WAURIKA — It’s a new year, but as 2008 begins, much remains the same in Waurika School District No. 23.

During a regular meeting Monday, members of the board of education re-welcomed one of their own, kept their leadership structure intact and rehired the principals already in place at the district’s learning centers.

After being the only person to file for candidacy for the February school board election, Jim Mays was sworn in Monday and resumed his place on the board.

Immediately after board clerk Ronnie Morgan administered the oath to Mays, board member Scott Day moved that the organization of the board remain in its 2007 form. Members voted unanimously for Mays to be retained as board president, with Kristie Gaines as vice president and Morgan as clerk.

After unanimous acceptance of the consent agenda, the board went into executive session in the Waurika High School library and spent 30 minutes discussing rehiring WHS and Waurika Middle School Principal Dale Spradlin and Waurika Elementary School Principal Cindy Walker.

When the board returned to regular session, Superintendent Roxie Terry recommended rehiring Spradlin.

“I enjoy working with Dale and I think he’s an excellent secondary principal. He does a good job,” said Terry, who was rehired as superintendent when the board met in December.

Board members voted unanimously to retain Spradlin for the 2008-09 school year, then Terry endorsed rehiring Walker. “Cindy does a wonderful job running the grade school and I enjoy working with her,” he said, before the board voted 5-0 to keep Walker as the top administrator at WES for another year.

During his administrative report, Terry told board members the district is continuing to aggressively address a health issue.

In December, a Waurika High coach and one student came down with MRSA staph infection, which threw up a red flag in the district. MRSA is a highly-infectious form of staph that has been expanding across the nation, often in school settings, and the school district has been taking measures to contain the disease.

“We’re continuing to do what we can,” Terry said. “Recently, we replaced a lot of plumbing and put in new shower curtains in the athletic showers.

“We’ve got a young lady coming in every morning to disinfect the locker rooms and the weight lifting room, at a very minimal cost. Although they say you need to do that every 48 hours, we’ve been doing it every 24 hours, and we think that gives us extra protection.

“We’ll continue to do that routine spring break, then we’ll reappraise what we need to do, because we won’t be using the locker room [at the gymnasium] as much.”

Terry reminded board members that a gathering with a representative from the Oklahoma Community Institute was scheduled for Wednesday. “Oklahoma Community Institute helps guide small communities with future planning,” he said.

Terry also reminded board members of the Waurika Chamber of Commerce Banquet on Jan. 26 and that the Waurika Public School Foundation would hold its annual fish fry and silent auction on Feb. 3. He noted that members of the Waurika FFA and FCCLA would assist at those events.

After Terry mentioned that Monday, Jan. 21 was a staff development day in the district, board member Morgan said his presentation at the staff gathering would be two-fold. Morgan will address the topics of “Unlocking the Learning Process” and “A Teacher’s Compass.”

Administrative reports from the two principals were brief.

Walker said “things were going real well” at WES, where the kindergarten and first-grade students will be having their annual Spelling Bee on Thursday. She also mentioned the annual Science Fair was scheduled for February, adding, “The kids are starting to get ready for that.”

Also, Walker said, the school staff is selling pickles and beef jerky to raise funds for improving the sound system in the WES gymnasium.

Spradlin told board members the district is experiencing a rarity in its FCCLA program. “Kallie Montgomery, one of our students, is trying out to be a state officer and is going to Stillwater on Jan. 26, where she’s been invited to interview,” he said. “If she passes that interview, Kallie will be on the ballot for state office, and I don’t think we’ve had one of those.”

Spradlin said WHS senior Lucas Coody had won the local and district levels in the “Voice of Democracy” competition sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Coody received a $150 scholarship for the local level win and a $300 scholarship for winning the district. He’ll now be in state competition, Spradlin said, “and I think this is the first (student) we’ve had advance this far.”

Spradlin also mentioned that several FCCLA members would participate in regional competition on Jan. 29, and that the annual Career Expo Day sponsored by Red River Technology Center would be held Jan. 31 at the Simmons Center in Duncan.

During Monday’s meeting, board members unanimously approved:

n The resignation of WES custodian and bus driver Spence Reynolds, which was at item addressed during the executive session. “Spence has been a custodian for four or five years,” Terry said, in open session, “but he’s gone to work at Halliburton. So, I recommend we accept his resignation, with regrets.”

n Encumbrance of 25 purchase orders for the 2007-08 General Fund.

n The Activity Fund detail ledger for December.

n Minutes from a Dec. 10 regular meeting.

n Finance Director Rebecca Cunningham’s treasurer’s report for December.