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October 9 – School Board Deadlocked by Penny Chambers The Oct. 9 meeting of the school board was held in the library of the Eatonville Elementary School, once again before a packed house, with all members of the board and Superintendent Ray Arment present, as well as members of the administrative and teaching staff, students and parents. The meeting began at 6:15 p.m. with an executive session, the board addressing a personnel complaint. The open meeting began at 7 p.m. with Eatonville Elementary School Principal, Diane Heersink, conducting a walkthrough of the elementary school. Highlights included a visit to the HOSTS (Helping One Student To Succeed) reading room, very much needed and appreciated new bathroom facilities, made possible by funding from the school district, and the newly landscaped entryway, dedicated during the Sept.11 ceremony. Heersink expressed her concern with security at the elementary school. Presently the entrance to the school leads a person, unobserved, directly into a hallway. If the next school bond passes, the principal would like to move the school’s office, currently operating under very close, cramped conditions, to the front entrance of the building, enabling office staff to see persons entering the school. The current office could then be utilized for special education purposes. Heersink also showed the group the “play shed” area, a large covered outdoor play space connected to the main building, which she would like to see converted into classrooms. The board next approved the consent agenda, consisting of the following personnel action:
And to consider the following extra curricular assignment recommendations which included:
Board member Ron Springer asked the assignment of Harris be removed from the list, stating he “didn’t know enough about the man.” A brief discussion ensued with High School Principal Garth Steedman, and Harris was put back on the list for approval.
The board heard from members of the audience. One parent spoke about the enforcement of the dress code at the high school, suggesting the “dress code committee” begin working on the code and that students and parents be informed about enforcement prior to the end of this school year, citing that many hard feelings have been created in the community over this issue. The parent also asked she be placed on the dress code committee. Steedman said it is common policy to review the school’s handbook, procedures and policies in the spring. He also apologized for any inconvenience enforcement of the dress code has caused. The board, along with Steedman, decided the process would begin in May rather than June, and students will be informed before the end of this school year what changes, if any, are made to the dress code. It was also suggested the school send a notice to parents during the summe,r advising them of the dress code, which is the same at the middle and high schools. The item of new business on the board’s agenda was interviewing and selection of a new board member to fill the vacant district 2 seat, created by the resignation of Mark Ashcraft. The board, with the participation of the candidates, decided to conduct the interview process in a “round robin” fashion. All board members would have the opportunity to ask each candidate one primary question from board policy, one secondary question and one clarifying question, a total of twelve questions. Each candidate would have the opportunity to answer a question first, and each to answer a question last. Chair Robert Bass expressed the board’s thanks to the candidates and emphasized how much the board appreciated the fact there were three applicants, saying it was “great that we have that kind of interest,” further saying to the candidates “there is only one position, so we’re going to try and do our best.” He continued, “Please don’t let that discourage you, the three of you sitting here show a genuine interest in being involved and there’s lots of ways to be involved in the school district, lots of committees, lots of things to be done; so we hope to see you even after this.” The candidates were all asked to take a seat in three chairs set up in front of the audience and the board, then introduced by Bass. They were Bob Homan, who works for the Pierce County Fire Dept. and has served on the school district’s Facilities Committee for three years, Darold Holden, owner of a small construction business and Jon Silvernail, a retired schoolteacher from the Puyallup School District. Rick Thompson began the round of questions asking Darold Holden to describe what he considered the major strengths of the district. He responded, “Small town, closely knit community. The thing I’ve always liked about it is, if I ever have a question I can go to the teacher that day, that fast; they’re real quick to respond”. Vice chair Donna Mettler posed the second question to Bob Homan, “Describe what you believe to be the shortcomings of the district and how do you think they can be improved?” Homan answered, “First and foremost, near and dear to my heart right now, are the facilities,” reiterating points he had made at the last school board meeting (Sept. 25) on behalf of the Facilities Committee regarding the bond issue. Bass asked Jon Silvernail to describe, “How your experience, training and interest can contribute to the improvement of the district.” Silvernail answered, “I have a very strong background in research and 20 years experience as an educator,” bringing a teacher’s perspective to the board. Silvernail specialized in technology, and taught math for eight years. Springer concluded the first round of questions, asking if the candidates had any prior commitments that would prevent them from attending school board meetings. All three applicants stated that they did not. Thompson began the “secondary” line of questioning, pointing out to the candidates that as a board member they must act as liaison between the district and the community, and asked what they would do to improve communications and relations between the two. Mettler asked the next question, “ A good board needs to operate with a great deal of trust and respect among the members. Can you describe to me your ability to work cooperatively and as a team?” Bass asked, “Do you believe that public involvement in the schools is important? If so, under what level?” Springer asked the candidates what they would do in order to get the school bond passed. There were no clarifying questions asked by the board, which went into executive session for approximately an hour and a half, to determine who the new school board member would be. Approaching 10 p.m., the three candidates agreed amongst themselves that if the board was unable to reach a decision that night, they could wait until the following week to hear the decision, and sent the district secretary into the session to inform the board. Upon the board’s return to the open meeting, Bass explained they, “talked about a lot of different things in there. I think we have three very qualified candidates.” He further said they discussed what their (the board’s) greatest needs are, and how each of the candidates fill those needs, stating, “Whatever the decision, we appreciate that we have three applicants, and however it turns out, we hope we can keep the other two (applicants’) interest in other portions of this school district. We can use all the help we can get.” Bass continued, “I’m not sure if we’ll make a motion tonight to nominate a candidate, or if we’ll table it.” Springer spoke, attempting to make a motion to nominate Jon Silvernail, at which time Bass interrupted, asking him to wait a minute. Mettler voiced that she had the floor and was prepared to make a motion. Springer apologized, saying he didn’t realize she had the floor. Mettler continued, bringing a motion to appoint Bob Homan to the vacant position, seconded by Thompson. Springer then made a sub-motion to that motion, nominating Jon Silvernail as board member, District 2. After some moments of silence, all present realizing the board had reached a deadlock, Bass introduced a secondary motion to table the discussion, seconded by Springer and unanimously passed by the other two board members. The board decided to hold a special meeting on Wed., Oct. 16, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. in executive session, followed by an open, public meeting in the district conference room. The Communications Plan was briefly touched on, Mettler handing out literature she had received from the Educational Services District to fellow board members. Budget details were tabled and the meeting adjourned, the board going into a scheduled executive session with hired negotiator, Randy Bohannon, to discuss the teachers’ contract. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the school board is Wed., Oct. 23rd, beginning at 7 p.m. in the district conference room at 208 Lynch Street. The public is encouraged to attend!
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"Pity
the poor kids who grow up in a big city. They miss the little things that
made growing up in a small town, ah, so wonderful." |
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