The Sequim School District’s board of directors on Monday night considered comments and results of Criminal Mass Casualty incident drill at Sequim Middle School on Sept. 28, with administrator Vince Riccobene saying the drill went well but that there are lessons to be learned for future training.
Riccobene, a former middle school principal now in a roaming administrative role for the school district, gave the presentation along with Sequim Police Department chief Sheri Crain for the presentation.
Riccobene said he and Crain hope that this experience will have Sequim’s authorities better prepared for the 2022 Cascadia Rising drill aimed at better preparedness for “The Big One” earthquake that could hit the region at some point in the future.
Jeffryes joins the board
At the start of the board meeting, superintendent Rob Clark formally swore in Larry Jeffryes to fill the Director District 1 seat that he was selected for at the Sept. 23 board meeting.
Jeffryes fills the position left vacant by the resignation of Robin Henrikson in August.
Jeffryes said during the meeting that he’s been “working hard” to catch up on things that the board is currently working on, and is eager to support the board and district’s efforts.
He abstained from a vote late in the meeting regarding the adoption of changes to a policy on providing a safe and orderly learning environment as he said he “wasn’t familiar enough” with the changes to the document yet, but voted on approving a board procedure adoption he had considered in recent weeks.
Jeffryes is running unopposed for the Director District 1 seat in the Nov. 5 general election.
Other business
• A new fence is being constructed around Helen Haller Elementary School. Following the meeting, Clark said the fence will be aimed at enhancing the long-term security of the school and will not just be a temporary structure due to the Fir Street construction project, and that the district is currently taking bids on the project.
• During his report to the board, Clark noted that he was in the process of putting together a ballot measure to secure additional funding for the district. While he did not go into detail, he did indicate that he wanted to aim for putting the measure on a November 2020 ballot rather than the district’s more traditional February timing to “take advantage of the increased numbers at the polls,” saying that history indicates that election date tends to work out better for school districts to pass funding measures.
• The board heard a report from maintenance and operations supervisor John McAndie, who included a note that efforts to track down issues with the roof at Sequim Middle School are still ongoing, and that staff are starting to look at the ventilation system as a potential part of the problem.
• The board heard a report on transportation operations from transportation supervisor Jeff Gossage, who is retiring at the end of October after 16 years with the Sequim School District.
• After the meeting concluded, the board went into executive session to address a complaint about a district employee. This session was added as a requested change to the agenda during the meeting and had not been previously been announced.
