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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 2005)
The INDEPENDENT, November 17, 2005 Banks school board looks at class sizes From page 14 by five percent overall. Rourk said they are still working on how to make the cut without re- ducing services. The bill also changes how ESD boards are elected. In- stead of a general election, board members will be elected by the component school boards. Each board will have one vote. All current board members will be eliminated and new ones elected as of June 30, 2006. They will then serve a four year term. Initially, this will take place in three ESDs, in- cluding NWRESD. The pilot programs will report to the state legislature in Fall 2006 and Fall 2008 about how the new sys- tem is working. Audit Report Forrest Arnold of Jones and Roth presented the annual au- dit report. The district received a clean report from Arnold, who said that the auditor’s job is to give an opinion on the district’s financial statements and to check compliance with state and federal regulations. Superintendent Marv Ott noted that the audit revealed that the ending fund balance was approximately $54,000 less than anticipated, which means that the district started this year with $54,000 less than thought. Two other factors are impacting the district’s fi- nances, Ott added. One is that PERS bills that were not budg- et for, will be starting in Janu- ary. Also, the quarterly estimate of revenues shows that proper- ty tax receipts are down. This decrease is from property taxes that haven’t been paid. Class size Ott and the board discussed class size issues with adminis- trators. Marty Voge, principal of the elementary school, said that they are using parent, Americorp and high school vol- unteers to get as much one-on- one instruction as possible. He thought that the children and the teachers were adjusting. He added that smaller classes would be nice and that, eventu- ally, teachers will burn out if something isn’t done. Ott said that given the budget, there weren’t any paid solutions available at this time. He asked the board to meet with him ear- ly in December to start looking at what can be done in the coming years. The board stressed their de- sire to communicate with the parents who had spoken last month, to let them know that they had been heard and that the board is working to make things better in the future. Policies approved The board approved district goals, child abuse reporting policies, and a student search and interrogation policy. They also approved the budget guid- ing principles for 2006-09. Ott reported that he had con- sulted with both OSBA lawyers and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department about the interrogation policy. A member of the public relations depart- ment of the police department will meet with administrators to make sure that the role of the school in such instances is clear. Page 15 Cultural Summit on November 18 Members of the Washington County arts, cultural and her- itage communities are invited to attend a Cultural Summit on Fri- day, November 18, from 4-6:00 p.m. at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, 8245 SW Barnes Road, Portland. The Summit is sponsored by the Washington County Arts, Heritage and Hu- manities Coalition (WCAHHC), which is seeking input to help prioritize community needs for its 2006 grant cycle. In addition, representatives from Northwest Business for Culture and the Arts, Technical Assistance for Community Services, the Re- gional Arts and Culture Council and the Oregon Cultural Trust will be on hand to answer ques- tions about improving grant writing, board recruitment and successful non-profit manage- ment. Light refreshments will be served. The featured entertain- ment will be Ballet Folklorico ‘Lo Nuestro,’ a student dance troupe based in Forest Grove, and a recipient of a 2005 WC- AHHC grant. Attendees are en- couraged to RSVP to the Ore- gon College of Art and Craft, 503-297-5544. WCAHHC distributed $1,000 grants to fifteen organi- zations in 2005. An increase in both the number of grants and the size of grants is anticipated in 2006. The Oregon Cultural Trust was established by the state legislature to strengthen Ore- gon’s culture through the es- tablishment of a permanent en- dowment. Funding is derived from the sale of Cultural license plates and from gifts through a state tax credit program. The Trust invests a portion of pro- ceeds from the endowment in annual grants to Oregon coun- ties and tribal planning groups, funding for statewide cultural agencies, and competitive grants to cultural non-profits. To learn more about the Trust, vis- it the website <www.cultural- trust.org>. To view the Washington County Cultural Plan, visit < w w w. w e s t s i d e c u l t u r a l a l - liance.org>. 47J discusses superintendent criteria and lockers at middle school From page 1 Rainier. In addition to the fin- gerprint scanner helping, the staff at Rainier displayed ‘terrif- ic’ teamwork. Two scanners, plus changes in the way the lines are handled would improve the cafeteria use in Vernonia, Wallace said. She also told the board that the kids in Rainier think the scan- ner line is the ‘cool’ line to be in, and that those who don’t want to be fingerprinted can use a card. No decision was made on use of the scanner in Vernonia at this time. Superintendent Search Board Chairman Randy Hansen presented a list of su- perintendent qualities and crite- ria gleaned from all of the meet- ings so far. The list was: 1. Good communicator 2. Good collaborator 3. Education leader 4. Superior knowledge of school law 5. Community leader/visible in community and schools 6. Knowledge of educational process. Hansen also reported that the input leaned toward hiring an interim superintendent and during the process, to look for a permanent superintendent. He told the board that there was even split on whether to hire a full time or a half time superin- tendent, but that his recom- mendation was for half time. The board voted unanimous- ly to include the six qualities as superintendent search criteria. Statutory changes Acting Superintendent Anne Kingsley told the board that a new law will go into effect soon that makes it illegal to allow anyone under 18 years of age to ride in the back of a pickup, except in a few instances, such as when moving from one hunt- ing camp to another. She also said the law will require chil- dren under 16 to wear helmets W illiams M etal F ab S PECIALIZING P HONE /F AX IN while skateboarding. District Report Cards Kingsley also reported on the District Report Cards and AYP results, saying “We are pleased with our scores, but we are not happy with our scores, we…are working very hard and are pleased with our progress.” Middle School lockers Middle School Principal Nate Underwood provided a quote of $7,800 to $10,000 for lockers at the middle school, depending on who puts the lockers togeth- er. Underwood said the chil- dren have to carry everything with them, all day long, and lockers would make it easier on the students. He is seeking ad- ditional quotes. Underwood of- fered to give board members a tour to show where he is sug- gesting the lockers be placed. Parent notification Parent Amy Cieloha asked the district to do a better job of letting parents know before early releases. Cieloha said she had not known about the early release on November 9 but was home when her child showed up unexpectedly. Chil- dren had been sent home with notifications and the reader board had the information, ac- cording to Kingsley. Kingsley thanked Cieloha for her com- ments and said it would be tak- en under advisement to im- prove their notification. The next board meeting will be December 8, at 6:00 p.m. at the 47J District office. VERNONIA INN Enjoy a quiet weekend with us. FULL SIZE, IN ROOM HOT TUBS Queen Beds • Private Bath • Separate Entrance Cable TV • Phones • Handicapped Access General/Custom Fabrication & Welding of All Metals S TAINLESS S TEEL &A LUMINUM : 503-429-8431 Robert Williams Vernonia, Oregon 24 H R R EPAIR CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST FOR RESERVATIONS CALL 1-800-354-9494 / 503-429-4006 Gift Certificates Available 900 MADISON AVE., VERNONIA, OR 97064 Just one block off scenic Nehalem River Hwy. (Oregon 47)