NBC considering eight-period day, theater

by Mary Le Arneal
Published 4/16/25

With the a need to offer reading classes in the middle school and desire to offer more electives for the high school students, North Bend Central principal Brenda Petersen and counselor Chris Gaughen have been working on adding additional class periods. They have been looking at other schools offering eight or nine periods. Now North Bend Central offers seven periods with TAP/homeroom. This is a change that needs additional study and will probably not take place until the 2026-2027 school year.

The staff was surveyed with comments returned about offering more options, the periods being shorter, and more prep required from teachers with shorter planning periods. The school would have to watch instructional hours to make sure state requirements are met.

The North Bend Central Board of Education heard from Bob Soukup of Carson West Povonda Architects about updating the school to handle the larger class sizes and other newer needs the school has seen.
He presented a PowerPoint about possible changes that could be made. His costs were on the high end, but everything could be scaled down to fit a budget.

“This is not what will happen, but what could happen,” Soukup said.
Some of the dreams he showed the board included building a new practice facility and then turning the old gym into a true theater, tearing down the concession stand at the football field and replacing it with a new one with bathrooms and storage area included, adding locker rooms to elementary gym and adding a covered entrance to the front of the elementary school.

He said that in 2012 when NBC did its last big update, the costs were $150/sq ft. for new construction. Now those costs are $400/sq ft. Building a brand new theater rather than remodeling the old gym would probably be $700/sq ft.

Superintendent Patrick Ningen reported that two portable classroom could cost $6,000 per month, $60,000 to $70,000 to move it in with additional cost for set up. He is waiting for more bids.

This topic will continue to be discussed.

After a teacher tripped over a book bag in a high school classroom resulting in an injury, it was suggested that the students keep their book bags in their lockers. The board approved. Principal Brenda Petersen said that the transition has gone smoothly.

“It was like the first day of school,” she said. “Some kids had to come to the office to get their locker number or combination. Some lockers needed oiling. But it all went well.”

Petersen also reported that since many text books are online or left in the classroom, there is not as many for the student to carry.

“COVID made the teachers use the computers,” Petersen said, decreasing the student load.

Petersen reported that prom, post prom and the breakfast was a lot of fun.

“It’s great to see the community all come together,” she said. “That’s the benefit of a small town.”

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