Lawrence County Board of Education Regular Meeting
April 17, 2023
The Regular Meeting of the Lawrence County Board of Education was held at the Lawrence County High School library on Monday, April 17, 2023, at 6:00 PM. The LC Board Members Jim See, Maddlene Roberts, Barbara Robinson, Garnett Skaggs, and Susie Ward were all present in person.
The Lawrence County Board approved amending the agenda to include a BES fundraiser and a contract for auditor services with Darrell F. Blair, CPA, Wells & Co.
In student/staff presentations and recognitions, a moment of silence was held for Ms. Sharon Pack, who taught Nursing classes for LC Schools from 2007-2018. Several individuals commented that Ms. Pack was an excellent nurse, teacher, and person.
In the Superintendent’s update, Dr. Fletcher discussed that the LC Central Office, LCHS Administration, and leadership with the City of Louisa are working through partnership to add a fire safety pathway to the CTE list of programs. The pathway will allow for 4 dual credit classes, with the hopes of also adding an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certification. This can help students begin a career as a firefighter. There are nineteen students that have expressed interest in the new pathway. This would be the fourth Fire Safety Program in the state of KY and the first program east of Lexington.
The Portrait of a Graduate was explained by Ms. Katie Webb, CAO of LC Schools. She provided insight into the making of the document. The portrait first used the 4Rs: Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, and Readiness. Next, input was taken from the L3 Committee, local educators, and community members’ suggestions in building the criteria for each of the 4R categories. The L3 Committee is comprised of James Ellis, Michael Kessinger, Mike Armstrong, Morgan Lester, David McKenzie, Jodi Parsley, Neil Wilson, Harold Slone, Chuck Price, Vince Doty, Susie Chambers, Courtney Kingsmore, Sarah Arrington, Myram Brady, Angel Ward, Katie Webb, Robbie Fletcher, Jennifer Ferguson, and Kristy Sammons.
There was a meeting held to discuss the change in traffic patterns in Louisa. Dr. Fletcher, Mr. Burns, Mr. Blackburn, and state officials discussed the upcoming changes. Dr. Fletcher was able to keep the red light on Lady Washington for buses to utilize. The changes include four lanes of traffic through downtown, decreasing to 3 lanes. The changes are being made in hopes of decreasing the number of accidents.
School officials met with the engineering firm, CMTA, Inc. to review the final touches to the LAVEC (Local Area Vocational Education Centers) building design. LC Schools received a grant for $9.2 million dollars. This facility will house carpentry and the JROTC programs, along with restroom facilities. They are awaiting final approval, and hope to break ground in the next few months.
The Lawrence County baseball team won the 2A Sectional Championship. They will head to Owensboro for the state tournament on Friday, April 21, 2023, at 7:00 PM. The team will play DeSales from Louisville, who is ranked number five in the state.
The Blaine, Fallsburg, and Louisa Middle Schools 8th-grade students participated in a reality store and Bridge Day prior to spring break. LC Schools is grateful to all the community partners that participated during the event.
The Softball and turf projects have progressed in the last few weeks. The steel structure is being erected. The construction company may have a delay on the siding, due to paint issues and delays. The drainage system is being installed for the turf project. An end-of-year calendar will be collected and presented to the LC Board Members and distributed to our community.
In public comments, Ms. Maynard, the LCHS Kitchen Manager, voiced her concern about the lack of substitutes available to help when regular cooks must miss work. She also raised her concern about the current pay scale. She provided documentation of surrounding counties’ salary comparisons.
In student learning and support services, the LC Board approved the minutes of the March 20, 2023, Regular Meeting and the March 30, 2023, Special Meeting. The Claims and Orders of the Treasurer were also approved. The largest amounts included Food Service for $56,805 for the purchase of a new serving bar for LCHS. There were also contracted speech therapy payments. The LC Board also pays for the dual credit cost of classes for LCHS students, which totaled $5,288.
The board approved the Monthly Financial Report by Finance Officer, Ms. Brandi Peters. The beginning balance for March was $6,607,912. The total revenue for the month of March was $2,051,881. The expenditures of the month totaled $2,582,540. The Fund 1 cash balance for the month of March was $2,946,764. The ending balance for all funds for the month of March was $6,038,032. The balance sheets reflect the balance for each fund as of March 31. The expenditure exceeded revenues due to three payrolls for the month of March.
