The school board will meet on Sept. 9 to discuss changes in policy and new bylaws. The main action item for the board will be advertising for the 2014 budget. According to school board president Layla Spanenberg, the board will be discussing advertisement of the budget.

“It has to be presented to the board for discussion and questions, we’ve got a few weeks to look at it, offer suggestions, ask detailed questions, then we have to advertise,” Spanenberg said.

Spanenberg said the school board must advertise the local budget in the local newspaper at least twice before it is approved.

Aside from the budget, the school board will also be discussing several bylaws regarding board meetings and board positions, as well as one position regarding bullying which extends the authority of the school to bullying that occurs outside of school grounds. Senior Kyle Weaver said he understands the reasoning behind the new bullying policy.

“I think that everything that happens online is an extension of the social things that happen in school, so I think that it is logical that you can be punished the same for things that happen outside of school since it is between classmates in theory,” Weaver said.

Senior Robert Barash, however, said he disagrees with the new bullying policy since it deals with issues that happen outside of school grounds.

“I think they shouldn’t have authority since it’s outside of school property,” Barash said. “I don’t know how they’re going to enforce that if it actually happens. I don’t think people should be punished for what they do outside of school.”

Spanenberg said,“the bylaws impact the board. That’s how the board behaves. We are trying to make sure that our policies and bylaws are living documents, so we will continue to review them.”

Spanenberg said that the board will be meeting with new Superintendent Nicholas Wahl on Sept. 19. Spanenberg said she is looking forward to the upcoming year and working with Wahl.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Wahl on board,” Spanenberg said. “He is very collaborative, very student centered, and very insightful. He has some really neat ideas already floating, so I am very excited about the direction he’s going to be taking the district.”

Spanenberg said overall she is looking forward to the upcoming year with a new superintendent and new topics for the school board to discuss.

“One great thing about our particular board is that we all come from different backgrounds. We all have very diverse backgrounds, and I think we work very well together. I don’t believe many boards do. So, I am very excited we have a collegial group of leaders that are doing what’s best for the students,” Spanenberg said.