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minutes meeting date 2026-04-16 · fetched 2026-09-17 · 14532 characters · official file · plain text
Ririe Joint School District #252 Thursday April 16, 2026 6:00 pm School Board WORK Meeting Minutes 6:00 pm – The Ririe Joint School District #252 Board of Trustees met on Thursday April 16, 2026 at 6:00 pm for their monthly School Board Work Meeting. Board Chair Hansen welcomed all those in attendance. 6:00 pm – Board Chair Hansen asked that roll call be taken. Roll call was taken and those in attendance were as follows: Board Chair Mike Hansen, Board Assistant Treasurer Darby Taylor, Trustee Brigham Cook, Trustee Kevin Landon, Superintendent Gee, Business Manager/Co Treasurer Trapper McCallister, and Board Clerk/Treasurer Kristi Hamilton. Board Vice Chair Dallin Howell was not present for tonight’s meeting. 6:02 pm – Action Item – Board Chair Hansen entertained a motion to approve the Work Meeting Agenda. Brigham made a motion to approve the Work Agenda as posted. Darby seconded; passed unanimously. 6:03 pm – Item 4/New Business a. Discussion Item – Supplemental Levy. Trapper reminded the Board that the Election is coming up on May 19, 2026. He also reminded the Board of the Public Information Meeting that will be held on May 6th at 7:00pm in the Auditorium. He asked the Board to invite people to attend this. He then asked if there were anything else the Board would like him & Superintendent Gee to do. He commented that any ideas are welcome and great. There were none. b. Discussion Item – Elementary School BOND. Trapper informed that he and Superintendent Gee met with the Architects where they talked about the needs to build a suitable Elementary School for our district. Superintendent Gee informed that they looked at several different options. He informed that South Fork Elementary in Archer is a similar design and comparable in size to what we need. He explained in further detail. He informed that they felt like 11 acres would give us plenty of space. He informed that one of the sites the Board had discussed previously is not going to be suitable. He commented that the architects would like us to come up with a number of what would be the smallest size we would be happy with, and what number we can BOND for. Brigham commented that additional classroom space can be added later if necessary. Trapper commented that a gym, lunchroom, media center, office, etc… will have to be included, so the building needs to be large enough for everything needed. He informed that our Bonding Capacity is $26,000,000. Superintendent Gee informed that the building they toured at Bonneville was built for $26,000,000, however that bid was from 2 years ago. Brigham commented that to have a gym, cafeteria, etc… and 12 classrooms is a minimum. He commented that he knows that is small, but also pretty big for our growth. He asked how the grades can be split to make sense. Superintendent Gee commented that the New Elementary would house grades PK-4, the old Elementary School would house grades 5-8, and the High School would house grades 9-12. He informed that when they were going over things, the number they came up with was 22 classrooms. He explained. Darby commented that she believes the Elementary School teachers would appreciate a Teachers Lounge. Trapper commented that costs are not going down and building the minimum isn’t always cost effective because as costs continue to rise, adding on later may become more expensive. Brigham asked if PK and K are needed in the new building. Superintendent Gee commented that it makes sense to put them in the same building as grades 1-4. He explained further. He commented that the building the Board toured a while back had over 30 classrooms. Kevin asked if it would behoove the Board to go tour South Fork Elementary. Discussion occurred. Superintendent Gee commented that South Fork Elementary will give a different and smaller scale than the larger school they toured, which is more realistic for our what we need. Discussion occurred. Kevin asked when everyone would like to go tour South Fork Elementary. Superintendent Gee commented that he would like to do it next week, if possible. Brigham commented that he would like to wait another week if possible. Brief discussion occurred. Superintendent Gee will schedule it and let everyone know. c. Discussion Item – AG/CTE Building Update. Trapper commented that they are meeting with Bateman-Hall every two weeks. He informed those meetings will continue to be held on the Tuesday of the week of every Board Meeting. He informed that they met this week and everything is looking good, minus a few hang-ups that they are working through. He informed that the building is being delivered tomorrow. Board Chair Hansen asked about the water issues. Superintendent Gee informed that item was not discussed at this meeting. Trapper commented that Ron Vanderveen is going to handle it. Discussion occurred. d. Discussion Item – Hiring Policy. Kevin commented that this was talked about earlier in the year. He commented that the discussion included; what determines the makeup of a hiring committee. Superintendent Gee commented that per our policy, committees are optional, however, we always use a committee when hiring. Brigham commented that he thought the Board gave some suggestions regarding this, as in; 1-2 parents, the direct supervisor, administrator, teacher, etc… serve on the committee. Superintendent Gee informed that is typically what the process is and has been. Kevin commented that he would like to see more than a rubber stamp from the Board. He commented that he would like to see the committee present the top two applicants for all positions to the Board. He explained further. Superintendent Gee informed that he has something similar regarding a hire that he is going to present to the Board tonight, and if the Board likes the way it was done, they can continue to use the process. Mike commented that he would like to get as much information back from committees as possible. He explained. Brigham commented that if the Board wants to do that for every single hire, meetings could get really long. He explained. He suggested the Board decide which positions need in depth process and which don’t. e. Discussion Item – Elementary Recess. Brigham commented that there has been some contention within the 5th grade class. He commented that he would like an update. He commented that there are a few things that are concerning to him regarding a letter. He informed that this has been going for 2 years with this class and nothing is changing. He informed that the entire class is getting punished for the actions of a few kids. He commented that several Board Members, including himself are aware of this because they have 5th grade students. He commented that whatever the school is doing to combat this behavior is not working. He commented that maybe those students need a drill sergeant or more suspensions. He commented that something needs to be done so the kids who aren’t causing the issues aren’t getting in trouble for those who are. He explained further. Discussion occurred. Mr. Martineau