Observer Corps notes on school board meeting, hospital district and the port meetings
Published 1:30 am Monday, November 7, 2022
Submitted by the League of Women Voters of San Juan Island Observer Corps.
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization encourages informed participation in government. The Observer Corps attends and takes notes at government meetings to expand public understanding of public policy and decisions. The notes do not necessarily reflect the views of the League or its members.
Friday Harbor Port Commission meeting of Oct. 26
The commission approved two grant applications to WSDOT for solar panels and a transformer for electric aircraft charging. There is limited funding; it will be competitive. Electric small aircraft, especially in sizes that come to islands are in production and will be appearing in the future. They may help abate aircraft noise.
The commission approved the Greenhouse Gas Policy. Targets will be added after the energy assessment survey is completed.
The proposed new McCutcheon Hangar Lease will be revised in line with the new Lease Policy that is near completion.
Budget Review: After three quarters the 2022 Budget is mostly on target with capital project expenditure varying by permitting and supply availability. In Operations, revenue is running a bit ahead of projection.
For the draft 2023 budget, in Operations, revenue is conservatively projected at about $5.3 million and expenditures at $4.4 million, with the surplus going to the record $7 million capital budget of which about 80% is covered by grant funding. The draft budget will be posted on the website with a target for approval at the November 9 meeting with public comment and discussion.
The scheduled Oct. 31 joint Port, County, Town meeting may be postponed at Town’s request, but possible topics for the agenda include trails, housing, homelessness, sewage, Warbass traffic, permitting for public projects, barge landings, and water run-off.
Public Hospital District # 1 (PHD) meeting of Oct 26
The Commission approved a grant for Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood, for three month’s training for the Nurse Practitioner hired for the Friday Harbor Planned Parenthood Clinic. Her training will involve travel to Bellingham, and when completed will allow her to operate the Friday Harbor Clinic three days a week plus telemedicine options.
Cynthia Stark-Wickman submitted her report on projects for the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition. The Strengthening Families Program focuses on family skills trainings. She presented 10th-grade data that indicated a downward trend for substance abuse, with alcohol as the primary substance. The Commission approved the half-yearly grant to the Prevention Coalition.
The next EMS newsletter is coming soon. Motorola handheld radios are now in use to address communication gaps.
In continuing education training, the EMS now has a contract with Providence Everett Hospital to provide twice-yearly hands-on intubation training. EMS Medical Director Dr. Joshua Corso reviews all cases. EMS is renewing state certification. Chief Bishop has reached out to the Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department and hopes to have a joint wilderness training with the Fire Department.
Commissioner Leschine-Seitz reported on the Long Term Care Program, which helps disenfranchised patients. She noted more people on Orcas and Lopez have sought help, likely because fewer medical services are available there. Funding is via a grant that ends in August 2023; there is no funding from Medicare or Medicaid.
Two Commissioners met with pediatrician Dr. Mark Fishout to discuss youth health care needs, and also met with Jennifer Armstrong, director of the Family Resource Center to discuss the Community Health Care Program. Ms. Armstrong noted that Peace Island Medical Center provided mammograms to 15 women who never had a mammogram before.
Superintendent Butler noted that an Accountability Month is needed to check for gaps in HIPAA and public records training.
The Commission voted to rescind and modify COVID emergency resolutions.
SJI School Board of Oct. 26
A member of the public addressed the School Improvement Plans, urging the Board to discard the current Lucy Calkins curriculum in the K-5 grades for science-based structured reading.
Superintendent’s Report: Superintendent Wood said he wanted to include student representation at the school board meetings and introduced a Junior who was the ASB VP who will attend meetings going forward, and a freshmen representative. The student rep noted this weekend is homecoming.
Superintendents from county schools went to Olympia recently and met with State Superintendant Reykdal about school funding. The meeting was a bit optimistic, as Rekhdal suggested working with state reps to get specific relief on revenue caps for high-cost-of-living areas and possibly islands. Woods will contact Ramel and others.
The Board approved the School Improvements Plans after a discussion about the elementary reading curriculum, which retains Calkins but supplements it with science-based programs Fundations in K-3 and Wilson structured reading. Test scores are now beginning to improve. Woods noted all curriculums have gaps; the key is identifying and filling the gaps for a balanced approach.
In the overview on capital projects, the following had been completed: Griffin Bay roof, tennis courts, CCC carpeting, science flooring, Stuart roof, and gym LED lighting. The gym project will result in electric bill saving of 40% for that building. The Stuart school roof opens the possibility of renting the building out for events.
The science building renovation is on hold due to a lack of contractors. Up next are parking lot paving and football field and track improvements.
Enrollment started the year a bit lower than projected, but 4 new students came on by end of September. The beginning General Fund Balance will be close to the projected $1.6 million.
