School district issues 4 RIF notices

Superintendent Bob Garrett has issued reduction in force (RIF) notices to four teachers and has also notified teachers that he may not be able to offer the same contract terms in the coming school year.

The RIF notices result in a decrease of 1.58 percent full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers, Garrett said last Thursday at the monthly meeting of the Wahkiakum School District board of directors. The letters to teachers was a formality, he said, based on whether the legislature enacts salary reductions.

"These are standard, until we know more about what the legislature will provide," Garrett told the school board.

In other business, the directors prioritized maintenance work and authorized Calvin Grasseth, transportation supervisor, to proceed with bids to build a bus washing building with a sloping concrete floor that will meet the Washington Department of Ecology rules to prevent unnecessary run-off into the storm water system.

Last month, the board directed Grasseth to find out whether buying a kit was more economical. He reported the difference in cost was minimal. The board approved spending between $35,000 and $40,000 for the new building.

District Maintenance Supervisor Bob McClintock presented a list of upcoming maintenance expenses that he had prioritized in terms of urgency.

The district has four aging portables that need to be re-roofed; recently one leaked and much of the materials stored in it were lost. A walk-in cooler must be upgraded at the middle school to meet Wahkiakum Health Department rules, and the second-story area of the roof at the high school needs work.

The board directed McClintock to spend up to $150,000 to complete as many of the repairs as possible. The $150,000 was set aside for maintenance following the sale of land to the Town of Cathlamet for its wastewater treatment plant.

The district reviewed results of the 2010 census, which showed that the district had grown by 163 people. Ideally each of the school board director’s districts would have 630 people.

The 2000 census resulted in redistricting because of the growth of population on Puget Island. This year, the differences were within allowable variations between districts, especially in a small school district, Garrett said. The board opted not to re-district.

Districts for Cathlamet, East Puget Island and West Puget Island lost 110 people total. The Lower Elochoman and Skamokawa districts gained 108 total. The population of the district is 3,148 people.

“The process (of redistricting) in 2000 was too complicated,” said director Lee Tischer, describing confusing boundaries that divided streets.

This year, Tina Schubert, who represents lower Elochoman Valley, and Tony Boyce, who represents Cathlamet, are up for reelection. The filing deadline is June 6.

The board received six bids for three buses and one flatbed truck offered as surplus and awarded the vehicles to the high bidder, Mike Mouliot.

The board granted the Town of Cathlamet a utility easement to bring water across SR 4 to the site of a prospective new wastewater treatment facility.