schools
january16
2020
13
School Board Report
At the January 9, 2020 School Board
Meeting:
Superintendent Report – Superinten-
dent Aaron Miller told the Board he in-
tends to continue in his position with the
District for at least one more year. Mill-
er is eligible for retirement at the end of
this school year and had previously in-
dicated to the Board he is considering
either retirement or a move to another
position in another District.
Miller told the Board the Dis-
trict will form a curriculum committee
to work on upgrading the District’s text-
books; Miller said the District has fallen
behind on current curriculum due to a
lack of funds.
Miller said District enrollment
is holding steady at 570.
Miller informed the Board that
Charolette Koch and Summer Gonzalez
have been hired as Structured Learning
Instructional Assistants.
Miller told the Board that the
Rainier School District has hired Jamie
Hamsa to serve as a regional Mental
Health Coordinator. Hamsa will split
her time between the Rainier, Verno-
nia, and Clatskanie districts to meet the
needs of trauma-impacted students.
Miller told the Board the Dis-
trict will be sharing the cost of a reader
board with the City of Vernonia, the Ver-
nonia Rural Fire Protection District, and
the Vernonia Boosters, which will be lo-
cated at Spencer Park on Bridge Street.
Miller provided the Board with
a schedule for the Community Engage-
ment portion of the process to access
Student Success Act funds, along with
samples of surveys the community and
students will be asked to participate in.
Bus Service Contract – Superintendent
Miller updated the Board on the pro-
posed renewal of the District’s contract
with Curl School Bus Service to provide
transport services for the District. Mill-
er said Curl has offered to extend their
contract for five more years and reduce
the cost of service for the first two years
of the contract. Miller said the contract
will come back to the Board next month
for approval.
Board Approves New 5 th Grade
Teacher – The Board approved the hire
of Natalia Balduras to teach 5 th grade;
the previous instructor resigned prior to
the winter break. Balduras is a first year
teacher and a graduate of Pacific Univer-
sity; she had substituted in the Vernonia
5 th grade class several times before being
hired permanently.
Board Approves Revised Human
Sexuality Policy – The Board approved
a change to the way the District deliv-
ers Human Sexuality curriculum to high
school students. The previous policy
called for students to receive Human
Sexuality during two school years be-
tween 9 th and 12 th grades. At the request
of School Board member Brittanie Rob-
erts, the Board reviewed the policy and
approved a revised policy which now re-
quires students to receive the instruction
in all four years of high school.
Board Approves Division 22 Stan-
dards – The Board approved the Dis-
trict’s Division 22 Standards report,
which is required annually and shows
that the District is in compliance with all
Oregon Administrative Rules.
Next Board Meeting – The next School
Board Meeting will be held on February
13 at 6:00 pm in the Schools Library.
Schools Update: The Need for Substitutes
By Superintendent Aaron Miller
As the largest employer in Ver-
nonia, there are 88 staff members work-
ing in the Vernonia School District
(VSD), and the need for quality sub-
stitutes to fill in when people are ill or
working on professional development
activities is great.
Currently there is a real shortage
of people available to fill these needs for
substitute employees in a variety of posi-
tions within the VSD. These same issues
are being felt in neighboring school dis-
tricts as well.
The VSD is in need of dedicat-
ed, quality people willing to substitute in
our schools. We are looking for people
willing to sub in all departments, at all
levels, kindergarten through 12 th grade.
The district anticipates this issue
will only get worse as all school districts
in the state will be hiring next year with
the onset of increased funding from the
Student Success Act. If you are inter-
ested in learning more about subbing or
working in schools, please contact Su-
perintendent Miller at (503) 429-5891.
Substitute teachers are one need,
but other substitute employees (teach-
ing assistants, custodians, food service
Vernonia School Board Meetings are held on the second
Thursday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for
Thursday, February 13 at 6:00 pm in the Schools Library.
Vernonia Exchange Student
Earns Spot on Local Soccer Club
Leonardo Corebetta, an ex-
change student at Vernonia High School,
is getting a chance to experience play-
ing soccer at a fairly high level in the
United States.
Leo, an Italian student who is
spending this school year in Vernonia,
has joined the Westside Timbers, a pres-
tigious local soccer club affiliated with
the Portland Timbers, the local profes-
sional soccer organization. He is living
with Tyler and Erin Sweptson in Verno-
nia.
Because Corebetta is a foreign
player, he has only been training with
the Westside Timbers’ U19 team, while
awaiting clearance from FIFA, soccer’s
international governing body, to play in
competitive matches. His clearance is
expected at any time.
Corebetta, who will turn 19
this year, plays as a midfielder. He
has played in two non-league games,
scoring a goal in each game. Westside
Timbers play from November through
June, so hopefully Corebetta will have
a chance to play competitively this
spring.
Westside Timbers provides
youth soccer players with the oppor-
workers) are also very hard to find on
a regular basis. Substitutes are a daily
part of life for students and school staff.
Each day there is some position that
needs to be filled due to illness, sched-
uled appointments, or other life happen-
ings. The issue, however, is usually not
whether a substitute employee will be
needed in the building, but whether there
will actually be a person available to fill
this need.
The number of people willing
to substitute in schools is dwindling,
whether it be as a teacher, an assistant,
a custodian, or an employee in the caf-
eteria. This problem is even larger for
a community like Vernonia, given the
distance from here to other communities
of size where more substitutes may live.
Substitutes in the education field are be-
coming harder and harder to come by
these days.
Substitutes in the VSD are hired
through the NW Regional Educational
Service District (NWRESD), and are
called through an automated system run
through their offices. Anyone interested
in subbing for the District needs to reg-
ister through the NWRESD Human Ser-
vices department, who can be reached
at (503) 614-1428. You can also call the
Vernonia School District Office at (503)
429-5891, if you have questions you
would like answered about potential sub
jobs here in Vernonia prior to applying
through the ESD.
Vernonia Students of the Month
December 2019
David Strack
Grade 8
David is known as a hardworking student,
who tries his best daily and hands in his
assignments on time and done well. His
teachers say he is kind and is the first to help
his classmates if they need help. David plays
football, wrestling, baseball, and plans to do
track and field. He plays the trombone in the
band and is going to learn guitar. In his free
time he likes to draw.
tunity to pursue soccer at the highest
levels of competition. Corebetta’s U19
team is coached by Marc Evans. Ev-
ans is a professional coach who won a
USYSA National Championship with a
U18 Eastside United team. He has won
10 Oregon State Cups and numerous
other tournament victories, and has pro-
duced 25 Division I players and several
professional players.
Corebetta thanked his host fam-
ily for making this opportunity happen
for him, especially his host mom who
drives him to practice and games in
Portland.
Leigha Dolan
Grade 12
Leigha is a hardworking and good student.
She has played the flute in the band and was
also in the choir. She is currently working
part-time in her mother's business. In her
spare time she likes to draw and paint and is
currently working with mentor Tony Hyde on
art for her Senior Project. Leigha says she
plans to take classes at PCC before transfer-
ring to the University of Oregon to study
English or Life Sciences.
Sponsored by Vernonia’s Voice