Whatcom Women in Business is offering scholarships to women who are furthering their education.

The scholarships are paid for by private and business donations, as well as the group’s annual banquet.

To apply, go to www.wwib.org and click on the “Scholarship” link. Applications are due by May 15.

Andrew Bodman, the former vice president of academic affairs at Western Washington University, has been named the provost and vice president of academic affairs at California State University, San Bernardino.

Bodman left WWU in 2007. Prior to becoming the vice president, Bodman was a geography professor at Huxley College of the Environment.

As of this morning, former vice principal Scott Ellis is the new permanent principal at Blaine High School.

Ellis was appointed by the Blaine School Board Monday, March 23, after more than two months gathering community input and searching for candidates.

Ellis replaces Dan Newell, who was principal of the school for 19 years. Newell left the school in January to be the secondary education advisor to Randy Dorn, the new state superintendent of public instruction.

Ellis started at Blaine High in 1994 as a special education teacher. He became vice principal in 2001 and served as interim principal after Newell left. Ellis has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Idaho and a masters degree in secondary school administration from Western Washington University.

Some time today, the software I use for the School Days blog is being changed. This really doesn’t affect you, other than the fact that old posts will no longer be visible here.

I have been double posting through the new software since last week, so anything posted last week will appear when the changeover happens. I haven’t found out from the IT guys if there is a way to view old posts through a link or something. Once I do, I will make sure everyone knows.

Wheels of Life School is opening its doors to any families interested in attending school there next year.

The private elementary school, located at 2738 Orleans St., provides students a school experience that combines academics with art and nature education and self-directed projects.
The school will be open at the following times for tours and questions: Monday, April 13, from 5 to 7 p.m.; Tuesday, April 21, from 4 to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information, go to www.wheelsoflifeschool.com or call 393-1652.

Keva Rollins, a student at St. Paul’s Academy, will be competing at the state geography bee in April.

The National Geographic Society puts on the bee each year for students in grades 4 through 8. Students participate in a school geography bee, with the winner taking a qualifying test for the state bee. In each state, the students with the top 100 test scores are invited to the state bee.

State winners advance to the national finals in May and receive $100. The national winner receives a $25,000 college scholarship.

Would you be able to advance? Test your geographic knowledge! (answers are at the bottom)

1. The United States Naval Academy is in Annapolis, the state capital located closest to what large bay?

2. Which country’s vegetation regions range from the Nubian Desert in the north to tropical rain forest in the extreme south?

3. One of the world’s largest oil exporters borders the North Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Name this country.

4. A country bordered by India on three sides often experiences severe floods during monsoon season becasue it lies on a low delta plain. Name this country.

5. Airplanes heading north from Belize City to New Orleans fly over what large peninsula?

Answers:
1. Chesapeake Bay
2. Sudan
3. Norway
4. Bangladesh
5. Yucatan Peninsula

Whatcom Community College is offering career and life planning classes for people who have found themselves without an income and want support in their career and educational needs.

Two series of the courses will be offered: one in the evening and one during the day. During the classes, students will identify their skills, examine the job market, explore career choices, work on resume and interview skills and more.

Day classes will be Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon, from April 7 through 23. Evening classes will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., from April 21 through June 4.

All classes meet in Baker Hall room 113 on WCC’s campus. For more information or to register, contact Robin Bailey or Nancy Oettel at 383-3135.

Former Western Washington University president Karen Morse is returning to campus, but only for a day.

The WWU Chemistry Department is hosting a symposium for Morse on Saturday, April 4. The event is to celebrate Morse’s support of chemistry and science education. Presenters, including current WWU president Bruce Shepard and professors from all over the country, will share how Morse has impacted their work and other scientists.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be from 1 to 5 p.m. in Science Lecture building room 150.

Meridian School District Superintendent Tim Yeomans put out an update last week about the state of the district in light of the growing state deficit.

The state deficit forecast is now around $9 billion over the next two years. School districts are expecting major cuts, but no exact dollar amounts have been released yet. Yeomans is monitoring the situation, and budget discussions will probably start soon.

To read the update, click here.

I’m at the Lynden School District budget planning meeting and about 30 citizens are getting ready to prioritize 84 budget savings ideas.

The budget savings ideas came from budget work groups, which were composed of district staff, parents and district citizens. The roughly 30 citizens are deciding which items should get cut first, which should be looked at for future considerations and which should be saved at all costs.

