Othello School Board looks to increase student involvement
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 3 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | December 30, 2020 1:00 AM
OTHELLO — Student involvement with the Othello School Board would be expanded under a proposal discussed by board members at the regular meeting Dec. 16.
Currently, the board has two student representatives, both high school students. Board member Jenn Stevenson said the term of one of the two, Loryn Maples, should end at the end of December. There is an application process, which should have been completed during the board’s first meeting in December, but it wasn’t.
“That’s one of the things we have not been on top of,” Stevenson said.
Maples agreed to stay on, and she and the second student representative, Elise Garza, presented a proposal for revising the job.
Maples and Garza proposed establishing a council, which would have students from fourth grade through high school.
“It would serve as more of an advice panel,” Maples wrote.
Among other things, the student representatives would make presentations on issues of importance to students.
“I think it would be really beneficial,” Garza said. “With a student council, we could get the opinion of more (students), and we could know better about what’s going on.”
Stevenson said it’s something the distinct hasn’t tried. One of the goals is to give more students, including elementary students, a chance to be heard.
“We wanted the elementary to be able to have some kind of a say,” Stevenson said.
The student representatives would be in charge of the council and its deliberations.
Garza said one of the goals is to attract students who wouldn’t normally be interested in student government roles.
“We want a mix of all of our student body,” Stevenson said.
How many students would be on that council is still to be determined. It would meet separately, and the student reps would bring the council’s questions, concerns and recommendations to the board.
Garza said she and Maples were writing a survey that would go out to all students from the fourth grade up, asking them whether they think there is adequate student input, and whether they would be willing to serve on a council.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”
Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.
Othello Community Museum to open April 25
OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.