Changing of the guard approved for several in School District Number One

The Big Horn County School District #1 Board met at Burlington on Thursday, May 9. The board went into executive session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss personnel and to hear Superintendent Matt Davidson’s report on the Instruction component of Board Governance. They retired from this session at 7 p.m.

The board of trustees called the regular session of their meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Those in attendance in an official capacity were Joseph Bassett, Holly Michaels, Hiedi Christensen, Jessie Hamilton, David Banks, Superintendent Davidson, Maryanne Bischoff, Betsy Sammons, Autumn Tempany, Shannon Siebert and Ryan Boettcher.

The agenda, consent agenda and warrants were all approved unanimously. The following resignations were accepted: Christin Shorma, ag/science/FFA at Rocky Mountain High School; Rebecca Walker, assistant volleyball coach at Burlington High School; and Elisha Summers, district case manager. A transfer for Wyatt Horrocks to special education para at Rocky Mountain Elementary School was also approved.

Staff retirements

The trustees recognized retirees from the district and presented them with a golden bell. Retirees are as follows: Julie Michaels, 36 years at Burlington Schools; Rick Wheeler, 26 years at Burlington Schools; Terrin Christiansen, 12 years at Burlington Schools and as District Food Services Coordinator; Ilene Henley, 16 years at Burlington and Rocky Mountain Schools; Kirk Hopkin, 31 years at Rocky Mountain Schools; Berta Newton, 23 years at Rocky Mountain Schools; Dana Willis, 22 years at Rocky Mountain Schools.

Shannon Siebert, principal of Wyoming Connections Academy, recognized Laura Smith as the employee of the month. Laura is an integral part of the virtual community to other staff and to her students, Siebert said. She is willing to take on extra projects and completes them in a timely manner. Smith appeared virtually, so her gift was given to Siebert to forward to her.

Autumn Tempany, principal of Burlington Schools, recognized Tina Schenavar as employee of the month. Tina works individually with her students to help them succeed in their academics, Tempany said. She’s always easy to work with and spends many hours on behalf of her students. Holly Michaels presented her with a gift.

Betsy Sammons, principal of Rocky Mountain Middle/High School, recognized retiree Berta Newton as the employee of the month. Her art skills will be missed by many students, as she always found relevant projects for them, Sammons said. She will leave a legacy of murals she painted in the RM Elementary library and in Sammons’ office. Hiedi Christensen presented her with a gift.

Sammons also presented Alicia Troutman as the employee of the month for Rocky Mountain Elementary School. When one of her former students was asked how they would describe her, they responded, “She’s goated!” (Greatest Of All Time Every Day). Troutman was unable to attend due to the Rocky Mountain Elementary music concert, and Sammons was to see that her gift was given to her.

The following list of school organizations and students were recognized. Skills USA: Jessica Mendez - BHS, 1^st Prepared Speech (qualifies for Nationals); Howard McNiven – BHS, 3^rd Technical Drafting. NWC Math Competition: Brad Davidson – BMS 4^th Overall; Kysen Bullinger – BMS 7^th place, 7^th grade; Gary Gardner – RMMS, 6^th place, 8^th grade; Jon Mader – RMMS, 8^th place, 8^th grade; RMMS 7^th grade team, 7^th overall; RMMS 8^th Grade team, 3^rd Place overall (by 10 points). State Art competition: Taylor Gifford – RMHS, awarded recognition for her work to be displayed in the Governor’s Mansion; Shar Hanusa – RMHS, three ribbons for acrylic paintings; Bailey Gifford – RMMS, Honorable Mention, Wyoming Native Plants. State Math Counts qualifiers: Brad Davidson, Rae Chatwin, Rulon Andrew, Michael Broederlow, Lucy McNiven – BMS, 3^rd Place Team Division. National History Day State Competition: Grant Weierman – RMMS, 2^nd place, Essay Category (Invited to Nationals). MPA Festival: Modern Band, AKA Velvet Thunder – RMHS, Superior Rating. State FFA Convention: Ag Mechanics Team – RMHS, 8^th Place, Electrical; Triffen Jolley – RMHS, 21^st Overall, Electrical; Joey Chatwin – RMHS, 11^th overall, horse judging, Halter; Brenner Moore – RMHS, Nearly Perfect Score, Female Livestock Division; Lily Mader and Brandon Abraham – RMHS, State FFA Degree; Rocky Mountain FFA chapter, Silver Chapter award. Track records: Sarah McNiven – BHS, Girls High Jump – 5’3”; Kellen Winters – BHS, 800-meter run, 2:18.80, and 1600-meter run, 5:07.70; Madison Aagard – BHS, Discus, 81’; Trigdon Aagard, Brandford Davidson, Chase Bassett, Kellen Winters – BMS, BMS 4x400 Relay, 4:15.84.

The section Preparing Students for Transition of the District Strategic Framework was reviewed. Superintendent Davidson explained to the board that there were seniors in attendance that had capstone and senior projects to present, which fit underneath this subsection of the Framework.

Burlington seniors Thomas Winters, Hannah Bullinger and Joey Chatwin discussed their capstone project, which included a trip to Washington, D.C., and New York City. They thanked the board for the opportunity to travel. Chatwin said, “It was a wonderful experience and eye-opening to us from a small community.” Winters expressed that his favorite parts of the trip were the space museum and the Iwo Jima Memorial. Bullinger felt the most impactful were the Holocaust Museum and the 911 Memorial. Gerald George has been the sponsor of this trip, but this was his last year. The board expressed their appreciation for his dedication to the students.

