There were plentiful updates for the Watonga School Board to discover when it met Monday night in regular session.
Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran explained to the board why the crowd of assemblies at the end of the year.
“These assemblies are to support social and emotional interaction and build those positive relationships” Hilterbran said.
He also updated the board on proposed programs – like adding firefighter training for students – and bond project progress. The flooring in the new gym is being installed as is the plumbing. Ceiling tiles will be installed soon, and the state fire marshal will be scheduled. That is the last step, barring any changes that office requests, before the building can begin being used for its intended purposes.
Training is ongoing for scoreboard operation in the gym as well.
In addition, Hilterbran said the new activity bus is ready to be picked up in Tulsa and he hopes to bring it to Watonga this week.
When it came to dollars and cents, Hilterbran noted that gross production taxes have fallen in recent months, from an expectation of about $225,000 per month to a reality of slightly over $151,000 collected in December.
The budget was adjusted somewhat, he said, to reflect an anticipated collection of $150,000 month for the remainder of the year.
The consensus is that a new federal administration friendly to oil and gas production coupled with the higher winter demand could go a long way toward stabilizing gross production payouts to the school districts.
The board also moved to approve hiring a second teacher for the fourth and fifth grades for next semester. Those classes are large and a second teacher would promote more one on one time in the classroom.
The new teacher is Brennan Dobbins, who grew up in Watonga. “I love it,” said board president Dr. Dwight McGee. “It is exciting to see them going out, getting their education and coming back.”