School boards provided with updates from administration, community

The Lind and Ritzville School Board of Directors were provided with updates regarding the first month of school, ongoing activities in extracurricular student activities, and an upcoming levy that will appear on the Nov. 6 General Election ballot.

Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner, who discussed the upcoming proposition on the General Election ballot, provided the Community Connection for the evening.

He explained the measure proposes a three-tenths of one percent sales and use tax increase with the costs being dedicated to enhancement of criminal justice and law enforcement within the county.

Wagner stated there are currently 14 deputies working in the county, with four assigned to respond to calls in the eastern half of the county, which includes the Lind, Ritzville, Benge and Washtucna communities.

Each year, Wagner stated there is a 250 calls for service increase from the previous year, and the sheriff’s office are having to handle more calls with less personnel than when Wagner started with the department in 1996.

The shortage in staff expands throughout the jail and dispatch, he added. Wagner said his hope is to inform voters of the needs of the county, and he is also optimistic if the proposal is approved, a significant portion of those funds could benefit the department.

Wagner said the department is currently focused on improving training, as well as continuing to shut down illegal marijuana grow operations and narcotic trafficking within the county.

Through donations from community organizations, the department has been able to purchase valuable resources to assist with investigations, like the drone.

As the school year moves into full swing, Wagner encouraged school administrators and staff to reach out to the department if they ever feel there is something wrong within the school or with a specific student.

He added it is the community’s responsibility to be good citizens and be involved with looking out for one another.

Ritzville Grade School Principal Tom Arlt informed the boards the students recently completed MAPS testing, which will be used to establish the student learning goals for the year. The grade school currently has 225 students enrolled between preschool and sixth grade.

Arlt is also completing the reports for Title 1 and LAP funding, and he explained this year’s focus for Title 1 is homeless students and how to identify who those students are, as well as their needs.

Kierstin Witt provided a student representative update and thanked Superintendent Don Vanderholm and Lind-Ritzville High School Kevin Terris for improving the school culture with high school students, and doing great work to involve and engage all students.

Terris explained in his report to the board that the goal is to increase the student voice at the high school level. Each teacher and students in the first period classes voted for one student to participate in a collaboration between staff and students to improve the overall academic and school culture.

The theme of the project is identifying and answering the question, “What does it mean to be a Bronco?” The goal is to have staff and students work together to create an initiative that can be in place by the 2019-20 school year.

Terris added he is also working with math teacher Nicole Reyling and Thomas Pulliam to establish an alternative course for seniors to complete as a way to complete graduation requirements.

Devin Schafer and Alibama Rushing represented the Lind-Ritzville High School FFA chapter and provided updates regarding the chapter. Throughout the upcoming year, the FFA chapter plans to participate in six new community service projects, as well as create new events for members.

At the end of October, Rushing and Schafer will be two members of the Agronomy team who will be traveling to compete at the National FFA Convention. Also qualifying and competing on the Agronomy team for Lind-Ritzville will be Abby Gering and Julia Klein.

Vanderholm provided an update regarding the LRHS renovation, stating the final document from the state was received and the project can now move forward. Construction crews are onsite, and will begin with asbestos abatement and demolition.

He also announced the district received a technology grant that will allow for the classroom in the vocational-ag building to receive the improved technology upgrade to match the remainder of the classrooms in LRHS.

Vanderholm said he is currently working to submit paperwork for dual credit options to be available for high school students. He presented two draft resolutions for the boards to review for the October meeting, which include academic acceleration and competency-based credits.

The boards also approved the Lind and Ritzville PSE Salary Schedule for the year, as well as Lind approving the LEA Salary Schedule.

Business Manager Dana Telecky explained the classified staff received a higher increase in order to be on a more comparable pay scale to the rest of the staff.