By SEAN MORTIMER
Staff Reporter 

Board honors early graduates, hears textbook concerns

 

January 26, 2023

Sean Mortimer

Emilee McDonald recieves her High School Diploma during an early graduation ceremony in the Washakie County School District No. 1 Administration Building on Jan. 23.

The Jan. 23 meeting of the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees began by recognizing four early graduates.

Seniors Emilee McDonald and Makenzie Paxton walked the floor of the board room in the administration building in Worland and accept their diplomas from board member Jonathan Hake. They were then congratulated from the rest of the trustees, Superintendent Tawn Argeris and administrative assistant Nicole Hellyer. Friends and family were there to share cake and celebrate their accomplishments.

Not present were Jacob Draper and Austin Gentzler, who were also recognized as early graduates.

The floor was then opened to audience member Tami Young, who brought forth grievances with a piece of mandatory literature for Worland Middle School social studies. Young's complaints stemmed from the sixth-grade textbook "Ancient Civilizations." She voiced concerns over how modern United States government was portrayed in the first chapter of the book, citing how it was referred to as a democracy rather than a constitutional republic, which would be more accurate. Young said that there were numerous other "subtle things" in the book that were "very concerning" to her. Chairman David Tommerup acknowledged her concerns and assured her that Superintendent Tawn Argeris would look into the matter and deem whether or not the literature is appropriate.

Following public comment, award winners in golf and state drama were recognized for outstanding performances and a job well done of representing their community.

During new business, the retirement of Tammy Montoya, a Spanish teacher at Worland High School, was approved and set for the end of the 2023 school year. The resignation of Thomas Herndon, a social studies teacher at Worland High School, was also approved.

Three new hires for classified staff were also approved during the meeting: Tolman Flannery as a part time special education para at the middle school, Sadami Hake as a part time English language para at West Side, and Stacy Green as full time custodian at the high school.  

Charity Glanz was approved as the head middle school swimming coach, Hillary Aagard as the assistant middle school swimming coach, and Alicia Clark was approved as the middle school swimming practice coach.

Jodi Rakness presented her recommendation on which bid to accept for the project of replacing the School District's network server. Rakness and the IT staff at the Worland schools recommended that the board of trustees accept the bid offer from Pine Cove Consulting, a company that provides Information Technology solutions across the Rocky Mountain region. She stated that due to their competitive pricing for the installation process, the compatibility of their proposed system with existing infrastructure, and their history of work with the district, Pine Cove Consulting was the right fit for the job. The board of trustees approved Pine Cove's bid of $105,709 for the project.

During the Superintendent's Report, Argeris stated that the existing Concealed Carry Committee would like to rebrand to the Safety Committee to expand the scope of their work to include other safety measures in the interest of protecting Worland students. A decision is set to be made on this matter during the next school board meeting.

Business Manager Charlie Cauffman shared that due to a previously contracted architect declining a request to change plans for the remodeling of Worland High School and leaving the project, the remodel would be pushed back until another architect was contracted.

He also announced that the project to replace the roof of the West Side School would be pushed back until material prices dropped, as the quote they received for the project was $118,000 over budget.

Sean Mortimer

Makenzie Paxton recieves her High School Diploma during an early graduation ceremony in the Washakie County School District No. 1 Administration Building on Jan. 23.

Work is being done on the Administration Building in Worland, as was evident by the freshly painted board room. Cauffman said that the carpet in the building would also be replaced, and the current windows of the building were original to its construction and were due to be replaced as well.

 
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