Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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The Shelton School District is facing a $2.3-million budget deficit. “Our picture has shifted to a negative fund balance,” Clinton Sherman, the district’s new executive director of financial services, told the Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening at its regular meeting at Mountain View Elementary School. Sherman replaced Brenda Trogstad, who also served as assistant superintendent and is retiring effective Dec. 31. The district’s 2024-25 budget had a beginning fund balance of $1 million. The district is now projected to end the school year w...
The Hood Canal School District has placed two levies on the Feb. 11 special election ballot. One proposal is a six-year capital levy to pay for infrastructure and technology upgrades that would include replacing an aging transportation center and creating spaces for art, music and pre-kindergarten. The other is a four-year replacement Educational Programs and Operations levy to sustain programs and services the district calls critical. The Hood Canal School District serves about 330 students in...
Students at Shelton, Cedar and CHOICE high schools who graduate in 2025 or 2026 are eligible for free tuition for up to four years at The Evergreen State College. Those students are also eligible for additional money for housing, books and living expenses. They’ll receive support and advising beginning in high school and lasting through the completion of a degree. On Nov. 26, the Shelton School Board heard a presentation on the “Evergreen’s Shelton Promises” program by Chelsea Brady, the district’s director curriculum & instruction grades 7-12,...
Services for highly capable students The deadline is Friday to nominate or refer Shelton School District students for Highly Capable services. According to the district, highly capable students generally possess the following learning characteristics: ■ Capacity to learn with unusual depth of understanding, to retain what has been learned and to transfer learning to new situations. ■ Capacity and willingness to deal with increasing levels of abstraction and complexity earlier than their chronological peers. ■ Ability to make unusual conne...
The Shelton School District's strengths include improved student attendance, a large drop in disciplinary measures and a drastic increase in English Language Arts scores for third-grade students. A drop in the graduation rate, the elimination of six jobs in the district office, and struggles to cover decreasing state money for basic education are among the weaknesses. The district's opportunities include The Evergreen State College's Shelton Promise program offering free tuition for up to four...
Improved student attendance, fewer expulsions and suspensions, improved English language arts test scores, and heightened critical thinking and analytical writing skills are among the goals of two schools in the Shelton School District. Each of the eight schools in the district annually produce improvement plans. On Nov. 12, the Shelton School Board heard the plans from Oakland Bay Junior High School and Olympic Middle School for the 2024-25 school year. Oakland Bay Junior High School Principal Maryann Marshall presented the improvement plan...
Free online workshops to prepare preschoolers The Shelton School District is offering free online workshops to the parents and caregivers of preschoolers to help prepare them for kindergarten. The workshops are open to parents and caregivers in the Shelton School District of children ages birth to 5 years old. The format is online and self-paced — you can pause any time. Each workshop lasts about an hour. After registering, an email will arrive with approval to begin. Participants who complete the workshop can receive a free tool kit while t...
The Shelton School District’s policies on student discipline aren’t changing, but the language in the rules is being updated and clarified. The Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening gave preliminary approval to revisions to its student discipline policy at its meeting in the Mountain View Elementary School cafeteria. The board can make the changes official with a vote at an upcoming meeting. Dusti Trickle, the district’s director of student wellness, told the board the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction filed emerg...
For perhaps the first time in district history, the middle school students at Hood Canal topped the state average in four of five learning subjects. In the state Smarter Balanced Assessment results released recently, the district's seventh and eighth grade students from last school year scored above the state average (in competency) in seventh grade English/language arts with 53.6%, eighth-grade English/language arts at 48%, seventh grade math at 39.3% and eighth grade science at 41.4%. Eighth...
Shelton schools offer free cooking classes The Shelton School District and Washington State University’s Mason Extension host a free three-part series of cooking and nutrition classes. The classes are from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 15 and 29 and Nov. 5 at Oakland Bay Junior High School, 3301 N. Shelton Springs Road. Participants must be able to attend all three classes as the content and skills build on upon one another. To register, go to sheltonschools.org and click “HEAT cooking classes.” The classes are open to anyone 16 and older who lives in th...
Projected enrollment and school year operating budget Shelton School District — 4,200 students, $81.8 million North Mason — 2,357 students, $44.5 million Southside — 200 students, $4.5 million Pioneer — 714 students, $16 million Mary M. Knight — 170 students, $19 million (includes Washington Connections Academy) Grapeview — 200 students, $4.2 million Hood Canal — 320 students, $8.4 million Dramatically increasing costs in insurance, special education and supplies created budget challenges for the seven school districts in Mason County. The S...
James Dale, the executive pastor at Shelton First Baptist Church, is the newest member of the Shelton School Board. On Tuesday evening, the Shelton School Board appointed Dale to represent District 1 on the five-member board during its regular meeting in the Mountain View Elementary School cafeteria. He replaces Karla Knudsen-Johnston, who announced her resignation at the June 25 board meeting. Dale's appointment extends to the November 2025 election, when the position will appear on the ballot...
