GOSHEN COUNTY – The regular Goshen County School District Board of Trustees meeting was called to order after a community meeting and greet, hosted by Trail Elementary School at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 12. After chairman Michael Sussex called the meeting to order he led fellow board members Sarah Chaires, Chris Alexander, Carlos Saucedo, Dylan Hager, Lena Moeller and Wade Phipps in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Also present during Tuesday’s meeting were superintendent Ryan Kramer, business manager, Loreen Fritzler and Kevin Derby, director of curriculum, instruction and data management. Absent were Matthew Cushman and Justin Hurley. 

After the board was seated, amendments were made to the agenda where Kramer noted item number 4.2, reports from student representatives to the board would be removed from the agenda. Kramer also noted item number 8.2 under new business, consider approval of hiring a retiree for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year would be removed from the Tuesday evening agenda however item 8.11, consider approval of hiring an English teacher at Torrington Middle School for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year. 

Kramer also noted a change under item 10, future meetings, 10.5, where the board would discuss rescheduling the Tuesday, December 10 regular board meeting to Monday, December 9 due to a scheduling conflict. A motion was made to approve the new agenda which was seconded. The motion to accept the agenda carried and the board moved on to item four, information and proposals. 

Under items, 4.1, the board recognized four members of the board, Saucedo and Sussex for their years of service on the board of trustees. Absent board members Cushman and Hurley were also recognized. 

Moving on to item 4.2, discussion of Wyoming School Boards Association proposed resolutions for 2024 delegate assembly. Kramer went over the packet of information for the trustees and after a discussion, the board moved on to item 4.4, a presentation by Trail Elementary. 

Tyler Floerchinger, Trail Elementary Principal, greeted the board and thanked them for touring the school and provided data to indicate proficiency.  

Torrington High School Principal, Alan Van Tilburg presented the Torrington High School Improvement Plan.

During public comment, Rebecca Cohorn spoke to the board on employee retention referring to a committee on district employee retention and exist interviews. Cohorn recommended the board do periodic check ins with employees and hire the “right people for the job.”

Moving on to the consent agenda, the monthly meeting minutes for October 8, monthly bills, district monthly fiscal statement and fund balance comparison report were all approved by the board. 

Moving on to item 6.4, the board accepted a donation from First State Bank in the amount of $19,000 and a $19,000 donation from Banner Health to purchase basketball shot clocks. The board also approved accepting a matching grant from the Wyoming Department of Education School Protein Enhancement Project Grant for the 2024-25 school year for processing costs of Wyoming-raised livestock. 

On 6.6, the board approved the request for exception to district policy 5147, field trips, to allow Torrington High School music students to travel to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. in June 2026 for the National Festival of the States, exceeding recommended travel times, overnight stay and traveling out of state. 

The board approved a purchase exceeding $5,000 for the purchase of a snow blade and attachment for district maintenance from Lampert Hitch in the total amount of $7,201.48, item 6.7. The board also approved item 6.8, the purchase of custodial cleaning and disinfecting supplies for Southeast Schools, Torrington High School and Lincoln Elementary from Bluff Facility Solutions in the amount of $5,729.30. 

The board moved on to item seven of the agenda where they discussed old business. On item 7.1 the board approved the revisions to district policy 5120.1 or parent reimbursement for out of district travel and/or transport to service providers as recommended. They also approved item 7.2 where the board accepting the revisions to district policy 6174 or gifted and talented education as recommended. 

Moving on to new business, the board approved adding the 2026-2027 school year to superintendent contract with Kramer. An amended motion was made to include bi-annual evaluations conducted by the board for Kramer. 

On item 8.3, the board approved offering a one-time early resignation incentive to certified staff. The board approved contracting with Crafted Consulting LLC for professional development services in the total amount $23,400 on item 8.4. 

On item 8.5, the board approved the 2024 school improvement plans from Lingle, Fort Laramie Middle School, Torrington Middle School and Torrington High School for submission to the Wyoming Department of Education. 

Item 8.6 was approved where the board authorized the purchase of basketball shot clocks. Approval was also made to purchase boiler parts from Taft Engineering totaling $14,341.12, item 8.7. The board also motioned to approve item 8.8, suspending current district policy 3642, free and reduced food services. 

The board approved 8.9, the proposed revision to district policy 6111, school year/school calendar and item 8.10, proposed revisions to district 3410, written standards of conduct for procurement of federal funds as presented on the second readings. The board approved the consideration of offering a teaching contract for the remainder of the 24/25 school year to Olivia Saunders as an English teacher at Torrington Middle School.

Under board topics for discussion, item nine on the agenda, the board discussed holding a special board meeting to swear in new board members and conduct a work session for leadership governance, 9.1. The board also discussed the interview timeline for the 2025 student representatives to the board, noting applications are due Monday, December 2. 

The meeting wrapped up with future meetings discussions, noting the next board meeting will be on Tuesday, December 10 at 7 p.m. in the board room. Kramer’s also provided his report to the board. The meeting was then adjourned.