In his superintendent’s report, district leadership said a sump pump motor burned in the elementary school basement, causing a small electrical fire that produced heavy smoke but was quickly contained.

Administrators credited school staff for their response, saying Mr. Hauger extinguished the fire and Mrs. Patterson and her staff managed student safety. The district scheduled APS to inspect the building’s alarm system and planned to have an electrician evaluate and likely replace aging sump pumps and examine wiring.

The superintendent also told the board the Jean Belcher Foundation has increased outreach for scholarships that cover $1,000 per semester for four years for eligible students; the foundation encourages applications from students pursuing college or career-technical training. District leaders said the foundation has provided multiple scholarships and donated six Cherokee Chief benches to school facilities.

Separately, the superintendent said he would visit Northwestern for a Ranger-to-Ranger program and that the district received positive early communications from the state education department following recent state-level leadership changes.