Enrollment down some, otherwise school off to good start this year

The Board of Directors of Odessa School District #105 met in the high school library September 25, 2019 at 6 p.m. Attending were board chair Ed Deife; board members Heather Valverde, Chris Crossley, Janie Steward and Carmen Weishaar; Superintendent Dan Read; Principal Jamie Nelson; Business Manager Juli Weishaar and Athletic Director Bruce Todd. The meeting was preceded by a workshop in the district office at 5:30 p.m. for the purpose of reviewing the district’s 2019-2020 Highly Capable Plan.

The board unanimously approved the agenda as presented.

Their was no staff or public input.

The board approved the consent agenda which included: Minutes of the August 28, 2019 regular meeting; bills and payroll, including September payroll warrants #612341-612365 and direct deposit warrants #900007142-900007201 for $295,332.88; general fund A/P warrants #612366-612421 for $168,872.20; ASB fund A/P warrants #612422-612438 for $21,019.43; a general fund comp tax wire transfer for $488.63; an ASB comp tax wire transfer, $18.16; personnel, including Dawn Nelson as a paraeducator, LaRee Kuchenbuch as the JH asst. volleyball coach and Greg Luiten as a volunteer cheer coach; as well as accepting the resignations of Chris Shafer as JH head girls basketball coach and Sam Harder as JH asst. boys basketball coach.

Superintendent’s report

Read reported a September enrollment of 233.9 full-time equivalent students for the first day of school, down a few students from last year’s school start.

He also followed up on the Highly Capable Plan which was discussed during the board workshop. Discussion followed with comparisons of September accounts payable/payroll from 2018 to 2019. Read also provided information outlining fund balance and state/federal comparisons from each year.

Principal’s report

Nelson reported a headcount enrollment in grades P-12 of 239 students.

Nelson reported ASB fundraisers during Fest did well and students did a great job working hard all weekend.

Mrs. Nelson reported Tim Larson is leading the district’s PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports) team. Elementary teachers and paraeducators created videos of STARS (Safety, Teamwork, Academic Attitude, Respect, Success) behavior to share and discuss with students. A secondary student store is being developed for junior and senior high school students to make purchases using “Tiger” bucks they earn for modeling positive behaviors.

Upcoming activities include open house, financial aid night and homecoming.

Board reports

Chris Crossley shared with the board that Pastor Jon Hayashi and Heritage Church are inviting the town’s public elected officials and spouses, including school board members, to a worship service and a luncheon following, to honor the work they do for the community.

AD report

Athletic Director Bruce Todd gave a win/loss summary of both the junior and senior high football and volleyball teams. He thanked Justin Parr and his crew for getting the fields and gyms ready for athletic events.

Todd reported the WIAA has selected three sites, all on the west side of the state and within a few miles of each other, to host the state football games in December. The 1B/4A championship games are slated to be played at Mt. Tahoma on the 7th of December. If both teams playing in a championship game are from the east side of the state, every effort will be made to find a suitable location within a closer driving distance for that game.

There was no legislative report.

Facilities report

Read reported that the new drinking fountains have arrived, and installation will begin soon. The interior elementary doors are slated to be installed before winter’s inclement weather arrives, and a new part has been ordered for the downtown reader board.

Financial report

Read presented the ASB balance sheet for August. He further presented the Financial Activity reports for General Fund for August showing an ending total fund balance of $1,165,831. He presented computer printouts and balances for all funds.

Date of next regular meeting

The next regular board meeting will be held Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 6 p.m. in the high school library. The board scheduled a workshop at 5:30 p.m. before the regular meeting.

Highly Capable Plan

2019-2020

The district’s Highly Capable Program for 2019-2020, as presented by Superintendent Read, was approved.