RRTC moves bit closer to constructing new building

Jeff Kaley

DUNCAN — Red River Technology Center’s Board of Education took action on two different types of “building” projects, during its September regular meeting.

Gathering in the conference room, the board approved a final architectural design for construction of a building that will house the school’s health education department.

Later in the meeting, board members also approved an estimate of needs and financial statement that will lead to “building” the school’s budget for fiscal year 2009-10.

As part of his report on the project’s progress, Bill Kaighn, of Norman-based Kaighn Architects Associates, showed board members the schematic designs. The board gave those renderings their blessing, and also approved continuing on to the next two stages of the project.

“We’re in the construction document phase, so the board approved moving on with design development and to employing a construction manager for the project,” Superintendent Ken Layn said. “The construction manager will be the one who guides us through the bid process.

“We’re moving forward, although we don’t know yet when we’re actually going to start construction on the building.”

Layn also said board members approved a change order in a roofing project that Oklahoma Roofing Co. of Oklahoma City performed during the summer.

“We had a portion of the roof redone to stop some leaks and we ended up having enough materials left for the roofers to fix another area where there was a small leak,” Layn noted. “So, we had them fix that as well, which meant the board needed to approve a change order in the contract.”

Once the school’s physical plant was addressed, board members turned their attention to RRTC’s fiscal plant. As part of the process of “building” a budget, the board approved the 2009-10 estimate of needs and financial statement from FY 2008-09.

“Now that the board’s approved the estimate of needs,” Layn said, “it goes to the (Stephens County) excise board for their approval. Then we’ll get it back and that will become our new budget.”

Also getting a unanimous vote for approval was an agenda item to renew the school’s agreement with the Stephens County treasurer’s office. It instructs the treasurer to collect and distribute ad valorem taxes for Red River.

In other action, the board approved:

• A program that allows full-time employees to receive $75 per day from the school for unused personal leave days. Administrative staff do not participate in the “buy back,” but employees who are less than full-time can receive pay at a proportionate rate.

• Employment contracts for instructors in the short-term adult training program.

• Renewal of membership in the Oklahoma Public Schools Unemployment Compensation Account.

• A transportation schedule for FY ’10 for participating sending schools, which requires RRTC to reimburse travel expenses for schools that bus students to the technology center.

• Adding new members to the school’s organizational chart.

• Adding Sara Barnard to the previously approved Staff Development Committee, and adding Vickie Foster, Kathryn Raines, Billy Varnell and Jordyn Sechrist to the previously approved Safe School Committee.

• Preceptor agreements for PN student training and clinical agreements for PN student training, which are the contracts between RRTC and various health care facilities at which practical nursing students receive training.

• RRTC board policies. Layn said, “There were few changes, but one that will affect all schools is a new law that allows us to employ relatives of school board members, but only as substitute teachers.”

• Out-of-state travel expenses for Financial Aid Director Sherri Branch to attend a national financial aid training in Nashville, Tenn. Although he retired after the 2008-09 school year, Dan Wilson has been employed as an adjunct instructor, and the board approved out-of-state expenses for Wilson to attend an IPC-20 Recertification training in Longmont, Colo.

• Several items to be declared surplus property.

• A letter of resignation from custodian Larry Norvell, who has retired, and employing Harold Wayne Jackson to replace Norvell.

• An acknowledgment that board member Rodney Love attended an Oklahoma State School Board Association workshop on ethics and IDEA during the summer, for which he received two hours of board continuing education.

• A teacher evaluation policy for FY ’10, which was compiled by the Professional Development Committee.

• Operating the remainder of FY ’10 instructional days by using hours in lieu of days to adhere to the state-wide school year of 180 days.

“This was something from House Bill 1864 that the (Oklahoma) legislature passed, which lets us form the calendar by using hours instead of days,” Layn explained. “It gives us the pre-approved ability to alter the school schedule by an hour or two if we have a bad-weather day, and still count it as an instruction day. We’ll still have a 180-day school calendar.”

• Acknowledgment that RRTC held an annual public hearing on CIPA compliance, which is the program that deals with child protection when using the Internet.

In informational items at the end of the meeting, Layn told board members that RRTC received accreditation from the Oklahoma Department of Education, with no deficiencies, and that the school received state accrediting agency accreditation for its financial aid program for military veterans.

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