Members of Crossett School Board met on their rescheduled date of Thursday, March 16. Among agenda items were plans for upgrades to certain buildings and facilities in the district.
Board member John Michael Webb recused himself so that board members Eddie Goodson and Barry Burchfield could be given the details of two requests on the agenda that were made by the district for permission to work with Lewis Architect Engineers, and if granted, to also begin the bid process on those two different agenda items.
The first of those requests was a re-roofing project for Crossett Middle School.
Superintendent Anthony Boykin stated that the district was in year 11 of the roof at the Crossett Middle School and that the current roof has “served its purpose.”
He explained that the maintenance department “has been fighting leaks, and it’s past its life expectancy.”
Boykin said that the goal is, “as soon as school is out, they will start tearing that roof off” so that it can be replaced before school starts again in the fall.
The Crossett Middle School summer school program will still take place, but the district will have it at the high school while the work at the middle school is completed.
The other project on the table was the complete renovation of the district’s baseball and the softball complexes, which Boykin said would bring them “up to par” with their other sports facilities such as the basketball court and the track.
Boykin noted that the district has a “very healthy” building fund, and they intend to use money from that fund to cover the renovation costs for the projects that were approved.
“We pay for one-time projects out of that fund,” explained Boykin, “not recurring projects.”
Webb returned to the session after those particular agenda items were voted upon, and heard with the rest of the board the request made by UAM-CTC to use the Crossett High School Arena for their graduation ceremony to be held on June 29.
The school has used the arena for the same purpose in the past, and was again granted permission, with the cost for use staying the same at $1,200.
The next request presented to the board was one to purchase three new school buses at $124,785 each, for a total cost of $374,355.
Boykin said that Phillip Kelley, maintenance and transportation supervisor for the district, recommended they purchase three new buses based on the condition of the vehicles currently in their fleet.
Boykin explained that something districts have to keep in mind is the condition of their current vehicles and how long it could potentially take for the delivery of any vehicles they purchase.
Goodson commented that the price of the vehicles had gone up tremendously—about $40,000—since the last time the district had purchased one.
Boykin agreed with Goodson, adding, “Whenever Mr. Kelley gave me a phone call about how much it would cost, I thought he was joking with me.”
Goodson also inquired about the short buses the district uses.
Boykin informed him that there is “an indefinite wait” for the short type of buses, as they are currently not making the vehicles anymore.
Boykin noted that the district has buses they use for their daily routes, and buses they use for their teams to travel to sporting events.
“All the miles, it adds up,” said Boykin.
The board approved the purchase of the three buses from Central States Bus Sales, Inc.
The board also heard and approved a request for the purchase of new furniture for Crossett Elementary School at the cost of $341,790.
Boykin said that replacing the furniture at CES would give the school the same “consistent and clean” look that is present in the other buildings in the district.
Board President Debra Barnes asked if the old furniture would be auctioned off, and Boykin replied that it would.
Webb asked where the old furniture would be kept in the meantime, and Boykin said that the old furniture would be stored out of the way in part of the Daniels building until such time as it could be auctioned off.
The board also approved the calendar for the 2023-2024 school year which starts Aug. 14 and ends May 28, 2024.
