The school board held their regular October meeting Monday, Oct. 17.
Becca Shears and Ben Schwartz did a presentation on the 5^th and 6^th grade field trip to 3 Meadows. They felt like they really learned a lot and enjoyed the opportunity. They thanked the board for okaying the trip.
The only action item on the agenda was to approve Safety Busing and the board did so.
There was more discussion on policy. One policy the board did not want to approve as they felt it was not something needed in our district. There was extensive discussion on some of the other policies. Superintendent Jon Rehder will make the corrections suggested by the board and bring them back to the November meeting for final approval.
In the Jr./Sr. High School report Matt Elven said they had 29 donors with 17 successful donations at the Vitalant Blood Drive on Sept. 20. Elven said they had concerns as Vitalant sent two fewer workers and they fell behind due to that. They will allow more time and send more workers for the Spring blood drive.
Forest Service representatives visited on Sept. 29 and presented job opportunities for wildland firefighters.
They had college visitations from Idaho State on Sept. 21, Boise State on Sept. 29 and LCSC on Oct. 11. University of Idaho will send a representative on Oct. 27.
Mark Fedderson of the State Board of Education visited the school on Sept. 30 and did a threat and vulnerability assessment. He identified areas of vulnerability and made suggestions to improve safety and preparedness. He also did the same at the Elementary School.
On Oct. 5 and 6 Suzi Quintal helped all seniors us the “Apply Idaho” application process to apply for free to every college in Idaho.
Six senior volleyball players and one senior statistician were recognized on Volleyball Senior Night Oct. 6.
PHS hosted a Knowledge Bowl competition that had 8 teams in attendance. Prairie teams finished in first and second.
The PSAT was given to 40 sophomores on Oct. 12 at the Spirit Center.
A junior high drug-free party was put on by Mrs. Eckert following a junior high football game on Oct. 13.
On Oct. 12 the Prairie band traveled with Grangeville to Nezperce for a music clinic.
On Oct. 18, the band was to hold a mini-concert and band booster meeting in the cafeteria.
There will be 15 junior and senior students doing their senior project demonstrations on Oct. 19.
FAFSA Night is October 19 in the high school cafeteria at 6 p.m. It may be moved if Prairie is playing district volleyball that night.
Football and Cross Country Senior Night will be held this Friday when the football team plays Logos. 4 football players and 1 cross country runner will be honored.
There will be a Veterans Day Assembly at the High School gym on Nov. 11 with a tentative start time of 1 or 2 p.m.
In his Elementary Principal report Rehder reported they had their first R3 assembly of the year. Holley Cochran, Maverick Slichter and Dyllan Wall were chosen to have lunch with the principal.
All classes completed the 2^nd iStation tests. They are showing progress since the first round of testing.
Rehder said he started a 6^th grade greeting group that meets students at the door and if necessary walks younger students to class. They have a group that signed up and split them into groups of 3 that rotate each week.
In the facilities report Rehder said they had a contractor come in to do patching on the high school gym roof.
They are going to take the vent out of the roof above the concessions stand. The motor is not working so rather than fix it, they will just remove it in preparation for the gym foyer renovation.
They are looking at using spray foam on the north side of the high school roof. Ice and snow have seeped under the ledged and leaked during snow melt. They hope by sealing it they can fix this problem.
They are looking at fixing high school roof vent pipes that were bent over or broken by snow pack.
Rick Forsmann and Dave Shears have begun cleaning out the old bus barn at the high school. They took a trailer full of scrap metal to Kamiah.
Gym Foyer-Rehder and Rick Forsmann spent time recently with Brandon Higgins and Rhonda Wemhoff of Wemhoff Architecture looking at options and designs. Ceiling lines in the gym are being tested for asbestos.
They are looking into options for a loader or skid steer for the district. Forsmann thinks a skid steer may be more beneficial with a large bucket for snow removal as well as a snow blade for plowing.
In his Superintendent report Rehder said they could use more people on their substitute teachers list. If interested, you can stop by the Elementary School and fill out the paperwork.
They could also use more bus drivers. They had one applicant, Sasha Schacher, and Shears is helping her through the training process.
Rehder shared a quote for 2-way radio systems for the buses obtained by Shears. They are looking at equipping 6 buses with 2 handhelds also. This could be an easier way to communicate with buses with the lack of cell phone coverage in some areas and it would also be safer than drivers using their cell phones while driving.
Under future agenda items it was asked if meetings could start with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m. The next regular meeting of the board will be Monday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.