Lawrence County Board of Education
Special Board Meeting in Lieu of the Regular March Meeting
March 26, 2024
Blaine Elementary School, Blaine, KY
The Lawrence County Board of Education held a special meeting at Blaine Elementary School gymnasium on March 26, 2024, at 6:00 PM. Board members Jim See (Chairman), Maddlene Roberts (Vice-Chair), Barbara Robinson, Garnett Skaggs, and Susie Rice were all present in person.
The meeting was called to order by Mr. See. The agenda was approved.
In student and staff presentations, Mr. Jennings, BES Principal, welcomed and introduced Ms. Withers, BES teacher and academic team coach, and the Blaine Middle School academic team students. The BES Future Problem-Solving team competed at the state level. This was their first experience attending the state competition! The group discussed the details of Future Problem Solving, including the challenges, solutions, criteria, etc. Next, the BES STLP (Student Technology Leadership Program) is coached by the BES Art Teacher, Mrs. Slone, and the BES Librarian, Mrs. Cooper. The STLP team left for the state competition located at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. The group left a presentation for the board members to view. The STLP students discussed and presented the steps they took to conduct a news broadcast for their school and community. They also discussed collaboration practices, along with details on touring the WSAZ television station and WSIP radio station. The final presenters included Ms. Little, the BES Guidance Counselor/FCA Advisor, and FCA students. The group discussed how they incorporate the 4 R’s of being responsible, being respectful, being ready, and building relationships into their program. They also build upon the Character Counts lessons in the student activities. They have completed multiple fundraisers and taken many trips to various events. At the end of their presentation, the group presented an emotional video relaying the core root message and basis of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) to the audience.
In the Superintendent’s communications and updates, Dr. Fletcher discussed:
· LCHS HOSA students qualified to attend the International HOSA competition in Houston, TX, June 26-29, 2024. Congratulations to Alex DeSario for placing 1st in Medical Math. And Aubrie Laney for placing 2nd in Allied Health Statistics.
· LC Schools had multiple schools competing in the STLP State Championships on March 27, 2024. Blaine Elementary, Fallsburg Elementary, Louisa East, Louisa Middle, and Lawrence County High School all had teams that were present and represented Lawrence County Schools.
· Lawrence County Schools was well represented at the Governor’s Cup competition. The Louisa Middle School quick recall team defeated Tates Creek and eventually lost in overtime. The BES Future Problem-Solving team was excited to make their first-ever appearance at the competition. Students from FES and LCSH competed in individual subject areas. The elementary-level regional academic meet was held, with the LEES Future Problem-Solving team coming in 1st place. The LEES team finished 3rd in the region.
· LCHS will host the district baseball and softball tournaments toward the end of the season.
· Several LC School administrators attended the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) National Conference in Washington, D.C. as part of an innovations grant. Mrs. Katie Webb, Chief Academic Officer, elaborated on attending specific learning sessions from notable speakers and presenters.
· LCHS hosted the Annual Music in our Schools concert, which included the induction of Adam Chaffins, Elsie Jones, and Sam Lyon into the Music Hall of Fame. It was an incredible musical production, with the culmination of the LCHS choir, band, and several visiting elementary school choirs.
· Mr. Jim See, LC Board of Education Chairman, announced Dr. Fletcher’s new position, once nominated, as the next KY Commissioner of Education. Mr. See commented, “I am very proud of this guy…he has provided nothing but excellence.” Mr. See discussed early on that the board had asked Dr. Fletcher to work and lead at the regional and state levels and how he has done such a phenomenal job.
The Minutes of the February 20, 2024, Regular Meeting and the Minutes of the March 4, 2024, Special Meeting were approved. The Claims and Orders of the Treasurer were also approved. Dr. Fletcher discussed several of the claims, including invoices from food service. He also discussed a $20,000 training fee for Dataseam but discussed that this training has provided the district with over $1,000,000 worth of computers over the years. He explained the training is an investment toward technology for the school district.
The monthly Financial Report was presented by Finance Officer, Brandi Peters.
In personnel, the board approved to acknowledge receipt of the Superintendent’s Personnel Action/Update. The February beginning balance was $6,229,543. The total revenue for February was $2,771,233. The expenditure for the month totaled $2,515,238. The Fund 1 cash balance of all funds for February was $6,676,769.
In the consent agenda, there were multiple contracts and services approved. There were also numerous school-related trips and donations approved.
In construction and building, there were several invoices approved. The colors of the brick-and-mortar, which Mr. Burns recommended, were approved. The board also approved the award of the bid of the Construction Manager to Codell Construction for the LMS Roof Replacement project. Other invoices and credits included:
· RossTarrant Architects, Invoice # 21080-18: $3,902.61
· Codell Construction, Pay Estimate 4: $476,485.04
· Change of Order: Rising Sun Development, Transformer Relocation
· Change of Order, Infinity Design & Construction, Water Line Relocation
· RossTarrant Architects, LMS Roof Replacement, Invoice # 23027-06: $22,207.10
In buildings, grounds maintenance, and upgrades, the board approved Step CG, LLC as the service provider for operation, management, and monitoring of the Broadband LAN/WLAN components through the recommendation of Dr. Fletcher and Mr. Burns. The company has a perfect score on the evaluation rubric. The board awarded the bid for repairs to the wastewater treatment plants to BES and FES to N.E. Zabkar Corporation, Mt. Juliet, TN in the amount of $70,901 for repairs to both of the treatment facilities. The grass mowing services contract was awarded to Lee Farms, Louisa, KY for $1,708.91 per cycle of mowing and trimming. This was based on a better score on the evaluation rubric, meeting the bid specifications/criteria, and being approximately $300 savings per mowing cycle. There was no award bid for the maintenance and repair of the district-owned vehicles, due to no bids being received.
The LCHS Graduation date/time was approved as May 17, 2024, at 7:00 PM in the LCHS Gymnasium. The board approved to appoint Phillip Hunt and Debbie Cordle as the Agent of Record regarding District Insurance. The motion to declare and advertise the surplus of ten international-brand school buses was approved.
The board approved the First Reading of the revision to Policy 9.123 Absences and Excuses. This was requested by the LCHS principal, Mrs. Brady, who asked the policy to be changed so senior students would be permitted to participate and walk in the graduation ceremony.
In personnel, the board approved updates to the 2023-2024 LC Schools Salary Schedule from previous board action. They also approved the 2024-2025 LC Schools Payroll Calendar, which includes the 2024-2025 Athletic Extra Duty Payroll Calendar. Dr. Fletcher explained that a later start date will mean a later first payday.
The board approved the acknowledgement of the Superintendent’s Personnel Action/Update.
The next Regular School Board Meeting will be held on Monday, April 15, 2024, at LCHS at 6:00 PM. The LC Board members are excited to have Louisa Middle School students and staff present during this meeting. All residents are always invited to attend the Lawrence County Board Meetings to become aware of the issues affecting our students and schools. The meetings may also be viewed virtually through the public viewing link. A copy of the most recent Lawrence County Board agendas and meetings may be found on the current Lawrence County District webpage at www.lawrence.k12.ky.us.