Board Members Present: Chair Kris Howatt, Shawn Farrens, Cathy Keathley, David Ligatich, Blake Petersen, Mayra Gómez, and Holly Riegelmann
Recognitions
GHS Racquetball
The school board honored Boys Racquetball Player Benjamin Menaker for placing third in the state tournament and qualifying for the national tournament. At the National Tournament, Benjamin took first place in the white division.
SBHS Basketball
The school board honored the Sam Barlow High School Boys Basketball Team for placing 2nd in the Mt. Hood Conference and qualifying for the playoffs ranked fourth in state. At State, the team placed in the Elite 8 and finished by winning the consolation bracket earning the 4th Place in state!
SBHS Racquetball
The school board recognized the Sam Barlow High School Racquetball Team. At State, Payton Colt received 1st place for the girls' team and Olivia Riggs was selected for the All-State team. Payton qualified to compete at the National Tournament and took first place in the white division.
SBHS Swimming
On February 9 and 10 the Mount Hood Conference hosted the district championship swim meet at David Douglas High School. Several of our female swimmers not only placed, but broke school records.
Madison Logue - District Champion in 200 Individual Medley and 100 Backstroke. Madison defended her title in the 200 IM and then cruised in with lifetime best and sub-minute time in the 100 Back. At State, Madison finished 6th overall in the 200 and finished 10th in the 100 back (while setting a new school record in the event).
Kaitlyn Logue - District Champion in 200 Free and 500 Free. Kaitlyn not only defended both titles from last year but dominated the field by 10 seconds or more in both events. At State, she was State Champion in the 200 free and was 6th in the 500 free. Kaitlyn is our first state champion since 2013.
District Champions - 400 Free Relay: Maggie Moffat, Olivia Marcum, Madison Logue and Kaitlyn Logue. Again, the girls defended the Barlow title in this event, crushing the competition by 6 seconds. They finished 8th at State!
The Mount Hood Conference recognized coach Angela Miller as the Mt. Hood Conference Girls Swimming Coach of the Year!
GHS Basketball
The school board recognized the Gresham High School Boys Basketball for finishing in third place in the Mt. Hood Conference and ranking 14th in State going into the playoffs. The Mt. Hood Conference recognized senior Nate Gilkey as the Defensive Player of the Year.
SBHS Wrestling
The Sam Barlow wrestling program continued to grow this year with the addition of a formal girls' program. This program has grown from three wrestlers to eleven with even more expected from the middle school feeders.
On February 16 and 17, the Barlow wrestlers competed at the MHC District Tournament. The team finished 4th overall and qualified five boys to go to State along with two girls who qualified through their regional tournament.
Nick Roth, 150lb boys: 1st in Mt. Hood Conference Districts, and was a podium finisher at the state tournament by placing 5th.
For our girls, five girls wrestled at Regionals and two advanced to State:
Abby Richard, 120lb girls: 1st at the regional tournament and took her place on the state podium with a third-place finish. Abby had a 25-2 record on the year.
Volunteer Appreciation Week
The school board passed a resolution declaring the week of April 22-26, 2024 Volunteer Appreciation Week. The resolution acknowledged the contributions of the numerous volunteers who enrich the district's schools and positively impact students and staff.
The school board passed a resolution declaring Teacher Appreciation Week May 6-10, 2024. The resolution acknowledged the importance of a strong local school system and the contribution teachers make to that system. A presentation was made to Gresham Barlow Education Association President Matt Wallace.
Superintendent and District Leadership Team Update
Superintendent Hiu welcomed students back from spring break. GBSD hosted a meeting of Multnomah County superintendents to discuss school funding and opportunities to support our students. He expressed his appreciation to the school board for attending the School Improvement Plan (SIP) Presentations Meeting. Superintendent Hiu thanked the District’s teachers for their work to serve students and families. Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6-10, 2024. Deputy Superintendent John Koch shared information about the District’s special education service model.
Citizens’ Requests of the Board
GBSD occupational therapists Stacy Richards and Kelsey Kavanagh shared the benefits of transitioning from a caseload to a workload approach for assigning students to occupational therapists.
Bill Martin submitted a public comment. On the advice of legal counsel, Mr. Martin’s statement was not read publicly and was submitted to the superintendent.
Presentations
Metro East Web Academy (MEWA) Charter School Annual Report
As a public charter school, Metro East Web Academy (MEWA) must submit a report to the district and the State Board of Education each year on the performance of the school and its students in the preceding fiscal/school year. This report must include, among other things, information regarding the goals and assessments relating to student performance, and a look forward at the school year ahead.
APPROVED, the listing of the district property located at 5039 SE Chase Rd. for sale GBSD is anticipating the need for a new District Office in the next two to five years. In preparation for this, the District seeks to generate revenue for the purchase and possible renovation of existing office space in Gresham. The property located at 5039 SE Chase Rd is currently not in use by GBSD and has received past inquiries regarding its availability for sale. Initial estimates indicate that the property could be sold for approximately $500,000.
APPROVED, the submission of a letter of intent for the purchase of the Multnomah County Library District building and property as disclosed in the letter of intent to be used as a district office
GBSD anticipates the need for a new District Office in the next two to five years. District leadership has been working with KMO Realtors to find an adequate space to meet the District Office's needs. The District wishes to keep its central office in the downtown Gresham area. Several properties were considered with the current Gresham library as the optimal location due to the amount of space needed to meet current District Office requirements. The library will be vacated when a new library is completed. This should take place within the timeframe needed for the District to purchase and renovate the building. The current tax assessed value is $3.2 million with approximately $1.3-$1.5 million in renovations. Revenue for the project will be generated through the sale of two District properties and interest earned on the sale revenues.
APPROVED, the resolution in support of the Gresham City Levy 26-247 implied in the motion
APPROVED, awarding of District audit services to KDP Certified Public Accountants LLP
Information Items
Student Transportation Services Update
First Student, the company that provides our student transportation services, presented an update to the school board.
Monthly Financial Update of 02/29/2024
Finance Director Dennis Clague presented the monthly financial update to the board of directors.
Spending in quarter three was very similar to quarter two, allowing for relatively stable projections. The projected ending fund balance $19.2 million after transfers for current year turf projects ($3 million) and reserves for curriculum, technology and future turf replacement ($3 million and overall fiscal position ($3.4 million favorable vs. budget) have not materially changed since the last report as of 1/31/2024.
April 10
Budget Committee Meeting
7 pm
Center for Advanced Learning-Partnership Room
April 17
Board Work Session
6 pm
Center for Advanced Learning-Forum Room
April 24
Budget Committee Meeting (If Needed)
7 pm
Center for Advanced Learning-Partnership Room
May 1
Board Business Meeting
7 pm
District Office
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.
