Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
DAVENPORT—The school board approved two new positions for hire in a move tabled at the end of September at the board’s quarterly meeting Oct. 11. However, the approval came with adjustments requested by the board.
The board had previously waited to approve a request from school administration to create and advertise for two new positions, a lunchroom assistant and health room aide, seeking more financial information at the board’s Sept. 27 meeting. Administration described both positions as part-time positions.
The lunch-room assistant position would cost $16,932, with a four-to-five year expected rate of $17,786 and would be district funded. The health specialist, which will be funded by a Department of Health grant, would have a beginning rate of $17,975 with a four-to-five-year rate of $18,921.
Board chair Heather Panke said the positions are sorely needed in the district, but cautioned that some of the positions may not be needed if the COVID-19 pandemic reaches an end in the next one or two years.
“The health specialist position, especially, may not be needed if the pandemic ends,” she said.
At-large board member Brad Sweet pushed an idea to advertise the positions as combined positions that could create one full-time job instead of two part-time jobs.
“It’s really hard to find part-time workers right now,” Sweet said. “If we combined the positions, maybe people would be more likely to apply since they know there’s the potential for a full-time job.”
Sweet also said the position could include an offer to become a bus driver, citing future retirements and difficulty filling those positions. Superintendent Jim Kowalkowski said there’s no current opening for a bus driving job, but Sweet still wanted the position offered for any future vacancies.
District 3 board member Tami Odenrider said the district should advertise the positions with the choice of having one or both jobs. At-large board member Garrett Husky said the positions could be combined and people will apply for a full-time position if they want to. District 2 board member Deanna Fitzpatrick said she was open to advertising a full-time position, but the district shouldn’t take the option for doing one job as a part-time gig away.
After this discussion, the board moved to approve the creation of the two new positions with the caveat that they’ll be advertised as part-time positions that have the potential to be full-time.
The board also discussed its upcoming vacancies. Panke and Sweet didn’t file for re-election, and their terms end Jan. 1, 2022.
Janie Schreck filed for Sweet’s position and is running unopposed, but no one filed for Panke’s District 1 board spot in the main or special filing period this year.
The board will now be responsible for filling Panke’s vacancy by the end of the year. The candidate must live in District 1.
Roughly, the borders of District 1 include all district area up and east of Highway 25 up to the district border on the Spokane arm of Lake Roosevelt, east to the district’s borders, as far south as the district border and east of Highway 28 at the intersection of Highway 28 and Zellmer Road East.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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