OGDEN — A major financial burden has been lifted for Ogden students. On Thursday, it was announced at an Ogden School Board special session that the board moved to eliminate curricular and co-curricular fees for students.

“To be able to take some relief off of our parents and our families and our students to say, ‘You know what? That is no longer a dread. August is no longer a dread when it comes to fees,'” board president Jennifer Zundel said. “I think that’s huge for our community.”

The move is being done by reducing “capital project levy funds and increasing the board local levy.” Capital project funds would typically be used for major land acquisitions, building construction and other physical and significant decisions. According to the Utah State Legislature website, the board local levies are state-supported tax guarantee programs. “The state provides additional funding to assist school districts that generate less property tax revenue for the same property tax rate than other districts.”

The switch does not affect the amount of funding received by schools. As of yet, there is no official change to the fee schedule; they will simply not be charged at the onset of the school year. Superintendent Luke Rasmussen said they expect to make the changes to the fee schedule in the spring.

In his presentation to the rest of the board, Rasmussen showed the current fee schedule marked with the future changes. He specifically mentioned the district is eliminating fees for labs, physical education, individual courses, uniforms, marching band class, color guard and more.

Extracurriculars, such as the marching band summer camp or out-of-state debate tournaments, are still subject to fees. Parents and students may still apply for waivers for those costs.

Administrative appointments

Four new placements were made for administrators during the special session. Dana Nolan was appointed as the new principal of Odyssey Elementary. “We’re ready to get to work. I’ve been waiting for this board meeting anxiously so that we could step into a new school,” Nolan told the board after the decision was made final. She was previously the assistant principal at Heritage Elementary.

Glen Moon was also named the newest assistant principal at Ogden High School. He comes to the role after being an administrative intern at Ben Lomond High School. Rasmussen credited Moon with Ben Lomond’s efforts in literacy education and the school’s data dashboard. Moon, who was present at the meeting, donned an OHS hat to show his commitment to his new school.

Jordan Mangum was voted to be the new assistant principal at James Madison Elementary, coming from the same role at Odyssey and Heritage. According to Rasmussen, Mangum specializes in classroom management and has worked with teachers across the district to improve their skills. He has worked in the district for the past three years.

Joining the staff at Heritage as the new assistant principal is Statia Davey. She has been with OSD for six years and was most recently an English language arts specialist. As an intern at Ben Lomond, she expanded her knowledge base to include secondary education.

ESSER funds

During the session, Rasmussen also gave the board an update on the American Rescue Plan ESSER funds. He said the district has conducted a “consolidated needs assessment” to identify areas where the funds can make the most significant difference.

The assessment outlines four areas of focus: leadership, instruction, talent and culture. The assessment, along with information received from the survey sent out earlier this month by the Ogden School District, will be used in crafting the Ogden School District’s plan. Rasmussen also said he hopes to hold focus groups to discuss further ideas and survey responses.

The Aug. 20 deadline to submit the district’s plan to the Utah State Board of Education was pushed back to Sept. 17. Rasmussen added that they plan on using the Aug. 5 work session to have an in-depth conversation on the district’s plan.