OFFICIAL MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION BOX ELDER SCHOOL DISTRICT
A Work Session was held at 2:00 pm at the Independent Life Skills Center, 960 S. Main St., Brigham City, UT 84302.
Keith Mecham, Superintendent, presented a leadership activity to help the Board and District Leadership understand each other's leadership style, strengths and weaknesses.
Keith Mecham, Superintendent, led a discussion of efforts to create a 5-year strategic plan for BESD. A survey was created to solicit public feedback on which areas the District should focus on as a strategic plan is created.
Lindsay James and Darren Underwood, auditors from the Office of Legislative Auditor General, briefed the Board on the planned audit of BESD.
Coerina Fife, Executive Director of Human Resources and Title IX, provided an update on the planned personnel audit. She presented of overview of each of the firms who submitted a proposal.
Tiffani Summers, Board President, solicited feedback from the Board on forming a Community Outreach/ Public Relations Committee.
Neil Stevens, Business Administrator, provided an update on the next steps for the lease purchase agreement. The District is currently working on a presentation to the credit rating agency to obtain a credit rating. After the credit rating is given by the rating agency, the District will proceed to fund the lease purchase agreement, and the funds should be available to the District in August.
Heidi Jo West, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Teaching & Learning, led a discussion on boundary adjustments and the upcoming demographic study with MGT.
Jerry Jackman, Director of Facilities, led a discussion on the naming of schools under Policy 1222. The new elementary school being constructed in West Tremonton will need to be named. The sooner that it is named, the easier it will be to select school colors and to create a school logo.
Keith Mecham, Superintendent, led a discussion on future policy changes surrounding early literacy and electronic device prohibition for students.
Official minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Education, Box Elder County School District, held Wednesday evening July 8, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at Independent Life Skills Center, 960 S. Main St., Brigham City, UT 84302.
Those in attendance at the meeting included Board President Tiffani Summers, Board Vice President Danielle Wright, Karen Cronin, Julie Taylor, Wade Hyde, Stephanie DeFilippis and Bryan Smith. Also, present were Superintendent Keith Mecham, Assistant Superintendent Heidi Jo West, Business Administrator Neil Stevens, District employees, representatives of the press, and interested citizens.
President Summers welcomed those in attendance and conducted the business of the meeting. After the reverence, which was offered by Julie Taylor, Heidi Jo West led the audience in the pledge of allegiance.
Recognitions
Jamie Kent, Public Information Officer, recognized Sarah Taylor for being named the top science scholar in the KSL Deseret News Sterling Scholar awards. This is the first time that a student from Box Elder School District has received this award. Sarah shared that she will be attending Utah State University in the fall to study plant science and physics.
Approval of Agenda
Danielle Wright made the motion to approve the agenda. Bryan Smith seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Tiffani Summers - Yes Danielle Wright - Yes Karen Cronin - Yes Bryan Smith - Yes Julie Taylor - Yes Wade Hyde - Yes
Stephanie DeFilippis - Yes
Public Comment
Ben Soholt provided public comment criticizing the Board's decision to approve a lease purchase agreement to finance school construction in lieu of seeking voter approval via the ballot. He also questioned spending about $500,000 on an artificial turf field, noting a 25-year recovery horizon exceeds the turf's 10-12 year lifespan.
Action Items
Approval of Sex Education Committee
Ben Willey, CTE Director, presented the Sex Education Committee for approval to the Board. Policy 4105 requires that the Board approve the members of the committee each year. The following people are proposed to be on the committee: Rachel Lott, Health Services Supervisor Ben Wiley, CTE Director, AJ Gilmore, Assistant Superintendent, Jeff Morris Director of Assessment, ELL & Migrant, Vanica Crane, Garland Elementary - Principal, Clark Funk Harris Intermediate - Principal, Chelsy Schneringer BEHS - Health Teacher, Shamra Nielsen BRMS - Health Teacher, Stephanie Worthy Parent - BEHS, Debbie Lewis Parent - BRMS, Kristen Nation Parent - BEMS, Jenni Owens Parent - BEHS, Holly Durfee Parent - BRHS, Harris, Shaun Norton Parent - BRHS, and Allena Pierce Bear River Health Department.
