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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 2003)
The INDEPENDENT, July 3, 2003 Page 9 School board hears update on proposed public charter school Karen Heikes, of Northwest Regional Education Service District (NWRESD), gave the Vernonia School Board an up date, at their June 12 meeting, on the development of charter schools in Columbia County. Heikes is working with Superin tendent Mike Funderburg and Vernonia City Adm inistrator Mike Sykes to develop a char ter school proposal that will be presented to the board in Au gust. Locally, the focus is on a charter school that would ex pand alternative school and professional technical educa tion. Approval of the proposal in August will allow the district to apply for a $150,000 imple mentation grant in October. Ac cording to Heikes, receipt of the grant would keep the project moving toward a goal of open ing the school in September of 2004. Heikes told the board that the grant money could be used for many things, though not for salaries, rental or pur chase of space. 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[TCbank Five Star Service Service Guaranteed Guaranteed ( £ $ ) Five Star usbank.com •5.99% fixed APR available for terms up to 20 years on home equity loans with a U.S. Bank checking account with ACH and lo an -tovalue (LTV) of 80% or less. Higher rates apply for higher LTVs Minimum loan amount or Increase of $10 .00 0 required. Consult your tax advisor regarding deductibility of interest Installment loan payment example: On a $10.000, 20 year loan at 5 .9 9 % APR, monthly payments would be $71.59 Rates subiect to change Offer is subject to normal credit qualifications. Some additional restrictions may apply. Not available with other discounts Hom e equity loans are offered through U.S Bank National Association NO Member FDIC. Funderburg, the district is in a unique situation because, working in conjunction with the city, development of the city’s learning center and the dis trict’s charter school will meet the needs of both, in one facility. The district is beginning a new program to build a more positive student climate at the high school, Funderburg told the board, by contracting with Performance Dynamics, a pro fessional leadership and men toring company, to facilitate stu dent and teacher training. The program will help participants gain the skills needed to set achievable goals, facilitate meetings, communicate and/or function more effectively with others. Teachers have nominat ed more than 100 students to participate in Leadership Acad emy, which is limited to 60 stu dent participants. As of June 16, only 30 students had com pleted the short application. Students are encouraged to complete applications and re turn them to the school district office as soon as possible. Dis trict staff will be introduced to the program’s concepts during August in-service. Funderburg reported on his investigation regarding the title to property in the Birkenfeld area, supposedly belonging to the district. Funderburg said the district has a lease on the property, dated in 1898, but that Longview Fibre has an un recorded deed from 1951. It is com pletely surrounded by Longview Fibre-owned proper ty and, according to school board member Randy Hansen, who is a Longview Fibre em ployee, has been planted. The board agreed with Funder- burg’s recom m endation that the district accept Longview Fi bre’s offer of $1500 to establish clear title to the land. Next year’s high school sen iors will still be required to submit senior projects, with some modi fications for increased flexibility. Funderburg told the board that a new policy is being developed that may allow a senior project to be changed into a career project, not linked to senior English. The resignations of several employees were accepted, in cluding Elementary Principal Kirk Sherrill, music teacher Bob Isted, Jan Bernardi and Barbara Rainbolt. The board discussed Isted’s resignation, which it accepted with reluctance. Patron Jim King told the board that his children had benefited greatly from Isted’s teaching in band and chorus, and as coach of the high school’s winning Quiz Bowl team. Sherrill has accepted a posi tion as principal at the Charles F. Tigard Elementary School, a K -5 school with a student body of about 600. He received board recognition for five years of serv ice to the district. Sherrill said that the last five years had been the “best of his life” and that he loved coming to work every day. Bernardi and Rainbolt re signed at this time because of the PERS situation. The board adopted a policy to handle the retirement of staff members, as well as regula tions pertaining to employees who retire, begin receiving PERS benefits and seek con tinued em ploym ent with the district. An employee who re tires during a school year may continue in their current posi tion, subject to criteria set out in the regulations. In an effort to recognize the value of experi ence, licensed employees will receive the equivalent of the to tal compensation package of a first year teacher. Classified employees will be compensat ed at the step and level at which they retired. The board approved the dis trict’s recommendation for text book adoption. All textbooks on the adoption list have been re viewed extensively over the last year, according to Robyn Cochran. The total cost for new math texts, kindergarten through grade 12, will be $39,396. At the close of the meeting, outgoing board member Carla Strand was recognized for ten years of service. Strand thanked her family for their sup port throughout those years. She said that, when she began, she had no idea of the time com m itm ent necessary, the amount of work involved, or that the public would not al ways accept board decisions. She also said that the public, staff and administration have a great board to work with in the future.
