The February meeting of the Oneida School Board was held on the 20th with all members present; Tresie Carter participated via Zoom. The “lunch ladies” from the Malad Middle School/High School lunchroom – Keeley Kelley, Marnee Price, and Rhonda Antonio-- were honored as the “Employees of the Month.” (See accompanying article.)

School Board Tours

School Board members reported on their tour of four school auditoriums in the region: Marsh Valley, West Side, Logan High School, and Ridgeline High School (also in Cache Valley). As the purpose of the tour was to seek ideas for the proposed auditorium, Board members saw things they liked and did not like during the tours. Board member Shane Howard stated that “we want to learn from the mistakes of others,” and Superintendent Jon Abrams added that “we want to get it right even if it takes a little longer.”  The architect and construction manager of the new elementary school were also on the tour.  Architectural plans and community input will get underway as soon as funding for the project is certain.

Board members also reported on their “Day on the Hill” when they spent two days in Boise, meeting with legislators and attending meetings regarding proposed bills related to education. Superintendent Abrams said that the legislature, and especially Governor Brad Little, are very pro-education. There may be one-time discretionary funding allocated to the school districts. Senator Kelly Anthon, one of our local legislators and the Senate Majority Leader, met with Board members. Mr. Abrams emphasized that Oneida School District has the money to do what is needed, regardless of what the legislature does or does not do.

Reports

Superintendent Abrams reported that the number of students enrolled in the District remains steady. Because of State funding from last year, the first bond payment on the new elementary school has been made. Bids on construction of the new ball fields will be opened on Thursday; there will probably be three bids.  He reminded the Board that projects funded with State moneys must be done by state-licensed contractors.

Mr. Abrams reported that a surplus mannequin used by the EMT classes had been donated to the Oneida County Ambulance as the High School was able to procure a new one.

Ms. Jeanie Reeder, Principal of Stone Elementary School, reported that the PTO made Valentine’s Day special for the students.  Several field trips are being planned for the spring.

Ms. Sarah McIntyre, Principal of Malad Elementary School, thanked the family of Anne Gillies for suggesting that friends and family make donations to the school library in her memory. The books purchased with the donations will have commemorative placards in them. The students have been able to tour their new school to see how it is progressing. Valentine postcards were decorated by students and sent to many local senior citizens; names were provided by Mayor Joan Hawkins. The benefit for Brielle Bird went very well, bringing in thousands of dollars to help with the expenses for treatment of her cancer.  The exact amount of money brought in will not be disclosed.  Ms. McIntyre thanked Nicole Daniels, Heather Howe, and Melanie Coleman for organizing the event, which hundreds of community members attended. After showing graphs that indicate test scores trending upward, Ms. McIntyre said that the new reading curriculum is much more rigorous than what was used in the past and is helping students succeed as readers, which will help them in all curricular areas.

Aaron Gibbons, Counselor at Malad Middle School, was present instead of Principal Robert Hannah. Tyler Cook, a teacher at the Middle School and a candidate for a master’s degree in social work at Idaho State University, presented the results of a survey he had conducted as a project for his degree. The survey asked the Middle School students to respond to questions regarding social media and mental health.  Parents had to give permission for their students to participate in the survey; 148 of the 211 Middle School students (70%) participated. Aaron stated that the top priority at the Middle School is the mental health of the students. 

Mr. Michael Corbett, Principal of Malad High School, reported that attendance is still a problem, especially for seniors; the attendance rate for seniors is only 71% while the rate for other classes is about 90%. Holly Kartchner, Director of Outreach and Retention for the College of Arts and Letters at Idaho State University, recently called to congratulate Mr. Corbett on the large number of Malad High School students in dual enrollment classes.; 34 students are getting credits at ISU through the dual enrollment program. Mr. Corbett and Assistant Principal Rupp are meeting with all students who have two or more Fs. With more emphasis on early intervention for students who struggle, there is less need for credit recovery. Mr. Corbett also noted that every student who participated in the District FCCLA competition placed high enough to go to the State competition. He thanked the community for their support of all student activities.

Dr. Terri Sorensen, Administrator for the Idaho Home Learning Academy, thanked the IHLA staff for their efforts in getting the special education corrective action plan submitted to the State.  Although many parents of IHLA students do not want their students to participate in state-wide testing, the number of students taking the tests has doubled. She is working on revising District policies to meet the needs of IHLA as a charter school under Oneida School District.

Policies 

The Board discussed several revisions of policies and approved the first reading on some policies, including the open enrollment policy that replaces the former policy that regulated students attending districts in which they did not live. Online charter schools, such as IHLA, have led to changes in State enrollment policies.

Superintendent Abrams recommended that the policy regarding sick leave for classified personnel be modified to allow 12 sick days per year for classified personnel, which is in line with the number of sick days allowed teachers. Other leave policies will be deleted or revised due to the new catastrophic leave policy.

Action Items

The State-mandated Process and Procedures Check List for special education was approved by the Board. It is used to track the students who are on Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

The Memoranda of Understanding to be sent to service providers for special education were approved. The MOUs are part of the State-mandated corrective actions for the IHLA special education program. The IHLA handbooks for K-8 and high school for 2024-2025 were approved although revisions may have to be made, depending on legislative actions. The handbooks have to be approved now because IHLA registration begins on March 4.

After some discussion, the 2024-2025 school calendar was approved. Mr. Abrams spoke strongly about the need for three more full instruction days rather than adding 5-10 minutes on to school days throughout the year, as is done in some other school districts.  The students benefit much more from full instruction days than from minutes added to days. Board member Tresie Carter noted that adding minutes onto the school day would result in Holbrook and Stone students having to catch the bus even earlier in the morning and getting home after 5:00, which is a long day for young students. The school calendar will continue to avoid Fair Week, include a full Christmas Break, and result in school ending before Memorial Day, all of which have been long-time priorities for students, parents, and
the community.

The Board approved the following overnight trips: All-State Music Clinic at Nampa on January 31- February 3; HOSA State Leadership Conference at Pocatello on March 6-8; Tiger/Grizz Invitational Track Meet at Idaho Falls on April 26-27; State Cheer and Drill Team Competitions at Nampa on February 22-24; State FCCLA at Boise on April 10-12; State Softball Tournament at Orofino on May 14-19; State Track Meet at Middleton on May 16-18; FFA State Convention at Twin Falls on April 2-6; and FFA Envirothon Competition at Challis on
April 29-30.

The following personnel were approved, pending their passing the State-mandated background check: Paul Black as a contract school psychologist; Danae Colgrove as a part-time cleaner in the auto shop; Lana Tripp as a kitchen/lunch substitute for Malad Elementary School; Jade Clark as a volunteer assistant Malad High School baseball coach; Joseph Miller as a volunteer Malad Middle School track coach; Brayden Eliason as a substitute bus driver; Clint Price as a volunteer MHS boys’ wrestling coach; Nicole Moss, Aly Wright, and Beth McClain as after-school program staff, and one substitute teacher for IHLA.