WATONGA – The Watonga Public Schools Board of Education gathered for its regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 14, in a celebratory mood one week after Watonga voters approved a near-$20 million bond that will create new facilities for the district.
The board will sell the first of those bonds on March 22, according to a resolution it passed Monday.
The board, comprised of Aaron Clewell, Shawn Cox, Mayra Flynn, Dwight McGee and Andy Wigington, also held an executive session to discuss district finances and the contracts of elementary school principal Ashley Stewart and high school principal Todd Overstreet.
After the session, on Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran’s recommendation, the board approved a new contract for both Stewart and Overstreet for the 2022-23 school year.
At the beginning of the meeting, the board heard from the principals and two teachers who recently attended professional development in Phoenix, Arizona. Ty Hussey and Shanna Kalicki said the experience was invaluable and has made them better educators.
“It made me think a lot, when I got back, about ‘Am I doing the right thing? Am I doing it the right way?’” said Hussey, a high school science teacher, referring to a session about reaching struggling and underprivileged students. “It’s changed the way I’ve done (my job), a little bit.”
Kalicki, a middle school English teacher, told the board that the conference reinforced the need for collaboration among teachers and a “top-to-bottom,” consistent approach to discipline and culture.
“After 21 years of teaching … we’re all still learning,” Hussey said. “I definitely was that weekend (in Phoenix).”
The school board will meet again on Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the middle school meeting room.