Board approves 2023-24 budget, tax requestby Mary Le Arneal At the Sept. 11 meeting of the North Bend Central Board of Education the board approved the 2023-24 budget of $24,162,915.40. The total breakdown of the proposed property taxes request is $7,800,376.96. This would come from a levy rate of $.641938, which is down 11% from last year. Superintendent Patrick Ningen said still included pay raises for teachers. The difference comes from more funding from the state amounting to $1 million more than previous years. It was announced that the dance team has raised the majority needed for the trip to Florida for national competition. The digital boards are now all in place and working well. The students and staff are working on additional programs to post on the boards. High Performance Coach Dean Jacobs will be visiting the schools Sept. 19 and 25 focusing on social and emotional learning and school culture. He will meet with the teachers the first date and the students the second date. There are 272 students enrolled in PreK to fifth grade, with 15 new students enrolling over the summer. There are 313 students in the middle/high school. Those qualifying for English Language learners has doubled with nine students in the elementary school and three in the middle/high school. A special in-service is planned with ESU 2 about supporting the ELL students. Elementary principal Tessie Beaver said results from assessments are back but still embargoed. She said that NBE had strong assessments results. “I’m proud of the teaches and students for the outstanding scores,” Beaver said. The board reviewed the goals they have set. It was decided that the need to be continually evaluated and possibly pare down to focus on a few. Board member Justin Taylor questioned if students might benefit more from a theater rather than a bus barn. The board discussed the adaption of Apptegy/Thrillshare to replace Tiger Talk. Ningen has previous experience with Thrillshare and said it was more user friendly that the present NBC communication system. One could write messages and after approval it would be posted on Thrillshare and be sent across mobile app, website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, push notifications, text messages and voice calls. The cost would be $8,500 per year. The board passed this with one abstaining. In closing the board remarked on the ‘wow’ effect of the scoreboard, hearing comments from patrons and visitors. The next board meeting is Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
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