Lebanon School District officials told School Board members that they’re adopting a “wait and see” approach as they watch the Trump Administration’s moves to scrutinize U.S. Department of Education operations.
Responding to questions from the board at their Thursday, Feb. 13 meeting, Supt. Jennifer Meckley said she is receiving regular updates from “many different avenues” such as the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators, the American Association of Superintendents, Oregon School Board Association and others.
“I feel like we’re getting a lot of information and it’s a lot of good information,” Meckley told the board, which met remotely due to weather concerns.
“Executive orders do not create new laws, change existing ones or provide legally binding rules for schools,” she reminded board members. Instead, they direct federal agencies on how the president wants them to enforce current laws.
“Without action from Congress or the courts, many of the executive orders cannot directly change legal requirements for school districts.
“So schools do not need to immediately alter their policies or practices based on executive orders alone,” which, she added, “is important for School Board members to consider, as policy adoption is one of your three big responsibilities.”
She and Board Chair Tom Oliver said the district will need to “watch how this plays out.”
Meckley said professional organizations are advising that districts not immediately change policies or make any other fast moves.
Oliver reminded his fellow trustees that the district is much more closely “bound” to state law than it is to federal regulations.
Meckley acknowledged that ”there’s a lot of talk about this, there’s a lot of concern about federal dollars that go to school.”
Lawmakers need to be reminded about “where those dollars go,” she said.
“Decisions are made a lot of time by people who don’t understand the impact in the classroom.”
Board Member Melissa Baurer asked whether the district was seeing any holdups on grant money.
District Chief Operations Officer William Lewis said the district “has not been notified that any grants are being held up.”
He credited Business Director Steven Prososki with putting the district in a “good position,” financially.
“I think we are in a good spot,” Lewis said. “The federal grants that we have are low risk for any challenges. I think our risk is low. The federal grants they’re looking are not things we’re associated with.”
“The short answer is we’ll see what happens,” Oliver said.
Also during the Feb. 13 meeting, board members also received an audit report for the district from Pauly Rogers and Co. of Tigard. The report, for the 2023-24 fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, did not identify any financial issues.
Oliver said the report was “the most boring I’ve read in my eight years on the board,” which, he added, was a positive.
Ignoring PERS liability, Oliver said, “the numbers look pretty good.”
He responded similarly when Prososki reported that the district was “on target” to meet its budget.
“Nice and boring,” Oliver said.
Security Retrofits for Schools
Board members unanimously approved a request by Lewis to exempt the district from competitive bidding requirements normally employed in engaging contractors as the district
prepares to launch its Schools Safety and Security Upgrade Project.
Lewis asked the board to approve a Request for Proposal (RFP) method of selecting a contractor, which, he said in a written proposal, could mean one or more contractors, depending on the district’s needs.
The Upgrade Project will include exterior door access controls, mass notification and communication systems, and expanded video surveillance, according to a proposal Lewis provided the board. It would focus on upgrades rather than replacements, he said.
Lewis said using the RFP process would save the district money because it would encompass more than just dollar amounts.
“We’re retrofitting 1950s and ‘60s schools with modern security technology,” Lewis said. “The complexity of this project, the need for seamless integration, and the requirement for minimal disruption to school operations, makes the traditional low-bid process less suitable. And when I say ‘less suitable,’ I’m talking more expensive.”
He said that the age of the facilities increases the likelihood that changeovers – variations to plans that were used in calculating bid amounts – which often add significant costs to building projects as contractors have to solve problems that arise.
“There are many unforeseen challenges that will require changeovers,” Lewis said, citing the example of trying to retrofit a door installed in the 1950s. “I would rather have five changeovers than 50.”
In his written proposal, Lewis said the alternative method would provide the ability to “address complexities, enhance cost control and reduce risk to the district.
“Let’s get the contractor on board and go through it with him, addressing the needs of the district,” he told board members, noting that the decision in choosing a contractor would be “based on all factors, not just dollars.”
“We’re trying to make this as competitive as possible. This just protects the district due to the complexity of the project.”
Welcome Center Report
Sandi Cox, who directs the district’s Welcome Center, gave board members a presentation on the department, which last year assisted 922 students with a wide variety of needs ranging from homelessness to assistance with sports or academic fees.
This year’s total, roughly two-thirds of the way through the school year, is 678, Cox reported.
Welcome Center staff members Julie Campbell, Stephanie Herb, Mindy Hoeckle, Keely Lane, Julie Miller and Yesenia Rodriguez, are commonly known as “Magic Workers,” provide food and clothing and other necessities, case coordination, community connections, and advocacy, as well as serving as a crisis response team, she said.
They serve students in need, Latino students, students considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento act, and who need comprehensive case management.
McKinney-Vento students, which numbered 285 last year and are up to 196 so far this year, are those sharing housing with family or friends; who live in a hotel/motel, a camping situation or an RV, or in a shelter; in substandard housing that may lack water, heat or power, or a building not designed for sleeping; migratory families; and those not in physical custody of a parent or legal guardian.
Cox noted that anyone can refer a student from the Welcome Center page located on the district’s website or, for staff, through a link in the district shortcuts folder.
She said twice a month a Youth Services Team of representatives from various organizations serving youth works collaboratively to provide services and reduce barriers to allow families to access “creative solutions.”
The team holds a variety of events during the year, including: a school supplies and backpack drive for 400 students this year; kindergarten health screening (148 students); a coat drive (365 students) donated by Entek; Thanksgiving food baskets for 218 families, prepared by Entek and local churches; lining up some 50 sponsors who provide holiday gifts that went to 194 youths; and conducting a Sources of Strength Wellness Fair, put on by more than 80 different organizations, which drew more than 400 people.
