Waitsburg School Board Summary

Secondary Principal Report

(Stephanie Wooderchak)

WHS FFA Trap team participated in State Competition on April 12-13

SBAC testing for grades 6-12 began Mon., April 15

Prom will be held with Dayton on April 20

NHS will host a blood drive on Mon., April 29

Teagan Larsen, Kolby Harris and Amy Farley will be inducted into NHS this month

State FFA Convention is May 9-11

Class photos are May 1

Mr. Leahy will travel with 6th grade students to Camp Wooten from May 28-31.

WHS Graduation is May 31. Leena Baker is valedictorian and Loren Negron is salutatorian.

Dayton and Waitsburg will present a joint 7/8 grade band concert in the Dayton gym at 7 p.m. on June 3

Preston Hall promotion will be June 6

Athletic Director Report

(Stephanie Wooderchak)

The weather has caused difficulty with the spring sports schedule

Spring football will begin in late May for current grade 8-11 students

Fall sports schedules are complete and available upon request

Facilities/Maintenance/Transportation Report (Colter Mohney)

Focus has been on the outdoors and the school mower has broken down

Ball fields are coming together and looking better

The cooling system seems to be working well

Roof leaks have been remedied

The district is desperately in need of bus drivers. Mohney is willing to help get interested individuals through the program

Elementary Principal Report (Jon Mishra)

Conferences have been completed

April 17 talent show was a success

SBAC testing for grades 3-5 is April 30-May 24

Superintendent Report (Jon Mishra)

Staff Appreciation Luncheon is May 3

Encouraged early registration for WSSDA conference

Presented legislation timeline overview and cutoff dates

Presented a budgeting overview. Hope is for more clarity following the end of the legislative session on April 28. Mishra recommended a conservative budget.

Board/Public Comment

High school teacher Jim lead encouraged board and community members to lobby representatives about school budget needs

High school teacher Nancy Bickelhaupt spoke on the need and importance of retaining Life Management Skills as a required part of the curriculum, rather than aligning with less restrictive OSPI requirements. Students Melany Lane-Laudenslager and Kevin Murphy shared their experiences in the class and spoke on the importance of the information they learned. Both said they would hate to see the class dropped as a requirement.

Old Business

Enrollment Update – Current head count is 276 with a FTE of 264.49

Combine Update – Board agreed with Dayton’s request to support meal stops for all games that are 40 miles from the closest school ECEAP/Pre-School Update – The Dept. of Children Youth and Families has been conducted to conduct a site review to move the ECEAP preschool to Prescott in 2019-20. Board agreed to keep out-of-district tuition for the Waitsburg levy-sponsored preschool at $200/mo.

Board unanimously agreed to align Waitsburg School District graduation requirements with OSPI requirements

Board reviewed and responded positively to a proposed seven-period day master schedule for grades 6-12.

Initial superintendent interviews of five individuals will take place April 22 and 24. (See story on Page 1)

New Business

Four school board seats will be coming vacant. Filing will open May 13 and close May 17.

Board approved adoption of new McGraw-Hill 6-12 grade science curriculum for 2019-20 at a cost of $24,875. The curriculum will replace middle school kits and high school books that are close to 30 years old.

Board agreed not to fill the Family and Consumer Science teaching position vacated by retiring teacher Nancy Bickelhaupt. The decision was based on budget needs and the fact that the state considers the school over-staffed in regard to funding.

The board unanimously voted to terminate the lease on the district house, effective June 30, to make it available for a new superintendent. Board member Jason Kaehler confirmed that if the new superintendent does not want to use the house, current resident Stephanie Wooderchak can rent the home at full market value.

Approved a stipend of $1750 for music teacher Shelby Pomerinke