001Dr. Newton, do we have any adjustments to the agenda this evening? >> Madam Chair, we have no adjustments for this evening's agenda. >> Madam Chair, I >> you move to approve the agenda. >> And I second. All in favor of approving the agenda, please say I. >> I opposed. Okay, that has been approved. Before we go into our recognition of staff and students, I just wanted to um make sure that um Trusty Cook, she should be online tonight. Um so you only see one less. Kyle says yes. So um she'll be participating though on online. So, to kick off our recognition of staff and students, uh we're going to start tonight by recognizing two students of the week. Uh the first student of the week is Bailey Wson, who is an eighth grader at Kerry
002Junior High School. And if Bailey is here and could come forward with principal Matt Slegel and favorite teacher, Ella Parish, please. Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Newton, thank you for the opportunity to celebrate tonight with a truly amazing student, uh, Bailey Wson. Bailey was nominated for this award for just her outstanding achievement in the classroom, incredible grades, 99% achievement over the last two years, which is a pretty incredible feat for a junior high student. Um, and just a true kind, quiet leadership that she brings to the school every single day. Bailey makes those around her better, and that includes us as a staff. So, Bailey, congratulations. This is a well-earned honor for you. >> Hello everyone. My name is Bailey Wson and I'm an eighth grader at Kerry. I want to take a
003minute to talk about something I get excited about. History class with Ella Parish. History class has been one of my favorite classes because of the effort Miss Parish puts into my learning and willingness to make class interesting. My point of academic strength is the willingness to learn and listen to teachers in classes and make sure to keep up my grades. I enjoy school sports, particularly volleyball and track. I also partake in volleyball with school tournaments on weekends. I I'm also an orchestra playing the violin. At home, I spend time building houses on computers and my future plans is to learn learn and study architecture as it is a career I am interested in. Thank you to Terry Junior High and the school board for student of the week recognization. I am truly honored. I especially
004want to thank all my current teachers for the normization. Thank you. First, I had it pulled up and now it's gone. All right. Um, I'm Ella Parish. I teach eighth graders US history. I'm actually kind of surprised that Bri asked me here because she's been so quiet for the first quarter um of school. um she's so so quiet and I often found myself wondering like how she really felt about the material. Um she seemed hesitant when completing her work and at times I could tell that she was doubting her own abilities. Um but then came time for our first unit assessment and we just shined. Um I was so surprised, I was shocked, I was very pleased. Um, suddenly it was clear that the concepts had been clicking for her all along. And I realized
005that she simply needed permission to take risks, to trust herself, and to know that speaking up, even if you aren't sure if your answer is correct, is just a part of growing. Um, it's been an absolute pleasure to start my mornings with Brley in class. She brings a thoughtful work ethic and a quiet leadership to the classroom. She knows when it's time to get down to business, but also doesn't take herself too seriously. We have a lot of fun. I can already see that she's beginning to recognize what we see in her that she is very capable, talented, and driven. Raise is becoming an incredible force, and I know that this won't be the last that we see of her. Congratulations, baby. I'm very proud of you, and it means the world that you invited
006me to be here tonight. Um, Kerry Junior High School, the East Triad, and uh, LCSD number one are very lucky to have you. I would ask for Bailey spokes to rise or anybody that is here to support her tonight. That'd be fantastic. Give you guys a round of applause as well. >> Next, we'd like to recognize Chris Clark, who is a senior at Triumph High School. We could have principal Mike Maloney come forward along with Chris and Chris's favorite teacher, Amber Martins. Please. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Trustees, Dr. Newton. Uh, good evening. Is my pleasure to have the opportunity to introduce another one of our outstanding triumph students, Chris Clark. Uh, Chris is joined up here by one of his favorite teachers, Amber Martins. And I know two of those other favorite teachers are
007in the crowd, Amy and Sandra. Thank you both for being here. Uh Chris is a senior who has attended Triumph a little over two years. He has good attendance, A's in all his classes and 24.5 credits. Chris will graduate at the end of the current quarter in mid January. Chris is a quiet, confident leader in our school who always displays his discovery skills of being prompt, prepared, polite, having a positive male attitude, participating and producing. Chris will now share a little bit more about himself. [clears throat] Good evening. My academic strengths are writing and math. And outside of school, my interests are cars, drawing, and music. A point of pride for myself is finishing a class or getting a good grade on a test that I was worried about. My future plans are to get
