Kathie B. Anderson, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
The Rich County School District held its regularly scheduled Board meeting on April 27th.
RANDOLPH, Utah. April 27, 2021. The Bear Lake Community Health Center decided not to present its grant application because the deadline for the application had already passed. The Health Center was requesting a letter of support, but Superintendent Dale Lamborne wasn’t comfortable sending a support letter without authorization from the School Board. He did, however, send a letter indicating that the School District has very limited space to accommodate the grant activities and that he did not know whether the School Board would be interested. Superintendent Lamborn indicated that it might be a great activity for the future.
Taralyn Cornia, Rich County School District Correspondent to the State regarding State Trustland Funds, explained that the School Board is responsible to pass or reject each Trustland Plan based on the highest academic needs in each school. (Refer to Utah Code Section 53G-7-1206 and State School Board (UAC) Rule R277-477-4, dealing with the appropriate use of School Land Trust Program funds. The Trustland Plans were submitted by Superintendent Lamborn, Principal Kip Motta, and Taralyn Cornia, representing Principal Rick Larsen. The total Trustland funding for the South Rich Elementary School is $59,411. Superintendent Lamborn presented the South Rich Elementary Plan to the Board. Highlights from the Plan include: Goal # 1 Students will show growth in reading from the beginning to the end of the school year. Goal #2, Students will show growth in math from the beginning to the end of the school year.
Taralyn Cornia presented the Rich High School (RHS) Trustland Funds Plan, the highlights from which include: Goal #1 increase ACT scores from sophomore to junior year test scores by an average of 2 points per student. Goal # 2 Students will increase their junior ACT reading scores by 2 points from their sophomore year. Goal # 3 Teachers will use their Professional Development to implement better instructional practices as reflected in a 2 point increase in composite ACT scores, individually, from the sophomore to the junior ACT test. Goal # 4 Special education students will increase their composite ACT scores by 2 points from the sophomore to junior ACT test. The total Trustlands funding for RHS is $81,440.
Principal Kip Motta presented the North Rich Elementary (NRE) Trustland Plan, with the following highlights: Goal #1 Every NRE student will show reading level growth from the beginning to the end of the school year. Goal #2 Every student will have increased exposure to the fine arts, including singing and dance. Goal #3 Every student will show growth in numeracy skills and understanding from the beginning to the end of the school year. Total Trustlands funding for NRE (with carryover) is $59,515.
Principal Motta also presented the Rich Middle School (RMS) Trustland Plan, including the following highlights: Goal # 1 All students will improve their reading fluency and comprehension levels from the beginning to the end of the school year. Goal # 2 To continue the implementation of the one-on-one initiative, improve technology delivery within the classrooms and continue digital literacy instruction, which will affect all curricular areas, along with digital and personalized learning. Goal # 3 students will demonstrate improvement in skills and knowledge relative to Pickleball. An additional aspect of this goal is to show academic growth in reading. Goal # 4 Eighth grade students will show improvement in their science understanding and performance on the RISE test by scoring an aggregate higher than the state average. Goal # 5 To improve students’ exposure to vocational education experiences in woodworking or welding.
There was a lengthy discussion regarding Principal Motta’s RMS plan and the goal that is tied to physical education purchases. The Board then passed a motion to approve Trustland Plans for all Rich County School District schools for the 2021 – 2022 school year.
The Board discussed options for recording and archiving regular Board meetings, in response to a letter from legal counsel relative to the responsibilities and options for archiving the Board’s ZOOM meetings. This item was tabled for further research on the subject.
If two or more gyms are being used, an additional fee of $150 will be required to be paid by whoever reserved the building. Mrs. Esterholdt requested that everyone who uses the gym be required to schedule the use with either Mrs. Allen at the Laketown campus or Mrs. Hoffman at the Randolph campus. The consensus of the Board was to table this item for later discussion after obtaining more information.
By motion, the following resignations were accepted by the Board: Mrs. Lemmert as Special Education Aide at North Rich Elementary, effective at the end of the current school year; and Mrs. Hasse Gifford as Lunch Room Cook at the Laketown campus, effective at the end of the current school year. The Board also approved the reassignment of Tyson Larsen as a half-time teacher at Rich Middle School an a half-time teacher at Rich High School. Also by motion, the Board approved the hiring of Ashley Rex as an elementary school teacher and Jesse Calder as the Rich Middle School Girls Basketball Coach, and the reassignment of Frank Smith from North Rich Elementary School to Rich Middle School.
McKina Stacey was recognized for receiving girls basketball First Team All State recognition; and the Board members signed a congratulatory letter to her. It was announced that cheerleading has been sanctioned as a sport by UHSSA.
Board member Scott Sabey was appointed to represent the Rich School District at the Delegate Assembly that will be held on August 22, 2021.
Board member Eric Wamsley stated that the Bridgerland Technical College has reported that construction of the new Health Science Building is underway.
The Board joined in recognizing Mrs. Stuart and Mrs. Cornia on the occasion of their retirements. A banner for Coach Stuart will be hung in the gym next to her teams’ State banners.
