The School Board approved several more hires at their September meeting Monday, Sept. 19.
David Shears was approved as the new head baseball coach with Dustin Behler and Ronnie Chandler approved as assistants.
Mandi Riener was approved for a paraprofessional job at the high school.
Martee and Mark Burke of Grangeville were approved as concessions managers.
In other business the board officially approved the 5^th and 6^th grade 3 Meadows Overnight Education Trip. Superintendent Jon Rehder said there was a question from one of the chaperons about concealed carry since they will be well out of cell phone range should something like a cougar or bear incident happen. Board member Gus Hoene asked if firearms are allowed on school property. When Rehder said not according to school policy. Hoene then pointed out that since the school district is renting the campground for this event, by extension that would be school property so it shouldn’t be allowed.
The Continuous Improvement Plan for 2022-23 was approved. Rehder said he and counselor Suzi Quintal went through this and updated any parts needed.
Policy updates were discussed. Rehder emailed all board members a copy that he made notes on of suggested upgrades or deletions. The board will review and discuss further at the October meeting.
The Back to School Plan 2022-23 was approved. There are only minor changes from last year. This is on the school website.
In administrative reports Matt Elven noted there were 190 students in grades 7-12. This is the same number as last year. 32in 7^th grade, 35 in 8^th, 37 in 9^th, 40 in 10^th, 25 in 11^th and 21 in 12^th grade.
He reported gate prices have gone up to school activities. Mostly due to the increasing cost of officials. At the high school events the senior citizen rate rose from $3 to $5 and the students in grades 7-12 from $4 to $5. The adult rate of $6 and the K-6 student rate of $4 were unchanged as was the family rate of $16.
At junior high activities the adult rate went from $3 to $4. Senior citizen rate went from $1 to $2. K-12 students went from $2 to $3.
The all-activity passes rose from $75 to $125 for adults. The Senior Citizens passes rose from $50 to $75 and the family passes rose from $250 to $300.
He reported they had 60 students sign up for dual credits with LCSC.
MAP testing was completed Sept. 15. The school expanded the group testing to be 7^th through 10^th grade for the science, 7^th through 11^th grade for English and 7^th through Algebra II for Math. Elven said he is a big believer in this test as it lets teachers know where their students are at and what needs to be addressed.
The blood drive was set for Tuesday, Sept. 30 with 29 donors signed up.
Homecoming is next week. Hall decorations will be done Friday after school. Themed dress up days are: Monday-pajamas, Tuesday-neon, Wednesday-workout, Thursday-BBQ Dad vs. Soccer Mom and Friday-Spirit Day (dress in Pirate gear or colors).
The Powder Puff game is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday followed by Powder Puff Volleyball in the Elementary Gym. A pep assembly will be held from 2:30 to 3 on Friday. The Parade lineup will be at Gem Builders with the parade set to start at 6 p.m. Friday. Homecoming Dance will be after the football game at the high school cafeteria.
Rehder reported the Elementary School held ASB elections. Bekah Shears was elected president, Cooper Riener VP and Henry Rehder secretary. 5^th grade representatives elected were Corbyn Tacke from Mrs. Bruegeman’s class and Ben Schwartz from Mrs. Hagen’s class.
Rehder has had an issue with adults coming into the building and bypassing the office to go straight to their child’s room, many times disrupting class. He plans to send an email out to all the parents addressing this issue as it cannot only disrupt teachers but can also be a safety issue if there is an emergency situation as those people could not be accounted for.
In his facility report he said the cameras are up and working well. The children are aware of them and he has already utilized them a few times to investigate a couple incidents in the school.
New sinks were installed in the auxiliary gym restrooms replaced the old stainless steel sinks that were leaking.
New water pipes were installed in the field southeast of the high school due to leaks.
The urinals in the two schools were upgraded with automatic flushers.
They are looking at going to bid on the high school gym foyer work in December.
In his superintendent report Rehder said a state safety analyst, Mark Feddersen, will be completing a Safety and Security Assessment at the school buildings on Sept. 30.
He said they are looking into a possible new curriculum for grades 3-6. He wants to do due diligence before adopting a new curriculum due to the cost and make sure this is a program that will work for them.
He also reported on the fire department call to the school. Apparently the popcorn machine in the concession stand set off the alarm. He felt this will be helped once the machine is properly cleaned. He wanted to commend all the students for doing exactly what they had been trained to do in case of a fire call.
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. The next regular meeting is set for Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.