| School
enrollment is up
It was reported at the school board meeting Monday, Sept. 21 that there are currently 407 students enrolled in Prairie Schools with 51 of those coming by way of open enrollment from other districts. Angel Frei was approved for hire as the Center for Discovery Aide. The Idaho School Board Association conference will be held Sept. 30. All board members are currently signed up to go. Beginning with the October meeting on Oct. 19, the board will move the meeting time up to 5:30 p.m. In the facilities update Superintendent Rene’ Forsmann reported the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence sign and the Prairie state championships sign holders are in place and Brett Uhlenkott is working on the frames when he has time. The roof work at the Jr./Sr. high school is near completion. The 3-phase power project is completed at the high school. The local highway districts have been helping in bringing in dirt and gravel and leveling the parking area at the football field. The exterior area closest to Dog Bark Park is getting a significant aesthetic upgrade. Picking rock and seeding are next up. Next for the field area are bleachers and landscaping and the third phase of the track project. The security fence at the high school is complete. The fence at the Elementary School was to be done earlier in the day. In a related matter there have been no complaints so far on having to buzz in at the school doors. Denise Uhlenkott, Lynn Rehder and Rene’ Forsmann have monitors and beepers at the Elementary School while Cheri Holthaus and Suzi Quintal have them at the high school. In administrative reports, Forsmann said the open house was a success on August 27 with 76% of elementary students represented by at least one parent. They have had a lot of testing the first 4 weeks. Her superintendent’s report was basically the open letter she had in the Chronicle a couple weeks ago. Carrie Nygaard reported on the Fast Forward/Dual Credit update. Fast Forward is a state approved program that will pay for 6 credits for seniors and 3 for juniors toward dual credits, courses that can be used for both high school and college credit. Numerous students are taking advantage of the dual credit program. Homecoming week was a great success. The band sounded great. There are currently 196 students in grades 7-12, which is up from last year. There was a planned power outage on Thursday, Sept. 17 to complete the power updates. Interruptions have been minimal due to the roofing and electrical work. The PSAT will be given to sophomores on Oct. 14. Sophomore fees are paid by the state. Juniors who would like to be considered for the scholarship component will pay to take the exam on that date. There was discussion about 5th/6th grades having to take band. The school has many instruments available for a cost of $35 per year vs. $35-$60 a month from vendors. Anyone with instruments to donate, the school could always use more. The school pays to repair used instruments each year. It was also reported there was a break-in at Jake Forsmann’s shop after the football game. Several items were taken. Police Chief Terry Cochran has let the pawn shops know what to look for. Future agenda items are the continued pursuit of where to locate a new bus barn and shop. Also they will need to look at a new bus in 1 or 2 years. The meeting was adjourned at 7:51 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, October 19 at 5:30 p.m. |
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