The Wrangell School Board held a meeting on Monday, Jan. 21, to meet with the district’s new maintenance director.
Josh Blatchley came before the board to introduce himself, and to relate to the board some of the things he feels need attention, in regard to school maintenance. In general, he said, all of the buildings in the Wrangell School District are old, but are fairly sturdy. There are roofs that need patching in some places, but are generally in good shape. Heating and air conditioning in all the buildings are in good shape, as well.
Some spots that could do with some renovation, he said, are the sidewalks by the elementary school, and the brick wall of the high school, facing Reid Street. The doors in the school buildings were also aging, he added. Blatchley said that there wasn’t a door that wasn’t under 30 years old. They open, close, and lock, he said, but replacing them is something the board should consider one day soon.
During the meeting, the school board approved the first and second readings of various new policies. Among these include a policy covering administrative staff organization, lines of responsibility among the school organization, and the duties of the superintendent.
One policy caused a bit of discussion, BP-7133. This was a first reading of the policy, which covers the need for and responsibilities of various standing committees. These committees help the school district in areas of policy making, budgeting, and organizing a curriculum for students. There was also a portion of the policy stating that members of the school board could be members of these committees, but could not chair them. The board explained that the purpose of this section of the policy was to help avoid any negative perceptions from the public. It could potentially look bad if a board member was chair of a committee, and also got to vote as a member of the school board on the policies that committee helped craft.
Annya Ritchie, a board member, felt that this part of the policy was
not good. She said she understood excluding board members from chairing ad hoc committees, but standing committees seemed like something that a board member should have the opportunity to hold a chair position on. She said that she and other board members had been elected to handle things like policies, budgeting, and curriculum. To have these committees do the work and not be a co-chair, at the very least, felt like they were passing off their responsibilities. There was further discussion amongst the board. In the end, they voted to approve of the reading of this policy, but agreed to rework it and bring it back for a second reading next meeting.
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