Population growth and facilities on agenda for Board of Education By SANDRA STONE The Meade County Board of Education held its regular meeting Nov. 8. Superintendent Mitch Crump welcomed Rep. Gerry Lynn and Joe Redmon to the meeting. Redmon expressed his thanks to the board members for their service to the community. Approval items included construction fund payments for the renovation of the Meade County Area Technology Center and site work at the new elementary school to be built behind David T. Wilson Elementary. The renovation of the ATC is complete with a few punch list items left to complete. The Chamber of Commerce luncheon will be Nov. 17 at James R. Allen Primary School, followed by a tour of the technology center. Site construction, according to Rodney Pickering, is going very well as the weather has cooperated nearly every day. Test wells will be drilled to determine if enough water can be drawn to use a plate and frame cooling system. If it can, about seven wells would need to be drilled to a depth of about 400 feet, as opposed to the 115 wells which would be needed for a geothermal system, resulting in a dramatic cost savings. A revised BG-1 for the new school was also approved. Initially, the plan was approved for 650 students, including preschool. The current plan, however, is for a building which will accommodate 650 primary students plus an additional 150 preschool students. Increased enrollment is anticipated as a result of several factors including the closing of St. John School and the anticipated growth at Fort Knox. Crump indicated John Millay, Peggy Darnall and he would attend a meeting at Fort Knox and would have more information about how growth at Fort Knox would affect the Meade County school district. In another decision dealing with the growth of the school district, the board authorized the district facility planning committee to reconvene. The committee will consist of representatives from all schools. On the recommendation of the Kentucky School Board Association, the school board approved and adopted a revised policy regarding discipline, suspension and dismissal of classified employees. The new policy is considerably different from the old one, particularly as it relates to suspension with pay. On a motion by Greg Beavin, seconded by Eugene Sheeran, all were in favor of adopting the new policy. The offer of state assistance in the amount of $55,734 for technology purchases was accepted. Typically, the board accepts and places these funds in escrow. This year, however, Crump recommended matching the funds and spending them on technology for the coming school year. All board members were in favor. General fund receipts for the month of October were $1,696,996 with expenditures totaling $1,840,619 with the bulk of that ($1,175,246) going for instruction. Other items included approval of a trip to New York for the Meade County High School business students April 3-7, 2006, and the band’s trip to Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 10-13, for the Bands of America Competition.
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