Waitsburg School Board Update

Board members: Ross Hamann, Christy House, Russ Knopp, and Randy Pearson were present with Marilyn Johnson absent.

Elementary Principal’s Report:

*A small group of students have been visiting the library on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings to check out books and listen to stories with Eleanora Montgomery. Montgomery is supervising several students using an online reading program called Read Naturally, that was purchased with grant funds.

Secondary Principal’s Report:

*The district has started interviewing for the 6th grade teaching position, vacated by Sarah Reser who has accepted a position as the literacy coordinator for ESD 123. The new position will provide Reser with valuable experience as well as aid in paying for her educational studies, according to Superintendent Carol Clarke. Secondary principal Stephanie Wooderchak said there are five interviews scheduled for the 6th grade position so far.

Athletic Director’s Report:

*Wooderchak is working with coaches to prepare the fall sports information but with vacations, it may be late Aug. before information is available, which is later than usual.

*Coaches are putting together sports orders for budget approval.

Facilities/Maintenance/Transportation Report:

*The bulk of the technology upgrades have been completed.

*The city will start work on the sidewalk replacement outside Preston Hall during the first week of August. The district’s portion of the sidewalk will be $2,200 and the district will cover the cost of putting a new fence in.

*Transportation Manager Colter Mohney will be gone two weeks for training to become a bus driver trainer which will allow him to train and sign off on new bus drivers. Currently, the closest trainer is in Walla Walla.

Superintendent’s Report:

*Clarke has been working on the capital bond survey, gathering information for budget preparation, and preparing reports for grant applications.

*The district received a letter from OSPI and the highway patrol stating that the recent school bus inspection was outstanding.

*The board reviewed a summary of counseling services from Rosy Nechodom.

*Technology upgrades by Ednetics, including new racks, uninterrupted power supply, servers, cables, and fiber optics, have been completed.

*The ESD technology director said there is a need to air condition the server room in the elementary school. The cost of a ductless unit with wiring is $6,200. This is an unexpected expenditure that must be done in order to protect the equipment, Clarke said. The server room door is being left open during the summer, but that won’t be an option during the school year.

New Business:

*The 2016-17 budget will be built on an enrollment projection of 270 K-12 full time equivalent students. Six juniors plan to attend SEA-TECH. One junior and three seniors will attend Running Start. Twenty-one students are expected to enroll in career and technical education programs, which is down from 26 last year.

*A full report will be available at the June 27 budget hearing at 7 p.m. in the Preston Hall board room.

*Board approved a 1.8% increase above last year’s salary schedules for classified staff, transportation/maintenance/facilities manager, and business manager.

*Board accepted resignation of Sarah Reser as 6th grade teacher.

*Board approved the hire of Christina Keitges as bus driver and the hire of Catherine Shepherd as bus supervisor to ride with special needs students for five weeks during the summer.

*Board reviewed bond surveys and approved drafting a resolution for a revised capital projects bond of $3.8 million to fund upgraded HVAC, a comprehensive kitchen remodel, and construction of a field house and bathrooms. See story on Page 1.