Bethel Lutheran School

Board Report – January 2005

 

 

The school board is pleased to report that the Bethel Lutheran School (BLS) is having another successful year.  BLS is a ministry of Bethel Lutheran Church providing excellent education to the children of our church members and also to the children in the community around us.  Through this ministry, we were able to bring new families to be part of our church family.  We thank God for His manifold blessings on our school and its ministry.

 

Our programs include preschool, junior kindergarten, and elementary grades 1 through 6 as well as before- and after-school care (the “AM/PM” program.)  We have been receiving compliments from our school parents for the excellent programs we have and for the excellent staff who treat the children with care and with Christian principles. 

 

BLS continues to be financially strong, and currently it is running in the “black” in spite of the tough economic climate.  While we have budgeted very tightly this year, our current projection indicates a small profit of income over expenses.  The school board, principal and staff review income and expenses monthly so that immediate action can be taken if it appears expenses might exceed our income.  The following pie chart shows the breakdown of the projected expenses of $1.466 million. 

 

This year, keeping the strong student enrollment has been a challenge due to the fact that several parents lost their jobs and had to move out of the area.  We are working diligently to bring new students into our school by advertising our programs in the local newspapers and yellow pages.  Our Preschool began a Chinese School enrichment program to fill a need and in hopes of attracting people in this strongly represented demographic in this area.  An open house will be held on February 2nd 2005 for people who saw our ads or were referred by current school parents or church members.  One of our best sources for new students is the Bethel congregation and we ask that you continue to represent the school to your friends, neighbors and relatives.

 

The school board has been busy with various activities during the year to support the school facilities, the staff, and the programs.  Following are the key projects with which the board has been involved in 2004:

1.      Raised just over $15,500 with the Annual Giving Program.  Have been reserved for educational enhancements to the classrooms, library and computer lab.

2.      The fund raising, grant application process, bidding and construction of the new playground equipment was a yearlong task.  Many thanks to Alice Isaacson who spearheaded the Annual Giving Program, wrote the proposals to the Lucille Packard Foundation for the three grants and then coordinated the bidding process and the construction of this new equipment.  The playgrounds are a major improvement to our school facility.  During 2004 we added UV shade structures that cover the new equipment.

3.      Approved $14,700 in financial need scholarships for the 2003/2004 school year. Fundraising supplied $2,900; the remainder came from school income.  $18,900 of financial aid scholarships has been approved for 2004/2005.  Special fundraising has provided $3,300 of that amount and the remainder came from school income.

4.      Continued the process to obtain accreditation of the elementary school by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC.)

5.      Improved the heating system in the preschool building.

6.      Provided a cost of living increase of 3% to School Staff in November 2004.

7.      Continued to improve the educational programs.  Thanks to Yvonne Waters and her staff for providing their leadership to all our programs.

We are excited to provide an excellent educational experience to the children of BLS through our highly skilled staff!  In 2005, we will continue the accreditation process with WASC for our elementary school program and continue to improve the BLS programs.

 

The following members have been very active on the board to ensure that we have one of the “best in class” church schools in our community.  Our special thanks to the following members for giving their valuable time and talents!

·        Ordetta Hovland

·        Alice Isaacson (Secretary & Super Fund Raiser!)

·        Yvonne Waters (Principal and ex officio member of the board)

·        Pastors Ken Anderson and Rick Sherrill (ex officio members of the board)

·        Garry Gillette

·        Charnel Wedgwood

·        Jack Wedgwood (Chair)

·        Euo Menezes (Bethel Church Treasurer)

 

This year we lost Bill Howard to cancer.   Bill served on the school board for many years and shared with us his expertise from forty plus years as an educator.  His help to our school was invaluable and we will miss his wealth of knowledge and perhaps even more, his enthusiasm for children of all ages.  The LEGACY CIRCLE SCHOLARSHIP Fund has been created in recognition of the contributions to our school of Bill Howard, Paul Hovland, Win Wiggin and Fred Haber.  Their love and commitment to children and Lutheran education has made a lasting imprint on our school.  We welcome additional contributions in memory of them, as they collectively did not want to see us turn away any child for lack of financial resources.

 

We particularly want to thank Pastor Rick Sherrill for his commitment and support of the school staff, especially in connection with the weekly chapel presentations.  Finally, the BLS board expresses its deep and profound thanks to Bethel Lutheran Church for its many years of ministry support.  If there are any questions, comments, and compliments, please pass them along to Jack Wedgwood.