Rich School Board Meeting

Anita Weston,  Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

RANDOLPH, Utah.  April 16, 2013. Letters of congratulations were sent to all students who placed in state competitions.  The students are as follows:

            Girls’ Basketball All State First Team was Alisa Petersen. 

            Girls’ Basketball Academic All State First Team was Lynzee Wallentine. 

            Boys’ Basketball Academic All State First Team was Austin Groll. 

            Wrestling State Champions were Dyson Barker and Kade Earley. 

            Drill Team Academic All State First Team was Erin Ostler. 

Graduation is scheduled for May 24 at 7:00 p.m.  Chairman Pete Cornia will accept the graduates.  Board members Burdette Weston and Tammy Calder will pass out the diplomas.  The other board members will shake hands with the graduates. 

The Board already has a policy concerning hazing, harassing, and bullying.  It also contains a section on sexual harassment.  This policy covers everything that was needed by the State after Superintendent Dale Lamborn added cyber bullying to it.   The definitions in it were good; the necessity of reporting certain cases to law enforcement was present.  It didn’t appear as though anything else would be needed to be in compliance.  The Board approved the addition to this policy. 

A retirement letter has been received from Bob Johnson, an activity bus driver.  An individual has been substituting this past year and has done a good job.  Superintendent Lamborn asked if the Board would approve the job being offered to this individual.  Permission was granted. 

Thirty hours or more on a job qualifies a person for insurance.  This is a federal law.  The first year a person is on the job is called the measurement period.  No insurance is given.  However, the second year a person will qualify for insurance.  The measurement period starts over the second year and the cycle is in place.  Thus, the first year the activity bus driver works, he will not have insurance. 

Food service prices are going to have to be raised this coming school year.  The suggested price raise will be five cents more for breakfast and lunch.  This will pull the prices paid in the Rich County School District more in line with state and federal prices. 

Principal Motta requested that the middle school athletic director be placed on the extra duty schedule C.  Schedule C is the lowest schedule, but the athletic director has been with them long enough that he should be put on at the fifth step.  The athletic director is currently the President of the SW District and does a tremendous job at scheduling officials, games, and transportation.    The Board approved this request. 

School evaluations are becoming more important all the time.  The State is requiring schools to either come up with their own plan or adopt the State plan.  Superintendent Lamborn noted that the plan must be presented to the State by May 17.  The State will give all of the final updates to their plan on April 26.  Superintendent Lamborn recommended that the school district accept the state evaluation plan.  Minor tweaks can be made to the plan to make it more workable in the district.  Board approval was given to accept the State plan. 

The snow day will be made up on May 10. 

Several Legislative actions do affect what is being done.  All open meetings must have an audio part of the meeting posted on the website within three days of the meeting.  This goes into effect May 1. 

Another bill deals with procurement.  The bill itself is 188 pages long and needs clarification.  The District is planning on bringing an expert in to explain and train employees on the changes that have been made.  There are several penalties that go along with the bill, so it is a rather serious matter. 

Classified employees will not be paid retirement benefits if they work 20 hours or less.  In the past, it was 30 hours, so this is quite a change.  New hires can work up to 40 hours a week and not be paid the retirement benefit.  If and as soon as any other benefits are granted to that employee, then retirement must also be an added benefit.  It was recommended that employees be kept under 30 hours to avoid any real problems. 

It was suggested that Superintendent Lamborn meet with the classified employees and see if any of them would like to work more hours.   

The schools within our athletic area are still working on who should belong and where the games should be played.  Hopefully, they will be able to resolve this item soon. 

Bridgerland was given good support by the legislature this year.  They have approved their fees which is the same this next year as last year.  They were also given enough money to be able to add some new programs and give raises to their staff along with increased benefits. 

Career Days will be held there on May 1 and 2.  Two schools from Idaho and two from Wyoming will be attending along with 22 Utah schools.  They are planning on about 3,300 attending.  Middle school (7th, 8th, and 9th) grades are invited.  The high school age students don’t seem to be as interested, and so Bridgerland has not included them this year.   

The wellness challenge is being held again this year.  They are just doing the EMI portion.  So far 46 people are involved.   There will be a barbeque on Tuesday, May 21, at the park.  There will be a family fun run at 4:30 which is part of the challenge.  Wellness money will be used for the meat at the picnic.  The rest will be pot luck.  EMI rates will be higher next year but are still lower than other districts.

Health insurance for the entire District is going to be increasing again next year by approximately $152,000.  Employees will be asked to pay at least $4 more next year to help out with this expense. 

Long term substitutes are individuals who teach for more than two weeks at a time.  A long term substitute then qualifies for the bottom end of the salary schedule.  This should be looked into and a discussion and perhaps action taken at the next meeting. 

Bear River Health has asked for about 15 minutes at the next board meet to present some information to the Board.  This item should also be placed on the May agenda. The Trust Land video must be shown yearly.  This will also be placed on the May agenda.  Budget items need to be put on the May agenda as well. 

The next Board meeting will be held May 15.  The June Board meeting will be June 18.