Hinkle appointed to school board

There was a new face on the board of trustees for Carbon County School District No. 2.

At the Feb. 19 meeting, Jimmy Hinkle, of Saratoga, was voted in as a board member by the CCSD#2 board.

The board said they received three letters of interest after former CCSD#2 school board chairman Greg Bartlett resigned.

The Saratoga Sun made several attempts to contact Bartlett about his resignation.

Hinkle said that he has no hidden agenda as a member of the board.

“I’m just here to serve,” Hinkle said. “I always want to keep in mind the big picture and that is to provide quality education to the kids of our county.”

A 21-year resident of the Platte Valley, Hinkle has long history in education. In his letter of interest, Hinkle said he earned his B.S. degree in Agriculture Education and taught agriculture in the Campbell County School District for two years. He has been active in Saratoga Booster Club and has occasionally served as an announcer and ran the clock at Saratoga sporting events.

Hinkle added that his personality could be an asset to the board.

“I see myself sitting (on the board) as a team member working with each and every (board member) to try to provide sound policies for our district,” Hinkle said. He added that he is very excited to be on the board.

Diana Berger, former vice chairman of the CCSD#2 board of trustees, was elected chairman in lieu of Bartlett’s resignation. Bob Patton, of Hanna, was elected as vice-chairman.

Results for the Measures of Academic Performance (MAP) test for CCSD#2 was announced to the board. Josh Sandlian, the CCSD#2 Science facilitator, said the MAP scores showed significant improvement among students.

Students were tested on language usage, math, reading and general science.

“It means our students are growing,” Sandlian said.

Special Education Director Debbie Riker reported that the attendance rate district wide has dropped in the month of December.

“I don’t know if we had a bad case of flu or what,” Riker said.

As of December, 168 students throughout the school district have missed seven or more days of school. This is roughly 28-percent of the district population, Riker said.

The next school board meeting will be 4 p.m., Mar. 17 at Saratoga Middle/High School.