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minutes meeting date 2026-08-20 · fetched 2026-10-13 · 16156 characters · official file · plain text
Ririe Joint School District #252 Thursday August 20, 2026 6:00 pm School Board WORK Meeting Minutes 6:00 pm – The Ririe Joint School District #252 Board of Trustees met on Thursday August 20, 2026 at 6:00 pm for a scheduled and posted 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 Vice Chair Dallin Howell, 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. 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. Dallin seconded; passed unanimously. 6:02 pm – Item 4/New Business a. Discussion Item – CTE/AG Building Sign. Trapper informed that some generous community members have come together with donations to purchase the CTE/AG Building Sign. He informed that there will not be any additional costs to the district for the sign now that there have been these generous donations. He then informed that the sign was ordered late so it will be one of the last things to be completed on the building. Dallin asked if the donors will be recognized. Trapper explained yes, the district will recognize those who would like to be recognized. Dallin commented that he would like to recognize them in an Open Board Meeting also. b. Discussion Item – CTE/AG Shop Dust Collection System. Trapper commented that he is not sure if all current Board members were aware that the dust collection system was not included in the overall CTE/AG Building budget. He commented that they were hoping to get a grant for this, which has not happened, although they are still pursuing options but cannot guarantee one will be awarded. He informed that the system needs to be ordered and installed in order to pass the final inspection. He explained further. He informed that the cost for this will be approximately $39,753. He informed that the AG Teachers recommend this system. Board Chair Hansen asked if that cost is for the entire system. Trapper informed, yes it is. Brigham asked if this needed to put out for bids. Trapper informed it does not. He then explained the cost breakdown. Kevin commented that if we are going to have a woodshop in the new building, we have to have a dust collection system. Board Chair Hansen asked how long it will take to get delivered and installed once it is ordered. Trapper commented 2-3 weeks hopefully. Superintendent Gee informed that he submitted a grant which and has been awarded from AG West for an amount of $3,5000 for shop supplies. He informed that he also recently submitted another grant through the CHC Foundation for shop tools. c. Discussion Item – Proposed Elementary School Setting. Superintendent Gee informed that he and Trapper sat down with the architects to draw up some preliminary drafts of what an Elementary School would look like on the two different location sites that are currently being discussed. He informed that it is basically the same building design as the building they toured in District 93. He briefly explained the footprint. Discussion occurred. Darby asked if a survey has been sent out to the community yet. Superintendent Gee informed that has not been done, but he will do whatever the Board directs him to do with a survey. Brigham asked Superintendent Gee to pull up a map of the in- town property on Google Maps. Superintendent Gee did that and explained where the draft school was set on the map by combining all of the inside lots to come up with 10 acres. Brigham and Kevin began talking between themselves about the map and properties. Darby asked if a cost estimate was given by the architects of what building a new school would be. Brigham and Kevin continued to talk between themselves about the map and locations. Trapper informed the cost would be approximately $20-$23 million dollars. He informed that our bonding capacity is $26 million currently, minus our current bonds. He informed that it is never recommended to bond for the full capacity limit in case unexpected things happen or come up and the district is forced to run another bond. He explained further. Brigham gave some suggestions of where a school should be placed on the in-town property. Kevin asked what their plot shows as far as roads and some additional questions regarding access. Discussion occurred. Superintendent Gee informed that he spoke with Bateman-Hall and asked them to give him an example of a bridge they have built recently, along with the cost. He brought up the picture on the overhead and informed that the cost for this bridge was $650,000. He commented that he understands this is not exactly what the district would need, but it does help put things and costs into perspective. Brigham commented that he doesn’t think that has any bearing on us, especially in the middle of property. Board Chair Hansen commented that a bridge was one of the very factors that was discussed if the kids were to walk to school. Brigham commented that they could talk to the City and have a sidewalk put in, along with a walking bridge. Comment was made that the kids would also possibly be walking through people’s yards. Brigham asked what the next step is. Superintendent Gee