The North Wasco County School Board voted to renew the Riverbend Community School Charter agreement for the next three years
On Aug. 26., the board met at The Dalles Middle School for their regular monthly meeting.
The decision to renew the charter comes at the end of a two-month extension, approved during the June 17 board meeting. The Riverbend Community School, formerly known as Wahtonka Community School, submitted a request to renew their charter agreement in April this year.
The original charter contract, according to Kara Flath, chief financial officer [CFO] for the North Wasco County School District, was a three-year contract in effect from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2021. The two-month extension for contract approval was decided on to allow for further information gathering and a public hearing process to take place before a final vote was made for renewal.
In a summary given by Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Bernal, she states that she [Bernal], Flath, and other district staff met with Dr. Stacy Shaw, the executive director and principal of the Riverbend Community School and their CFO to review the charter, making “slight” amendments to the agreement, including “some nutritional language, adding the ability for the district and charter school to adjust the appropriated funds” as well as adding “some financial reporting due dates.”
Bernal said that the charter was agreed upon as amended.
General concerns expressed by the school board consisted of the long-term sustainability of the school’s financial plans. Shaw was not present at the meeting to answer questions, but Flath addressed some of the concerns, stating that such topics were major discussion points in the charter agreement review, and when it comes to subjects such as fundraising, Riverbend is aware of the “massive plans they need to implement.”
She added that a major factor of long-term financial sustainability boiled down to increased enrollment. “We looked at early math and based on what the Oregon Department of Education is saying charter schools are funded right now, which we know changes as the year goes on, would be about 36 or 37 students,” said Flath, “I know right now as of July 14, they’re at 33, so they were very optimistic in their ability to increase enrollment because of the changes that they’ve made. We did have a lot of frank discussions that the sustainability is going to hinge on enrollment.”
The board held a short discussion on the pros and cons of offering a shorter renewal contract, such as for a single year rather than a three-year agreement, due to the board’s uncertainty regarding Riverbend’s financial plan. It was ultimately decided that there would be no benefit in doing so, as there are safeguards in place within the agreement and a less than three-year contract could, among other things, potentially affect grant eligibility.
Following the discussion, Director Dawn Rasmussen made a motion to approve the charter agreement as recommended, seconded by Director John Nelson. With a majority of six yes votes, and a single abstention, the Riverbend Community School Charter agreement was approved for a three-year term from Sep. 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024.
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Aug. 26 meeting also included the recognition of The Dalles High School Senior Zora Richardson, who was named Oregon and Wasco County’s Distinguished Young Women for the class of 2022. Richardson, who is also The Dalles High School ASB president and National Honor Society member, will be representing Oregon in Mobile, Ala., at the Distinguished Young Woman national finals in 2022.
In staff recognition, Director of Human Resources Brian Schimel read out the names of nearly 60 new or repositioned staff that will work in District 21 for the upcoming 2021-22 school year.
The school board then opened the floor for public comment, allotting three minutes to each member of the community withing to voice opinions or concerns regarding the upcoming school year.
A total of 17 community members spoke in-person, along with two submitted written comments that were read by Board Chair Jose Aparicio.
Concerns were aired about the physical and mental toll that mitigations such as masking mandates would have on students and staff; consequences of the state mandate for all educators to receive a COVID-19 vaccination by Oct. 18, as called for by Gov. Kate Brown on Aug. 19; and a lack of a district-wide survey for parents who wish to voice their opinions on topics such as the masking mandate.
A majority of those speaking before the board expressed support for mask mandates and other mitigations such as social distancing and handwashing, many stating their strong desire for students to return to in-person learning, but to do so safety.
The school board also received written comments that were submitted after deadline to will be read at the Aug. 26 School board meeting, and encourage those who did not hear their comments during the August meeting to re-submit them for the September meeting.
After the school sub-committee and chief financial officer’s reports, the meeting ended with a final action item, to “Re-adopt the district calendar for the 2021-22 school year,” as presented by Bernal. The revised calendar reflects the recent federal adoption of Juneteenth, June 19, as a federal holiday. As June 19, 2022, falls on a Sunday, the new calendar reflects the district observation of Juneteenth to be held on Monday, June 20, where all district operations will be closed for business. The motion was unanimously passed by the school board.
The school board will be holding their next meeting Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. For updates on how to view that meeting, visit the North Wasco County District 21 website or Facebook page. To view the Aug. 26 meeting in its entirety, visit the district Facebook page or YouTube channel and click the link.
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