Note: Recordings and documents for agenda items can be accessed via Diligent by clicking on the corresponding agenda items.

School Nursing Update

The total number of health office visits handled by CSD nurses jumped from 49,053 in 2023-2024 to 51,642 in 2024-2025, according to Canyons School Nursing Specialist Jen Gerrard.  In a presentation to the Board of Education, Gerrard outlined how the District’s two dozen nurses in the District have responded to a growing number of asthma, anaphylaxis, Type 1 diabetes, and seizure cases in the past two school years. CSD school nurses also conduct vision and hearing screenings, vaccination clinics, and CPR, First Aid and “Stop the Bleed” training. In addition, Gerrard’s team has spearheaded the launch of a telehealth program that promises to reduce absenteeism for health issue. The health and medical expertise of nurses is required at Jordan Valley and Life Skills Academy, CSD’s programs for children and adults with severe disabilities. While the reason students miss school can vary, Gerrard said, students who use telehealth for such medical issues as ear infections, colds, fevers, and stomach issues are likely to return to class after connecting with a medical professional online instead of leaving school for a doctor’s appointment. Parents can also join the call and arrange for any medications to be sent to the family’s pharmacy. The program, which is available districtwide, has been extended to employees, Gerrard said. With the increased demands for at-school nursing, CSD’s School Nursing Services is requesting funding for additional nurses.

Access and Opportunity

Nearly 23 percent of Canyons students come from poverty and 3.4 percent are experiencing unstable housing situations. These are just two of the data points examined during a presentation by Federal and State Programs Director Paula Logan, who also leads the committee studying issues related to the “Access and Opportunity” focus area of the Strategic Plan. A student’s socio-economic background and English language skills can have an impact on their academic achievement. Logan noted that multi-language learners and students who are classified as homeless under federal guidelines are much less likely to pass ninth grade. Multi-language learners and those classified as McKinney-Vento also are vastly more likely to be chronically absent than their peers. Logan told the Board that special education, ML, McKinney-Vento, and low-income students are under-represented in advanced courses such as concurrent enrollment. Members on the Access and Opportunity Committee meet monthly to dig into data, review disparities, and explore strategies to provide access and opportunities to all students. As a result of the committee’s work, CSD has put into place processes to monitor graduation trends of at-risk students and growth patterns of multi-language learners. Equal-access measures and attendance patterns of at-risk students also are tracked. Through the committee’s work, CSD is working to ease grade-level transitions, especially when students advance to middle or high school.  Logan said District and school administrators and educators work hard to engage families, regardless of the language spoken in the home. CSD has adopted ParentSquare to facilitate communication with parents. The platform automatically translates from-the-school messages into the language spoken in the student’s home.

School Highlights

Jordan High Principal Kelcey Kemp thanked the Board of Education for funding facility improvements at Jordan High, including the new restrooms, a black-box theater, and the fieldhouse.  Kemp also told the Board about JHS’s new “Hall Pass” policy, which requires Jordan students have a pass if they are in the hallways at the beginning or end of class periods. Jordan teachers are focused on implementing AVID instructional strategies, Kemp said, and the school recently held a successful “Puertas Abiertas” meeting for Spanish-speaking families in the neighborhood. The event featured presentations on mental health, suicide awareness, and immigration law. Kemp mentioned Jordan’s wins at the recent national high school Shakespeare competition and the re-naming of the football field after Jordan High booster Henry C. Jorgensen. In recent days, Beetdigger boys won the cross-country region title, and the girls soccer team will soon vie for wins in the 4A state tournament. Principal Kemp also thanked the Board for considering requests from the community to make improvements to the Jordan High baseball complex. 

Patron Comment

The following patrons addressed the Board during Patron Comment. Recordings of the remarks can be accessed on BoardDocs:

• Danielle Buehner
• Aubrie Cornelius
• Mary Bailey
• Lacey Haycock
• Elizabeth Reid
• Codi McConkie
• Michael Adams
• Christy Delaney
• Jeanette Knight
• Diane Nahalewski
• Johanna Williams
• Julie Beane
• Katie Walker
• Shannon Herbert
• Emily Page
• Lisa Niederhauser
• Wendie Nielson
• Amanda May
• Ashley Davis
• Elaine Nielson
• Tessa Rees
• Casey Rees
• Kayleen Carlie
• Amy Query
• Lisa Curtis
• Lori Richardson
• Rebecca Hill
• Giaconda Velez
• Michael Query
• Brianne England
• Brandi List
• Lara Miller

Canyons Strong Recognitions

The following were recognized for their achievements:

• Hillcrest High theater for winning its sixth consecutive Sweepstakes trophy at the annual national high school Shakespeare competition. All CSD traditional high schools won at least one first-place award in theater, music, and dance categories.
• Corner Canyon High’s golf team for winning its third consecutive 6A golf state title.
• Alta High’s marching band for advancing to final round of judging at Bands of America Arizona Regional Competition in Flagstaff, Ariz.
• CCHS student-musician Adrian McGill for being selected to pay with the Utah Symphony at the 65^th annual Salute to Youth concert in November.
• CCHS graduate Blake R. Hulllinger, who now attends Harvard, for being named a 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholar.
• Unified soccer teams who will compete at the regional competition Wednesday and the finals on Thursday at America First Field.
• The winners of the 2025 Apex Awards.  The Apex ceremony will be Oct. 14 at Butler Middle.  A reception will be at 6:30 p.m.  The ceremony begins at 7:15 p.m.