008my real estate license and pursue that as a career. I want to say thank you to my dad for always supporting me and my decisions. I chose Amber, my favorite teacher, because she is really supporting and always says hi to me when I pass her in the class. Make passing her in the halls, making me feel welcomed. I also want to say thank you to Justin and Sander for being there for me and always willing to let me talk about life. Thank you for nominating me at this year for the student of the week. >> Hi, I'm Amber. I'm uh one of Chris's many or I am one of Chris's teachers who Hi Chi. I'm one of many staff members who call Chris their favorite in life. And Sandra, thank you for coming too because
009I know you love him lots. In life, you learn that the loudest one in the room is not always the strongest or most brave. And Chris, as a true gentleman, exemplifies in his quiet nature what pure strength, courage, humility, and kindness. Chris models how one can find their center while going through personal challenges and heavy heartbreak. None of us are perfect, but how we respond to those who have failed us or when we have failed ourselves shows our true vision. And Christian's true center is one of humility, grace, and wisdom. It can be easy to be successful when others haven't given you when others have not given you challenges or you haven't had your own challenges to overcome. And that is why I am so proud of you succeeding in life and school. Thank you
010for letting me witness your growth and your inner power. I also want to thank your dad, Chris Senior, for being your son's number one fan. Remember, Chris, you're graduating soon and leaving us, but you will never have to go through life alone. I'm so proud of you. So, as much kindness that you give to others, remember to give kindness to yourself because you are worthy of all the goodness that life can bring. I'm excited for you to live your peace and succeed in all your dreams. present Chris with his um certificate. Would his dad Chris and his girlfriend Ariana please stand and be recognized? The student of the week awards are sponsored by Western Vista Federal Credit Union. And at this time, I'd like to ask a representative from the credit union. I I didn't
011have your name. I'm sorry. But he is going to they provide gift cards and certificates for honores. So, we'll let you take it away. Thank you. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, trustees. My name is Ryan Sinoski. I am the director of mortgage over at Western Vista Credit Union and we are grateful to be a part of this. Uh it's great to learn more about these kids and their achievements. We're very excited to be participating in the program again this year. Um in recognition of the efforts put forth by the students of the week, we're proud to present certificates of achievement and a little Visa gift card. And I would like to uh present these and also wish you all the best in the future and congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. for being here.
012>> She's very >> next we will be recognizing the 4A state girls cross country first place team uh champions from Central High School. So at this time if uh Dr. Karen Delbridge would come. Are you are you doing the presentations? And we maybe the coaches Sean Wild and assistant coach Jessica Sains. Good evening. So, I'd like to introduce our 4A girls cross country state champions. Uh, I have just absolutely love cross country and it's one of those sports that sometimes people forget because we don't have the large crowds like you do at a football and basketball game. But what I appreciate about these young women is that they have a goal in mind. They have a plan and they implement it and they know how to win. And I appreciate them so much. So, I'm
013going to introduce uh Sean Wild, our coach, and let him talk about the season. Uh, it's been pretty amazing. So, >> it has been a pretty amazing season. And these women that are here with me, they don't really recognize how awesome they are right now. They're licking the wounds because they're very disappointed in the the weekend that they had, which considering they did the best that any Wyoming team has when it comes to the Nike regional meet, it it says a lot about their character that they're not satisfied by not getting the opportunity to go one more week, which that's how every season ends. There's always one last race. And even though they're super nervous about being up here, I tried to get any of them to talk. None of them wanted to talk. So,
014I even tried to get coach signs to talk, but she wouldn't talk. So, you all are stuck listening to me. But the special thing about this group of girls is not about how fast and how hard they run and they work. It's about the fact that they make it enjoyable to be on the team. Not just as an athlete, but also as a coach. I always joke every year when things are hard and things are difficult about this is my last year. Looks like this is this is it. This is how I ended in my tenure here at Central High School. Where we live, they always make it a little bit harder to go away because every year there always seems to be a new group that is faster and stronger. And this group is
015absolutely no different. Seeing as they recently won the state meet, all the coaches coming up to me, coming up to them, congratulating them for a great season even before they ran the race and saying that I was the most relaxed coach there. Most of these young women have got the opportunity to stand up here before or this exact same situation because they've been a part of state championship teams already. And I know most of them will be up here again because they're going to get more state championship titles this year. There's still two more seasons for them, indoor track and outdoor track. So, it's exciting. If we have any parents or families that are here to support our cross country, would you stand and be recognized? >> I'll go ahead and I'll introduce them, too.
