School leaders award contracts for air conditioning, rewiring projects

By Lynn Hotaling

Contracts for air conditioning projects at Fairview, Cullowhee Valley and Blue Ridge went to low bidders Triangle Contractors and W.E. Bolton. Triangle will do the work at Fairview ($221,600) and Blue Ridge ($227,700), while Bolton will air condition the CVS gym for $42,500.

Metrostat Technologies received the contract for a project at SMHS to upgrade computer wiring and infrastructure. The local company was the low bidder at $64,831.85.

Also April 14:

- Board members approved a lease/purchase agreement for a new AS 400 computer for the school system finance office. Cost will be $13,000 per year for three years.

Also approved was an audit contract for the current fiscal year. School officials agreed to pay current auditor Hughes, Hughes and Co. $17,250 to perform the service.

- Cullowhee Valley teacher Marcia Kotila asked board members to consider offering more support to teachers in the process of obtaining national certification. Other counties offer stipends, equipment and other incentives to teachers as they work to earn the additional certification, Kotila said.

- A number of field trips were approved, including a weeklong trip to Atlanta by students in Discovery II. After a lengthy discussion about safety concerns, board members decided to require a 1 to 5 ratio of chaperones to students on overnight field trips and a minimum age of 21 for all chaperones. Board members directed the superintendent to work with principals to heighten consciousness of safety issues when students travel to public places. Superintendent Mack McCary said he planned to include school board member Ali Laird-Large in those discussions due to her extensive experience chaperoning trips as a school volunteer.

- In personnel action, board members approved the employment of Patricia Dunford, media coordinator, and Lisa and Gary Hakanson, program coordinators, developmental day summer program, all at CVS; Raymond Turpin, countywide therapist; and Sara White, interim seventh- and eighth-grade teacher at Scotts Creek.

Resignations were accepted from Holly Miller, Spanish teacher, Blue Ridge; Beverly Bryson, child nutrition, Fairview; Tyler Trantham, after school, CVS; and Jaime Henderson, French teacher, SMHS.

Approved as bus drivers were Tracey Bell and Dale Frizzell.

Approved as substitute teachers were Alisa Solomon, Natalie Krugly and Van Villanti.

Approved as non-staff softball coaches at SMES were Elizabeth Brooks, Dale Frizzell and Ryan Shelton.

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