The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON—The Dayton School Board held its regular meeting in the High School library on December 21, 2022. School Board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, board members Grant Griffen, Aneesha Dieu (attended using Zoom), Zac Fabian, Superintendent Rich Stewart, and Business Manager Jana Eaton were in attendance. Board member Korinda Wallace was absent.

The first order of business was to establish the board organization for the coming year. For the two elected positions, McCowen was re-elected Board Chair, and Griffin was elected Vice Chair.

Other positions were filled by consensus:

• Washington Interscholastic Activities Ass. (WIAA) Representative - Fabian

• Facilities Representative - Griffin

• Curriculum Representatives – Wallace/Dieu

• Budget & Finance Representative - Griffin

• Community Outreach/Public Relations – McCowen/Fabian

• Custodial Negotiations Representative – Griffin/Fabian

• Classified Negotiations Representative - McCowen

• Certificated Negotiations Representative – Dieu/Fabian

• Legislative Liaison - Dieu

The Board approved the consent agenda, which included hiring Des Jones as the Middle School Assistant Basketball Coach.

There were no public comments made during the meeting.

The ASB report said the middle and high schools were planning a ski trip in January using funds raised by the ASB. The date had not been decided.

The Student Representative and Athletic Director were both out due to illness.

The Elementary Principal, Amy Cox, provided a written report in which she lauded the holiday concert, which she said was well attended.

Guinevere Joyce, the Secondary Principal, gave her report over Zoom. She gave an update on staff training in the new discipline system.

Joyce is planning on holding a parent night in January. Parents will receive information about “GoGuardian,” a system that allows parents to monitor their children’s schoolwork done on school Chromebooks. A software K-12 management system, Skyward, will also be covered.

The Gear Up coordinator will also give a presentation on the program. The Washington State program helps students prepare for college. The time and date for the event will be announced after the Christmas break.

The Board discussed introducing a sign-in sheet for people wishing to make a public comment at meetings. The sheet would include contact names and numbers to allow the Superintendent to follow up with questions. Board members did not address how the public may comment using Zoom.

Bill Jordan from Northwest Leadership Associates gave an update on the superintendent search. Jordan asked the Board if they might consider other administrative models, as most candidates are looking for full-time positions. Currently, the District has a part-time superintendent and two full-time principals. He suggested combining the superintendent position with one of the principal positions or having a single principal for elementary through secondary school with a full-time superintendent. This would reduce the number of administrative positions from 2.5 to two.

The Board reiterated its desire to stay with the current administrative model feeling it is the best use of resources within the current projected budget.

The Board went into an executive session to discuss a candidate’s qualifications for a district position and adjourned shortly afterward without action.