TONASKET – Tonasket School Board members extended a contract with the North Central Educational Service District’s (NCESD) External Fiscal Services Department for provision of external business management through Aug. 31, the end of the school fiscal year.

The cost of the extension is $8100 per month. Dave Arp, Fiscal Director with NCESD, said according to the WASA School Information and Research Service’s salary report for 2013/14, an internal business manager’s salary for a school the size of Tonasket would cost an average of $72,000, not including benefits. It was decided to postpone hiring an internal business manager until the end of the fiscal year and after a new school superintendent was hired and brought up to speed on several issues, including budgeting of new funds from the school bond if it passes.

“There is a new budget cycle coming up, and that is very time-consuming,” Arp said. “Transitioning a new superintendent is not a good time to also be transitioning a new business manager.”

Trisha Schock, who serves as the primary External Business Manager for Tonasket School District with NCESD, reported spending a lot of hours renaming account codes and performing 163 salary adjustments over the past week.

“We are getting there, but there is a lot of work to do over the next month or two before we start budget wrap-ups,” Schock said.

Tonasket School District Technician Supervisor Jordan Weddle presented information on Google Docs, which he described as “an improved method of collaboration with all your documents.”

Weddle reported 500 student machines having already been upgraded with the system, which he said includes a new web filter enabled for kids to be safe and better prepared for the future. Weddle said Google Classroom will allow teachers to hand out assignments electronically, with students and teachers able to look at the documents simultaneously.

Once students are able to take Chromebooks home, they can access their assignments that way, and it won’t matter if they don’t have internet access at home,” Weddle said.

In other business, Elementary School Principal Jeremy Clark and Middle School Principal Jay Tyus presented a detailed report on progress made using the Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model, and long-term substitute Corinne Fletcher was approved for an out of endorsement assignment within the school district.