Senior projects

Sally Bernhisel, District Career Coordinator, explained the senior project requirement for all seniors in the district. Seniors Lily Mader from Rocky Mountain High School and Hunter Aagard from Burlington High School brought their presentations to share with the board.

Aagard was told about a woman in the community that needed a calf shed built. He approached her, and his project began. He asked Don Hibbard and Rick Wheeler, industrial arts teacher, to be his mentors to complete the project. He showed pictures of the different stages of the building process and commented on the strategies he used to fix problems and the design flaws he found. The new skills he learned included how to overcome obstacles and how to communicate better to be understood. He feels he will have more confidence in building something in the future. The most difficult parts were figuring out the plans and communication. His mentors gave him advice and helped him understand the necessity of each step in the process.

Mader used her love of animals, in particular horses, and her desire to become a vet tech to design her project. She’d always dreamed of owning a horse, and when she was finally able to purchase one, she had no idea how to train it. She found mentor Chandi Workman to help guide her as she began her journey to train a wild horse. She started the training in July ’23 and continued throughout the school year. She spent many cold hours continuing the groundwork and eventually getting into the saddle. She felt that she learned patience and confidence, and she developed both mental and physical strength. She plans to use the philosophies and skills she learned through this experience when she becomes a vet tech.  She also plans to breed, train and show horses at a national level.

The board publicly thanked all staff members for their dedicated work and acknowledged staff appreciation week. They approved the nominations for Teacher of the Year from each school: Burlington – Julie Michaels; Rocky Mountain Elementary – Katie Alvarez; Rocky Mountain Middle/High School – Kirk Hopkin; Wyoming Connections Academy – Abigail Peterson. The District Teacher of the Year is Kirk Hopkin. Betsy Sammons said, “Kirk has made a great impact on the district. He brings joy to his work and to all of us.”

Superintendent Davidson informed the board that the district has been approved to replace four buses and one SUV. The district will receive a grant, and the rest of the funds needed will be reimbursed by the state. He indicated it generally takes about two years to actually receive the new buses. He noted that he receives numerous emails about switching to electric buses, but he doesn’t believe they will work for the district. “In fact,” he said, “Jackson tried it, and it didn’t go so well.” The board approved the purchases.

Hamilton resigns

Jessie Hamilton, Board of Trustees member from Burlington, submitted his resignation. He said, “For the past one and a half years I feel I have really grown to understand how much our staff puts into the learning opportunities they give our students. My family has decided to homeschool our last two children. I want people to know I am not displeased with the Burlington schools. I have had four kids graduate from here. We’ve just decided to do it a little different this time. I need to use the time I would serve here, to serve my kids at home.” Hamilton’s resignation was effective on May 15.

Superintendent Davidson and Chairman Bassett discussed with the board the process to replace a board member. The board will have 30 days after the resignation is final (May 15) to find a replacement. For this seat, anyone from the Burlington/Otto area is eligible to submit a letter of interest to the district office or to board chair Bassett. The board then chooses someone from that area. If the board does not, or cannot, choose a replacement within the allotted time, the county commissioners will make the appointment.

The board continued their book study of John Wooden’s book. Christensen said she really liked the comments about Abraham Lincoln and his perseverance over failures and even mental health issues. Banks mentioned that he enjoyed the “walk the walk” comments from Wooden and how good leaders always lead by example. Michaels was impressed with the idea that people are always progressing, forward or backward. Siebert related Wooden’s comments to education, saying, “The passionate educator is always trying to bring people together and keep the passion alive in our staff.”

The board heard a report from Michaels, who is part of the 3C’s Committee. Last month the committee honored different school personnel, i.e. teachers and counselors. This last week, each school did their own thing to celebrate their staffs.

Superintendent Davidson reviewed Community Relations under Board Governance. The board will rate themselves at the June meeting in relationship to their relationship with the communities they serve.

Bassett indicated that board members were needed at all of the upcoming graduations in the district. Burlington High School’s graduation will be held on Monday, May 20, at 6 p.m. Rocky Mountain High School’s graduation will be held on Tuesday, May 21, at 7 p.m. Wyoming Connections Academy’s graduation will be held on Saturday, June 1, at 11:30 a.m. at the Cody Auditorium.

Security State Bank of Basin, in conjunction with the Child Nutrition Department at the Wyoming Department of Education, would like to donate to the over-due lunch balances for families in the district. The donation was approved.

Richard Parker, district bookkeeper, gave two financial reports and presented the 2024 proposed budget. Board members asked questions and then approved all reports and the proposed budget.

Davidson informed the board that two bids for the Rocky Mountain Elementary HVAC upgrade have been received. The recommended bid from Casper was approved.

The board accepted a sick bank request and then approved the following policies on first reading: GCBA – Professional Staff Compensation Plans and Supplemental (Extra-Duty); GCBA-E-2 – Professional Staff Supplementary Pay Plans; GDBA – Classified/Support Staff Salary Schedules; JLCD – Administering Medicine to Students; IJNDD – AI Draft Policy.

There were no changes to the policies presented for second reading. The policies are as follows: FG – Board Inspection and Acceptance of New Facilities; ICA – School Calendar; IHBG – Home-Based Educational Programs; IL – Evaluation of Instructional Programs; IMG – Policy and Procedures on Service Animals in Schools.  All policies were approved and adopted.

The following list of recommended new personnel were approved: Nanette White – BES, Title I paraprofessional: Kylie Carson – BMS/BHS, Ag/CTE Teacher; Hal Moore – RMMS head middle school football coach (pending certification); Chute Cauffaman, Colt Haslam, Eve McNulty – BUR, Student Summer Groundskeepers.

The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.