On February 26, Chairperson Joel Richardson called the meeting to order with all eight board members present. There were several visitors in attendance as well, and members of the Rawhide FFA team served the board supper before the meeting.

   Mark Kupke and Brandan Stewart did some research into why it seems our school system is falling behind the state norm. Their findings showed that Lusk has not fallen behind, we’ve been consistently behind. Kupke and Stewart have volunteered to be on a committee to help get Lusk up where we belong.

   WYVA-Jeff Verosky reported that enrollment is at 558 students: 231 in K-6, 116 in 7-8, and 211 in 9-12.  March 16 will be mid-season development spring assessments. WYVA will be holding a one-day training in Casper this spring. They have been discussing the possibilities of holding their Professional Development days at different locations throughout the state, to allow the staff to see other parts of the state that they might not normally see. Verosky also stated that the building they are now housed in has structural issues and they are currently looking for a new location for their offices. He assured the board that they are staying in Lusk.

   LEMS- George Mirich reported that enrollment is down by 8 students since the start of this semester. There were 37 students that took advantage of the last Enrichment Day. Mirich said that they plan to take the 7th and 8th grade students on a day trip to Casper College to give them early exposure to that environment. The hope is to incorporate this into a yearly event with different locations.

   Joel Richardson discussed the code of ethics and expectations of the board and the superintendent. He feels it is good to review and hold yourself to these expectations.

   Stuart Larson stated that they are planning to set up a credit card payment program for parents to be able to pay for school lunches easier. They tried a new approach, where a text message was sent out to parents whose lunch accounts were in the negative and found it very effective with approximately $1000 being brought in that same day. 

   Superintendent Aaron Carr reported that the fire alarm system at NCHS needs to be updated as well as the wiring at LEMS. The board will be researching grants to help with those projects.

   The board accepted the early retirement resignations of Teresa Tucker, who has 38 yrs in and Ross Diercks, who has 37 yrs. This will go into effect at the end of their contract terms. Teresa Tucker was present and was thanked for her many years of service. The board also accepted the resignation of David Nelson as custodian.

   The board approved a 2-year contract for George Mirich, LEMS Principal, and a 1-yr contract for Phil Garhart, newly hired NCHS Principal. They also approved the calendar that has been set for the 2018-19 school year. 

   At the March 26 meeting, it is planned for Sue Belish of the Wyoming State Board of Education to be a guest speaker.