016We got Malia Adams, Case, Kylie Dobin, Adeline MS, Sophia Rose, Sydney Goth, Ella Montana, and Cla Clos. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you. You guys, >> next we are excited to recognize uh members of the East High school FFA national and um reserve champions. If Mr. Ellen would come forward with all of his FFA students and share with us some exciting news. >> Good evening everybody. I have the pleasure of introducing uh a unique group of students representing FFA at East High School. FFA is one of those activities that requires an incredible level of commitment of time and energy. There is no clear stop and start. There is no season. Uh these kids are just always working on something. So Joe Allen took a group of great kids to the FFA National Convention and I'll let him
017tell you more about how they did. Thank you, Mr. Kersner. Um up here we've got several of our students that just recently had the opportunity to go out to nationals. Last spring, probably in April or May, I was here. Um and we were talking about our success at the state level. And at that I I mentioned that um I had a pinch myself all the time because um after doing this thing for 20 years, this was absolutely the best state convention we'd ever had with as many state championships as we had and it was just a great year. Um well that continued on and when we went out to nationals um the same thing was true. As a matter of fact, I had a pretty old friend um a teacher that's um from back east
018that I ran into. He had a team that had done well and was getting recognized on the big stage in Lucas Oil Stadium. And he said, "Man, you better uh you better take a picture of this. Like take a selfie of you back here behind this stage." Because he said there's a teachers all over this country that dream of getting to be recognized on this stage. and maybe they never do in their career. And I didn't tell him, but I was like, well, we were back here last night because we got to do it multiple times while we were out there. So, it was really cool. These kids, um, I talked with my students, all the students when I got back and said, you look at any of these kids and and to me, this
019is what integrity is. And I know that integrity, everybody says, you know, it's the doing the right thing when nobody's looking. And we always think of like, well, you save a drowning kitten or you pick up trash when nobody else is around. But these guys um for me they are the picture of integrity because um they did well and they they reached success because they were doing the right thing as far as uh working to better themselves and their team when nobody else was looking. It was beyond the practices. Yeah, we had practices all the time um getting ready for nationals. We have a team up here that was meeting 6:30 in the morning every morning. We had another team that was mingling multiple times in the evenings going late into the evenings. um and
020they were doing it because they knew that's what they needed to do for their team and and to be successful. And so um to me that is integrity is is doing that all the time and making that their their life while they were preparing for this. So um the the results we had out there um we had a team that uh two individuals that were um pairs that last year they got to go out to nationals in the aggra science um fair. That's it's just like any other science fair, but this is at the national level. all members across the nation um have the ability to be in it. And um last year that team went out and was recognized third in the nation for their project. [clears throat] Um which was that was the
021absolute highest we'd ever been as a chapter and and so was really exciting to have those types of results. Well, that team took that project, tweaked it, changed some things like decided to really go in in a maybe a little bit different direction but also a lot more in depth. and they took what they learned from um being third in the nation and find figuring out where they could improve and they went through the process again, won the state contest with their new project and they went out to nationals and they were named to national champions. So um Brody Medina and Reagan Allen were national champions. Um which their favorite part about the whole thing is those blue ribbon pins on their jackets. Um you don't get those unless you win a national contest. So
022that was pretty exciting exciting for them. So congratulations to them. Then we had a rather large team, seven individuals that um participated in the aggra science or sorry the uh the a issues forum and that is where they pick an agricultural issue, they research it so they know sides of it. They prepare a skit so that they can go out into the public and um kind of set a scenario and set the stage and and let people inform people and educate them on the issues. Um this issue that they did this year was dealing with um the use of pesticides in agriculture and how that impacts the endangered species and how those two pieces of of law. Um the fifth grade which looks at fun like well um insecticides and versus um the endangered species
023act and how those sometimes can intermingle and most of the time they can conflict each other and so they really looked at that and um looked at a lot of specific stuff. They have to be very versed in everything in the legal side of things, in the issue side of things. They have to be up to date on um anything that's happening nationwide um pertaining to that um that's been in the news. And then um they do a 15-minute presentation followed by um seven to eight minutes of questions from a panel of judges. They also have to prepare a big portfolio that that covers it and they also have to document all of their forums that they went to. So pretty impressive just to look at how they got to network in forums. Um they
