School board approves new hires, Martin Walker principal
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
On Tuesday night, the Copperas Cove Independent School District board of trustees approved the hiring of 14 new teachers and staff members for the 2017-2018 school year.
The board also approved Earl Parcell as the principal of Martin Walker Elementary School.
Parcell has been the district’s Director of Instructional Technology since October 2014. Prior to that, Parcell was principal at Copperas Cove High School.
Martin Walker’s prior principal, Amanda Crawley, was approved by the board as principal of Copperas Cove Junior High School on May 26. Crawley replaces the retiring Randy Troub. Robert Turner has been hired as the new assistant principal at CCJHS. Turner has been a science teacher at S.C. Lee Junior High and has been with the district for five years.
The board also discussed Impact Aid and approved Impact Aid travel to the NAFIS Fall Conference in Washington, D.C. in September; TAFIS Board Meeting in San Antonio in December; NAFIS Spring Conference in Washington, D.C. in March 2018; and the OASIS Board Meeting in Tulsa, OK in December 2017. The cost for the travel is estimated to be $25,000, with $15,000 for board members and $10,000 for staff.
“It’s no secret that Impact Aid is changing in Copperas Cove ISD and we’re making adjustments,” CCISD superintendent Joe Burns said. “This year, we should have received well over $11 million. To date, we’ve only received a little over $5 million. We’re due $6.6 million.”
Burns added that the district has been notified that the rest of the aid will likely not come until May or June 2018.
It costs the district about $5 million per month to operate, pay salaries and pay bills, Burns said.
Burns shared that when he first arrived to the district, they were spending $50,000 to $60,000 on travel for board members and administration. Over time, they have cut that down and are cutting it again to the $25,000 needed for the 2017-2018 school year, Burns said.
The board approved its consent agenda, which included the purchase of two mobile carts and 60 computers from Dell for a total of $40,505.98 to be paid for with DODEA I Grant Funds. They accepted a donation of $800 from Halstead Elementary PTO to the Hettie Halstead Library for author visits for the 2017-2018 school year.
They also approved the Teacher Data Portal of the Texas Assessment Management System Waiver, which will allow the district to waive participation in the assessment data portal of the TAMS.
The board approved a revision to the 2017-2018 school year calendar that would correct the holiday of President’s Day to be February 19 instead of February 12.
The board approved the legal services contracts for the 2017-2018 School Year, retaining the services of law firms Powell & Leon L.L.P. for $500 and Walsh, Gallegos, Treviño, Russo & Kyle P.C. for $1,000.
The board again approved the use of a competitive sealed proposal as the delivery method for the construction of a transportation facility, previously approved at the September 2016 board meeting. The architect’s opinion of probable cost is $4,441,000.00 which includes $282,000 in contingency money.
Also on Tuesday evening, the board recognized former students and retired teachers as well as Cinergy Cinemas & Entertainment. The board presented Stephanie Berry and Kelly Stark of Cinergy Cinemas with a certificate and “Champions for Children” medals for the work Cinergy did for CCISD students. Cinergy partnered with CCISD to reward students who received straight As and perfect attendance with free movie passes, free popcorn and game certificates.
“Thousands and thousands of dollars that they contributed to our school district this year, and we are very, very grateful for helping us empower kids, encourage to perform academically well and also come to school every single day of the year,” said Wendy Sledd, CCISD’s director of communications.
Williams-Ledger Elementary School teacher Bryan Hogue was recognized as the Fort Hood Area Lemonade Day Teacher of the Year at Tuesday’s meeting.
CCISD was four students shy of having as many students participate in Lemonade Day as KISD, according to Sledd. Of the 513 Copperas Cove residents registered for Lemonade Day, 453 of them were registered through school channels, by teachers like Hogue, according to Lemonade Day city director Amanda Stephens. Of those students, 330 were from Williams-Ledger Elementary School.
“A lot of that is really due to our great champion at Williams-Ledger, Mr. Bryan Hogue,” Stephens said.
Hogue was one of the first Lemonade Day teachers to really champion for the program in the district, Stephens said. Prior to the school year ending, Hogue was recognized as the Teacher of the Year, selected out of all of the CCISD, KISD and Belton ISD teachers who participated.
The board also recognized former CCHS JROTC Cadet Donavon Ritchie, who will be entering into the United States Army, naming him the top CCHS school organization reporter out of more than 60 clubs and organizations on campus. Sledd said that she thought he could definitely have a career in journalism with his quality of work.
The board also recognized Dalton Alexander, who previously graduated from CCHS and during the 2016-2017 school year, volunteered more than 250 hours in the Child Nutrition/Warehouse Department, helping with surplus inventory, document shredding, mailing letters; greeting visitors and delivery drivers to the warehouse and helping with sign-in binders; sorting transcripts; helping with recycling, rotation of books and sorting textbooks by grade; and helping with the calculation of various paperwork and performing numerous copying tasks throughout the year.
The board recognized Copperas Cove Junior High School principal Randy Troub, who is retiring after 33 years in education, 28 of them in CCISD; CCJHS Choir teacher Susan Owens, who is retiring after 18 years teaching, 14 of them in CCISD; Lois Lidard, who is retiring after six years as a crossing guard with CCISD; and Sandra Burchett, who was not present at the meeting, but is retiring after 31 years with CCISD.