The Snowflake High School girls’ track team was recognized for their Division Three Track and Field State Championship during last week’s Snowflake Unified School District Governing Board meeting.
The Lady Lobos team entered the Division III state meet as one of the favorites to claim a team title and they didn’t disappoint. Snowflake won the girls state team title with a total of 90.5 team points.
Snowflake Junior High Assistant Principal and Athletics Director Kay Solomon reported, “The athletic programs are alive and well. We have a high participation rate and a great bunch of coaches. This year we had three championships in girls’ softball, volleyball and track.”
Recently the coaches and athletes of Snowflake Junior High School were given the White Mountain League Sportsmanship Award, which Solomon said was “A great accomplishment.”
Kenadi Stuart, a fifth grade student at Snowflake Intermediate School, recently went to the Elks National Hoop Shoot in Chicago, Illinois, where she placed seventh in the nation. “I had a wonderful time and met new friends,” said Kenadi.
In other business, Heather Scott, the agricultural teacher for Future Farmers of America, brought six students who will be participating in the state competition on Tuesday, June 5, to do a mock presentation called, “Our Animals, Our Livelihood,” in which the students defended the right to humanely own livestock and pets, with the knowledge that the need to have livestock and the need to have pets is essential.
District Business Manager Mark Ollerton gave a brief overview of the upcoming budget. From last year to this year the average daily student count of the district has risen from 2,429 to 2,485, which will give an increase in funding. Ollerton also said that the state legislature has consistently taken money from the schools, “but over the next five years some of those cuts will go away, allowing the money to come back to the district, which is good news,” said Ollerton.
In other business, the board:
* Approved a PE uniform fee change from $17 to $25. Students will still be able to wear the old uniforms.
* Approved the Career Technical Student Organization stipend, which is for high school teachers who travel on their own time. The stipend will be limited to $1,000 per teacher per year.
* The purchase of 148 Chromebook laptop computers at a cost $229 per laptop. A Rural and Low-Income School Grant will cover the cost. Federal Programs Coordinator Neil Westover said, “The laptops will be spread out between the schools within the district in an effort to give every child an opportunity to learn computer skills.”
* Approved the purchase and implementation of Time Clock Plus, a time clock system that will be able to integrate with the current payroll system, providing supervisors and employees with real time data. As Ollerton said, “It brings accountability, while making the operation efficient and speed up the process.”
* Approved the purchase of two new cars for the district. The cars will be purchased through Larry Miller Toyota as they carry the state contract. The purchase amount budgeted is $48,000.
* Approved an expenditure budget revision.
* Authorized talks between Superintendent Hollis Merrell with the City of Snowflake and Town of Taylor to create an agreement for shared facility use.
