Newly elected board members Russ Ceperich, Jamie Olsen, and Soren Rounds were sworn in. Risteen Follett was voted to continue as Board Chair with Soren Rounds as Vice Chair. The Alsea School Board (ASB) will have work sessions with training July 17-18 from 5-9 pm. These meetings will be open to the public but will have no public comment section. The August ASB meeting will be on the 17th at 7:00 pm.
New Superintendent Krista Nieraeth gave her initial Superintendent’s Report. The updates to district policies and procedures adopted last spring will be posted to the district website by the end of July. An Employee Handbook will be in the hands of school board for review and approval in the August meeting so that it can be ready for staff for the new school year. The district staff is working hard to update job descriptions, as well as review and streamline processes and procedures related to payroll and spending. Administration and staff have been and will attend trainings in Human Resource laws and procedures, updated legislation from ODE and the state, and food services. The district is doing a survey to see if there is sufficient interest in expanding to include 4th and 5th grades for LAHO families. The state education budget was increased from $9.9 million to 10.2 million, which equates to an increase of approximately $208,000 for Alsea School District. This budget increase will not automatically result in additional spending to equal that amount, as the school district needs to continue to economize to correct the budget. The ending fund balance for the prior school year will have some changing as there are still invoices pending payment. Enrollment numbers are not yet available for the 2023-24 school year, as the district has not started the registration process. Those numbers should be available in September.
Alsea School District (ASD) is hosting the final Cycle Oregon on September 15th and 16th on the school grounds. 600 to 750 cyclists are expected, with ages ranging from seven to eighty-five. There will be a band and party open to the public the night of the 15th. As a fundraisers, Alsea sports teams will be setting up and tearing down the camping tents as well as serving dinner and breakfast to the cyclists. Samantha Pedder is in charge of organizing. We will be getting out more information in August as we will be looking for community volunteers to help our teams with their fundraisers.
Resignations were Shelby Flaherty, 1st grade, David Fricke, SPED, and Eleanor Jones, 4th grade. Hires were Jake Schlecter, Middle and High School Math, and Alsea alum Anna Chilcote, 1st grade. Donald Staehely, LLC, was contracted to provide Business Management Services. This relationship will end the existing contract for business management with LBLESD. It is the goal that Mr. Staehely will continue to work on creating more streamlined budgetary processes, ensure those processes are adhering to proper financial practices, and work on financial plan for sustainability for the future.
A Memorandum of Understanding was approved that will allow the storage shed project in partnership with Alsea Family Outreach once the fencing is installed. This shed will store items for Alsea community members of all ages that will be distributed through Alsea Family Outreach staff and community volunteers. Corvallis Food Services will continue to provide meals for ASD, excluding the first week of school, when ASD will have to provide meals due to a conflict in scheduling with Corvallis School District. Under the new agreement, ASD will be taking on more of the administrative pieces of the food service program, including state reporting.
