School Board Elects Officers, Welcomes New Trustees

The Natrona County School District board of trustees on Monday welcomed the three new members, and a returning member at its bimonthly meeting Monday.

The new members, elected in the Nov. 4 general election, are Toni Billings, Dr. Clark Jensen and Debbie McCullar. Dave Applegate was re-elected to another four-year term.

The trustees elected new officers. Applegate was re-elected as chairman. Elizabeth Horsch was elected vice chairwoman, Paula Reid was elected treasurer, and Kevin Christopherson was elected clerk.

And as befits the season, the trustees recognized the winners of the student holiday card contest: Faith Miller, an eighth-grade student at Centennial Junior High; Audrey Mosier, a fifth-grade student at Summit Elementary; Aubrey Vondra, a third-grade student at Manor Heights Elementary. The honorable mention award went to Kylie Williams, a sixth-grade student at Centennial Junior High.

The school district will send the winning cards to more than 11,000 people in the county.

During the meeting, the trustees approved $1,418,210.65 for a contract to buy furniture, fixtures and equipment for the Natrona County High School, plus $66,820.36 for furniture, fixtures and equipment for Midwest. Trustees are required to formally approve purchases of more than $25,000.

Trustees also heard a construction progress report from the districts executive director for business services Dennis Bay. The entire monthly progress report can be found at natronaschools.org.

Roosevelt High School and the Center for Advanced and Professional Studies soon will be erecting vertical steel. Some aspects of construction, however, are behind including structural masonry, decking and foundation walls. The Groathouse construction company installed the wrong studs into some decking, and the district will not give additional time of funds to the company because of the delays that were caused.

Kelly Walsh High School's foundation construction and excavation are substantially complete. The east building is on schedule for roofing, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), electrical, and site work. However, The Sampson construction company has spent more than $800,000 of its $1.6 million contingency and will be meeting the the Wyoming Attorney General's office to reconcile what construction changes will be acceptable going forward.

Natrona County High School is on schedule for its foundations, structural masonry, structural steel, exterior and interior framing, roofing, plumbing, HVAC and electrical. Site work for the east campus phase three work was completed two months behind schedule, but that has no effect on the main project.