SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) school board received a request for land to construct an ice rink at their April 17 meeting. They also received updates on a wide range of topics from the school’s new policy for walkout protests and building updates, to teacher contract negotiations.
Scott Eggeman presented the idea of developing a community ice rink on SLE property. Eggeman, Jim McLean, Lee Boman, Mike Lindemer, Gary Swain and Scott Newpower have taken on this project and have been working under the non-profit, Seeley Lake ROCKS.
Eggeman said that SLE Superintendent Chris Stout had given the go-ahead but they need a formal commitment from the board for the location to apply for grants and other types of funding.
Stout said the idea was brought to him several years ago and he initially said yes. Since the idea developed from a temporary structure into a permanent structure, he felt that the board should make the final call on it.
Eggeman said they would like to use the area that is currently the southern ball field. Most likely the ice rink would start with using bladders the first year or so and then develop into a concrete slab. Eggeman feels that ultimately it needs to be covered with a structure at some point because the snow makes it hard to maintain the ice. He said some people from the Seeley Lake Lions Club are interested in helping with the project and maintaining the ice.
The structure covering the ice would be approximately 250 X 125 feet and most likely be a steel building. Once covered it could also be used for summer activities such as farmer’s markets.
Board Chair Todd Johnson felt that the board should give some time for the public to weigh in on the idea before committing to it. Johnson encourages the public to attend their May 15 board meeting, send comments or talk to individual board members before the meeting. Comments can be emailed to SLE Business Manager and District Clerk Heather Mincey at hminceysle@blackfoot.net.
During public comment the board was informed that the minutes from the March meeting didn’t include the public comments made by a couple of the SLE teachers in regards to the student walkout protest March 14. Johnson said they could be added.
The school implemented a new policy that requires students that wish to participate in any walkout protests to be checked out of school by a parent. Stout said letters were sent home with students ahead of the national walkout scheduled for April 20. The letters were not permission slips. Parents would be required to physically be at the school to check out their students. Phone calls or letters would not be accepted.
In other business:
• The school continues to research the options for replacing SLE’s intercom system. Systems being considered range from basic systems with different alarm tones for different situations to high tech systems that will link to teachers computers and cell phones for notifications and give them more options to deal with emergencies.
• SLE had a new freezer installed but the cost came in about $5,000 more than estimated. Mincey said the company has been paid the original estimate but they are negotiating with the company to drop the cost.
• The Trustee Election has been canceled, as there were only three candidates for three open positions. Kyle Marx, Ryen Neudecker and Gary Wayne will serve three, two and one year terms respectively.
• SLE is continuing to negotiate teacher contracts with the teachers’ union. The union sent the school a list of changes with the main requests being a two percent raise and taking out the requirement of the teachers to clean the classrooms. Last year, teachers agreed to clean their classrooms for one year in order to help balance the budget by eliminating a janitorial contract.
The next school board meeting will be May 15 at 5:30 p.m. at SLE. The meeting agenda and time are posted at the front of the school, at the Seeley Lake Post Office and at Cory’s Valley Market at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
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