The Durant Board of Education approved in a meeting last week a resolution for a special election to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds that the district says will not cause an increase in property taxes.
J.C. Leonard, vice president of Stephen H. McDonald & Associates, said what is being proposed is a $4 million building bond series.
“This is a projected no-tax increase, so we’re going to maintain that millage that we’re currently at and we approved in the last bond issue,” Leonard said. “We had some stuff fall off plus we’ve had growth in the district.”
According to Leonard, older bonds have been paid off.
“Basically, there’s been valuation growth in the district, so we’re just issuing debt and maintaining it where it would fall off,” Leonard said. “We’re just maintaining where we are with the tax structure and that’s because also, the district values have grown. There’s more tax-based property in there, so we can be levied out.”
The election will be Sept. 9 and if approved by voters, the bonds would fund constructing, equipping, repairing and remodeling school buildings, plus obtaining furniture, fixtures and equipment.
In other agenda items, Amanda Reyn- olds was named assistant principal of Durant High School. She has been the track and cross country coach and has agreed to do that for one more year. She replaces Amber Bullard who was named principal following the retirement of Cheryl Conditt.
The board approved a contract with the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office for five school resource officers and this agreement also was approved by Bryan County Commissioners at cost of $250,000. The school district receives $92,000 from the state to go toward this expense. A licensing agreement between the school district and the Bryan County Ambulance Authority also was approved. Bryan County EMS purchases fuel from the school’s transportation department located near EMS.
Superintendent Mark Moring spoke of updates in the school district, including a green house that is being constructed in the new agriculture building at the high school. The old agriculture facility is being cleaned up and painted for use by the aviation program. Painting is also underway at the high school. There will be new flooring and carpet in all of the classrooms. “At Northwest Heights, they’re redoing the plumbing underneath the building and it’s quite a project,” Moring said. “There’s about a fourfoot diameter hole being dug from both ends under the building with people actually in the hole to redo all of the plumbing. The structure underneath, it’s been corroded. Iron pipes have been corroded and everything else. Talk about the show, Dirty Jobs, it’s definitely interesting and they’ve had to dig a hole up in the middle because they’re starting to run out of oxygen on either end. We knew at the beginning of last year that we were going to have to be doing this this summer.”
Moring said the band truck and trailers are being repainted and a restroom at the middle school is being renovated to make it more accessible. Drainage work is needed on the football practice field at the high school and Moring hopes that project will start in July.
He said 230 are enrolled in summer school which is a little more than last year. Staffing wise, Moring said it is looking better for the district than it did last summer.
The board accepted the following resignations: Michael Walker, assistant band director; Joseph Parsons, science teacher and DHS baseball coach; Kristal Brown, DHS English teacher; Roger Mitchell, DHS history teacher; Erainna Winnett, DMS ELA special education teacher; Lisa Diane Cowan, DIS special education math teacher; Wilda Regina Brewer, NWH fourth-grade teacher; Carre Welcher, DMS special education teacher assistant; Ashley Keeler, GW teacher assistant, and Elizabeth San Millan, REL teacher assistant.
Board members approved the following employments: Traci Tipton, summer school teacher; Lenore Pfaff, English teacher at DHS; Haley Hollenbeck, science teacher at DHS; Marella Smith, speech/ debate/drama teacher at DHS; Donna Young, special education teacher at DHS; Rachel Stinchcomb, special education ELA teacher at DMS; Ambera Mack, seventh-grade math teacher at DMS; Breanna Self, fifth-grade math/science teacher at DIS; Gena Smith, fourth-grade teacher at NWH; Anita Gobert, nurse assistant at DMS; Julia Goucher, kindergarten teacher assistant at WI; Makayla Biggerstaff, prekindergarten teacher assistant at REL, and Brittany Stafford, summer school support employee. The board renewed the contract for Terry Bourne, district Asbestos coordinator.