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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 2016)
14 schools/community november17 2016 School Board Report At the November 10, 2016 School board Meeting: Board Discusses School Bond Fail- ure – The Board discussed possible re- percussions and options following the voters decision to not approve the $6.7 million School Bond. (See full story on front page.) District Enrollment – District Business Manager Marie Knight told the Board that enrollment is up to 546 with 4 more students scheduled to enter the District shortly. This is up from 536 at the end of September and over the projected en- rollment for the year of 531. Board Chair Brett Costley reminded the Board that the District had a similar trend last year, before losing students in the second half of the school year. Transportation Report – Shelley Hen- nessey provided a written annual report to the Board from Curl’s Transportation. The report indicated that the school transportation system has five large bus routes, four small bus routes, and five van routes, with 11 assigned drivers and two substitute drivers. There have been no accidents, no breakdowns, and two incidents of late buses. Board Adopts OSBA Resolution – The Board adopted Resolution 1617-02 the recommended Oregon School Board As- sociation (OSBA) Legislative Priorities and Policies. The priorities and policies are developed by the OSBA Legisla- tive Policy Committee and reviewed by OSBA members, including Vernonia School Board member and OSBA rep- resentative Greg Kintz. The Board ap- proved the resolution unanimously, with Susan Wagner abstaining, saying she did not want to vote on an item she had not had an opportunity to review. Board Receives School Report Cards – Superintendent Aaron Miller intro- duced the new state Report Card for the District and all Vernonia schools for 2015-16. Miller suggested the Board review the information contained within the documents and plan to discuss it at their next meeting. Board Approves Policy Updates – The Board approved the first reading of several policy updates that have been recommended by the OSBA and rec- ommended by the District Board Policy Committee. Superintendent Report – Superinten- dent Aaron Miller shared a response he received from the Director of ASSE In- ternational Student Exchange Program concerning sanctions placed against the Vernonia School District. Gwen McNal- lan was unable to provide any specific information about how the Vernonia School District violated any regulations, yet still stood by their decision to not al- low any basketball playing students to be placed with families in Vernonia. The Board discussed no longer partnering with ASSE to bring exchange students to the community and to consider other agencies, but no decision was made. Miller provided the Board with information about insurance deductibles which showed the current policy has a $5,000 deductible and costs $72,500 an- nually, and that changing it to a $1,000 deductible would increase the premium to $77,000. The board asked for some history on the cost of damages the Dis- trict has incurred in the past. The Board approved a letter of support from the District for the instal- lation of a community electronic reader board, but the letter states they are not in a position to provide any funding toward the project. Miller read a letter of apology from a student who was involved in van- dalism at Greenman Field. The student has paid to fix the damage and is sched- uled to do community service work. Miller discussed the potential impacts of State Measures 97, 98, and Catch the Holiday Spirit Campaign to Launch across Columbia County Keep it Local Columbia County is launching the first coordinated county- wide holiday marketing campaign called “Catch the Holiday Spirit” on November 19. The campaign will run November 19 through December 28. The goals are to connect the communities of Columbia County and keep local dollars local in order to strengthen our local economy. The grassroots campaign volun- teers have been talking with local folks who say they want to shop right here in our Columbia County communities and support businesses in the place where they live. The campaign will promote just that, shopping locally for the up- coming holiday season. Why a grassroots campaign? Why is it so important to shop locally? American Independent Business Alli- ance (AMIBA) reports that in a survey of over 3,000 independent business own- ers in 2015, published by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, there was a power- ful correlation between sustained “buy independent/buy local” campaigns and success of local businesses. Independent businesses in communities with grass- roots business alliances consistently promoting the benefits of buying locally reported an average revenue increase of 9.3% compared to 4.9% growth among independents in communities without such alliances. The short and sweet is that grassroots shop local campaigns work. Here’s how everyone can “Catch the Holiday Spirit” across Columbia Coun- ty: Shoppers: 1. Word of mouth: It works! Tell your neighbor. Talk up your community. 