Updated: Slater school board looks at artist's rendering of proposed building

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
By MARCIA GORRELL/Staff writer

The Slater School Board looked at the artist's rendition of the proposed Slater Early Childhood Center during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

The bond issue for the $1.3 million building to house kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students will be on the November ballot. Board members and audience members asked a few questions about the plans which for the approximately 13,000 square foot building, featuring six classrooms. Superintendent John McEachern said the proposed building includes three 39 by 27 foot kindergarten rooms on one side and two 39 by 29 foot preschool rooms and a 27 by 27 foot Parents as Teachers room on the other side. In the middle of the building is a large indoor play area and gathering center. The building will have covered walkways into existing school buildings.

An informational meeting for the public is preliminarily scheduled for Sept. 30 in the school auditorium, McEachern said.

McEachern told the board that the Board of Equalization met, and raised the district's assessed valuation by $240,000, although that was still down from a year ago.

"We won't benefit from that until next year," he told the board.

In other business the board opened three bids for playground mulch, varying in cost from $14,572 from Blind Pony Nursery to over $23,000 from Lowes. Another bid was received by Page Lawncare and Landscaping for $19,458 for materials. They voted to table the vote until they could get information about whether delivery was included in the low bid and the color of the mulch. The bid specifications were for three-inch depth of wood mulch and three inch depth of rubber mulch for 6,000 square feet.

The board also voted to change the KG AF1 or "use of facilities form" so it could be approved by the board or by the superintendent. Board president Rick Hays said he asked for the change so that community members who wanted to use the facilities would not have to wait until a board meeting to get permission.

The board adjourned into executive session to discuss personnel matters but no votes were taken, according to McEachern.

They went back into regular session and discussed the air conditioner in the library, which is not working and tabled making a decision until their next meeting at noon on Friday, Oct. 2.

McEachern said he also showed the board the school's accreditation certification.

Contact Marcia Gorrell at marshallag@socket.net

Comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on marshallnews.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Would someone in the area please call to the attention of the Slater school board the inherent dangers of rubber play ground mulch. It is toxic, and advanced school districts are avoiding it like the plague. At least they should do some checking on the internet. Here is a link that is a quick read to get them started. There are many reputable sites that discourage its use. http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsP...

-- Posted by Oklahoma Reader on Tue, Sep 22, 2009, at 10:26 PM