By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
Colonel Crawford Board of Education members literally had their cake and ate it too at Monday’s monthly meeting. That was after they had a little bit of everything else on their plates as far as district business.
Superintendent Todd Martin opened the meeting by pointing out January is School Board Appreciation Month.
“Not all superintendents are blessed to have a board without a hidden agenda,” Martin said, noting board members have always placed the students of the district as their highest priority. “I feel blessed. I know my administrative team, and I know the teachers feel the same.”
Before the meeting adjourned with cake in honor of board members, the matter of addressing the items on the agenda was dealt with. During his remarks to the board, Martin cited High School Principal Jake Bruner for his actions in the cafeteria recently.
According to Martin, Bruner came to the aid of a student who was choking. Bruner applied the Heimlich maneuver multiple times before the obstruction that was causing the student distress was dislodged.
Martin said Bruner even got the student another lunch. For his part, Bruner praised others at the individual’s table for noticing the problem and getting help.
As a result of Bruner’s action, Martin said the upcoming in-service day in March will have a first aid component.
Among the items voted on by the board members and approved were mowing contracts for the property. The lawn will be maintained by three different companies who will split the work – Cutting Edge Lawncare and Landscaping, Kennedy Landscaping, and Crawford Lawn Care. Crawford Lawn Care will be specifically tasked with maintaining and preparing the outdoor athletic facilities while the other two companies will take care of the remaining lawn areas of the campus.
Martin pointed out the district will be paying $14 per hour for the service to take care of the athletic fields and the school district will not be responsible for supplying gas.
“We’re confident the property will look much better,” Martin said. “We’ll have no problem keeping up this year.”
The school board gave the go-ahead to purchase an additional mobile lap-top cart with 30 lap-top computers at a cost of $18,122.46. The computers are essential for mandated student testing.
Bruner also went over some changes in course description and course offerings that have been implemented to keep the district on pace with the aforementioned state testing.
One of those changes will be to the Senior Project which will now allow students the option of pursuing an internship with a local company. The district will also begin offering its government class to juniors and has added a world history class back into the curriculum.
In the math curriculum, there will be an additional Algebra II class and students will now be required to take four continuous years of math classes in order to graduate.
Martin also explained to the board what the plans are for a covered walkway between the new building and the old high school. Students go back and forth between the two buildings for music classes. The walkway will have lights and a security video camera.
No formal plans have been drawn up and the project is not ready for bid.
Board member Norm Huber shared with the board he is communicating with state officials to explain, in his words, how the district has been “jilted” through its recent building project.
“We’re missing high school rooms,” Huber said. “We need more space and here we are just finishing the project. We need to stand up for our wonderful community. I think the state needs to know this.”
Huber has been soliciting input from others by asking for letters to be sent to Martin. Huber is putting together a presentation to demonstrate what the district was promised versus what it eventually got in the two-stage, pre-K through 12 project. The other issue is the level of state funding which Martin noted was just 31 percent compared to other area districts that were 70 percent and higher.
The board also approved assistant coaches for the spring sports season for the 2015-2016 school year.