Washington County School Board approves multiple policies, an elementary boundary change and several property sales

The Washington County School District Board of Education on June 9 approved a package of policy updates, a small elementary boundary change and the sale of four district-owned properties.

Board members approved four policy revisions and one new policy after brief presentations and limited discussion. The board also adopted an elementary-boundary adjustment between Horizon Elementary School and Washington Elementary School, approved three property sales and accepted a sale with a 10-year restrictive covenant on a fourth parcel.

HR Director Darren Thomas summarized the district's implementation plan for the state'created SHINE teacher salary supplement, a new program the district must administer after the 2024 legislative change. "Essentially, we've taken the legislation, turned it into a policy," Darren Thomas said, describing the district's process for certifying eligible educators and running an online application. He told the board the district was certified to receive roughly $1.28 million for the program and that the number of eligible teachers in recent years has been about 220, with a large share in special education. The board approved Policy 19-30 to implement the SHINE salary supplement; district staff will open an online application window on July 1 for about six weeks.

The board approved Policy 3330 (Food Service: Purpose and General Policy) to clarify custodial and food-service cleaning responsibilities, moving explicit responsibility for dining-room cleaning to custodial staff. "We want to make sure that we're crystal clear that the custodian is the one who needs to be in charge of…