by Brian Orr
WALSENBURG- The Re-1 School District principals are all reporting a good start to the school year. At Tuesday evening’s School Board Meeting, Julia Marchant of Gardner School, Patty Martinez of Peakview, Michael Doyle of Opportunities and Enrichment and Trudy Vader of John Mall Junior/Senior high each noted students are upbeat and teachers are engaged. A few small glitches remained, such as the leaky roofs at Gardner and John Mall, and Doyle reported that someone had broken into the O&E school and stolen the school’s video camera and video lights. Overall, the total student body is at 690 students, though that number constantly fluctuates as students enter or leave the District. The hope is there are more and less when the final student count is done in October, which affects school funding.
Building Supervisor Gaye Davis reported that the District buildings “for the most part are reasonably happy.” She also reported that a $200,000 GoCo grant application for the stadium complex was hand-delivered to Denver by Superintendant Michael Doyle. Perimeter lighting pads have been poured, and the poles should go up in a couple of weeks. “This should spark a lot more interest in the community,” Davis said.
Davis also supplied the Board with a timeline of when she expects to have Washington School ready for the Re-1 administration and BOCES ready to move in. Her projection is it will be ready by late October.
Athletic Director Pat McDonald reported to the Board that so many students had signed up for football that the District was having a hard time equipping them all. “We’re about ten helmets short,” he said, “And new ones cost around $189.” They are also short a few uniforms.
