Meeker’s Board of Education this week voted to authorize School Supt. Jeff Pruitt to choose a new third party vendor for the transportation of natural gas and enter into a contract.
The board’s action comes after the school district earlier this year received what Pruitt has called an “exorbitant” gas bill from Symmetry Energy Solutions totaling $51,702.78.
Pruitt received the bill in March for February’s gas.
He advised board members during Monday night’s meeting that he’s experienced difficulty in Symmetry responding to his communications. “I’ve reached out recently to them and haven’t heard anything back,” he said.
The superintendent said he has written Symmetry Energy Solutions within the last two weeks “notifying them we do not desire to renew the contract for the 2021-2022 year. I have called their office and cell phone numbers and haven’t received any return calls.
“I sent a cancellation notice to them,” he reiterated.
He informed board members he’s contacted several other third party vendors. “I’ve talked to three on the phone and met with another in my office,” he stated.
He said, “We need a third party vendor that treats their customers better.”
Pruitt asked the board to grant him the authority to choose a new vendor and that was granted.
Pruitt has stated he sent a letter with a payment of $2,743.39, on March 30 which was 19 percent more than the district’s January bill.
Later, Symmetry sent Pruitt a notice that the company was discounting the original bill by 30 percent and sent him a bill for $36,191.
He told board members he’s turned that over to the district’s legal counsel but hasn’t heard back from them yet.
In other business, the board voted to clarify its action of March 8 of approving a one-time stipend of $500 to all employees of the district. Pruitt explained the reason for clarification was to meet federal guidelines during the pandemic.
Following a 20-minute executive session, the board returned to open meeting and approved the resignation requests of Melody Winn and Debbie Flowers, both elementary school teachers.
The board also voted to offer contracts for 2021-2022 to Lyndsey Maggard, district encumbrance clerk, Taylor Lang as an elementary teacher and Kelly Massey, high school secretary.
In other action, the board:
Approved an insurance quote from the 2021-2022 school year with a premium of $105,000.
Voted to approve a quote for Worker’s Compensation insurance with OSAG for the 2021-2022 school year.
Agreed to approve the Basic Legal Services Program with the Center for Education Law for the 2021-2022 school year.
Renewed its membership with the Oklahoma State School Board Association for subscription to Basic Policy Services and OSSBA Employment Services for the 2021-2022 school year.
Approved a contract with Misty Blankenship as speech pathologist for the 2021-2022 school year.