024presented to um our the governor of Wyoming. They presented to the Supreme Court um in Wyoming. They even got to travel out to Washington DC and present to the US Department of Interior. So that was all prep work to be able to go and compete at nationals. Um that's a contest out at nationals that goes through several rounds. So you have to move on to move to the next round. So they easily went through preliminaries, made it to semi-finals, which is only the top 16 in the nation. Um then they found out that they knocked off several really high power teams in the semi-final and made it to the final four. Um and the final four means you get to go on stage all miked up and um it's live streamed and also recorded. So
025it'll be on the website for the next 10 years. So, a teachers that are are preparing teams over the next 10 years will pull videos of our kids um to see how it's done and um so um make it to the final four and then they don't tell you how you do until you go out on the big stage in front of 35,000 kids in the um the stadium at Lucas Oil Stadium and um then they just start calling off fourth place, third place, second place and Still Water Oklahoma was up there with us and Still Water Oklahoma has won it numerous times and um they kind of can get in your head and we like, man, we we're going up against Still Water and fourth place was Still Water, Oklahoma. So, we're like like
026huge like we don't care where we land now. Um we ended up meeting third place like so um third place was in Colorado and then they called for the reserve national champion team was from Wyoming and that was us. So again um that team was Reagan Allen, Brody Medina, sorry, Alex Mai, just mixing it up a little bit. Um Hannah, Danielle Meta, and Cooper Miller. Um, we also had Brandon Nelie on that team, but he's a state FFA officer and he's traveling around the state doing chapter visits right now. So, he wasn't able to be here tonight, but like to congratulate this team for achieving such a high level of success at the national level. And then finally, our um other team that we want to recognize tonight is um our horse evaluation team. And
027this team um they have had quite a run. They they've won I I don't I've lost track of how many contests leading up to this um because they've been doing a lot. They've um traveled all around the state. We went to a lot of different contests to prepare. Um anytime that there was a horse judging contest, whether we went to Riverton or Powell or Sheridan or um like we've just been all over the place. They've also been doing the same thing in 4 um outside of FFA. They've had lots of opportunities. They've gone down to Denver and um were you guys were reserved down there? Yes. um reserve at in Denver um as reserve national champions for um 4. Then um a week before our national contest, we went out to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 4
028and you guys were fourth. >> No, sorry, you >> okay? I don't know why I was thinking for they were reserve there as well out in Tulsa Oklahoma in 4 again and then um a week later they turn around and and head out to Indianapolis to travel with FFA and up there it's a two-day contest. So unlike most the other contests it's just like a day or a half a day contest. This one's a full two days. It's pretty grueling. They not only have to evaluate classes of horses um and then give oral reasons on that but then the next day they also have to do a team scenario. they have to do practicums where they identify different types of feed and tac and um diseases and like it's they take a written test. So
029it's very very comprehensive um especially compared to what we typically do out here and um they ended up being uh fifth overall in the nation. So, um again, beating teams like Texas and Oklahoma that typically are always right up there at the top. Um and uh pretty impressive when if you look at those schools, their names typically end with career academy and um our kids that are attending a traditional high school are still getting it done and being able to do that. So, um huge congratulations. Uh the team members that are here tonight is Catalina Walsski, Abigail Mile, Calli Rosner, and then Charlotte Elman is our fourth individual who wasn't able to be here tonight. So, congratulations to them as well. >> And then we have certificates for two other individuals for um another deal
030that it was um actually earned prior to national convention, but they received recognition at national convention. And just want to um give them a shout out. Um both Reagan, um and Bernie Navina also applied for um and went through the process of getting proficiency awards which um looks at their projects in Agg and um in those projects they have to keep tons of recordkeeping. They have to show any financial transactions, time like any journal and time that they spend and um then they have fill out this very lengthy application and and talk about um everything from the goals to their results and and where they're headed next. And so um they won at the state level and got to submit those to at the national level and they were identified both as um gold individuals
031at the national level which put them in the top 10 in the nation um for those applications. So Reagan's was goat production and burdens was um aggra science research. So sorry congratulations to those two as well. We have parents or family members supporting these great students. Would you please stand so we can give you a round of applause? Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. How do you guys speak about? >> Well, we do. We're going to wrap up tonight's recognition um with one that I think has become a real highlight for our board and that is our LCSD1 employee spotlight award where each month the board is recognizing a staff member out in the district who has been nominated and selected um for all their hard work and contributions. So tonight we will be recognizing
032Denise is it Aldana? Aldana >> Aldana um who's a PAR educator. She's going to be recognized by South High School uh Principal Carrie Gentry. >> Well, they saved the best for last. >> Yes. [laughter] >> I'm Principal Gentry over at South High School and um this is my first uh staff spotlight opportunity and oh my gosh, it's such a blessing. Okay. So, um the reason that I'm excited is because I got to see Denise um in action as a teacher and then now as a principal. And what a true celebration. Um I went along with some staff members and some great positive things and they said she's the first to help out. She's hardworking. She helps kids. She builds relationships and she's truly loved at South. But the one thing that I wanted to mention
