School staff making plans for reopening

The Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors met on Tuesday in the high school gym for their June meeting.

Superintendent Brent Freeman told them about his continuing work to find creative ways to fund renovations at the district after the attempt to pass a bond failed earlier this year. He has been reaching out to government entities like the Department of Enterprise Services, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, and other potential partners like Apollo Solutions, which has worked with other districts to find funding.

Freeman also gave an update on the strategy for reopening. Currently, the goal is to have all the students back in school on the first day, but with all the layers of protection that will need to be built in, like masks, hand washing stations, extra cleaning and what seems to be the biggest obstacle: how to provide six feet for social distancing, there are currently more questions than answers.

The district is charged with the responsibility to make sure the children in the community are getting fed, getting an education, and getting their social and emotional needs met in a low threat covid-19 environment, Freeman said.

The district is considering other options if they are unable to meet their desired goal. One is to have something Freeman called an AB schedule, where half the students would attend classes in the school on Mondays and Tuesdays, and interact online on Thursdays and Fridays, while the other half of the students interacted online the first two days of the week, and attended classes in person the last two days. On Wednesdays, the custodial crew would do a deep sanitization, and teachers could use the time for planning and office hours.

The board approved several items including:

• A $16,000 bid from Weatherguard for repairs to the Ag Building roof and weight room roof,

• An upgrade that will expand the camera system on the district grounds,

• The purchase of a new plasma cutter, paid for with funding from the Career and Technical Education program, and

• The purchase of a new tractor.

They also approved the hiring of Patti Phillips to the new HR/Payroll position, and accepted a resignation from Linda Ashe, a long time bus driver for the district.

Finally, they thanked and applauded Business Manager Shelby Garrett for her good work after a successful audit.