commented that the next step is up to the Board of what they want to do at this point. Discussion occurred. Kevin commented that he thinks a survey put out to the community is the next step. Brigham asked what the survey would ask. Where is the better location? Trapper commented that he thinks a survey would divide the community. He explained further. Dr. Teske commented that this topic is on a lot of people’s minds right now and he believes that they would like a voice. Brigham commented that he doesn’t like surveys and would rather hold a public meeting. Darby asked how holding a public meeting and then having people cast their vote with their preference of which location they prefer is any different than a survey. Brigham commented that half of the people he has talked to have changed their minds after hearing both sides. Board Chair Hansen commented that he is in favor of sending out a survey. He commented that this type of survey is significantly different because we are talking about a $20-$23 million dollar school. Kevin commented that facts need to go along with the questions listed on the survey. Question was asked about the price of the in-town property. Superintendent Gee and Trapper informed that the District has been asked by the land owner/developer not to discuss or talk about what the price would be at this point. Brigham commented that he has been told what the price will be by several people, including the banker. Kevin commented that he is not opposed to a survey, but thinks facts and information need to be shared before that happens. Brigham commented that the in- town property has been plotted to be developed in the next 1-5 years. Superintendent Gee asked if the Board would like to him to set up a meeting with the property owner to get a better idea of what would work as far as placement if the Board decides to purchase the land and build there. He then asked the Board how soon they would like to set up a public meeting and/or survey. Comment was made, soon. Trapper commented that before a meeting is held, he needs to know clearly what the Board views as positives and negatives of each location. d. Discussion Item – Elementary Bus Lane. Superintendent Gee informed that he met with Mayor Kimmel and the plan is to change how kids are being picked up at the Elementary School in the afternoon. He informed that they don’t want to close the road off, but that is still on the table if needed. He informed that one concern that was expressed is the tail swing on the buses does not allow the buses to pull right up next to the curb. He explained further. Darby asked if there is any more information about the gate in the alley. Superintendent Gee informed that it is still on the radar. Dallin asked if it is our optimal option to shut off the alley. Superintendent Gee informed yes, because there is a lot more traffic coming through there because of the new apartments. He also informed that the City has approved the district blocking off both ends during school hours. Kevin asked some questions regarding the space for kids to load. Superintendent Gee informed that the kids will be loading off of the sidewalks. Brigham asked how many buses we are currently running. Superintendent Gee informed 4. He commented that Kita and Luke are splitting a route. e. Discussion Item – ISBA Policy Updates. Superintendent Gee went over each Policy and Updates and explained. f. Discussion Item – CTE Building Discussion. Superintendent Gee commented that the blue on the front of the building looks really good. Board Chair Hansen asked if they found any documentation regarding what the difference in understanding is on the upstairs classrooms. Trapper commented that he, Brigham and Kevin all attended the construction meeting on Tuesday where this was discussed with the Construction Manager(s). He informed that they do not have an exact date, or documentation of the past construction meetings, but there were a lot of different options and ideas that were discussed and gone through throughout this process. He informed that the architect informed the Board a couple of times that an elevator and extra set of stairs would be required if classrooms were added upstairs. He informed that based on everything that was discussed in those meetings, Bateman-Hall and the Architects believed they were building exactly what the Board and their representatives wanted, along with what fit within the budget. Brigham commented that he doesn’t mean to refute what Trapper just said, however, he didn’t feel like any light was shed on what happened during their last construction meeting where this was discussed. He commented that in his recollection and at some point, he thought that the Board clearly thought there would be 3 classrooms, and then at some point that changed without the Board being made aware. He commented that it is his personal opinion that at some point the Board would have gotten to the point that they are at now, without the 3 classrooms because he believes the Board would have said to build more square footage at the ground level, rather than up, but he does not remember having that discussion. Trapper commented that 