At their May board meeting, the Southwest Open School board announced their new director and accepted an irrigation bid.
The board first discussed recent irrigation bids for an irrigation system. The board leaned toward accepting Legacy Tree Solutions’ bid because it has worked with them before, and expressed concern about working with a group that reportedly accidentally cut their water lines before.
They accepted the bid for Legacy Tree Solutions.
The board also noted that the school will have 24 students graduates this year, and teacher salaries will be solidified sometime this summer following the money received from the mill levy override. Graduation is Saturday, May 24 at 6 p.m.
A new executive director was also up for approval. Katri Rittenhouse, who has worked at SWOS for three years as an academic interventionist, was approved to take on the director position.
“I have been at Southwest Open School for the last three years as an academic interventionist,” Rittenhouse told The Journal. “I am excited to continue to grow with the SWOS community. My hopes and goals for the school are to continue the path that Casey (Simpson) and Joe (Kelly) set in motion; focusing on continuing to build strong connections with students, continuing experiential education and building our academics. We have an incredible team at SWOS, and we’re on the right path.”
Rittenhouse added that they are looking to fill a STEM position, humanities and academic interventionist.
The budget was also approved to move forward with 130 students anticipated for the upcoming school year.
SWOS teachers and staff were also praised, with the board noting that they are very “self-sufficient” and don’t require consistent oversight to ensure things are getting done. They said that speaks to SWOS’ “strong culture.”
