David Russo helms HR School Board

Tom Scully and Chris Reitz, both elected in May 2015, joined the board officially on Wednesday, and Superintendent Dan Goldman administered the oath of office. Reitz and Scully succeed Liz Whitmore and Bob Danko, who opted not to run for re-election.

Goldman told the board that for the next biennium, the final State School Funding figure from the Department of Education is $7.4 billion statewide, higher than the $7.25 billion discussed earlier in the Legislative session but lower than the $7.5 billion needed to hold programs and services at current levels for most districts. Hood River School District had to cut $1.4 million for 2015-16.

“The work we did made a big difference,” Goldman said of lobbying efforts in Salem in recent months. “It was a step in the right direction at the end (of the session),” he said. “We have to be super-careful about our funds.” He said in August he will present the board with specifics on state funding and its impact on Hood River schools.

The board also heard an update on facilities planning by architect Eric Holzer and facilities manager Danny Garcia, who with staff are going through every school in the district analyzing and photographing structural conditions in each room of every building. By the end of July, every space will have been visited and the data will be collated and ready to be used to determine priorities for future repairs and upgrades. A committee of staff and citizens will be appointed to work with district this fall to formulate recommended priorities that will go into funding decisions for facilities. That process will include public forums and interviewing community members and personnel who work at each site.

“We’ve seen nothing significant” in terms of deficiencies, according to Holzer, “but we are looking at what maintenance has been deferred and what needs to be taken care of to ensure the best learning environments.”

In terms of current repairs, Goldman also told the board that brickwork repair at Hood River Middle School and asbestos abatement in the entryway of May Street school will be paid for this summer by the last of the capital expenditure bond funds approved by voters in 2011.

The board also approved a $75,000 special procurement to replace the broken boiler at Hood River Middle School and ensure the heating system is up and running by the time school starts in the fall.