South Summit School District

On today's Local News Hour:

(06:28)Editor of Park City Magazine Jane Gendron talks about some of the highlights in this summer’s issue on newsstands now as well as some of the challenges putting it together during a pandemic.

(23:04) South Summit School District Superintendent Shad Sorenson and  Business Administrator Adam Robinson talk about the most recent budget hearing setting next school year’s budget with an update on schools opening next month.

With schools closed for another week, and possibly longer, South Summit School District says the district is adjusting to the new reality of education.

The Murray School District announced Thursday they will close all 10 of their district schools due to a potential direct contact exposure of teachers and students to someone with COVID-19. School districts in Summit and Wasatch Counties are preparing for the potential of an immediate shutdown.

Teachers are preparing lessons to send home with elementary students while secondary school teachers are updating on-line lesson plans so that in the event schools shut down, students can access on-line learning programs.

Fourteen South Summit School District football players have been disciplined for using vape products on school buses while traveling to and from football games. Although the Wildcats were the 2018 state champions, it’s a little tougher to get enough players on the field as a result of the incident.

On today’s program, South Summit School District Superintendent Shad Sorenson talks about the vaping issues in his district and the start of the Gay Straight Alliance Club. Park City Councilmember Tim Henney has a recap of Tuesday's council meeting and Save People Save Wildlife members Lorelei Coombs and Erin Ferguson talk about how they think reduced speeds on SR 224 will be safer for wildlife and people as well news about their recent payment to UDOT to install more wildlife fencing.

Among the incidents reported by the Summit County Sheriff’s office, a domestic violence call on Wednesday brought out a heavy response, and led to a very short lockdown notice given to schools in South Summit.

Sheriff’s Lieutenant Andrew Wright said they got a call at about 1:45 p.m. from Oakley.

The suspect was a 45-year-old husband whose whereabouts were unknown at first. Officers were told that he had threatened to shoot his wife, and possibly his children. Lt. Wright said the call brought out nine county deputies, a Highway Patrol officer and two Kamas police officers.

Local Nonprofit Youth Sports Alliance provides after school activities to students in the Park City School District, originally the program was focused on involving elementary students in winter sports activities but has since expanded into more activities and more grade levels. Last year YSA expanded their programing outside of Park City to South Summit Middle School where they had 20% of the school participate in the program in the first year.

School kids are out of classes for the summer, but school administrators are hard at work on the budget. Its required that preliminary budgets are made available to the public before budget hearings occur. There are a few regulations districts have to follow before a budget is finalized.

The South Summit School District is making changes in the executive administrative team. They’re adding the new Executive Director of Support Services position beginning July 1 hoping to achieve a more efficient management operation.

South Summit School District Business Administrator Kip Bigelow has been named to the new role of Executive Director or Support Services. Some of the requirements of the new position are areas with which he is familiar. The IT director is retiring this spring and he says it made sense to reorganize.

The South Summit School district celebrated high school seniors during a scholarship gala event night. Tuesday night. The education foundation raised about $155,000 which will be distributed to graduating seniors who qualify.

The Scholarship Gala has multiple purposes which includes fundraising and awarding various scholarships from Kamas Valley Organizations and the Community Foundation. Over half of the graduating seniors qualified and received $1,000 scholarships. South Summit School District Superintendent, Shad Sorenson says the criteria to apply is simple.

The South Summit School District finalized negotiations and both associations and administration have committed to salary increases this year.

South Summit Superintendent Shad Sorenson says the negotiating team is not ready to release the final numbers on salary increases but they have reached an agreement on teacher contracts for the next two years. The conversation delved into the challenges of offering a competitive package that includes good medical benefits and salaries that compare with other school districts such as Park City where starting salaries are $50,000.

Over 200 residents in the Wasatch Back gathered at Wasatch High School’s Wright-Tree Stadium on Tuesday morning to celebrate the schools most popular athletes.

 Tuesday  is  National Teacher Appreciation Day. It’s part of a week-long celebration of educators and staff. It includes a smorgasbord of treats, meals, processions and pampering. Parent Teacher Organizations, along with students tend to take charge in the week long celebration of teachers and staff. Schools tend to have their own theme and approach to show their appreciation for teachers and staff members.
In South Summit School District, PTO President Andrea Richins says they’re doing an outdoor, camping theme.

The South Summit School District recently approved all- day kindergarten beginning in the fall.  To accommodate the change, they’ll be hiring two new teachers.

South Summit Elementary School Principal, Linda Flinders believes the transition to all day kindergarten will assure a more equitable opportunity for all students. She says early literacy is critical for success in life.

The South Summit and North Summit School Districts had dozens of students participate in the 2019 Sterling Scholars Program held last month at Utah Valley University. There are 16 subject categories in which a student can apply and students from the entire North Eastern Utah region compete to win the coveted Sterling Scholar award.