By Mary-Justine Lanyon
An emotional father thanked the Rim of the World Unified School District and the community for the support shown for “my little girl.
“It has been a light in the storm,” Dr. Fillmore Smiley told the school board at their Nov. 21 meeting. “Thank you for your generosity and kindness.”
The board had previously approved the placement of a bench on the Rim High campus in memory of Rose Smiley, a Rim student who had been killed by a suspected drunk driver last May.
“We’ll hurt for the rest of our lives,” Dr. Smiley said.
Two students spoke up in favor of the benches.
“I am here to persuade you to put up Rose’s bench,” said Brooklyn. “Thank you for helping us honor her.”
And Amelia noted that the bench had been slated to be placed by the school’s Wellness Center. “It should be where everyone can see it,” she told the board. “We want to make sure the students who are grieving have a place to go and remember Rose.” She added an online petition to make sure the bench would be in a good place had gained more than 200 signatures in a few hours.
“I’m so proud of our students,” said Amanda Markovich, representing the Rim Teachers Association.
During the governing board comments, Trustee Scott Craft acknowledged “everyone who is here for Rose. These are the things that make our community awesome – everyone coming together. I thank you for the benches you are providing,” Craft said to Dr. Smiley.
“Whenever you lose a life, especially of a young person, it makes no sense,” said Trustee Bill Mellinger. “Especially when someone was driving drunk. Our love and prayers go out to you. Rose will always be a part of your heart and soul but there will always be a missing piece.”
“It takes a lot of courage to come up to the mic,” noted Trustee Jordana Ridland. “I appreciate it when people take the time, make the effort. In this season of gratitude, it is very touching to hear from folks who are grieving, whose hearts are broken, expressing their words of gratitude.”
Addressing Dr. Smiley, President Jordan Zarate said, “You’re not just advocating for Rose’s legacy but for legislation. We are a small rural community but we do have the ability to advocate.”
Dr. Paul Sevillano, the superintendent of schools, thanked Dr. Smiley for coming out. “We have spent hours talking about how we can memorialize Rose. I thank the students for coming out,” he added, referring to the large number of students in attendance to show their support for Rose.
The passage of Measure E was also on the minds of the trustees. “I thank everyone in the community for their support of the bond,” Craft said. “I am overcome by the support from the staff, teachers and the community as a whole. It shows they respect the students. I appreciate that. Our district is coming together. I see a lot of healing; I see more transparency. I hope eventually our state will fund the teachers the way the need to be funded. Our students should get the education they deserve.”
“I join Scott in thanking everyone who supported Measure E,” Mellinger said. “We have to make sure we are faithful in the use of those funds.”
“I’m grateful to our community for passing Measure E,” Ridland said. “We take the responsibility very seriously. The community is putting their trust in us to use their hard-earned money in the best way. I have confidence everyone will do their best to make sure those dollars are put to the best possible use.” While 60 percent of those who voted cast their ballot in favor of the bond, he noted, 40 percent voted against it.
And Zarate added that “we should not need a bond measure. The state should be funding our facilities. As a rural school district, we shouldn’t have to figure out how to put air conditioning in our buildings. It shouldn’t come out of our general fund, the same pot from which we buy books and pay employees. No one should have to sit in a hot classroom.”
Dr. Sevillano thanked the school board “for having the courage to place Measure E on the ballot.”
In her enrollment report, Jenny Haberlin, the district’s chief business official, reported the highest enrollment – 2,901 – in three years. “We’ve had a little uptick in enrollment,” she told the board. “We are up 25 students overall. There has been some shift from Rim High to the Rim Virtual Academy and a small increase at the elementary level.”
As part of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, the Rim district has received a $414,038.56 grant which will be used for board-certified behavior analysis and to offset the salary of the existing school psychologist.
Torri Burke, the director of special services, noted the psychologist has traditionally focused on special education. “We want to make sure moving forward they support all our kids – meet with students who need additional mental health support.”
Rim High Principal Brian Willemse and math teacher Chris Loncteaux updated the board on Rim High’s math program. “We have some excellent team members,” Loncteaux said. “When I started teaching math, I thought it would be about teaching math. It is mostly about people and their relationships with math.”
Loncteaux added they have a “guaranteed and viable curriculum. It can’t be purchased. It comes from our educators getting together and making decisions that are uniquely ours.”
He noted that some learning gaps exist. “The process we’re going through now helps identify them.” Willemse added that they “have noticed foundational skills are lacking somewhat. More interventions are in place at the lower levels.”
Kaylee Bunyea, the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) coordinator, updated the board on the program. It gave families a lot of options last summer, she said; some families enrolled their students for all three sessions. Currently there are 187 students enrolled in the after-school program. She told the trustees they have an attendance policy as they don’t want families to sign up and not show up.
Students can sign up for just a day or two. When they opened in January, Bunyea said, most students attended two or three days. “We have seen a huge jump. I get emails saying, ‘My student loves it. Can we add more days?’”
She shared a video with students explaining why they love ELOP.
Editor’s note: A presentation on school highlights at Valley of Enchantment Elementary School will be covered in a separate article.
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