Board adopts grant resolutions, sets adult lunch price to $5 and approves two policies; facilities team reports roof, life-safety and equipment projects

The District 21 board took several formal actions and received a facilities update at its Sept. 26 meeting.

Resolutions and motions: The board adopted two resolutions to appropriate incoming grants (resolutions 24-25-04 and 24-25-05) after a motion to adopt was moved and seconded. The board also set the adult school-lunch price at $5 for the 2024–25 school year in order to comply with the National School Lunch Program requirement that adult meals not be subsidized by federal funds; the board approved the request after a motion. Staff said the program’s calculator produced $4.99 and they rounded to $5.

Policy actions: The board completed second reading and adoption of policy JGA (corporal punishment) after removing optional parenthetical language about guardians' use of reasonable physical force; and it adopted policy JHCCF (Pediculosis/Head Lice) with the highlighted bracketed language included. Both policies passed on motions and voice votes.

Facilities and operations: Facilities staff reported extensive summer projects: cleaning and painting across campuses; replacement of sinks; new refrigeration and shelving; a fenced playground installed at Chenoweth; roofing patches on five schools with a five-year Tremco warranty; and a nearly complete life-safety/fire system upgrade at Chenoweth that includes ADA-compliant notification (voice alerts and flashing lights). Facilities also said Sodexo provided roughly $73,000 in new floor polishers, cordless vacuums and related equipment to standardize cleaning capacity across schools.

Financial and operational context: The CFO briefed the board on enrollment trends and said kindergarten enrollment was lower than prior years (current K = 166 including Mosier; 154 excluding Mosier). The CFO said he plans to petition the state to reopen ADM revenue estimates to smooth budget impacts and recommended prudent forecasting.