Burien City Manager Mike Martin emphasized to Highline School Board members at a recent meeting with the council the importance of a partnership between the district and the city.
"Our residents are your students and that's why we think the partnership is so important," Martin said. "The school district has a great influence over things that are very important to us."
At their annual retreat earlier this year, council members agreed that the district would be a primary focus for them this year.
A decision on whether Burien or Seattle will get the green light to annex the North Highline Unincorporated Area, which is expected to come from the Growth Management Hearings Board this summer, will have an effect on the school district, Martin said.
"The new redevelopment area could potentially be the biggest change in the area," he noted.
Burien spends half of its annual $12 million operating budget on public safety and, Martin added, "There is a direct correlation between education and a person's willingness to commit a crime."
Council and board members also reviewed Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) scores in Highline schools and how the district compares to state averages.
City lawmakers were informed that 40 percent of fourth grade students passed the reading and writing portions of the test along with 44 percent who passed in math. Among 10th graders taking the test, 73 percent meet or exceed the standard for reading and 51 percent meet the mark in math.
Schools located in Burien are above the district average on the WASL by about 10 percent, said Superintendent John Welch.
"We have made progress but we are far from satisfied," Welch added.
Sixty-five percent of Highline students graduate from high school on time, and Highline High School has an 86 percent graduation rate.
To increase high school graduation rates, the district is adopting a new strategic plan that to prepare students for college. There are also plans for some college preparation at the middle school level along with a restructuring of the way the schools prepare students for WASL testing.
