DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met for their regular meeting at 6 p.m., June 15, 2022. All board members were present in the auditorium, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffen, Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Korinda Wallace, Madison Richardson (Student Representative), and Superintendent Guy Strot. The meeting was also available on Zoom.

At the start of the meeting, Superintendent Strot announced four changes to the agenda.

First, Strot said he plans to schedule a joint board meeting with the Waitsburg School Board to further discuss the athletic combine on June 22 or 23 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held in Waitsburg.

Strot scheduled a budget hearing for 5 p.m. before the board meeting on July 20.

Strot added an action item to the evening’s agenda to hire his recommended candidate for the High School/Middle School Principal position.

Lastly, he added a grant management sheet to the board packet.

The board approved the consent agenda without discussion.

Sam Korslund gave his report as athletic director, saying he was pleased with the turnout for summer sports. His report included revisions to the athletic code in the board’s packet.

Amy Cox, Elementary School Principal, reported on the period from May to the end of the school year. She said the Cinco de Libro event on May 5, 2022, was successful, though the event was moved indoors due to the inclement weather.

Cox covered the success of the after-school program with over 50 students participating, the continued need and success of the school’s counseling program, and the school’s book fair, which sold out of books.

The elementary principal spoke about teacher professional development plans for the summer. She said she successfully applied for a rural schools grant and weeks later the school was awarded $38,000 for school climate and culture reform. The funds will be used for teacher professional development in those areas. Seven staff members and Cox will attend the Innovative School Summit, a five-day conference in July, which will focus on school climate and culture.

Information about the conference is available at https://innovativeschoolssummit.com.

DSD Business Manager Veronica Perez gave the budget report on Zoom. She summed up the status of the budget saying, “we are sitting pretty good right now.”

The board discussed the second reading of Policy 2020, “Course Design, Selection & Adoption of Instruction Materials.” Some board members proposed revising the policy so only the school board can approve supplemental material taught in sex education classes. Council member Griffin questioned whether approval of materials would be better under the purview of the superintendent or the principal and the teacher.

Dieu argued for complete control over supplemental material by the board, at least in the sex education classes. The board tabled the second reading of Policy 2020 for these changes to be made.

In public comment, Pearl Dennis asked the board to reveal any cost savings afforded by the new hires of the secondary principal and interim superintendent as opposed to the former administrative structure.

Strot recommended a candidate for the secondary principal position after saying the job was posted in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

“We had two applicants. We interviewed both of them today, and I would like to make a recommendation to hire Gwen Joyce. She’s currently in Moses Lake as a Principal,” said Strot. “She comes with nineteen years of experience, of which nine is as an administrator.”

In addition, Strot said Joyce had worked in the past with Rich Stewart, the newly hired interim superintendent.

Before voting on the new secondary principal position, Dieu and Fabian were reluctant to approve the hire as there had been minimal discussion leading to the vote. The board approved hiring Joyce (Guinevere Joyce) for the new position. It was not stated by the board or superintendent if this was a full or part-time position or if the contract was for an interim or permanent position.

Strot said that with these hires, the district reduced FTE (Full Time Equivalent) positions from three to 2.45. Under Resolution 2021-03, the part-time superintendent role can be combined with the part-time high school position, or the two part-time positions can be separated.

It was not stated how the two part-time positions add up to a 2.45 FTE.

The board approved the second reading of Policy 2140. The Certificated Sub Rate was increased to $180 daily beginning next school year.

The board approved the new science and math curriculum, as well as the revised proposals from McKinstry.

The meeting was adjourned into an executive session at 7:20 p.m.