The Consent Agenda was approved by the LC Board members. The contract/service items included a YSC-2023 Partner Application for the BES FRYSC Corps Service program. Annual renewal of Emerson Digital Cold Chain, Inc. for $600. The Vector Solutions Scenario Learning, LLC Agreement for $2740. The Classic Printing & Graphics, Inc. agreement for BES yearbooks. The requested items included fundraisers and out-of-state school trips for LCHS BioMed Class to Ohio Southern University, Ironton, OH tour, and LMS Volleyball to Kings Island, Mason, Ohio. In the use of facilities, the LCHS Football Parking lot for a 5K Run Event for Autism Awareness. A donation was also accepted from ARC, in the amount of $1000 for Safety Patrol.
In the construction/building and grounds projects/updates the LCHS Vocational Center (LAVEC) Renovation and Expansion is waiting on the approval of the design. Once the design is approved, the project can be sent out for bids. There were some changes to the previous drawings. The ceiling was raised on the designs to fifteen feet for the JROTC classrooms, so the color guard can practice inside the facilities. LC School officials hope they will break ground on the project in late July of 2023. The LC Board approved the revised construction documents (Phase 1) for the LCHS LAVEC Addition. They also approved the BG-2 and BG-3 for the LCHS LAVEC Addition. The LC Board approved the invoice for the professional services by RossTarrant Architects for the Vocational Education (LAVEC) Renovation and Expansion for a total of 425,983.62. In the LCHS Football Field Upgrades Turf Project, the LC Board tabled the Deposit on Execution in the amount of $108,357.60 for the Contract for SprinTurf, LLC Pay Application #1. The LC Board approved the credit application for MAPEI Corporation. The board approved Invoice No. 1963-016 for RossTarrant Architects in the amount of $1248.95. Pay Application #4 to CPR Construction in the amount of $183,631.57 was approved for the Softball Facilities Project/Athletics Upgrade.
In the Districtwide Safety & Security Upgrades, the motion was approved to lease (18) AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) at a monthly price of $120 each from CINTAS Zoll AED Lease Agreements. When officials compared buying AEDs to leasing them, they found it was cheaper to rent the machines. Also, the company will manage and replace the machines. The KINGS III Emergency Service Agreement is approved, pending legal counsel.
In other action, Ms. Webb, CAO of LC Schools, presented the LC Schools Portrait of a Graduate which was approved. The next phase will include details of what a Portrait of a Graduate will look like for each of the grade levels. The LC Board approved the MOU with the City of Louisa for the 2023-2024 school year to provide certified fire trainers to train LCHS students in Fire/Rescue Science Technology. The motion passed to approve the Preschool tuition option of $200 per month per student. The 2023-2024 LC School District Technology Plan was approved. Mr. Burns discussed the E-Rate Funding and bandwidth needs for the district. The Continuation of Learn Plan for Districts was approved by the LC Board. The motion was approved for the hiring of principals, district coordinators, staff, and administrators for the 2023 Summer School session.
In new business, the motion was approved for Darrell F. Blair, CPA, Wells & Company, PSC to provide auditor services for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year.
In personnel, the LC Board approved the abolishment, creation, and changes regarding positions. They also approved an Update to the 2022-2023 LC Schools Pay Scales/Salary Schedules from previous board actions. The motions were approved for the Unpaid Leave of Absence for Katrina Maynard and Amy Taylor. The board approved the acknowledgment of receipt of the Superintendent’s Personnel Action/Update. The LC Board Meeting was adjourned.
The next LC Board Meeting will be held on Monday, May 15, 2023, at 6:00 PM in the LCHS Library. All residents are always invited to attend the Lawrence County Board Meetings to become aware of the issues affecting our students and schools. The meetings may also be viewed virtually through the public viewing link. A copy of the most recent Lawrence County Board agendas & meetings may be found on the current Lawrence County District webpage at www.lawrence.k12.ky.us.