| Enrollment
numbers about same as last year
Enrollment numbers are just about the same as last year at Prairie Schools with 134 each in the Elementary and Middle Schools and 153 in the High School. Those numbers were reported at the September school board meeting Monday, Sept. 17. The Summit Academy busing contract was approved. It is basically the same as last year’s. Ryan Hasselstrom resigned as 8th grade boys basketball coach due to the added time burden of his technology duties for the district. A person was recommended by superintendent Gary Blaz but after discussion in executive session the board decided to table the hiring and reopen the position. A vacation policy for 12-month employees was approved with the stipulation that they cannot take more than 10 days in a row added to the original draft. Lynn Rehder reported on the Food Services program and noted it is still running in the black. She also noted that the district is featured in the State of Idaho’s Wellness magazine, garnering the cover photo as well as a nice write-up inside praising the district as one of the state leaders in wellness and nutrition. Rene’ Forsmann reported on the Technology Plan Phase II. She noted there will be more salary moneys as they now have 3 people doing many of the duties that Duane Uhlenkott used to perform. She said they are also discovering that he likely didn’t report al the hours he put in. The board passed a motion approving Phase II of the tech plan. Bruce Nuxoll appeared before the board with a concern about the proposed cell tower and possible harm to children at the elementary school. He noted a couple of studies done in Europe show there may be adverse affects up to 1500 feet away. Blaz said he had done some research since talking with Nuxoll earlier and had yet to find anything definitive. After some discussion he said he would look into setting up a lunch meeting with the mayor to discuss concerns. In administrative reports Todd Shumway reported they are adding lighting behind the football announcers stand for both safety reasons and after game activities. They are also looking into building a ticket booth for the main entrance, putting it on skids so it can be moved out of the way when needed. He reported they have 27 students enrolled in tech prep course for college credit, 15 students in Idaho Distance Learning Academy courses (French, German, Spanish III, Digital Photography and World History) and 17 students in ISAT prep courses. Two teachers are also working to get dual enrollment credit through LCSC for speech and English classes (Sarah Remacle) and history and government classes (Jerry Uhling). This would also enable students to get college credit for those classes. He reported on several of the high school clubs and their activities. He also presented the board a letter from a student requesting early graduation. Blaz said he would like to see a policy developed on early graduation as he couldn’t find anything in the current policy manual. Rene’ Forsmann reported the open house and book fair was very well attended. She also reported the junior high football and girls basketball seasons are underway. She also noted a change in the junior high football schedule. The game at Timberline has been moved to Monday, Sept. 24. They will travel with the high school JV team instead of having the JV’s go up on Monday and the junior high on Tuesday, saving on travel expenses. Also the junior high girls game with Lewis County on Sept. 25 is a home game. Forsmann also reported that they received two grants worth $12,000 each from the Nez Perce Tribe. One is for a health and wellness program for students and staff and the other is for ISAT remediation. Forsmann was asked if there are strings attached to these grants. She said they just have to send a letter to the Tribe at the end of the year verifying that the money was used for the purpose it was awarded. Blaz reported he had an insurance adjuster visit the high school with regards to the gym floor and they should be receiving a report shortly. He said they may run into problems where this has been a problem for many years without ever being reported. He is also looking into having feasibility studies done on the heating systems. He feels there should be a away for the rooms at the high school to have their own thermostats on the registers. He also said he feels they need to go in another direction from coal. Della Gehring had requested he look into biomass fired systems. He has also contacted an electrician to do an assessment on upgrading the high school gym lights. He is in the process of coming up with a job description for all employees. He is also adjusting to the responsibilities of being both superintendent and elementary school principal. He said it looks like he should reach his goal of learning all the grade schoolers names before October. The grade school open house was a huge success with over 100 attending despite a couple of conflicts. The board adjourned at 9:07 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Monday, October 15 at 7 p.m. |
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