033maybe a multiple okay was first like she is the first person to write a thank you card a grieving card for any staff member a birthday card and she passes it around and not and because I know her personally she is a prayer warrior. She prays for these kids. She prays for the school and she prays for the staff members and I I am truly just blessed to have myself. So thank you. >> Thank you. Is there anything you want to say? >> Um, it's an honor. Um, I owe a lot to my husband, Matthew, over there. He tells me to stay in my lane. I try. Sometimes I have to regroup myself. Um, I do pray a lot and I love to write thank yous. And I know when I see our kids in
034the newspaper or they do something good, I've written cards to them saying, "Hey, we see you." Because South is not the I don't know. We're trying to make ourselves better. We're always trying to improve and I know we have a lot of new staff. So, I just thought it was nice to make them feel welcomed. [clears throat] >> But our principal is awesome. So, thank you. >> And if there's family or friends like Denise, can you stand and we'll celebrate this one? >> So, Well, we'll do this and then keep it on YouTube recognition for us. >> Thank you guys. >> So, at this time, I'd like to call Mr. Sinowski back up from Western Vista, please. >> Thank you. On behalf of Western Vista, we'd like to extend our heartfelt congratulations for you being
035selected as the employee spotlight of the month. Your contributions to the district are valued and they are blessed to have you. Congratulations. She's not coming. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. At this time, we'll move into the information and reports section of our agenda. Uh we typically start this out with public comment and items from visitors, but we did not have a single person sign up tonight for public comment. So um we will move the room to um information on upcoming meetings. And so on that list uh first of all I I believe some of us are attending but the Wyoming School Boards Association annual conference is in Casper um this Wednesday through Friday. Um, next Tuesday, just before Thanksgiving, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m., we will have an executive team u meeting with Dr. Newton
036on December 1st. Um, it's a big night for us. We have a 5:00 p.m. work session and a 6 pm regular meeting with and that will be our organizational meeting for the coming year. Then on Wednesday, December 3rd at 6:30 p.m. uh will be the parent advisory meeting here in the boardroom. So, we'll move into individual board communications and reports. Does anybody have anything they'd like to share? Trusty Ashby? >> Um so, I know a number of us went out to the career academy um launch today. That was very exciting. liked that a great deal. Very excited to see our CTE U programs continue to grow and and do. But I also wanted to give a quick shout out. I meant to tell him he should come tonight, but I didn't see him. Um to
037uh Adam Kaiser, uh who has been doing a lot of the work to get work the industry partners and all those kinds of things. But I um attended the Wyoming Business Allianc's uh governor's business forum last week and um he Adam was shouted out by various um people at the business forum um probably no less than half a dozen times um some in front of the room and some people um searching me out to say that they've thoroughly enjoyed working with him. And so um big kudos to to Adam. Thank you. Anybody else? Trusty Burton. >> Um, Madam Chair, um, I was at the Trades Academy today that was amazing. I attended a event in Aleba. It's something in Spanish that I can't remember and I would mess it up anyway. Um, I think in
038English it's the Day of the Dead celebration. Um, so that was really awesome. And then I went out and checked out the new lights, all the dimming and all the things. Um, so their lights are awesome in their classroom. Um, and the other thing that I attended, um, since the last meeting was Sunrise Elementary School had an awesome veterans program, and they had the fifth and sixth graders up there with the younger grades in the middle and parents, and they did a um they [clears throat] sang all sorts of songs um for all the branches and um there's actually a Space Force song now and I retired from space command and they didn't have a song four years ago when I retired. So, that was kind of fun. Um, I think the thing that just
039really stuck out to me was they did a slideshow of um students and staff who had veterans in their family. And there were some of those slides that had, I don't know, six, eight, 10 family members from both sides. Um, grandparents from World War II, aunts, uncles, all the things. So, um, yeah, it was just it was really a great program. >> Thank you. >> Anybody else? Trusty Wilson. >> Madam Chair, I just I'm going to do a shout out. I actually haven't been yet, but tomorrow I plan to stop in the um Central High School is hosting the um and I'm going to get the name wrong because I don't have it with me, but it's the Wyoming Student Councils Group. They're all student councils from all over the state are coming in and
040and Central High School is the host this year. So, they're they're meeting. Um they met today and they plan to meet tomorrow and I think they're having a dance maybe even tonight. So, uh it's a lot of fun. I know my kids have participated in the past and they exchanged t-shirts and I just think that's great that we we do that for our students around the state but also that we can host this year. >> Thank you. Anybody else? I'll just wrap up with a few things. I was also able to attend the celebration for the trades academy today and what a great experience and um really incredible to see the community partnerships and the the folks out there from the elected officials at the national level all the way down who had a presence
