Washington Schools preliminary enrollment counts show small increase in numbers

WASHINGTON - At the Sept. 11 Washington Community School District School Board meeting, Superintendent Willie Stone informed school board members that preliminary enrollment numbers showed the district had an increase of 2 students.

Superintendent Stone reported that initial enrollment projections in the district indicated a loss of 20 students but that the district had instead seen a small increase. Stone stressed that the numbers did not include open enrollment numbers and were not final but that the school district was looking at a tentative 1,630 students in their buildings.

According to numbers Stone reported during the meeting, the district had a particularly large incoming Kindergarten class with 145 students, which was only second in class size to the senior class with 155 students. Final district student counts will not be available until October.

At the meeting, school board members also approved a bid for two new propane powered school buses to replace ones that had been rendered inoperable. The district received bids from School Bus Sales Co., Hoglund Bus and Truck and Thomas Bus Sales of Iowa. Superintendent Stone recommended the board approve of School Bus Sales Co.'s bid, which was for $116,562, because the company's bid fit the specifications of the school's needs the closest, despite School Bus Sales Co.'s bid being $87 dollars higher than Thomas Bus Sales of Iowa. One of the buses will be used for regular school routes while the other will be used as an activity bus with a fiberglass storage compartment. Thomas Bus Sales entered a bid for a steel storage compartment, which did not meet the district's preferred standards. The new buses from School Bus Sales Co. are expected to be delivered in 125 days in mid-January or February of 2020 at the latest.

The school board also took time to recognize the district's retirees and reviewed a curriculum report on the district's Extended Learning Program headed by Veta Thode, a program for gifted and advanced students. Faculty present at the meeting mentioned activities provided by the program including college visits, coding classes and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics projects.