The Shadow
Will Fields, acting activities director of the new school system’s Alleghany High School Cougars, and Eric Tyree, director of maintenance and transportation, requested changes that the school board approved for the 2023-2024 school year.
Also, Superintendent Kim Halterman recommended changes to the 2023-2024 school calendar that the school board approved. The changes are for March 3 concerning non-contract personnel and March 20 when a three-and-one-half-hour early dismissal will take place.
Other changes to the calendar were approved for April 15 and 17 and May 24 and 25 when the three-and-one-half-hour early dismissals will take place.
Fields noted that due to the change in school colors athletic uniforms and certain equipment will need to be replaced, modified or repurposed for usage on a different athletic level.
The school colors are navy blue and Columbia blue, and Fields informed the school board members that the football helmets for Alleghany High School and Covington Middle School Cougars will be white with white facemasks.
The school board members (John A. Littleton, Danielle I., Morgan, Tammy Scruggs Duncan, Gerald Franson, Vice-Chairman Johnathan M. Arritt and Chairman Jacob L. Wright) voted unanimously to approve the changes in athletic uniforms and equipment.
Tyree delivered a comprehensive report about the modifications necessary to the Alleghany High School gymnasium, noting that a maple floor will replace the synthetic basketball and volleyball surface.
He reported that new bleachers, a new scoreboard and treatment to block sun glare from the gym’s windows are in order.
Chairman Wright questioned the wisdom of replacing the bleachers because the company that makes the bleachers examined them and determined that the condition of the bleachers did not merit replacement.
Tyree noted that if the bleachers were not replaced that should they have to be replaced at a later date that the process of replacing them would jeopardize the maple floor, possibly causing damage to it.
Wright also expressed his opinion that new lighting is needed although Tyree did not have new lighting on his list of improvements.
New paint and other cosmetic changes to accommodate the new school colors of two shades of blue are needed according to Tyree who explained that some of the basketball goals are cracked and need cosmetic work as well.
During Tyree’s report, the question arose about the danger of moisture from the concrete base of the gym’s floor that could cause the maple to warp, but Tyree informed the board members that a vapor barrier will prevent any damage from occurring.
The overall changes according to Tyree will amount to $650,000 with another $52,000 for athletic equipment and uniform changes to be addressed.
The AHPS’s budget for the 2023-2024 school year totals $47.2 million, and it will be presented to the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors and the Covington City Council by April 1.
The proposed budget is based on Gov. Glenn Younkin’s Dec. budget proposal, and the proposed budget includes pay raises for all staff.
Luke Conner, a Covington High School student, addressed the school board in recognition of Career and Technical Education Month, and he said that the sports medicine program at CHS helped him choose his field of study for college.
In honor of Technical Education Month, each school board member was presented with a cutting board made by a Jackson River Technical Center carpentry student.
The final school budget for the 2023-2024 school year will be considered for approval following the Virginia General Assembly’s current session scheduled to end later in Feb.