commented that the class is a bigger size class, with a lot of very competitive athletes, who play rough. He commented that once that starts, it keeps escalating. He informed that kids who aren’t causing the trouble are getting knocked down, and the second kid who throws the punch is always the one who gets caught. He explained further. He informed that this class has had every sport taken away from them over the years, and the staff got to a point this year where no matter what they have tried, they couldn’t do anything right in some people’s eyes. He commented that when the recent complaints started coming in, he talked with his staff and they feel like they just can’t win no matter what. He informed that he sent a letter home last week. He explained further. He commented they are at a frustration point and have decided not to let that class play any competitive games right now. He informed that since they started that, things have been better. He informed that if it continues to get better, they will give them soccer and ga-ga ball back, and then football if they continue to improve. He informed that they talked to the entire 5th grade class about this also. He commented that he believes they are set up to succeed and believes they will make it to the end of the school year just fine. Brigham commented that the Board has seen this before with another class who went from 5th grade to 11th grade, and the problems stuck with them every year. He commented that all of those problems started at a younger age. He commented that the students need to learn that bad behavior is not accepted and real consequences will occur if it doesn’t stop. Mr. Martineau agreed, but commented that one hurdle with that is not being able to identify exactly where the issues start. He commented that too many parents don’t think their kids are doing anything wrong. He explained further. Brigham suggested if there is a problem at school and the parent(s) won’t support the school, then send the student home for the day. Discussion occurred. Mr. Martineau commented that he feels resetting recess has been helpful. Brigham commented that he coaches a lot of the kids that age and realizes how quickly it can go from happy to throwing punches, however, he wants kids to know it is not acceptable at school, and if it does happen, something more firm needs to be done so kids realized they can’t treat teachers, aides, or classmates that way. Mr. Martineau agreed. Discussion occurred. Board Chair Hansen asked if there is a way and enough personnel to take them across the street to the old football field for recess and maybe split the groups up. Discussion occurred. Board Chair Hansen commented that recess is 30 minutes so they should have time to go over there, if they have enough personnel to cover. Darby commented that lunch is 30 minutes, and recess is included in that time, so their true recess is much less than 30 minutes. Discussion occurred. Brigham commented that heavy consequences will hopefully teach them a good lesson. He explained. Discussion occurred. Mr. Martineau commented that he is not on board with public humiliation, but the Board can ask the next principal if they would be. Darby commented that there are 57 5th grade students. She asked if they could split recess into two groups so there aren’t so many going out at the same time. Mr. Martineau commented that they are on a tight schedule and that won’t work. He commented that he feels like they are in a good place with the recent recess reset. Darby asked if they are going to be a problem long term though. Comment was made that they want teachers, aides, and secretaries to be empowered to call parents when there is an issue. Mr. Martineau commented that since they implemented the recess reset 4 days ago, things have been better. He informed that he and his staff will stay on top of things. Superintendent Gee commented that if there are any parents who are willing to volunteer for recess duty, the school is always appreciative of the help. He commented that it never hurts to have more adults and more eyes during recess. Brigham commented that he believes there needs to be some responsibility put on the parents also. Comment was made that maybe parents should have to come sit in the classroom with their kids who are continuously getting into trouble. Discussion occurred. f. Discussion Item – Drop off at the High School. Board Chair Hansen informed that he came and observed the drop off at the high school a couple of times. He commented that he thinks there are some concerning points, but also realizes this is a temporary issue. Superintendent Gee informed that he met with his administrative team to talk about how to make the drop off work better. He informed that our SRO watched the video’s from the last several days. He informed that from 7:51am-7:57am, the area is congested. Discussion occurred on the wait time it takes people to exit and turn left after they drop off their students. Superintendent Gee read over all of the information and explained. He commented that it varies, but only for a short period of time. He commented that it flows much better than it did the first week because everyone is figuring out the flow of traffic. He commented that he is sure there are times people are waiting a little longer than they want to, but there are only 21 days left of school, and if we change it again he believes it would cause more of an issue than just keeping it as is until school is out for the summer. He commented that he thinks everyone can survive 21 more days. Board Chair Hansen commented that it is a problem when everyone is backed up on the road. He commented he is just trying to avoid accidents from happening. He commented that maybe the buses could change where they are picking up and dropping off. He explained. Discussion occurred. Board Chair Hansen commented that maybe the SRO could be out there helping direct traffic, and have the buses drop students off at the gym doors, and the personal drive through drop offs move to the bus zone. He commented that way seems better to him. He commented to either have the personal drop offs pull forward or switch where the buses drop off. Brigham asked if it is also a problem at the end of the day. Dr. Teske informed it is more of a problem in the morning. Board Chair Hansen commented that there a 4 buses and a lot of cars, and he feels like changing the drop off areas would be worth it. Superintendent Gee commented that he has run that idea by the transportation department, and they don’t like it. He commented they will do whatever they are asked to do, but they are not thrilled with it. Dr. Teske commented that they will try moving the personal drop offs to in front of the gym next week, and if that doesn’t help or work, they will look at trying something different. 6:50 pm – There being no further discussion in the School Board Work Meeting, Board Chair Hansen entertained a motion to adjourn. Darby so moved. Brigham seconded; passed unanimously. Reviewed & Approved: May 21, 2026 Board Chair: Mike Hansen Board Clerk: Kristi Hamilton
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