(Lander) – Calendars for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years were adopted by the Fremont County School District #1 Board of Trustees at last night’s meeting. These calendars are similar to the current calendar in that school begins prior to Labor Day, first semester ends in December, and the last day of school is before Memorial Day. The District’s Calendar Committee developed alternate calendars, but the adopted calendars were the ones favored by faculty, staff, and students. Adopting calendars for two years allow both parents and school personnel to schedule events a year in advance. Next year, the Board of Trustees will adopt the calendar for the 2014-15 school year.

New courses were approved for inclusion in the Lander Valley High School and Pathfinder High School curriculum for next year. The new course for Pathfinder was Introduction to Horticulture through which the new greenhouse at PHS will be able to be utilized. New LVHS courses include Personal Health, Multimedia Art, Digital Media 1 and 2, Musical Theater 1 and 2, and Music Appreciation 1 and 2. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Mike Bowman, said that he thought that these courses will benefit LVHS and PHS students and that they will be a nice complement to our curriculum. Dr. Bowman also told the Board that the courses will have to have a significant number of students sign up for each before they will be allowed to become part of the schedule. He went on to say that if students sign up for these courses, then there may be other courses currently taught that may not have enough students in the classes to be offered in the future.

Dr. Bowman provided the Board of Trustees with an update on student enrollment. Comparing the enrollment from September 2011 to the current enrollment revealed:

• The District’s total enrollment is down 39 students to 1693 students.
• LVHS enrollment is down 22 students with the biggest drop coming from the 9th grade class with 13 fewer students.
• The LVHS enrollment is under 500 at 498.
• The K-3 enrollment has increased by two students.
• LMS enrollment has decreased by eight students.

Trustee Dave Clark, Assistant Superintendent Kirk Schmidt, and Superintendent Bowman had previously met to discuss the issue of potential overcrowding at Gannett Peak Elementary soon after it opens in 2013. The recommendation from the three is to wait to see what next year’s kindergarten enrollment is when registration occurs this spring. If the number of registrants appears to reflect continued growth, then the Board will determine what should be done at that time. Dr. Bowman told the Board that it is doubtful that the School Facility Commission will provide additional money to fund the construction of additional classrooms at this time because the school is being built according to the enrollment projections that the SFC had developed at the time the school was approved for construction. Once the approval for school construction takes place, the SFC does not adjust the enrollment projections; thus, the SFC is treating our district consistently with other projects they have had in the past.

Other news from the meeting included:

• The Board accepted the audit report for the 2010-11 school year. The audit was a “clean” audit with no problems noted, and the auditor commended the District’s Business Department for its operations.
• The Board received policy change proposals for professional leave, bereavement/funeral leave, dock leave, certified personnel resignations, and evaluation of classified staff (the proposed changes are on the District website under “District Policies”—www.landerschools.org).
• Dr. Kathy Hitt, principal of Pathfinder High School, presented to the Board the positive effects of the “Academy” program required for all new PHS students. In the Academy, students are taken through the “Discovery” program which provides them with social skills they need to be successful. Academic and behavioral data show that this program has had a positive effect on the students.

(Lander) – Citing a desire to compare Fremont County School District #1’s current health insurance benefits and premiums with other options, the Board of Trustees voted to seek bids for its insurance program. There are currently eight different insurance programs used by school districts in Wyoming; however, the District’s current provider, the Wyoming School Boards Association Insurance Trust (WSBAIT), and the Wyoming Education Benefit Trust (WEBT) are used in 40 of the 48 districts. The Board also voted to obtain bids for administration of a Section 125 flexible spending plan. Section 125 plans allow employees to set aside before-tax dollars to be used to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses and daycare expenses. The Board authorized the administration to utilize a consultant in developing the request-for-proposal (RFP) and in analyzing the bids. The bid deadline will be such so that the results will be available to the Board by the middle of March.

Bob Decker, an independent insurance consultant, provided the Board of Trustees with a comparison of the State of Wyoming’s health insurance program and premiums with that of the District’s. For similar coverage, the State’s program’s premiums are more costly, and there are additional fees, such as for early retirees, a retiree surcharge, and administrative fees. In addition, it is estimated that it might cost the District around $750,000 to leave WSBAIT to pay for claims received after termination of the contract and for the difference between what the District had paid versus claims paid if there is a deficit.

Attachments:

PressRelease_2011-12-14.pdf

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