Financial Audits Go Well For Sharon Springs School District

By Chris English

SHARON SPRINGS _ Some recent audits of Sharon Springs School District finances went well, Business Manager Tony DiPace reported at the Monday, Nov. 17 school board meeting.

A financial audit and extracurricular financial audit came back with no major issues, he said.

"A very clean audit," DiPace noted. "My hat's off to the staff down there, they did a great job as always."

He said there was a comment on the financial audit about the district not doing an independent audit of fixed assets in a couple of years.

"They are very expensive," DiPace said of this kind of audit. "We determined that the $20,000 was better suited to teaching our kids. We'll look at it again at budget time and see if we can squeeze it in (for 2026-27 school year)."

He added there was also a comment on the extracurricular financial audit about some very small inactive accounts with relatively small balances in them. In his report, DiPace noted his department should have a fund balance report ready for the December school board meeting.

In other actions from the Nov. 17 meeting, the board approved a records retention resolution which was an update on how long the district keeps certain records and what records have to be kept permanently.

Superintendent Thomas Yorke reported on the recent teachers' conference.

"The camaraderie among the staff is nice to see," he said, noting there had been a lot of retirements after last school year and some new faces have been introduced to the faculty. Yorke added that a recent Veteran's Day event at the school had its largest turnout.

Yorke continued that the Spartan Summit, a student lounge where juniors and seniors can spend study hall and other free time, appears to be a big success.

Students spend the time in the lounge playing card games like Uno or board games, enjoying a movie and other activities, said student representative to the school board Kaylee Crewell.

"It's a good spot to debrief from the day," she said. "It's a great space, I'm glad we made it this year."

In personnel actions near the end of the meeting, the board approved termination recommendations for a cleaner and a bus driver, and also approved a recommendation to hire bus driver Thomas All effective Jan. 5, 2026. Also approved was a recommendation to hire full-time equivalent cleaner Freman Wainwright effective Nov. 18.

Various winter sports hires were approved. They were Christopher Smith, boys varsity basketball coach; Cyle Conley, boys junior varsity basketball coach; Kelsey Girard, boys modified basketball coach; Randi Korona, girls varsity basketball coach; Brittany Pitonza, girls JV basketball coach; David Nedelsky, girls modified basketball coach; Alex Yorke and Samantha Holmes, JV/Varsity cheer coaches; Lorelyn Webb, JV/Varsity basketball shot clock keeper; and Renee Bade and Brittany Pitonza, JV/Varsity basketball scorebook keepers.

The first annual alumni basketball game will be held 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21 in the school gymnasium. Organized by the Varsity Club, it will feature co-ed teams of men and women playing against each other. There will also be refreshments available at a concession area.