Doing His Homework Principal Dennis Olson Has Been Answering All Kinds Of Questions About New Liberty Lake Elementary

Dennis Olson, principal of the new Liberty Lake Elementary School, has been introducing himself around.

That means more than 300 parents, so far, one full living room at a time. One evening this week, he made his 17th home visit this year, talking with a dozen or so parents about the school.

“We will be the home of the Patriots - that’s as of today,” Olson announced. “And our school colors will be red, white and blue.”

Olson talked numbers: 58,440 square feet, the largest school in Central Valley School District; a 3,800-square-foot cafeteria and performing arts area; and a 5,600-square-foot full-size gym. And here’s a good number: Construction is $400,000 under budget, on a project expected to cost $9,697,000, total.

He talked computers. “The computers are all Hewlett Packard machines, and not just because they’re two blocks north of us.”

Some of the technology is new to Valley schools. The school will be able to broadcast one classroom’s performance to every other classroom in the school. It will also be able to broadcast footage of class activities to the home of a student who’s going to be out of class for some length of time for, say, medical reasons.

As Olson explained how the architects designed two performing arts areas into the cafeteria and how attractive the lighting will be, Mary Lee Linton, a parent, said, “I was just elated to hear there was a cafeteria.”

“So were the teachers,” Olson quipped. “We worked today for two hours on cafeteria behavior rules.”

Olson fielded plenty of questions from parents.

The first had to do with enrollment.

“How are your numbers?” one mom asked.

Olson knew that one was coming.

The school has enrolled 510 students. It’s built to hold 600. A surprising number of kindergarten students has boosted the enrollment about 150 students higher than the earliest projections.

Olson has had to turn away families who want to bring their first-, second- and third-graders in from other schools.

“We’re not building the Spokane County Elementary. We’re building Liberty Lake Elementary,” Olson tells them.

One mom asked questions about the transition her child could expect coming from a parochial school.

She’s not alone in making that transition. Olson said more than 50 students now enrolled are coming from various private and parochial schools.

What about volunteering, some parents wanted to know.

“We welcome you as volunteers,” Olson said. For all sorts of things. Between 20,000 and 25,000 volumes of books will find the right place on the right shelf - in part thanks to parent volunteers, Olson hopes.

What about student body elections? When will they be held? Those questions came from Chelsea Pearce, a poised fifth-grader with green-painted toenails, whose parents hosted the meeting.

Olson wasted no time, asking what office she might be interested in. Elections will be no later than Oct. 1, he said.

What about discipline, asked Ken Busch, a parent.

“Thank you. Now we’re getting to the good questions,” Olson said.

He talked about the three things that the school will take very seriously - disrespect for authority, bringing weapons on campus or preplanned fights.

“I am a very firm disciplinarian, but a fair one,” Olson said.

And he spoke of the balance he intends to bring to those issues.

“I love your children. I haven’t met them all yet, but I love them.”