State legislators are expected to step in with a provision that could help relieve a debt approaching $75,000 that has been incurred by Central School District 13J for school lunches that have gone unpaid this past year. “I think the bill does have legs,” said School Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD during a recent community forum. “But it still has a way to go in the state legislature.” 
 
HB 2760 would address school meal debt by making more children and youth eligible for free school meals. Central School District 13J "could be a big winner," said Matt Newell-Ching, public affairs director at Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, which tracks family food insecurity.
 
If the bill passes, it will more than double the number of schools statewide able to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge and without applications, also known as "community-eligibility" schools, Mr. Newell-Ching explained. Initial analysis by his non-profit group indicates that many -- or perhaps all -- schools in Central School District would be able to participate. The supplementary state funding would be able to make it possible financially, he said.
 
It's suspected that the expense to the district began ratcheting up this year because some families that cannot afford to buy student lunches became fearful of filling out the forms needed to quality for a subsidy. So the district provided lunch for students who didn’t pay. “If you aren’t able to eat you cannot focus in school,” Dr. Kubista noted. [LOOK for more coverage of this likely legislative action on new lunch funding in the column “The Civics Lesson” in the May issue of The Independent.]

Independence schools will increase an estimated 1.6% annually in the coming years, and the growth will continue through 2028, according to a research team from Flo Analytics, a Portland-based data-mining company that predicts student-population growth. The forecast was reported at District 13J’s school board meeting last month by analysts Jerry Oelerich and Alex Brasch.
 
The biggest gains will be seen at Independence Elementary School, which enrolls students primarily from the city’s core, but upticks also will occur at Ash Creek Elementary, which draws from an area west of Gun Club Road. A big jump in enrollment is likely to occur between 2023 and 2028 at Talmadge Middle School as the increase of kindergarten entrants from earlier years begins to translate into enrollment there, the analysts said.   
 
Looking Ahead: Local American Legion Post Offers Scholarships to BOYS STATE. Male high school juniors who would like to attend Boys State at Western Oregon University June 16-22 can apply for up to $350 in tuition through a scholarship program by the local chapter of the American Legion, Post 33, in Independence. Forms can be found at:  https://www.orlegion.org/boys-state.html.Though the forms indicate a Wilsonville address for mailing, the application can be sent directly for scholarship consideration to Billy Whisenant, 304 Dawn Court, Independence OR 97351. Deadline is May 27.

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. 

An advisory committee to help build a sustainable school-district budget has been convened now that Measure 98 revenue has arrived – and one aim is to reduce the “cut and add” strategy of the past, Jennifer Kubista EdD announced at the November 6 school board meeting.

The goal is a plan that can withstand fluctuations in funding “should this money go away,” Dr. Kubista said. The committee includes a cross-section of citizens, as well as key representatives from the school district. “We want to make sure we get input from the community,” she stressed.
 
The formal budget isn’t due till the end of the school year. However, a brief public hearing was held prior to the board meeting on the outcome of revenue from this ballot measure, which was approved by voters last November and requires the state legislature to support drop-out prevention and career and college preparation in public schools. “We’d like the authority to recognize this full amount of funding and start to plan accordingly,” said Cec Koontz, business manager for the district.
 
The committee will meet this winter and spring, and a draft plan is expected around the first of the year, Dr. Kubista noted. It’s not too soon to get started “as I continue to learn about the Oregon funding stream and how it works,” she said.

Students who once had to forego a hot lunch and instead get a cold sandwich when their meal debt exceeded $5 will no longer be required to receive such a substitution.
 
“Every kid is going to eat, no kid is going to cry,” said Alex Singer, who directs food service for the district. The practice, known by a slang term as “lunch shaming,” is now a thing of the past, said Mr. Singer, who is known colloquially as the “food dude.” The action follows a bill signed by the Gov. Kate Brown last August that prohibits public identification of a student who cannot pay -- or owes money – for school meals.
 
Revenues in food service are up 3% and expenditures have increased only 1% -- so that part of the budget looks good thus far, he said. A “benevolent lunch fund” is being established, so that donated money for children’s meals can be used to compensate the district for unpaid lunch tabs, he added.
 
Though families in need of assistance are encouraged to apply for free or reduced-price meals, some miss the cut-off that would qualify them for this subsidy by only a “few dollars in monthly income,” he explained.

A parent or guardian will be held responsible for any school-related harm when a student uses a service dog, according to a draft policy unanimously approved by the Central School District 13J school board at its last meeting.
 
“The service animal must be under the control of a handler at all times,” the policy states. In addition to being responsible for any damages, the parent or guardian will face “any costs necessary to remove and quarantine a service animal” if such action is taken, according to the new guideline.
 
To date, there are no service animals being used in Central School District facilities, but “a handful of inquiries” prompted Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD to bring the issue to the board, she explained. The policy was drawn up by examining guidelines adopted by other school districts, she said.
 
The federal definition of a service animal is a specially-trained dog -- with very few state-mandated exceptions. These canines must be able to perform needed and specific tasks. Other animals, such as cats and parrots, may provide comfort -- but they are not considered service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

That’s the label given to the developing frenzy of student drop-offs and pick-ups this year by the website strongtowns.org, as schools struggle to keep up with the clog of cars. The issue also was a recent topic of Central High School (CHS) newsletter “In the Know,” which advised against using local businesses across from CHS as a pick-up point. “We all feel the pain of the 16th Street congestion from 3:10 pm to 3:20 pm,” the newsletter noted, while requesting respect for merchant parking areas. Nationally, more parents than ever are driving their children to school. Some schools report car-pooling motorists double- or triple-park while trying to locate kid passengers. The National Safety Council has weighed in with the advice that every school should pay close attention to their drop-off/pick-up policy –  it’s seen as just as important as those mandatory safety drills.

