School board considers mission and goals

The Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors attended a workshop on Tuesday to begin a discussion about the board's mission and goals for the district as well as review some of the current wants and needs district wide.

The board is a young one. At two years, Shawn Merz has been there the longest. Robin Westphall has been on the board for one month. Each member of the board recently completed an assessment about how successful they felt about their work and responsibilities as a school board member. At Tuesday's meeting they went over the survey and discussed their responses. The board agreed to meet periodically for special meetings until they were able to define their mission and common goals.

They also continued discussion regarding a proposal from last month's meeting, to replace the aging portables at the elementary school with two double classroom modular buildings that would cost $125,000 each.

The current portables have been in use for more than 30 years and are showing their age. According to J.A. Wendt Elementary and John C. Thomas Middle School Principal Theresa Libby, one portable had already been removed. Of the three remaining, one was being used as a keyboarding and art classroom without access to water. Another was being used for storage despite not having heat and the last was the classroom for the Intervention Prevention Specialist. She shares her space with another specialist more than one day a week.

"Those portables are beyond their last leg," Libby said.

Overflow has students moving to different areas around the school for classroom time, including using the stage in the multipurpose room. Sometimes there is a physical education class going on right next to them, or distracting noise from the music room.

"We're short spaced right now," she continued. "We're getting to the point that if we add another classroom in the middle school, which I think we're going to need next year with our numbers, there is nowhere to put it. There is no empty space right now at all. I would also like to see another class in the elementary school just with the numbers we are projecting for next year to keep those primary class sizes low."

Director Merz suggested putting in a permanent flexible use structure, and though there was a positive response to his idea, other board members were concerned that the need was more immediate.

The issue was tabled, but the board will have to make a decision soon if they would like to have the new modular buildings in place next fall.

Superintendent Garrett presented a list of projected needs and wants outside of the normal expenses to give the board some perspective. He also gave them some good news about finances.

"The goal has been to keep $500,000 in cash reserve," Garrett said. "That is about 10 percent of our budgeted amount per year. Right now we are actually at one million dollars, which is phenomenal. It seemed like an opportune time to have a discussion like this. We really haven't been in this situation in the 20 years I've been here."

Some of the items on the list included staffing, another pole building to cover the rest of the district buses, bleachers at the high school and more security cameras.

During the visit from Missoula Children's Theatre last month, an electrical problem was discovered in the high school stage lighting system. With graduation rapidly approaching, this concern was moved up on the list of priorities.

The board will return Tuesday, April 19 at 5:30 p.m., for their regularly scheduled meeting.