Kane School District to offer Pharmacy Tech Program

Beginning in Janu­ary of 2026, the Kane School District will be offering students a Pharmacy Technician Program through its Career and Technical Education Program, it was announced at the November 11 meet­ing of the Kane Dis­trict Board of Educa­tion. Students will work the approximate 10-month, 17 credit hour course online and will be required to travel to Cedar City on occasion. Upon completion of the pro­gram, students will be eligible to obtain national certification. Pharmacy Technicians work in hospitals, re­tail pharmacies, medi­cation manufacturing, research labs and re­hab facilities.

During the work meeting, the board viewed a PowerPoint presentation from Nay­lor Wenworth Lund Architects and Hughes General Contractors about the upcoming Valley High School (VHS) addition and major renovation project. Phase one entails the addition of a new administration area. Phase two involves the replacement of the old gymnasium and the addition of new weight room, music room, food service kitchen and eating areas. Phase one is scheduled to begin in January 2026 and end in December 2026. Phase two should begin in June 2026 and will take about three years to complete. Many of the details, issues and estimates of this important capital project are provided on the district’s BoardDocs page.

Superintendent Dalton reported that public school enrollment in the state has declined for the last three years. Charter school enrollment has continued to expand in Utah in grades K-6. Beginning in grade seven, it becomes even in both groups. In subsequent grades, charter school enrollment generally drops below public-school enrollment. Kane District student enrollment at the end of October was 1468, which includes the preschool. This is a loss of about 44 students over the past several years.

The Utah State High School Activities Association (UHSAA) announced that VHS’s Sportsmanship video entry was rated the highest in the 1A classification. UHSAA is the state leadership organization for high school athletic and fine arts activities, and it conducts a yearly contest for best sportsmanship video. It awards $1000 in scholarship money to the student or students who created the winning video. This is the seventh year that VHS has achieved this high rating and won the scholarship money.

All seven Kane District schools submitted their Teacher and Student Success Act (TSSA) plans to the board. The Utah State Board of Education (USBE)’s TSSA pro-gram distributes funding to school districts and schools and establishes accountability standards. The goal of each TSSA plan is to improve student academic achievement. The board approved all seven plans.

The board also approved Positive Behavior Plans for all seven schools, as man-dated by the state and funded through the USBE. Positive Behavior plans address student substance use by promoting positive behaviors, addressing peer pressure, mental health and building relationships.

The board approved VHS Western National Rangeland Career Development Event out of state travel. It also ap-proved nine overnight trips for VHS and three for Kanab High School, as well as holiday bonuses and hams and a 2028-29 draft district calendar.

The board approved LEA Specific License and Endorsements for Monte Glover in Physical Education, Utah Studies, Business, Finance and Marketing and Introduction to Computer Science. It hired the following persons, subject to a successful background check: Jani Hoyt-Hirschi (VHS Girls Basketball Assistant Coach), Easton Syrett (VHS Girls Basketball Head Coach); paraeducators Ariel Aubrey, Katarina Enns and Kellie Esplin and Nancy Seely as a substitute teacher. Congratulations to all.