Dear Lopez School Community,
I hope your summer so far has allowed you to connect with family and friends, soak up some vitamin D and maybe even read a book! It's been a busy summer for me personally as we seem to host visitors non-stop for two months - for some reason no one wants to visit in February...
And busy at school as well, though in different ways than usual.
EP&O Levy Renewal
Lopez voters approved the school levy renewal on the August ballot with 75.8% voting 'YES' (as of the August 7th update) and 45% voter turnout. I am deeply and sincerely thankful to this community for passing this essential levy and showing such overwhelming support for the Lopez School. Every staff member takes pride in their work and wants our school to be the best it can be and it fills my heart to see this response from the community. It is essential funding, so the vote was high stakes, and it is my first levy renewal as Superintendent so I was nervous - and now that it has passed, we can shift our attention to the coming school year!
2026-27 School Year Budget
The School Board held the annual Budget Hearing on July 22nd and
approved the proposed budget at the School Board meeting that followed, and the state certified the proposed budget for 2026-27 by the deadline of July 31st. Certain programs like athletics, music and the LIFE Garden program received private funding to ensure they continue in the coming year, and the Lopez Island Education Foundation committed to filling a $300k gap once again as we continue to advocate with the state for adequate public funding. Huge appreciations to LIEF and to all of the donors who continue to support the school - we literally could not do it without you!
Capital Projects
This summer has seen the completion and certification of the water project which created a Class A water system which provides high-quality, high-flow water to the school district using two wells north of the school, one belonging to OPALCO and one belonging to the Lopez Swim Center. Well water comes to the school pump house, we treat the water just as when the school was on the Pottenger well to the south, and we pump the water to all school facilities, to OPALCO and the pool and to three additional partners on the system. We also changed all the filters in the school drinking fountains so now students and staff have high-quality, filtered water available at school.
This summer, Western Solar completed the new school solar array weeks ahead of schedule and we had a ribbon-cutting of sorts to switch the system on this past Tuesday with community members, OPALCO reps, and others. Solar champion and former School Board Director Chris Greacen spoke about his lifelong commitment to renewable energy and we powered up the system and answered questions about the current array and the plans for Phase 2 which includes additional rooftop solar modules and battery storage.
And this month our Healthy Kids grant funds the renovation of our walk-in freezer/cooler, the renovation of the kitchen dishwashing station and the installation of an additional walk-in cooler which will provide the school and community with additional cold storage and contribute to island resiliency.
Staffing Updates
We are excited to welcome the following new staff for the 2026-27 school year:
Aaron Stephenson, Head of Maintenance!
Mycah Kraushaar, Secondary Office Coordinator!
Catherine LaFleur, Karen Lamb Decatur School teacher!
Heather DeWoody, Jack Tronsdal and Maxiel Finley, new paraeducators with Katrina Lovejoy returning to the paraeducator role!!
Audrey Oswald, 6th grade teacher!
And through the generosity of a local donor, we have received funding specifically for an additional elementary teacher to allow us to create separate 2nd and 3rd grade classes for next year. Combining the 2nd and 3rd grade classes was a necessary budgetary efficiency due to our funding challenges but school staff, administration and parents were increasingly concerned as enrollment looked to be up to 28 students. With a donor stepping forward, Brian Goff will teach 2nd Grade and Natalie McDonald will teach 3rd grade.
August Dates
Sunday, August 23rd: All sport Athlete and Parent/Guardian Meeting in the MPR at 3pm
Monday, August 24th: Teachers return for start-up week
Thursday, August 27th: All staff return for start-up week.
Kinder welcome on the playground at 4:30pm, a New Family Orientation (for 1st - 12th grade students and their families who are new to the Lopez School) in the school Library Media Center, and a Secondary Student and Family Welcome Back drop-in event at 5:30 in MS Commons for students to get schedules, locker assignments, etc.
Monday, August 31st: First Day of Classes!
On behalf of the staff at The Lopez Island School, we are all looking forward to seeing students and kicking off a fantastic 2026-27 School Year. Thank you, parents and guardians, for the privilege of teaching your children. We recognize the trust you give us to provide a safe, engaging and dynamic educational experience to all students and we appreciate that trust and the ongoing support of the entire Lopez Island community.
Brady