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by Ricki Barker

The Madison County Board of Education selected its new chair and vice chair during a special meeting Thursday evening, a move that brought the ire of one board member and fostered a brief exchange among the board about ethics.

In a departure from recent custom, Beth Brock was reelected to serve as the board’s chair for the next year in a 3-to-1 vote, with Mary Renfro the lone dissenter.

She was nominated by Becky Coyle, who in turn, was nominated by newcomer Samantha Burford to serve as vice chair for the board.

Again, Renfro expressed her disagreement with the decision.

The move was a shift from the board’s recent tradition in which the school board chairperson was elected on a rotating basis of seniority.

However, the policy was never formally adopted by the board, although it was asked to be voted on by former board member John Lackey during a November school board meeting.

Currently, there is no state or local policy that forbids the reelection of the chairperson to numerous and consecutive terms.

Had the informal policy continued, Renfro would have been elected as the school board’s new chair, since she previously served as vice chair. Sue McAfee would have been elected as the new vice chair in her place.

After the nominations were proposed for school board chair, Renfro questioned her fellow board members.

“I wasn’t shocked, honestly,” Renfro said of the board’s decision to break with custom. “I knew in the back of my mind what I was going into tonight.”

After the election of Brock and Coyle, Renfro called into question the message the board was sending to the public.

“I see the game your playing,” Renfro said as she addressed her fellow board members. “This is about trust. How does it look to our community, if we say we are going to do one thing and then we go the opposite way. How can they trust us?”

Renfro said she was “disappointed” and “frustrated” by her fellow board members’ actions and felt that the customs should have been honored.

“It’s just a mess,” Renfro said. “I’m worried about what this is going to turn into. It’s supposed to be about the kids.”

Coyle responded to Renfro’s earlier remarks at the close of the meeting, expressing her desire to begin 2017 with an open mind and fresh start.

“It’s not a game to any of us up here,” Coyle said. “What we do is something serious. We have to make decisions that affect kid’s lives.”

Coyle went on to explain the ability to be elected to serve in this type of capacity was an “honor and privilege” as many of her fellow board members nodded in agreement.

In other business, the board authorized the auction of surplus items from the school system and technology department.

Superintendent Elmer Thomas explained to the board that last year’s auction of surplus items brought revenue back into the school system, while also making space within schools for newer items.

Thomas noted that last year’s surplus items list was quite large and contained a number of items. This year’s list was much smaller, in comparison.

“We had a lengthy list last year and even sold a couple of old vehicles,” Thomas said. “There are far less items we hope to auction this year.”

Thomas said the date and times of the school system’s surplus auction will be set in the future and will be advertised in The Register and on the school’s website.

In regards to the the technology surplus items, Thomas noted that significant steps had been taken to remove any names or identifying information from the items and that anything that could be of value to the school was kept.

“We haven’t taken out anything of value to our district,” Thomas explained as board members perused through a large list of items. “It is my understanding, that these items are no longer usable and will sold to a company for use as scrap.”

Renfro questioned the large amount of items, approximately 50 pages long, and why so many parts were being sold to a company rather than at auction locally.

Madison County Schools Director of Technology Jacob Cecil explained to the board that the items were basically electronic scrap and would be of little value to the average person, noting that restrictions against disposal of electronic items brings complication when trying to sell electronic scrap at public auctions.

“We’ve been burned in the past by that,” Cecil explained. “Because of the chemicals contained in these parts, they have a very specific way they need to be disposed of. In the past, we have sold electronic surplus items at auction and later found some by the side of the road next to trash cans. We want to insure they are properly disposed of, and the company we send it to in Indianapolis destroys the scrap they cannot use.”

Thomas said he is working with the system’s technology department to bring forward a technology surplus list each January to avoid such a long list in the future.

Board members were also updated on the progress of plans for a new, as of yet, unnamed elementary school on Boonesborough Road.

Tony Thomas, an architect for Clotfelter Samokar, said the project is on track as expected with a tentative open date for the school in August 2018.

Thomas also noted the board might receive some savings thanks to the recent elimination of Kentucky’s prevailing wage law requirement for state-funded projects.

The bill gives power to set worker wage rates back to construction companies, instead of state officials who, in the past, controlled how much construction workers were paid on publicly financed projects.

While board members peppered Thomas with questions on how the law would translate into savings, the architect said it is still up in the air.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people and hear everything from three to 15 percent savings off the total cost of the project,” Thomas said. “However, I don’t know if anyone right now could give you a good estimate. If I had to guess, I think it would translate into a five to six percent savings for the school system. But my suggestion to the board is to not go any less with the BG1 and just be happily surprised when the savings come back.”

Currently, the school board has budgeted $17 million for the new school construction.

The school superintendent noted the success of the school system’s first NTI day of the school year, and clarified how the school system determines what days will be snow days and what will be NTI days.

“We usually will name NTI days when we know that weather will cause us to miss school for a number of consecutive days,” Thomas explained. “Snow days are called when weather conditions will not permit the safe transport of students to the school, but are not expected to keep us out for long. You may have noticed that the snow day was the first day and the NTI day was called for the second. I believe by the second day, teachers and students were ready for that NTI day.”

Thomas praised the hard work of teachers and staff on the district’s first NTI day.

In other business, the board:

• Awarded a bid for fuel to Bob Riley Distributors (Riley Oil Company) for the school system’s diesel and gasoline needs.

Thomas noted the new contract with Riley Oil Company would save the school system money, as the school system would essentially be cutting out the middleman.

According to Thomas, buses that carry students in Berea will still have to use local gas stations to refill on fuel using a card issued by the school system, but noted that plans to revitalize Berea’s bus garage were taking shape and the board should prepare to see those plans soon.

• Thomas also read a proclamation and recognized school board members for their service in honor of School Board Recognition month.

The superintendent said he was proud of the board members and grateful for their commitment to education and invited the community to also show their support for the member’s efforts.