The School Board held their regular February meeting Wednesday, Feb. 22, with a large group of patrons in attendance concerning a policy discussion that was on the agenda.
Eight of the 30 to 35 individuals present spoke on the topic of Policy 3281 which concerns gender identity. All but 1 spoke against the policy.
In the board discussion on the policy, Superintendent Jon Rehder mentioned that this policy was put in place in August 2016. It was an Idaho School Board Association policy that was recommended for adoption. After a great deal of discussion by the board, Tara Klapprich made a motion to revoke the policy. Gus Hoene seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
The board also held a mandated annual policy review. Pat Alfrey mentioned she found a few typos as well as needed clarification on some of the policies. After discussion a motion was made and passed to table this until the next meeting to allow more time for board members to read them over.
Rehder discussed going out for bid on an Elementary Classroom addition. He informed the board on what he and Wemhoff Architecture were looking at. Brandon Higgins was present from Wemhoff Architecture to answer any questions the board might have. Architectural drawings were shown of the proposed addition. The board made and passed a motion to go out for bid on the project.
In the Jr./Sr. High principal’s report, Matt Elven reported on the accreditation review that will take place remotely on March 14-15. Their accreditation team submitted documents on Feb. 1 for review.
Suzi Quintal has met with students on course requests for next year and is in the process of creating next year’s schedule.
On Feb. 7, an LCSC representative was here to help with Spring dual credit registration.
On Feb. 8 Dusty Arnzen submitted a bid to add 2 cameras to the wood and metal shop for greater safety and accountability. The quote came in at a little less than $3,400. They plan to proceed with getting those cameras installed.
Elven said he is pursuing a SABG mini-grant for up to $20,000 to fund the addition of vape detectors in the school bathrooms and locker rooms. He has been in discussion with Compunet and other schools currently using the detectors. Cost for 8 detectors is around $12,000.
Ryan Hasselstrom will be teaching a dual credit basic accounting class next fall.
Shane Chapman will not be able to do the driving portion of driver’s ed this year. They are looking at offering the classroom portion from April 24-May 19 at PHS and have students find another avenue for driving time.
The Blood Drive has been moved to March 9 to ensure Vitalant could schedule more workers to accommodate more open donor spots. They will be using the bus this time as Missoula Children’s Theatre will be using that stage on that date.
Rehder reported the R3 assembly was held Friday, Feb. 3.
The spelling bee was held at the Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Henry Lustig was the winner with Matthew Jones as runner-up. Lustig will represent Prairie at the regional bee in Lewiston in March.
A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt “Into Reading” presentation will be held Monday March 20 at 2:45 in the boardroom. Rehder has received numerous emails from parents with interest in being on the committee.
There are 4 positions posted for next year: Speech and Language Pathologist and Music are posted in the local papers, the Lewiston Tribune and Idaho Statesman and they hope to find some candidates. 2^nd and 3^rd grade teaching positions have been posted and closed Friday, Feb. 24. They hope to conduct interviews and have candidates chosen for those two positions by the next board meeting.
In the facilities report, Rehder reported the high school gym foyer expansion was put on hold as the single bid received of $853,777 was out of the district’s budget range. They are looking at putting the project out for bids again this fall with a start date of March 2024.
The Elementary School expansion project would enclose the west end of the breezeway and add 2 classrooms to the building on the west lawn. This project was approved for bids by the board.
They need to look at the process for replacing the membrane on the gym roof. There have been numerous leaks the past couple of years,
In his superintendent report Rehder said they will be posting about destroying old Special Education records. Persons who may want to review their files or those of dependent children are asking to put in a request prior to March 31, 2023.
Rehder met with Kristi Enger at the Career and Technical Education building in Boise on Feb. 6 to look into options for Jarret Nuxoll and certification as the Ag teacher. He also had a conversation with Kasee Smith of the U of I about a plan of study. It appears they will be able to go with an alternate route with the U of I and CTE moving into the 2023-24 school year. Nuxoll will have 3 years to compete the degree.
Rehder attended the Superintendent Network meeting in Boise Feb. 7-8. Gov. Brad Little and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield were in attendance. Possible topics/bills in the legislature were discussed. Rehder said he testified in opposition to the voucher bill. Another bill eyed is doing away with the March and August levy election date options. Another is looking at doing away with open enrollment. This would make any school accept any and all students who want to open enroll in any school they choose with the only denial being if the student was expelled from their previous school.
Ryan Hasselstrom has finished the sex offender signs. They have 10 to place around the district based on the map he received from Cottonwood mayor Keith Holcomb.
Rehder said he would like to look into more compensation for Denise Uhlenkott who serves as business manager/Clerk/accounts payable and payroll for the District. He feels with her experience and knowledge she needs to be compensated accordingly. He also wants to look into salary options rather than hourly options.
Rehder also presented the board with a lengthy list of capital expenditure needs over the next 5 to 10 years. He is looking at prioritizing them as to what are dire and what can be scheduled over the next 5 to 10 years.
The board moved into an executive session at 6:51 p.m. Klapprich had to leave the meeting at this time. At 7:18 p.m. the board moved out of executive session and voted to approve a 2-year contract for Jr./Sr. High School Principal Matt Elven.
The meeting adjourned at 7:23 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Monday, March 20 at 7 p.m.