Danielle Wright motioned to approve the members of the Sex Education Committee as presented. Stephanie DeFilippis seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Tiffani Summers - Yes Danielle Wright - Yes Karen Cronin - Yes Bryan Smith - Yes Julie Taylor - Yes Wade Hyde - Yes
Stephanie DeFilippis - Yes
Information Items
Bullying Report
Ben Willey, CTE Director, presented the FY26 Bullying and Harassment Report. The following trends were noted: minor offenses and office referrals are down for the 2025-2026 school year; bullying and harassment accounted for 1.2% of referrals, down from 3.4% last year.
For FY27, the District will focus efforts in the following areas: continue staff training on accurate harassment and bullying reporting; improve elementary tier-one response with a new program called MASKOP; and work to implement a comparable tier-one component in secondary schools
Monthly Financial Report
Neil Stevens, Business Administrator, presented the monthly financial report. He shared that the District is on track with financial projections for the end of the fiscal year. Revenue is in line with budgets, and the overall financial position is stable and aligned with the budget. At this time, the business office is working on closing out the prior fiscal year and implementing the new fiscal year budget. The annual audit will begin on August 17th and will run through November.
Board Committee Reports
Karen Cronin noted that the Boys and Girls Club fundraiser dinner at their new facility was a great success.
July Employees Appreciation
Heidi Jo West, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Instruction, presented employee appreciation. In lieu of the monthly ESP and Teacher of the Month recognitions, the awards for this month recognize our high achieving teachers as far as student academic achievement on the state assessments. The first one has every teacher in the District from kindergarten through third grade that had more than 90% of their students scoring proficient on the Acadience assessment at the end of the year. Those names with an asterisk indicate that 100% of the students achieved the benchmark on the Acadience assessment.
The following teachers had more than 90% of their students achieve reading benchmark on the Acadience assessment: Angela Allen, Kamerie Anderson, Katrina Argyle, Kimberly Baker, Bunny Barnett, Daniel Blaisdell, Angela Cannon*, Candice Coburn*, Bonnie Davis, Andrea Dean*, Brandy Drollinger*, Marissa Durrant, Cheryl Faerber*, Cindy Fonnesbeck, Aubrey Hammond*, Erica Hannah, Whitlee Ivie*, Heidi Jensen, Nicole Jensen, Jessica Low, Camille McDermott, Wendy McKee*, Hayden Merritt*, Candice Nichols, Katherine Nielsen*, Krisha Obray*, Tammy Pedersen, Rebecca Rhodes, Sarah Robinette, Karly Roberts, Danielle Scothern, Michele Southwick*, Elizabeth Spotten, Michele Vincent*, Sandy Warner, Ila White, Tiffany Wilcox, Jana Young, Sarah Finlinson, Angela Allen*, Ashley Anderson, Kimberly Baker, Bunny Barnett, Daniel Blaisdell, Angela Cannon*, Candice Coburn*, Andrea Dean*, Brandy Drollinger, Marissa Durrant, Cheryl Faerber*, Sarah Finlinson, Cindy Fonnesbeck, Aubrey Hammond*, Erica Hannah, Lauri Hawkins, Whitlee Ivie*, Maegyn Ipsen, Nicole Jensen, Jenny Marble, Heather Morrey, Camille McDermott, Wendy McKee*, Hayden Merritt*, Candice Nichols, Katherine Nielsen*, Kelli Nessen, Krisha Obray*, Alyssa Ogden, Abigail Hickman*, Jodi Pedersen, Tammy Pedersen, Rebecca Rhodes*, Sarah Robinette*, Isabelle Saunders, Danielle Scothern, Michele Southwick*, Elizabeth Spotten*, Michele Vincent*, Sandy Warner, Ila White and Jana Young.
