School prepares for end of year, plans for next

The Board of Directors of Odessa School District #105 met in the high school library at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. The board also held a workshop in the district office at 5:30 p.m. for the purpose of reviewing the budget and discussing legislative updates.

In attendance were board chair Ed Deife; board members Heather Valverde, Chris Crossley and Janie Steward; Superintendent Dan Read; Principal Jamie Nelson and Business Manager Juli Weishaar. Also present were, Athletic Director Bruce Todd, Facilities Director Justin Parr and parent Katie Schafer.

Kassidy Probert, Executive Director of School Financial Services from NorthEast Washington ESD 101, gave a presentation on the business office services his organization provides to school districts

The board approved the consent agenda which included minutes of the March 27, 2019 regular meeting; payroll warrants #611938-611964 and direct deposit warrants #900006859-900006916 for a total of $291,897.85; general fund A/P warrants #611965-612004 for $34,992.48; ASB fund A/P warrants #612005-612022 for $31,170.25; the resignation of Suzie Deife as concessions director and a travel request for science teacher Jeff Wehr and student Josie Westmoreland to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Ariz. May 11-17, 2019

Superintendent’s report

Dan Read reported an enrollment of 249.2 full-time equivalent students for the month of April.

He told the board he would be posting the kindergarten and first-grade teaching positions soon, followed by Principal Nelson arranging an interview committee and conducting interviews in the month of May.

Read reported that guidance counselor Kimberly Ryan has started working on the class schedule for next year. He also explained that with Megan Walter having a Spanish endorsement, the district will no longer need to offer online foreign language courses.

Read concluded by reporting on the new pathways to graduation, as written in Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1599.

Principal’s report

Principal Jamie Nelson reported a P-12 headcount enrollment of 264 students.

SBAC testing has begun under the direction of Kimberly Ryan, who, Nelson said, has done an awesome job of organizing the testing schedule.

Nelson reported the FBLA students had a successful state competition, qualifying a large number of teams to the FBLA National competition this summer in San Antonio, Texas.

Upcoming activities include an FBLA Community Lead2Feed Celebration at the Old Town Hall, K-5 Grandparents’ Day, the FFA annual plant sale, the STEM Café night, the Lilac Parade, the K-12 music and band spring concert and the band trip to Silverwood amusement park.

Board reports

Janie Steward thanked the district for the opportunity to attend the Small Schools Conference in Wenatchee. It was the consensus of the board that the conference is a great resource of information for small, rural districts.

AD report

Athletic director Bruce Todd reported that junior high and high school spring sport athletes are busy practicing and competing in track and field meets and baseball games. Four Odessa students participate in tennis and one student in golf with Harrington’s athletes. Four junior-high athletes participate in a pilot program allowing them to compete in both junior high track and baseball.

Todd is the athletic director responsible for the NE 1B District Baseball Tournament to be held at Northwest Christian High School in Colbert (Spokane).

Todd reported on the numerous summer team camps Odessa athletes will be attending and on the results of the junior high fall sports survey he conducted.

Legislative report

Read reported that the legislative session scheduled to conclude next week could be extended. Legislators are busy negotiating a variety of bills and finalizing the operations budget.

Facilities report

Facilities Director Justin Parr reported his crew has been busy with grounds upkeep now that the weather has improved. Parr thanked the Odessa Lions Club and the baseball moms for their work on the baseball dugouts and he reported work continues on the tennis court/track facility. He concluded by reporting the roof repairs will be scheduled in the near future.

Financial report

Read presented the ASB balance sheet for March. He further presented the financial activity reports for the general fund for March showing an unassigned fund balance of $816,762 and included computer printouts for all funds.

Discussion of athletic practice/game schedules

Read reminded the board of parent concerns brought to his attention regarding winter and spring break practice and game schedules not being conducive to family time and holidays. Todd also shared his perspective and discussed the ongoing difficulty of scheduling all events to meet all wants, needs and desires. Todd will continue to work with coaches, the administration and other schools to try to accommodate and address concerns of all parties.

Date of next regular meeting

The next regular board meeting will be held Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 6 p.m. in the high school library. The board scheduled a workshop at 5:30 p.m. before the regular meeting.

Superintendent contract renewal

Chairman Deife presented the superintendent’s three-year contract for renewal, which included an annual COLA or any other increase authorized by the state to be cumulative over the contract period, effective July 1, 2019.

Teacher voluntary transfer

Board members approved a motion to approve the transfer of Megan Walter from kindergarten teacher to junior-high English/high school Spanish teacher for the 2019-2020 school year.

Personal services contract

The board approved a motion to issue Kim Todd a personal services contract to fulfill the responsibilities as the district’s Learning Assistance Program Coordinator for the 2019-2020 school year as recommended by Superintendent Read.

Junior-high assistant baseball coach

The board passed a motion to approve the recommendation by Athletic Director Bruce Todd to hire Sam Harder as the junior-high assistant baseball coach.

Odessa Fire Department donation to FBLA

The board approved a motion to accept a $1,175 donation from the Odessa Fire Department to the FBLA.

Resignations

The board voted to accept the resignation of Adam Palacio as a custodian, effective July 31, 2019, and of Miranda Taylor as a bus driver, effective the last day of school.