LIBERTY — Amite County school trustees are sprinting toward repaving the high school track but say the finish line is still a ways away.
Trustees questioned Thursday how quickly they can get moving on the project, considered a long overdue and necessary improvement, Superintendent Scotty Whittington said.
“It’s basically concrete right now. It’s rough on the students and could be dangerous,” he said. “We would like to get this done but it’s going to cost a ton of money.”
Whittington said he has been in contact with a company from Houston, Texas, which placed the cost at anywhere from $200,000 to $300,000 to resurface the track.
The board asked Whittington to have Bailey Architecture look at the facility and provide a cost estimate. The company would need to ensure the track is level before work can get started.
Board trustee James Copeland was not in attendance.
School board president Albert White Sr. said the work on the track will pay for itself.
“We get more people in here for track events than we do for football,” he said. “Then you think about concessions. This is a money-making thing.”
Since the project will exceed $75,000, business manager Tommy Felter said the board will have to advertise for bids before it can select a company. The board also will need to hire an architect.
The board wants to take advantage of oil revenue it collected during the TMS explosion. So far, the trustees have approved multiple projects funded by oil revenue.
Whittington provided the board an update on those projects Thursday.
So far trustees have used oil revenue to fix the roofs at the elementary and high schools, purchased air-conditioning/heating units and completed an asbestos abatement project at both schools, among other things.
Plans for the track are a continuation of upgrades throughout the district.
“This is something we’ve had on our mind for quite some time,” Whittington said.
Floor work at the elementary and high schools is done, Whittington said, and work continues on the metal roof on the south end.
He said there will be a bid opening for new auditorium seats in the auditorium later this month.
The district will hold an open house Oct. 22.
“We want to let the parents see what we have done. It looks like a brand new school,” he said.
In another matter, student attendance remains near the level it should be, but teacher absences at the elementary school continue to vex the district.
The absentee rate went from 5.4 to 9.7 percent since Whittington presented his last report in September.
Anything over 3 percent is a concern, according to state education officials.
“Remember, this is with me taking out all the days out that might be explained, like jury days or training days. I don’t know what we can do about it,” Whittington said.
In other business, the board:
• Agreed to advertise for a timber sale on two parcels of 16th Section land.
• Accepted an anonymous donation of school supplies.
• Approved two student transfers to Franklin County based on the 30-mile rule.
• Approved bus turnarounds for the 2015-16 school year.
• Announced that retiring district employee Mary Temple will be recognized at the next board meeting. Temple is retiring after 28 years with the district.
• Approved the hiring of Peabody Picture Vocabulary administrator Rashmas Robinson and substitute bus drivers Leila Kinabrew and Judith Horton.
