The Shadow
The Covington School Board continues to discuss the need for improvements to Covington High School.
Monday night, Randy Jones, chief executive officer of OWPR Architects and Engineers in Blacksburg, presented the school board with findings from a recent walkthrough at the high school.
The walkthrough took place last week and Jones mentioned that the school has several cracks. An exact location of the cracks was not indicated, but he did state that one of his structural engineers will conduct another walkthrough inspection.
That will take place at a later date after a meeting with Superintendent Tom Long and Covington High School Principal Dr. Shannon Fuhrman is held .
Jones also said that civil engineer Bill Shelton, who previously worked on Edgemont Primary School and Jeter-Watson Intermediate School, will come to Covington High School to take a look at the school’s exterior facilities.
“Last week, we were just gathering information and walking through to see what has changed,” Jones said.
Jones also announced a plan to meet with faculty and staff of Covington High School.
He is aiming to prepare a compilation of all of his findings and conclude his study by mid-December. A draft of the study results will be given to the school board at a later date.
School Board member Ron Morrissette asked questions about what kind of options would be considered as to what kind of roof would be placed on the school.
Jones answered, “We talked about TPO roofing, that would be a good mid-grade roof for you.”
School Board member Eddy Clemons made comments to Jones about water heaters.
“Unless there is a better plan, I would like the idea of some of the small, instant hot water heaters in the bathrooms. It is too simple not to do,” is how Clemons opened up his time on the floor to talk with Jones.
Clemons also stated that he has been in conversation with Varney for major hot water heaters, as a way to save Jones and his company from doing leg work.
Clemons also stated that a project could be done at Covington High School that was similar to one that was recently completed at Boys Home in installing a primary hot water system for locker rooms.
Clemons also requested that Jones and his company provide a breakdown of their numbers to give to the school board so they could present them to the city at another time.
Clemons felt that if all of the projects could not be taken on at one time, an option of picking and choosing could be provided.
He concluded his time on the floor by talking about the auditorium and seating. He suggested reducing the current seating number of an estimated 730-760 down to 500. Jones was hesitant in dramatically reducing the seat numbers, but would explore all options.
A final suggestion regarding seating was the consideration of making two sections of seating for overweight and handicapped individuals.
School Board Chairwoman Tammy Scruggs-Duncan presented Jones with a concern during her brief amount of time on the floor. That concern was what kind of funding was available that they could seek. She also asked Jones if OWPR would be able to assist in finding different sources of funding.
The budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year was discussed briefly during the meeting. Long stated that the budget was in the “extremely preliminary” stages.
He also indicated that he would prefer to wait on the governor’s recommendations that are due sometime in December, before making any adjustments. Long stated that the budget is currently set for an ADM of 900, but stated that it could always change.
Long also mentioned a possible addition of a junior varsity and varsity boys and girls soccer teams for Covington High School may be placed in the budget. He said that this addition would most likely not take place in the current fiscal year, but perhaps during the next fiscal year.
A called meeting was set to discuss the budget in detail. It will take place Monday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. at the School Board building.
In the new business portion of the meeting, only one board member presented new business. Clemons asked questions about the policy regarding on whether or not it was voted to bring a student back after an expulsion or long-term suspension.
It was explained to Clemons that students who have faced an expulsion face a vote to see if they get reinstated. After a long-term suspension, it was indicated that a vote does not have to take place, due to a suspension having a definite end date.
He also suggested to have an open house at the schools to show off the work that has been done thus far, citing air conditioning that has been completed at Covington High School.
Other business included:
— A report by Long, who stated he was pleased with turnout for parent/teacher conferences, 231 parents reported at Covington High School, 85 parents reported at Jeter-Watson Intermediate School, and 135 parents reported at Edgemont Primary School;
— An update of the 2011-2017 Comprehensive Plan indicated that significant progress has been made, but needs still exist;
— Policy revisions;
— Approval of a youth risk survey for 7th, 9th, and 11th grades students was approved to be administered;
— The appointment of Brenda Jordan as a substitute teacher/aide.
