Southern Utah News Front Page: November 19, 2020

District readies GO Bond Sale for new school

By Tracy Hiscock

The Kane District Board of Education, at its November meeting, passed a resolution: “Authorizing the Issuance and Sale of Not to Exceed $23,000,000 General Obligation (GO) School Building Bonds, Series 2020.” The 28-page resolution spells out the terms and conditions relating to the sale of the bonds, and is available for viewing through the district website.

Superintendent Ben Dalton noted substantial work and time has been required by Kane District staff in preparation for the sale of the GO bonds, which should be ready to sell in late November or early December.

Superintendent Dalton, Board President Loral Linton and Business Manager Cary Reese recently made a PowerPoint Presentation to representatives of Moody’s Investors Service, the bond credit rating business. A high rating from Moody’s makes bonds more attractive to investors. The bonds will be used to construct the new elementary school in Kanab. The projected start date for construction is March of 2021 and the estimated completion date is July 2022.

Matt Geddes, from Squire and Company, addressed the board regarding the results of the fiscal year 2019-2020 independent financial audit. The report showed that the district’s finances are in excellent order. He commended the district financial team for their good work. The school board accepted and approved the audit results.

It was reported that the attorney for the school board has advised the district not to participate in any action against the Governor of the State of Utah, or to contest his order for students and staff to wear face masks in school. The district’s liability insurance company, State Risk Management, has also advised against the district participating in any legal action against the Governor. It was recently reported to the board that the Kane County Commission is considering bringing a lawsuit against the Governor and wants the Kane School District to become a party to that lawsuit.

The board discussed the Statewide Online Education Program, created by State Administrative Rule R277-726 earlier this year. If a student participates in this program, the school district does not receive funding for these students, even if they are taking the classes on school district premises, using school district equipment and resources. Kane District has its own online course offerings, through BYU online. When students enroll in these classes, the district does receive state funding for those students.

Superintendent Dalton is currently serving on the Utah Legislature Education Interim Committee. This group is working on analyzing the reporting requirements placed on school districts from various sources, in order to determine if any reporting requirements can be reduced and/or combined.

Kanab High School Principal Trevor Stewart, in attendance, raised the possibility of implementing a policy requiring students participating in sports to be subject to random drug testing, as a deterrent to student drug use. Such a policy could also allow drug testing when there is a suspicion of usage. Several board members expressed support for such a policy and they would like district staff and high school principals to work on drafting one.

In other business, the board approved the Local Education Agency Specific Competency-Based Teacher license process, as well as Kanab High School boys and girls basketball schedules, wrestling schedule and 150-mile request and 2021 Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey results. It also approved the hiring of Meagan Mevis and Adrienne Roundy as paraeducators. Congratulations to them, and to the Valley High School girls volleyball team that won the state championship.

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