Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
DAVENPORT—The school board met virtually as COVID-19 cases locally remain high for its Monday, Sept. 27 regular meeting. The board approved two action items in part and heard excitement from superintendent Jim Kowalkowski, high school principal Chad Prewitt and elementary principal Noelle Carstens regarding the return of students to the classroom.
The board first approved the consent agenda, which included hiring Kyle Edwards as custodian, the fall and winter coaches and advisors and approving FFA trips to Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho and to Vancouver, Washington for nursery and landscape competitions.
After a presentation from administration regarding students returning to the classroom, business manager Leslie Oliver shared about basic enrollment rising by 39 full-time students while special education decreased by three students. Oliver then brought a request to hire two new positions for board approval: a lunch room assistant/health room aide position and a registrar/district office assistant.
The board opted to approve the latter hire, but wanted to see a detailed job description and more information about the financial impact of the prior hire and pushed that to the next meeting.
The board also approved the submission of iGrant Form600, a basic education requirement compliance packet, to the state Board of Education and OSPI.
The lone public comment came from Lincoln County commissioner Scott Hutsell. A former school board member himself, Hutsell shared concern with the process of asking for details from staff members seeking a religious exemption for the state’s vaccine mandate that requires all public, private and charter K-12 school staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Hutsell also asked Kowalkowski what the process for termination would be if a staff member flat out refused to be vaccinated. Kowalkowski maintained his position that he doesn’t anticipate having to face that issue with his staff, as the number of vaccinated district employees is up to 90.2% amongst teachers and 81% amongst all school staff.
The board will next convene for a quarterly meeting Monday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. Whether the meeting will be in-person or virtual is to be determined.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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