Orcas School to Hire Additional Principal, Director for ALE and Special Ed

— by Margie Doyle —

At its Jan. 28 regular monthly meeting, the Orcas Island School District Board voted unanimously to hire a Principal for the Alternative Learning Experience (ALE-OASIS); and Director for the Special Education Program. The one position will be fulltime, with hours equally divided between the two positions.

Superintendent Eric Webb introduced the subject, saying that while the district has been “working towards compliance, [we] want our programs to grow and flourish; so that we offer the best special ed program, the best ALE.”

Most recently, supervision of the Special Ed program has been part of the Elementary Principal’s job, but Webb said, “We can’t keep people in that position, the elementary principal needs to focus on school. [The new position] is not one that’s been [funded] in the past, but it is needed… for [duties] like federal programs, specials services, [electronic reporting services like ]CEDARS, Skyward, …that we just don’t have time for.”

OISD Board Member Chris Sutton said, “I want to be clear about the hit [the district’s funding balance] will take in the first year.” While he noted that the new position will bring in more safety net money that is being lost due to lack of oversight, Sutton pointed out that funding the additional administrator will be “getting rid of a potential cushion to even out the RIFs” (reduction in force, the contracted staff layoffs that often occur with annual projections).

School board member Greg White spoke of the increased numbers of students in Special Education. “Now, it’s up to 18%. There are a lot of those kids with big needs; it’s become a big part of our school and the country. I think a special ed director is a big job, as is the elementary principal. We really have to address this.”

Business Manager Keith Whitaker had reported that the OISD fund balance is at a healthy 5.7% of its $10M general fund budget or over $550,000 as of Dec. 31, 2015 (in comparison to the previous year fund balance of less than $250,000 at the same time). “Our general fund ending balance remains strong,” Whitaker said.

The board of directors, minus Scott Lancaster who was not in attendance, then voted unanimously to open a position for a K-12 OASIS Principal, and a Special Education Director, beginning July 2016. The approximate annual cost to the district, including a 33% benefit allocation, is $123,500.