Some 20 local companies and organizations have partnered with the Welcome Center to make it all happen, Cox said.
“We really couldn’t provide for our families without these people,” she said. “I know this community is known as the “Town that Friendliness Built” and I think that is really shown by our department.
Restraint/Seclusion Report
Board members heard a report from Meckley on the number of incidents involving special education students the district has experienced in recent years. Meckley reported that five students required restraint in the 2023-24 school year, and four required seclusions – a decrease from the previous year, in which five required restraints and 40 seclusions, the latter number which Meckley said was primarily due to one student, and significantly less than 2017-18, in which there were 51 restraints and 19 seclusion situations.
Class Size/Case Load Report
Meckley delivered a report to the board on class sizes and case management loads for special education and speech pathology personnel, which is a requirement of the collective bargaining agreement with the district’s licensed staff.
The biannual report, to be presented to the board and the president of the teachers union in October and February of each year, is required to include the actual student-to-teacher class sizes ratios, and the case management of specialists.
If School Board members determine that the class size recommendations cannot be met for reasons beyond their control, then the superintendent must meet with union leaders to discuss and problem-solve.
In a written memo to the board, Meckley listed strategies that are being used to “support teachers that have classes above the recommended cap.”
Those strategies largely consist of extra prep time and instructional assistant support for teachers at the grade schools and middle school, extra supports and paperwork days for speech language pathologists and special education teachers, and schedule changes to balance class size issues at the high school.
Meckley reported that, among the elementary schools, the biggest challenges are four classes that are at or over the recommended cap at Hamilton Creek and Lacomb, and three (all third-grade classes) over the cap at Riverview. Caps are 24 or more students for grades K-3, and 26 or more for 4-5.
“We have some pockets,” Meckley acknowledged.
At Seven Oak Middle School, 30 classes are at or over the 30-or-more student cap, and 14 are at the high school, where the cap is 32 or more students. At both the high school and middle school, physical education classes are the biggest single category in which caps are exceeded.
Special education and speech class sizes, which have lower caps, were in excess at Cascades, Green Acres, Riverview, Hamilton Creek/Lacomb, Seven Oak and the high school.
Counselors at Riverview and Seven Oak were over their caps.
Meckley said the large classes at the middle school tend to be elective and health classes, and district leaders anticipated last fall that there might be larger numbers than desired in some of those classes.
Board Chair Tom Oliver said Hamilton Creek appeared to him to be the biggest trouble spot.
Meckley said the principals and teachers at Hamilton Creek and Lacomb have to decide whether to combine grades or keep classes to one grade.
Oliver noted that, due to open enrollment policy changes, numbers at Hamilton Creek, where open enrollment has swelled the student population, “may be reduced over time, now that the policy has been changed.”
She said it is challenging to recruit special education teachers and noted that special education numbers may always be over the cap.
Oliver said that other districts are experiencing similar challenges.
District Operations Report
Lewis told the board that the district applied in January for its second seismic rehabilitation grant program and will learn in May whether it will receive more funds, which would go to work focused on the main gym area at Seven Oak Middle School.
The district has completed a $2.4 million seismic retrofit to the LHS main gym with funds from the first grant it was awarded. The upgrade funds helped pay for a new roof, windows and HVAC system upgrades, he said.
Lewis said work on the warehouse is almost complete and a fire hydrant was installed in early February.
Lewis also told board members that schools are battling a new Oregon law that bans the sale of fluorescent lightbulbs as of Jan. 1 of this year. He said he intends to testify in Salem in favor of a bill proposed in the state House, HB2307, which would exempt until Jan. 2, 2030, lamps purchased by a school district from the prohibition on the sale of certain fluorescent lamps.
“As you can imagine, this is a significant change for all school districts in Oregon,” Lewis said, adding that Lebanon schools currently use fluorescent bulbs and that the necessary retrofits would be costly – and the state is not providing funding for such a change.
“These simple bulb replacements are not a long-term solution for any school district,” Lewis said. “Over time, the district light fixtures will need to be replaced by a licensed electrician to support the new LED light infrastructure. This change impacts thousands and thousands of lights across the district.”
Oliver acknowledged that “it’s a big lift to replace those,” but suggested that the investment might pay off quickly in reduced power costs. “We have been very spoiled by cheap electricity in the Northwest for a long time,” he said. “That’s changing, due to a variety of factors. Pressure on wildfire mitigation and other factors are going to drive rates.”
Lewis agreed that there would be benefits to using LED, but “the issue is not whether it was a good idea. “The issue was the crazy timeline that was put on this.”
In other action, the board:
♦ Unanimously approved a 10-year lease extension with the Lebanon Aquatic District for use of the high school pool. The district owns the pool, which is used by the Aquatic District, which is supported by a levy.
♦ Approved an evaluation process for Meckley,which will include a self-evaluation, an evaluation based on Oregon School Board Association standards, a survey for board members and administrators, and one for all staff members.
Meckley said she would aim to get her self-evaluation by the end of the month.
Board members said they liked the idea of having all the staff take the survey if they wanted to.
♦ Unanimously approved required policy updates. Meckley said concerns voiced by Board Member Clyde Rood in the January meeting had yet to be fully worked out, so she suggested that the board approve the policies, which is a legal requirement, and then could discuss those items later.
Meckley announced January’s Apple Award winners, who were: Nancy (Webb) Whaley, dean of students at Hamilton Creek; Mark Smith, who leads the Jr. ROTC program at the high school; and Grace Rieke, a first-grade teacher at Riverview.
Apple Award winners “exemplify the dedication, passion and commitment that make our schools exceptional,” she said.