The Cache County school board spoke to a full house Thursday night as they handed out yearly awards at their monthly meeting. The School teacher of the Year award was given to 6 teachers who according to the school board, have not only gone above and beyond in teaching, but have strived to leave a mark on their respective schools. The awards were presented to Kandyce Barber, Heritage Elementary School; Wanda Banham, Willow Valley Middle school; Robert Stewart, White Pine Middle School; Shellie Healy, Birch Creek Elementary; Laurie Baldwin, Cedar Ridge Middle School; Lance Robbins, Spring Creek Middle School.

“We really do have a great district, and it’s the people that make it that way,” said board member Tamara Grange.

The Sky View High School forensics and debate team was also recognized at the meeting. The team, which just earned their 9th straight state championship, is a long tradition at Sky View. This year’s team consisted of four state champions including two time state champion Morgan Taylor. 13 members of the team, which has more than 70 students, qualified for nationals.. The team is ranked roughly 30th in the nation.

Other awards given included Classified Employee of the Year recognitions, for those who aren’t teachers or administrators, but according to the board, still have a vast impact on the well being of the schools in the district. These awards were presented in 6 categories, including Transportation, Child Nutrition, Custodial Staff, Para Professional, and Secretarial.

Post-awards ceremony, a 5-2 vote by the board approved a motion to add a full day, plus six extra hours spread over the school year for professional staff development. All schools in the Cache Valley School district will be released for a full day on March 12th of next year, during which teachers and staff will attend training. Students will also be released an hour early on every 3rd Friday of the month for the same purpose. Although concerns were raised about kindergarteners, who only attend a half day of school, as a whole the board said that the improvement in teaching provided by the professional development will balance out any hours students are not in the classroom.

Facing a $400,000 deficit, the board will vote in the next month on whether to impose a property tax levy. The levy would be used to provide funding for specific areas affected by budget cuts, including reading programs and technology.

“We’re not going to use any of this money for fluff,” said Grange. “The reading program is critical. Technology is a fact of life. Our kids have to be technologically literate, or they won be successful in post-high school education.”

The budget for next year will be open for public review on June 1st, and is set to be finalized on June 21st.