February 7, 2024 Meeting

Board Members Present: Chair Kris Howatt, Shawn Farrens, Mayra Gómez, Cathy Keathley, David Ligatich, Blake Petersen, and Holly Riegelmann

Recognitions

Classified School Employees Week Resolution

The School Board passed a resolution acknowledging March 4-8, 2024, as Classified School Employees Week. The resolution acknowledged the importance of a strong local school system and the contribution that classified employees make to that system. The School Board honored Oregon School Employees Association’s (OSEA) Tia Ross during the meeting.

View the Resolution

James Hiu, Kris Howatt, Nancy Singleterry, and members of EastHill Church posing for a photo

Honoring East Hill Church Family - Gift of Hope Donation

The School Board recognized the East Hill Church Family for their Gift of Hope donation to the Gresham-Barlow School District. The donation will help students who are in need of support. East Hill Church has donated to the school district several times in the past. Previously the District has used their donations to purchase clothes and buy food for families in need.

James Hiu, Kris Howatt, and Terry Taylor posing for a photo

Recognizing District’s Facilities Team

As a part of the Superintendent’s report, the School Board honored Facilities Director Terry Taylor and the entire facilities team for their work during the historic January ice storm. Staff checked school buildings, monitored HVAC systems, and cleared snow and ice from campuses. The team's work during the storm allowed the District to safely re-open all of its schools once the storm concluded.

Superintendent and District Leadership Team Update

Superintendent Hiu expressed his appreciation to the East Hill Church family for their longstanding support of the Gresham-Barlow School District and its schools.

He also encouraged staff within the District to celebrate the important work done by classified employees. GBSD will celebrate classified staff during Classified Employees Recognition Week which takes place March 4-8.

Superintendent Hiu thanked the District’s school counselors for the positive difference they make for our students and families. National School Counseling Week was celebrated February 5-9.

Assistant Superintendent Tracy Klinger provided information on Student Investment Account (SIA) spending. Klinger shared that SIA grant work is one of the six ODE initiatives that are part of the integrated grants alignment process, which means that several funding sources are blended together around common goals to provide more alignment across the work. She stated that none of the grants or programs that are a part of this integration stand alone. She also shared specifically what the SIA funds are used for and how funds are coupled with other sources to pay for the district’s educational program.

Presentations

Center for Advanced Learning Charter School Annual Report

Representatives from the Center for Advanced Learning Charter School presented its annual report. The report included information regarding the goals and assessments relating to student performance and a look toward next school year.

View the Center for Advanced Learning Report

Healthy and Safe Schools Plan

District Facilities Director Terry Taylor reported on the District’s “Healthy and Safe Schools Plan” which evaluates environmental hazards and plans to address any identified concerns or issues.

Healthy and Safe Schools Plan

Annual Food Service Update

Chartwells provided an overview of its food services program and its transition this year into the District.

View the Report

Citizens’ Requests of the Board

Hall Elementary School teacher Kathryn Unger shared her experiences with disruptive learning.

Hall Elementary School educator Yvette French-Roberts shared her experiences as an LE1 teacher.

Hogan Cedars Elementary School teachers Peter Nilsen-Gooden, Jen Alonso, and Kim Fast expressed their appreciation for the board’s decision to return elementary music and physical education to full-time three years ago and encouraged continued funding.

Sam Barlow High School teachers Bill and Laura Martin submitted written comments to the board regarding Policy AC-Nondiscrimination.

APPROVED, the purchase of Curriculum Associates iReady Classroom Mathematics 7-year subscription not to exceed the amount of $1,215,850.

A committee of teachers, administrators, and coaches spent multiple sessions evaluating Math Curriculum resources prior to recommending iReady Classroom Mathematics.

APPROVED, accepting the 2022-2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report as presented.

The district’s auditors, Pauly, Rogers & Co., P.C., have completed the audit of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for 2022-2023. The audit was conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS), and the general purpose financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023, adhered to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

View the Report

APPROVED, the purchase of 5,144 computers from OETC for student and staff use with a not-to-exceed amount of $1,675,171.

This purchase will cover our needed computer replacements through the summer of 2025. This includes aging student Chromebooks that are reaching the end of their usable life this summer, additional Chromebooks to support the new middle school digital science curriculum in the fall, and replacement computers for our guest teachers and educational assistants. The District is using ESSR funds to pay for this purchase.

Information Items

House Bill 2009 - School Support Fees

This presentation will take place at a subsequent meeting.

Monthly Financial Update of 12/30/23
Finance Director Dennis Clague presented the monthly financial update to the board of directors.

There has not been any substantial movement on the district's financial outlook since the last report. Revenues from Earnings on Investments continue with strong returns.

At this time, the staff is projecting an ending fund balance of $20 million, pending transfers for the completion of the baseball/softball turf fields.

View the Monthly Financial Statement of 12/30/23

Upcoming Meetings

February 23
Board Strategic Planning Session (Retreat)
8 am to 5 pm
Location: TBD

March 6
Regular Board Meeting
7 pm
Public Safety and Schools Building

Can't Attend Board Meetings?

GBSD Website: You can watch regular school board meetings LIVE on the the District Website. Look for the link on the homepage in the District News section!

You can also watch regular school board meetings LIVE on Comcast cable channel 27 and Frontier cable channel 35. MetroEast Community Media replays the board meeting at the following times:

Second Showing-Monday at 7 p.m.
Third Showing-The following Thursday at 4 p.m.

If you live in Damascus-

Board meetings are shown on Willamette Falls TV for patrons in the Damascus area. They are scheduled for cablecast on channel 23 every Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Gresham, OR | 97030 United States

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