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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2021)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2021 | 5A SIUSLAW from page 1A Local Service Plan ser- vices are intended to: im- prove student learning; enhance the quality of instruction provided to students; assure equitable access to resources; and maximize operational and fiscal efficiencies. Since Lane ESD works with the county’s 16 school districts, it has to provide tailored support for each of them. “One of the equitable things that we like to do at the ESD is bring about equitable services for our middle-sized and smaller districts,” Scurto said. “Siu- slaw, being considered a middle-sized district in the county, doesn’t have some features that some of our larger districts have. What we’re trying to do with this service plan is to provide those services.” Three new areas for the Local Service Plan include nursing, communication and legal services. Siuslaw School District Superintendent Andy Grz- eskowiak said the ESD is also providing a navigator for the Student Success Act. “The compliance on this piece of legislation is large and there’s four quarterly check-ins, on top of ev- erything else we’re doing. (Lane ESD) knows how to kind of focus in, get right to the basics and help us get our all of our reporting and compliance pieces done on time. So, it’s a solid work plan for us,” he said. After discussion, Mann- Heintz moved to approve the resolution, again sec- onded by Pimlott. “I would just say that our services that we that we get from the ESD are valuable and we should go with our plan. We need to,” Mann- Heintz said. Next, the school board appointed two communi- ty members to the Budget Committee. Budget Member Position 6, a two-year term expiring June 30, 2022, went to Jen- nifer Ledbetter, who wrote letter to the board. She read it aloud during the public comments section of the Buying or Selling? I can help. Mike Blankenship Broker 541 991-7826 Sutton Lake Rd #127 – Nice .30 acre lot near Sutton Lake in a great neighborhood. This won- derful North Lakes area lot is waiting to be de- veloped and built on. $57,500. #3049-19202450 1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200 meeting. “I decided I’d volun- teer, and I ask you to sup- port me,” Ledbetter said. “I bring to the table the perspective of a parent of a current student, a com- munity member and also a Siuslaw alumnus.” Budget Member Position 2, a three-year term expir- ing June 30, 2023, went to Erin Linton, who stated in her application that she has kids in all three schools. The Siuslaw Budget Committee is now full. The next big agenda item was to give direction to the district’s Facility Advisory Committee. Resolution 020321-3.2 “resolved that the Siuslaw School District Board of Directors authorizes the Facility Advisory Commit- tee to investigate the fol- lowing potential building or grounds improvement projects on behalf of the board.” Three elements were em- phasized: a long-term goal to replace the high school without putting strain on households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; a list of work at the elemen- tary school focusing on seismic repairs, safety and access, totaling $10-13 mil- lion; and high school safety priorities. According to Burns, “This kind of just provides an outline for them, and if they find that the dollars are going to be higher for what we want to get done, then we’ll review that then.” The resolution was moved by Mann-Heintz and seconded by Director Dennis King. The meeting also includ- ed an update on current athletic program guidance. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s Feb. 10 announcement al- lows schools to resume outdoor contact sports, including high school foot- ball, provided schools fol- low certain health and safe- ty protocols. Siuslaw High School Athletic Director Chris Johnson presented the governor’s updates and explaining what the new guidance would mean for Vikings football and oth- er sports moving forward. (People can read more about that in “Governor, OHA Announce New Guidance on Outdoor Sports” in the Feb. 13 edi- tion of the Siuslaw News.) At the end of the meet- ing, Director John Barnett commented, “I’d also throw a thank you out for our ath- letic department and our coaches. This is a new big learning curve for them, and I know they’ve been waiting on pins and nee- dles to move forward with all this. … I just appreciate their flexibility, and how they’re willing to really put the kids first and just get a resemblance of an athletic season together.” The meeting also in- cluded a consent agenda, prep work for next month’s meeting, public com- ment about the return to on-campus learning, Stu- dent Calendar Revisions, administrator reports, rec- ognition of students and a vaccination update. “All of the primary build- ing site staff have been through the first round (of vaccinations),” Grzeskowi- ak reported. The district is over 90 percent vaccinated, with more than 180 of the 189 staff members having at least their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination. Pimlott, the director of Pharmacy Services and Patient Safety Officer for PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center, said, “I do want to acknowledge our educators for being will- ing to come in and receive the vaccine. It just shows their determination and their drive to get back in the classroom with our stu- dents, so I just really appre- ciate that.” Grzeskowiak also went over Lane County’s COVID-19 metrics, espe- cially how numbers relate to opening Siuslaw Ele- mentary to on-site instruc- tion. “We know that there’s two triggers for bringing upper grades in. It’s either four weeks of successful elementary operations, or three consecutive reports below 200 and in the yel- low zone. “There’s a good chance that you could start phas- ing in middle and high school operations before elementary has four weeks of operations under their belt,” he said. “We just keep watching that one number. And high school and mid- dle school have tuned up their schedules and will be ready to move in short no- tice.” Upper grades can bring students to campus follow- ing either four weeks of successful elementary op- erations, or three consec- utive COVID-19 case rate reports below 200 people per 100,000. The board acknowl- edged the hard work done by Siuslaw Elementary Principal Mike Harklerode and his staff to prepare to reopen the school “That’s not an easy task,” King said. “We just applaud Mike and the team.” The school board also got good news through Business Manager Kari Blake. She announced that Siuslaw received the sec- ond allocation of the El- ementary and Secondary School Emergency Release (ESSER) funds from the federal government. The first round brought in $702,000. “We will be receiving $3,510,762, which is a good chunk of funding that’s go- ing to help get us through this pandemic. … It’s a nice security to have to get us through these times,” she said. Towards the end of the meeting, Burns provided a timeline for upcoming meetings of the board and the upcoming May 18 spe- cial election. “We also have received notice that the school board positions up for reelection are Position 2, John Bar- nett; Position 6, Suzanne Mann-Heintz, and my po- sition (4),” Burns said. “I’ll announce right now that I am not going to run again. We’ll be looking for some new people on the board.” Burns is completing his 16th year on the board. Barnett thanked him, saying, “You’ve dedicated a lot of time and a lot of countless hours, and it’s appreciated, Paul.” Candidate filings for school board positions are accepted through March 18 at www.lanecounty.org/ elections. At the Feb. 17 special meeting of the board, Mann-Heintz announced that she would not be run- ning for her seat. “I’ve loved every minute of serving,” she said. See MEETING page 6A 777 Maple St, STE B Florence, OR 97439 (541) 997-7173 We expanded and are now accep ng new clients! 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To everyone that shares a smile, a helping hand, an encouraging word and the greatest gifts, patience and love, we thank you for making Florence strong. Bettina Hannigan President & CEO Catalyst Convener Champion Caring Commitment 541-997-3128 290 Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439 www.FlorenceChamber.com www.facebook.com/fl orenceoregon www.twitter.com/FlorenceOrCoast Chamber Chicas Bettina Hannigan and Mitzi Hathaway