schools
may15
2014
Vernonia School Board Report
At the May 8, 2014 School Board
Meeting:
Budget Committee Meets- The School
District Budget Committee held their
first meeting. Brett Costley was elected
Chair and Don Shulte was elected Vice
Chair. The Committee discussed the
budget goals and Superintendent Dr.
Ken Cox presented the budget message.
The budget includes revenue of $6.22
million and provides for a 2.5% cost of
living wage increase for employees. The
General Fund includes a 2% contingency
of $126,486; this should be 5%. Accord-
ing to Cox’s Budget Message, the bud-
get does not address some critical needs.
Class sizes will be large. The budget
does not meet the needs of the students
or staff but does fulfill the District’s fis-
cal responsibility to their patrons.
Board Approves Spencer Park Pro-
posal- Dr. Cox informed the Board that
the District has received bids to com-
plete Spencer Park construction. Cox
informed the Board that the District has
spent almost $300,000 of the $495,000
they had left to build the park. The low-
est bid to finish the construction, from
Green Thumb Landscaping, was for
$307,329. Cox worked with the City
to find ways to create cost savings and
removed several features from the plan,
including two pathways, additional soil
in non-play areas and 2 inches of top-
soil on the baseball/softball infield. City
Council approved this plan. Cox said
that with Board approval, the District
can negotiate with the low bidder to
try to find additional cost savings. The
Board approved the low bid.
Washington D.C. The students told the
Board they visited numerous monu-
ments, along with the Smithsonian In-
stitute and Arlington National Cemetery.
Both students said it took a lot of work
to fund raise for the trip but it was defi-
nitely worth it.
Miller Reports on Wetlands- Princi-
pal Aaron Miller reported that a recent
monitoring visit determined the wetland
mitigation project is on track and going
well. Miller said the work of the For-
estry Class and school-wide Sustainabil-
ity Days are having an impact. Miller
reported the plants that have been in-
troduced are growing, invasive species
OSBA Executive Director Visits Ver- are being removed, and signs will be
nonia- Betsy Miller-Jones, the Execu- installed soon. Dr. Cox added that the
tive Director of the Oregon School Board work of the Forestry Class and students
Association (OSBA) visited the Verno- is saving the District $40,000 per year.
nia Schools and addressed the School
Board at their meeting. Jones said she Special Education Report- Special
received a tour of the School by School Programs Director Gienah Cheney gave
Board and OSBA Representative Greg a report on the 2012-13 Special Educa-
Kintz. She told the Board that OSBA is tion Report Card from the State of Ore-
working on their behalf at the State Leg- gon. According to Cheney the District is
islature to generate more spending for meeting state targets in many areas, in-
education and will continue to do so.
cluding students being including in reg-
ular classroom activities. The District is
Students Report on D.C. Trip- Eighth not meeting targets in several areas in-
graders Ashley Jackson and Lily Bu- cluding graduation rates and enrollment
chanan reported to the Board on the in higher education or employed follow-
Close-Up trip to
Shop Construction Proposal- The Dis-
trict received three bids for completion
of the shop. The low bid was from Titus
and Sons. The project will be built us-
ing funds from the Career and Technical
Education (CTE) Grant. The Board ap-
proved the low bid.
Plans Unveiled for
Investment in Clatskanie Open House for Cox
continued from front page
The Vernonia School district will hold a
Farewell Open House for District Superintendent
Dr. Ken Cox on Wednesday, June 4th from 10:00
AM to 2:00 PM. The public is invited to stop by
the District Office at 1201 Texas Avenue during this
time to say farewell to Dr. Cox prior to his departure
to Idaho.
Park, and H&Q Asia Pacific. CECC (Shanghai Bi Ke
Clean Energy Technology Co., Ltd.) is a Joint Venture
between the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) and
British Petroleum.
The presentation included a slide show explaining
the proposed industrial plant by Murray V. (Vee) Godley,
President of Northwest Innovation
Works and numerous other executives
from NW Innovation Works,
including Simon Zhang, CEO of NW
Innovation Works and, Li Huimin,
Deputy Director of Dalian Xizhong
Petrochemical Park.
Fall 2014 soccer sign-ups
Brian Little, former City
Online registration now open!
Administrator for the City of St.
oysa-vernoniaysc.sportsaffinity.com
Helens has been hired as the Oregon
Development Consultant.
On-site registration at Vernonia School:
State Senator Betsy Johnson
After school on
was in attendance along with
Columbia County Commissioners
Tuesday, May 20th &
Tony Hyde, Henry Heimuller and Earl
Thursday, May 22nd
Fisher.
Follow us on Facebook for updates: Vernonia Youth Soccer Club
13
ing graduation.
Assessment Reports- Principal Nate
Underwood provided the Board with
data about Assessment Testing results.
Underwood told the Board that the Dis-
trict has seen some improvement and
some drops. Improvements have come
at the High School and 5 th grade; de-
creases have occurred at the 8 th and 3 rd
grades. Underwood noted that it has
been difficult to get students to complete
the testing. When asked, Underwood
told the audience that students who do
not meet the standards will not graduate.
Board Declares Surplus Equipment-
The following equipment was declared
as surplus: Jet Metal Lathe, Jet Turret
Mill, 2 three phase table saws, 1 three
phase planer.
Board Grants Leave of Absence- The
Board approved a Leave of Absence for
the 2014-15 school year for Elementary
School Teacher Robyn Richmond who
recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
School District Starts Facebook Page-
Dr. Cox informed the Board that the Dis-
trict has started a Facebook page which
can be used to better inform the commu-
nity.
Vernonia’s Voice is
published twice each
month on the 1st and 3rd
Thursday. Our next
issue will be out June 5th.
Vernonia
Veterinary Clinic
Small and Large Animals
Vernonia Youth
Soccer Club
Now Open
Mon, Wed & Saturday
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Call for Appointments
(503) 429-1612
Or 24 hr. Emergency Number (503) 397-6470
700 Weed Ave. Vernonia, OR
TOO BUSY?
START RIGHT. START HERE.
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