The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – At the Waitsburg School Board meeting on July 19, 2018, Chairman Ross Hamann, Vice-Chair Marilyn Johnson, and board members Russ Knopp and Christy House were all present.

The Facility Supervisor’s report was enough to give anyone the heebie-jeebies: Potentially thousands of bats have taken up residence in a disused chimney at the elementary school. While removing the creatures before the end of summer will likely be fatal to many of the juvenile bats, concerns about student safety have led officials from the Department of Fish and Wildlife to approve the chimney’s being cleared and capped before the start of the school year.

The District has been awarded an $18,000 grant from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to implement concepts of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) into its curriculum. Participating teachers have until January to complete two modules of the OSPI’s training on the subject, and the district will observe and videotape participating teachers to evaluate how well they implement SEL strategies in the classroom. The district also intends to incorporate SEL concepts into its Breakfast Club program, which will launch this year.

In an update on enrollment and staffing, Superintendent Jon Mishra estimated that districtwide enrollment for the new school year will be roughly 267 students in grades K-12, 10-11 students in the Early Childhood Achievement Program, and 13 in preschool. Mishra also noted the difficulty the district was having in hiring a middle-school social studies teacher, saying that the end of the state’s standardized salary schedule meant that many applicants were waiting to receive multiple offers before making a decision.

Board members, administrators, and staff discussed the possibility of hiring a school resource officer – a member of law enforcement whose “beat” consists of one or more schools, where they interface and build rapport with students, as well as providing safety education and security for the school. Although those present were generally in favor of the idea, some expressed concerns about the cost – the district would be expected to cover 75% of the officer’s salary – and whether such an individual would have enough to do in Waitsburg. The idea of sharing an SRO with Prescott was brought up, but some felt that there was a benefit to be gained from an officer’s full-time presence. The Board will hold a budget meeting at 7 p.m. on July 31, Whether Waitsburg hires an SRO this year will largely depend on whether this position is included in the budget.

The Board approved the hiring of Lanny Adams as head coach of the high-school wrestling program and Marci Jo Lanning as a preschool teacher. The Board accepted the resignation of Patty Hazelwood, the high-school special education director.

High-school graduation requirements were discussed. Christy House proposed that, starting with the class of 2023, the district’s fitness requirements be dropped by half a credit and that Life Management Skills, a junior-year consumer economics class, be made optional instead of mandatory, in order to allow students more flexibility in their schedules. A broad range of views were expressed regarding the proposal and surrounding issues, and a vote on the eventual change was postponed until the Board’s next meeting.

Two applicants – Jaimee Knudson and Lisa Morrow – were interviewed as candidates for the school-board seat recently vacated by Dr. Randy Pearson. Both women have children enrolled in the district. On the basis of the interview and the applicants’ resumes and credentials, the board decided in executive session to award the seat to Morrow. “When you’re on a board, you can’t make a decision just as a stand-alone person,” Morrow said, adding that she aims to “guide the school in a direction that creates the best programs and the best environment and the best school we can have for our community.”