Board Members Present: Chair Kris Howatt, Shawn Farrens, David Ligatich, Blake Petersen, and Holly Riegelmann
Recognitions
Classified School Employees Week Resolution
The school board passed a resolution declaring March 3-7, 2025, as Classified School Employees Week. The resolution acknowledges the importance of a strong local school system and classified employees' contributions to that system.
The school board recognized Director of Student Engagement and Inclusion Dr. Dawn Joella Jackson for being chosen as the year’s recipient of the Tom Ruhl Ally Award from the Oregon Association of Latino Administrators (OALA). The annual award honors educators who have exhibited leadership in equity and cultural competence or activities aligned with OALA's mission, purpose, and goals in their district or institution.
Celebration of Licensed Staff Contract
The school board honored East Gresham Elementary School teacher Samantha Ebert for earning her National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification in “middle childhood generalist.” Earning initial NBPTS certification is rigorous and requires extensive documentation and assessment of one’s teaching. This certification work requires the completion of comprehensive portfolios documenting their teaching pedagogy, plus the intense analysis of and reflection on their teaching practice.
Superintendent and District Leadership Team Update
Superintendent Koch shared that the district has maintained steady improvement in key areas. Our attendance rates are on the rise, our literacy initiatives are starting to see some positive impact, and we continue to refine our multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) at all levels. He shared his appreciation for the entire community’s commitment to continuous improvement.
Superintendent Koch also provided an update on the District’s budget development for 2025-26. The state’s current proposed K-12 education budget of $11.36 billion, while representing a $1.1 billion increase over the last biennium, unfortunately, does not keep pace with rising costs. This creates a projected budget gap for GBSD of between $7 and $11 million. This projection may change as the legislative budget process evolves in the spring. The District will work collaboratively with district administrators, staff, union leaders, and other key stakeholders as we navigate this challenge and create a budget reduction plan for next school year
Citizens’ Requests of the Board
An individual from the community submitted a public comment for the school board. It can be viewed at the link below
APPROVED, accepting the 2023-24 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and approving the 2023-24 Financial Audit Corrective Action Plan as presented
Representatives from Mt. Hood Community College provided a brief update on the bond process. The MHCC board took action in January to place the bond measure on the upcoming election ballot for May.
Metro East Web Academy (MEWA) Annual Report
Representatives from the Metro East Web Academy (MEWA) charter school shared a report on the performance of the school and its students. The report included the academy’s goals and assessments relating to student performance and a preview of the school year ahead.
The Board is required to annually review graduation requirements as described in Policy IKF - Graduation Requirements. In addition to providing a review of the current policy and any updates, district staff will provide a brief overview of the recently released graduation data from the 2023-2024 school year.
There has not been any substantial movement on the district's financial outlook since the last report. The 2023-24 fiscal audit has been completed with an Ending Fund Balance of $19,333,136 which is a decrease of $1,397,224 from 2022-23.
At this time, staff are projecting an ending fund balance of $23 million, an increase of $3.4 million from the beginning fund balance and is due to the ongoing process of Licensed staff negotiated salary rates and retro pay not having taken place as of December 31, 2024. Retro pay and rate updates will be completed during February 2025.
Location: Gresham-Barlow School District - Damascus Campus
March 5, 2025
Board Business Meeting
7 pm
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.
