Schutz, Bang leaving; new principal searches begin

Odessa principal Ken Schutz and Harrington principal Jacob Bang have both accepted positions elsewhere for the coming academic year. Bang, whose wife has relatives in Ephrata, has accepted the 6-12 principal’s job at Soap Lake.

Schutz will be heading to Ferris High School in Spokane. According to Schutz’s wife Lea Ann, her husband was not looking to relocate and was happy with his position at the school and his home in Odessa. However, he was invited out of the blue to interview for the principal’s position at Ferris and found it to be a career challenge he could not refuse.

Lea Ann is also well known to most Odessa residents for her work at Odessa Drug. She said she plans to continue working and living in Odessa until they are able to sell their home here. Once Ken begins working in Spokane, he will live at his mother’s home in Tekoa and commute until they find a suitable home in Spokane.

Schutz’s decision was made after the June 25 school board meeting, so the summary of that meeting which follows has no mention of his resignation.

School board meeting

Meeting on June 25, the school board met with the facilities steering committee prior to the regular meeting to discuss moving forward with a plan to replace/remodel the Ag shop.

The regular meeting started with Superintendent Suellen White sharing a 1936-37 document prepared when a group of students went to the Marlin School rather than the Odessa School. The attendees were Weishaars, Schiewes and Deifes. The document was of interest in light of a recent “school choice” issue concerning students who were attending East Valley School District while living within the Odessa School District.

Board approvals

The board approved Roland Singer as the newest board member replacing Travis Wagner who resigned. Singer was sworn in to office following his appointment to the board.

FFA advisor Erica Whitmore presented her cost proposal for FFA students attending their national conference in the fall. White expressed concern at having students attend a conference without qualifying to attend. She explained the procedure governing attendance at national conferences, which would allow students to attend as long as all costs to the school district, including chaperones, were covered. White proposed a plan where students would perform specific tasks during the next year and then be allowed to attend as sophomores rather than freshmen. Board Member Ed Deife said he felt we had been more lenient in setting the policy towards FFA competitions as they may be harder to earn a trip to nationals, and still no team qualified. No decision was made concerning the request for the trip.

The board approved Jeff Wehr as the Chess Club Advisor for the 2013-14 school year. The Chess Club met regularly in his room all year, but his role as advisor had not been formalized.

Superintendent White was provided three additional days on her contract for the 2013-14 school year.

The board approved the Highly Capable Program requirements for next year. In the fall, the district will advertise in the media and on its website, designating a period of time for nominating students who are highly capable academically. The nominees will then be screened by a committee and, once through the screening, their parents will be given a chance to approve testing provided by the school psychologist to determine if they qualify for the program. If the students qualify, an individual plan will be determined to meet their educational needs. Most of these needs will happen in regular classrooms, as the teachers differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of all students. Very little state funding is provided for the program, but it is required as part of basic education starting this next year.

White told the board that about $3,200 worth of free swim passes had been distributed to Odessa School District students who qualified under the USDA guidelines. This program was chosen by the School Health Advisory Committee to help students stay physically active during the summer months as part of health/nutrition grant funding. The application was mailed to all qualifying families and almost all responded by signing up.

White reported that the summer meal program is off to a good start. While many children were served during the week of Vacation Bible School, the breakfast and lunch count went down to about 30 meals at breakfast and 30 at lunch in the park each day. These meals are free to all children from 1-18.

Principal Ken Schutz reported on end-of-school activities including graduation. He lauded the efforts of Erica Whitmore, serving her first term as senior class advisor for her organization in putting on a well-run graduation ceremony.

Schutz’s report included the junior high fishing trip which is provided as an incentive to students who meet grade standards and have not been in trouble during the school year. The annual event is much anticipated.

Schutz said teachers Ellen Holman and Larry Weber were finishing their third and final week at the MMRE (Making Mathematical Reasoning Explicit) conference. This is their second year of participation. Teachers were able to track student growth in junior high math this past year. The program helps teachers meet the common core standards in math by teaching students not to get the right answer but to understand what the right answer is. This next year it will be their responsibility to work with all of the other math teachers in the district on these changes.

Schutz reported on successes in spring sports, with both tennis and track athletes going to state and doing well.

Facilities Director Justin Parr gave the board the schedule for his work on the gym floors and hallway carpets this summer. There was no update on the reader board sign, but a new location for the sign is being discussed.

The average enrollment for the year was 204.53, or 16.53 more students than were budgeted for. The ending cash balance for the general fund for May was $771,485.

The Chamber of Commerce offered the basketball hoops used for past 3-on-3 tournaments to the district. The board approved the Chamber’s suggestion that they be placed on the tennis courts by the ball fields. Schutz suggested getting students involved in cleaning and fixing up the tennis court area.

The board approved the Odessa Educational Association-negotiated agreement, including adding $1,000 to the employee benefit pool distributed to help keep out of pocket insurance expenses lower. The board also approved the negotiated PSE agreement which included a one-percent cost-of-living wage increase for all classified employees as well as some changes in the classified salary schedule, adding a longevity step at 20 years, an increase in the amount paid to paraprofessionals who hold a teaching credential and for the library paraprofessional. Bus driver standby was changed to the lowest on the schedule which is currently $10.50.

The next regular meeting will be held on July 23, preceded by a budget workshop. The budget hearing for the 2014-15 school year will be at 7 p.m. at the start of the regular meeting.