1. Burgerville Hosts "Stuff the Scholarship" Nights
2. Legislative Update
3. Governor Supports Appeal of Ruling in Basic Education Lawsuit
4. Community Budget Task Force
5. Great Things Happening for Students in Washougal
6. Camas-Washougal Rotary Club Scholar
7. Watercare Industrial Services, Inc., Achievement! Award
8. Board of Directors Recognize and Interact with Staff
9. Joint Work Session with Washougal Mayor and City Council
10. Washougal Police Department Response Appreciated
11. Happy Spring Break
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1. Burgerville Hosts "Stuff the Scholarship" Nights
On Tuesday, April 13, and Wednesday, April 14, between 4 - 8 p.m., Burgerville at 518 NE 3rd Avenue in Camas will donate 10% of all sales to Stuff the Scholarships, a fundraiser sponsored by the Camas-Washougal Business Alliance. The C-W Business Alliance is the same business group that sponsors Stuff the Bus each year. The District extends appreciation to Curt Denny, Washougal parent and C-W Business Alliance member for assisting with this scholarship fundraiser. To view the flyer, click here.
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2. Legislative Update
Washougal School District joins districts across the state monitoring legislative action for impacts on school funding. The following legislative update is based on information provided by the Washington State School Directors Association:
Monday was the start of the third week (Day 15) of this Special Session of the 2010 Legislature. The extra session is constitutionally limited to 30 days. The main work to be accomplished in this session is adoption of a state 2010 Supplemental Operating Budget, complete with a revenue package to fund it. As the session continues, legislators have been unable to pass a compromise tax package. The Senate continues to support a temporary increase in the state sales tax, while the House continues to oppose that plan. In an effort to compromise, the Senate lowered its originally proposed three-tenths of a cent increase to two-tenths of a cent. House Speaker Frank Chopp and Gov. Gregoire remain adamantly opposed to a sales tax increase and the compromise plan adopted by the Senate never gained any traction in the House.
The total revenue package being sought by House and Senate budget leaders is about $800 million. Governor Gregoire has suggested that the compromise may be more palatable if the overall revenue package was reduced to to $700 million. To accept this compromise, however, either the state’s ending fund balance would have to be lowered or spending in the overall budget would have to be lowered. The Senate has flatly rejected either option. Understanding both sides have drawn lines in the sand, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown has begun to discuss the possibility of finding an alternate solution, something other than the sales tax, that would meet the criteria of both the House and the Senate.
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3. Governor Supports Appeal of Ruling in Basic Education Lawsuit
Superintendents, school boards, Washington Education Association and other organizations applauded the King County court decision issued in February regarding state funding of public schools. King County Judge John Erlick ruled that the state is not complying with Article IX Section 1 of the Washington State Constitution, which declares the state has a “paramount duty” to make “ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.” Legislative compliance with the ruling would provide adequate state funding and eliminate school district reliance on local levy dollars.
On March 25, the state of Washington filed notice that it plans to appeal the recent decision in the basic education funding lawsuit, McCeary v. Washington State. Gov. Gregoire applauded the decision to appeal, stating that the Legislature needs clear direction “as we work to ensure a world-class education for our children.” Click here to read a summary of the court decision.
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4. Community Budget Task Force
The Community Budget Task Force continues to meet for the purpose of providing input on budget development in 2010-2011. These budget meetings are open to the public and will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the District administrative offices at 4855 Evergreen Way, Washougal, 98671. The remaining meetings are scheduled on April 21, April 29, May 27, and June 17. Click here to view the 2010 Budget development page on the District’s website.
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5. Great Things Happening for Students in Washougal
We are fortunate to have excellent staff who provide guidance for students, not only in classrooms and in academic pursuits, but also for extracurricular activities. In the last few weeks, the following extracurricular activities have been provided for students beyond the classroom:
Washougal High School’s Wind Ensemble took second place against 15 other high schools in Clark County in the Lower Columbia River Band competition. Wind Ensemble musicians not only represented Washougal High School well, they “wowed” the judges and received high compliments from the other band directors in the county. Congratulations to the Wind Ensemble and band director, Kelly Ritter!
The Washougal and Camas Robotics Team took home a silver medal in the regional robotics competition held in Portland, Oregon earlier in the month. They tied for third and received an award for their innovative control design at the semi-finals in Seattle. Congratulations to the team and their coach, engineer Mohit Abraham!
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6. Camas-Washougal Rotary Club Scholar
ISAAC BISCHOFF
Washougal High School sophomore, Isaac Bischoff, was selected by staff as the Rotary Student of the Month. Isaac has a 3.93 GPA and Mr. Stanton, Chemistry teacher, says that Isaac is one of the top students in Honors Chemistry. Band director, Kelly Ritter, noted that Isaac plays alto sax and is a section leader in the Symphonic Band and also plays in Pep Band. All of teachers note that he is excellent in academics and a very nice young man. Ms. Lewallen, German teacher, notes that Isaac has a dry sense of humor and is dependable, reliable and a pleasure to have in class. Congratulations, Isaac!
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7. Watercare Industrial Services, Inc., Achievement! Award
KEVIN CHRISTOFFERSON
Well known around Washougal High School for his energy, exuberance, and dramatic abilities, senior Kevin Christofferson excels in a number of areas. He has proven himself an able leader in his classes, particularly Japanese. Kevin has served as the emcee for the Japanese Festival for two years and knows how to capture the audience’s attention, delighting them with his spontaneity. His background in performance has honed Kevin’s ability to learn quickly and to memorize and retain foreign words and grammatical structures. His multi-faceted talents will bring Kevin success in whatever path he chooses to pursue in life. Congratulations, Kevin!
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8. Board of Directors Recognize and Interact with Staff The Board of Directors have recognized these staff at Board meetings:
• Social studies teachers Brian Amundson, Washougal High School, and Scott Rainey, Jemtegaard Middle School were recognized for completion of National Board Certification.
• Linda Peters, Sherry Lorenz-Hunt, Larry Gunther, Janet Yanzick and Trish Happs, for leadership as officers of the Public School Employees bargaining unit.
• Doug Cox, athletic director and John Carver, social studies teacher for 28 and 22 continuous years of service to the Washougal High School athletic program.
In addition, the Board met with a “staff panel” of nine randomly chosen teachers and classified staff for an annual conversation about staff experiences in Washougal schools.
Finally, the Board met with counseling and guidance staff in a policy governance linkage meeting to better understand and support the work of these valuable staff members.
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9. Joint Work Session with Washougal Mayor and City Council
Mayor Sean Guard and City Council members Jennifer McDaniel, Paul Greenlee and Jon Russell met with the Washougal Board of Directors for a joint work session in March. The agenda included a review of the successful partnerships between the City and the District. To view the powerpoint listing those partnerships, click here.
In addition, Mayor Guard talked about the City’s E Street project, which is still under planning phases. Finally, the District thanked the City for additional safety measures installed at the Hathaway Elementary School crosswalk on E street at 24th. Safety measures include a flashing light, high visibility flags and additional police patrols during school hours.
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10. Washougal Police Department Response Appreciated
Many thanks to Mayor Sean Guard and Washougal Police Chief Ron Mitchell for a quick and thorough response and resolution to a recent bomb threat. District staff members assisted during the crisis by following the security protocol directed by authorities. Doug Bright, Human Resources Director and Operations Director, did a superb job of orchestrating the district’s emergency center, supported by Rebecca Miner, Assistant Superintendent. It was great teamwork and greatly appreciated.
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11. Wishing all our staff and families a fun and restful Spring Break!
School resumes on Monday, April 5th.
