DOWNIEVILLE - Following the call to order, roll call, approval of the agenda, and flag salute, the first substantive item arising at the August 9 meeting of the Sierra County Board of Education was the Superintendent’s Report, wherein Superintendent James Beradi announced the resignation of Nicole Stannard from the Board and the creation of a vacancy in Trustee District 4. Shortly thereafter, during the Board Member Reports agenda item, Tom Mooers, the interim appointee for the Trustee District 2 position on the Board, told the Board he will not be running for the office in this fall.

As a result of these developments, the Trustee positions on the Board for Trustee District 2 (including Sierra City, Sattley, and Sierraville), Trustee District 4 (covering the area northwest and northeast of Loyalton and south to Verdi), and Trustee District 5 (Loyalton) on the Board are now open.

As of August 10, with the deadline for filing candidacy paperwork with the County Clerk-Recorder on August 12, there are currently three candidates who have submitted the required documents: Kelly Champion and Jesse Whitley for Trustee District 4; and, Annie Tipton for Trustee District 2.

If no one from District 5 files to run for this area’s open Trustee position then, according to the School Board’s By-Laws, the Board will be responsible for appointing “a qualified person” to hold the job Mike Moore had at the time of his death early this summer.

In other news from the School Board meeting, the Superintendent reported good progress has been made recently on cleaning up and repairing all of the District’s schools prior to their opening later this month. Yes, replacing carpets at the Elementary School in Loyalton became a saga once asbestos was uncovered, however, this problem has been resolved.

As for the replacement of the bleachers at the Loyalton High School, the project is now in the hands of the State and, according to Superintendent Berardi, the new bleachers probably won’t be in place until the 2023-2024 school year. Meanwhile, in response to requests from parents for the creation of a junior high school in Loyalton, the Superintendent’s research showed the purchase of four new portables would accommodate the proposal, however, the initiative would carry an “extreme cost” of somewhere between 500-750 thousand dollars. Berardi also advised the Board he is asking for bids from firms with the capability to install solar panels at the District's schools in Loyalton and Downieville