Warden school trustees review levee, discuss bus staffing

WARDEN — The Oct. 12 Warden School Board meeting featured a presentation from investment bankers D.A. Davidson & Co. regarding the board’s options for levy renewals. The board also delayed action on the Public School Employees Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Superintendent Scott West introduced the agenda item.

“We have a tentative agreement on a contract that we feel is sustainable for the district,” West said.

Board Member Rick Martin expressed concerns about language in the agreement regarding substitute bus drivers being entered into the rotation for extracurricular school trips.

“We talked about this before for years and the concern is a substitute bus driver doesn't have the experience, and to put them in a rotation for regular bus trips was something that we just never did,” Martin said.

West said that the board had already signed a memorandum of understanding on allowing substitutes to take on trips, and explained the motivation behind the language.

“We want to just make sure that our kids get to events and if our normal bus drivers pass on events we don't want those things to be canceled,” West said. “We want to be able to have the opportunity to call in a sub.”

Martin said they should prioritize safety and experienced drivers for school trips.

“I don’t know what’s more important. When you say, ‘As long as we get our kids there,’ you assume that every bus driver is skilled just because they pass a test,” Martin said. “Some are better than others … Since I’ve been here, we’ve always leaned on the side of an experienced bus driver.”

Warden School District IT Director Jeff Kottong noted that the language in the contract stipulated differences between placing substitute drivers in rotation versus on a roster.

Martin said he would like to see that portion of the contract language reworked.

After some discussion, the board went into executive session to discuss the matter further. No action on the bargaining agreement was taken after the board reconvened and the issue was pushed to the next board meeting, scheduled for Oct. 26.

Also at the meeting, D.A. Davidson & Co. Managing Director Cory Plager addressed the board regarding Warden’s current levies, its financial position and its options for renewing its levies, which the school district is scheduled to do in February.

“You'll notice astounding support in your community for these EP&O levies. Nothing really dipped below 60% (success rate) all the way dating back to 2012,” Plager said. “The capital levies also received overwhelming support.”

Plager provided context on Warden’s growth and tax base and said that Grant County’s preliminary 2024 property tax growth is 28.4%.

“You'll notice that just 10 years ago, your tax base was $280 million, and in the current year you're over $550 million,” Plager said. “You've doubled your tax base size in a decade, and then you're going up to $744 million next year. So this is still preliminary but $7.2 million of new construction this year, $25 million of new construction over the last two years. So a very, very fast-growing community right now.”

Plager said the district has historically done a very good job forecasting and putting an accurate tax rate on the ballot for voters to consider.

“This year, in 2024, your (EP&O) rate’s expected to drop to $1.78,” Plager said. “I talked about your significant growth; you can't ask for more, you've already voted that levy in, so that tax rate is going to drop to a forecast of $1.78 next year, a drop of $0.37 per thousand (assessed valuation).”

A special study session on the EP&O and capital levy renewals will be held Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. in the Warden High School Library.

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.