041or senate representative um to show their support for initiatives that this district is making to to make the trades more um accessible and to to really build partnerships with with community folks. So, um that was that was quite exciting. Um another thing I've just had a blast doing in the last couple of weeks are um interviewing fourth grade students for Ytown or I know Trusty Bordon was there one of the days I was there. Um and I see Miss Hayes in the back. Um, if you're not familiar with WITA, I I wish every fourth grade student in our in our district could do this, but it's a it's a program put on by the Boys and Girls Club um where students learn about personal finance and pre-enterprise and um business. I mean, it just is
042really um pretty incredible. But we were interviewing kids had to submit an application to their teachers and um choose the type of job and why our town they would like to have. Actually, I think they ranked them, but then they came in and they interviewed with three or four of us um and answered some questions. I um you did a great job. A few were a little shy, but some were not. But um really just so fun to see these young children learning and I believe they go December 9th um to Casper for a day at Wyot Town. Um so anyway, just was was quite an honor to be a a part of that um here in the last couple of weeks. So thank you for including us in that. Um and that is all
043I've got. Does anybody else have anything for board reports? Okay, then at this time I will turn it over to Dr. in the room for his reports. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a couple of items this evening. Um for recognitions, we have a couple of groups. They overlap a little bit. On Friday, November 21st, we will celebrate Substitute Educators Day. And um the theme maybe of the recognitions tonight is it takes a village. And we certainly cannot do the work um that needs done in our schools without the support of our substitute teachers. And so we are very very um grateful to their commitment. I I started this career as a substitute teacher and it's not easy work. You airdrop into a classroom that already has a culture and a climate developed. They all
044know each other very well and you're the one up in front of the room who doesn't know any of them necessarily. Um so on its best day, it's an incredible challenge and and we certainly just couldn't do it without them. Um the other related is um Wednesday, November 19th is National Educational Support Professionals Day. That's quite a mouthful. Um that's kind of a a day that that combines a number of the folks, the long list of professionals who keep our schools running smoothly. So ranging all the way from secretaries to classroom aids to cafeteria workers, maintenance workers, bus drivers and and everyone else that supports the work of education. Um I I think it does indeed take a village and um we all have our own unique role in the system, but everyone's role is
045integral into making sure that great things happen for kids. And so a couple of very important recognitions before we'll meet again. I just want to um add my two cents on the Trades Academy ribbon cutting today and we've we've talked a lot about our partnerships, how much we value our industry partners um as they u come together with us and partnering in brand new ways. But um but I want to spend just a minute or two tonight um thanking all of our staff members who make these opportunities for kids. Um the fact that we haven't done this work up to now [clears throat] shows that it's that it's not um u inevitable. This is new work contemplated by new people recognizing new needs are emerging in our community. And um so a special thanks again
046to Adam Kaiser and and everyone who um not only had an active role in putting a day like this together, but uh all of our career and teched teachers and and just um all of the support that this board shows for this wonderful path for our kids. And speaking of which, the kids we honored today 60 kids, 60 who have committed to answering the call. And it's it's not just a vague call. If you talk to us uh talk throughout our community, it's described as a crisis that's among us in this workforce problem that we have in our community. And I think personally that history will look back on us fondly and they will recognize that it was our kids and our public schools that answered the call in the time of this community need.
047I think it's going to be a wonderful opportunity for our kids as we move forward and I think the city of Cheyenne will be better for it and it begins. I think we will look back and realize that this new age in partnering in the city of Cheyenne begins with these 60 students that we honored today at South High. So, um, couldn't be more proud to be able to have a great seat and be a part of it. Madam Chair, with that, that's the end of my updates. >> Thank you, Dr. Newton. We'll move on to the consent agenda. All agenda items listed with the designation of CA are considered to be routine items by the governing body and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion on these items. Any
048item removed from the consent agenda will be considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. Does any board member request to remove a motion from the consent agenda? Seeing none, do we have a motion? Madam Cherry move to approve all motions listed as consent agenda. And I second. So have a motion and a second to approve our motions listed as consent agenda. All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Opposed. Those have been approved. We will move now into uh new business. Have a motion. >> Madam chair, I move to approve repurposing Miller Elementary School building for district use as facility support. >> I second. So, we have a motion and a second to approve repurposing uh Miller Elementary um school building. Do we have any questions or discussion on this? >> No. Dr.
