School Districts Pick New Chairs

Sat., Dec. 16, 2000

By Marny Lombard marnyl@spokesman.com (509) 927-2166

Most school boards across the Spokane Valley selected new chairmen this week.

Ten-year board member Kay Bryant will lead the Central Valley School Board. Bryant is manager of classified employees for the Community Colleges of Spokane.

“I think our biggest challenge this year is to listen to the needs of reconfiguration and getting that resolved before we move into two new high schools,” Bryant said.

By reconfiguration, she means the academic, extracurricular and personnel changes involved in resorting the schools into four-year high schools, with middle schools giving up their ninth-graders and taking in sixth-graders.

In East Valley School District, June Sine has been elected chairwoman. Sine is in her ninth year on the school board. High priorities for Sine include a decision on when and whether to ask voters again to pass a technology bond.

“And keeping tabs on our budget. We have to maintain our revenue so we can keep building our programs,” Sine said.

The West Valley School Board has retained Bill Zimmer as its chairman.

“I’m being recycled once more for president,” Zimmer said at Wednesday’s board meeting.

Zimmer said West Valley’s current priority is to bring the district’s graduation requirements into compliance with new state regulations. That process includes the alternative high school programs managed by West Valley, Contract Based Education and the Spokane Valley High School.

Freeman School District will select a new chairman in coming weeks.

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