TONASKET – On Wednesday, Feb. 26, Tonasket School Board held their regular board meeting and discussed a range of topics.

The Board of Directors approved all items on the Consent Agenda which includes the board meeting minutes from January, general fund warrants, special AP run, personnel, spring extracurricular offers of employment 24/25 and a list of surplus items.

Tonasket High School ASB Board Representative Abran Guzman gave a report to the board. “We had a very eventful weekend with the wrestling state championship. We had two champs,” said Guzman.

Guzman said spring sports will begin on Monday, March 3. Already, 220 students have signed up to participate. He continued on to update board members on upcoming ASB events.

During the meeting, Business Manager Bobbi Catone provided an update on the district’s financial status as of Jan. 31. With 42 percent of the fiscal year elapsed, revenues have reached $7,353,636, accounting for 31.1 percent of the annual budget.

Meanwhile, expenditures, excluding encumbrances, stand at $8,628.073, which is 39.8 percent of the annual budget. The ending fund balance currently falls short of meeting the district’s minimum fund balance policy, set at five percent of estimated expenditures. Specific allocations include $52,226 reserved for carryover, $4,969 for FS carryover, $1,870 for inventory, $300,000 assigned to other purposes, and an unreserved unassigned fund balance showing a deficit of $365,718, with $1,006,000 set aside for the unassigned minimum fund.

In other financial updates, the Capital Projects Fund, Debt Service Fund, Associated Student Body Fund and Transportation Vehicle Fund are all operating as expected with no significant changes reported, according to Catone.

Catone reviewed the district’s three-year average cash balance.

“The redline is current, which is about approximately $500,000 less than the three-year average. Not concerned. We are being very mindful at this point,” said Catone.

Catone said the district is at approximately $75,000 less than this time last year. She said expenditures are monitored to maintain the fund balance. It is something being watched weekly.

The high school, middle school and elementary school principals gave their verbal reports to the board.

The board discussed the Highly Capable Plan goals which include Gifted Learners needing a faster pace and an opportunity to explore concepts at a deeper level than is offered through the standard curriculum. They also need interaction with their intellectual peers. With this in mind, the learner-focused goals of the Tonasket School District Highly Capable Program are to identify students who have high intellectual, academic, and creative thinking ability; provide differentiated instruction appropriate to the needs of gifted learners; place students among their intellectual peer group; maintain a high level of engagement in education programming K-12; develop in students a sense of self, lifelong learning, quality production; and critical/creative thinking abilities.

Additional goals to support a strong program include: to engage in ongoing evaluation of students’ progress and placement; provide appropriate professional development opportunities to maximize teaching effectiveness in differentiating for the academic and social/emotional needs of gifted learners; and engage in ongoing program evaluation and revision.

“Our current numbers are 47 district-wide,” said Kristi Krieg.

This includes 15 students from the elementary and 32 students in 6-12.

Board member Jennifer Wilson moved to approve the Highly Capable Plan. The motion was approved unanimously by the board. Also approved unanimously was the Tonasket Concurrent (Dual) Sports Proposal.

Typically, the board will meet the last Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for March 26 at the new meeting time of 6 p.m.