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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2018)
schools july19 2018 13 School Board Report At the July 12, 2018 School Board Meeting: Board Chair Costley Announces Res- ignation – School Board Chair Brett Costley announced in a letter that he is resigning from the Board effective Au- gust 8, 2018, in order to pursue a teach- ing position with the Vernonia School District. Superintendent Aaron Miller reminded the Board that an employee of the District can not serve on the School Board. Costley said in his letter that he is currently enrolled in Portland Com- munity College’s “Pathways to CTE Licensure” study program. Costley will begin teaching Engineering at VHS and help develop a CTE (Career and Tech- nical Education) Engineering program. “There is a strong desire and support in our community for additional vocational education in our schools,” said Costley in his letter. Board Accepts Resignation, Announc- es Vacancy on Board – The Board voted to accept the resignation of Brett Costley and announced a vacancy on the Board. The Board did not make a deci- sion on how they will fill the open posi- tion, but in the past they have accepted applications from interested parties and then appointed someone to fill the po- sition. Anyone appointed will hold the position until the next election in May 2019, when the position would be filled for the unexpired portion of the term. Anyone applying for any vacant position must be a registered voter and a resident of the District for one year immediately preceding the appointment. Board Elects Chair and Vice Chair – The Board voted to elect Greg Kintz as Chair and Stacey Pelster as Vice Chair. Superintendent Report – Superinten- dent Aaron Miller told the Board that attendance at his Coffee Talks during the past year has been very low, but that the conversations he did have with pa- trons of the District were productive. The Board said they would like Miller to continue these meetings next year, but only announce a start time, rather than an hour, and that he could leave if no one attends. Miller responded to a question from the Board from a previous meet- ing concerning the number of students in the District receiving Special Educa- tion (SPED) services, and the number of students the District receives additional funding for from the state. Miller re- ported the Oregon Department of Edu- cation caps extra SPED funding at 11% of total enrollment. The VSD has identi- fied 17.4% (93) of students as SPED but received extra funding for just 59.35 of them. Miller said there is a another pool of money that helps Districts that are un- derfunded, which provided funding for 11.6 more students, but the District still has to pay for SPED services for 22 stu- dents from their own general fund. Mill- er said statewide the average percentage of SPED students was 14.4% in 2017- 18, and said other local school districts also appear to be underfunded: Gaston 17.7%, Jewell 18.5%, Clatskanie 18.5%. Miller said the VSD will receive a donation of a CNC plasma cutter from PCC for VHS’s metal shop program. Miller announced the City of Vernonia and VSD have partnered to hire New Owners Reopen Automotive Shop continued from front page repair problem. Then Reggie presented us with this opportunity.” Tera will handle the business side of things, setting appointments, or- dering parts, and the finances. Her fam- ily ran an auto repair business when she was growing up, where she worked in the office and in the shop during high school, and she’s also worked in auto parts stores. Josh and Tera say AV Automo- tive Repair plans to expand to work on motorcycles and ATVs in the near fu- ture. Right now the shop is open limited hours, so customers need to call to make an appointment. They are cur- rently running a new customer special: after your first service you get $20 off your next service when you leave a re- view on their Facebook page. “What’s most important to me is that we’re a good small town business that does a good job taking care of our local customers,” says Josh. “We don’t want to charge an arm and a leg and we want to try and work with people.” AV Automotive Repair is located at 745 Adams Avenue. You can reach them at (503) 454-6967. Don‛t worry. We‛ll go to Meyer‛s Auto Body. I hear they‛re out of this world. Meyer’s Auto Body 493 Bridge Street VERNONIA • 503-429-0248 a School Resource Officer (SRO). Mill- er announced that officer Abbie Hanson has been hired and will be shared be- tween the City and District. Miller said Hanson is 24 years old and a graduate of St. Helens High School. She has an As- sociates Degree in Criminal Justice. She has completed the St. Helens Police De- partment Reserve Officer Academy and has served as a Reserve Officer there for several years. She has also worked part time at the Columbia County jail. She is scheduled to attend Basic Police Acad- emy in August. While working with the St. Helens Police Department she was involved in several programs involving youth and has been an assistant coach at the high school with volleyball, basket- ball, and softball. Miller told the Board Ms. Amy Curtis will join staff as a student teacher and will be working with Mrs. Campbell teaching 5 th grade. Miller told the Board Brittney Waugh, who has served as the School Psychologist but took a one year leave of absence last year, has announced her resignation. Miller provided the Board with a letter he is sending to the City of Verno- nia informing the City that, as of July 1, 2018, the District has fulfilled their five year agreement to maintain landscaping and pay for street lighting on Missouri Avenue. This will now be the responsi- bility of the City. Board Tables Evaluation Discussion – The Board tabled a discussion about a draft form they will use to self-evaluate their performance. Board Liaisons and Assignments – The Board chose the following liaisons to District Committees: Safety – Susan Wagner; Talented and Gifted – Susan Wagner. The Board chose the following Committee Assignments: Negotiations – Susan Wagner, Melissa Zavales, Greg Kintz; Policy Review – Brittanie Rob- erts, Katie Cook; Facilities (Long Range Planning) – Brittanie Roberts, Stacey Pelster, Susan Wagner; Vernonia Educa- tion Foundation – Melissa Zavales, Greg Kintz. Board Sets Substitute Teacher Pay – The Board voted to establish substitute teacher pay at $180 per day. Board Sets Meeting Schedule – The Board set their meeting schedule for 2018-19. The Board will meet on the second Thursday of each month at 6:00 pm, except for November when they will meet on the third Thursday, No- vember 15. Meetings are held in the schools library, except for October and April when the meeting will be held at the Mist School. Vernonia School Board Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month. The next School Board Meeting is scheduled for August 9 at 6:00 pm in the Schools Library.
