NORTH LOGAN — Back to school is on the minds of many parents and their kids.
On KVNU’s For the People program on Tuesday, Cache County School District (CCSD) Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education, Gary Thomas, said they start the new school year with a new superintendent.
“Dr. Todd McKee is the new Cache County School District Superintendent, and he comes to us from Provo district. We’re kind of excited to see where he leads us with our new leadership,” he said.
Thomas said they have some longevity in the district that is now always seen elsewhere.
He said the average stay for a superintendent seems to be every two to three years, but their previous superintendent, Steve Norton, stayed for 27 years before retiring at the end of last school year.
Thomas said that extends to longevity of teachers in the district as well and that is generally not seen elsewhere.
He said it is great that the state of Utah is now able to fund full-day kindergarten, but that has meant that he needs twice as many kindergarten classrooms in district schools.
Thomas said that 11 of his 17 elementary schools are currently operating at over-capacity. They use portable classrooms to handle the growth, but Thomas said they are feeling the pressure.
“Our school board is currently looking at the possibility of a bond for this next year. And if we could do that, if that were to be put in place and it passed, then part of that would be a couple new middle schools. Then we would pull 6th grade our of our current elementary, so they would then be K- 5’s which is what they were before our new high schools were built. But if you think about that, that gives me two to four classrooms in every building, all of a sudden.”
He said with that, he could offer full-time kindergarten because he’s created space in every school.