The agenda for the Corvallis School Board's first meeting of the 2008-09 school year Monday night was probably the lightest it will be all year, yet the meeting room at the district office was still full.

A group of teens representing Crescent Valley and Corvallis high schools' robotic teams made an appeal for help during the public testimony time, saying local funding sources such as Hewlett-Packard were drying up as a result of the weak economy.

The students said district investment was critical this year because many deadlines had already passed to apply for grants they hope will support the robotics program in the future. They and several parents who serve as mentors said the robotics clubs offer teens the opportunity to develop important leadership and management, as well as technical, skills.

The teams will continue to host fundraisers of their own, said senior David Ward of Crescent Valley High School, but they cannot possibly make up for the loss of donations from area businesses. "I'll be blunt - we need $20,000 to make the club successful," said Rajeev Krishnan, whose son is on the CHS robotics team.

Board members responded with questions about how many students at both the middle- and high school level were involved in robotics and thanked the teens for their presentation. Board chairman Blake Rodman said the director would consider whether to put their request on the agenda for discussion at the next school board meeting on Sept. 8.

Superintendent Dawn Tarzian introduced six new administrators to the board, including three new assistant principals at Cheldelin and Linus Pauling middle schools and Crescent Valley. She also reviewed the schedule of training opportunities they and about 50 new teachers are participating in throughout the week and reported on a leadership team retreat held last week for each school's principals, lead teachers and literacy coaches along with district office staff.

In the only business conducted during the meeting, the board continued to approve updates to various district policies and voted on a number of intergovernmental agreements, including one with the City of Corvallis to continue a program offering free transit rides to district employees in an effort to reduce parking and congestion at schools and district facilities.

Board members also approved an agreement with Benton County to provide a "Reconnecting Youth Program" through the high school health curriculum and one with the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis to begin operating an after school and summer program for at-risk students at Lincoln School.