Superintendent seeks mission statement for district

First year issues from budget to leaky roof.

January 18, 2017 1:30 am
Windermere Foundation photo: Jim Donahoe, branch manager of Windermere Ocean Shores presents a check for $3,000 to North Beach School District Supt. Deborah Holcomb. The check is payable to the North Beach School District Emergency Fund. This donation comes from local Windermere brokers contributing to the Windermere Foundation and having those funds directed back to the community. “As a group, our brokers, decided the best place to invest these funds would be for the school kids of our area” stated Donahoe. The grant “will really help our families who are in need,” Holcomb said.
Windermere Foundation photo: Jim Donahoe, branch manager of Windermere Ocean Shores presents a check for $3,000 to North Beach School District Supt. Deborah Holcomb. The check is payable to the North Beach School District Emergency Fund. This donation comes from local Windermere brokers contributing to the Windermere Foundation and having those funds directed back to the community. “As a group, our brokers, decided the best place to invest these funds would be for the school kids of our area” stated Donahoe. The grant “will really help our families who are in need,” Holcomb said.

Nearing the halfway point in the school year, new North Beach School Supt. Deborah Holcomb is finding the job comes with taking care of a leaky roof as well as a tight budget.

She also would like to create a mission statement for the district going foward.

Holcomb and district staff on Jan. 17 participated in work-study session with the North Beach School Board, and later paid special recognition to the board members as part of a statewide proclamation from Gov. Jay Inslee, honoring those who serve their local school boards.

Hired last year to replace the retired Stan Pinnick and Dave Wayman, Holcomb took over the North Beach district after serving in the Highline School District in the Des Moines/Sea-Tac area.

On the budget front, Holcomb said she has asked for a trends history of the fluctuations in enrollment for budget purposes.

“We want to see those ups and downs for each year,” she said. Forecasts for this year were for 654 for the year, which turned out “to be pretty close to the money,” Holcomb said.

The work-study session, she noted, was to look at some policy/governance models for the board, including strategic planning leading to a mission vision for the district along with measurable goals.

Planning sessions will be March 2, from 6-8 p.m.; March 21, from 6-8 p.m.; and April 18 from 5-7 p.m.

“Those will be our first three big meetings to go through a process together with community,” Holcomb said. The sessions will include principals and staff.

Another new move will be to create facilities and curriculum committees.

For the district’s buildings, Holcomb would like a review of past priorities.

“I had to make the decision to make some emergency repairs to the district office over the last three weeks,” she told the board.

The roof at the Ocean City facility was leaking and had to be patched in an emergency $3,000 repair.

“But we’re going to have to look forward with how we’re going to deal with that problem,” Holcomb said.

Board changes

The Board selected new officers, with longtime member Scott Sage elected chair; Doreen Cato is the new vice-chair. As part of the ceremony honoring all the board members, Holcomb said: “In honor of your service, all of us who are sitting here tonight and the rest of the community say thank you for the service you give to our students, our families. It takes great dedication to serve on our board, and we want you to know how much we appreciate what you do.”