The INDEPENDENT, October 1, 2009
Page 13
Banks School Board agrees facilities plan should be completed
Banks School Board met
September 14 with Richard
Bowden chairing the meeting at
the request of board Chairman
Will Moore. Moore and Vice-
chairman Kathy Edison were
both unable to attend the meet-
ing. Bowden, Laurie Schlegel
and Norie Dimeo-Ediger made
a quorum of board members for
both the workshop and the
business meeting.
High school Principal Jim
Smith gave a presentation
about the advantages and dis-
advantages of school size with-
in the OSAA leagues. Interim
Superintendent Jim Foster told
the board that Jim Smith and
Athletic Director Wyman Smith
would make a nearly identical
presentation to parents at a
meeting later in the week for
athletes and their parents.
Justin Stranzl, from the dis-
trict’s architecture firm DLR
Group, came to discuss com-
pletion of a site plan. Last year
DLR created an architectural
rendering that was used as part
of the bond attempt. In January
2009 previous superintendent
Marv Ott signed an agreement
with DLR to created a site plan
for the entire campus, including
two or three options for resolv-
ing traffic congestion at the ele-
mentary school. However, in
the face of last year’s econom-
ic crisis, the board decided to
place this project on hold.
Not having a plan has creat-
ed a sticky community relations
problem for the district. The
board has delayed granting
permission for additional build-
ings that might be in the way of
future expansion, possibly hav-
ing to be torn down. The sum-
mer softball association has
been trying to replace their
storage shed, has the funds to
build a small restroom/storage
building that would become dis-
trict property and has been
ready to begin work for many
months. The same process
was used previously to con-
struct the wrestling building
with community donations. The
softball association has not
been able to start construction
because of the possibility that
the building will interfere with
future development. Superin-
tendent Foster said, “People
are very sensitive” about dona-
tions made to the district.
Simon Levear, district busi-
ness manager, told the board
the Buxton fund could be used
to develop a facilities site plan,
explaining that, at the time of
the sale of the Buxton School,
the fund was established by the
board “to build new schools”.
For the last few years the board
has ‘borrowed’ money from this
fund for repair and mainte-
nance. Levear told the board
that the district was ahead in re-
payment, has used this fund to
cover other related bond ex-
penses and has adequate
funds available. Levear apolo-
gized for not having the finan-
cial report ready because of de-
tailed analysis of the Buxton
fund. After learning from Stranzl
that the project, including focus
group participation, would not
take more than two months, the
Super Quiet
Portable Power
board reached a consensus to
have a facilities plan completed.
Beginning a paean of praise
for staff at all levels, that would
continue throughout the eve-
ning, Foster told the board that
he had nothing but positive
comments. Teachers complet-
ed their inservice training prior
to the beginning of the school
year, having conceded four ad-
ditional inservice days that
would have been scattered
through the school year. No ad-
ditional inservice days will oc-
cur this year.
The board requested last
month that Foster consolidate
and simplify several documents
as a draft for developing district
goals. During the workshop,
Foster told the board that dis-
trict planning will always re-
volve around five basic areas:
finance, facilities, curriculum,
student achievement, staff de-
velopment. After briefly dis-
cussing all five areas, he sum-
marized that this year, the em-
phasis is on maintaining cur-
rent levels of service by what-
ever means possible.
After the Pledge of Alle-
giance, Foster recognized John
and Carol Shaefer for twenty
years of “superb bus service”.
The family has provided bus
service to the district since
1940, when Jack Benifield,
John’s grandfather, started the
service. John’s father Mack
(and Lillian) ran the buses be-
ginning in 1953. John and Car-
ol started in 1976 and have
owned Shaefer Transportation
since 1989, and continued pro-
viding bus service through the
last school year. Over the sum-
mer, Shaefer’s reached an
agreement with the district and
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Lance Heggem, Sodexo
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sented the board with a trophy
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The next workshop will be
October 12 at 5:30 p.m., fol-
lowed by the regular board
meeting.
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