Trustees finalizing facilities plan

by Dolores Hamilton
In their regular monthly meeting Friday, Iowa Park school trustees continued to make progress in an effort to fine-tune the district’s facility needs into a package that falls within the district’s funding capacity.

Earlier in the week two members of the board, Merle Rogers and Mark Kyle, met with architect Jackie Lebow to review the latest plans and figures for facility upgrades.

The new proposals cover every campus, and include renovation to the high school and athletic complex, additional locker rooms at the middle school, and security and technology improvements on all four campuses. The bond package to cover these improvements would be approximately $15.3-million.

Rogers led the board members through a study of the print-outs listing the projects for each campus and the estimated costs.

Board Chairman Steve Fairchild told Rogers and Kyle, “You have done a wonderful job. The plan covers every campus and hits every safety issue.”
School Superintendent Jerry Baird said it is important for all board members to be in agreement on the facility needs. “You’ve done an outstanding job, none of you have a special agenda, it’s come from the heart,” he said.

In other business, the board approved the West Texas Food Service Cooperative Interlocal Agreement. The agreement allows Iowa Park CISD to participate in a food purchasing coop with Region 17 in Lubbock, and benefit from cost savings and more purchasing options.

Steve Fairchild was nominated to serve a term as Director of the Archer County Appraisal District.

During the superintendent’s report, it was noted that the school district had received a reimbursment check for a little over $29,000 in a matching grant for installing energy efficient air conditioning systems at W.F. George Middle School and Kidwell Elementary.

It was also announced that the students would be released from school early on the Thursday and Friday before Christmas.