Contract talks

When the Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees brought the contract for Linda Butler up for a motion, it was met with an awkward silence. Butler’s contract was the only administrative contract where no motion was made and following the absent motion, CCSD2 Board of Trustees Chairman Joe Gaspari turned to attorney Bill MacPherson, who confirmed that without a vote the contract for Director of Data and Special Programs could not be renewed.

The Feb. 20 meeting adjourned shortly afterward with no contract for Butler.

Dan Butler, Board of Trustees member and husband of Linda Butler, joined the board via phone for the meeting and the consideration of contracts. Gaspari confirmed Tuesday that D. Butler was not present for L. Butler’s contract discussion.

Following the hour-and-a-half executive session, board members brought each contract up for a vote one-by-one. The contracts for nearly all the principals were approved unanimously, with board member Paul Clark voting nay on the contract for Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow (HEM) High School Principal Steve Priest.

Similarly, the contracts for central office administrative positions held by Curriculum Director Noel Manning, Business Manager Sally Wells and Network Manager Andi Ward were approved unanimously. With the contracts taken care of, the Board of Trustees moved to adjourn with some board members walking past Butler and apologizing for the lack of a motion in regards to her contract.

The Board of Trustees also voted to accept the retirements of Kelly Christman, Special Education Teacher at SES, and Larry Cloyd, who teaches English at SMHS. Along with the retirements of both seasoned educators, the board also accepted the resignation of Lesley Peck, Second Grade Teacher at SES. Both retirements and the resignation will be effective at the end of the current school year.

Additionally, over the past several months, the CCSD2 Board of Trustees has openly discussed the issue of low enrollment in the elementary schools of Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow. As of January, Medicine Bow Elementary School had a total of eight students and enrollment for the Elk Mountain Elementary School was half that number. A special meeting to decide the fate of the two elementary schools will be held at 6 p.m. on March 15 at the CCSD2 Central Office in Saratoga.

The next regular meeting of the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees will be at 4 p.m. on March 18 at the Saratoga Middle High School.