Board meet finds schools on budget, on track

“I have a feeling that thing’s are going very well in business office,” Orcas Island School District board member Tony Ghazel said at the Jan. 22 school board meeting. His sentiments were echoed during the meeting, with hard facts to support them:
• Sara Morgan whose contributions have been cited in the past year’s number-crunching, has become a new member of the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC), the citizens’ group that assists the business office in tracking school funds. OISD board member (and BAC liaison ) Keith Whitaker said, “Sara has already contributed greatly at the first meeting.”
• In her report on the Orcas Island Education Foundation, Janet Brownell said, “Ben [Thomas, Business Manager] and Sara have done a fantastic job on invoicing and tracking the money [contributed through the OIEF to the district.]”
• Superintendent/Principal Barbara Kline praised the catch-up work done by the new Accounts Payable person, Dali Cuthbert , “She has done a lot of catch-up work in the last three weeks.” Kline added that enrollment was “looking good in the right areas, K-4th[grade] and high school.”
• Teacher Mandy Randolph thanked the Board for “the time and effort you’ve put into a thankless job.” Randolph also expressed her appreciation for the new Mac computers all the elementary teachers have recently received.
• Career and Technical Education director Kari Schuh said, after working with the Business Office to apply for a grant, “I could not have done it without Ben, Sharron [Mierau, Business Office staff] and Sara and Dali -- they have been tremendous to work with, helping make that new aspect of my job easier.”

The board approved the consent agenda, which included a contract position for a coordinator for the Farm-to-Cafeteria program, to be paid by the Orcas Island Education Foundaton (OIEF)

In Kline’s absence, teacher Marta Branch passed out certificates to members of the OISD board in recognition of School board appreciation month and the board’s service with the district.

Elementary Principal Tom Gobeske, who also oversees food service transportation and maintenance, zeroed in on the maintenance aspect in his report to the board.
He said, “Maintenance is hard at work, but there’s lots to do.”
Gobeske suggested that a community service day be held to fix up the school. The December storms created snow buildup on the roof, but with shoveling, the leaking into the gym that had started was kept to a minimum and there was no damage to the gym floor.

He also said that on Jan. 20, the classes watched the Presidential Inauguration and had discussions: “It was a very exciting day. The enthusiasm, involvement and knowledge of the children is really encouraging.”

Marian O’Brien reported for the Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA), noting that PTSA President Barb Skotte had sent out emails announcing two new afterschool programs in Spanish and astronomy.

O’Brien reported that “over 25 people in worked in the garden, and probably clocked over 60 hours of work,” during the national Day of Service on Jan. 19. Volunteers also worked in the schoollibrary, and would like to meet once a month to do community service.

Superintendent/Principal Barbara Kline reported by telephone from Washington D.C. She addressed the workshop by suggesting a bond committee be formed, and asked the board to think about the positions they would want to see represented on such a committee, including community members.

Kline praised the programs that have been coordinated with Orcas Center as “totally fabulous,” not only in the center’s programming, but also in the visiting artists they bring to school assemblies.
(A report on the bond discussion will be posted at a later date on Bullwings)