Polk County Education
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 18, 2016 13A
Perrydale School Brazeau to serve
finds space for double in ’16-17
will be interim
preschool class Superintendent
principal at Central High School
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
JENNIFER HALLEY/for the Itemizer-Observer
Central’s production of “Almost Maine” begins Wednes-
day (today) and runs through Saturday. Performances
are at 7 p.m. each night.
Almost: Dallas
earns come
Continued from Page 14A
He said it didn’t matter
what the audience thought
of that scene.
“It’s up to them,” Eschette
added. “Everyone experi-
ences love in different ways,
and we hope people can see
that.”
“Almost, Maine” opens
Wednesday (today) at 7 p.m.
and runs through Saturday.
Tickets are $8 for adults
and $5 for students. All
proceeds go to fund the
drama department.
“We’re self-sufficient, so
we have to make what we
spend,” Witt said.
He also said he hopes this
play — which is better
known than the school’s last
production, “Once on the Is-
land” — will bring in more
people. According to him,
putting on lesser-known
plays is a risk, but it gets his
students more exposure to
what’s out there. “It’s gotta
be a balance.”
Whitworth seismic
work slated for 2017
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Work on seis-
mic upgrades at Whitworth
Elementary School in Dallas
are scheduled to take place
in the summer of 2017.
The school is the recipient
of a $1.492 million state
grant specifically for retro-
fitting schools to withstand
earthquakes, including the
anticipated Cascadia sub-
duction zone rupture that
could result in a 9.0 magni-
tude quake.
The work would addresses
structural deficiencies iden-
tified in a seismic assess-
ment of the building.
According to a schedule in
the grant application, plans
should be final by January,
and construction should
begin in July 2017.
PERRYDALE — Creative
scheduling and a generous
offer from a teacher has en-
sured that preschool will
continue at Perr ydale
School next year.
Superintendent Eric Mil-
burn shared the develop-
ment with the Perrydale
School Board at its meeting
Monday night.
At a meeting in April, the
board and school leaders
had discussions of ending
the program due to lack of
space at the school. Cur-
rently, the program serves
10 children.
Perrydale Vice Principal
Dan Dugan said music and
drama teacher Misty
Matthews offered a solu-
tion: using what would be
her classroom for the early
part of the day to hold pre-
school.
Dugan said Matthews
has a unique perspective
on the problem as she
oversees the school’s art
program and another that
has high school students
involved in helping teach
students in early education
classes.
He said that she didn’t
need a classroom until
fifth- and sixth-period
music classes. Her class-
room would be free for pre-
school if art classes could
be held elsewhere.
“She said, ‘I’m willing to
give up this idea of my
own room in order to
m a k e t h i s h a p p e n ,’ ”
Dugan said. “I just thought
that was a pretty noble
move on her part.”
Under the new arrange-
ment, art teachers would
need to take their lessons
into home rooms instead of
having students come to
them.
Milburn said elementary
school teachers were sup-
portive of the idea.
That was confirmed
Monday by kindergarten
teacher Janeen Thomson,
who had an artist visit her
classroom recently. She said
those sessions went well.
“I think art in our class-
rooms is the way to go,” she
said.
Board member Anna
Scharf mentioned that the
district still needed to con-
sider how the program
would be paid for in the
long term.
Milburn said the school
was still planning on form-
ing a committee to explore
funding possibilities.
In other business, the
board:
• Voted to change a con-
tract with a candidate for
its soon-to-be vacant busi-
ness manager post. The
contract had already been
accepted by the candidate,
but had not been reviewed
by the board before it was
offered.
The changes were re-
ducing the amount of va-
cation days from 17 to 10
and removing bereave-
ment days included in the
contract.
Milburn said he based
the contract on what was
included in the job posting
and the contract with
longtime Business Manag-
er Julie Braxling, and didn’t
know the board wanted
input on negotiations. He
warned that if the candi-
date rejects the changes,
the district may have to
start over with filling the
post, which would be va-
cant in a month.
Board member Trina
Comerford said she wor-
ried that the contract
would set a precedent by
offering first-year employ-
ees more than three weeks
of vacation.
Scharf noted the district
needed to establish job de-
scriptions for the business
manager position and oth-
ers.
Board Chairman John
Cruickshank said the dis-
trict needed to have clearer
guidelines for negotiating
administrative contracts.
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
I NDEPENDENCE —
Central School District
Super intendent Buzz
Brazeau announced that
he will serve as interim
principal at Central High
School for the 2016-17
year.
The school board voted
unanimously at its May 2
meeting to adjust
Brazeau’s contract to
allow him to serve as both
interim principal and
continue as the district’s
superintendent.
Ben Gorman, president
of the Central Education
Association and English
teacher at CHS, said teach-
ers were excited about the
renewed emphasis on im-
proved communication in
the district.
“Though we were dis-
heartened by Brazeau’s
handling of the situation at
the high school, we believe
that he recognizes that
there is some significant
healing that needs to take
place, and we hope he will
make it a priority to foster
positive, collaborative rela-
tionships with teachers,”
he said.
