EVANSTON — The Uinta County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees met for the first time since the beginning of the new school year on Tuesday, Sept. 11, and spent time again discussing school security, listening to back-to-school reports, looking ahead to the annual Wyoming School Board Association (WSBA) conference in November and preparing to solicit bids for legal representation and comprehensive liability insurance. 

Facilities manager Jaraun Dennis provided an update on new school security features, including the SafeDefend emergency alert system, the Raptor system for visitor sign-ins and the entryway A-phones. Dennis said the Raptor system is in place and the schools have been using it to run instant background checks and print badges for any visitor accessing student areas. 

Dennis said the plan is to have the rest of the features, including the A-phones for building entry and the SafeDefend system fully operational by the end of September. He said the district has had a lot of positive feedback from teachers who appreciated the SafeDefend training last month and overall the public has been very appreciative of the steps the district is taking to protect students.

“Parents want those kids home at the end of the day and we’re doing the things that we can do so that we can bring those kids home safely each and every day,” he said. 

Trustee Jami Brackin asked how things at the high school were working now that the front entry is the only one accessible during the school day. EHS Principal Merle Lester said the only complaint they’ve had is from some seminary students who grumbled some about having to use the front door.

“We were worried about kids opening other doors and letting other kids in,” he said, “but we haven’t had one incident.” 

Superintendent Ryan Thomas said he is very impressed with the unbelievable amount of work that has been put into the new security features by maintenance staff, custodians and secretaries. 

During back-to-school reports, North Elementary Principal Diane Gardner and Davis Middle School English teacher Brad Francis spoke very highly about the SafeDefend training and the new security features. Gardner said the SafeDefend training was “phenomenal,” while Francis said teachers now feel like they have plans for students in the case of a crisis. 

The meeting occurred prior to a court ruling declaring the district’s concealed carry policy null and void, and Thomas and trustees discussed issues related to that policy. Thomas spoke with trustees about signage for district facilities regarding armed staff members, which the board requested he research. Thomas said there will be signs on all doors but the front entrances at every school reading “Authorized personnel only. Visitors must use main entrance.” The district also planned to acquire signs alerting visitors that certain staff members were legally armed and “may use whatever force necessary to protect our students.” Thomas said it was possible the district logo would be featured on the signs. 

In regard to policy CKA, which allowed for approved staff members to carry concealed firearms in district buildings, Thomas expressed some frustration with the WSBA. He said trustee Kay Fackrell expressed frustration to WSBA members at the association’s regional roundup last month. Thomas said Fackrell asked why the WSBA abandoned the district after adopting the policy and subsequently facing a civil lawsuit. Thomas said the issue and the suit could impact every school district in the state, and “it’s crickets out there.” 

The concealed carry policy was also part of a discussion about resolutions district administration would like to see taken up at the WSBA conference in November. One of the resolutions recommended by Thomas would call on the Wyoming Legislature to change the language of W.S. 21-3-132 to specify local school districts are not required to follow the Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act in developing policies to allow for district staff to carry concealed firearms. 

Other resolutions recommended by Thomas include a change to the definition of habitually truant to a “student whose attendance is adversely affecting their academic performance and academic preparation” instead of the current definition of five or more unexcused absences. Thomas said the current definition carries little weight because parents are simply able to excuse absences for any reason. 

Another resolution would call for a change in compulsory attendance age from 7 to any child whose seventh birthday occurs during their first-grade year. Thomas said the current statute creates a problem because students whose seventh birthday falls after Sept. 15 of their first-grade year are not required by law to attend school. 

Resolutions for the WSBA convention must be submitted by October, so the trustees will be holding a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, to approve resolutions. 

In back-to-school reports, principal Kimber Fessler of Clark Elementary and Davis Middle School Principal Chris Brown said they were pleased to report their schools have been designated as National PTA School of Excellence recipients for the 2018-20 period. The School of Excellence program recognizes schools for their partnerships with families and is awarded to select schools each fall. 

Back-to-school reports also provided an opportunity for staff to discuss the delayed-start Mondays and the professional development work being done by staff every Monday morning. Francis said, “It is most impressive to see everyone across schools using the same vocabulary and working on the same things. It tells me there is momentum and cohesion. … We’re more unified than ever before.” 

Fessler and Gardner said there had been somewhere between 35-50 kids at both Clark and North showing up for “Early Birds” on Monday mornings. All elementary schools have started programs for students whose parents need to drop them off at school prior to the delayed-start times. 

Lester said there is a new cellphone policy at the high school that requires students to either put their phones in a caddy in the classroom or put them in their backpacks away from their person. He said so far, the policy is working well and will hopefully cut down on classroom distractions. He said staff at the high school are doing well.

“There’s a really good vibe at the high school,” he said. “For the first time I feel like we’re really on track to get our curriculums where they need to be.” 

Trustees also discussed the need to solicit bids for items including providers for copier services, comprehensive insurance and legal services. Chief financial officer John Williams said requests for bids on the copier services go out every three years and it’s simply time for that process to begin again. Comprehensive and property insurance bids would potentially be complicated by the concealed carry policy, as Williams said, “Some providers will have an issue with the handgun policy.” 

Finally, the trustees are also preparing to solicit bids for legal representation. Thomas said the plan is to request permission to solicit bids at the October meeting and approve someone at the November meeting.