Board votes to convert CBSS, change high school schedule
Opponents of the decision to convert Columbia Basin Secondary School to a middle school react to the decision at Thursday's board meeting.
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School Board voted 5-0 to convert Columbia Basin Secondary School to a neighborhood middle school, and to scrap the four-period day at Moses Lake High School for an altered schedule. The vote came at the board’s Thursday meeting.
An off-the-cuff remark which the speaker said was misunderstood prompted some irritated exchanges during the public comment portion.
High school students at CBSS will be moved to Moses Lake High School or other secondary programs beginning with the 2014-15 school year. The existing CBSS building will become a middle school but the neighborhood it will serve has not been determined, district superintendent Michelle Price said.
Committees will be formed to figure out the best way to move students from CBSS to other programs, and to determine the new schedule at the high school, Price said. Another committee determines which neighborhoods will be assigned to the new middle school, she said.
The vote came after almost a year of community meetings and discussion. After the vote board member Vicki Groff suggested celebrating; during the public comment period Groff said she meant celebrating the fact a decision was reached. But some district patrons in the audience said they thought her statement was not appropriate.
Jodi Truman, who had spoken against the plan for CBSS at other meetings, said she thought the school board had taken the decision lightly and treated opponents of the plan accordingly. Board chair Kevin Donovan said the board did not mean to leave that impression. “This has been a very, very difficult decision,” he said.
Pick up Monday’s Columbia Basin Herald to read more about how the district plans to implement its decision.