schools – All Things Lake Chelan

School district hears program presentations on district activities

By Richard Uhlhorn

The Lake Chelan School District hosted a special guest at its Monday, January 12 school board meeting to present his interest in collaborating with the district to help with its housing needs.

Brad Wilson, superintendent at the Lake Chelan School District has said in the past that it is losing students in the District because of the lack of affordable housing in the area.

Following is Venugopal’s presentation to the school board.

Raja Venugopal’s presentation:

“Although I was raised in modest circumstances, education proved to be my pathway to opportunity and advancement. I firmly believe that every family deserves access to a safe, affordable home and equal opportunities for health and education.

Couple of years ago, I met with the Chelan School Superintendent to better understand the district’s needs. He noted that the shortage of affordable housing in Chelan is impacting staffs and families, ultimately affecting enrollment. Providing housing, particularly affordable housing, remains a central focus of our efforts, and we hope it will help address these challenges.

I appreciate the opportunity to introduce myself to the Chelan School Board of Directors and look forward to collaborating with the district to support the future of Chelan’s schools.”

In other business:
January is School Board Recognition Month. It’s a great time to recognize our elected community members who selflessly give their time and energy in support of high-quality public schooling for our youth. School board members in the Lake Chelan School District are entrusted by this community with responsibility for an annual budget of $24 million, 1273 students, 230 employees and 8 buildings.

School boards are charged with making decisions that can sometimes be quite difficult or require sifting through a great deal of information. They also bear responsibility for developing a vision that will guide the school district for years to come. Through collaboration as a team, and with school district staff, their governance and advocacy are building the future of education in our Chelan community.

This January, we’re encouraging all members of the community to thank a board member. Please thank them for volunteering their time and playing a critical civic role that helps form the bedrock of our democracy—public education. As a crucial bridge between the local community and the school district, their efforts are instrumental in helping all of us realize the hopes and dreams we have for the children of our community.

The dedicated leaders serving the Lake Chelan School Districtand their years of service are: Board Chair Kim Thorpe (6 years), Vice Chair Stephanie Fuller (4 years), Barb Polley (4 years), Christy Nielsen (2 years), Jennifer Puckett (newly elected)

Student Reps: Joslyn Bobadilla-Chavarria, Eva Whiteman, Imani Goings-Marrero.

The Bond failure stats:
The failure of the recent bond issue to replace MOE was a disappointment to the district. Two hundred seventy four (274) more YES votes were needed to reach the 60 percent super majority to pass the issue. Three hundred eight (308) eligible voters did not vote.

The District will be conducting new FOCUS GROUP LISTENING SESSIONS regarding the bond failure and its ongoing planning to improve its facilities.

Our goal is to hear from our community what they did and did not like about the last bond measure and what direction the District should consider to address its facility needs. The listening sessions will be followed up with a community wide survey based on what the District learns from the listening sessions.

The upcoming listening sessions will be held on Thursday, January 22 at the District offices.

The listening sessions will be held Thursday January 22nd at our school district central office at the following times: 8 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

The District can accommodate up to eight people per session. RSVP to schedule your preferred time to:
Phone (509)682-3515 Website chelanschools.org

Email wilsonb@chelanschools.org

FCCLA:
Officers from the FCCLA club presented its activities to the school board. It currently has 15 active members and 35 inactive members.

It’s mission is to help students build confidence in public speaking, teamwork and decision making skills.

Student members will be performing community service at this spring’s Earth Day event and will be attending Regional Competitions and the State Leadership Conference in March.

Migrant Program:
The District’s Migrant Program is in full swing and a detailed presentation was made to the board on its basic tenants.

**Ms. Galvan gave an update on the District’s Migrant Education Program.**

The board was told that the program has a current grant amount of $111,103 and a carryover from last year of $51,896 for total of $162,999 but that the program is facing a lot of uncertainties in the coming year.

Chelan’s Migrant caseload works with 111 migrant students in the district. This includes 44 students at the high school, five at CSI/CDA, 27 at the middle school, 31 at MOE and one in pre-school.

The funding helps staff connect with parents and guardians, connection with resources outside of the school for food, clothing, school supplies, and family resources, home visits and most important, helping these students feel welcomed in the school system.

Migrant students must meet the following criteria:

Ages between 3 and 21
Have not attained a high school diploma or equivalent
Moved due to financial need from one residence to another and from one school district to another.
Made a qualifying move in the previous 36 months, i.e. as a migrant farm worker; migratory fisherman or with a parent/guardian or spouse who is a migrant farm worker or migratory fisherman.

The administrative staff all gave their customary reports on school activities.

THE CANCER WITHIN…

by Richard Uhlhorn

I, along with other members of the local media, was invited to tour Morgan Owens Elementary School (MOE) with Maintenance Director Rosie Burkhard on August 25, 2025.

**Chelan School Superintendent Brad Wilson and Maintenance Director Rosie Burkhard welcomed the local media for a tour of the Morgan Owens Elementary School in August.**

The Lake Chelan School District is asking the voters in its district to pass a $73 million dollar bond issue, primarily to build a new elementary school for its 450± students.

