| School
board meets
Superintendent Stan Kress informed the school board at their regular February meeting, Feb. 22, that the legislature is still dragging their feet on addressing the school building fund problems. He said there are two bills presented so far and neither does much to help. One bill could lead to the State Board of Education taking control of the local school district. Kress said the other bill was better in that it gives additional money to districts for bonds and maintenance but it didn’t provide for any new revenues. Kress was to take off for Boise as soon as the meeting was over as debate on those bills was to occur Thursday morning. In other business the board approved a water and sewer agreement with the Monastery. It will stay the same as it has been, $425 per month, and will be in effect for 4 years. A draft of the school calendar was presented with some options. More input from the teachers will be sought and it will be brought up again at the next meeting. It is shown below. Andrea Brannan was approved for hire as a junior high track coach. Also the partial resignation of Don Christman from the Middle School music program was approved. He will continue with the high school program. Kathy Stefani was approved for hire for the Middle School music program. A proposal was presented for an alternate route to graduation for students who pass their classes but for whatever reason can’t pass the ISAT, which is a state requirement for graduation. It was approved by the board. Two bids were submitted for a new bus. Both were presented with trade-in options. Western Montana Bus Parts and Sales had a bid of $65,702 w/trade-in, $67,452 without. Harlow’s had a bid of $56,622 with trade-in, $61,622 without. The board voted to accept Harlow’s bid but would like to see what they could get by selling the old bus themselves. A referral procedure for student assistance program was approved. Procedures were presented for both the high school and middle school with the differences being the members of the assistance team for each school. This procedure outlines what to do in the case of alcohol, drugs or tobacco incidents. In principal reports Greg Deiss noted that the Jazz Festival was going on and that Laurie Karel had the Elementary Choir perform for the school the program they would be doing at the Festival. He also said the 4th graders visited the fish hatchery, which was reported on in last week’s Chronicle. Also the Fire Department would be coming in Friday to do a presentation. The Students In Print section was coming up in the Lewiston Tribune and some of Sarah Remacle’s high school English students were helping the Elementary students with editing. Rene’ Forsmann noted the Fire Department visited them last week. She said the Middle School would also have a Students in Print page. She reported that Alica Holthaus and a couple of 5th graders presented a proposal to the county commissioners on going to the science camp again. It was approved and 43 students will be going this time. She reported on an environmental quality inspection with nothing alarming. Air quality was better in the junior high wing than it was in the 5th and 6th grade wing. She and Bruce Nuxoll attended a seminar in Post Falls about bullying prevention. Forsmann also reported that Mike Karel was the spelling bee winner and would be competing in Lewiston. They had a ski day at Cottonwood Butte. Also the chocolate sale fundraiser has started. In another mater Forsmann reported on their E-rate savings. She reported the district received 77% reimbursement last year for telephone and Internet service based on their free and reduced lunch percentage. She said it looks like they’ll get 76% reimbursement this year. Dave Snodgrass said they had the air quality inspection as well and were given a checklist of some things that can be done to improve air quality. He said that the winter sports banquet would be March 7. The board adjourned to an executive session at 8:15 p.m. The next regular meeting of the board will be Monday, March 20 at the high school library at 7 p.m. Proposed School Calendar Following is the proposed school calendar for the Cottonwood School District for the 2006-2007 school year. Aug. 27-First day of school. Sept. 4-Labor Day – no school. Sept. 20-Early out, professional development Oct. 5-6-In-service days, no school. Oct. 27-End of first quarter. Oct. 30-Early out, professional development Nov. 2-Early out, Parent/teacher conferences Nov. 8-Early out, professional development Nov. 22-Early out, Thanksgiving holiday Nov. 23-24-Thanksgiving holiday, no school Dec. 20-Early out, winter break Dec. 21-Jan. 1-winter break, no school. Jan. 15-Martin Luther King Day, no school Jan. 19-End of second quarter Jan. 22-Early out, professional development Feb. 14-Early out, professional development Feb. 19-President’s Day, no school March 14-Early out, professional development March 23-End of third quarter March 26-30-Spring Break, no school April 2-Early out, professional development April 5, 6-Early out, Parent/Teacher conferences April 18-Early out, professional development May 16-Early out, professional development May 25-Graduation May 28-Memorial Day, no school June 1-Last Day of School Options discussed at the school board meeting were extending winter break through Jan. 2 and taking the early out on Dec. 21 instead of the 20th; also making the day before Thanksgiving a no-school day. The board asks for your input. Contact the school district office or your board representative. |
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