2. Get social: Follow our Keep It Local Columbia County Facebook page. Share and comment. Post on your personal page showing where you shop and why you love local! 3. Get active: Participate in the Catch A Trusted Name in Funeral Service Angel Memorials Headstones Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral Home & Crematory 2308 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove 503-357-2161 741 Madison Ave., Vernonia 503-429-6611 Granite Markers & Monuments 971-344-3110 Jeff & Kathryn Hoyt Locally owned in Vernonia Serving NW Oregon All Cemeteries Accepted Order drawing at no charge online Forest Grove Memorial Chapel 503-357-3126 www.angelmemorialsheadstones.com To sign the online guest book or to send a condolence to the family go to www.fuitenrosehoyt.com Family Owned & Operated Formerly Prickett’s Mortuary the Spirit Campaign by shopping locally across the county November 19 - De- cember 28. Find participating businesses at www.keepitlocalcc.com. Fill up your “Spirit” Card, and return it to be entered in the prize drawing (3 prizes worth $50 each will be awarded in each communi- ty, and one for the county overall)! At- tend the open houses on November 19, participate in Small Business Saturday on November 26. Business Owners: 1. Join the Catch the Holiday Spirit cam- paign November 19 through December 28: Customers use Spirit Cards when shopping at participating stores. For each $10 they spend or per transaction at a financial institution, a box is checked. A Spirit Card will have 20 boxes valued at $200 spent locally, and a full card can be entered to win the prize draw- ings. Business owners must purchase an advertising package to participate in the Spirit Campaign. Go to www.keepi- tlocalcc.com/Campaigns to view more about each area. 2. Host an Open House on November 19. This is free to participate. Simply submit your flyer and your events for free on the online Business Directory www.keepitlocalcc.com, and the cam- paign will promote your event. 3. Engage in Small Business Saturday on November 26. You can order swag (shop small bags, get banners, balloons and more) at Free Marketing Materi- als for Small Business Saturday Shop Small. If you want to partner, contact the campaign for ideas. To learn more and get involved, con- tact Keep It Local Columbia County: www.keepitlocalcc.com keepitlocalcc@gmail.com Phone (503) 498-1699 99. Miller told the Board that he expects the District to hire current em- ployee Cherise Harbour as the new half- time fiscal assistant and is working out the details of the job classification. Miller told the Board that Cha- rolette Gilbert will focus just on the K-12 behavior program and the District will use a long-term sub to teach Middle School Special Education for the re- mainder of the school year. Miller said the District is work- ing to determine if it is the responsibility of the City or the District to fix a water run-off issue on Missouri Avenue. Building Reports – Middle and High School Principal Nate Underwood told the Board the School had received a site visit from the AVID Regional Coordina- tor, who Underwood said was very im- pressed with the District’s preparations so far. AVID is a new elective program for students who need some extra sup- port getting ready to be successful in high school and who have the goal of attending college. This is the Vernonia School District’s first year offering this class to students. Underwood updated the Board on college and career readiness pro- grams in the school. Parent teacher conferences are scheduled for November 17 and 18. Elementary School Principal Aaron Miller and instructor Juliete Safier told the Board that all teachers are participating in professional devel- opment work related to the Formative Assessment grant. Safier is heading up the teacher instruction for the District. Safier said teachers are being trained in this teaching process this year, and testing some of the methods in class. It will be fully rolled out beginning next year. Safier also updated the Board on other professional development initia- tives including behavior interventions, making sure students are on track for promotion and graduation, bullying awareness and prevention, suicide awareness and training, and Trauma In- formed Care, which Miller explained is a process to help teachers, during their interactions with students, be aware of and deal with students who have expe- rienced trauma in their lives. Miller updated the Board on disciple numbers this year which are right around the national average. Public Comment – Bill Langmaid, representing the School Bond Commit- tee, apologized to the Board for not be- ing successful in helping pass the Ver- nonia School Bond. “We did the best we could with the knowledge we had and I think we are all ready to help sup- port the School District if they go for a bond in the future.” Board member Er- nie Smith thanked the Bond Committee for their effort. Darrold Mushatt asked the School Board to approve mandatory checks for all students for head lice to help curb the spread through the stu- dents in the District. Mushatt volun- teered to gather other parents to assist with checks if more help is needed. Superintendent Aaron Miller suggested Mushatt contact him to discuss his pro- posal further.