At the October 15 work meeting of the Kane District Board of Education, Gene Madsen with Hughes Construction and Terance White with Naylor Wentworth Lund Architects advised the district to wait until the beginning of 2026 to open the Valley High School (VHS) construction project to bidding. The district had intended to open the bidding in 2025 but was strongly advised against that. Madsen and White explained that waiting until early 2026 would allow sufficient time for proper planning and document preparation and noted that historically winter months are the best time to solicit bids. This project is complicated and has some risks with soil issues. It will require more thorough document preparation and review.
Also, during the work meeting, Kyle Green of Squire and Company reviewed the annual independent audit report with the board. The audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, was presented to the board and later approved.
Three elementary school principals presented their school improvement plans to the school board. Mary Flanagan of Valley Elementary School (VES), Andy Roundy of Big Water Elementary School (BWS) and Daniel Trimble of Kanab Elementary School (KES) presented data on student achievement, discussed goals and the use of various funds to hire paraprofessionals to support teachers and students in the classroom. The plans are required annually by the state and were approved by the school board.
Superintendent Dalton reported that the district just received $5,243 in one time grant funding to pay off outstanding student lunch debt in the district. In September, Utah Governor Cox allocated $1.2 million to address school lunch debt across the state, redirecting funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Program to the Governor’s Emergency Educational Relief Program, allowing districts to apply for funding to address outstanding student school lunch debt, stemming from low-income families.
It was announced that Kane District grades 1-3 achieved the milestone of more than 80 percent of students making typical or better growth on the 23-24 Acadience Reading Test, an early literacy assessment. District Reading Specialist Robin Colemen congratulated the students, teachers and staff for their hard work.
It was reported that the Utah State Board of Education has released the Utah Schools Report Card. The Utah School Report Card allows parents or anyone to examine school performance indicators, such as achievement and growth. Visit reportcard.schools.utah.gov.
The school board approved numerous model policies for 2024-2025, as proposed by the Utah School Boards Association. New policies include those dealing with board member conflicts of interest, conscience reporting of substantial threats against schools, educator salary supplements and more. Some older policies were removed, and some were changed to varying degrees. All policies approved by the school board are available to read on the district website.
The board also sanctioned Policy DKD-1 involving Employee Leave and the Kane District Teacher and Student Success Act (TSSA) Program Framework. State TSSA funding is used to improve school performance and academic achievement. The board approved an out of state travel request by VHS to travel to a livestock judging completion in Elko, Nevada.
The board accepted the resignations of Dennis Johnson (BWS Custodian/Bus driver) and Lance Peterson (VHS Head Coach Baseball). It approved the hiring, subject to a successful background check, of the following persons: Tyree Baird (Kanab High School Head Softball Coach) and Taylor Hinton (bus driver), paraeducators Drew Hoffmeir, Emily Peterson, Megan Walker, Amie Wright and Shaylee Yardley; and substitute teachers Heather Dalton and Michelle Williams Timpson. Congratulations to all.
In other business, Business Manager Cary Reese proposed that the following three items regarding the VHS construction project and the Local Building Authority (LBA) created by the school district be considered at next month’s meeting: adopting Bylaws and a Tax and Disclosure Compliance Procedure for the LBA of Kane County School District, Utah; Statement by the LBA of Kane County School District, Utah, of its intent to issue a Lease Revenue Bond; and adoption of a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale by the LBA of Kane County School District, Utah of not more than $25,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its Lease Revenue Bonds.
