School board hires Wehr for school musical co-director

The Odessa School Board met January 22, initially in a workshop meeting to discuss policies, then in their regular monthly meeting. Despite a power outage soon after the meeting started, board members took out their cell phones and the meeting proceeded. The regular meeting followed, still in the dark.

The board approved the hiring of Julie Wehr as co-director of the school musical this year, so she can be trained to take over the position upon Ellen Holman’s retirement.

Principal’s report

Principal Ken Schutz told the board about the success of the Mobius Science night. Mobius personnel were impressed by the turnout of Odessa families and are excited to continue the working relationship this year. Mobius staff will be working in the school’s science classes each month during the remainder of the school year and will have another family science night in the spring. There will also be field trips to the Mobius Science Center in Spokane this spring. Mobius had received a grant, and they chose Odessa as their partner school because of its reputation in the sciences and the enthusiasm of Odessa science teachers. Honors students in Jeff Wehr’s science classes also presented their science research projects during the family science night.

Schutz also reported on sports activities leading up to post-season tournaments. Boy’s junior high basketball is also under way.

Schutz will be going to Olympia to meet with legislators about upcoming legislation. Although Odessa meets the required 1,080 hours of instruction time during the academic year, even with time off for professional development each week, many schools do not. He will encourage the legislature to allow local decision-making within guidelines but discourage micromanagement of the decision-making process.

Superintendent’s report

Superintendent Suellen White reported on preschool meetings held with the three-year-old and four-year-old preschool parent groups, including participation in the ECEAP program. White told the board that the administration wanted to consider paying for the program next year without ECEAP participation and, hopefully, with less financial participation of parents. All preschool studies have shown that preschool programs are one of the most important things that can be done to help students be successful throughout their academic careers.

Staff members White, Bev Scherr, Bruce Todd and Sam Read met with Davenport and Reardan educators in Davenport last week to select a new physical education curriculum to be paid for by a PEP grant (through the Carol M. White Physical Education Program).

Professional development time on Wednesday of last week had all of the teachers working together to consider staffing needs for next year. With the upcoming retirement of Jackie Allington, several vacancies must be filled, as Allington has many endorsements and has been able to fill in many places where only one period of a subject is needed.

Federal requirements for teachers will make it difficult to ensure that all positions are suitably filled. The most difficult class to cover will be foreign language. Staff members came up with many good ideas to pursue in figuring out schedules for next year. The athletic director position and the possibility of an Odessa staff member being selected were also considered. White told the board she will meet with Mike Perry from Harrington to discuss splitting the duties of the AD into an AD and game managers/supervisors, possibly with one from Harrington and one from Odessa.

White will attend a meeting of the Rural Alliance for School and College Success in early February, as work continues on getting college credit for some high school classes. She is also working on next year’s calendar, but it is on hold until the legislature decides whether or not they are going to dictate the calendar.

Facilities report

Facilities director Justin Parr reported continuing plumbing problems in the upstairs high school bathrooms. A professional plumber worked on them to no effect. They are working, Parr said, but not totally fixed. He continues to work on the issues himself with the assistance of equipment loaned by the town of Odessa. The annual boiler and pressure vessel inspection was performed, with only a few minor items needing attention.

Other

White’s financial report gave the ending cash balance for December as $553,744. The school has 17 students over the budgeted enrollment, so will begin receiving a higher state apportionment in January based on the average enrollment to date. Enrollment is currently 205.3 full-time equivalent students.

White gave board members a copy of the informational levy brochure prepared by business teacher Terri King and FBLA students. It was mailed last week to coincide with the mailing of the ballots for the levy election.

The board declared surplus items from the ag shop, as well as old radios used in the buses. The items will be offered to schools and public agencies for 30 days before being offered for sale to the public.

The board established a School Health Advisory committee to deal with the PEP grant and to oversee issues dealing with health education, physical education and nutrition. The grant provides money for community and parent outreach and activities surrounding these areas which will be guided by this committee. Travis Wagner volunteered to serve on the committee. The School Health Advisory Committee will report to the Curriculum Advisory Committee, as school policy is for the CAC to recommend all curricula to the board for adoption. Marcus Horak represents the board on the CAC.

The board went over the following policies during the workshop and had the first reading at the meeting: #1630-Evaluation of the Superintendent, #2410 High School Graduation Requirements; #2413 Equivalency Credit for Career and Technical Education Courses; #3211 Transgender Students; #3231 Student Records; #3241 Classroom Management; Corrective Actions or Punishment; #3245 Students and Telecommunication Devices; #3246 Use of Reasonable Force; #3247 Isolation and Restraint of Students with IEPs and Section 504 Plans; #3412 Automated External Defibrillators (AED) and #3413 Student Immunization and Life-Threatening Health Conditions.

Following the meeting, which concluded with electricity back on, board members were honored as part of School Board Recognition month. Each board member received a framed certificate after White read the Governor’s Proclamation recognizing School Board Directors’ volunteer service. Fruit trays were provided for the board to enjoy following the meeting.

The next regular meeting will be February 26 with a workshop to begin the evaluation of the superintendent preceding the meeting and an executive session at the conclusion of the meeting to continue the process.