School board awaits word on possible growth

Posted 8/01/12 (Wed)

By Michael Johnson, Editor

A lot changed during the last regular school board meeting of the Washburn School Board. Two seasoned board members, Steve Reiser and Arik Spencer, exited the board and two new board members, Sandi Erber and Kit Baumann, stepped forward. The newly organized board could see a lot more changes at the start of school, Aug. 20. That’s the day the board will find out whether they have gained enough students to split grades and add teaching staff or if they will remain in that just-right size that has allowed the school to have one of the lowest per pupil costs in the county. “We are at that magic number,” Superintendent Brad Rinas said. “It creates an efficiency.” The board looked at numbers in the long-range planning meeting last month. They discovered that they would likely have to have a split kindergarten  and first grade. The board approved the hiring of a new teacher for kindergarten during the meeting. More staff could be needed depending on how many kids register this fall. “We may still have other staffing changes before the year is over,” Rinas said.