The agenda for Monday’s school board meeting includes a slew of consent agenda items, such as panic buttons for Broken Arrow, as well as a closed-door session on employee contract negotiations.
Included in the consent agenda — a list of items routinely approved in one motion unless a board member or the superintendent requests to pull an item for further discussion — is an amendment to board policy to allow virtual students to participate in extracurricular activities at in-person district schools without having to be enrolled in those schools.
That and other board policy amendments are set for final votes during the board’s July 8 meeting.
Some additional items on the consent agenda include:
• A motion to “increase the encumbrance” for a wearable panic alert system at Broken Arrow Elementary School. The board voted to close the school to grades K-5 after the 2022-23 school year.
The board in November approved the district’s for $284,400 purchase of wearable panic alert badge systems for six buildings: Liberty Memorial Central and Billy Mills middle schools, and Deerfield, Cordley, Sunset Hill and Woodlawn elementary schools.
In April, the board approved an expenditure of $12,500 to extend the system to Broken Arrow because it houses Native American Student Services and “supports students from” BMMS, according to that agenda. Monday’s meeting agenda asks the board to “approve an increase in encumbered funds for coverage at the Broken Arrow building” for an additional $12,500.
The district’s agreement with the wearable badge company, Centegix Safety Solutions, is for five years.
• An “athletic facilities master planning study” for $48,000 to evaluate needs of athletic facilities and fields at the district’s two high schools and four middle schools. The proposal is from ACI Boland architects.
After voting on the consent agenda, the board will meet with Superintendent Anthony Lewis, Cynde Frick, Kristen Ryan, Megan Epperson, Larry Englebrick and Kevin Harrell. The topic of the 45-minute executive session, or closed-door meeting, is employer-employee contract negotiations.
The board might take action after the executive session, according to the agenda.
No regular agenda items were included on Monday’s agenda as of Sunday afternoon.
The school board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, June 24 at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. Meetings are open to the public, livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@USD497, and broadcast on Midco channel 26. Full meeting agendas are available on BoardDocs via go.boarddocs.com.
To give public comment during the board meeting, sign up before the meeting starts, either in person or by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org. Commenters may request to participate by Webex video/phone conferencing.
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Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
