In a special meeting of the board held on April 28, the
board narrowed down their choices for principal candidates to interview
from seven to five. (On May 3, four were actually interviewed. See
separate story on front page.) A total of 43 had applied for the
position.
Because this was a special meeting, Superintendent
Stephen Twitchell advised the board on several items which he said he
had checked with the school board association on. He said that they
cannot add to the agenda, but can have more than one topic. He also said
that they could not disclose the principal candidates names and
information until the board had narrowed down who they would be
interviewing.
The first item of business was to approve a proposal from
Jack Josephson for summer construction at the elementary. This item was
tabled because although the safe schools and accessibility accounts do
have money in them, Twitchell felt that due to the cost of putting in a
window in the elementary office, they may need to look at a camera
system instead.
ìWe will take the precautions we can to protect our staff
and students,î he said.
Accessible bathrooms at the elementary school gymnasium
will be discussed at a later time.
The second item was to approve a proposal from Climate
Makers to complete the heating project in the elementary school. The
2009 billing would be $47,887. The 2010 billing would be $20,000.
Twitchell advised the board to approve this because although Climate
Makers price had not gone up, fuel had and the new system should be more
efficient. It was approved.
The board then heard from Al Drayna. The discussion topic
was to authorize the board chair and superintendent to meet with
representative(s) from the community and Jack Josephson to look at other
building options.
Drayna said he wanted to make sure his plan was looked at
and that everything was ìsquare there.î
ìI talked with Al again this weekend. It is not what we
had voted on, but there are enough on the bandwagon that we need to look
at this seriously,î said Chair Joel Godding.
Board Member Jay Eckel said if they were looking at
options they needed to make sure they were comparing ìapples to applesî
and looking at professional derived numbers (costs).
Godding said they would be making sure they were looking
at the same amount of space, students and the like.
ìWe will make sure everything is right where it is
supposed to be. We donít want to confuse the taxpayers,î said Godding.
ìThey are already confused,î commented Board Member Twila
Pierce.
ìOnce our numbers are down, maybe we can send out a
survey. This is just a thought right now,î said Godding. He said this
may be a way to get a good gauge on what the community is thinking.
Board Member Sharon Notch said she disagreed with looking
at other plans.
Godding asked why that was.
ìBecause we agreed as a coalition team and spent a year
and a half looking at ideas. I donít have a problem with people sitting
down and looking through this. I think that is valid and I understand
that, but we made a decision as a group that we had been working on for
a year and a half to go ahead and explore an option, get the numbers
from an architect who has the experience and knowledge to do that and
then come up with a design, presenting to our community that this is our
idea. This is what we are looking at. Yes, it is going to cost us to
have an architect, but they want factual numbers. They want a picture.
They want a design. They want to know costs. Kimís idea was excellent to
do a survey, but I think we have to have the actual picture from the
architect and the figures to give out. Spend the money on an architect
first,î she said.
Godding asked if they should have the architect work on
both options.
Board Member Kim Lind said that her area of alarm was
that with soaring prices she would hate to see them invest a lot of
emotions into something that taxpayers will just flat out say they canít
(afford). ìAre the people with us at all?î
Notch said that from the coffee chat meeting there were a
handful of people who donít want a district.
There was further discussion about where the state would
draw the lines if the district dissolved.
Board Member Marie Busch also said that if they did all
move to Clarissa, they would need to look at and include the cost of
taking down the Eagle Bend facility.
Pierce said there would be a group of people who would
say ìnoî because they want to preserve the building.
Notch said they had to do something. If everything
failed, they would exist as they have for the last 20 years.
Twitchell said that if there was consideration being
given to dissolving the district, then they should rethink redoing the
heating and the bathrooms which will cost close to $100,000.
Godding said that at this point they were not considering
it.
Citizen Dean Meiners asked why they should figure the
cost of tearing down the high school and should look at selling it or
giving it away.
Godding said because they wouldnít want the building to
sit empty and deteriorate.
Getting back to the topic about looking at the other
building options, Notch asked if it would just be those people at the
discussion.
Godding said unless they wanted others there.
Notch said no she didnít.
Godding said they would be making sure the plan was on
the up and up.
Drayna said he had come to clear the air. He said he had
seen what the tax impact would be. He also said he had three children
who had received fine educations at Eagle Valley and that the building
did not do that.
He apologized to Twitchell for their initial meeting and
to the board. He said he was not trying to destroy what they had done.
He was just working with the figures.
ìWhen I compared ëapples to applesí I came up with a $4
million difference,î he said.
He said he may have done things the wrong way, but for
the right reasons. He said it was a lot of talk about buildings, but
nothing for the teachers or curriculum, only about the ìgray ghost on
the hillî referring to the high school.
He said he would be glad to answer any questions people
had of him or his plan.
Meiners asked for clarification on who could be at the
discussion.
Godding said it would be just Drayna, Josephson,
Twitchell and himself.
ìNo news media?î asked Meiners.
ìNot at this point,î replied Godding.
Godding took a poll of the board about having this
discussion.
Pierce was hesitant to reply, but did say ìI guess so.î
Notch abstained.
Godding repeated that nothing was set in stone.
Twitchell said they wouldnít be making decisions or
digging holes or pounding nails at the discussion.