Zone 1 Still Vacant, Applicants Sought
The Council School Board is still looking for applicants from Zone 1 to fill the vacancy left by Steve Ryals’ resignation. Zone 1 extends approximately from just north of Mill Creek Road through the Fruitvale area. Those interested in this position should contact Mindy Ivey at the school district for more information.
Public comment at the beginning of the Board’s regular meeting last Wednesday included a letter read to the board by Melinda Fontana, the Title 1 coordinator for the district. Title 1 is a federal program to help students in schools affected by poverty to help close educational achievement gaps. The letter urged the board to secure a qualified full time Title 1 teacher for the district. The letter stated that current 4th grade teacher Amy Shumway was offered a contract for the Title 1 position but the ‘terms presented were disheartening, and frankly, disrespectful.’
Robyn Warner, 6th grade teacher, also gave public comment urging the district to invest in a full time Title 1 teacher, arguing for consistency for the students as she noted that the elementary school has seen almost 100% staff turnover in the last several years.
Action items for the meeting included adjusting the start time of board meetings to 6:30 to accommodate board members’ work schedules and approving the overnight senior trip to Coeur d’Alene May 2-4.
Kyle Johnson was sworn in to his role as Trustee for zone five, which was vacated by Bob Grossen’s retirement. He was appointed to this role at the board’s most recent regular meeting.
After an executive session the board accepted the resignation of music teacher Kati Sheldon for next school year and approved the hiring of Hannah Combs as next year’s 4th grade teacher.
Superintendent Brian Joyce (Joyce was recently awarded a one year contract as superintendent of the district and is no longer serving in an interim capacity) discussed the possibility of renting a home near the school to help new hires with temporary housing until they find a house of their own in the area. This was a preliminary discussion and no decisions were made. Joyce’s position is that it would help the district attract more teacher applicants if they could offer temporary housing as an incentive.
