Upbeat mood at Cascade School District Board midsummer meeting

LEAVENWORTH – After a year of bi-monthly meetings dominated by budgetary woes, the July 15 meeting of the Cascade School District (CSD) Board of Directors was decidedly upbeat and optimistic.

A budget hearing led by Brenda Grabski, the CSD’s Director of Business and Finance, opened the meeting. Grabski, who just passed the first anniversary of her hiring, reported to the Board that the District’s 395-page budget was complete and had been submitted to the Educational Service District of the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for approval.

“It’s been a tough year,” Grabski stated. “You don’t come back in just one year [from financial shortfalls leading to staffing reductions, among other budget cuts], but we are making progress.”  

CSD superintendent Tracey Edou noted that progress included the district moving ahead with hiring a choir teacher for Icicle River Middle School. Both the middle school and high school choral programs had been cut out of early drafts of the budget. However, both programs have been restored due in large part to the efforts of the Cascade Choir Crescendo Campaign, a fundraising drive devised by concerned parents, the Cascade Parent Teacher Student Association, and the Cascade High School Choir and Band Boosters. 

Edou thanked the Campaign and noted that: “At the end of the day [to meet budgetary goals and prevent cuts to school programs] we need more students, and the community has to figure out a way for people to live here.” 

The buoyant tenor continued into the business session of the meeting, during which Edou discussed:

• CSD’s working relationship with the Chelan County Sheriff's Office, including the Office’s coordination with the Chelan County Regional Justice Center to make use of its narcotics-detecting canine in CSD schools, resulting in a decrease of illegal substances present on CSD campuses;
• CSD’s development of a district cyber security policy, one of the first in the state and a model for other districts;
• Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, school served breakfast and lunch will be provided free of charge for all students at Peshastin-Drdyen and Alpine Lakes Elementary Schools;
• CSD’s commitment to advocating for a reduction of the digital divide in the most rural reaches of CSD, as a member of NCW Digital Access and Equity Coalition; and
• Correspondence received by CSD commending its application for, and receipt of, grant funds to offset the tuition of district teachers working toward special education certification; applauding CSD’s composting efforts, which is serving as a model for other schools in the state.

The meeting, held in the District Office Board Room, was presided over by Board Chairman Trey Ising, representing Director District #5, and attended by all sitting members: Vice Chair Cyndi Garza, representing Director District #4, Judy Derpack, representing Director District #2, and Mike Worden, representing Director District #1. Director District #3 is vacant.

The Board of Directors regular meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7:00 p.m. and are open to the public, with a Zoom option.

Past Board agendas and minutes can be found here: https://www.cascadesd.org/page/board-agendas-minutes

Caroline Menna is an intern for Ward Media and a rising senior (Class of 2025) at Cascade High School. She will serve as Editor-in-Chief of the Cascade High School Publications Group for the 2024-2025 academic year.