Board members Haroldson, Hoffman, and Weaver agreed to form a committee to look into cell phone policy change.”

WHEATLAND – The school board for Platte County School District No. 1 had their first regular meeting of the year on Jan. 20. All members of the board were present, and the agenda was approved unanimously with additional bills.

The meeting kicked off with “Good Things Happening”, during which Superintendent Weigel highlighted the “Why Choose Platte One” initiative which is posted on the school’s website and Facebook page. “Why Choose Platte One” focuses on positive things happening throughout the district, rotating through the different grade levels and schools. Weigel also thanked First State Bank for a gift certificate that was presented to the central office for holiday drinks.

There was no correspondence or visitor’s comments, so the board moved on to approving the consent agenda, which passed unanimously. The first item on the consent agenda to be heard was a budget report from business manager Jamie Wilson, which included a presentation on the district’s mill levy budgets and the statutes that outline their uses. Wilson also went over what the budgets are allowed to cover and how much they can be set at. Mill budgets are levied from tax revenue.

Board member Doug Weaver brought up that the EWC mill could be affected by the potential 50% reduction in property taxes that is on a bill currently being discussed by the state legislature. The mill that funds the EWC budget is levied from property taxes.

The board then moved on to policy evaluation, which has been ongoing for some time. Weigel said a draft suggesting policy changes will be upcoming for the policy committee sometime in February.

Another bill being discussed by state legislatures concerns cell phone use in schools. The bill being looked at, senate file 0021, aims to ban cell phones from classrooms. Chairman Lu Lay said she would like to see members of the board come together to look at policy reform for cell phone use in the school district and get some ideas together for policy change.

The discussion around this matter will expand to include parents at that point. However, the bill in question has not yet passed.

Statistics show that cell phones are a major issue in classrooms, leading some members of the board to suggest the PCSD No. 1 school board should look at changing policy regardless of the decision to be made at the state level. Board members Haroldson, Hoffman, and Weaver agreed to form a committee to look into cell phone policy change.

Moving forward, Lay said in her update to the board there will be a meeting with all the school boards that are recognized by the Wyoming School Board Association in Platte County in mid- to late-February. This includes PCSD No. 1 (Wheatland and Glendo), PCSD No. 2 (Guernsey), and the Prairie View Community School (Chugwater). The meeting will be for board members to get to know each other and brainstorm common issues. It will be a publicly advertised meeting with an agenda.

Lay also said the last school board retreat was held at Guadalajara, and someone is needed to plan the next one. The board would like to have one every quarter.

The board then moved on to action items. The board motioned to move into executive session for personnel, which passed unanimously. Executive session began at 6:20 and ended at 7:21.

The board approved the personnel portion of the action items, 7-0.

The board moved on to the 2025/26 school calendar for Wheatland. Weaver said he would not vote to approve it, due to the “high impact days” outlined in the calendar. High impact days are days that many students are out for school sporting events, and instruction is often limited. In addition to students being gone to participate in their sporting events, the district often sees a high number of other children pulled out for the day to attend the games. Weigel said it made more sense to just not have school on those days, since many teachers have limited instruction due to absent students, making those days largely un-impactful from an educational standpoint. A “pause”, Weigel said, made more sense in respect to learning than a school day with limited learning.

Board member Amanda Fox inquired about the number of excused absences a student could have, suggesting that it might be better for students and families to not have school on high impact days, and therefore avoid student absences. Ultimately the board approved the calendar, 6-1, with only Weaver the only “no” vote. 

The calendar for Glendo, a K-8 school currently operating on a four-day schedule, was tabled for the time being. Calendars do not have to be approved until May, and the board wanted more time to make a final decision. It will be addressed again in the February meeting. The board would like to see an academic summary for this year and receive more parent feedback prior to finalizing the calendar.

A motion was made to extend the superintendent contract until June of 2027, which adds one year to Weigel’s current contract. The motion passed 7-0.

A budget amendment was also approved, 7-0.

Josh Sandlian and Terry Evans were reappointed to the Platte County Parks and Recreation board, 7-0.

Contracts for mental health services with Specialty Counseling and WyoMH Counseling were approved, 7-0. These services are being paid for through a grant. The current amount of the grant is not yet known; however the services will be distributed amongst the schools by needs. The grant covers the district as a whole and no specific school, so the district can place services where they are needed most and spread the budget appropriately.