(Riverton, WY) – Fremont County School District #25 Board of Trustees convened for their regular meeting on Wednesday, July 20. They acted on 13 items, including approving their 2022-23 school year budget.
This upcoming school year’s budget is significantly larger than in previous years at $77,800,000.
The “meat” of the budget is $40 million, which is state allocation, according to Superintendent Dr. Joanne Andre-Flanagan.
“We have additional dollars coming in this year because of significant special revenues. $16 million in ESSER funds that we don’t typically get, so those get added in. … We also have capital construction funds coming in. So we have money for the demo, money for the wrestling room, and money for the auditorium. So those are, again, not year in, year out funds. They’re not part of our guarantee from the state. … So when you start to add on those kinds of significant funding sources that are coming in outside of the guarantee from the state, it starts to look like this gigantic budget, which it is it is because we’re building buildings, and we have these extra funds coming in. But that’s not typical. So I just want to make sure that everybody understands that we don’t run on a $77 million budget year in, year out in this district. This is an unusual year. The next couple of years will be unusual because we’ll continue to draw extra funds from the federal government. We’ll also continue to draw in funds from the state for our building projects.”
Below is a recap of what actions the Board took last night.
The Board approved a three-quarter mill for the BOCES with one-half mill going to the FCBOCES and one-fourth mill going to the NWBOCES and one mill for the Fremont County School District No. 25 Recreation District.
The Board authorized the administration to request the assessment of twenty-five mills for local support.
The Board approved the budget for the 2022-2023 school year as presented.
The Board approved the budget amendments and appropriation resolution dated July 20, 2022 to amend the FY22 Special Revenue budget from $8,000,000 to $11,000,000 for an increase of $3,000,000; the FY22 Depreciation Reserve Fund budget from $100,000 to $150,000 for an increase of $50,000; the FY22 Insurance Fund budget $9,500,000 to $9,600,000 for an increase of $100,000.
The Board will give Fremont County BOCES notice of their intention to reserve the right to withdraw funding in a school year (2023-2024). This doesn’t mean that we will, noted Trustee Carl Manning. A year’s notice must be given in order to withdraw funding.
The Board approved the inter-district transportation with Fremont County School Districts No. 1, 2, 6, 14, 24 and 38. To comply with statute, the Board needs to annually approve the entrance of buses from other districts into our district to load and discharge students.
The Board accepted the funding from the Wyoming State Construction Department for the Riverton High School Auditorium Addition construction in the amount of $8,200,000 and for the Tonkin Activity Center (TAC) demolition in the amount of $3,997,583.
The Board accepted the Special Revenues from Unite Us in the amount of $2,500. “We were recognized by Unite Us as a part of our poverty alleviation work in the community,” said Superintendent Flanagan. ‘We were recognized as a community champion and that comes with a $2,500 reward, which is nice, and we can use it to for ongoing support for the poverty alleviation system.”
The Board approved the revised job description for the Buildings and Grounds Department Secretary as presented.
The Board awarded a contract to Plan One Architects of Cody, Wyoming, in the amount of $755,000 for the Architecture & Engineering Design contract of the Riverton High School Auditorium Project. Two architectural firms were interviewed.
The Board awarded a contract to Nelson Architects, LLC of Riverton, Wyoming, in the amount of $340,830 for the Architecture & Engineering Design contract of the Tonkin Activity Center (TAC) Building Demolition Project. Three architectural firms were interviewed.
The Board accepted the resignation of Tasya Ravellette as a RMS 7th Grade Volleyball Coach effective immediately; Andrew Gosnell as a RMS 8th Grade Assistant Football Coach effective immediately; Carol Ann Stingley as a Rendezvous IDEAL Teacher effective immediately per board policy.
The Board will offer a contract to Elisa Harrison as an RHS ESSER Funded Counselor/Social Worker; Talon Yeates as an RHS Assistant Varsity Football Coach; Kaden Gantenbein as an RHS Assistant Varsity Football Coach; Shanna Montgomery as a Rendezvous 4th Grade ELA Teacher for the 2022-2023 school year.
The complete agenda and attachments can be viewed online here, and the meeting can be viewed on YouTube.