Faced with the need to make up four days of school due to “snow” days, the Webster County Board of Education approved a revision to the school calendar that will put students in the classroom March 3, March 17, March 24, and May 5. All of those days are Mondays. Board members expressed their reluctance to send students to school on Monday because Webster County is a four-day school system that typically tries to give students Mondays off, but they also agreed that the only other alternative is to extend the school calendar beyond June 2.

Webster County School District Assistant Superintendent Rachel Yarbrough said those dates were chosen because they are centered around district-wide mandatory testing schedules and that the extra instruction on those dates could improve test scores. She said the dates were recommended by Webster County School District Superintendent James Kemp, who was absent from the board’s meeting Monday night.

Webster County Board of Education member Tim McCormick asked Yarbrough and Webster County School District Director of Pupils and Personnel (DPP) Riley Ramsey whether they had tried to get the days waived.

Ramsey answered.

“Yes sir, we applied in an e-mail to the state because of the emergency condition that Judge (Jim) Townsend had enacted,” Ramsey said. “The state replied that they only consider forgiving those days if there are 20 or more snow days in the state.”

As of Tuesday, Webster County has only had eight days of school cancelled due to snow, Ramsey added. (Superintendent James Kemp previously told The J-E that only four of the eight days have to be made up because the first four were “built” into the school calendar when it was adopted.)

Ramsey also told the board that he applies for a waiver for snow days every year.

“All they can say is no,” he said.

Discussion then turned to the issue of having school on Monday.

“That’s seven Mondays that we’re going to be going in the spring,” board member Steve Henry said, referring to the fact that classes are already scheduled for every other Monday in March, four out of five Mondays in April, and one in May. “I know we’re supposed to be a four-day school week, but I don’t think any of us want to extend the calendar out until June, change the graduation dates or anything like that, so I don’t really see where we have much of a choice.”

The board then approved the calendar revision.

Later in the meeting, the board heard a presentation on architect drawings for renovation of the Webster County High School campus in Dixon. District architect Tim Townsend of Townsend and Associates has been working with the school board over the past year to develop plans for renovation of the facility. At the board’s meeting Monday night, Townsend presented the latest drawings for the board’s consideration, and said the next step is to get them approved by the state department of education, although a date to meet with state officials hasn’t been set.

Board chairman James Nance questioned Townsend about statements made at the board’s previous meeting regarding installation of equipment to run an air conditioning unit in the high school gymnasium before graduation. At the previous meeting, Townsend and Bruce Conen of BC Engineering told the board that installation of such equipment wouldn’t be a cost-effective option.

Nance, who admitted he was absent from that meeting, asked Townsend Monday night to explain why it isn’t feasible.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with you on it,” Nance said to Townsend. “I don’t see why there can’t be a temporary service run over there.”

McCormick said a substation will probably be built at the start of the construction work, and that it could be built to house a temporary unit to power air conditioning in the gym.

“I’m going by what my engineers are telling me, and they’re saying...” Townsend started to say, but Nance interrupted him.

“Which train is he driving? Is he driving our train or somebody else’s train?” Nance asked Townsend. “I’m sorry, Tim, but I just don’t understand why this man here is telling me (referring to McCormick), he’s an electrician, you’re going to set up a temporary service anyway.”

“It won’t be temporary,” McCormick said.

“I’m through arguing,” Nance said as board member Lisa Preston changed the subject.

Following the presentation, board members then approved a motion to accept the drawings. Preston then asked Townsend for an update regarding an ongoing dispute with a contractor over work performed at Slaughters Elementary last year. Nance halted the discussion quickly.

“I don’t think we need to go far in this conversation,” Nance said. Typically, pending litigation issues are discussed in closed session, as allowed by law.

The board also:

•approved a series of “consent agenda” items, including a grant request for the Family Resource Center that serves Clay, Dixon and Sebree schools; a pair of trip requests, a Family Medical Leave Act extension; and an occupational health service agreement with Trover Clinic;

•heard from Yarbrough concerning a list of items in the superintendent’s report. Yarbrough told the board that Webster County is not serving beef that was recently placed on a USDA recall list, and that two candidates had applied for the district auditor’s position. She also said that the Kentucky Department of Education had approved a waiver to delay SBDM allocations until May 1 because of the state’s current budget crisis;

•reviewed a personnel report that includes the employment of Linda Alexander as a substitute bus driver and lunchroom monitor; Carolyn Eagles and Amy Greenwell as substitute instructional assistants; and Brenda Walker as a substitute instructional assistant, a clerical assistant, secretary, cashier, bus driver, and lunchroom monitor;

•approved the first reading of policies regarding the hiring of a board attorney and board auditor. The policy changes must be approved on a second reading before they become official; and

•went into closed session for the purpose of discussing student discipline issues. No action was reported following the closed session.