A final list will not be produced tonight, as district officials will still need to compile all the votes.

This is similar to the process Bellingham used.

Acting superintendent Rick Thompson just told everyone that district officials plan to have the draft budget savings plan ready for public release next week. I’m assuming there will be opportunity for public input on the plan, but I won’t know that until next week.

I’ll be here until about 5:30 p.m., at which point I’ll be running to the Ferndale meeting about the North Bellingham Elementary site.

Update:

Thompson just shared that the 84 items total about $2.1 million in potential budget cuts for the district. That is right around 10 percent of the district’s operating budget for the current school year.

Just like other districts, Thompson doesn’t know how much the Lynden district will have to cut. But, the budget work groups were charged with finding cuts in their given area that equaled about 10 percent.

It’s break time at the Bellingham School Board meeting, and things are about to get heated.

The board just finished its work session, asking questions and discussing the proposed budget savings plan. Most of the questions were related to what they can and can’t change, which isn’t much after union agreements and state and federal rules are factored in.

But one question caught my attention: Board member Melody Rhode brought up a topic from the board meeting last week: what can the board do to ensure that Lowell Elementary School reopens after the delayed reopening (a.k.a. 2010-11 school year). She feels strongly about keeping promises to the community and public perception.

Superintendent Ken Vedra discussed doing audits of all the buildings and finding all inefficiencies. He would like to do something that looks at the district as a whole, not just Lowell Elementary.

Rhode suggested that the community members who have rallied behind the school this winter could be charged with the task of finding ways to keep the school open.

Board president Steve Schoenfeld suggested talking about a plan to keep the school open in the future was a topic better suited for a regular board meeting.

Public comment should start in the next few minutes.

It’s definitely budget season: there are several public meetings tonight and tomorrow for people to discuss how budget issues are affecting them.

• Tonight, Tuesday, the Bellingham School Board is voting on the proposed budget savings plan. As far as I know, they are going to have a work session and discuss the possible cuts and then take a vote. But, there is always a chance they won’t vote, so don’t be surprised if they don’t. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the district office.
• Western Washington University begins its budget presentations tomorrow, with each college and budget group presenting information its proposed cuts. These sessions are not question-answer periods, or even public comment periods, but they should provide a lot of background and understanding of the university’s budget process. To see the agenda for Wednesday and Thursday, click here.
• Whatcom Community College’s Board of Trustees is meeting Wednesday, March 18, at 4 p.m. to discuss potential impacts of the state budget crisis. The meeting will be at the Fairhaven branch of Whidbey Island Bank, 1318 12th Street.
• The Lynden Citizen’s Review Committee Meeting starts Wednesday at 4 p.m. The committee members will be voting on different budget savings suggestions that have been gathered over the last couple months. In a manner similar to Bellingham’s process, committee members will vote on the items, ranking each of them by what should be cut first. I’m not sure when the list will be out, but I will publish it as soon as it is.
• The Ferndale School District is having a public information meeting about what to do with the North Bellingham Elementary School site. While this is not directly related to the budget, what they decided to do with the site will impact future budgets. The meeting, which will feature presentations by Rolluda Architects, starts at 6 p.m. at Cascadia Elementary School. According to the district, this meeting is expected to last until 10 p.m., with plenty of time for questions.

I plan on attending at least some of the WWU budget presentations, part of the Lynden meeting, and all of the Ferndale meeting. Watch in coming days for updates on all the above items.

On Monday night, March 9, the Bellingham City Council passed a resolution at the request of Lowell Elementary School parents in support of neighborhood elementary schools.

In the resolution it also says that the council is concerned about the delayed reopening of Lowell and the potential future closure of Larrabee and Columbia elementary schools.

The resolution has not been signed. It will be on March 23, according to people who spoke at the meeting.

In response, the Bellingham School Board issued the following statement at its board meeting Thursday, March 12 (read by president Steven Schoenfeld):

“The Bellingham School District Board of Directors has received a copy of the City of Bellingham’s resolution. This School Board and our Superintendent strongly support the importance of neighborhood elementary schools.

As School Board president, I am directing our Superintendent to prepare a resolution for our School Board for Tuesday night for the Board to consider that will request funds from the City Council of the City of Bellingham for $450,000 to cover operating costs to reopen Lowell Elementary in the fall due to our budget shortfall. We may also be requesting additional funds in future years related to the operation of our neighborhood schools.

