School Board happy with stadium agreement

“The phones are already ringing, and there is great interest in its use,” Enumclaw School District business director Tim Madden told the Enumclaw School Board after they signed off on the 25-year lease agreement with the city for management of the stadium at Pete’s Pool. The city and school district have been negotiating the lease since May. The city council finally gave it the nod at its Oct. 10 meeting with the mayor signing off on it that same day. The school board OK’d the agreement at its Oct. 17 meeting and Superintendent Mike Nelson inked it the next day. At the board meeting, Nelson, Madden and board members praised the city and Your Enumclaw Area Stadium (YEAS) committee for the magnificent facility. “It is an incredible accomplishment during these tough economic times,” Nelson said.

“The phones are already ringing, and there is great interest in its use,” Enumclaw School District business director Tim Madden told the Enumclaw School Board after they signed off on the 25-year lease agreement with the city for management of the stadium at Pete’s Pool.

The city and school district have been negotiating the lease since May. The city council finally gave it the nod at its Oct. 10 meeting with the mayor signing off on it that same day.

The school board OK’d the agreement at its Oct. 17 meeting and Superintendent Mike Nelson inked it the next day.

At the board meeting, Nelson, Madden and board members praised the city and Your Enumclaw Area Stadium (YEAS) committee for the magnificent facility.

“It is an incredible accomplishment during these tough economic times,” Nelson said.

Under the agreement, the district will oversee scheduling, fees and fee collection, as well as take over maintenance and utilities of the field and stadium only, not the fieldhouse.

During the meeting, the district also approved a fee schedule for the site.

A facility fee schedule already exists in the district, the stadium will be an addition.

District school groups will rent at no charge.

The other three categories are child related or other government agencies, nonprofit groups and commercial enterprises.

In the agreement, the city has the stadium reserved for nine days in July for Creation Fest, the week-long Christian concert series the city signed a 10-year agreement with earlier this year.

Board President and YEAS member Chris VanHoof noted YEAS will continue on Phase 2, the grandstand.

“We’re not satisfied with just the field,” VanHoof said.

In other business, the board:

• spent a few minutes as Nelson and Terry Parker, district curriculum and assessment director, explained the district’s work with the University of Washington’s Center for Educational Leadership.

Nelson called it the art of teaching in a scientific base, while Parker said, “It’s a powerful addition to the work we’ve been doing.”

The program, first brought to administrators and now being presented to teachers, is a teaching and learning framework grounded in what leaders know about how people learn. The pair presented five dimensions of teaching and learning: purpose, curriculum and pedagogy; student engagement; assessment for student learning and classroom environment and culture.

Parker said at the building level across the district leaders are seeing conversations behind a single teaching philosophy, familiarity with the five dimensions, and the best of instructional practices happening in classrooms.

“We believe the CEL framework is the best,” Parker said. “It’s closest to our philosophy.”

• accepted a $6,000 donation from Firewall Capital Management to the special education program from the 5K run for Down Syndrome; $520 donation Catholic Health Initiative for Rachel’s Challenge at the Health Summit; $5,000 donation from Helac to the district’s sixth-grade camp program; and a donation of a Gantry hoist, valued at $3,000, from KenMar Farms to the Enumclaw High School agriculture science department.

• accepted resignations from Thunder Mountain Middle School paraeducator Kelly Lanphere, bus driver Carla Miller and district office secretary Debora Kern.

• approved leave requests for EHS custodian Anne Parrick and bus driver Jerry Clasby.

• added an assignment to TMMS paraeducator Kristin Young.

• rehired Southwood Elementary assistant secretary Kathy Corella.

• changed Jan James from Enumclaw Middle School health room to paraeducator.

• hired EMS paraeducator Carol Holtz.

• accepted the retirement of bus driver Grant Rehor.