Glasgow School Board Meets:

The Glasgow School Board met in regular session on Aug. 15. All trustees were present along with Superintendent Bob Connors and Kelly Doornek, clerk. The school representative was not in attendance.

Also in attendance were a number of school faculty, Jerry and Cara Pinder, and members of the Irle School PTO.

C. Pinder used the public comment period to ask about the status of a fence at Irle School and was informed it would be addressed later in the meeting.

In response to a letter from a concerned parent, board trustee John Daggett utilized the board comment period to raise questions about a recent change regarding the transportation of Nashua youth that attend school in Glasgow. Board chair Mona Amundson explained that they recently received communication from the Nashua school informing them that Glasgow buses would no longer be allowed to enter Nashua’s school district to pick up students. It was noted that there has been a long-standing agreement (at least since 1938, according to Doornek) between the districts that allowed Glasgow buses to pick up students in Fort Peck, which is a part of the Nashua School District. Daggett proposed that the GHS board submit a letter to the Nashua School Board with a request to re-instate the agreement. It was decided that Amundson would draft a letter to be sent.

Trustee Suzanne Billingsley also utilized the board comment period to ask about the possibility of educating students about the impact of social media. She specifically wanted to know if the school currently addresses the topic and also whether or not something could be done to help educate parents about the pervasiveness of social media and its affect on the student population. Nicole Cole, a member of the Irle School PTO, offered the support of the PTO with any organization that may be needed to provide a speaker or educational session.

Moving onto agenda items, the board approved all presented personnel items, which included the resignation of Brittne Casterline from the head softball coaching position, and the hiring of Shyanne Wallace as a para-professional, Mark Avery as a substitute teacher, Chris Bourne as an assistant football coach, Shannon Marsh for seventh-grade volleyball, Patrick Barnett as C-squad boys basketball coach and Nate Doornek for a title position. The board also approved a wage increase for bus drivers for the 2018-2019 school year.

School handbooks were approved with recommended changes, as well as a price increase for school lunches to $3.

Brief reports were given and action was taken on policy readings, the upcoming negotiations year and PIR days, and Laurie Enebo provided a brief report for the GEA.

Irle School principal Rachel Erickson reported that with the help of the Irle School PTO, McDonald’s purchased all of the fourth-grade supplies for the upcoming school year. She explained that fourth grade was chosen because of the significant jump in curriculum from third grade to fourth grade.

Erickson also reported that she is working with the PTO on getting volunteer crosswalk guards for the school year and it was clarified that those people would need to pass a background check.

Middle School principal Mike Zoanni informed the board of upcoming orientation and reported that Mr. Barstad will begin morning driver’s education classes after Labor Day.

GHS principal Brett Huntsman reported they will have ACT prep classes offered this year and reported on the upcoming freshman orientation.

Brenner Flaten, the GHS vice principal and activities director for the district, noted that Norm Girard, Tim Phillips and Ryan Hartwell did some significant work to the long jump and triple jump pit at the high school track and it is ready to go. For fall sports, Flaten reported 39 kids out for football, 33 for volleyball and another 33 for cross country. “With cheer and managers for those programs, there are over 120 students participating in fall activities,” he explained.

The volleyball showcase will be held Monday, Aug. 20 and the red and white football scrimmage will be held Friday, Aug. 24. Homecoming will be held a week earlier than usual, according to Flaten, who also pointed out that the bagpipers will play at the cross country meet this fall as part of the festivities.

All faculty giving a report during the meeting had nothing but praise and kudos for the custodial and maintenance staff for the work they have put in to get the buildings and grounds ready for the school year.

Moving on to the superintendent report, Connors said they will be filing an emergency authorization for employment with the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) to hire Stephanie Peterson as a fifth-grade teacher. A brief discussion was held about the difficulty in finding staff to fill some of the positions, and with new schools being built in Helena and Lockwood, it is likely that it will continue to be an issue. Connors assured everyone that there were options available, if needed, but they were options that “we do not want to implement.” He said they may need to have a special board meeting to do some hiring before the next regular meeting is held.

Moving into the final items of his report, Connors informed everyone that crosswalk signs have been installed on Scotty Pride Drive, and a temporary “snow-fence” has been installed at the Irle School. He explained that they will leave the fence up throughout the winter so they could monitor the impact of a fence. For example, any changes in drainage or snow build-up can be observed. “It’s an inexpensive way to look at the unintended consequences of a fence,” explained Connors. “It’s a temporary solution, but it is a solution.” He said he is confident that they will we able to better budget for a fence this way. It was also noted that there will have to be some work done to the sprinkler system eventually.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. in the district board room.