School board looks at renovation projects, emergency repairs

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 

The Copperas Cove Independent School District board of trustees will gather for its monthly meeting, set to begin at 6:30 p.m. this evening in the CCISD administration board room, located at 703 W. Ave. D. 
Several projects involving CCISD facilities, one of them an emergency repair, are to be voted on this evening. The electrical system at Halstead Elementary needs renovating, and the district is also looking at installing a turn lane at Williams/Ledger Elementary School. 
CCISD administration is asking the board to approve the use of competitive sealed proposals for the electrical upgrades, and to use a job order contract for the installation of the turn lane. 
The third, more urgent project, is to repair water damage at Copperas Cove Junior High School. On February 24 it was discovered that a 4-inch water main had ruptured in the roof and was leaking into the school. The district is asking the board to approve emergency procurement of construction services for the repairs. The agenda item does not give an estimate on how much the repairs will cost. 
The purchases of two budgeted items costing more than $25,000 are also up for a vote this evening.  The first is for sliding shelving units for special education files, amounting to $27,587.62. These sliding units will be installed in the new administration building. Also, CCISD administration is asking for approval for the purchase of a digital sign for the district’s new administrative offices in the amount of $49,855.
Also this evening, the trustees will vote on the proposed schedule for summer school sessions for the district, with 11 different schedules that are designed for different categories of students, to include grades K-5 students who fail grades, for those who need to make up gaps based on STAAR data, session for ESL students, an “Elementary Reader Ranger Camp”, sessions for the junior high campuses, along with credit recovery sessions for CCHS and Crossroads High School.  
Two out-of-state trips are up for approval this evening, the first to send the DoDEA/Early College Program Director to the Military Child Education Coalition National Training Seminar taking place this summer in Washington, D.C. The cost of $1,498.52 will be paid for with DoDEA grant funds. The second trip is for 30 or 33 students along with five chaperons to attend the DECA International Conference April 20-25 in Atlanta, Ga. The cost of the trip is $43,358 and would be paid for from budgeted funds. 
The board is being asked to approve the filing of an attendance waiver for S.C. Lee Junior High School for the date of Feb. 21, 2018, when that campus had an average daily attendance that fell more than 10 percent below attendance last year for that same day. 
The CCISD trustees are also receiving the STAAR performance data from the district. 
Also during tonight’s meeting, the district will be recognizing campus communications liaisons with Newsmaker Awards. 
The board meeting has time allotted for public comment at the beginning of the meeting.