School Board meets
The school board held their January meeting on Thursday, Jan. 23.
The first order of business was reorganization of the board. Aaron Hinkelman was nominated to remain as board chairman with Tara Klapprich as Vice Chair. Denise Uhlenkott was nominated to remain as Treasurer/Clerk with Jennifer Riener and Lisa Hasselstrom as assistant treasurers. All were approved.
Al board members signed the Code of Ethics.
Meeting dates and times will remain the 3rd Monday of each month at 7 p.m.
Check signers will remain as the Chair, Vice-Chair and Clerk/Treasurer with 2 signatures required on all checks.
Meeting postings will continue the same, on the website, at the District Office and at both Credit Union offices.
Superintendent Jon Rehder was approved as the Civil Rights Officer.
A motion was approved to transfer depreciation of $20,083 to th bus fund.
The third reading of the policies being reviewed was approved. Policy 3500 was discussed and approved with the change Rehder recommended.
A motion was made to go out for bid on the high school windows project.
In the Jr./Sr. High report, Matt Elven reported that the dual credit economics class participated in the state wide Stock Market game with Collin Ray and Dylan Uhlenkott finishing 1st in the state out of 253 teams. Kadence Kalmbach and Ellie Nuxoll were 9th and Kaden Duclos and Briggs Rambo were 11th.
The State Academic and Sportsmanship trophies have been mounted in the gym.
FAFSA night was hosted Jan. 8.
The district is looking into the NFHS Network Cameras for the high school gym and the football field. It’s a one-time fee for $2,000 (down from $5,000 when first looked at in 2020) for cameras installation and service. They will get some funding back from revenue sharing for yearly and monthly subscribers.
Knowledge Bowl Trivia Night went well.
Jr. High Girls Basketball started practice on January 14 with 6 eighth grade and 10 seventh grade students.
Advanced Welding representatives visited with the ag-ed classes on Jan. 22.
ASVAB test coordinators met with students on Jan. 22 to discuss results and possible military options bases on the results.
Idaho Department of Lands came to visit with seniors regarding summer fire employment.
Girls basketball senior night will be Jan. 30 against Kamiah with 4 seniors recognized.
Upcoming events include a possible ski day for 7th and 8th grade students.
Prairie League’s Sadie Hawkins Dance is set for Feb. 1
Girls basketball districts start with a first round game at the higher seeds on Feb. 5. The tournament moves to Lewiston High School on Feb. 7 and 8.
The spring blood drive will be March 12.
In the Elementary Principal report, Rehder reported on the lunch with the principal winners.
He has started conducting formal class observations and should finish by the end of the week if all goes as planned.
In the facilities report Rehder talked about going out for bid for the high school windows. They hope to be able to start construction on June 9 and get the job done by mid-August.
The pit rock and gravel in the Track/Football parking lot northwest corner is finished. It should help with mud issues that occur there.
Rick Forsmann, Elven, Ryan Hasselstrom and Rehder met Jan. 13 to talk about upkeep at the track/football complex. The fieldhouse has some issues with the weather on the west wall. Possibly and awning could be added to help. Cleanup and painting on the inside needs to be done. Painting of the concrete blocks in front of the home side bleachers is also needed. There was also conversation about the visitor side bleachers. Hasselstrom would like a way to lift those so people could see better. He looked into a new set that are elevated with 8 rows that are 49 feet long. Cost is $66,000. Rehder said he would need to visit with the board as there are other needs in the district that might take precedence.
The new classroom thermostats were installed over Christmas break. There are parts on the heating units that need to be replaced to help with the dampers outside so there isn’t as much cold air coming in. This will be an extra $5,500 to complete. Nick Ackerman is ordering them and Forsmann will more than likely install them.
Future projects: Rehder visited with Andrew Miller about membrane replacement of the high school gym roof. They think they can make another 2-3 years before it will need to be done.
In his superintendent’s report Rehder noted they have advertised for a business manager/Clerk to replace Denise Uhlenkott when she retires. Rehder hopes to set up interviews in early February and would like the new hire to be able to work alongside Uhlenkott through the remainder of the school year.
Matt Elven’s principal evaluation will be presented at the February meeting.
Lobby Day was held on Jan. 20 to meet with our local legislators on opposition to school vouchers.
Day on the Hill is Feb. 17-18. Rehder will attend and any board members are welcome to attend with him.
The board adjourned to an executive session for the superintendent evaluation at 8:26 p.m. After reconvening into open session, it was voted to extend Rehder’s contract 1 more year making it a 3-year contract. Pay would be determined when the legislature determines school budgets.
The meeting adjourned at 9:06 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.