Blackfoot District #55 | minutes | meeting 2026-08-20 | August
source: https://docs.sd55.org/MeetingMinutes/Minutes.8_20_26.pdf

Board of Trustees’ Meeting August 20", 2026
District Office 6:30 p.m.
270 East Bridge Street
Blackfoot, Idaho

Minutes

Chairwoman Mary Jo Marlow called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Mrs. Marlow welcomed the
audience and led them in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Board members in attendance were Chairwoman Mary Jo Marlow, Vice Chairwoman Taryn Shoyo,
Treasurer Cleon Chapman, Trustee David Barlow, and Trustee Joey Call. Also in attendance were
Superintendent Brian Kress, Assistant Superintendent Ryan Wilson, Federal Programs Director Rebecca
Walker, Director of Student Support Services Lynette Carter, Board Clerk Jennifer Hatch, Principal Roger
Thomas, Whitney Kenworthy, Principal Debbie Steele, Principal Doug Bitter,

Approval of the Agenda- There were no changes to the posted agenda.
Public Forum — No one came forward during Public Forum.

Superintendent Update (Information) — We have had many back to school activities this week. It has
been an amazing thing to see our schools filled with kids again. Our extra-curricular activities begin
tomorrow. Next month during the September board meeting our attorney, Amy White, will be conducting
a training session from 6:30-7:30pm. We will conduct regular board business following the training. We
have a lot of construction projects continuing. Cement is being poured on the tennis/pickle ball courts.
The greenhouse is taking shape. Many projects at the schools are finishing up.

Enrollment Numbers (Information) — Mr. Kress shared an updated document with our Elementary
enrollment numbers. Fort Hall has 92 students, Donald D. Stalker has 195 students. Wapello has 232
students. Groveland has 257 students. Ridge Crest has 268 students. Riverbend has 390 students. We saw
some movement. There were projected to be about 220 Kindergarten students, we are currently sitting at
257. Enrollment tends to fluctuate until after fair week and then we will level out in our enrollment
numbers. Secondary schools have all seen an increase in enrollment numbers. People are recognizing the
amazing opportunities that our District offers.

IHSAA Passes (Information) — There is a new process for the board members to obtain their IHSAA
passes. The IHSAA has changed their procedure. Board Members are given access to any high school
activity in the state at no charge. Mr. Kress showed the board the IHSAA web page. If you go to the
Schools tab > Directory > IHSAA Card Instruction tab it will take you to the instruction page. Keep in
mind that you will need to upload a photo for this pass. Please don’t click “pay for this”. The school
district pays for your card. Only these digital cards will be accepted. This is a multi-step process. If you
have troubles, please call Mr. Kress or Mr. Wilson and they can help you. This card is good for you plus
a guest.

District Maintenance Projects Update (Information) — Mr. Kress presented Mr. Silzly’s slideshow
regarding summer projects and improvements throughout the District. The BHS entry was repainted. The
300 hall had drop ceilings installed and lighting updated. The Administrative office space was updated
and centralized onto the main floor of the building. The Activities Director is now in the main office space
as well. This will make the area more accessible and accommodating for students and parents. The parking
lots at Riverbend, the baseball/softball complex, and the BPAC were resealed and striped. The old welding
room and wood shop were cleaned out and the weight and wrestling room will move into those spaces.
The football team also has a designated space in this area. The Greenhouse is taking shape next to the
BHS CTE building. A new scoreboard was installed at MVMS. The exterior doors were painted as well.

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Independence and Donald D. Stalker are getting new roofs installed. They should be finished shortly.
BHSG received a restroom remodel. The floors and stalls were all renovated. Due to the transfer of all the
extended resource room classrooms to Ridge Crest Elementary, we had to add 2 additional bathrooms to
accommodate students. Groveland Elementary received new sidewalks, a ramp, and sewer line. The
exterior doors were also repainted. New restroom partitions were installed at Fort Hall Elementary.
Wapello had cement replaced in multiple areas and had landscaping added in front. Twenty-eight decaying
trees were replaced on the playground. A new drainage system was also installed at Wapello.

