Submitted by Lopez School District staff
With the August sun setting on the eve of a waning summer, Lopez School is ready for another school year. School begins for grade 1-12 students on Sept. 2. Kindergarten teacher Rebecca Hamilton will be making home visits during the first week, culminating with all kindergarten students and their parents being invited to orientation activities on Friday, Sept. 5. Kindergarten students will start regular school on Sept. 8.
Fall sports seasons have begun, with high school football, soccer, and volleyball teams, as well as middle school volleyball and soccer. The first home game for football will be on Saturday, Sept. 6, with volleyball and soccer hosting their first home matches on Sept. 11 and 13.
Business as usual will be a little unusual for the district this year, as they begin a new approach to business and financial office duties. The district has engaged a team from the North Central Educational Services District, out of Wenatchee, to perform business manager and other financial services for the district. Rick Bonner, heading up the team from the North Central ESD, will be joined by specialists in other areas of school finance. They will be part of the Lopez District Office team and together they will be providing the financial services that have historically been provided by district staff members who have now left the district. Stephanie Fowler, district office manager/HR, Superintendent Bill Evans, and newly employed Eleanor Burke, district office assistant/AP/purchasing, will work closely with the team from North Central ESD. District officials are excited about the heightened level of accountability and service this new arrangement will provide to the school.
Veteran administrators in new assignments will greet the students on Sept. 2. Brian Auckland will be the interim elementary principal and special services director, replacing Lisa Shelby who has returned to Alaska. Auckland was in the district last school year, doing an internship under Evans. He will assume the interim administrative position for school year 2014-15 and the district will begin the search for a permanent elementary principal in the Spring of 2015. Auckland has been a principal and administrator for 13 years, including 10 years as an elementary principal. He will continue his superintendent internship along with his new job. Dave Sather has recently been named as secondary principal and athletic director, a change from his role as assistant principal last year. Evans has revised his retirement plans and will continue as part-time Superintendent for as long as the district needs him, likely for the full school year.
There will be an international air about the school this year as they host seven foreign students. With students from Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Belgium, and Finland, Lopez students will be provided with significant opportunities for cultural enrichment and learning about other countries.
District officials report projections of a slight growth in student enrollment. This comes as good news as the district continues its growth toward a sustainable and secure financial future. With the help of a broadly representative budget committee last Spring, the district developed an austere, but effective budget for the coming school year. The tough decisions that the district had to make to realize its financial goals, will be reflected positively in the security and sustainability of an increased fund balance and the efficiencies gained by the comprehensive review and adjustments made to district budgets and staffing.
For more info, contact school officials at 468-2202.
