Aug. 16, 2018

WAITSBURG—Present at last week’s meeting of the Waitsburg School Board were board chair Ross Hamann, vice-chair Marilyn Johnson, members Christy House and Russ Knopp, and newly-appointed member Lisa Morrow.

The meeting opened with a presentation by the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Department on the possibility of the district hiring a school resource officer – a deputy who would spend most of his or her time in the district’s three classroom buildings.

“Just being there for the kids, that’s what it’s all about,” said Deputy Alan Thonney, who is currently the SRO for Walla Walla High School. “I’m law enforcement, but it’s also just being there for the students…just being there for them to talk to.”

Besides acting as an informal counselor, Thonney noted that his job also includes helping the school develop safety measures in case of a school shooting, providing on-site security, and acting as an ambassador for law enforcement in general.

Both Thonney and Undersheriff Mark Crider, who also attended, were enthusiastic about the prospect of a resource officer who would spend time in the middle and elementary schools, as well as the high school. The board was generally favorable to the concept as well.

However, the cost of hiring an SRO – a full-time position for which the district is expected to cover most of the salary and benefits – and concerns over finding a deputy available to take on the job mean that any hires are likely a ways down the road.

After the presentation, high-school principal Stephanie Wooderchak provided a brief update on the Dayton-Waitsburg sports combine. The schools will not field a cross-country team this year due to a lack of interest, and the football team is relatively small as well. Wooderchak noted that this reflects a general trend among local schools.

Touchet Valley sports fans needn’t worry about team turnout drying up for long, though – according to Wooderchak, the combine’s middle-school program has garnered a huge amount of student interest.

Another district offering for which there has been an outpouring of interest is Waitsburg’s preschool program, demand for which posed something of a dilemma to the board on Thursday evening. Levy dollars support free preschool for all qualified students within the district – but as the preschool is the only one in the area, families from outside the districts are also anxious to place their kids in the program. To complicate the issue further, preschool students don’t receive funding from the state like their counterparts in K-12 schools.

“Early education is the right thing to do,” said Johnson, “but the state legislature isn’t there yet.”

In order to help offset the cost of sufficient staff to meet the needs of all the children who attend the program, the board set a $200 monthly fee for out-of-district preschoolers. Comparable private programs, by contrast they said, usually cost at least $350 per month.

In order to accommodate the preferences of the sports combine’s baseball and softball coaches, the board voted to have the softball field in Waitsburg modified so that it could be used for baseball practices and games. The softball team will practice in Dayton.

In response to concerns raised last month about high school graduation requirements, Wooderchak presented a newly drafted course schedule. While Life Management Skills – a course requirement which had been a source of debate at the previous meeting – is still mandatory for juniors, the board was impressed at the degree of choice which students are offered under the current configuration. As for LMS itself, the board has postponed its ultimate decision about requiring the class and is seeking input from the community, meaning that LMS will still be required for this year’s incoming freshmen.

Even if the class schedule isn’t changing, something else at WHS and Preston Hall soon will be. At the behest of outgoing vice chair Marilyn Johnson, the board passed an amendment to the middle- and high-school handbooks which allows cell phones to be used during class, with a teacher’s permission, and then only as part of a lesson.

On the financial front, the board voted to give classified staff at the school a 10-12% pay increase, and to increase the price of a school lunch by 10 cents. (Breakfast will be free for all students this year, regardless of age and family income.)

Finally, the district approved the hiring of Heather Ball as the new middle-school language arts and social studies teacher. Wooderchak noted that Ball was selected from among several candidates based on her experience, enthusiasm, and the innovative vision she has for the course material.