049Newton, did you share anything? >> No. >> Okay. So, no questions or discussion. Barbara, is Barb still online? >> I am. >> Did you have anything on that? Um, no. Other than it might be nice to to let people know what we're thinking of repurposing it for. >> Madam Chair, Trusty Cook, thank you for that. Um, at this time, we will um our support obligations have a number of uh uses for that facility. So, we will not have students in it at this point, but we um probably a combination of a staging area, storage area. Much of our equipment needs to be able to be stored not only inside, but also where it's warm. And so, um in the future, we we certainly have the ability to use that space um for things beyond that,
050but for now, support operations will make good use of that space. >> Thank you. Anybody else? Oh, trusty Ho. >> Thank you, Chairman Smith. Um, yeah, I just want to um we've had a few comments from uh constituents [clears throat] about, you know, why there was a fee in the proposal that we uh supported previously for demolition and why that's not being done. Um, and it's just a simple explanation that as the district, we have the choice of what to do with the buildings that belong to the district um, as this one does. And so, we can choose to sell it. We can choose to mothball it where we just keep it empty and keep it going or we can choose to uh, repurpose it or we can choose to demol demolish it um, for
051the property. So, um those are really the only things we can choose to do and because of its this location um and um uh the decision was made that we wanted to be able to use it um uh for some of the facilities uh things. The other really nice thing about doing that is we still can use the fields there for uh district and community um uh events. So that'll be one of the bonuses of us being able to not sell that full property. >> Yeah. Thank you for explaining that. Anybody else? >> Okay, we have a motion and a second to approve repurposing Miller Elementary Building. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed. Okay, that [snorts] passes. Do we have another motion? Madam Chair, I move to grant permission to contract for
052High School auditorium's auto audiovisisual updates from CCS Presentation Systems for an amount not to exceed $74,000. >> A second. >> We have a motion and a second to um for permission to contract for high school time visual updates. Um does anyone have anything on this? Trusty Ashby, >> I just was going to point out that these are wreck mill dollars that are paying for this. And I wanted to say thank you for expanding this project to all three high schools. >> Yeah, it's not just east. >> Yeah, this was an interesting project for the retail board because it came as a as a request from one high school, but as the board met and discussed this and said, "What about the other high schools?" We realized that within a number of years all three high
053schools would need these upgrades. So the board expanded that proposal and um voted to for funding to do this at all three of the the the larger high schools. So yeah, that was that was great. Any other questions or discussion on that? All right, we'll move to a vote then. All in favor of um approving permission to contract for high school auditorium AB updates, please say I. >> I. >> Thanks, B. Okay, that's been approved. All right, we have one more new business item. If we could have a motion on that. Madam Chair, I move to adopt the resolution authorizing continued advocacy and potential litigation regarding the city of Cheyenne storm water fee as presented. >> Second. So, we have a motion and a second to adopt a resolution authorizing continued advocacy and potential litigation.
054Um before we go into questions or discussion on this, I just wanted to read from the resolution and explain a few things from the resolution about um what this board is is voting on and um some of the background behind that. Um the city of Cheyenne adopted ordinances numbers 4602 and 4603 which created chapter 13.32 of the Cheyenne municipal code. What they did was they established a storm water runoff management system um and imposed what would be a uniform uh user fee. They're calling it a fee on all developed properties within city limits that includes publicly owned and tax exempt properties like our school district properties. Um, our district's analysis as they've looked at what this what this will mean uh for us financially is that we will have an unfunded burden of approximately $230,000
055a year that this district will be paying to the city of Cheyenne for the storm water um management system, runoff management system. Um, what this means then is that as we are funded through taxpayer dollars that they then would be taking those taxpayer dollars to pay the city of Cheyenne for a fee um that they are imposing. Um that's money that is given to us by the state uh for direct support of students um for direct support of educational programs um and we will be devoted to pay for um as we feel or have discussed you know effectively a municipal tax um on our facilities and on our properties. Um, [clears throat] as a district, um, when we have worked on new facilities and worked on site plans, um, there's been a lot of work
056that's gone in over the years to, um, build in storm water infrastructure actually at our site. So, a number of our um, especially our newer facilities have detention basins and detention systems there on the property. Um and we have done things to with drainage improvements even in those properties to help mitigate and to minimize um runoff on site and to help reduce or eliminate those impacts to the city ocean storm water systems. As we have um had some conversation about these storm water assessments, um we discussed the possibility that they may be unconstitutional, but perhaps the um imposing a fee um might go beyond a municipality's taxing authority. um that these fees um might constitute an unrequal tax um that requires or should require voter approval under Wyoming statute 16-10-105B and C or E B
