what will be on yours with these resources: Personalized voters’ guide: Log in to VoteWA.gov Current election information ¡Las boletas comenzarán a llegar en dos semanas! Obtenga más información sobre qué tendrá la suya con estos recursos: Guía para votantes personalizada: ingrese a VoteWA.gov Información de la elección actual 選票將在兩週內到達!請使用以下資源了解更多有關您的選票內容: 個人化選民指南:登入 VoteWA.gov 目前的選舉資訊 Các lá phiếu sẽ đến trong hai tuần nữa! Tìm hiểu thêm về thông tin trên lá phiếu của quý vị với những nguồn hỗ trợ sau: Hướng dẫn cho từng cử tri: Đăng nhập vào VoteWA.gov Thông tin bầu cử hiện tại |
We will share results with Northshore PTA Presidents and Advocacy/Legislative Chairs.
- Register for WSPTA's Legislative Assembly by October 6th, 2022.
- Council's Advocacy Page
- Questions? Contact Council's VP of Advocacy, Jennifer Drury
We Want to Hear from You!

Hosting a student voter registration drive is a great way to not only increase your local advocacy efforts, but to also put the "S" into PTSA by elevating student voices. Students can promote civic engagement through voter registration drives and registering to vote themselves.
Tips & Resources for Holding a Voter Registration Drive
- Check with your school administration before the drive so they are aware of the event. Your school may even be able to help promote your voter registration drive!
- National PTA's Voter Registration Tool - Register to vote using NPTA's online voter registration tool.
- From Washington Secretary of State (https://www.sos.wa.gov/):
- League of Women Voters - Consider partnering with them as they have a lot of experience running voter registration drives.

Last night at the January 20th General Membership Meeting Council's Board of Directors put forward the issue of supporting the bond and levies that are on the February ballot.
During this meeting we presented both the pro and con positions on the issue before calling for a motion to determine our PTSA’s support of or opposition to the bond and levies.
Council would like to announce that the motion to support the Northshore School District Bond & Levies on the February 8th Ballot was passed unanimously.
Resources to Learn More about the Bond & Levies, including the Pro and Con Positions
General Bond & Levies Info: https://www.nsd.org/our-district/overview/bond-levies
Pro Position Info: https://citizensfornorthshoreschools.org/
Con Position Info: https://www.nsdstudentsfirst.com/home
January 21st - Ballots are mailed out and Accessible Voting Units (AVUs) are available at voting centers.
January 31st - Last day for voters to register or update voter information online
February 8th - Last day for voters to register or update voter information in person by 8pm
February 8th - *Special Election Day* Deposit your ballot in an official drop box by 8pm
Additional Resources
King County Ballot Information
Snohomish County Ballot Information
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