Board Report for April 2, 2025 - Gresham-Barlow School District

April 2, 2025 Meeting

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

Recognitions

John Koch, Powell Jacob, Coach Angela Miller, and Kris Howatt, posing for a photo at the board meeting

Swimming - Sam Barlow High School (SBHS)

The school board honored Sam Barlow High School student Powell Jacob (Junior), who competed in the district championship meet in February and was District Champion in the 200 Free and 500 Free. Powell competed in both events at the State Meet and set new PRs in both races. The board also recognized swimming Coach Angela Miller, who was named Mt. Hood Conference Boys Swimming Coach of the year!

Sam Barlow Boys Basketball team at board meeting

SBHS Boys Basketball

The Sam Barlow High School Boys Basketball team finished 1st in league, ranked #1 in state, and won the 6A Boys Basketball State Championship! Barlow had three first-team all-league players (also all were first-team at the state tournament):

Jalen Atkins, senior: 1st Team All-Mt. Hood Conference and All-Tournament First Team at State
Mason Bierbrauer, senior: 1st Team All-Mt. Hood Conference and All-Tournament First Team at State
Brayden Barron, senior: 1st Team All-Mt. Hood Conference and All-Tournament First Team at State

In addition, Coach Tom Johnson has been named OSAA boys basketball coach of the year, and Jalen Atkins was named OSAA boys basketball player of the year.

SBHS Dance Team

The school board honored the Sam Barlow High School Dance Team, which recently competed at the OSAA State Championships on March 22. The team brought home a 3rd place trophy in the 6A Jazz division. Brooke Rinard was selected for the All-State team and was awarded an academic scholarship.

SBHS Girls Wrestling

The school board recognized the SBHS girls wrestling team. The school sent ten wrestlers to the Regional tournament, with five qualifying to go to state. The team finished 2nd overall out of 25 teams at Regionals.

Congratulations to: Taylor Ward, Freshman, 125lb girls: 1st in Special District Regionals (and took 3rd at State) Olivia Howell, Senior, 170lb girls: 1st in Special District Regionals

SBHS Boys Wrestling

The school board recognized the SBHS Boys Wrestling Team, which continued their improvement and finished a close second in the Mt. Hood Conference. At the district meet, the team also finished second but had the most district champions: Gavin Jusino, sophomore, 106lb boys: 1st in Mt. Hood Conference Districts. Garrett Head, senior, 120lb boys: 1st in Mt. Hood Conference Districts (and 5th in State). Olin Storlie, freshman, 126lb boys: 1st in Mt. Hood Conference Districts (and 5th in State). Layth Qouchbane, freshman, 165lb boys: 1st in Mt. Hood Conference Districts. Coach Rod Heiser was named Mt. Hood Conference Boys Wrestling Coach of the Year.

SBHS Soccer

The school board recognized senior Katya Tercek, who was selected as 1st Team All-State.

SBHS Racquetball

The racquetball team competed at state January 29-February 2 at the Cascade Athletic Club. The school board honored juniors Olivia Riggs and Ariana Campbell for being selected for the All-State team.

Volunteer Appreciation Week April 21-25

The school board approved a resolution designating April 21-25 as volunteer appreciation week in the school district. The community is encouraged to celebrate our many volunteers who enrich the district’s schools and positively impact our students and staff.

Volunteer Week Resolution

Teacher Appreciation Week May 5-9

The school board approved a resolution designating May 5-9 as Teacher Appreciation Week. The resolution officially acknowledges the importance of a strong local school system and the contribution teachers make to that system. The community is encouraged to celebrate our dedicated teachers during this special week.

Teacher Appreciation Week 2025 Resolution

Superintendent and District Leadership Team Update

Superintendent Koch presented a budget update. The District is facing a budget shortfall for next year and has been working to identify budget reductions. In putting together a balanced budget, the District prioritized student and staff safety while also working to center students who need the most support. The District worked to identify non-payroll reductions before making staff reductions. When it came to staffing reductions, the District’s goal was to reduce positions through attrition (retirements, resignations, and temporary positions). He shared that districts throughout the state of Oregon face similar budget challenges. He stated that students will continue to be at the center of our decisions, and our staff will continue to look for ways to innovate and improve.

Citizens’ Requests of the Board

Teacher Jeremiah Hickman encouraged the school board to continue the middle school sports program and shared the positive impact that participation in sports has on students as they learn and grow.

Former staff member Bill Martin submitted written comments about the waste of public funds.

View Citizens' Submissions

Approved, accepting the Technical Assistant Program (TAP) Seismic Assessment grant for West Gresham Elementary School

Approved, the Integrated Grants Renewal Application for the Gresham-Barlow School District

Approved, school year calendars for 2025-26, 2026-27, and 2027-2028

Presentations

Gresham Arthur Academy Public Charter School Annual Report

Representatives from the Gresham Arthur Academy presented their annual report. The report included information regarding the goals and assessments relating to student performance, and a look forward at the school year ahead.

Arthur Academy Presentation

Information Items

Monthly financial report as of February 28, 2025

Finance Director Dennis Clague shared the retro-pay resulting from the settlement of GBEA licensed staff contract was paid during February 2025. Additionally, the State School Fund (SSF) payment withheld in January 2025 due to a late submission of the 2023-24 GBSD audit, was released in February. Also, during February, schools and departments were asked to reduce spending as a way of conserving/growing the Ending Fund Balance EFB) for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The benefit of this will be seen when the final EFB is determined

View the Monthly Financial Report

Upcoming Meetings

April 9, 2025

Budget Committee Meeting

7 pm

Partnership Room - Center for Advanced Learning

April 16, 2025

Board Work Session

6 pm

Partnership Room - Center for Advanced Learning

April 23, 2025

Budget Committee Meeting

7 pm

No Board Meetings

Partnership Room - Center for Advanced Learning

May 7, 2025

Regular Board Meeting

7 pm

Council Chambers - Public Safety and Schools Building

Can't Attend Board Meetings?

You can watch regular school board meetings LIVE on the GBSD 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 pm.

Third Showing-The following Thursday at 4 pm.

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 pm.