The Washington County School District Board of Education discussed proposed policy updates during its March 6, 2018 meeting, including a change to the school fee schedule to add an $80 original-credit charge for summer online courses and a substantive edit to Policy 1,500 (Safety Compliance) that would restrict Career and Technical Education (CTE) shops and equipment to student educational uses.

On the school fee schedule, staff said the only substantive addition presented for a 30-day posting was a summer-only original-credit fee of $80 for students taking online courses through the district's Utah Online program. Board members asked where the fee number came from and whether other districts charge the same amount. State school board member Laura Belknap responded that out-of-district students who use the statewide online education program generally do not pay a fee because the statewide program pays for them; the local $80 fee is described by staff as a partial cost-recovery amount intended to help compensate for teacher time and program costs, and staff noted the seat-time accounting that would apply if the district handled the credit through the state program would be significantly more expensive.

On Safety Compliance (Policy 1,500), district staff (Michael) described the change as mostly housekeeping with one substantive addition: a prohibition on use of CTE shops, including wood shops, welding, auto shops, graphic labs and CTE agricultural structures, for any purpose not directly related to the education of students. The presentation identified concerns that shops have been used for personal projects and private business activity; staff said damage to equipment and safety/liability exposure are driving the restriction. The proposed language requires prior approval from an administrator, principal or supervisor for any exceptions, and staff said they will draft a clearer definition of what constitutes "educational" use to avoid ambiguity.

Board members suggested clarifying language, including a legal definition of "educate a student," and a grammar edit in the policy pertaining to surge protectors and daisy-chaining electrical cords; staff agreed to revise the wording and return updated language for the board's 30-day review.

What’s next: staff will provide the drafted wording for the $80 summer original-credit fee for the 30-day public posting and will refine the Policy 1,500 edits with clarified definitions and technical corrections before bringing the items back to the board.