Board OK's purchase of bio-diesel refinery
HUNTSVILLE — The Scott County Board of Education voted Thursday to purchase a bio-diesel refinery for Scott High School; agreed to continue its sponsorship for the Imagination Library program; and authorized a series of contracts for the system’s Technology Department.
It was a mostly routine and unusually brief meeting for the seven-member board, which began with recognition of the “Volunteers of the Month” in the various school centers, followed by a plaque being awarded to Mission of Hope’s Executive Director Emmette Thompson, and recognizing this year’s Maxwell Sexton Oratorical Contest winner, Rachel West, a Scott High School sophomore.
Once the board began work on the night’s agenda, approval was given to award a $4,135 bid to C&E Bio-Diesel of Nashville for a portable bio-diesel fuel refinery for Scott High School, less $295 if the order is placed by January 31. Funds for the purchase of the bio-diesel refinery will come from the Perkins Reserve Grant.
The board also voted to continue its participation in the Scott County Imagination Library program with a contribution of $2,000 for the current year. The all-volunteer program provides pre-schoolers with a new book each month. This will be the first of a three-year commitment to the program, according to Director of Schools Sharon Wilson.
In other business Thursday, the board:
• Approved the appointment of the system’s Calendar Committee for the 2008-2009 school year, to be composed of one teacher from each of the county’s schools. Included in that motion was a suggestion by board member Sam Wright that the newly-appointed committee meet with the board in one of its monthly work sessions prior to finalizing the school year calendar;
• Voted to amend the current school year calendar by holding no classes on February 5, so that election officials can use school facilities for voting. That day will be used either as a “snow day” or added to the end of the school year, which would mean that the school year would end on May 24;
• Approved an overnight field trip for Angela Morrow and some of her sixth and seventh grade students to attend the Annual Smoky Mountain Storytelling Festival at Pigeon Forge;
• Approved on second reading a series of board policies recommended by the Tennessee School Boards Association;
• Gave the Technology Department permission to work toward establishing contracts for technology providers for year eleven of the E-rate program;
• Approved the awarding of bids for servers, switches and hubs for the Technology Department; and,
• Approved a maintenance agreement on Tanberg equipment for the school system’s distance learning program.
Earlier in the meeting principals of the elementary schools were presented a new book for their school libraries by Board member Rodney West. West’s wife authored and illustrated the book Where’s Katie? which has been donated to each of the school libraries.