Phelps will not seek contract extension

By SETH ROMSA

TEN SLEEP – At the end of the Washakie County School District (WCSD) No. 2 Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, Jan. 11, WCSD No. 2 Superintendent Jimmy Phelps told the board he will not be seeking an extension on his current contract which expires at the end of June 2023.

Phelps had his contract extended through that date during the board’s evaluation of him in February of 2020. Phelps felt it was the right time to inform the board that he would not be seeking an extension and that he plans to complete the rest of his current contract.

Phelps said he had been discussing this decision with his family in recent months and decided they were looking toward moving into a different phase of their lives in two years.

He said this was the appropriate time so that he did not surprise them two months before the end of his contract and believes this will give the board enough time to properly search for the district’s new superintendent.

At the end of his contract Phelps will have served the district for eight years, having been hired in 2015.

TECHNOLOGY

UPDATE

Ten Sleep School Principal Levi Collins gave a technology update regarding funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Grant.

Collins said that the school had received approximately $144,000 worth of funding for technology for the school, which was slightly below the requested $163,000.

With this purchase he said that the district was able to create a 1:1 ratio for Chromebooks to students so that each student has a Chromebook. He said the district was even able to go a little above a 1:1 ratio so that the district had extra computers just in case.

He said they were able to purchase Chromebooks for almost all staff in the building.

Additional technology that was purchased were microphones that are being used during school board meetings, televisions for each room in the building along with carts and mounts for them, mice, Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to upgrade current desktops in the building to allow for proper connection, Chromecasts, staff and substitute tablets, stylus pens, headphones for each student, document cameras along with other technology being used in the building.

Collins explained the difficult process that they went through in order to get the technology which included constant calls with the banks who believed it was fraud and the difficult process it took on the websites as nearly every school in the nation was doing it at the same time.

Ten Sleep teacher Dane Weaver presented to the board various ways the technology has helped the classroom function and how it has helped teachers.

There were some additional discussions regarding training with the technology and future plans with ordering technology.

OTHER BUSINESS

Neysha Lyman provided the board with an update regarding Title IA funding for the district. She and Phelps said in years past they have not been receiving the funding as they have had difficulty meeting the requirements.

Lyman said this is the first time since 2016-17 that the district has received Title IA funding and it is the first time ever that every district in the state has received the funding. She said they have not yet received the numbers but they are expected to receive them soon.

The board approved second readings of policies 1.21 which refers to nondiscrimination, 2.26, 3.61 and 4.30 which all refer to staff sexual harassment and policy 5.49 regarding student sexual harassment.

There were no changes from their first readings last month.

Two buses for the annual Ten Sleep Rec Board’s President’s Day Ski Trip were approved.