Dale Board of Education members this week approved camps and summer instruction for Dale student athletes.
School Supt. Charlie Dickinson explained it began on Monday, June 1 and runs through June 26 and there are restrictions.
“There will be no practices, scrimmages or games,” he emphasized. “And these are for Dale students only,” he added.
Dickinson reminded board members the issue of camps and summer instruction was carried over from their May 4 meeting.
Since that time, the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association had voted recently 7-6 to reject a proposal that would have opened up sports to student athletes.
He told the board Monday night the OSSAA Board of Directors has another meeting scheduled for June 9 saying, “I don’t think anything will change.”
That really left it up to the individual school districts to decide what they want to do, Dickinson said.
He stressed, “We have to protect our kids. About 70 percent of the schools, like we, are being cautious and the other 30 percent are all over the place.”
The superintendent along with Secondary Principal Ky Wilkins explained to the board members,
“Our athletes are leaving this campus. They’re not going anywhere on buses. These are individual workouts with coaches,” Wilkins said.
Wilkins takes over July 1 as the Interim Superintendent. Dickinson is retiring June 30 after 40 years in the district.
Wilkins and J.D. Widner, assistant secondary principal, along with Dickinson advised board members, “We’ve purchased thermometers, hand sanitizers and masks for the coaches and athletes.”
Dickinson noted, “Hand sanitizers have been placed all over this campus.”
The students have been asked to bring their own water bottles as well.
Wilkins confirmed the high school basketball teams, both boys and girls, along with girls softball will work out 11/2 hours three days a week and the baseball team will work out the same length of time four days a week.
“These are voluntary, not mandatory,” the school officials assured board members, in response to an inquiry by Board President Robin Wiley-Greene.
Dickinson emphasized, “We’re responsible for our students. We may not be perfect but we’re going to try,” he told board members.
In other business, the board approved property and casualty insurance for 2020-2021. Kyle Rosebure, with BancFirst Insurance, advised board members the price had gone up about 11 percent over a year ago, jumping from $90,000 to $101,000.
He told them, “And that’s because you have a good claim record,” indicating it could have been higher. The superintendent pointed out last August the district added about $8 million worth of buildings with the new high school and the new gymnasium.
Rosebure was asked how many school districts in Pottawatomie County did his company insure. “All of them with the exception of Grove and North Rock Creek,” he replied.
Later, after Dickinson told board members the premium increase was going to be “a major hit on the General Fund,” it was decided to pay the premium with County Educational Sales Tax funds.
He also indicated that might be necessary next year as well. Board members, in another action, approved open transfer requests for 10 students.
They also agreed to a contract with AA Computers for $48,000. “We spent $43,000 last year with a different company,” Dickinson stated. “But with this contract, in addition to 24/7 monitoring, they will have someone on this campus twice a month. We think it’s a good deal,” he said.
Without going into executive session, the board hired Russell Tarpey as a secondary teacher.
Members also approved hiring of support staff in a capacity to be determined by the administration.
In his superintendent’s report, Dickinson announced the district was going to receive about $60,000 through the CARES Act passed by Congress. “We could use CARES Act money to fund $27,000 worth of computers.
“We’ll still have more than $30,000 left after July 1. We spend the money and then we are reimbursed,” he noted, in explaining the procedure.
He also mentioned, “We have $27,450 left in a BancFirst lease purchase account.”
There was some discussion about addressing a problem with Lane Road that runs along the far west side of the campus. Nothing was decided but the administration and the board agreed the issue must be addressed further between now and August.
Also, during his report, Dickinson commented, “Come August, we four, administrators, I, Ky, J.D. and Carren (Cantrell-Milligan), have no idea what it will look like as far as students attending classes.”