Board Members Present: Chair Kris Howatt, Shawn Farrens, Cathy Keathley, Blake Petersen, and Holly Riegelmann
Recognitions
There were no recognitions.
Superintendent and District Leadership Team Update
Superintendent Hiu introduced Nadya Ruiz who will serve as assistant principal for North Gresham and Highland Elementary Schools. This past school year she worked as dual language immersion teacher on special assignment and new teacher mentor.
Superintendent Hiu announced that he will retire at the end of December. After 33 years in education, Superintendent Hiu shared it has been a privilege to play a role in fostering academic excellence, cultivating a supportive learning environment, and empowering students to reach their full potential. The school board is developing a search process to select the next superintendent.
Citizens’ Requests of the Board
There were no citizens’ requests of the board.
Presentations
There were no presentations.
APPROVED, by one motion Resolutions 2025-04 through 2025-08 for fiscal year 2024-25
APPROVED, adopting the 2024-25 regular board meeting schedule for Wednesdays as presented
APPROVED, the 2023-24 Summer Learning Agreement with the Oregon Department of Education
APPROVED, the Gresham-Barlow School District Certification for participation in the School Nutrition Community Eligibility Provision program for the 2024-25 school year
APPROVED, awarding the contract for the Gresham-Barlow School District Facility Assessment and Long Range Facility Plan to Soderstrom Architects in an amount not to exceed $165,000
Information Items
Monthly Financial Update of 5/31/2024
Finance Director Dennis Clague reported that there have not been substantial changes since the last report, and the ending fund balance projection is still materially the same at $26.7 million. That figure could change up to 850,000 thousand in either direction with year-end journal entries as staff work to maximize the grant funds available. Late tax revenues are also inconsistent and therefore not easy to predict. This report projects a little less than $85 thousand in tax payments would be received in June, but as of the date this summary was written, no funds had been received.
A more reliable, but unaudited, ending balance will be provided at the Board's August meeting. Audited financials will likely be delivered in December or January.
Board Vice-Chair Cathy Keathley provided an update on the school board’s work to appeal the location of a new water filtration plant proposed by the Portland Water Bureau at the eastern end of SE Carpenter Road. The school board approved an amount not to exceed $15,000 to engage Elliot Field from Garrett Hemann Robertson to assist in finalizing the brief to appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) regarding the Portland Water Bureau Bull Run Filtration Plan.
Upcoming Meetings
August 23, 2024
Board Strategic Planning Session
8 am to 5 pm
Location: To Be Determined
September 4, 2024
Regular Board 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.
