Among other items, a brief meeting of the Park County School District 1 board on Tuesday discussed adding an additional support position at the high school and approving a bid on HVAC improvements in the middle school and high school.

An additional para-position was approved unanimously by the present board members as part of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSR). This position would be temporary and last until the end of ESSR funds in two years. The initial ESSR plan included a high school support position but finding exactly what was needed took time. Powell High School Principal Tim Wormald wrote a letter requesting an at-risk liaison be approved for two years under the ESSR plan. The letter also suggests looking for additional grant funds following these two years if the position is effective and a need exists.

This position would address a small increase in students who dropped out of Powell High School over the last two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The importance of earning a diploma has been diminished for some students given all the other stressors they have experienced during the last few years,” Wormald wrote in his letter. “Over the course of the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years, 15 students have dropped out of Powell High School.”

The at-risk liaison would be responsible for working with students who may be at-risk of not graduating and helping them to achieve graduation.

“It’s been kind of a long road to get to this position to kind of get our brains wrapped around it, what the true needs of the high school were,” Curtis said. “The high school did a really nice job putting this together.”

The meeting also discussed approving a bid from Rawhide Mechanical to add air conditioning to the gyms at the middle school and high school and replace controls to the units at the high school. The project will be paid for using a combination of ESSR funds and major maintenance funds, totaling $900,900. 

The high school air conditioning project has priority to be done by May 1 in time for high school graduation. 

Other items discussed at the meeting included accepting donations, approving regular para-professional hires and appointing school board members to serve as Wyoming School Board Association legislative liaisons and delegates. Transportation director Steve Janes also delivered a yearly report to the board.