A large number of personnel items were acted on at the regular Centralia High School board meeting on Thursday, including the acceptance of letters of intent to retire from principal Reid Shipley, annex principal Travis Cameron, and superintendent Chuck Lane, all effective at the end of the 2028-29 school year. Lane said that there will be plenty of time before then to determine successors for those key positions.
“We’ve known it would be coming for a while, with all of us, Mr. Shipley and Mr. Cameron as well,” Lane said. “It’s still four years away, but it will come fast. We’re ready to turn the reins over to other people and keep this thing going the way it’s been going… we’re going to try and work together with the board on a good succession plan and try to get good people here to replace us. We’ve still got four years, though.”
The board approved a tentative budget for the 2025-26 school year. According to Lane, the budget currently shows a $35,000 deficit overall, but that number is expected to change as the year goes on. Lane says revenues this year are expected to be raised by an increase in evidence-based and title funding, while expenses are increasing due to a pay raise to teachers and increasing insurance costs.
To allow the budget to be displayed for 30 days as required, the next school board meeting was rescheduled to Monday, September 29.
The board approved a vote to eliminate student growth data from staff evaluations. Teachers may still optionally collect this data, but it will not be used as a factor in rating their performance. This change comes after a law signed in June removed the statewide requirement for schools to include student growth data in evaluations.
A letter of intent to retire was accepted from P.E. teacher Doug Jack, effective at the end of the 2028-29 school year. The board accepted letters of resignation from Clifford Meadows as bass fishing coach, Laura Brubaker as boys’ head bowling coach, Brian Smith as technology specialist, Issac Wright as girls’ assistant basketball coach, and Kelci Baum as full-time annex aide.
Motions were approved to employ Liz Jack as FCA co-sponsor, Kenadi Schwartz as special education teacher, Aidan Hagler as full-time aide, Danielle Jourdan as full-time aide, Donna Annable as part-time cafeteria worker, Terry Patton as part-time cafeteria worker, Keshaun Jones as annex security guard, Matt Organ as boys’ head track coach, and Jordan Coffey as co-sponsor for CHS Travelers.
