The newly constituted Sweet Home School Board got rolling Monday, July 14, with the swearing-in of five newly elected members and the election of new board officers.
Sworn in were Dustin Nichol for Position 1 (Holley), Amanda Carter for Position 2 (Liberty), Rachel Maynard for Position 5 (At Large), Mike Adams for Position 7 (At Large) and Erin Barstad for Position 8 (At Large).
Carter and Adams were re-elected, Carter running unopposed and Adams defeating challenger Robert Egner for the seat.
No candidates filed for the Holley seat in the May 20 election, but Nichol was the top vote-getter out of 280 write-in votes for 85 individuals, finishing with 87, ahead of former board member David Kem.
Barstad and Maynard are newcomers to the board, Barstad defeating Matthew Bechtel for the Zone 8 seat.
Maynard and Carter were not present at the meeting, but Maynard participated remotely, as did Massey.
Floyd Neuschwander, who occupies the Cascadia seat, was elected board chair after a nomination by Mary Massey (Foster) and a second from Maynard.
Neuschwander, who has been a board member since 2023, received votes from Massey, Maynard, Barstad and Jenna Northern (Crawfordsville).
Voting no were Keene, who nominated Adams for chair, Adams and Nichol.
Adams was elected vice chair and Massey secretary, both unanimously.
In other action, the board approved a list of what Neuschwander described as “boilerplate stuff” for the new members, noting that most of the firms have served the district for years.
Those were mostly decisions to renew agreements with various firms that advise the district in legal and other matters for the 2025-26 fiscal year. They included:
Designating Supt. Terry Martin as Chief Administrative Officer, District Clerk; Hearings Officer, and as the district’s signature authority on all state and federal grants;
Designating Business Manager Kevin Strong as the district’s deputy clerk, custodian of funds and budget officer;
Authorizing Martin and Strong to handle district funds;
- Designating the Local Government Investment Pool and Key Bank as depositories for district funds;
- Designating Pauly Rogers and Co. of Portland as the district’s auditors of record;
- Designate Brown & Brown of Portland as the district’s insurance agent of record;
- Designating the Hungerford Law Firm of Oregon City, which specializes in educational law, as attorney of record;
- Authorizing cooperative purchasing agreements with other local education agencies, county, state, and federal agencies;
- Authorizing the School Board members to serve as the district’s Local Public Contract Review Board; and
- Approving the retention of Portland-based food services supplier Sysco to provide the district with food products and non-food supplies for the upcoming school year.
Martin reported that district staffing is nearly complete – down to one vacancy, a Title 1 position at Foster, that he said would be filled soon.
“We are anticipating a very small kindergarten class coming in,” he told board members, adding that there are 64 children registered, though “that will change as we come into the school year,” he predicted.
For reference, Martin reported in September 2024 that the district had 148 kindergarteners.
“We have been anticipating smaller numbers with the birth rate and such, and it looks like that’s arrived,” he said at the July 14 meeting.
In response to a question from Adams, Martin said the schools will move from two kindergarten classes to one next year.
Long Range Planning
Strong said the district will begin working on a Long Range Facility Plan that will focus on the needs over the next 10 years, and he invited board members to participate.
He noted that over the past decade “we’ve made some significant facility improvements while the overall tax rate has decreased.”
“We’re at a place right now where we would like to begin the planning process for the next 10 years,” he said, adding that community members, staff and students will be involved, as well as up to four board members.
The process will include several evening meetings, probably starting in August, and possibly tours of other schools during the day “to learn what they’re doing.”
“It’s gathering ideas and coming back and kind of prioritizing what you like and work with an architect, then, to maybe come up with some plans.”
“Really, the goal is to position our facilities well for the next 75 years or more,” he said. “The purpose of the committee is to come back to the board with recommendations, so you all will have the opportunity, then, before anything is finalized.”
He said board members got first shot at joining the committee.
Josh Darwood, maintenance supervisor for the district, told the board that “We’re at a real pivotable point in the district right now.”
“We’ve been improving a lot and there are a lot more improvements that we want to do. So I really encourage you guys to get involved.
“The more you guys get involved, the better.”
Massey, Keene, Maynard and Barstad all volunteered.
Board members later unanimously approved the hiring of GLAS Architects of Eugene to conduct a comprehensive facility assessment and update the district’s Long-Range Facility Plan.
Strong said the work will be paid for by two grants totalling $80,000 and that GLAS, a firm “with a long history” of working with the district, scored the highest of five bidders for the project.
In other action, the board:
- Accepted the retirement of Angie Yon, special education teacher at the Junior High, with the contingency to be placed on a post-retirement agreement for the 2025-26 school year.
- After some discussion of alternatives, agreed to continue holding board meetings at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month.