New board members confirmed, staff additions introduced

RCISD SCHOOL BOARD

ALTAIR – The Rice Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting on May 20 featured celebrations of several students as well as the introduction of new board members and district staff.

The board introduced Bill Ishee and Nicole Owers as the newest additions to the entity. Along with the additions, the board saw the departure of former Board President Joey Pollack and member Clark Peterson who completed his tenure with 18 years of service. Peterson tied the record for longest time with the board before his departure.

With the new members and the departures, the board faced a slight restructuring of their executive positions. Jason Pausewang took on the position of president after a nomination and a vote, while Joe Romo became the vice president under the same process. Bridget Belman was selected to be the secretary.

As part of the introductions, new Rice Junior High School principal Lucinda Smith made her first appearance in front of the board since her hiring. Smith expressed her decision to come to RCISD did not come lightly as her job search focused solely on the district as her desired destination.

“This was the only place I applied,” Smith said, “It feels very much like home.”

RHS principal and impending superintendent Kenny Center spoke on the hire of a new assistant principal in the district, Quentela Quichocho. Both Center and current Supt. Bill Hefner shared the sentiment that their respective meetings with Quichocho left a lasting impression.

In the early part of the meeting, Rice High School presented several student awards and recognition for their athletes, ag department and general studies. The celebration was followed by a barbecue lunch before the administrative section of the meeting.

Both the athletics department and the agriculture department had positive reports to provide to the board as the students in those programs have completed a strong year.

Athletic Director Brad Dumont discussed the successes of Rice Spring sports including the state-level performance of several athletes on the track and field team. Dumont also drew attention to the 7-on-7 football team’s performance over the weekend that resulted in their qualification for the state tournament in late June. RHS will host their own state-qualifying tournament on May 30 and participate in an offensive line challenge featuring group strength competitions such as the bus push and tug-of-war.

The ag department discussed advancing both their BBQ teams to the Nationals competition in Branson, Missouri. The team will depart on June 5 to visit an 8-time world champion BBQ team for the weekend event.

In other news, the board accepted a PEIMS attendance waiver for the junior high to exclude attendance calculations for April 8. The day featured a significant decrease in attendance, coincidentally on the same day as a full solar eclipse.

The board also discussed further negotiations to complete the electrical work needed to add new welding stations to their current classroom. They hope to be able to have the new stations complete over the summer for the students’ return in fall.

The next board meeting will be on June 10 instead of its regularly scheduled date on June 17.