Four Day Weeks, Food Services and More News for the La Grande School District
By Garrett Christensen on Tuesday, January 17th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – La Grande School District has several projects underway ranging from a proposed transition to a four-day school week to a changeover in food services. In a recent update, Superintendent George Mendoza shared what the district’s been working on behind the scenes as of the last school board meeting.
To begin, Mendoza would like to remind parents, students and community members that it is still board member appreciation month. Those who can are encouraged to reach out to the LGSD’s board members and show their gratitude.
“It’d be nice for people to reach out to our board members and say thank you, shake their hand or give them a high five or do something that honors them. Board members serve our community, they represent our community values, they put in a lot of non-paid time to help make decisions. They look out for the budget, they look out for the goals and the mission and the vision of the school district,” Mendoza noted.
Other smaller updates include the district’s transition to a self-operating food service program, the application of a recent technology grant and the planning of the “BEST Program.” The transition to self-operating food services officially went through at the start of January, with a new food service manager being brought on board to assist in procurement and adherence to USDA standards. The technology grant, worth $162,000 dollars, will be going toward purchasing chrome books Wi-Fi devices. The BEST Program is something of a revamp of the old DARE curriculum but includes more of a focus on “decision making and choices” according to Mendoza.
Funding and future enrollment were also discussed, with concerns being raised as to how long current funds will last with the current 9.3 biennium state school fund. As Mendoza described it:
“We are going through a time of less enrollment of students in schools and then we’re also going through a time where there’s a potential recession. We talked about our budget in the sense that we have twelve staff members that are also under our elementary and secondary school’s relief funds and that the reality is those funds are going to be gone by September of 2024. We really need to advocate for a state school fund that allows us to keep our staff and programs.”
In happier news, the district’s construction program recently received a fifteen-thousand-dollar federal grant in support of their ongoing tiger house project. Materials and permits can be purchased, and a new teacher hired to oversee the project. When completed, the new house, built by students with the support of local contractors, will be marketed to businesses as a place to house new employees that may be considering moving in from out of the area.
From a town house to a town hall, district staff are still in the process of gathering public feedback on the proposed four-day school week. As of now, efforts are primarily focused on informing the public on the pros and cons of the potential switch and how it would impact the district overall. No official decisions have been made and the proposal is still firmly within the research and feedback phase, with Mendoza noting:
“It’s under consideration. It’s not a done deal, it’s something where the board has indicated that they’re ok with us looking into, researching, studying, and better understanding it and then from there potentially making any recommendations. It’s ultimately a board decision, and right now it’s just fact finding, it’s just getting background information, listening and hearing what folks have to say, and then considering that.”
Official decisions are in the works for the proposed middle school multi-use academics center, however. Tentatively referred to as “The Wildcat Center” by Mendoza, though this is not an official name, the new building will offer both academic and physical education spaces for the middle school students. A naming committee has been established and are currently putting together guidelines and processes for a future public naming proposal. Preliminary criteria for the name include names that reflect the structures vision or names of noteworthy or beloved community members.
More information on the La Grande School District can be found at La Grande School District | Home (lagrandesd.org)
