School board talks auditorium remodel

The Washington School Board discussed fundraiser efforts for the 1918 building at its meeting Thursday night. Washington Junior High School administrative manager Aaron Six stressed that the district needs to expand its base of donors beyond current residents of Washington. He said the district should seek donations from alumni.

?My Class of 1993 has never been contacted to support the district,? he said. ?Everything the school has done has been from local support. We tap into the same supporters again and again.?

Six said that social networking sites could be used to reach out to alumni for financial support. He said the Washington alumni group on Facebook has over 400 members and that other Washington-themed groups have over 700 members.

?Those are people who may not be living in the district but who still have a strong tie to the district,? he said.

One of the projects Six talked about was remodeling the auditorium in the 1918 building and specifically putting in new seats. There are currently about 500 seats in the auditorium. He said one way to pay for new seats would be to sell name plates on each one.

?We?d also look at having a donor board by the gymnasium, similar to that in the wrestling room,? he said.

Six said he has spoken to coaches and teachers and some of them have told him that former athletic teams may be interested in donating. Six said he doesn?t want the fundraising to stop with the auditorium. He?d like the fundraising efforts to be ongoing and extend to other projects that come up in the future.

Washington schools business manager Jeff Dieleman said the school can?t raise funds and keep them ?for a rainy day.? He said if Six wanted to do an ongoing, general fundraiser, he would have to go through the foundation.

Board member Heidi Vittetoe wondered if raising money for the 1918 building would negatively affect other fundraising efforts.

?This is an opportunity for people to give their money to the school,? she said. ?Will this have any negative effects on the booster club or other fundraisers in such a way that it does any harm to other programs??

Board member Troy Suchan said he didn?t think the fundraising efforts for the 1918 building would detract from other fundraisers. Board member Patty Roe said she wouldn?t worry about diverting money from other fundraisers because there are so many potential donors who are ?untapped.?

Vittetoe also asked about what would happen if the district received pledges for only 250 of the seats in the auditorium.

?What?s the procedure?? she asked. ?Do we sit on your money or do we take your money and use it for something else. Do we say, ?We could use that money to get two more classrooms done instead???

Dieleman said if donors give money specifically for an auditorium, the school district has to use the money for the auditorium.

?You can?t bait and switch your donors,? he said.

Vittetoe said that, as a project evolves, sometimes the needs of the project change. Dieleman said if the district does not receive enough money to complete the auditorium remodel, it could contact the donors to see if the school could use their money for another project.

Suchan said he has heard grumblings from junior high staff about moving into the 1918 building because they will be without the technology they?ve become accustomed to at the junior high. He said making improvements to the 1918 building would be much appreciated by the faculty.

The board also heard a proposal from researchers at the University of Iowa who wanted to include Washington children in a study of asthma. Patrick O?Shaughnessy, professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, and research associate Ralph Altmaier said they would like to do a study on what environmental phenomena could trigger asthma attacks or other respiratory problems in children.

O?Shaughnessy said the children would carry around a diary to record when they had attacks and where they were. He showed them an electronic device that the children could carry on their person that would measure pollen, aerosols and other substances in the air and which could be fitted with GPS. He said the children would be paid to participate in the study.    

Vittetoe said she?s worried the data collected in the study will ?grow legs? and be used to regulate agricultural practices.

Board member Stephanie Ellingson said she wanted to postpone the tentative approval of the study until the Feb. 9 meeting. She said she didn?t think anyone would object to the study but in the event there were someone who objected they would have a chance to speak on the issue at the next meeting. The board agreed to take up the matter at the Feb. 9 meeting.