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.