The potential fo this partnership shall be a demonstration by the City Council of its commitment and support for community neighborhood and small schools. We thank the City Council for recognizing the immense value of our neighborhood schools.”

The Lynden School District has a history of strong performances at the Destination Imagination competitions, and the recent regional tournament was no exception.

Destination Imagination is a creative competition that requires students to solve problems, perform and think in innovative ways.

The following teams received 1st place in their given categories and will head to the state competition later this spring.

Read more! »

Author Sherman Alexie will read from his book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” and answer questions on Wednesday, March 18.

The readings will happen at 1 and 3 p.m. in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room. Both sessions are free and open to the public.

Packed Bellingham School Board meeting - updated 8:40 p.m.

I’m sitting in the Bellingham School District boardroom, and it’s packed with parents and students who oppose two items on the proposed budget savings plan: delaying the reopening of Lowell Elementary School and the elimination of middle school sports (which is listed to be replaced with a pay-to-play intramural sports program).

I’ll keep everyone updated on how things are going tonight. Stayed tuned!

Updated 8 p.m.

Public discussions have started. People are speaking about sports at the moment, saying that the pay-to-play option for middle school sports needs to be altered because the district isn’t charging enough to cover the program.

Updated 8:20 p.m.

There are definitely more than just Lowell parents here. Several people have spoken against turning middle school sports into an intramural program. There have also been a couple parents and nurses urging the district not to eliminate any nurses.

One thing that’s been brought up is questions about the length of the budget. The budget the school district is looking at is only for one year, the 2009-10 school year. The state budget is a two-year budget.

Things are getting a bit heated. Speakers were asked to limit their comments to 3 minutes, but people are trying to go over the time limit. (note: the 3-minute rule is a long-standing rule) Some parents are asking for more time, but Board president Steven Schoenfeld is running a tight ship. There are about 20 people wanting to speak and he wants to make sure people are home at a reasonable hour.

One interesting comment just came up: if Lowell’s reopening is only delayed a year, then the school board should create a plan for how to reopen it after the 2009-10 school year. And one woman just apologized for any bad behavior against the district and said that the Lowell PTA is “with the board 100 percent.”

Update 8:40 p.m.

Another interesting point was just brought up. What about the International Baccalaureate program that’s in the works at Wade King Elementary School. Ron Cowan, who handles the finances for the district, just said we spent about $25,000 on the IB program this school year.

And things have calmed down. Not enough people spoke on earlier issues, so the board is letting people speak about multiple items now.

Kulshan Middle school students are collecting spare change for Pennies for Patients, a cancer education program and fundraiser helping the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I believe they are collecting money through the end of next week. If you’d like to donate money, drop it off at the school, 1250 Kenoyer Drive. You can also donate online, and designate the money for Kulshan, by going to www.schoolandyouth.org/wa/donate.

The top fundraising team at Kulshan will win a pasta party from the Olive Garden. If you have questions, contact Samantha James in student services at 676-4887, ext. 4702.

Western Washington University was recently named one of the best universities in the country for undergraduate philosophy by The Philosophical Gourmet Report.

The Report, which is a review of the nation’s philosophy programs, only mentions two public universities.

For more information about The Philosophical Gourmet Report, go to its Web site at www.philosophicalgourmet.com.

Jen Lois’ presentation, “Motherhood and Time: What Homeschoolers’ Experiences can Tell Us,” is available on DVD at Western Washington University’s Western Libraries.

Lois, an associate professor of Sociology, spoke in February as part of the Turning Point Faculty Speaker Series. Her research, which focuses on homeschooling mothers and how they balance their emotions and time, will be turned into a book and published in 2010.

To see the online library catalogue, go to www.library.wwu.edu.

Are you a first-generation college student pursuing a degree in natural or environmental science? If so, then there is scholarship money available for you.

The Bob and Eleanor Grant Trust is providing scholarships of up to $15,000 per year, and they are potentially renewable. Last year, $43,000 was awarded to Washington students.

To be eligible, students must be a first-generation college student, planning to be a professional in the natural/environmental science, in need of financial assistance, be a Washington resident for at least 24 months and be at least half-way through their school program.

Applications are due April 1. To apply, go to www.bandegranttrust.org.