Foster Grandparent Program Excites Kimball School Board

Students from the Kimball FFA presented at the Kimball School Board meeting on Monday evening.

Memorizing and giving the FFA Creed is a requirement for freshmen, and Carly Norberg gave her Creed and will compete at districts on Wednesday.

Mallory Hottell also presented to the school board. Her speech was about the future of agriculture. Other teams or members will compete in parliamentary procedure, conduct chapter meetings, ag demonstrations, job interviews, and extemporaneous speaking.

Under board reports and receiving acknowledgment from the board for awards were members of the football, volleyball and cross country teams. Also included in the acknowledgement from the board were students from the Longhorn Way and students of the week.

After a presentation on Foster Grandparents, the board was excited for the program.

Foster Grandparents is a national organization funded by a federal grant. It is open to persons 55 years of age and older. Foster grandparents must be fingerprinted and background checked. There is also an income guideline. Ideally, the foster grandparent teaches patience, values, and courtesy and helps students with confidence and growth. They are considered a bonus in the classroom.

Superintendent Trevor Anderson reported that the activity bus arrived and is now being put to work transporting students. It already has about 3,100 miles on it.

The Jr./Sr. High School received new tables and seating in the student center, which was a welcomed update. The Mary Lynch gym and music room roof has been repaired with a re-coat. The roof has a 22-year warranty.

Anderson's report said that 13.95% of the budget had been spent, with 16.7% of the fiscal year completed. In actual dollars, the year-to-date expenditures are $1,348,003.878.

The current cash balance in the General Fund is $2,780,401.45. This is slightly down from 2022 and 2021.

Mary Lynch's report from Principal Amanda Culek said the book fair earned $2,100 in Scholastic Dollars. This money is used to put books in classrooms and the library. Longhorns for Literacy raised enough money to give 21 students $15 to shop with at the book fair.

Parent/teacher conferences were held Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 4:30-8 p.m. Culek said that for scheduled conferences, Mary Lynch had a 93% attendance rate, but for grades 4th-6th only, 30% of parents for those grades scheduled conferences. They are seeking other options for better attendance.

Kimball Jr./Sr. High School's current enrollment is 168, according to Principal Danielle Reader.

The students who were recognized for The Longhorn Way earned a field trip to Frontier Trampoline Park in Cheyenne on Nov. 8 with 32 of the 42 eligible students attended.

Reader explained that the sophomore Career Class continues to have weekly speakers, with the most recent speakers being Joel Evertson, Ryan Bourlier and Dr. Adrian Fuss.

School Board action items included the approval of a new activity bus scheduled to be delivered in 2025. The board approved the declaration of surplus property, including equipment from the weight room, an inoperable vending machine, and a 1992 commercial gas range. Danessa Terrill received a grant for a new gas range for the Jr./Sr. kitchen and the purchase of the range was approved by the board.

The next Kimball School Board meeting will be Monday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Kimball County Transit Service building.