A drop of 30 students in enrollment at Central District 13J schools means a difference of about $200,000 in revenue for the district, though the reduction doesn’t come as a surprise, Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD told school-board members at their meeting in early October.
 
“We are right now, right on” last year's projections, she said. The biggest loss – 27 students –  occurred at the elementary level, just as expected. Lower enrollments are anticipated in the future, according to statewide trends; Fewer Oregon kindergartners are entering the school system, she noted.
 
State money awarded to the district follows a formula that, in part, is based on student population.  As a result, the board may want to “take a deeper dive” into what these declines will mean for the next few years, Dr. Kubista said. She suggested quarterly reports might be appropriate.

About 100 people participated in a protest march Sunday that largely was organized by Central High School (CHS) students to demonstrate against the threatened deportation of undocumented community members. “These students should be able to stay,” said Julia Wright, a CHS senior and a chief organizer of the event. Ms. Wright, whose mother is from Spain, said seeing acquaintances frightened by recent reports of immigrant crackdowns spurred her to take action.
 
The effort was undertaken after Ms. Wright and her father, Alan Wright, an engineer in Independence, met with CHS principal Jann Jobe following Ms. Wright’s plan to stage a school walk-out. “Julia has a strong sense of social justice and obligation,” Mr. Wright explained. At the meeting, it was decided that an organized public demonstration would be better, he said. 
 
The fact that some local students live in fear simply because they were not born in the United States is “obscene, just morally reprehensible,” said Rep Paul Evans, who attended the event. Noting that many of these students have been part of the American educational system since they were children, he added that the deportation movement makes no sense. “We have invested in them and they’re investing in us,” he said.   
 
The marchers, who chanted “Up for education, Down for deportation,” included several representatives from the school district – on hand were Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD and 2016 school board member Steve Milligan, currently mayor of Monmouth. The walk began at the football stadium of Western Oregon University and concluded at Riverview Park in Independence.

A policy on “assist animals” that accompany students to class and school activities will be drawn up so that “it’s crystal clear to families as they move in this direction,” said Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD.
 
Currently, the district has no policy, she explained. Senate Bill 610, which passed in 2013, calls for such plans. As a result, Dr. Kubista and the district staff have been looking over actions taken by other school districts, as well as recommendations from the district’s insurer on issues such as dog hygiene. “This allows us to have oversight in this process,” she said.

Rain is coming and there’s a leaky part in the roof of Central High School – but hopefully not for long ... A new engineering report is on its way after a few years of patchwork on the seam between the old CHS building and the newer addition, according to Cec Koontz, business manager for the school district. The final price tag isn't yet known, but the bill is expected to be between $75,000 and $150,000, depending on the level of repair needed, she said.

An agreement to help define the relationship between the new superintendent and the school board is expected to be approved Monday night, marking the first time a contract focused on creating good communication between the superintendent and the board has been a formal part of the district process.
 
“It is a way for us to start off on in the right direction and to have ways and ideas for us to continue to build on our relationships as my position unfolds in serving Central School District and the communities we serve,” explained Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD. Part of the agreement centers on ways to foster good communication, according to a discussion at the last school board meeting.
  
The agreement represents a new approach by the board but it’s a tool that’s been used lots of other places, said School Board President Steve Moser. Both the National School Boards Association and the American Association of School Administrators recommend on their websites such agreements.

Some students in Monmouth and Independence became aeronautical scientists this summer, transporting their project into outer space -- while remaining earthbound themselves.
 
It was all part of a special NASA-backed course in which local students, who called themselves the “Supernovas,” wrote computer code for moving objects in zero gravity. With the help of Monmouth Mayor Steve Milligan working as their guide, they took online tutorials and competed with others teams of youth from across the United States. The students and Mr. Milligan reported on their astronomical achievement at the last school board meeting.
 
The Supernova team was one of four in Oregon. Initially, the students’ code-writing underwent digital simulation to determine if it was performing correctly. Eventually it was uploaded to the International Space Station, where it ran a “sphere” – which looked a little like a floating, multi-sided beach ball. Video footage at the school board meeting showed astronauts looking on, as the sphere made twists and turns around them. Oregon clinched 8th place in the challenge. Student participants told school board members that it is was a space trip they’ll never forget even though they never left their home planet.

The statewide Smarter Balance test results are in – and the only widespread conclusion so far seems to be that they are harder for parents and educators to understand, in part because of their newness.  A work session to discuss how to interpret scores is to be held this month. A link to those released for the Central School District:
http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx

There were tears from reluctant kindergartners, high-decibel school-bus rides and enough smoke in the air to prompt discussions about whether recess should be held outside. It was all part of the first day of school for Central District 13J this past month, and Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD was there to see it up close and personal. She pronounced it a great day, as she recounted the experience for school board members at their first meeting after school was back in session.
 
The Eagle Creek forest fire in the Columbia Gorge, which made the sky seem unnaturally gray, didn’t seem to put a dent the day. By the time the final bell rang, kindergartners were getting used to classrooms, and  quiet morning bus rides  were filled with noisy chatter in the afternoon, Dr. Kubista observed. She’d seen “lots of happy faces,” she said. One high point was watching 8th-graders help new 6th-graders learn the ins and outs of locker utilization.  “Lockers are a big thing,” she noted.