School levies could retain current levels

The Odessa School Board meeting on Monday, November 28, was preceded by a levy workshop to allow members to discuss the maintenance and operations (M&O) levy and capital projects levy that will be placed before voters in February. The levy amounts must be determined and sent to the Lincoln County Auditor by December 30.

Superintendent Suellen White recommended that the board leave the levy amounts at the current levels and gave several reasons why they should not be reduced. During the work done on the building over the past year as part of the energy efficiency grant, the high school roof was inspected and found to be at the end of its life span. Reroofing a building of that size will involve considerable expense, White said, and the district should begin now to put away funds for replacement of the roof. Under certain weather conditions, principal Ken Schutz added, leaks already are occuring in the library and the business classroom.

Board members appeared subdued and somewhat disappointed at the recommendation, since White had indicated at the previous month’s meeting that it might be possible to reduce the amount of the capital projects levy for this election cycle. Another factor brought up by White was the education spending cuts being discussed by the legislature now in special session. Since the amount of money that will be apportioned to the schools is not now known and may be much less than has been received in the past, she said, the levy amounts may be necessary to maintain the high standards that the school has worked hard to achieve.

The board approved the levy amounts at the same levels requested during the previous election cycle.

Personnel

The board approved the hiring of Tammy Conrath of Harrington as the assistant junior-high basketball coach. Also approved was a leave of absence for Dick Green as the Traffic Safety Instructor for the 2011-2012 school year. White said she will meet with the owners of a driver's education school to discuss providing driver's education to Odessa students in Dick Greene's absence. Her goal, she said, is to provide the program in the same time frame as we currently have for a class schedule and for approximately the same cost as students currently have to pay.

Also approved was another half hour of work per day for the assistant cook. White said she had meant to recommend an hour a day last month when the board approved increasing the hours for this position from 4.5 to 5.5. Instead, her stated recommendation was for only a half hour.

PTO reader board

The board discussed the project proposed by the Parent/Teacher Organization to install an electronic reader board to replace the current board located downtown at the corner of Division Street and First Avenue. Representing the PTO, Suzie Deife gave the board details on the cost and operation of the electronic display. Three lines of text would be available on the display area. A computer at the school would serve as the designated terminal for updating the information displayed, she said. Possible information would include notice of early-release days, upcoming sporting events, concerts, etc.

White recommended that the district pay about half the cost or $5,000, whichever is lower. The board, while reluctant to spend the money during the current tough economic times, decided the improved communication with the community about school activities was worth the cost. There was also discussion about the types of community activities and/or advertising that might also be displayed. A policy on use of the board will be researched and adopted by the board.

State presentation

White said she gave a presention at a session on small-school success at the school directors annual conference, telling about the success of Kira Powell and her science project and what the Odessa Schools did to allow a student to achieve that level of success. She has received requests from directors to share more about the Odessa science program.

Facilities

A technology committee will be formed and meet during January to determine the district’s overall technology needs and make a prioritized plan for acquisitions.

The district had to replace a very old milk cooler in the kitchen recently. The school’s business manager Juli Weishaar shopped online to order the new cooler which arrived within the week.

Bus garage supervisor Keith Kolterman was asked to look around for a good, used 8- or 9-passenger van to replace one of the aging Suburban vans. He found one for $30,000 but the board felt the price was too high, preferring something in the $20,000 to $25,000 range.

Legislature

White said that one thing under consideration by the legislature, now back in session, will be an increase in the sales tax to forestall some of the cuts in education and social services that will have to be made if revenue does not increase.

The Odessa School District could lose $200,000 in funding if the governor's budget proposals are adopted. The bulk of the reductions, White said, would be from levy equalization and a change in the funding for the small school formula for small high schools. Currently, small schools are guaranteed funding for nine teachers in grades 9-12. The proposal would change this number to eight teachers. White thought this proposal would probably gain traction as it does not affect that many schools, even though the savings to the state will be slight. School board chairman Ed Deife pointed out that funding once withdrawn would probably never be reinstated.

School of Distinction

Schutz reported that he will accompany math teacher Travis Schuh and high school junior Cade Weber (selected to go by a vote of his peers) to Spokane Tuesday to formally accept the “School of Distinction” award for Odessa High School. Schutz will make a presentation to other award winners as one of the few repeat winners of this award.

Mentoring

Schutz said the secondary staff are continuing with the program whereby they each work with students struggling academically, being a mentor, helping the students with homework, advocating for the student with other teachers, and whatever else is necessary to help the student be successful. About half of the students with a mentor have gotten off of the academic “watch list.”

Testing

Schutz reported ACT testing (a national placement test) will take place in Odessa on December 10. He is working to secure SAT testing in Odessa, as students do better when they are tested in a known environment.

Schutz, Jeff Wehr, Travis Schuh, Larry Weber and Sam Read have collaborated to write a grant application to become a STEM Lighthouse School. White was notified that the Odessa District is a finalist and will be visited by a team to verify the school’s programs on December 7.

Energy efficiency grant

White said completion of the energy grant facility project is still pending. The equipment to allow local control of the heating system is being programmed and should be ready for use by the end of December. The new hot water tank was installed. The old tanks were not removed because the tanks themselves support the plumbing above them. Removing them will require major plumbing revisions and shutting off the water in the school. They could be removed during the summer when school is not in session if desired.

The insurance payment for water damage to the girl's locker room ceiling at the gym as a result of the upgrade work done recently has been received, White said. Schutz said he would meet with the contractor to schedule work during the winter break, or alternatively, the junior high locker room could be used while the work is being done.

Financial report

White presented the financial report showing the district had a cash balance of $705,476 at the end of October.

Wednesday nights

The board discussed the past practice, philosophy and issues surrounding junior-high sports practices after school on Wednesday nights. Pastors Jon Hayashi and Tim Hauge of two separate Odessa churches were present to join the discussion because their churches have traditionally offered confirmation lessons to junior-high students on Wednesdays after school.

Board members reviewed the co-op agreement with Harrington, which states that there will not be activities on Wednesday evenings. Up to now, the statement has been interpreted to mean that no games or co-op events would be scheduled on Wednesdays, but the issue of practices was not specifically addressed. A consensus was reached that the section dealing with practices and Wednesday night activities ought to be rewritten.

Some concern was expressed that junior high teams might not get enough practice time, because with games on Monday and Thursdays, no practice allowed on Wednesday and it not practical or in some cases possible to have practice on Friday nights it would only allow one practice night a week. The board asked the administration to work out alternative wording for this section and to schedule a meeting between local ministers and Darin Reppe the AD and junior high coaches to discuss the issue.

Video policy

White reported there had been a complaint about a video shown in a high school class. During her investigation, she was not able to locate a district policy or procedure guiding the practice of showing videos in the classroom. She plans to work with the staff to develop a policy and procedure to provide guidance and control of the practice.

Meetings

The board will hold a workshop December 13 in the superintendent’s office from 5 to 8 p.m. The next regular school board meeting will be December 21, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the high school library.