Nancy Merrill was honored with the Washington State School Directors Association Leadership Graduation Certificate at the Enumclaw School Board’s regular meeting Dec. 21.
Merrill, a veteran Enumclaw School Board member, received the certificate and a watch from WSSDA representative Phil Gore.
“It says a lot about Nancy, her school district and its dedication to kids,” Gore told the audience after explaining the lengthy and intense study involved in the program.
“It’s a program by school directors for school directors,” Gore said.
Merrill said the program expanded her personal growth as a leader and school director.
“It really was a great experience,” she said.
Superintendent Mike Nelson presented Merrill with a holiday wreath as a token of the district’s appreciation and thanked her for taking the extra time and putting in the additional hours on behalf of the district’s students.
During the meeting, Merrill also accepted the role as board president, replacing Cathy Dahlquist.
Chris VanHoof, who along with Dahlquist was recently re-elected to the board, will serve as vice president. Dahlquist will take over the role of the board’s legislative representative.
In other business, the board:
• Accepted a donation valued at more than $13,600 for grading and graveling of Enumclaw High School parking areas from Bill Wheeler Construction; an anonymous donation of a refrigerator to the district office, value $818; and a donation of $4,500 from the Kibler Elementary School PTA to Kibler Elementary School to be used for classroom grants.
• Announced Suzanne Lewis will be chairing the Feb. 9 maintenance and operation levy, which would replace the current levy which supplies 19 percent of the district’s budget.
• Heard from Nelson, who pointed out Gov. Chris Gregoire’s recent budget announcement will likely create more than $2 million in lost revenue for the district. He said district leaders are watching the situation closely. “It would be very devastating to us after we cut $2 million last year,” Nelson said.
• Heard from parent Steve Marshall, who along with other neighboring families in the Black Diamond area, have been trying to get a bus stop closer to the area so students are not walking along dangerous roads. He said he’s been working on this project for several years and would like to see a resolution.
• Changed the district’s banking from KeyBank to US Bank to accommodate changes made by King County.
• Added hours to paraeducator Heather Boren’s day at Kibler Elementary.
• Accepted the retirement of Westwood Elementary School paraeducator Judy Humphreys.
