Name change continues to develop for ML alternative school

The Medical Lake School District board of directors considered a list of names provided by students for its alternative school, continuing on a discussion from last month’s meeting.

At the board’s Tuesday, Sept. 18 meeting, the list included names with historical meaning to Medical Lake, local families and area landmarks. The list included Andrew Lefevre, Scout Island and Galena, a field that later became Fairchild Air Force Base.

Being the first meeting after the start of the school year, vice principal/athletic director Chris Spring updated the board on the district’s sports status. Medical Lake moved down to the 1A level, allowing for a more fair level of play against districts of similar enrollment. Dan Mueller, director of teaching and learning, gave an update on some of the district test scores as well.

The board looked at the second reading of a few items, including an update to the district’s policy on maintaining professional staff and student boundaries, which included changes made at the state level. The policy changes largely related to interaction on social media websites and other potential non-educational interaction. District employees received training on the subject, along with other matters, before school began this year.

In terms of enrollment, the district recorded 423.5 full-time equivalent students at Hallett Elementary by Sept. 18, down from last year’s first count of 446.91 FTE students. Medical Lake High School, however saw a slight increase in enrollment, recording 506.98 FTE students compared to 504.54 FTE students last September.

While official recorded numbers vary throughout the school year, the district is down by about 43 FTE students compared to September 2011. October’s enrollment in 2011 increased by eight students.

The school board will meet in a work session format Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. to discuss review annual building improvement plans. The next board of directors meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. in the administration office’s board room.

James Eik can be reached at [email protected].