OCR Text |
Show C M C M Y K Y K A8 Sanpete Messenger-Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition N.S. School Board discusses possible job cuts in next budget as funds tighten Travelling expenses under close scrutiny By John Hales Managing Editor MT. PLEASANT—Money changes everything. So does the lack of it. That’s what the North Sanpete School Board discovered last week during their regular monthly meeting, when budget considerations drove a nearly hour-and-a-half discussion on specific travel requests from district teachers. “Two months ago, this would have been a three-minute process for all three of these,” said board member Brian Olmstead. But two months ago was before the state’s budget-cutting knife evolved into a guillotine. Normally, the board would have had little trouble in approving the requests: one from Fountain Green Elementary principal Darrell White to attend a National Principal’s Convention in New Orleans as president-elect of the Utah Association of Elementary School Principals; another from North Sanpete High School football coach Casey Jenson to attend the USA Coaches Super Clinic in Las Vegas with two of his assistant coaches; and a third from four of the district’s reading specialists to attend a Reading First conference in Chicago. But with the state considering as much as 15- to 19-percent cuts in all state funds, even relatively minor amounts became something to wrestle with. Trying to save every dime, Superintendent Courtney Syme had recommended a moratorium on out-of-state travel. The matter was clear in his eyes: deny the requests. The board, however, had different ideas, disagreeing strongly at times with Syme and with each other. In the end they ended up granting, or partially granting, all of the requests. But the votes were split, which also was somewhat of a change. “It feels strange to not be unanimous,” said Board President Greg Bailey. But that eerie feeling didn’t hold a candle to the palpable discomfort when the board considered the possibility of eliminating as many as eight jobs next year. Those cuts were assumed in a staffing plan introduced by Superintendent Syme. Under the plan, which Syme emphasized as extremely preliminary, five elementary teaching positions would be cut, and also one middle-school, one high-school and one custodial position. “It’s certainly not pleasant to talk about this,” Bailey said. Syme explained the cuts would probably be made from provisional teachers, or teachers with fewer than three years in the district. The plan, however, only cuts positions, not specific employees. Those kinds of decisions, Syme indicated, would be up to principals. “Principals will have to make some hard decisions over which provisional teachers they wish to keep,” he said. “Our hope is that we’re being quite liberal in our assumptions that those kinds of cuts are going to be made,” Syme said. “I hope that we will have planned for worse than it really is.” If not, he said, “There are other things we’ll have to look at. We will look across the district. We will look at every teaching assistant position we have and the services they’re providing to see if there is a need to make adjustments there.” Selling (candy) kisses for a cause Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Gunnison Valley High School Bulldog Pride Rylan Anderson Abigail Lyons By Alec Barton Staff writer Rylan Anderson and Abigail Lyons, both freshmen, have been selected by faculty at Gunnison Valley High School to receive the Bulldog Pride Award. Rylan is the son of Mark and Deah Anderson of Gunnison. He is a 4.0 student and is involved in baseball and football. He was a member of the Gunnison 5th Ward church basketball team, which placed first in stake and district competition. Rylan is very close to finishing his Eagle Scout award. For his project, he is building and installing a gate for the baseball crow’s nest. Ryan also works at Pickett’s Dairy. In his spare time, he enjoys snowmobiling and spending time with his family. Rylan takes fishing and hunting seriously and enjoys these activities any time he can. Abigail is the daughter of Mark and Anita Lyons of Gunnison. She loves her English and art classes and is involved in band, student council and school plays. Abby is the Mia Maid president in the Gunnison 2nd Ward. She enjoys reading, and her favorite books are The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Les Misérables. She likes to play the piano and has just started teaching beginning piano. Abby loves to spend time with her family. Jr. Class officer Wyatt Hopkins is selling kisses (candy) during lunch hour at Gunnison Valley High School to raise money for the Junior Prom which will be held on Saturday, March 7, 2009. Kisses were delivered to students during their sixth-hour class on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009. Leanardo on wheels rolling to Gunnison By Karen Prisbrey Staff writer GUNNISON—The Leonardo on Wheels—SCIENCE will be visiting Gunnison Valley Middle School beginning Tuesday, Feb. 17. The Leonardo on Wheels— SCIENCE, an educational outreach program of the Utah Science Center, will be visiting at the middle school Feb. 17–20. Class visits will be Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:20 a.m. until 3:10 p.m. and Thursday and Friday from 10:15 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. Acting as the traveling version of the Utah Science Center, The Leonardo on Wheels program includes 12–15 interactive science exhibits that tie directly to the Utah State Core Curriculum for grades 7–9. The exhibits include: Micro-Worlds—See what everyday objects look like when magnified 200 times under a microscope. Generator Bike—Convert the energy in your legs into electrical energy while compar- ing the energy input needed to power incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs. Digital Anatomy—Navigate through human anatomy (internal and external) with a computer dissection of a real cadaver. The recently expanded program now serves 30 schools and approximately 12,000 students each year and is cofunded by technical firms and local foundations, including L-3 Communications, Rockwell Collins, Battelle, Energy Solutions Foundation, Idaho National Laboratories and ATK. The program provides a hands-on science experience for students in middle and junior high schools throughout the state. The Utah Science Center emphasizes creative and active exploration of the worlds of science and technology and is a partner in The Leonardo, an art, culture and science center being developed in the former main Salt Lake City Public Library building on Library Square in downtown Salt Lake. February 19-21, 26-28 8 p.m. Curtain Eccles Center for the Performing Arts Tickets: $7.50 adults Tickets:high $6.50/ adultsstudents & seniors $7.00 school high schools students Call$6.00 283-7478 for ticket sales& seniors Call 283-7478 for ticket sales C M C M Y K Y K |