School Board seeks Business Manager and Board Member

Orcas Island School District Superintendent Barbara Kline is forming a committee with the business office staff, Elementary Principal Kyle Freeman and a Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) member to meet with candidates for a new District Business Manager.

The District Business Manager will succeed Ben Thomas, who as functioned as the OISD Business Manager since the fall of 2006. Thomas is paid through the Educational Services District 189, and also supports the Friday Harbor School District. Currently, Thomas is contracted to work for the OISD for 1.5 days per week.

The OISD School Board had considered sharing the position of Business Manager with the San Juan Island School District, but they weren’t interested in that idea, and so the position is expected to take up .6 FTE

At the OISD Board meeting on March 31, President Scott Lancaster described the Business Manager’s position as one of “financial oversight for schools within the district,” providing the school business office with training in the “finance curriculum…. filtered through OSPI [Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction].

Lancaster said that, before Thomas was financial manager, there was “no reserve and no business manager…. no one would work for [OISD]. The Educational Services District  offered their services two days a week, to get us back on our financial legs.”

While that goal has demonstrably been accomplished, the board hopes to employ a local Business Manager that will cut travel expenses. An island Business Manager will also be able to consult with district staff on day-to-day issues

“We felt it was more prudent for the district and taxpayers to have someone local; in the long run it’s saving money,” Lancaster said.

The District will still have an annual contract with ESD 189 to provide oversight, and Thomas is preparing a list of items within the Orcas school district that the ESD would like to continue to maintain that oversight.

The board noted that Thomas spends about 10-11 days each fall preparing year-end close documents. They also said that State audits, which are supposed to be conducted every two years, have in recent years occurred annually at a cost of $20,000 per year to the district.

Interviews for candidates for the new Business Manager are scheduled for April 19, so that Superintendent Kline can make recommendations to the School Board at their next regular meeting on April 22.

New School Board Director Sought

Members of the public are asked to submit their applications for membership on the Orcas Island School District (OISD) Board of Directors, to fill the vacancy created by Keith Whitaker’s resignation.

Whitaker resigned and the OISD Board accepted his resignation on March 31. He cited personal reasons for resigning, and later explained that he plans to apply for the position of OISD Business Manager.

The District will accept applications until Friday, April 23. Board interviews with qualified candidates are planned for May 3; with a Special Meeting by the OISD Board on May 12 to select a Board Director to replace Whitaker.

The position is an open position that can be held by any Orcas Island resident. Applications are available at the District Office on the Eastsound campus.