The school district’s tab for feeding students who cannot pay for their lunches has grown to $54,000, according to Alex Singer, director of food service. The sum “is all uncollected meal debt,” said Mr. Singer, who reported the cost at the last school board meeting, held earlier this month. The debt was incurred after the district – along with others across the state – ended the practice last year of what some had dubbed “lunch shaming.” The term referred to giving cold-sandwich substitutes or other snacks to students whose families were in arrears to the district for meals at school.
 
The reason for the relatively high debt is twofold, Mr. Singer said. There are low-income families whose earnings don’t qualify for subsidy, missing the cut-off by a mere $50 in some cases. And some families that might qualify appear fearful of filling out any paper work that would identify them, Mr. Singer said. The issue is expected to be brought back to the school board soon for further discussion. 

Tom Pessemier, who has held several key administrative roles for the City of Sherwood, was selected as the new city manager for Independence, it was announced Tuesday. Mr. Pessemier is scheduled to begin in early December.

From drones to dog-leash rules, policy changes that affect local schools -- required by statute or other regulation -- are being tackled by the district superintendent, Jennifer Kubista EdD, and the school board. From replacing archaic language to updating statements that reflect new technology, the amendments are expected to be adopted throughout this year -- and probably into the next one, too. 

An agreement between the Central Education Association (CEA) and the school district appears to bring to close a months-long battle over a new contract -- but state election campaigns have highlighted more reasons to worry about teachers. 
 
Increases in salaries to cover cost-of-living adjustments and an expanded definition of sick leave are two major tenets the CEA secured in recent bargaining with District 13J, according to district teachers. However, some experts are warning – in the wake of the ballot debates -- that two forces in Oregon threaten the stability of the instructional pipeline, even in a town like Independence. 
 
One is a robust economy, which offers the potential for new career paths. The other is the escalating price of real estate across many areas of Oregon, which is lowering the buying power of teachers, even in the semi-rural towns of the Willamette Valley.  
 
For a look at how teachers may be impacted locally in the next few years, the November issue of The Independent queried educators, economists and real-estate experts, who predict that school faculties may be hard hit in the future, due to trends in the cost of housing and opportunities in the job market. 

Oregon’s just-released 2018 Report Card shows Independence Elementary School (IES) has more low-scoring students, compared with others of the same grade in the district.  Only about one in five test-takers in grade 3 at IES, for example, meets state standards in English and math. In 2019, a special issue of The Independent will take an in-depth look at the many factors that can affect K-5 test scores -- and several are unrelated to classroom academics.