School board Enrollment down slightly; board members sworn; donation and grants

The board held a workshop in the district office at 5:30 p.m. for the purpose of discussing the budget.

The Board of Directors of Odessa School District #105 met in the library at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 19, 2019.

Present at the meeting were Ed Deife; Heather Valverde; Chris Crossley; Janie Steward; Carmen Weishaar; Dan Read, Superintendent; Jamie Nelson, Principal and Juli Weishaar, Business Manager. Also present were Justin Parr, Bruce and Kim Todd, HaLee Walter, Lindsy Starkel and Vickie Iverson.

Superintendent Dan Read performed the Oath of Office swearing in Ed Deife, Director Position No. 2; Carmen Weishaar, Director Position No. 3 and Chris Crossley, Director Position No. 4 At-Large.

Read presented Chairman Deife with a certificate of recognition for his 10 years of service on the board.

Board reorganization

Read called for nominations for board chairman. Ed Deife was nominated. There were no other nominations. A roll call vote was taken and Deife was elected board chairman.

Nominations for vice chairman were opened. Heather Valverde was nominated. There were no other nominations. A roll call vote was taken and Valverde was elected vice chairman.

Nominations for WIAA representative were opened. Deife was also nominated for this position. There were no other nominations. A roll call vote was taken and Deife was elected WIAA representative.

Chairman Deife appointed board members to serve on the following committees:

o Facilities: Ed Deife and Carmen Weishaar

o Curriculum: Janie Steward and Carmen Weishaar

o Negotiations: Heather Valverde and Chris Crossley

Consent agenda

The board approved the consent agenda which included: the Minutes of the November 26, 2019 regular board meeting; payroll warrants #612612-612630 and direct deposit warrants #900007330-900007392 for a total of $250,188.91; general fund A/P warrants #612631-612669 for $64,372.57; ASB fund A/P warrants #612670-612683 for $10,675.73; Trust and Agency Fund A/P warrant #612684 for $500; a general fund comp tax wire transfer for $5.40; an ASB comp tax wire transfer for $251.72.

Under personnel: Dana Matthews was approved as a Special Ed Paraeducator.

Superintendent’s report

Read reported that enrollment on December 1 was 230.3 full-time equivalent students. Four students have transferred out of the district since then, making the enrollment as of the board meeting date 226.3 FTE.

Read reported on the district’s progress of adding a CTE graduation pathway for students enrolled in Odessa High School.

Principal’s report

Principal Nelson reported on all things Christmas happening throughout the school. Holiday activities included Christmas Fest, where elementary students sang and the FFA sold poinsettias; the PK-12 Christmas concert, which was standing room only; the annual staff Christmas party; the National Honor Society students helping the Odessa Food Bank prepare and deliver Christmas food baskets; the FBLA’s annual Christmas party at the home of Terri King; the elementary students singing Christmas carols at Quail Court and finally Doughnuts for Dudes for K-5 students and their dads and/or dudes.

Board report

Heather Valverde commended music teacher Sam Harder’s pep band for being named the Cascadia Preps 1B Band of the Year. Ed Deife commented that Marcus King was named to the Seattle Times 2019 All-State Football team as a running back.

AD report

Athletic Director Bruce Todd reported the high school football team won the 1B state championship title game for the second year in a row and the team was also 1B state academic champions. Todd thanked everyone involved in making the state playoff game a success.

Todd reported the junior high girls’ basketball season had finished and the junior high boys will begin their season after Christmas break.

The athletic director gave a special thank you to the Odessa Athletic Booster Club for the donation of the new sound system in the big gym. He also thanked maintenance crew members Justin Parr and Jeremy Nolden for coming in over the weekend to complete the installation.

Facilities report

Facilities Director Justin Parr reported he and Jeremy Nolden had installed the sound system in the big gym during the first weekend in December and had just completed the installation of the elementary entry doors. During Christmas break they plan on installing a water bottle filling station in the lower elementary hallway and will relocate the flagpole by the high school entrance.

Parr will bring bus quotes to the next regular board meeting for the board’s consideration.

Financial report

Read presented the ASB balance sheet for November and the financial activity reports for the general fund for November showing an unassigned fund balance of $841,529.

Date of next regular meeting

The next regular board meeting will be held Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 6 p.m. in the high school library. The board scheduled a workshop at 5:30 p.m. before the regular meeting.

Booster Club donation

The board approved the donation of a new sound system for the big gym from the Odessa Tigers Athletic Booster Club.

Braune Family Foundation donation

The board agreed to accept a $3,000 donation from the Edmund & Darlene Braune Family Foundation which was used to fund the 6th-graders’ trip to Camp Wooten.

Washington

FFA Foundation grant

Ag instructor HaLee Walter reported on the $16,879.33 grant award from the Washington FFA Foundation that she and Superintendent Read had applied for. The grant was available to CASE-certified teachers who currently teach or will teach CASE courses. Mrs. Walter became CASE certified in AFNR (Agriculture Foods and Natural Resources) in 2016, making her eligible to apply for the grant. The items purchased through the grant award were a SawStop Industrial Cabinet Saw, Powermatic 15” Wood Cutting Band Saw, Powermatic 18” Variable Speed Drill Press, Delta Heavy-Duty Floor Oscillating Spindle Sander and a Hegner Scroll Saw.

The board voted to accept the Washington FFA Foundation Grant award as presented by Read and Walter.

National Honor Society appeal

An appeal was presented to the school board by National Honor Society advisor Lindsy Starkel, and discussion followed regarding the decision made by the school’s National Honor Society committee. No motion was made to overrule the committee’s decision.

Curriculum adoption

The board approved the curriculum adoption of a game plan for K-4 music and for the CASE Agriculture Power Technology course which HaLee Walter will attend this summer and implement next school year.