MOE, while structurally sound, was built in 1948 and has major infrastructure issues the district must deal with each year. Last year alone, according to School Superintendent Brad Wilson, the district paid out $97,000 in plumbing and electrical repairs.

THAT IS WHERE THE CANCER COMES IN… Rosie Burkhard was carrying a length of copper pipe and when we came to a bathroom that had been taped off, she explained that section of pipe had a pinhole in it that flooded the ceiling and bathroom which was getting repaired.

**Burkhard explains the issues with the buildings plumbing and electrical systems.**

**Students and teachers are faced with issues like leaking plumbing and electrical HVAC shutdowns on a regular basis.**

Unfortunately, once old copper pipe begins to experience failure, it continues to fail until the system needs total replacement.

We were also invited into a classroom where the teacher was running water in her sink. The water coming out was brown, another serious indication that plumbing failures were right around the corner.

**This is apparently the issue with water within the building. There are only two drinking fountains in the building.**

In addition, the building has no fire sprinkler system or fire suppression system in place. Fire exits are on the main floor, but one classroom has windows high up towards the ceiling as a possible escape route.

The building’s HVAC system would cost the district $5.2 million dollars to replace. “It just shuts down by itself,” said Burkhard. “We are definitely on our last legs here.”

The district is stuck with an aging kitchen system that won’t allow the kitchen staff to do anything beyond basic food services. Despite this, the school serves the majority of students breakfast and lunch, and sometimes snacks in the buildings gymnasium. “We can’t use the gym because it serves as a dining room most of the time,” said Burkhard.

The building has 97 single pane windows that contribute to a major heat loss during the winter months. The cost to replace them is estimated at $2.2 million to replace. Other classrooms have no windows at all.

In addition to aging building issues, at least 250 students have to cross Bradley Street twice a day for PE at the Community Gym. This takes a minimum of 20 minutes of learning time away.

Also, Bradley Street has become a major semi-truck route off Hwy. 97A.

**Hwy. 97 to Bradley Street has become a major semi-truck turn point to navigate Chelan.**

Students in the School of Innovation and Chelan Digital classes are situated in a building across the street from MOE and Pre-School students are also located in a building separated by the elementary school. All of this would, according to District plans, be eliminated with a new school building.

The district wants to replace the 1948 school with a new elementary building that will last well into the future. The decision to run a $73 million dollar bond issue came from a long line of Capital Facility committee meetings.

If passed by the voters, the funds would be used to build a new elementary school on district property behind the Community Gym at a cost of $54,74 million. In addition, Chelan School District’s Middle/High School would have its metal shop and wood shop remodeled to meet industry standards. A new ADA accessible weight room would also be added. The Middle/High School remodels and additions would cost $8.81 million.

Out at the Mt. Goat Field Complex, additional bleachers, parking for up 300 vehicles and a new eight lane all weather track, locker rooms, concession stand and restrooms would be added at a cost of $9.45 million.

The district has two tour opportunities in September for the public to be more informed about the need for a new school. These two tours will take place on:

September 10 @ 6 p.m and September 24 @ 6 p.m.

If you can attend, please RSVP Rosie at burkhardr@chelanschools.org.

Manson school district seeking three year replacement levies

by Richard Uhlhorn

Tabitha Mires, Manson Schools superintendent, visited the Manson Community Council on Tuesday evening, January 21, to inform them of the upcoming February 11 Replacement Levies.

**Manson School District Superintendent Tabitha Mires**

The district will have two propositions on the ballot.

Proposition 1 is for the replacement of Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O). This levy supports the school’s Art and Music programs, Athletics, Counseling and Individual Student support, Early Learning, Extracurriculars, Food Services, Library Programs, Small Class Sizes, and Student Transportation.
Proposition 2 is a Replacement Capital Levy to improve school safety, security, technology, and facilities. This levy includes Building and Classroom Repairs, HVAC Systems, Plumbing and Electrical Systems, Outdoor Facility Repairs and Upgrades, Technology Infrastructure and Systems, and Student and Staff Instructional Equipment.

“Rates are difficult to project,” said Mires. “They should be less because of an increase in (real estate) valuations.”

“These levies are to fund programs underfunded by the State… not to add programs, but to continue them.” Mires stated that the district’s buildings are well maintained but aging and in need of repairs and technology upgrades.

She told the council and meeting attendees that Manson was one of the first to get kids back into the classroom after COVID. She also added that six year levies can be a challenge which is why the district decided on a three year duration which will allow the district to come back to the community. “Manson has been supportive of schools and the students are performing exceptionally well,” Mires said.

“There are a lot of great things happening at the school.” The district currently has 647 students with classroom sizes as small as 12 students. However, the district has lost students because of the ongoing affordable housing crisis. She mentioned that many families moved to Entiat where that district saw an increase in its population.

She also mentioned that in increased valuations come from second home owners who do not vote in the district but help with the rates being asked on the propositions.

Estimated levy rates:
Maximum EP&O rate Maximum Capital

2026 $1.14 – $2.2 million $0.55 – $1.03 million
2027 $1.13 – $225 million $0.55 – $1.03 million
2028 $1.12 – $2.3 million $0.55 – $1.03 million

Currently the Manson School District is collecting a total of $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Learn more at www.manson.org/levies