Levies pass; weather a challenge; spring sports to begin

The Board of Directors of Odessa School District #105 met in the library at 6 p.m., Wednesday, February 26, 2019, preceded by a workshop in the district office at 5:30 p.m. for the purpose of reviewing the budget and discussing legislative updates.

Attending were board chair Ed ,Deife; board members Heather Valverde; Janie Steward and Carmen Weishaar; Superintendent Dan Read; Principal Jamie Nelson and Business Manager Juli Weishaar. Also present were Facilities Director Justin Parr and Athletic Director Bruce Todd.

There was no public comment.

The board approved the consent agenda which included the minutes of the January 23, 2019 regular meeting; bills & payroll warrants #611754-611781 and direct deposit warrants #900006741-900006800 for a total of $289,324.78, general fund A/P warrants #611782-611828 for $54,172.04, ASB fund A/P warrants #611829-611842 for $9,763.54. Also approved were travel for students attending the WA State Science Fair in Bremerton March 29-31, 2019 and the State FBLA conference in Bellevue April 10-13, 2019.

Superintendent’s report

Suoerintendent Dan Read reports:

- Enrollment is 248.4 full-time equivalent students for the month of February.

- Capital Projects Levy passed with 76.94 percent approval and Educational Programs Levy passed with 79.14 percent approval. He expressed appreciation for the community support.

- Small Schools Conference coming soon and board members encouraged to attend.

Principal’s report

Principal Jamie Nelson reports:

- P-12 headcount enrollment is 263 students.

- Inclement weather caused three late start days and one early release day in February.

- Knowledge Bowl team placed fifth at regional competition at Whitworth University.

- FFA students attended Ag Expo in Spokane and enjoyed activities during FFA Week

- FBLA students competed at Winter Conference in Spokane. Many students, individually and as teams, qualified for state competition at Bremerton in April.

- Prom is March 9

- Regional Science Fair in Spokane is March 14, the WA State Science Fair is in Bremerton March 29-31

- Student-led conferences are March 27-29.

AD report

Athletic Director Bruce Todd reports:

- High school girls basketball team qualified and played in NE 1B district tournament

- High school boys team won NE 1B district championship and advanced to state play-offs in Spokane starting February 26.

- Junior-high boys basketball teams wrapped up their season Monday, February 25.

- High school track practice started Monday indoors due to inclement weather.

- High school baseball begins next week.

- High school softball will not be offered due to lack of a coach and a declining number of participants, .

- One student will participate in golf and five students will play tennis in a co-op with Harrington’s athletes.

- Junior high track and baseball seasons will overlap somewhat this spring. Coaches will make practice arrangements to accommodate athletes choosing to participate in both sports.

- Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) approved two classification amendments reported on at earlier board meetings. The 1B classification cutoff will be at a count of 104 students in grades 9-11, and the free and reduced lunch count figure can be used to reduce enrollment numbers for all 1A-4A schools.

Facilities report

Facilities Director Justin Parr reported a section of the roof above Larry Moffet’s classroom blew off during the recent windstorm. Parr is working with a roofing contractor and the district’s insurance company to get the repairs completed as soon as possible.

Weather has been a major issue in terms of busing students safely to and from school and keeping sidewalks and the parking lot clear of snow and ice after each storm.

Financial report

Read presented the ASB balance sheet for January, as well as Financial Activity reports for the General Fund for January showing an unassigned fund balance of $958,379.

Next regular meeting

The next regular board meeting will be held Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at 6 p.m. in the high school library with a workshop at 5:30 p.m. before the regular meeting.

Coaches hired

The board approved hiring the following coaches:

German Valdez as junior high assistant track & field coach.

- Alexandra Stanford as junior high head volleyball coach.

Lanae Carper as high school assistant track & field coach.

Odessa Athletic Booster Club Donation

The board voted to accept a $1,300 donation from the Odessa Athletic Booster Club designated for upgrading the spring sports facilities.