Posts made in September, 2013

Kelly and I attended the Lowell School Board Meeting on Monday. The meeting went very well. I was amazed at the professionalism displayed by Walt Hanline (their superintendent), Kay Graham (high school and Lundy principal) and their board members. It was a direct contrast to meetings I have attended under their previous administration. Kelly was also impressed with the meeting and the new direction they are taking. I’m going to do my best to convince other parents that they should start attending this meetings, so they can witness the change that is occurring.

During the meeting it was mentioned that their insurance company has notified them that they have to do something with the back wing at Lundy. It appears that this could be a win/win for both of us. Our occupancy can justify their expenses to fix the building, and it will enable us to be at a location that already has a gym, cafeteria, and outdoor play area.

I received a response from Walt about Lowell’s charter school policy.

My email to Walt and Dennis:

———-

I’ve checked your web site and found the following documents.

• Policy LBE 082806 – http://www2.lowell.k12.or.us/district/policies/Policy%20LBE%20082806.pdf
• Policy LBE AR 112210 – http://www2.lowell.k12.or.us/district/policies/PolicyLBE-AR112210.pdf

Thanks,

———-

Here is his response:

———-

Jake

I am assuming that you have accessed the District Web Site and found the policies you noted.  With this in mind, I would also assume that policies represent the policies of the District and will, by necessity, be the policies that have to be applied in this process.

Walt

———-

All of his assumptions are correct, so we will go forward with the two policies listed in my email being the districts policy for accepting and processing charter school proposals. I’ve cross referenced our proposal and Lowell’s policy. There are two sections that we haven’t already satisfied in our proposal. #3 requires us to explain how our philosophy and mission differ from the district’s current program and philosophy. I looked on Lowell’s web site, but couldn’t find their philosophy and mission. I’ve emailed Walt asking him for their philosophy and mission. The other section is #27. I’m going to start working on adding the requirements listed in #27 to our proposal.

Yesterday Dennis, Walt, Dave, and I toured the unused space in the back wing of Lundy. It’s a lot of space and it doesn’t look that bad. Lowell is currently using it for storage, so almost all of the classrooms are full of school equipment.

Here is a description of the space:

• The girls bathroom has 7 stalls and 4 sinks.
• The boys bathroom has 5 urinals, 3 stalls, and 2 sinks.
• There is a 12′ wide hallway that runs the length of the building.

Proposed Plan

• Lowell School District will be responsible for all exterior and grounds related improvements.
  • Building inspection.
  • Air quality inspection.
  • Heating and ventilation inspection.
  • Put a new roof on the building.
  • Reside the west wing of Lundy with Select Cedarmill 5.250″ HardiPlank.
  • Replace all windows.
  • Paint the west wing of Lundy. Paint color will be picked out by Mountain View Academy.
  • Remove all items that are currently being stored in the west wing.
  • Build a 16′ wide driveway and 50′ X 30′ gravel parking lot in the field north of the Lundy west wing.
  • This driveway needs to have street entrance from E. Main Street.
• Mountain View Academy will be responsible for all interior improvements.
  • Replace missing ceiling tile (I counted less than 10).
  • Repair damage done by roof leaks. I’m not sure if there is any, but I want to make sure this is investigated and addressed.
  • Split the 6 classrooms into 12 – 15′ X 21′ classrooms.
  • Convert bonus spaces into 3 – 21′ X 13′ classrooms.

Building Configuration After MV Academy Changes

After these changes are completed, we would have a capacity of 15 teachers and 225 students. This will make it possible for us to offer our services to all of the K-8th grade children who are considered a resident of the Lowell School District. I’m really excited about this opportunity. I was a little worried that we would have to cap our enrollment and possibly have a lottery if we received more applications than our space could accommodate.

• Yellow – shared outdoor area
• Green – shared library, cafeteria, and gym
• Orange – Academy exclusive use
• Blue – Academy exclusive driveway and parking