Last week, the Henry County school board approved a grant application for a “greener” look to the yellow school buses currently in operation.
“It’s an opportunity for us to look at two new electric buses,” school superintendent Dr. Jim Masters said of the application for two electric school buses to replace two aged diesel engine ones.
Masters said the grant would fully fund purchase of the buses at $365,000 each, plus include $20,000 more for related expenses: “It doesn’t cost us a penny.”
The application states that the county would have to keep the electric buses in operation for a minimum of five years and the additional funds would cover costs for installing a charge station for the buses.
“I just thought that was exciting, and we’re going to go for it,” said Masters.
The board also heard the first reading for school policy updates that address changes in state policy, like vesting the superintendent with ultimate authority over curriculum decisions and the hiring of school principals. Masters assured the board he won’t make those decisions alone.
“I will always include the schools in terms of the decision-making policy,” said Masters.
Another policy change concerns school choice for students to enroll in schools outside of their home school district. Masters said that the county already contracts with students outside of Henry County to attend schools within the county.
“There’s really not any significant change,” said Masters.
The board also heard about policy changes for the availability school boards must make for people to publicly comment at meetings.
“Now, you have to maintain a time of at least 15 minutes for members of your community to speak,” Master said, adding that the 15 minutes represented a total time of public comment, not the amount allotted to each speaker.
In board agenda approvals last week, the board approved hiring Sherman Carter Barnhart Architect Firm for the $595,251 project to build a concessions building and resurface the track at the high school. The board also approved $36,869 in payment for the $332,955 middle school reroofing project and $4,857 for a change order to add more wood blocking work required for new window replacements at the high school.
The board also approved the following:
• $285,378 for school system insurance coverage from Liberty Mutual for the fiscal year.
• Renewal of the school district’s consortium agreement with the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative for the 2022-2023 school year at a cost of $9,142.
• Indirect cost reimbursement of 12.8% for expenses incurred by the school district for offering free lunch through federal USDA Food and Nutrition Service funding.
• $250 rental of the high school auditorium by the Henry County Chamber of Commerce on either Sept. 22 or 29 for a showcase of county political candidates.
• Waiver of pupil attendance requirement to allow for attendance-based virtual learning that might remove barriers that exist to improve learning, including for homeschooled students.
The board also approved updated descriptions for employment positions in the district, including extra duty designation of district health coordinator for school district nurse Melissa Jeffries, creation of a part-time school physical therapist position to replace previously contracted physical therapist service, and change of the “Youth Service Center Clerk/Receptionist” job description to “Youth Service Center Secretary” with provisions for a four-hour-per-day, 170-day-per-year position to conform with the school salary schedule.
Additionally, the board approved creation of a new middle school elective position with the elimination of a high school math interventionist position.
The board did table one agenda item for creation of a full-time, district-wide school nurse practitioner position to replace a part-time position. Questions were raised by board member Tony Whaley about malpractice insurance issues related to the proposed job description that would allow the nurse practitioner to prescribe drugs, provide immunizations and perform physicals.
“Is the umbrella going to come into play on that?” asked Whaley, referring to the school district’s $10 million in insurance coverage.
“We just need to make sure before we delve into practicing medicine,” added Whaley.
Board chair Lori Abney mentioned the gap in time related to updated student medical records. She also suggested that the board should receive more input about partnership potential with a clinic before deciding the issue: “Maybe we need more information.”
The board tabled the item for next month.
Following an executive session for board evaluation of Dr. Masters in his first year as Henry County supervisor, school administration reported that the board rated him “Exemplary and
Accomplished” in all seven standards used for the evaluation. Masters delivered his evaluation presentation to the board earlier this month to complete the training and mentoring program for first-year superintendents that the Kentucky Department of Education requires.