Page 14
The INDEPENDENT, February 15, 2007
Facilities Committee tells school board “Tear down high school”
The Banks School District
Facilities Planning Committee
presented their findings to the
board of directors during a work
session before the board meet-
ing on February 12.
The committee recommends
razing the high school and the
older portions of the junior high,
including the portables. They
would like to see an addition to
the remaining portion of the
junior high school and con-
struction of a new high school
that would encompass other
uses and be a community
learning center. Other uses
could include a public library,
police services, medical facility,
day care or preschool center,
community auditorium, senior
center or recreational building.
Committee
Co-chairman
Ryan Birr explained that com-
mittee members had come with
all different ideas, started from
scratch and “come up with a full
idea that we pretty unanimous-
ly agreed on.”
Co-chairman Pete Edison
said that a turning point for the
committee was a tour of exist-
ing facilities. After that, he said,
no one could see sinking $2-3
million into the buildings. Mem-
ber Lynda Goovaerts said one
thing that really swayed her
was finding that a class at the
junior high is held in a former
restroom. The high school and
the junior high both have signif-
icant health and safety issues,
in addition to lacking enough
room. Mechanical and fire sys-
tems are not adequate. The de-
sign of the high school makes it
very difficult to secure. Birr
added that the architect had
said that the older part of the
junior high was built at a time
when construction materials
were inferior and unsafe, and
that it was easier to tear it down
than to renovate it.
The board expressed con-
cern about a lack of space for
sports facilities since the plan
shows new buildings on the ex-
isting practice football field and
some of the existing baseball
and softball fields. Edison ex-
plained that the plan would ne-
cessitate installing a turf field
for football. Currently, the foot-
ball field is used primarily for
high school games. A turf field
would stand up to use for prac-
tice, games, and P.E. Edison
also stressed that the district
needs to buy any adjacent
lands as they become available
for sale. The plan also recom-
mends moving baseball and
softball to another location.
A key consideration for the
committee was keeping the
school buildings together and
centrally located in the commu-
nity. Vicky VanDomelen said,
“We are a unique community
and we have the opportunity to
keep it all together.” She com-
mented on how it fosters com-
munication between schools
and the community when peo-
ple are able to visit and use the
facilities.
Another consideration in
having more uses in the build-
ing is cost. For example, the li-
brary needs to move to a new
location soon and could share
in the upfront construction costs
and, more significantly, in the
ongoing operating costs of a
shared library. Daycare facilities
and other uses would be fee-
based and could offset other
operating costs for the district.
The committee viewed their
work as a first step and did not
delve deeply into funding op-
tions. However, they included a
recommendation for the dis-
trict’s next step: organize an-
other facilities planning commit-
tee to begin refining project de-
tails. This group would be an
official Banks School Board
Committee and would include
an appointed or hired Commu-
nity Partnership Liaison. They
also recommended that the dis-
trict contract with a bond con-
sultant, a program manager
and a design consultant for pre-
bond planning. Rough esti-
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mates are that the district could
get most of what it needs for
around $30 million.
Birr said that the district has
$10,000 invested now, plus
hundreds of volunteer hours by
the committee, and hoped the
board could maintain the mo-
mentum. “I’m hearing how ex-
cited people are about these
ideas…it seems to be gaining
some real momentum now,” he
said.
The committee also talked
about how important it was for
the safety and security of the
students to improve traffic cir-
culation. By purchasing land on
Oak Way, the district could es-
tablish a separate entrance for
buses at the elementary
school. The proposed location
of the high school would also
facilitate traffic at that location.
At the board meeting, direc-
tors reviewed the district’s an-
nual audit report with Forrest
Arnold, of Jones and Roth. He
said that the district had re-
ceived a clear opinion with no
qualifications.
The board also approved the
agreement with Northwest Re-
gional Educational Services
District for services to be pro-
vided in 2007-08, as well as the
extension of certified contracts
for all teachers and the elemen-
tary principal.
Sixth grade teacher Sena
Wilmoth made a presentation
on what she had been doing
with the Talented and Gifted
program. When funding was
established last summer to de-
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velop resources and materials
for a TAG program, her first
step was to shadow a TAG co-
ordinator in McMinnville. She
learned that what the district
needed to focus on was differ-
entiated teaching. This means
adapting mainstream lessons
so that they are appropriate for
both higher and lower level
learners. She purchased flip
books for all of the teachers to
help them adapt lessons and
accommodate all students. She
had also planned to use the
funding to provide an in-service
day of instruction on TAG meth-
ods, but all of the in-service
days had already been sched-
uled. She plans to do this next
school year instead.
She said that her personal
belief is that the school is only
as good as the TAG program,
because allowing these stu-
dents to reach their full poten-
tial establishes them as role
models for other students and
“raises the bar overall.” She
added that her philosophy was
not to work TAG students more,
but to encourage them toward
deeper thought and learning.
She hopes that the district will
be able to establish a stipend
for a TAG coordinator at the el-
ementary school level.
As part of the consent agen-
da, the board approved an ad-
justed 2006-07 calendar which
adds two days to the end of the
school year to make up for
weather closure days. Students
will now attend class through
Friday, June 15.
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