14
schools
september21
2017
School Board Report
At the September 14, 2017 School
Board Meeting:
Loans Paid Off – Superintendent Aaron
Miller shared a letter from the Oregon
Department of Energy notifying the
District that loans L00881 and L00864
have been paid in full. These loans rep-
resented the debt the School Bond was
intended to retire, which was approved
by voters last spring
District Hires Project Manager for
Bond Projects – Superintendent Aaron
Miller told the Board that a contract has
been signed with Heery International as
their bond Project Manager. (See full
story in the Schools Update column on
this page.)
Board Approves VEA Contract and
Administrative MOA – The Board ap-
proved an employment agreement for
teachers through the Vernonia Education
Association (VEA) through 2019. They
also approved a Memorandum of Agree-
ment (MOA) for employment with the
Administration group through 2019,
which includes school principals and
vice principals.
Greenman Field Stadium Update –
Superintendent Aaron Miller told the
Board that estimates from the City’s en-
gineering firm put repairs to the stadium
roof in the $12,000-$20,000 range after
the stadium was deemed structurally un-
safe. He said he is continuing to discuss
whether repairs will be done, but that
he does not expect the stadium to be re-
paired and available for use this football
season. (See full story on front page.)
New Staff – The Board approved the
hiring of Lisa Edwardsen as a new
kindergarten teacher. Superintendent
Aaron Miller explained that because of
increased enrollment in the kindergarten
class over the summer, there was a need
to expand to two classes, so Edward-
sen was hired late in the process, but is
quickly getting up to speed. Miller also
officially introduced Michelle Eagleson
in her new role as Elementary School
Vice Principal and Rachel Wilcoxen in
her new role as Middle/High School
Vice Principal.
Enrollment – Superintendent Aaron
Miller told the Board that enrollment in
the District at the start of the school year
was 535 and provided a report which
broke down class size for each grade.
Oregon Outreach Program – Super-
intendent Aaron Miller told the Board
that Vernonia Academy, part of Oregon
Outreach Incorporated, has begun. The
program offers an alternative accredited
educational program for students who
are having difficulty in the regular learn-
ing environment and is open to students
in grades 9 through 12. The program
currently has six Vernonia students, with
room for one more, and three who are
bussed from the Rainier School District.
Superintendent Report – Superinten-
dent Aaron Miller told the Board the
community showing of “Paper Tigers”
has been moved to Thursday, October
19, from 5-8:00 pm. The documentary
film shows how the introduction of Trau-
ma-Informed Care impacted students in
an alternative high school.
Miller told the Board that the
Oregon Department of Education has
accepted VES’s application to partici-
pate in the Oregon Response to Instruc-
tion and Intervention (ORTIi) training.
Miller said the program offers alterna-
tive teaching methods for special educa-
tion students.
Building Reports – Elementary School
Principal Aaron Miller told the Board
that the two week Kindercamp was a
huge success for the second year, as
was Meet the Teacher Night, a first time
event. Both programs allowed students
and parents to meet their teachers and
become familiar with their classrooms
and the school building. Miller said an
Open House for VES and VHS is sched-
uled for September 28 from 6-7:00 pm;
Mist School will hold their Open House
on October 11 from 6:30-7:30 pm.
Miller told the Board that the
Formative Assessment Grant was fund-
ed for the second year, allowing teach-
ers and administrators the opportunity to
continue the Focus Schools training.
Miller said kindergarten, 4 th
grade and Mist School students will take
part in Salmon Watch activities on Octo-
ber 4. The program, in partnership with
the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council,
Schools Update: Project Manager
By Aaron Miller
Putting in motion the implementation of their
recently passed $9.1 million bond program, the Verno-
nia School District has selected Heery International as
their bond Project Manager.
Heery is the leading K-12 bond program man-
ager in the region and has been providing on-time and
on-budget project management from their Portland area
office for nearly thirty years.
With a staff of over 600 professionals national-
ly and 65 locally, Heery provides comprehensive design
phase and construction phase services which will assure
successful completion of the District’s bond projects
and get best value facilities for the funds available.
Heery’s vast amount of school district project
management experience includes work for Portland
Public Schools, Beaverton School District, and St. Hel-
ens School District. These districts have all utilized
Heery’s services and have been extremely happy with
Vernonia
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Small and Large Animals
the work provided. In talking with these other districts,
they all had comments on how effective Heery is at
completing projects on-time, and in many cases, under
budget.
Some of the services provided through this
Project Manager contract will be oversight of projects,
determining the most effective order of project imple-
mentation, management of contractors/sub-contractors,
obtaining public input, and updating the District and
community on progress toward completion.
In other Bond news, the District received noti-
fication from the Oregon Department of Energy that our
two “Cool School Loans” have been paid in full. Paying
off these loans was the number one priority of the Bond
request, which eliminated over $190,000 per year in
principal and interest payments from the General Fund.
Thank you again for passing the bond, and sup-
porting the staff and students in the Vernonia School
District.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wild-
life, and Stub Stewart State Park, takes
students out to Rock Creek to learn about
the natural resources in the region. 8 th
grade students from Seattle’s Lakeside
School will be in Vernonia for a week
as part of the program, learning about
the region’s natural history, our com-
munity’s flood recovery, and performing
several community service projects.
High School Principal Nate
Underwood provided a written report,
which recapped end of year activities
from the previous school year, and intro-
duced new class and student body offi-
cers, and several new high school teach-
ers.
Board Nominates Kintz for OSBA
Board – The Board nominated Greg
Kintz to be the representative for the
North Coast region, position 14 to
the Oregon School Board Association
(OSBA) for a two year term. Kintz has
served in the position since 2009 repre-
senting school districts from Columbia,
and Clatsop Counties. The OSBA advo-
cates for school districts and education
issues.
Student Reports – Brook Naron, Pub-
lic Relations Representative for the Stu-
dent Body, provided a report on current
activities at the high school, including
sports, homecoming preparations, new
teachers, the Cheer Squad, senior trip,
exchange students, and a fundraiser to
raise money for the Red Cross for hur-
ricane relief.
Wauna Credit Union
Announces Adopt-A-
Teacher
Contest
As the school year begins, Wauna Credit
Union proudly supports the teachers in the commu-
nities it represents. To help area teachers, who often
have to dig into their own pockets to provide sup-
plies for the classroom, the credit union is hosting
an “Adopt-A-Teacher” contest during the month of
September, awarding $500 to the winning educator.
Students, parents, teachers, principals, and
members of the community are encouraged to post
a video on Wauna Credit Union’s Facebook page ex-
plaining why their favorite teacher deserves to win.
The entry with the most votes as measured by Face-
book “reactions” will win the grand prize.
“Teachers are the backbone of our commu-
nity. They put in so much hard work and do so much
to ensure our children learn and are ready to lead
rewarding lives,” said Pam Weller, Assistant Vice
President of Wauna Credit Union. “It’s
important and exciting for us to do what
we can to help them out, and to reward all
that they do.”
Wauna Credit Union has a lengthy
history
of supporting education. The
Need more room?
Adopt-A-Teacher contest joins a long list
of the credit union’s initiatives, including
its annual scholarship, financial educa-
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Vernonia School Board
Meetings are held on the
second Thursday of each
month. The next School
Board Meeting is scheduled
for October 12 at 6:00 pm in
the Schools Library.