Brazeau will use the high
school as his headquarters.
Jann Jobe will serve as as-
sistant principal.
“This allows us to get
things moved forward with
the culture in the district,”
Brazeau said.
Gorman said teachers
take the naming of Jobe to
assistant principal as a
good sign.
“In the short time she’s
returned to help out at
CHS, she has already
demonstrated the combi-
nation of competence and
caring that CHS needs in
order to heal and move for-
ward,” he said.
Gorman said teachers
are optimistic about the
c o m i n g s c h o o l y e a r,
adding that he and other
teachers at the high
school are counting on
Brazeau and the school
board to ensure that the
high school’s needs for a
principal are met while
not short-changing other
district buildings of a su-
perintendent.
The intent is to begin the
search for a permanent
high school principal in the
normal timeframe, which
is February to March,
Brazeau said.
Gorman said teachers
would like to be “fully in-
cluded” in the search
process for the next princi-
pal.
The move came after
Greg Mitchell accepted a
job as the principal at
Baker City High School, ef-
fective July 1.
Mitchell took the job in
Baker City after months of
complaints from high
school teachers about a
hostile work environ-
ment — which Assistant
Superintendent Rich Mc-
Farland said were investi-
gated and unfounded —
and formal grievances
filed regarding scheduling
and grading.
Early
Deadlines!
Our office will be closed
May 30 th 2016 in observance
of Memorial Day.
Deadlines:
Community Events . . .Thursday Noon
Matinees are all shows
before 6pm. New pricing for
matinees are: Adult $7.25
Children $6.75 • Senior $7.00
Pricing does not reflect
3D showings.
Passes not allowed
on starred items.
Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . .Thursday Noon
Display Ads . . . . . . . . .Thursday 2 pm
Letters to Editor . . . . . . .Friday 10 am
Classified Display . . . . . .Friday 11 am
Friday - Sunday May 20 - May 22
RACHET AND CLANK (Digital) (PG)
MOTHER’S DAY (Digital) (PG13)
THE NICE GUYS (Digital) (R)
ANGRY BIRDS (Digital) (PG)
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (Digital) (PG13)
NEIGHBORS 2 (Digital) (R)
JUNGLE BOOK (Digital 2D) (PG)
ZOOTOPIA (Digital) (PG)
HUNTSMAN: THE WINTER’S WAR (Digital) (PG13)
MONEY MONSTER* (Digital) (R)
(12:00 2:15 4:30)
(11:30 2:00 4:35)
(12:10 2:30 4:50)
(11:30 2:45)
(12:45 3:00 5:15)
(11:35 2:05 4:35)
(11:40 2:10 4:45)
6:50
7:10
7:15
6:00
7:30
7:05
Classified Line Ads . . . . .Friday Noon
9:25
9:50
9:30
9:15
9:45
9:25
Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . .Friday Noon
7:20 9:50
(12:20 2:40 5:00) 7:15 9:30
Monday - Wednesday May 23 - May 25
RACHET AND CLANK (Digital) (PG)
MOTHER’S DAY (Digital) (PG13)
THE NICE GUYS (Digital) (R)
ANGRY BIRDS (Digital) (PG)
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (Digital) (PG13)
NEIGHBORS 2 (Digital) (R)
JUNGLE BOOK (Digital 2D) (PG)
ZOOTOPIA (Digital) (PG)
HUNTSMAN: THE WINTER’S WAR (Digital) (PG13)
MONEY MONSTER* (Digital) (R)
(12:00 2:15 4:30)
(2:00 4:35)
(12:10 2:30 4:50)
(2:45)
(12:45 3:00 5:15)
(2:05 4:35)
(2:10 4:45)
6:50
7:10
7:15
6:00
7:30
7:05
9:25
9:50
9:30
9:15
9:45
9:25
7:20 9:50
(12:20 2:40 5:00) 7:15 9:30
Thursday May 26
RACHET AND CLANK (Digital) (PG)
(12:00 2:15 4:30)
THE NICE GUYS (Digital) (R)
(2:00 4:35)
ANGRY BIRDS (Digital) (PG)
(12:10 2:30 4:50)
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (Digital) (PG13)
(2:45)
NEIGHBORS 2 (Digital) (R)
(12:45 3:00 5:15)
JUNGLE BOOK (Digital 2D) (PG)
(2:05 4:35)
ZOOTOPIA (Digital) (PG)
(2:10 4:45)
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS (Digital) (PG13)
XMEN: APOCALYPSE (Digital) (PG13)
MONEY MONSTER* (Digital) (R)
(12:20 2:40 5:00)
7:10
7:15
6:00
7:30
7:05
9:50
9:30
9:15
9:45
9:25
147 SE Court Street
Dallas, Oregon 97338
503-623-2373
FAX 503-623-2395
7:00 9:35
7:00 10:00
7:15 9:30
Solution on Page 8A
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