WWU honors Shelton High grad Shelton High School graduate Kimy Peterson was named an Outstanding Graduate Student at Western Washington University for 2024. The honor is awarded to one student in each graduate program or department, the university stated in a news release. The students are selected based on their leadership skills and the outstanding work done during their graduate studies. Petersen earned a master of science degree in experimental psychology. Her work “Epistemology of Ignorance and the Invisibility of Indigenous Peoples” was...
Back-to-School Festival for Shelton families Families in the Shelton School District can pick up free lunch and resources at the district's Back to School Festival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 26 at Olympic Middle School, 800 E. K St. Vaccines are also offered at the event. Open position on Shelton School Board The deadline is 5 p.m. Aug. 16 to apply for an open position representing District 1 on the Shelton School Board. The appointment to the five-member board extends to the November 2025...
School surplus sale includes desks, books The Shelton School District hosts a surplus sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 7 in the Old Mountain View Elementary School gym, 530 E. K St. At its June 25 meeting, the Shelton School Board voted to declare many items surplus. They include books, desks, bookshelves, storage units, cabinets and chairs. Open position on Shelton School Board The deadline is 5 p.m. Aug. 16 to apply for an open position representing District 1 on the Shelton School Board. The appointment to the five-member board extends to...
Board approves Sand Hill Elementary emergency repairs The North Mason School Board authorized emergency replacement of a fire control panel at Sand Hill Elementary at a special meeting July 26. “There are not parts easily available or even available at all,” so replacement was not an option, Superintendent Dana Rosenbach said at the meeting. The board contacted the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction because the $88,780.50 needed for the panel was not in the district’s budget, according to Rosenbach. Board members agreed to decla...
Donate supplies to Pioneer students The Pioneer School District hosts a “Stuff the Bus” event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 2, 3 and 4 at the Shelton Walmart. People can donate school supplies and place them on a bus. The supplies go directly to the district’s students for use in their classrooms. A list of suggested donation items is at www.psd402.org. Money donations for additional school supplies can be made through the Pioneer Community Kiwanis Foundation by contacting Pam Harrell at 360-490-0954 and [email protected]. Shelton stude...
The Shelton School District is revising its policies on how the public uses school facilities, emphasizing that student use takes priority. The Shelton School Board discussed the proposed revisions at its regular meeting July 9. The board can make the revisions official with a vote at its next meeting Aug. 27. “It has not been touched, if the dates are correct, in 20 years,” Robert Herron, the district’s director of facilities management and construction, told the board. “And so the policy is probably outdated, as well as the procedu...
The Shelton School District is proposing a $81.8 million budget for the 2024-25 school year that includes $2.9 million in reductions, mostly to staff cuts. Brenda Trogstad, the district's assistant superintendent of finances and operations, and Superintendent Wyeth Jessee gave a presentation on the proposed budget Tuesday evening to the Shelton School Board. Following a closed executive session, the board also voted unanimously to approve the superintendent's contract through 2027. Trogstad comp...
Open position on Shelton School Board The deadline is 5 p.m. July 16 to apply for an open position representing District 1 on the Shelton School Board. The appointment to the five-member board extends to November 2025, when the position will appear on the ballot to fulfill the rest of the two-year unexpired term through 2027. At the June 25 Shelton School Board meeting, Karla Knudsen-Johnston announced she was resigning. The Shelton School Board appointed Knudsen-Johnston to replace Marilyn Ward after Ward moved out of her district in June...
Nine people receive Centennial Guild scholarships The Mason General Hospital Foundation Centennial Guild awarded $20,000 in Kristi Armstrong Memorial Scholarship money to nine people pursuing higher education in medical fields. Among the recipients are four Shelton High School graduating seniors, three Shelton High School alumni who received the award in years past, one Mason Health employee and one Shelton resident. Centennial Guild Treasurer Patty Rhoades and members Kim Keeler, Kim McElliott...
The Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening passed new policies on international students and educational opportunities for students with a parent in the military. Both measures had been given preliminary approval by the board at its June 11 meeting. The policy on international students notes that “the board recognizes the value of cultural and academic exchanges. Such experiences provide international exchange students with a balanced understanding of our country and provide U.S. students with a broad world perspective.” The policy states tha...
Scholarships from MGH Foundation Auxiliary Guild The Mason General Hospital Foundation Auxiliary Guild awarded $20,000 in scholarships to 11 people pursuing higher education in medical and computer science fields. Five graduating Shelton High School students received $2,500 scholarships. Lily Bennett will attend Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. She will work to earn a bachelor's degree in radiographic science to become an X-ray and MRI technician. She graduates Shelton High School...
Twenty-nine graduates of CHOICE High School accepted their diplomas in front of friends and family at a commencement ceremony June 6 in the Shelton High School Performing Arts Center. The commencement ceremony also noted the 40th anniversary of CHOICE, which is housed next to Evergreen Elementary School in downtown Shelton. Vernon Bruni noted he has been principal for two years and started at the same time he was becoming a father to triplets. He reminded the graduates of the alternative school...
