The School Board held their November meeting Monday, Nov. 18.
In action items they approved the policies that had been discussed for the past several meetings.
They also approved the student overnight and out of state travel procedures that had also been discussed for several meetings. One of concerns added was to allow the school board at least 60 days to consider the request. Exempted would be any state or school sponsored activities such as state or national BPA or HOSA or athletic competitions.
Policy 3265 was approved which deals with student owned electronic communications devices and their allowed use during school hours.
A Prairie wrestling program was approved with Jeff North as coach. He would coach both the junior high and high school teams. High school practice started Nov. 19 with 7 boys and 2 girls signed up for the team. Junior high starts in January and had 8 students attend the preliminary meeting with a target of at least 6 signing up to get the program going.
Board members discussed the sessions they attended at the Idaho School Board Association convention. This was the first time in recent memory that all 5 board members attended along with Superintendent Jon Rehder and Clerk-Treasurer Denise Uhlenkott.
In the Jr./Sr. High report Matt Elven reported 34 juniors went on a U of I campus tour on Oct. 23.
He was pleased with the results of the PSAT as Prairie students did very well in comparison to state and national averages.
They had 37 parents sign in for parent-teacher conferences.
They did some upgrades to the CNA classroom adding a heater, a hospital gurney donated by Syringa Hospital and 2 upgraded medical mannequins. Kenny Geis is also in the process of adding electric conduits to provide additional outlets and circuits for the medical equipment used.
Jr. High boys basketball has 19 students turned out, eleven 8^th graders and eight 7^th graders. Jr. High cheerleading has 6 girls turned out, five 8^th graders and one 7^th grader.
Girls basketball started Nov. 4 with 23 girls. They competed at a Jamboree at Grangeville on Nov. 14.
Prairie League held Daddy Date Night on Nov. 10. 71 attended. Stan Lockett was chosen as Father of the Year.
The Veterans Day assembly went well with 17 veterans in attendance.
Five FFA students traveled to the U of I to compete in Creed Speaking and Greenhand competitions. They did very well. See photo on page 1.
The fall blood drive had 38 donors on Nov. 14.
Boys basketball practice started Nov. 15 with 20 boys signed up at this time.
14 students in advanced biology attended Health Professionals Day at LCSC on Nov. 15.
Max Rehder, Sage Elven and Sydney Shears, who are members of the IHSAA Student Advisory Council, and principal Elven were to travel on Nov. 20 to Lewiston High School for a Fall Symposium. The focus will be on how students and administration can work together and improve sportsmanship.
The Idaho County Shootout with Grangeville is set for Friday, Dec. 6 at Prairie High School Members of the two students bodies met on Monday, Nov. 18 to begin the planning process for the event.
Jon Rehder reported the R3 assembly combing November/December will be on Dec. 17.
He completed his classroom walkthroughs except for 1 staff member that he will do in early December.
Parent teacher conferences were held Oct. 29-30 with 206 of 219 students represented by at least one parent.
The Elementary students were bussed to the high school for the Veterans Day assembly.
In his facilities report, Rehder reported the high school window replacement is set for this summer. The plan is to call for bids after either the January or February board meeting. He had a bid of just under $200,000 last spring for 78 windows and feels it should be close to that.
They have had issues with the heater for the ag shop for years. He and Rick Forsmann met with Nick Ackerman of Rocky Mountain HVAC and they are going to go with propane heaters and leave the current heater on the roof as an electric backup. They are looking at about $14,000-$15,000 for this project.
They are also looking at thermostat upgrades at the high school. The ones installed in 2018 and 2019 were able to monitor the heat and A/C on a computer program but are starting to go offline. They are looking at about $500 per thermostat plus labor to replace them. They are looking at $9,000-$10,000 to complete this job.
In his superintendent report he noted the Kubota tractor was sold with a high bid of $14,585. It was picked up on Nov. 11.
PeeWee wrestling held a meet at Prairie on Nov. 2 with 278 wrestlers from around the area and an estimated 1000 people in attendance.
He will be meeting with the calendar committee on Dec. 2 to work on the 2025-26 school calendar.
Superintendent and principal evaluations are coming up with Rehder’s scheduled for January and Elven’s for February.
The board adjourned to an executive session at 8:05 p.m.
The next regular meeting of the board is set for Monday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.