Rich School Board Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  July 19, 2017.  A work session was held beginning at 5 p.m.  The regular school board meet didn’t begin until 7 p.m.

Each year parents and students are asked to sign the Acceptable Use Electronic Information Policy and the Responsible Use Agreement.  These two documents have been reworked to clarify a couple of issues.  The filter that is used on the computers is there to assist in preventing students from getting into unacceptable web sites.   However, filters are not one hundred percent accurate in protecting students.  The wording has been changed so that access to one-line sites will still be filtered with the idea that students will work on the computer using acceptable and responsible procedures.  The motion was made and accepted to update the Acceptable Use Electronic Information Policy.

The Responsible Use Agreement asks each student and his/her parents to be grateful to have computer access and take good care of his/her machine.  Students should be careful in their use and care of the computer as they work with the device and as they interface with the internet.  In other words, be respectful of their computer equipment.  A $35 fee has been added to this agreement.  The motion was made and passed by the board to accept the changes to this agreement.

Fees for the middle school were discussed and accepted at last month’s meeting.  The board ratified this change in fees.

Rich Middle School has decided to attempt to separate grading into two parts—academic and behavior.  The academic grade will focus on the ability of the student to learn and use the information they are studying.  The behavior grade will be used as a guide for eligibility in participating in activities.  Parents will be contacted so that they can give their opinion and see how this works.  The behavior grade will be determined weekly and handled on Monday night for infractions.

The example was given of a student who did his homework but didn’t hand it in on time.  He had 100 percent on his assignment but because it was two weeks late, it was given a grade of 70 percent resulting in a C grade. Keeping track of his learning and how he behaves would result in an A grade in learning and a C grade in behavior.  The C grade can be changed by working after school on Monday.

The behavior grade scale would be:  H for honors, S for satisfactory, N needs improvement, and U unsatisfactory.

Principal Motta is to be congratulated on being appointed to represent the 7^th Regional District as a member of the National Secondary Principal School Board.  He will be attending three meetings a year to fulfill this obligation.

The fall athletic schedules were discussed.  There always seems to be a problem with UEA week.  There is a game schedule for Wednesday, October 18.  Since Rich doesn’t take UEA off, the game will be at 6:00 p.m. here in Randolph. The high school will be playing another game on Thursday October 19.  The game will also be home and will begin at 5:15. There are eight schools this year in our region for football.

The schedule for football for the middle school currently has three games scheduled.  The rest will be determined as the other schools make their schedules in August.

Monty Weston will be representing the School Board at the Institute Opening on August 21.  He has been asked to take 5 to 10 minutes at that activity.  The time for his talk will be close to 8:00 p.m.

The Delegate Assembly is scheduled for August 11-12.  There will be meeting Friday night and all-day Saturday.  Bryce Huefner noted that he would like to attend.

Policy 700 has been drafted and given to the Board Members for their input.  It was noted that there were several suggestions that might improve that policy.  After the suggestions and discussion were completed, the motion was made to approve this policy including the suggested changes.  Motion carried.

Mr. Limb, the grounds and building supervisor reported on work being done this summer.  The bathrooms in the Randolph elementary building right next to the school office and superintendent’s office were brought up to ADA code and automatic flushers were installed.

The middle school had a roof section that was leaking.  After checking on this and getting started to repair, the weight room was included because of some leaking there as well.  That area has been shingled.

Limb has darkened the gymnasium which will save some money down the road.  A couple of the bathrooms have been retiled.

In the Randolph lunch room, a sharp edge machine was bringing up 12” tiles from the concrete floor when the machine started to spark.  After looking the situation over, it was determined that a 120-volt electric line had been sealed in cement instead of properly terminating that line.  After turning off the sharp edge machine and making the needed changes in that line, Limb could continue to fix the tile in that area.

Limb also noted that he discovered a manhole cover in the in closet right off the kitchen.  He wanted to replace the rug that was there and pulled it up.  He climbed down the man hole and noted that he found tunnels under the parking lot that had been used in the past for steam pipes.  He reported that he didn’t realize any of that even existed and thought the Board should know about it.

Limb will need to rent a man lifter to replace all the lights in the parking lot.  The window guys came and replaced two heavy, steel and glass doors.   Bids will be let out for asphalt pot hole repairs.

The Board thanked Limb for his report and thanked him for the good work that he is doing.  It was noted that he is always busy and has made some tremendous improvements on the school’s properties.

The Leadership Academy is scheduled for later this fall.  If any of the Board Members want to go, they need to let the office know before August 11.

July 25, Lyle Hillyard will be in Logan to discuss tax reform.  Rich School District should be concerned because if changes are made in how money is spent, the smaller schools will probably be given less money in the future.

The Truth in Taxation meeting will be held August 16 and will begin at 6:30. The August School Board Meeting will be held that night from 6:00 to 6:30 so that the Board Members can attend the Truth in Taxation Meeting.