Waitsburg School Board Update

The Waitsburg School Board met February 21 at 6 p.m. for a regularly scheduled meeting. Board members present were Ross Hamann, Christy House, Lisa Morrow, and Superintendent Mark Pickel.

Secondary principal Stephanie Wooderchak reported that Mr. Kiefel has been planning an enrichment day for high school and middle school students. They will be taking a ski trip to Ski Bluewood. Middle school students will ski on Feb. 28, and high school students will ski on March 13.

The high school will have a Running Start informational meeting on March 23, at 6 p.m. Running Start is a program through Walla Walla Community College that allows students to take college courses while in high school.

Mrs. Wooderchak, Ms. Ball, and Mr. Starring will travel to a job fair in Spokane on March 18 to advertise the K-12 Music Specialist position.

There was no report from the Athletic Director. Superintendent Pickel reported that a group of staff from both Waitsburg and Dayton School Districts had been meeting every Monday to discuss sports schedules, transportation, and other sports combine-related matters. They planned to meet Feb. 24 to discuss spring sports.

There was no report from the transportation and maintenance department. Mr. Pickel reported that one employee will be taking a leave of absence, and the district will begin looking for a temporary maintenance employee to help with summer tasks.

Mr. Pickel reported that the elementary classes recently finished their Jump for Heart and Hoops for Heart fundraiser. He reported that the students raised $2,000. He said that the high school students that helped with the program presented him with some ideas for next year, and he relayed them to Kathy Schirm, who puts the program on.

As of last Tuesday, there were 15 girls signed up for the Girls on the Run after school program. Christy House, who is a Girls on the Run coach, said that they are looking for volunteer running buddies. The goal is to have a running buddy for each participant.

Kindergarten registration will be April 1st and 2nd. Information will be going home this week. Parent teacher conferences will be April 2nd.

Superintendent Pickel reported that the school is collecting files for the upcoming Consolidated Program review, which will audit all spending of federal dollars.

During the second half of January, Superintendent Pickel met with various community groups, like the Prayer Shawl Knitting Group and the Waitsburg Grocery morning coffee drinkers, before school, to answer any questions about the proposed levy. He said he would like to continue the community outreach and connection The levy passed with 49.8 percent of certified voters. Certified voters are voters who have voted on levies in the past. A levy requires 40 percent of voters to be certified in order to be passed.

The calendar committee and budget committees have been busy as they prepare to plan for the 2020-21 school year. Superintendent Pickel informed the board that the IT contract they currently have will end this year, and the school is looking at a new contract with NextGen Services. NextGen currently serves Dayton and Prescott school districts, and Superintendent Pickel has been talking to both districts about their experiences.

On March 5, the school board will hold a special meeting to interview applicants for the school board vacancy. The meeting will be at 6 p.m.

There will be a public hearing on March 19, at 6 p.m in the Preston Hall Science Room to discuss how the community would like to see the leftover bond money spent. The school board will meet following the public hearing. Superintendent Pickel encourages the community to attend to give their input.

The school board voted to approve the Dayton Waitsburg Wolf Pack mascot. The sports combine will stay with the Cardinal Red and Bulldog Gold color scheme. There was some discussion about rebranding the gyms, and school spirit items, but it was determined that it would be best to see how the combine evolved. Ross Hamann mentioned the Garfield Palouse Combine, and how, over time, both schools have embraced the Vikings mascot and changed their gyms a little bit at a time.