Parkers Chapel School Board proposes ‘Memorial Garden’
Staff Writer
PARKERS CHAPEL — The Parkers Chapel School Board reorganizes its officers, heard student transfer requests and received updates on several construction projects at its meeting Monday.
The board reorganized its officers after citizens elected Emily Carelock in a run-off election, beating former board vice president Howard Skinner by almost ten percent of the vote.
Jason Hardy moves up in ranks from secretary to president, while Wes Taylor steps down from president to vice president. Carelock was elected to the board’s secretary position and Lisa Murray will act as the board’s legislative liaison.
During superintendent Michael White’s report, he gave an update on the district’s extensive, multimillion dollar construction project.
“We now have the awnings on the drop-off/ pick-up points all completed. The parking lots are completed,” White said. The dirt work has been completed around the tennis court and we planted grass to maintain that.”
The Parkers Chapel School Board heard three student transfer requests, accepting one student from El Dorado. It also amended its classified salary schedule to accommodate a new hire.
“We didn’t have that construction project manager category on our scale so we had to create that on our on classified salary schedule,” White said. “We created it, approved it and hired someone to fill that position.”
At a special called meeting early this month, the board decided to self construct Swilley Field, the home of the Lady Trojans softball team. The school board hired Johnny Opry as the district’s construction project manager to manage that project.
“It’s small enough where we think we can manage it ourselves. We put it out for bids and the number was too high,” White said. “There are still plans on getting other people involved. They’ll be voluntarily involved with the system. We’ve got plans on talking to as many people as possible that can help us on the project.”
White and the board also finalized the design on the auditorium portion of the district’s ongoing construction.
“We put the bids on the original design, came back the numbers were too high for us,” White said. “We reevaluated and basically the new design has pulled it away from the building a little bit which helps us on some of the construction costs and adjusted some of the materials we’re going to use.”
The new design address its water drainage problem by relocating the memorials and sidewalks and regrading the area so that it drains properly. The district hopes to have design finalized so it can go over bids at the end of November, he said.
“Falling back to our original plan, we’re going with six of the eight classrooms and an auditorium. The only thing we had to do (at the meeting) was finalize our decision about in front of the high school, those sidewalks. The architect talked to us about different options,” the superintendent said. “The water drainage problem that we have. The water drains back toward the building and sometimes it seeps into the building so we’re trying to solve that problem.”
District administration updated its Facebook friends on the district’s construction Wednesday, particularly its former sidewalk memorials, by writing, “The board discussed the possibility of creating a ‘Memorial Garden’ area as part of the project. The graduate names will be relocated upon completion of the project.”
The board ended its meeting with a financial workshop lead by Ray Beardsley of First Security Beardsley. The Parkers Chapel School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14 in the high school technology building.