The Lincoln County School District #2 board of trustees met on June 11 with the following items of note:
JC Inskeep addressed the board in terms of financials and projects within the budget of the district and reported that all major projects were up to date including the roofing aspects of many district buildings now completed and ready for their 20-year cycle. The lone exception of this was Star Valley Middle School which will now be done in phases.
A concerned member of the community addressed the board with a detailed presentation regarding the discussion to increase the number of credits to graduate for Star Valley High School which was tabled in the May meeting. She noted that graduation credits had increased from 29 to the current 31 just two years ago and that increasing it again to 32 would potentially place an unnecessary burden on students. She noted that it was admirable to have high achievements but do not believe the requirements are necessary and that SVHS is already higher than the vast majority of schools in the state. She showed via a visual presentation that 32 credits would make SVHS an “extreme outlier” in this regard compared to other schools.
In terms of policy, the board was informed by Superintendent Matt Erickson about the new laws which will come into place beginning on July 1. These included the sex-designated bathroom facilities and home schooling notification.
Ryan Lyman addressed the board and clarified that some bus stops in the district must be approved on an annual basis when operating on private property. These stops, which were the same as last year’s stops, were later approved.
Jake Rich proposed the idea of middle school soccer to the board. This would include four total teams for 7th and 8th grade boys and girls. The proposal included the cooperation of other middle school programs from Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs and Rawlins. It is anticipated that it be a spring sport with an anticipated length of six weeks and jamborees on Fridays and Saturdays at those locations.
Mr. Rich noted that the start-up costs for this program would be $22,159.60 with a year-to-year cost of $24,191.00.
Mr. Rich answered a question from the board as to the number of students expected to participate and he felt that 25-30 from each grade with cuts down to 18.
Warren Hicks addressed the board with a mostly facilities update with bleachers being replaced at Star Valley Middle School. These bleachers were the originals for the facility from 1984. Mr. Hicks also reported that district-wide basketball courts are expected to be refinished starting the week of July 7. He also noted that roofing efforts had begun at SVMS as well as landscaping at SVHS and the remodel of the Cokeville High School weight room.