Tennis courts have had cement poured this week starting every morning at 2am due to the need for cooler
temperatures. We will have 6 tennis and 6 pickle ball courts. The pickle ball courts and a few of the tennis
courts will be open to the public. The city has agreed to install the lighting. The BTEC shop are is finishing
installation of the dust collection system for the wood shop. There will be an open house in the near future.
IT Stoddard has received clearance to begin construction next week. The contractors will be asked for
mileposts and schedules to be presented at the next board meeting. The elevator is ready to be installed.
The entrance to the tennis courts will be on Bronco Blvd (formerly York Drive).

CTE Work Ready Update (Information) — Mr. Thomas presented information about our CTE programs.
We have students taking classes in Agricultural Science, Automotive Technology, Business &
Technology, Cabinet Making, Family & Consumer Sciences, Health Occupations, and Welding
Technology. In our Heavy Equipment Operations classes there are simulators that the students are able to
utilize. Gale Lim has also allowed our students to be onsite observing heavy equipment in real world
situations. We have had the only farrier program in the continental U.S. within our Animal Science
program. The programs have the following participation numbers, based on seats filled: Agricultural
Science- 1043, Automotive Technology- 400, Business & Technology- 1963, Cabinet Making- 374,
Family and Consumer Sciences- 1050, Health Occupations- 166, and Welding Technology- 293. Our
programs have been immensely successful and our students have performed among the top students at
state competitions. We are looking to add an EMT and Medical Assisting program in the new CTE
building. The goal is for every program to have an industry certification path available to become industry
ready if they desire.

Mr. Thomas talked about the different assessment areas we utilize. There is a TSA- technical skills
assessment. This tests the skills specific to a pathway and makes sure the student is prepared in that area.
We had 65 students graduated with a CTE diploma. Every program has state standards. The TSA
determines competency in each of those standards by the industry and state. The TSA is given to program
completers in their senior year in their capstone class. We had 135 out of 166 students achieve more than
a 75% competency score.

There is also the WFR- work force ready assessment. This is a general knowledge test that demonstrates
that the student is ready to enter the workforce. We had 135 out of 166 achieve a passing competency
score on this test.

Curriculum Recommendations (Information) — Mrs. Walker presented the curriculum
recommendations for the 2026-27 school year. We are piloting 2 language acquisition programs this year.
These programs will teach the English language to students who have little to no English language skills.
Vista is a program that is both on computer and teacher led. HMH 3D is for students K-12. We will see
what works best for our District and see how we can achieve the most success for our students. They are
priced per student and will only be purchased for the students who need it.

21% Century Grant Update (Information) — As part of the grant requirements, a report needs to be made

yearly to the School Board. The 21* Century grant just completed round 15 in May. They now have round
16. This provides an after-school program at Independence High School and a preschool program at Irving

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Student Services Center. They will write a grant for 4 sites next year to participate in after school
programs.

Gear-Up Grant Update (Information) — Mrs. Kenworthy presented a PowerPoint about our Gear-Up
program. There are 28 partner districts in the state of Idaho. They start with students in 7" grade and
follow them through 12" grade. There are also check-ins during their first year of college. Focus areas are
academic activities such as tutoring and advanced coursework guidance, access activities like campus
visits and college application assistance, and aspiration activities such as career exploration and skills
building. Many of the activities are held during school hours. This year Gear-Up hosted guest speakers
and filled a teacher mini-grant that provided keyboards to begin a piano class at MVMS. They also went
on field trips to the water treatment plant, the hatchery, and BYUI. They held a community service day.
It was very successful and will be repeated every year. They also participated in a career fair. There were
23 career representatives from the community who spoke to the students. On a weekly basis there is a
class that teaches digital/financial literacy. Different departments rotated and talked about careers offered
within their specialty over the course of the year. Being a part of this program has been a great asset to
our District.

Motion to Executive Session (Action) — Mr. Chapman moved that the board of trustees recess into
executive session in the manner and for the purposes authorized by Section 74-206, Idaho Code (1) (a)
to consider hiring a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, and (b) to consider the
evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public
officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student. Mr. Barlow seconded the
motion.

