Taylor gave updates on the two projects, plus the upcoming renovations on LaFayette Middle School and the new Rossville Middle School building committee, to the Walker County Board of Education at its meeting Monday night.
“At Chattanooga Valley Middle School, we’ve covered a lot of ground in the past couple months, mainly because of the weather,” Taylor said. “It has been extremely good for the construction workers.”
The target date to move into the school is sometime in October. However, Superintendent Roy Sapough said he told the contractor, “We’ve been in the old building for 50 years and two more months won’t kill us. We want everything to be exactly right before we move in.”
Taylor said the LaFayette Middle School sixth-grade academy, which will be housed at the old LaFayette High School, should be ready to move in by the scheduled date of July 1.
After that date, plans will be worked out to move other staff currently housed in the building, such as special education, to the old Fairview School.
At LaFayette Middle, the contractor plans to coordinate the various projects with the school calendar so they will not interrupt or disturb activities such end-of-the-year testing.
The school still has several mobile units and Sapough said they will move classes out there if needed.
During the renovations, the school will get upgrades like a new roof and improved heating and air-conditioning.
In other business Monday:
* Wayne Robinson, coordinator to technology, gave the board a timeline for the implementation of the Transfinder software for bus transportation mapping. He thinks it is a very “do-able and successful project”. The school system plans to map all 8,700 students in the software, whether they are bus riders or not.
* The board presented Carl Gentry with the national Outstanding Instructor Award in Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. Gentry has been the AFJROTC instructor at Ridgeland High School since 2003.
* The board recognized all retirees in the school system. There were 45 total employees among classified and certified personnel with 1,190 years of combined service.
The board also recognized 19 certified employees with at least 30 years of experience, five of whom have 35 years experience and one with 49 years experience. Two classified employees who have 30 years experience and one person who has 49 years of service were also given recognition.
* The board approved the financial report ending May 31 with the local revenue at 103.6 percent of the budget and expenditures 3.88 percent below the fiscal year to date.
* The board approved a resolution to spend money in July even though the new budget will not be finalized. The operational expenditures must not exceed one-twelfth of the new final amended budget, which ends June 30, 2006.
* The board approved the custodial supply bid to seven different vendors for a total of $53,952. The bid was for items such as paper towels, floor cleaners, and general supplies used in the schools.
* The board awarded the school food service bids for chemicals to Sanitech for an additional year. The bid price is $34,905 and will provide the chemicals and on-site training for the products.
* The board awarded the food service bid for pest control services to Precision Pest Control Inc. for an additional year at a price of $25 per cafeteria.
* The board awarded the food service bids for next school year to three different suppliers.
The highest quantity awarded went to U.S. Foodservices for 196 items. IJ Co. received the bid for 79 items and Allied Foodservices was awarded 34 of its bids.
The bids were mailed to 26 vendors and if the vendor cannot or chooses not to serve the school system, the bid will go to the next lowest priced vendor, Sapough said.
* The board approved the members of the 2005-06 special education advisory committee. Phyllis Hart, coordinator of special education, will chair the group and be joined by six parents, 15 teachers, two administrators, one student and one paraprofessional.
The parents are from both ends of the county and the teachers represent every school in the county.
* The board approved an agreement with Orange Grove Center in Chattanooga to provide educational services to four special-needs students.
The total for all four students is $154,692 and more than 70 percent of the cost is covered by state and federal funds.
* The board adopted a contract for teaching services for a visually impaired student. It is for summer tutoring only and the summer teacher will instruct up to three hours a week at $60 per hour and be reimbursed 30 cents per mile.
Funds to cover the cost are included in the special education budget.
* The board approved an agreement with Chattanooga State Technical College for students studying physical therapy. The students from the college will proved supervised therapy as part of their clinical experience to the students of Walker County.
Sapough said it benefits the county because it allows extra attention to the children receiving therapy at no additional cost.
* The board approved an agreement with The Learning Tree in Chattanooga for educational services for a special-needs student. The Learning Tree provides 24-hour residential services year-round and intensive treatment to eliminate aggressive and self-injurious behavior.
The cost for this is $16,000 and about $4,000 of local dollars will be used. The rest will come from state and federal grants, Hart said.
* The board approved an agreement with the YMCA after-school programs with Fairyland and Cherokee Ridge elementary schools. It will provide games, tutoring, snacks, structured activities and compensation for space rental and electricity.
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