Superintendent Wheatley heads first board meeting

DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the Dayton High School Library at 6:31 p.m. on July 17, 2024. School board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, board members Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, and Aneesha Dieu present. Grant Griffin was not present. The session was Superintendent Jeremy Wheatley's first board meeting.

The board passed the consent agenda, which included the resignations of Danica Porter, H.S. science teacher, and Susan Richter, food service assistant. Wheatley also announced Tanya Patton's resignation from the Special Education Director position. The Dayton School District contracts special education services from Educational Service District 112, and Patton's resignation does not need board approval. ESD 112 is responsible for finding and hiring her replacement.

Wheatley said he had no concerns over the district's approved construction projects.

The new superintendent said some community members have taken him up on his invitation to reach out, introduce themselves, or stop by his office to say hello. Wheatley said he would work to communicate the coming school year's administrative structure to the community.

Wheatley said he was still reviewing the groundwork for Policy Governance, which Rich Stewert, previous interim superintendent, initiated before his departure.

Board members discussed the possibility of scheduling an extra meeting in August at a date and time to be determined.

District Business Manager and H.R. Director Jana Eaton presented the budget report, saying the ending cash balance was $450,000.

The only action item on the meeting's agenda was to approve the adoption of an eighth-grade history textbook. The administration wants to order the 2025 edition of "U.S. History American Stories" published by National Geographic. This edition updates the version the school currently uses.

The district made the proposed textbook available to parents, staff, community, and board members for review at the district office for a month before the meeting . No concerns from the public were raised about the text.

Dieu expressed concern that the books might contain new information, and she wanted to be sure the books only contained what she referred to as "original" history. Dieu said that since she was on the curriculum committee, she would have liked to have known the books were available for her review. The board deferred the decision on the textbook's adoption. A special meeting may be called for the last week of July.

The meeting adjourned, and the next school board meeting has yet to be determined.