District thanks school board

Members of the Sisters School Board opened their meeting on Tuesday night, January 15, with the walls of their board room decorated with poster-sized thank you notes and a new member - a student representative - seated at their board table.

Before the five-member board got down to the agenda business of the evening, superintendent Elaine Drakulich, on behalf of the school district, presented each board member with a commemorative plaque that reads: "Thank you for your commitment to the children of Sisters School District."

Student representatives from each of Sisters schools, additionally, thanked the board for their dedication and service to the district. The special salute to board chairman Mike Gould, vice chairman Glen Lasken and members Tom Dumolt, Christine Jones and Jeff Smith was made in conjunction with Governor Ted Kulongoski's proclamation of January as School Board Recognition Month.

In the next order of business, superintendent Drakulich introduced Sisters High School senior Ryanne Conrads as the board's new student representative.

The district has maintained the policy for the last decade, if not longer, of having a student representative sit on the school board as a non-voting member.

"If you go way back in minutes, you'll see that there were student reps here and there, and it's just been the last few years that there has not been a student," said Drakulich.

This year in conjunction with meeting with members of the high school's student council once a month to discuss new procedures and attain student input and suggestions, Drakulich decided to reactivate the old policy and ask any student council members who are willing to sign up to sit on the school board.

"They have one rep for each trimester, and then they have a person who is the rep's back-up, so if the rep has an activity or needs to be home because of too much homework or for whatever the reason, the rep in essence has a substitute," said Drakulich.

"It's exciting we're going to adhere to a policy," said chairman Gould, as he welcomed Conrads. "There may well be times whether its tonight or at other meetings that we may need to pick your brain. We really may be able to use some of your perspectives. Thanks for being here."

Conrads welcomes the opportunity to serve on the board and plans to take back what she learns during her tenure to the student council.

"I think it's really good to see how they run their meetings and how efficient it is and see how a real meeting goes, so I can bring that back to the council and help our council set guidelines and get things done. I guess I just volunteered to see what it is like and just be a part of it," she said.