Tennis Courts, New Vehicle, and 21st Century Program Discussed at First School Board Meeting of Year

At the first school board meeting of the 2022-2023 school year, the summer was discussed as well as future plans for the Whitehall Trojan Campus.

Superintendent Hannah Nieskens announced that the tennis courts near Yellowstone Trail on the school campus will soon be removed and disposed of by Whit Smith of Whitehall. The school has been working towards the removal of the unrepairable courts for several years, though with the acrylic in the refuse, it has been difficult to find somewhere to dispose of the waste.

"It doesn't look like it when you're just driving by, they look good from a distance," Nieskens said. "But there are horrific 9" deep cracks from frost rot." Several years ago the courts were condemned by the school's insurer and repairing the courts would cost upwards of $600,000; hence removal was the decided option. The current chainlink fence will remain; there are several options for what to do with the property being discussed, though nothing formal at this time.

Kristen Wirth and Lynnsey Moen, coordinators of the 21st Century After-School program presented a detailed look at what they accomplished over the summer. The summer program, in 2021, had about 60 students attend; in 2022 120 students were signed up and participating regularly. Classes focused on STEM exposure, citizenship, community involvement, and more. Each student participating left the summer program with either a Chromebook or iPad that was no longer in circulation from the school. Wirth and Moen also detailed the development of their new classroom.

Nieskens mentioned that the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds received during the pandemic needed to be spent by 2024 and she had been looking into items they could be used towards. In the past, the school has used the ESSER funds to do the window upgrades campuswide, install the elementary flooring, and upgrade the middle school boiler system. Nieskens said transportation is one of the categories ESSER funds could be expended on and with transportation costs at a premium, Nieskens asked the board's permission to look into quotes for a Freightliner Ultracoach or a 15-passenger van. Either of these vehicles could be used for smaller sports teams or extracurricular groups. The Ultracoach is a smaller bus than a school bus, can carry 30-45 passengers, and saves about 40% on fuel costs. It would require a CDL licensed driver. The 15-Passenger van would not require a CDL license and would be perfect for even smaller travel groups, such as cross country going to districts/divisionals/state or basketball teams. The board agreed to look into transportation options.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was issued by the Jefferson County Health Department (JCHD), which stated its purpose was to establish a partnership between the JCHD and Whitehall School to offer public health nursing services; focusing on health promotion and disease prevention to provide staff and students with an optimal learning environment. This agreement would establish a framework for the provision of school health services provided by JCHD. Nieskens said she could not in good faith sign without bringing it to the attention of the school board, as she felt it "does nothing for the district" and could actually be a FERPA violation of students' rights. During the meeting, Nieskens discussed her concerns with the board, who decided not to sign as written.

In an email with the MOUs attached on September 7, Nieskens said, "I was sent the MOU by Public Health Supervisor Pam Hanna and told, "this year a new MOU was reviewed and approved by Sandy Sacry, Jefferson County Health Officer, and Steve Haddon, Jefferson County Attorney."

"In particular, item 2a of the MOU was concerning to me because Whitehall Schools has its own nursing staff so to grant unilateral access to district software programs and student records including health information would appear to be a violation of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act," Nieskens wrote. " Therefore I declined to sign the MOU and replied to inquire if there was an alternative for schools that had their own nursing staff."

Later on September 7, Nieskens was sent an amended MOU for schools that have their own nurse on staff. The new document removed all, of the clauses Nieskens had concerns about, and will be presented for approval at the October board meeting.

ENROLLMENT:

Elementary: 211

6-8: 127

9-12: 147

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Casey Norbeck, High School Counselor, was awarded Mr. Slater's first Traveling Trojan award, for his dedication to getting student schedules corrected for the new year. Norbeck will choose next month's winner.

• Coffee with Koenig will resume on September 27th at 8:30 AM in the elementary conference room.

• Trojan sports numbers are sitting at 64 students participating in the middle school and 61 in the high school.

• Jade Harrison, Raven Hyrsenko, and Bill Hildebrandt were approved as substitute teachers.

• Kerry Kraha and Michelle McReynolds were hired as paraprofessionals.

• Anna Nelson was hired as a cook's helper.

• The nurses' office is being remodeled with a sink, cabinets, and countertops.