Mendenhall Sworn in to Board Vacancy
The trustees of the Council School District board met for their regular meeting on April 15th. All board members were present except Bob Grossen.
The first order of business was the swearing in of new board member Lynn Mendenhall by district clerk Mindy Ivey. Mendenhall fills the vacancy left by Shawn Stanford when he resigned. Mendenhall was appointed by the board after a short public interview during the last regular board meeting and he will serve the remainder of Stanford’s original term, which will end at the end of this year. Mendenhall will have the option to run for election this fall.
No public comment was given during this meeting.
Board Chair Steve Ryals noted that the original contractor for the Elementary greenhouse was replaced by Larry Goodrich. Ryals noted that he is impressed with his work and that there is progress on the project. The new contract states that the project needs to be completed by May 1.
The calendar for the 2025-2026 school year was discussed. Ryals stated that he would like to see 2-3 days added to the calendar so the district isn’t so close to the state required minimums. The staff working on the calendar stated they built-in about 1.5 additional days of instruction time that is above the state minimum. The board as a group seemed OK with either of the two options that were presented by the Calendar Committee. No action was taken at this meeting as it was not on the agenda as an action item. They expect to approve a calendar at their next meeting.
Superintendent Pat Griffin stated that he is working on applying for a grant for a School Resource Officer (SRO). If successful, this grant would pay salary and benefits for a police officer for three years. He also discussed possibly sharing this SRO with New Meadows. Griffin has also been coordinating with Sheriff Zollman for this grant application. Griffin also reported that the district’s new website and app should be launched by the end of the school year. ISAT standardized tests are also scheduled.
High School Principal Brian Joyce reported that the school’s FFA students competed at the state leadership conference. Council’s Agri-Business team placed 4th statewide. This is quite the accomplishment according to Joyce. He also reported that Wade Vining placed in the top 10 overall as an individual. Joyce also reported that the district’s accreditation review is complete. He reported that this is a large project and that the state accreditation staff interviews school leadership, teachers and parents. He expects a report in May and the final certificate in June.
Royce Bauer, facilities manager, reported that he is working on coordinating projects to be completed this summer. These projects would be paid for by the state’s school modernization funds. Council received about $1.1 million from the state for this. One project is working to improve water drainage from school grounds so that it does not get under the school buildings and create problems. Another is looking at the schools Biomass and HVAC systems which are working, but are past their normal operating lifespan and often need repair.
The board is also working through periodic reviews of all their policies. The second reading of the 3000 series policies was completed during this meeting with minor changes. The board also started the first reading of the 7000 series policies. The second reading and potential changes will be discussed during the next meeting. All of these policies are available at csd13.org.
After an executive session the board made motions to accept the evaluation of Superintendent Pat Griffin, which was completed in the executive session, approve the hiring of a substitute teacher and to accept the resignations or retiring of six staff members. Who retired and who resigned was not stated at the meeting and reasons for any resignations were not given at the meeting.
