Superintendent Ben Dalton, at the November 14 meeting of the Kane District Board of Education, announced that the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has approved a district proposal for funding from the School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP). The federally funded program provides money to states, units of local government, Indian tribes and public agencies to improve security at schools and on school grounds through evidence-based school safety programs.
Kane District, the only district in the state of Utah to have a successful grant application, will receive $81,888 and will be required to match 25 percent of the total cost. The grant will be used to strengthen school security with the purchase of emergency response software and training in such to improve communication between school employees, law enforcement and parents.
During the work meeting, the Fiscal Year 23 Financial Audit report was presented to the board by the accounting firm of Squire and Company, who conducted the audit in August. The firm issued a clean audit opinion, noted that the district finances are in good condition and reported that the school financial staff does a very good job. The board later approved the audit report.
The board also heard School Improvement Plan Presentations during the work meeting, from Kanab Middle School Principal Braxton Bateman and Kanab High School (KHS) Principal Trevor Stewart.
KHS Principal Stewart also presented a Title Nine report, showing the amount of money spent on boys’ and girls’ sports. The report will be filed with the state, as required by law. The purpose of the report is to show that a school receiving federal funding is meeting its legal duty to provide equal athletic opportunity based on sex consistent with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The report shows that at KHS, of all the students participating in sports, 43% are young woman and 57% are young men; and that the average amount spent per student in these activities is very close, with the average for young women being slightly higher.
The board heard reports on enrollment, school visits, the Renew America Schools grant and the district Cosmetology Program. It was noted that Superintendent Dalton will be presenting at the Utah School Boards Association annual conference on increasing Concurrent Enrollment participation. He also updated the board on Utah State Board of Education (USBE), which reported that Utah’s public education system decreased by 1,988 students, a 0.3 percent decrease from the previous year, marking the first time that the Utah public school system has seen a decline in enrollment.
District Business Manager Cary Reese presented a construction report and a monthly budget report. He also explained to the board the difference between Lease Revenue Bonds and General Obligation Bonds, as methods for raising funds.
In other business, the board discussed a variety of topics and upcoming events, mental health screening, monthly parent seminars, goals and potential policy changes. It approved KHS Cross Country Team’s request for out of state travel, a district building use policy and Policy DAC-1. It accepted the resignation of Julie McQuivey as Kanab Elementary School Secretary. It approved the hiring, subject to a background check, of the following persons: Shirley Sharp and Pam Sloan as paraeducators, Karin Anderson as a substitute teacher and Shirlinda McCabe as a substitute bus driver. Congratulations to all.