The following teachers had 70% or more of their students score proficient for ELA on the Rise Assessment: Wendy McKee*, Abigail Hickman, Trisha Day, and Tiffani Roche*. An asterisk indicates that more than 80% of students achieved proficiency.
The following teachers had 70% or more of their students score proficient for math on the Rise Assessment: Wendy McKee*, Trisha Day*, Natasha Wight, Bobbi Fessler, Tiffani Roche*, Jenna Sheets*, Lori Dooley, Ashlee Hendricks, Natalie Lund, Olivia Bailey, and Sheri Bradshaw. An asterisk indicates that more than 80% of students achieved proficiency.
The following teachers had 70% or more of their students score proficient for science on the Rise Assessment: Grace Tang*, Duberlys Cha, Cesar Rueda, Bobbi Fessler*, Matthew Taylor*, Heather Horrocks, Jennifer Adams, and Abby Orgill. An asterisk indicates that more than 80% of students achieved proficiency.
Policy Review
Second Reading
Policy 1250 Professional Learning Communities
Policy 3038 Highly Needed Educator Salary Supplement
Policy 3091 Postpartum and Parental Leave
Policy 4050 Grades 6-8 Middle Level General Core Requirements
Policy 3044 Orderly School Termination for Employees
Karen Cronin motioned to approve the policies on second reading as presented. Bryan Smith seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Tiffani Summers - Yes Danielle Wright - Yes Karen Cronin - Yes Bryan Smith - Yes Julie Taylor - Yes Wade Hyde - Yes
Stephanie DeFilippis - Yes
Consent Calendar
Karen Cronin moved to accept the consent items. The motion was seconded by Julie Taylor. The motion passed unanimously.
Tiffani Summers - Yes Danielle Wright - Yes Karen Cronin - Yes Bryan Smith - Yes Julie Taylor - Yes Wade Hyde - Yes
Stephanie DeFilippis - Yes
The Consent Calendar included the following items:
Approval of the minutes of the regular meetings of June 10th.
Approval of claims numbered: 56806 - 57125, 5061026, 7063026, 8022026, 8032026, 8052926, 9060226, 9063026, 101674 - 101685, 1108058 - 1108261, 507 - 586, 16800665 - 16800668, 30403321 - 30403323, 30803992 - 30804003, 40403585 - 40403596, 40805003 - 40805020, 70416538 - 70416605, 70816604 - 70816688, 77800658 - 77800659 and the ACH and school activity checks for the month of June 2026.
Personnel Items
As detailed in the agenda.
150 Mile Trip
As detailed in the agenda
Suggestions for Future Board Meetings
Next month the Board will hold a discussion on the name of the new elementary school in the work session.
Closed Session for the Sale or Lease of Real Property
Karen Cronin motioned for the Board to move into closed session for the purposes of discussing the sale or lease of real property. Bryan Smith seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Tiffani Summers - Yes Danielle Wright - Yes Karen Cronin - Yes Bryan Smith - Yes Julie Taylor - Yes Wade Hyde - Yes
Stephanie DeFilippis - Yes
Karen Cronin motioned for the Board to move out of closed session, which passed unanimously.
Tiffani Summers - Yes Danielle Wright - Yes Karen Cronin - Yes Bryan Smith - Yes Julie Taylor - Yes Wade Hyde - Yes
Stephanie DeFilippis - Yes
Adjournment
With the announcement that the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 12th, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. at the Independent Life Skills Center, President Tiffani Summers adjourned the meeting at 8:32 p.m.
APPROVED: August 12, 2026
ATTESTED:
School Business Administrator President, Board of Education Box Elder School District
Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)
Contact Mr. Neil Stevens, Business Administrator at 435-734-4800 eight or more hours before the scheduled starting time and efforts will be made to provide the needed assistance.