Consent Agenda

The Board of Education approved the minutes for the Sept. 16, 2025 meeting of the Board; hire and termination reports; purchasing bids; and the SCC exemption for Goldminer’s Daughter for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Long-Range Planning Committee

The Canyons District Administration follows a process to develop a list of small capital-facility projects that will be done for the school year.  The annual budget of these projects is about $5 million, said Business Administrator Leon Wilcox. The CSD’s Facilities Services Department evaluates all CSD facilities and grounds to create a list of possible projects, Wilcox said. The facilities are inspected to determine if flooring, roofs, parking lots, and kitchens need upgrades or repairs. Crews also look for needed repairs to irrigation, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems and sports fields. School supervisors also ask principals what improvements are needed in buildings throughout the District. Wilcox said the lists are combined and estimated costs are obtained to determine possible projects. Proposed projects are evaluated for school-safety factors and student comfort for learning. Projects at elementary schools that have not been rebuilt or renovated are given priority, Wilcox said. The list is then reviewed by the Long-Range Planning Committee and Board of Education. Work on small capital-facility projects typically is done during the summer months. Wilcox also presented information about enrollment projections, which show an expected steady decline. Enrollment rates and boundaries have been a focus of study by the Long-Range Planning Committee, which has made school-consolidation and boundary proposals. The Board is currently taking public input on the proposals. During the presentation, Wilcox said enrollment declines are believed to be the result of a slowing birthrate and the jump in housing costs. The average price of a home in CSD has increased from $497,000 in 2021 to $740,000 in 2025, pricing many young families out of CSD neighborhoods. Fewer students means less funding because the largest funding source for public schools is the Weighted Pupil Unit, the state’s funding formula to pay for public education. For every student enrolled for 180 days in 2024-2025, CSD will receive $4,674 per student for the 2025-2026 school year. CSD plans on having 659 fewer students in 2025-2026, which means $3.2 million less for the next school year, assuming a 4 percent WPU increase from lawmakers. Wilcox also addressed concerns that consolidations will lead to larger classes. He noted that a school with 33 first-grade students only has enough funding to hire one teacher. Splitting the class means doubling costs. But if 72 first-grade students are in one building, the District can fund three teachers with 24 students in each class.  Wilcox said CSD has been subsidizing small schools to maintain preferred staffing levels. The employee cost per students at the five smallest elementary schools — Bella Vista, Copperview, Granite, Park Lane and Willow Canyon — is $12,256 for the school year. At the five largest elementary schools in Canyons, which are Draper, Glacier Hills, Midvale, Midvalley, and Sunrise, CSD’s employee cost per student is $8,271. Continuing to subsidize the smaller schools long-term, he said, pulls funding away from other schools — affecting class sizes, electives, and student support.  Wilcox also said the condition of facilities is being examined. Funding for renovations or rebuilds of schools also is being studied. The District also plans to commission an independent study to examine traffic flows and transportation needs at the two buildings that may be the home site of a consolidated Park Lane/Granite school community — which is one of the recommendations of the Long-Range Planning Committee. A traffic engineer will study walking and traffic patterns, and a civil engineer will evaluate the parking lots at both schools. In addition, Wilcox presented information about open-enrollment permits. He said special care will be taken to accommodate the school-transfer requests for students impacted by boundary changes or school consolidations. Siblings of current students will also receive priority consideration in the school transfer permit process. CSD will hold Community Meetings regarding the boundary and school-consolidation proposals, including a secondary proposal that keeps all of Granite in the new school community if it is consolidated with Park Lane, Wilcox said. The dates, times and places of the Community Meetings can be found on the Canyons website, canyonsdistrict.org.

Staff Reports

Wilcox reminded CSD employees to participate in the annual Open Enrollment for health insurance.

Board Member Reports

Ms. Holly Neibaur congratulated the Corner Canyon boys golf team on winning the state championship, Alta’s marching band for finishing 11^th at a regional competition, CCHS student Aiden McGill for being chosen to perform with the Utah Symphony, and CCHS graduate and current Harvard student Blake Hullinger for being named at U.S. Presidential Scholar. She noted the attendance of Brody Meier, a CCHS student who is the District 7 Representative for the Utah State Board of Education Student Advisory Council.

Mr. Jackson Lewis reported on meeting with Meier and attending a recent training of the Utah School Boards Association. He congratulated Hillcrest on winning Sweepstakes at last weekend’s national high school Shakespeare competition. He emphasized that he reads and considers all public input received on the Boundary and Enrollment study and recommendations.

Mr. Andrew Edtl thanked community members for their participation in the public-input process of the Boundary and Enrollment Study.

Ms. Katie Dahle thanked teachers for their efforts to prepare for Parent-Teacher Conferences. She reported on attending the Unified soccer competition at Brighton’s fields in front of Butler Middle.

Ms. Karen Pedersen reported on attending the all-CSD Unified soccer competition and wished the students and coaches luck at this week’s regional and state Unified soccer competitions. She noted the participation rates of CSD students in extracurricular activities. Ms. Pedersen said she values the District Administration. 

Vice President Oaks congratulated Adrian McGill for being selected to play with the Utah Symphony. She reported on attending Alta’s “Legislator in the Classroom” event and Constitution Day at CCHS. The Foundation for Music Education also has honored CCHS bands and orchestras, she said.