Here are items of note from the last meeting of the Lincoln County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees which was held on Wednesday, October 9.

Star Valley High School Principal, Farren Haderlie, noted in his report to the board that 529 students at SVHS were involved in some form of extra-curricular activity. Those students held an average GPA of 3.57.

Haderlie also noted and recognized SVHS wrestling coach, Eddie Clark, for his recent induction into the Northern University Hall of Fame as part of the 1984-85 wrestling team. (*Editor’s Note: Clark was inducted into the Northern Hall of Fame individually in 2016)

Haderlie recognized the excellence of current students this fall and noted that Bryson Nield, Shaylah Frazier and Jase Burton were all recent nominations for wyopreps.com athlete of the week honors.

Mr David Saltzman addressed the board and reported on the Leader In Me Program and Etna Elementary School’s efforts to implement the program. He specifically reported efforts toward creating the proper learning culture and that this program was a very positive endeavor for the school.

JC Inskeep addressed the board with the financial report and stated that the district is within the boundaries that they “currently want to be.” Inskeep noted that the Joint Educators Committee uses four categories for schools; educational materials, energy, professional staff and non-professional staff, for their criteria and to create budgets. Superintendent Matt Erickson stated that money is divided to the 48 districts in the state and that the process now moves to the Joint Appropriations Committee and then to the governor who will recommend what he wants for the budget in the February session.

Superintendent Erickson reported to the board that overall enrollment for the district is down 25 students from last month and down ten by comparison to October of 2023.  He stated that Swift Creek High School is up 18 students while SVHS is down 35. Afton Elementary is up 23 compared to the first Friday of October 2023.

Erickson reported a status update on two Most Cost Effective Remedy (MCER) studies for the LCSD No. 2. One for the bus garage and the other for Etna Elementary. He noted that a MCER study can be triggered for two reasons by the state. One for capacity or by building condition. Erickson stated that the Wyoming School Facilities Commission had clarified that the study for Etna Elementary should not have taken place due to error on the commission’s part. They mistakenly used information that Etna Elementary was a K-3 format rather than a 4-6 grade facility.

“In Wyoming, each student is allotted a square footage,” Erickson said. “There is a difference of 50 square feet versus 40 square feet for fourth grade versus third grade. The state has owned this mistake and stated that the study should not have taken place due to this calculation error.”

The board accepted two sizable donations to the district. One for $500 was received and the other was from the Knights of Columbus and Coats For Kids program.

Ryan Lyman addressed the board for a transportation report. He reiterated that the district strives to not depart before 5 a.m. and two have students back in the district by 2 a.m. He noted that drivers can drive for ten hours and are then required to have an eight hour break.

Lyman also addressed the progression of using student ID cards and some issues with the scanners. He said that the department is switching to a Near Filed Communication (NFC) method similar to a room key or a building key where cards do not need to be lined up. He also reiterated that no actual data is stored on the cards in the case of loss. This process is moving forward while they wait on Bell Photography to finish printing the cards.

It was noted that the district will once again participate in Veterans Day events, November 11, starting with SVHS at 8:10 a.m. All schools will have events with Osmond Elementary being the final stop at 1:30 p.m. The district hopes to invite as many veterans as possible to participate.

Warren Hicks addressed the board for a facilities update and noted that work continues at SVHS in the stadium area with the sprinkler system installation and preparing for a final grade and sod.

Hicks informed the board of an increased expectation for the maintenance services has increased dramatically over the last 15 years.

“Overall, our square footage has increased,” he said. “The number of sports and sports teams has increased with more practices and locations. The number of events has increased. The amount that community use the facilities has increased, the number of students has increased and the habits of our students have changed.”

Hicks noted that the number of full time custodians has not increased and the the number of applicants has decreased. Along with this trend, the amount of job experience of custodians has decreased.

Hicks praised the use of a floor scrubber purchase in recent years while stating the unit saves many hours of time and has scrubbed 193,000 square feet of flooring. He requested a similar purchase for an automated vacuum sweeper citing the difficulty in finding staff and the ability of that staff to address more urgent concerns.

Board member Dave Jenkins inquired as to which fund this vacuum would be purchased and Mr. Inskeep answered that this request fits into the budget the district has for vacuums and things of that nature. The bid for the vacuums and charging station is approximately $35,000. The board approved the bid with all members in favor.

Superintendent Erickson reported that the Idaho Border Contract for those students in the area had no changes. The board approved this contract with all in favor.

An action item for Snap-On Tools to be added to the automotive program using a CTE Grant was presented. This would add approximately $24,000 in tools and carts for the program. It was approved with all in favor.

A bus purchase was presented for final approval with Mr. Lyman noting that it was on the standard replacement cycle. The old bus was a route bus and is being retired due to the number of years of use. He also pointed out that three busses were delivered with three more coming and that the process was started in 2020. All board members voted to in favor to approve the purchase.

It was noted by Chairman Darnell Simpson that volleyball gear in the amount of $2,000 and $1,000 to the FFA were donations that were being accepted.

Board member Lynn Call reiterated the call for the board to be more transparent in their purchases and praised a recent video production spearheaded by Mr. David Cazier.