Dayton School Board reviews org chart

DAYTON — The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on August 21, 2024. School board members present were Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Grant Griffin, and, over Zoom, Ryan Paulson. Superintendent Jeremy Wheatley and Business Manager Jana Eaton were also present. Zac Fabian and Aneesha Dieu were not present.

The board passed the consent agenda, including hiring Vikki Griffin as a food service assistant, Judy Ketterling as a high school science teacher, and Stacy Startin as a bus driver. The approved consent also included a $250 donation to the Girls High School Basketball Team from the Columbia County Conservatives.

Wheatley presented a draft of the new organizational chart, with himself as superintendent and Amy Cox as the primary and secondary principal. Hilary Wheeler now heads the Special Education Department under contract from ESD 112.

Wheatley said work on the schools was moving along quickly, with teachers in the buildings preparing for the start of school. He said the air-conditioning units were cooling while final adjustments were being made. Wheatley said he was hopeful the district would be awarded a grant it had applied for to renovate the football field and track, including lighting.

Wheatley also addressed the idea of a two to three-year Policy Governance implementation process with assistance from an outside contractor. This is part of the initiative introduced by the last superintendent, Rich Stewart. Policy governance removes the board from any role in the management of the school’s operations. Instead, the board delineates, using policies, the district’s end goals and provides the economic means to meet goals and monitor the process.

Eaton asked the board to approve a budget extension since the district received $529,000 more income in the past fiscal year than forecasted—most of the surplus from grant funding. An extension is needed so that the district can utilize the surplus funds. The board approved a resolution to increase the district’s expenditures by $390,000, the remaining amount of the surplus.

The board approved a bid with Coleman Oil for fuel and Meadow Gold for the district’s dairy products.

The board changed the September 4 work session to a school board retreat.

There was no executive session, and the meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m.