District 1 Board: Aquatic Center to remain public

WORLAND – In light of recent confusion surrounding the future of the Worland Aquatic Center, the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees clarified that as the owners of the building since its construction and the future sole operators of the aquatic center, they plan to keep the facility open to the public for the foreseeable future.

During the Feb. 27 board meeting, school board Chairman David Tommerup said “We gotta have a public pool if we have a pool at all.” He continued, “We’ve been running it that way for 10 years now and we plan to do so for the next 20 years too.”

Moving forward, the future plans for the aquatic center still include transitioning the responsibility of operations from the Joint Powers Board to the school board, and dissolving the Joint Powers Board as the operation of the aquatic center is its only purpose. Chief Operations Officer Charlie Cauffman added that in the last 10 years, the school board has provided nearly $4 million to fund the operation and maintenance of the aquatic center using an endowment fund, for which that is the sole purpose, as designated by Worland voters.

NEW TITLES

During the meeting it was noted the curriculum director Jodi Rakness has received a title change to become the assistant superintendent of the school district, and Charlie Cauffman received a title change from business manager to chief operations officer of the school district. These changes are to better reflect the roles they currently have in the district.

PROJECTS

Cauffman then recommended that the board move forward with Arete Design Group out of Sheridan to design the plans for the remodel of the high school weight room. This recommendation was approved, with the stipulation that a contract is brought forward to be presented and reviewed by the board.

Cauffman also discussed the high school bathroom project, currently being designed by Engineering Design Associates. He thinks that it will be possible to have the bathrooms finished by September of this year.

He then discussed expenditures, noting that $1.639 million had been spent by the district in the month of January, compared to $1.695 million last year. He also mentioned year-to-date figures over the last fiscal years, with $9.531 million in 2023 and $9.405 on the date in 2022. He attributed the increase to bigger expenditures than prior years, such as the recent purchase of a new school bus.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business during the meeting:

•During public comment, Ben Hoffman gave praise to Worland varsity basketball coaches Aaron Abel and Mark Mortimer. He voiced his support for both the boys and girls basketball programs at the high school, having worked with both in the capacities of coach and athletic director, and now as a parent of a player on Worland’s girls basketball team.

•Representatives of Worland High School’s student council summarized their actions through the last month. They are working on putting together a fundraising dodgeball tournament, the date of which has yet to be decided. They will be holding officer elections soon, to let underclassmen step into new roles as senior members are soon to depart. They are also considering auctioning off parking spaces outside the high school to students to raise funds for the council. The auction winner would be allowed to paint their personal parking space.

•Manaia Peterson received a Good Sportsmanship Award following her participation in the girls varsity basketball game versus Powell, and Brock Douzenis received a Good Sportsmanship Award following his participation in the boys basketball game versus Powell.

•The board approved the request for retirement for both Jennifer Zimmer and Michelle Doyle. Retirements will be in effect at the end of their contract year.

•Casey Miller was hired as a school nurse, and will also teach a new certified nurse’s assistant course. She will work as the school nurse at both the middle school and the high school.

•Corey Davis was appointed head middle school boys soccer coach, and Rylan Mocko was appointed as assistant middle school boys soccer coach. Casey Wassum was appointed as assistant middle school girls coach.

•Terri Logan and Don Bryant were both reappointed as members of the school board’s Hall of Fame Committee.

•Rakness reported that 68% of Worland High School students participate in honors level courses. She also said that the district plans to expand the number of concurrent enrollment courses offered at the high school.

Rakness said that next year, there would be two English teachers, one biology teacher, and one teacher who would possibly teach both U.S. history and government as concurrent enrollment courses. In addition, there will be the previously mentioned certified nurse’s assistant course.

•The Concealed Carry Committee was approved to be reassigned as the Safety Committee. This will serve to broaden the scope of the committee to include safety measures for all students and staff. They plan to look at a full scale safety plan for the whole district. They also noted that the possibility of having concealed carry firearms has not been ruled out.

•Board member Brett Argeris thanked the districts’ bus drivers for their efforts in keeping students safe during their journeys through harsh weather over the last month.

•Superintendent Tawn Argeris discussed the school district having a booth at the upcoming University of Wyoming Job Fair in an effort to recruit young teachers to the district.