3 classrooms could still be added in the future, if needed. Brigham commented that won’t be easy. Discussion occurred. Trapper commented that if they want to add more rooms up top in the future it is feasible but we would lose the mezzanine. Darby asked how things will get upstairs now. Trapper informed by the stairs or a forklift. Dallin asked if everything is plumbed so if in the future they wanted to add more classrooms up there they could. Brigham commented that the word feasible is not the right word. Possible, maybe, but not feasible. He also commented that it wouldn’t be easy because if the mezzanine were changed into classrooms, they would still have to figure out how to add an elevator and more stairs. Brigham commented that he thinks something different could have been done. Trapper commented that we are pretty far over budget from where we started, and again, they all thought they were doing what the Board wanted as per the discussions in the construction meetings. Dallin commented that a little bit of planning ahead would have been better. He commented that his understanding was the expectation of having classrooms upstairs in the next 10 years. Brigham commented that he believes the Board would have said it is not feasible to add 3 classrooms upstairs, but they never had the chance to discuss this. Superintendent Gee reminded the Board that the project started as a single story building with 3 classrooms and 2 shops, and then a lot of changes were made and things went up in cost. Brigham made some comments. Trapper commented that until 2 weeks ago, they thought they were building exactly what the Board wanted. He commented that what was adjusted is what the Board wanted, as far as he understood and that Brigham saying that the Board wasn’t made aware is tough to take from where they sit. Brigham commented that it is tough to take from where they sit also, and there are at least 2 other Board Members who had the same understanding as him. Superintendent Gee commented that this is not a You/Us thing. He commented that every time there was meeting, 2 board members said we want this or we want that, and then they, Bateman-Hall and the architects, had to make adjustments to make things work. He commented that we have an amazing building being built, one that we did not have to go to the public for any money to build. He commented that he doesn’t see it that far off from what their understanding was of what the Board wanted. Superintendent Gee also commented that he is stoked that we are going to have this great building for our students and AG Teachers to teach classes that we have wanted to teach here in Ririe for a long time. Board Chair Hansen commented that it is important that the Board be made aware when the process changes. Superintendent Gee commented that the Board appointed 2 Trustees to be on the Construction committee who were given permission to make decisions for and on behalf of the Board. Board Chair Hansen commented that the building is awesome and great but it is not the same thing that the Board thought it would be. Superintendent Gee commented that we are all on the same team here. Board Chair Hansen commented that in his opinion what was agreed to by the Board was not relayed to Bateman-Hall. Superintendent Gee suggested that all construction meetings be recorded moving forward. Kevin agreed. Kevin commented that it might be disappointing to 3 Board Members that it is different than what they thought it would be, but what we have is an amazing building and everything being done outweighs the negative that is being discussed. He commented that Darby and himself were not part of the initial talks. He asked, could it have been more, yes, but it also could have been a lot less. He also commented that it is huge that all of this isn’t costing the public anything. g. Discussion Item – South District Property Burn Pile. Superintendent Gee informed that he talked to the Mayor about the District Burn Pile to make sure that the City is only dumping limbs there. He commented that the Mayor informed him that the City does not give anyone permission to dump items there. Brigham suggested adding some cameras out there so the District can find out who is dumping stuff out there. He commented that something better has to happen because there is a lot more than just limbs being dumped out there, and by a lot of people. Discussion occurred. Superintendent Gee commented that he would rather just close it off to all dumping, rather than worry about giving permission to anyone who wants to dump stuff there. Discussion occurred. h. Discussion Item – ISBA Annual Convention Information. Superintendent Gee informed that the convention will be held in Boise, ID on November 4-6, 2026. He asked all Board Members to look over their schedules and let Kristi know ASAP if they plan to attend this or not. 6:58 pm – Being 6:58 pm, Board Chair Hansen entertained a motion to adjourn the Board Work Meeting tonight. Dallin so moved. Darby seconded; passed unanimously. Reviewed & Approved: September 17, 2027 Board Chair: Mike Hansen Board Clerk: Kristi Hamilton
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