The Shadow
LOW MOOR— The Alleghany County School Board is continuing to invest money in its New Tech Learning Program at Alleghany High School.
Monday, the school board approved expenditures to renovate rooms at a cost of $250,000. An additional $38,470 will be spent for interactive displays.
Monday’s school board meeting was held at the Central Office Complex in Low Moor.
Alleghany High School became a New Tech Learning School last fall. AHS is the first high school in the state to implement the program across the board instead of offered it in selected classes.
New Tech utilizes Project-Based Learning, where the teachers lecture less and students collaborate more in the classrooms.
The $38,470 approved by the school board will purchase 10 70-inch wide-screen, interactive display systems. At present, the school has one mobile interactive display.
The $250,000 in renovations will involve removing three wall sections and replacing them with folding walls. The work will create a second three-room option on the school’s first floor, along with two additional double rooms.
In addition, a folding partition and partial walls will be installed in the library to create optional space for breakout sessions and presentations. The library will receive new entrance doors.
Gerald Franson, the school board’s Covington District representative, said New Tech is a wise investment for the school division.
Franson noted that a project spearheaded by two Alleghany High School students will be featured at the New Tech National Conference in Orlando, Fla.
“This is our first year with New Tech and they picked us to be a model. That speaks volumes …,” Franson said.
The board voted Monday to make additional facility improvements to AHS.
The board approved $25,565 to renovate four restrooms near Hodnett Hall.
Restroom fixtures will be replaced along with stall walls in the restrooms. The work will be carried out by the school division’s maintenance staff.
“I am glad our staff is going to take care of this and I’m glad this board is going to vote to take care of this because it’s long overdue,” said Jacob Wright, the school board’s Boiling Springs District representative.
Another $71,789 will be spent to replace tile on the school’s second floor. The work area will include the library.
Wright said the work will address a potential safety hazard in the second-floor hallway.
“It has a crack running down the middle of it that a child could fall into,” he said.
The board also voted to expend $22,260 for improvements to the school’s football and softball fields.
The work will be carried out this summer so Mountaineer Field will be ready for football games in the fall.
Superintendent Gene Kotulka said the maintenance staff will undergo training to better maintain the fields.
Kotulka said he received advice from Allen Dressler, Covington’s director of parks and recreation, on how to best improve the fields.
In other action Monday, the Alleghany County School Board:
— Previewed a proposed meeting calendar for 2019-2020.
— Was informed that student lunch prices will not be raised in the coming school year.
— Discussed proposed revisions to the school division’s grading scale.
— Approved Chromebook purchases for AHS at a cost of $290,261.65.
— Approved the purchase of three school buses at a total cost of $260,116.