Mrs. Marlow noted that this is proper business for consideration in executive session as per Idaho Code
74-206. All board members in attendance voted in the affirmative in a roll call vote. Mrs. Marlow —
yes. Ms. Shoyo- yes. Mr. Chapman — yes. Mr. Barlow — yes. Mr. Call — yes. The motion passed.

August 20th, 2026
7:50 p.m.

Executive Session

Mr. Kress presented the personnel recommendations.

The board reconvened into open session at 8:15 p.m.

Consent Agenda (Action) — Mrs. Marlow asked if there were any questions regarding items on the
consent agenda. There were none. Mr. Chapman moved that the board of trustees approve the consent
agenda including the prior board meeting minutes, personnel recommendations as they appear below,
contracted service items, the payment of July bills, student field trips, and elementary fundraisers. Ms.
Shoyo seconded the motion. All approved.

PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS August 20, 2026
New Hires Position Location
Alycia Adams 6" Grade Teacher BHSG
Casey Alvarez-Adams EL Paraprofessional (PT) MVMS
Deanna Begay Classroom Paraprofessional (PT) FH
Deanna Canady Classroom Paraprofessional (PT) RC
Linda Dance Interventionist (PT) WAP
Charleen Fletcher ERR Paraprofessional (FT) RC
Jessie Gerard Behavior Classroom Para (FT) GRO
Shanae Hitesman Classroom Paraprofessional (PT) GRO
Alexa Jensen Special Education Para (PT) STA

3

Board Meeting Minutes 8/20/2026

Ame Johnson
Kristen Johnson
Carlos Labra
Amaya Luna
Ryan Morgan
Amanda Scott
Dominique Staker
Cydney Thomas
Roger “Cole” Thomas
Makaylie Weber
Lyle Zaugg

New Hires within District
Victoria Gasca

Suzette Martinez
Amanda Watt

Transfers

Vanessa Arviso

Elena Beasley-Eldridge
Sandy Munoz

Ruby Sanchez-Villeda

Extracurricular

Eli Gregory

Bailee Hammond
Melbe Perez
Kristin Stocks
Caydence Taylor
Vanessa Wislodoski

Resignations/Retirements
Gayle Bills

Kysiah Gardner

Ryan Matai-Harrigfeld
Casey Hostert

Audrey Marcum
Suzette Martinez

Tara Tracy

Future Agenda Items (Information) — Possible training on fraud detection during our audit report in

October.

Special Education Para (FT)
Special Education Teacher

EL Paraprofessional (PT)
Classroom Paraprofessional (PT)
Special Education Para (FT)
4"" Grade Teacher

EL Paraprofessional (PT)
ERR Paraprofessional (FT)
ERR Paraprofessional (FT)
ERR Paraprofessional (FT)
Ag Science / Welding Teacher

From
EL Para- STA (PT)

Alternative Classroom Para- MVMS

Librarian- RC (PT)

From

Indian Ed Para- FH (PT)
Classroom Para- FH (PT)
Lunch Para- RC (PT)

EL Para- MVMS (PT)

Position

Cross Country Assistant Coach
Dance Head Coach

Volleyball Assistant

Cross Country Assistant Coach
Volleyball Assistant

Volleyball 7 Grade Assistant Coach

Position

Elementary Music Specialist (PT)
Behavior Classroom Para (FT)
Ag Science Teacher

Speech Language Pathologist
Behavior Classroom Para (FT)
Alternative Classroom Para (FT)
Food Service Assistant (PT)

BHS
BHS
STA
STA
BHS
RC
BHSG
RC
BHS
RC
BHS

To

Classroom Para- STA (FT)
Secretary- RB

Behavior Classroom Para- GRO

To

Classroom Para- FH (PT)
Indian Ed Para- FH (PT)
EL Para- RC (PT)

EL Para- GRO (PT)

Location
BHS
MVMS
BHS
BHS
BHS
MVMS

Location
DW

RC

BHS
DW

RC
MVMS
RB

Adjournment (Action) — Mr. Call moved that the August meeting of the board of trustees be
adjourned. Mr. Chapman seconded the motion. All approved. The motion passed. The meeting was

adjourned at 8:25pm.

Mary Jo low, Chairwoman

Jennifer Hatch, Clerk
Board Meeting Minutes 8/20/2026