Pateros board nixes eighth grade students in high school sports

Eighth graders will not participate in high school sports at Pateros, a decision from the Pateros School Board following a discussion of the possibility at the regular board meeting Monday, Feb. 23.

Athletic director Mike Hull talked about the spring sports schedule and what will be available at the high school level. He also asked about allowing eighth graders to play on high school teams where there was insufficient turnout of high school students to support a team. Board members said they preferred to keep eighth graders on junior high teams. If a high school team has trouble attracting enough participation, other high school students should be encouraged to participate instead, board members said.

In other business, board members approved the 2009-10 school calendar. Because of the way Labor Day falls, the first day of school will be Sept. 1; Christmas vacation will be Dec. 21 to Jan. 4. Spring break will be the week of March 29, 2010, and the last day of school will be June 11. There will be some compensated teacher training days and some early release days for teacher training, but those dates are still to be determined.

Superintendent Lois Davies reported that the a district "leadership team" has been formed, and one of its jobs will be took at ways to save money in light of anticipated cuts in state education funding. The state is facing a substantial budget deficit (about $8 billion) and both the legislature and Governor Christine Gregoire are discussing cuts in education funding.

Levy equalization was among the programs under discussion for cuts, Davies said, but for now it's off the table. Funding for programs under Initiative 728 probably will be cut, she said; I-728 was passed by voters and targets funds to specific school needs, including smaller class sizes, school construction and teacher training, among others. The state also provides additional money to pay for all-day kindergarten and its fate is uncertain, Davies said. Board members will be asked to examine some "worst case funding scenarios" at the March 23 meeting.

Music teacher Jonathan McBride talked about the district's music program and where it's going, including a couple of 10-year projections.

McBride said the school's music program is growing; among other things, musicians will need access to more instruments and additional music. McBride said in his opinion the music library would be the first priority, because most of the music is more than 20 years old and not suited to the existing instruments and skill level. More instruments could be added, of course, but some of them are very expensive and traditionally are purchased by the school district, McBride said. He is soliciting donations of quality musical instruments; anybody with a trombone or trumpet, saxophone, oboe or French horn, or any other instrument, can contact McBride at Pateros school.