Clover Park School Board Marks End of Year – and End of Era For Its President

It was a night of endings – and beginnings.

In its last meeting of the year, the Clover Park School Board transitioned into the future on Monday night at district headquarters. Board president Walt Kellcy Jr. stepped down after a decade on the board, and Jose Salamanca took the oath of office to represent District 1.

Also sworn in by Judge Ernest Heller were current board members Carole Jacobs and Paul Wagemann, both of whom won reelection in November.

Before shifting to electing officers for 2011-12, the board thanked Kellcy for his service to the staff and students of the Clover Park School District.

“A lot of people don’t realize that public service can be an overwhelming, thankless position,” said board member Marty Schafer, who estimated that Kellcy has dedicated 2,150 hours over the last 10 years to the school board. “You put your heart into this community, and what you have done is transform the culture of a community.”

In a joint statement from the board, Jacobs called Kellcy a visionary leader who exemplifies the board’s values.

“We thank you for being a man of character,” she said.

Kellcy said that he has gained a lot during the 10 years he has served on the board.

“In many ways,” he added with a chuckle, “it has been more beneficial to me than the people I have served.”

He praised Superintendent Debbie LeBeau’s leadership and the district’s ability to stay financially sound in a time of budget shortfalls, and also touched on the community’s support of the district as it continues to build new schools and improve academics.

“I believe we are a district of hope more than we were 10 years ago,” he said, “and I believe the best is truly yet to come.”

Jacobs, who served as vice president for 2010-11, was elected president of the board for the new term. Schafer will take over as vice president, and Wagemann was selected for a second stint as the board’s legislative representative.

Jacobs said that her main focus as president will be to watch the budget and ensure that “each child continues to receive the best education possible.”

Also during the meeting, principal Greg Wilson gave a report on the state of his school, which is located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

There are 344 students presently enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade, but Wilson said that given the high mobility rate of military families, only a third were returning from last year.

Because of that, some test scores have been affected. In 2009-10, 81.8 percent of Greenwood’s third-graders passed the state’s math exam, but the number declined to 66.7 percent in 2010-11. However, 75.6 percent of third graders passed the reading exam last year, and 42.9 percent of fifth-grade students met standard for math.

“No one wants to look up and see that we had a 1 or 4 percent drop,” Wilson said. “You have to create smart goals. You can’t have your celebrations based on one yearly test.”

Among the school’s points of pride are a school-wide structure for academic interventions, the “Paws For Reading” summer reading program, which gave students the chance to win gift cards and a Kindle based on how many books they read over the break, and family math and literature times.

Additionally, the school has a close-knit relationship with the 42nd Military Police Brigade; soldiers come to play at recess and ran the school’s field day last spring.

Wilson said his school faces challenges in getting students into school, oriented and comfortable.

“We want to make it a place where they want to be,” he said.

Regardless of a parent’s status – about to deploy, deployed, returning – Wilson said that he wants families to know that “there are people at the school that they can depend on.”

Jacobs praised Wilson and Greenwood’s staff for helping its students in so many ways, but asked how they are able to get all families on board with the school’s standards and expectations when only a third return for the start of a school year.

Wilson said that it is a matter of “finding the right people up front,” and praised his staff for helping students make a smooth transition to life on JBLM.

“I applaud you and your staff for sticking with it,” Jacobs said. “Our kids need it.”

Wagemann questioned 64 percent of the student body receiving free or reduced-priced lunch when the school is 99 percent military.

“I don’t even want to claim to be an American citizen when I read that,” he said.

But LeBeau said there are several different factors between the federal definition of poverty and the threshold to receive free and reduced-priced lunch. The U.S. Department of Agriculture determines the latter.