The Carmi White County Unit 5 School Board met Monday night for about half an hour. Scott Mareing was there and has this report…
First order of business was the election of permanent officers. Nathan Whetstone was elected President, Brent Hammell was elected Vice President, and Barb Mitchell was elected as Secretary.
The board voted on summer maintenance projects for district schools. They approved accepting roofing repair bids for the Jefferson School, Lincoln School and Junior/Senior High School, at a total cost of $525,030. They also approved paving repairs to the Jefferson School, replacement of the Lincoln School’s boiler storage tank and waterproofing of exterior walls, as well as High School pavement repairs, at a total cost of $105,816.70. The board members, however, rejected $434,500 in bids for air conditioning of the High School Gym, believing that spending money on much-needed repairs are more important than the comfort of an air-conditioned gymnasium.
The preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 budget was approved, with a positive receipt vs. expenditures for year of $644,709. It will be placed on display for a minimum of thirty days and the public hearing and adoption of the 2023-24 budget will be set for the June board of education meeting.
Also approved was the entering into of an agreement with the City of Carmi and through the Carmi Police department for two school resource officers for the 2024-25 school year. The district’s share of the cost for one SRO will increase $1,837.80 for the term of the contract and increase $2.962.80 for the other SRO.
In the Superintendent’s Report, Jarrod Newell noted that the last day of school for Unit 5 students is May 24th and the last day for staff is May 28th. The Kiwanis Educator of the Year and Support Staff of the Year program will be held on Thursday, May 23rd. And the USDA Summer EBT/SUN Bucks program will continue this summer. Carmi White County students who qualify will be eligible for $120 over three installments of $40 over the summer months. All students will continue to receive free meals during the 2024-25 school year.
The Consent Agenda was approved. It included adoption of a new board policy prohibiting discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, and national origin; changes to eleven board policies; acceptance of the lowest bids for cafeteria food, milk, trash hauling, pest control, fire extinguisher, and fire suppression; and approved $500 in donations to the Brownsville School and $250 to the Jefferson School
The board went into Closed Session at 7:29 PM.
