Floyd County BOE to consider new stadium lights, calendar changes

Pepperell High School’s football field could get new lights and a new system calendar could be in store for 2018-2019.

The potential purchase of four new poles and lights from Musco Lighting for the Pepperell High School football field will go before the Floyd County Board of Education tonight during its regular called meeting, starting at 6 p.m. at the Central Office, 600 Riverside Parkway.

According to Superintendent John Jackson, the system plans to replace all of the light poles after some of them were damaged from high winds. He did not have the exact price of the purchase Monday night, but since the price tag exceeds $100,000, board approval is required.

The system, if the board approves the purchase, would need to bid out work for erecting the lights. Buying the equipment and installation is expected to drift over $200,000 and come out of the general fund — the insurance claim on the damaged light poles yielded only $6,000.

All this comes at a time when Pepperell High’s track is set to be resurfaced by Whitesburgbased Sports Turf Company

starting this month.

Work on Pepperell High’s track is needed, Jackson said, as it’s used for all of the system’s track events. There is a running clock on both replacing the lights and resurfacing the track, as Pepperell’s first football game is Sept. 1.

Also on the agenda are calendar changes for the 2018-2019 school year that would push back fall break by one week and spring break by two weeks. The move would allow for the school system to remain open on Oct. 2, 2018, during the full-time enrollment count day, which figures state funding per student based on the classes students take on that date. If the system is closed on that day they can miss out on being the first to claim a student who has been with them since the start of the year but is transitioning out, Jackson said, and lose the funding that corresponds to that student.

The board will hold a closed meeting to discuss pending litigation and personnel following its whole board training, which starts at 2 p.m. and is expected to run until between 4:30 and 5 p.m. There will be a short caucus before the regular meeting begins.