CCISD administration gets okay on property purchase for future

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

With the expected growth on the northern end of the city, the Copperas Cove Independent School District board of trustees approved superintendent Joe Burns to execute a contract for the purchase of 35.596 acres of vacant land out of the 0551 E. Jones Survey. The district plans to close on the property this month, with a purchase price of $355,960 plus closing costs, which will come from designated funds. “Mr. (Rick) Kirkpatrick has worked very hard to identify and locate owners of property that met our needs. We were e very fortunate to secure a piece,” Burns said. “I think it’s a wise choice for the district.” Burns also mentioned the swelling numbers at the junior high as well as the high school, and the fact there are new subdivisions under construction near S.E. Lee Junior High, as well as a subdivision planned north of Lutheran Church Road. It is not known at this time what type of campus will be built on this property in the future. The board approved the purchase of iPads Minis for use in elementary classrooms for the district. The district has selected iPad Mini as the device of choice for prekindergarten through 4th grade. The district has a quote of $134,865 to purchase 450 iPad Minis to use next school year in all prekindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade classrooms, and fifteen 3rd grade classrooms. The additional iPad Minis for the remaining 3rd grade classrooms and all 4th grade classrooms will be purchased early in the 2105-2016 budget year. The board also okayed the 2015-2016 supplemental insurance rates for employees. This will not only save the district $165,000, said Burns, but employees will also see decreases in their rates for the same type of coverage, to include dental, vision, basic and voluntary life, short and long-term disability, cancer, and accident insurance. There was discussion and action to approve the upcoming summer maintenance projects on the district’s campuses. “Every campus will see something this summer,” Burns said. For this summer’s projects, the nurse’s office at Mae Stevens will be remodeled, dirt under the bleachers at Bulldawg Stadium will be replaced with rock, silt will be removed from the detention pond at House Creek Elementary, the Williams-Ledger campus will be repainted, all district parking lots not being redone will be re-striped, and the R-panels will be replaced at the agriculture barn. The board also awarded a contract to Wolfe Construction, the sole bidder for parking lot projects at Halstead, Martin Walker, and Fairview-Jewell elementary campuses. Wolfe is currently in the process of completing the bus loop at the Mae Stevens prekindergarten campus. The district is pleased that Wolfe’s bid came in $90,000 below the estimated budgeted price tag, at $497,988 for all three projects. The board voted to terminate the probational contract of James LeBlanc, a grades 8-12 special education counselor for the district. Burns told the board there has been some restructuring of staff in the district, and this affected two positions in the special education department. One of the affected staff is resigning at the end of the school year, but LeBlanc did not tender a resignation for his position.