057and E and perhaps these fees violate constitutional limits um on revenue bills and the taxation of state property. uh we believe or have discussed um that these fees create a double burden on taxpayers. They're paying taxes to the uh the county. Um, and then this, you know, the state is is funding our our operations and our facilities, and we're turning around and paying essentially the tax back to the city, um, off of our tax generated, you know, money that we operate with. So, as a board, um, we've come up with a resolution we'll discuss and if we want to tweak, then we will vote on this and and see how the majority of the board feels. Um, but we have voted on a resolution that would authorize and um direct district staff to continue communicating
058and engaging with city officials to seek some resolution to this. I know as a board um I believe so I have um I believe a couple of others at least have reached out actually to our elected city officials to have conversations about this. So, this resolution would direct staff and authorize them to go ahead and continue those conversations and see if we can find a better place to land. Um, the resol resolution states that the district supports and may participate in cooperative efforts by other public entities and community stakeholders who are also seeking to have the city reconsider, amend or delay implementing this. Um the resolution finally would authorize district administration in consultation with legal counsel to prepare and file such legal action as may be necessary to determine the legality and the applicability of
059the ordinance. So that's just kind of a a quick overview of of this um resolution that we will be discussing and then voting on. Um, we'll see if we have amendments and if it passes then um we could with the resolution that be posted tomorrow. But that's I just wanted to share what was in this with our public. But do we have um any board members who'd like to comment on the resolution or make amendments or trusty HL? >> Thank you, Chairman Smith. Um, yeah, I just like to add, you know, that the burden is going to be at least $230,000 per year. Um, but it also would affect our ability to add future um hard services anywhere. If there's any uh schools that need another uh basketball court or tennis courts or any other
060hard services, not only would we have the cost of the actual um uh project, but then we would also have to consider what that would cost um yearly for the um district from there forward. So, it would probably really hamper our ability to make some of those improvements. And so that's just another reason um that we feel pretty strongly that this is um important to uh try and resolve at least to some degree. Um and it it just seems that uh you know the city has made us on our newer properties have mitigation um ponds um to help decrease storm water drainage. And yet there's no uh uh uh they take that none of that into consideration that we've paid extra to have all that mitigation done. Um and yet they're not giving any uh
061any uh decrease of this fee for any of those mitigation systems. So, we just felt that it was not applied appropriately in our um situation and that's why it we feel like it's important that we try to um make some changes to this. >> Thank you, >> Trusty Fresh. >> Um I don't have any concerns with the resolution itself. I just want to be real clear that, you know, some of us have spent a lot of time talking to the city council over the last um period of time and and I, you know, just want to we just want to be real clear about what our concerns are. >> Anybody else? >> Nobody. And I I would point out um I was informed that because of current litigation that the city is um facing regarding
062this very issue um that they they've been asked not to speak publicly. Um I believe they haven't even been in their meetings to take any action regarding um the storm water systems and fees um because of litigation that they currently have on their plate. So, um, all right. Well, we have a motion and a second, um, for this resolution to authorize continued advocacy and potential litigation regarding the city of Cheyenne storm water fee. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed. That has been approved. So, um, would you like us to read this now or just to put it on the website or what would be the best course, Miss Polly? >> U, Madam Chair, I think you could do either one if you'd like to read it. Otherwise, um, as soon as you
063sign it, then we can get it onto the, uh, district website, um, tomorrow morning first thing so that it's available for the public. >> Okay. Thank you. any thoughts on that? >> I think you said all the things that are >> in the house. So, okay. But we will have this posted on the district website then tomorrow morning um once it's signed and ready to go. So, thank you. Um okay, that concludes our new business items. The next radio board meeting will be held on Monday, December 1st, 2025 at 6 pm. A work session will begin at 5:00 p.m. The business of the district is now done. Do we have a motion? >> Madam Chair, I move to go into executive session prior to adjournment for the purpose of possible student long-term suspensions, expulsions, personnel,
064legal advice, and potential litigation. >> Second. >> And we have a motion and a second to go into executive session at this time. prior to adjournment. Um all in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed. All right, we will break for executive session and then come back to our journey when that ends. Thank you all for being here. Trusty Cutley will um call you once we're ready to start execut