When it met in a special session Monday, the Geary School Board handled a spate of regular issues.
With the clock ticking until time for the ice cream social to welcome students back to campus, the board swiftly passed its consent agenda. That list of items, passed as a single vote included the continuation of a lease between the school and the city, presumably for the baseball/softball fields and named the attendance officers for each campus.
It also included a payment for a cleaning service the school is using rather than hiring custodial staff. There had been some question as to whether the purchase should have been bid out. However, Buchanan said the state auditors office told him services were not subject to the same rules as projects, and the cleaners provided a service.
There followed an executive session where the board accepted the resignation of Richelle Miller, who worked in transportation, and Shameron Black, a teacher’s assistant.
The board also named James Rainey as the middle school and high school principal. Ashley Johnston had previously been named the principal for the elementary school.
Superintendent Sean Buchanan reported to his board that the construction of four new classrooms is progressing, although the work has been delayed by a lag in installing a natural gas tap, done by the City of Geary. Buchanan said that since the city was working with the district to reduce the usual hefty price on the install, he didn’t mind the wait.
Plans anticipate the building will be completed in November.
Work at the elementary school is completed and students will see some exciting changes that proved to be a sticky wicket for the district.
Hall tiles in the downstairs portion of the school had to be reapplied to ensure adhesion. In the classrooms, carpet squares were utilized. The carpet squares are not glued in place and that is by design. In the event there is moisture infiltration, the squares can be taken up to allow the floor beneath to dry. Additionally, if a single square or only a few squares are damaged for any reason, they are simple to replace.
The board also agreed to make ready a purchase order to be used for the appraisal or purchase of real property. Buchanan said that there is no particular property in mind, but the board wanted to be able to act quickly in the event a prime bit of real estate became available.
With the purchase order in hand, the school district is able to secure a property without having to wait until the next board meeting and hoping the property was still available by then, or having to call a special meeting which requires a posted public notice and the time that entails, time during which the property would be subject to sale to another buyer who was working without those restrictions.