The Knox County Board of Education conducted their regular monthly meeting at the Board of Education Annex building on Monday evening, October 26. The meeting was limited to ten people following guidance issued by state officials for COVID-19. The meeting is available for on-demand viewing at kcps.media. (Also linked below.)
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
Scott Noel with Summit Engineering provided updates on current projects happening in the district. Noel was able to update the Board that a quote for the greenhouse panel replacement project at Lynn Camp Middle/High was about $112,000. The quote includes the removal of the old panels, installation of new panels with new screws, etc. In the quote was two-panel doors that needed replacement. The doors are around $6500 for the pair and over 20 years old.
Two quotes were obtained for the replacement of the HVAC units at Lynn Camp Middle/High. One quote, from Harshaw Trane, was for equipment only and around $90,000.00. Central Kentucky Sheetmetal provided a quote to do all of the work for $173,000 (includes labor). If the Board wanted to use Trane equipment, the Board would need to work with Central Kentucky to adjust and use their equipment. Regardless of the unit, they will be able to be tied into the computer-controlled system. Central Kentucky utilizes Waterfurnace which provided a better price for their quote. Noel stated that he was familiar with the company and that Waterfurnace is one that his company often obtains a quote from.
An update on the tennis court project on the Lay Elementary school campus for Knox Central. Noel said the workers are “super close” with minor items yet to complete. “It looks nice, it’s going to be a really nice facility.” The project should be finished within a couple of weeks, weather permitting, and the entire project finalized by the December Board meeting.
LEARNING@SCHOOL AND LEARNING@HOME
Superintendent Sprinkles provided Board members with an update on the current status of school and measurements being used to determine if students will be learning virtually or in school. Sprinkles said that the district is using weekday released numbers from the Knox County Health Department to calculate the incidence rate, just as it is calculated by the state. The difference in numbers, as Sprinkles, explained, was due to the timing of when labs reported and the Kentucky Department of Public Health analyzed and compiled the information. By using data directly from the Knox County Health Department the district will have a more up-to-date rate reflective of the current stage of COVID-19 in the county. Cases that the health department deem would not impact the operation of school, such as positive cases in congregated settings contained to one facility, could be removed and the rate recalculated based on the individual cases being reported. Sprinkles said that the district would continue to follow the mode of instruction metrics but would also look for incidences that the county could plateau in cases that would give the district an opportunity to discuss returning to school even though still in the red category.
ACTION ITEMS BY THE BOARD
- Approved a contract with Appalachian Wireless to provide MiFi hotspots to the district to issue to students for use in areas where other service providers do not serve or have limited service.
- Approved the fourth pay application for the tennis court project in the amount of $342,393.
- Reviewed alternate bids received for fire suppression and alarm services. The Board voted to award Kentucky Fire Suppression the bid for fire extinguishers and range hoods. Alarm Tech was awarded the bid to provide monitoring of fire alarm and sprinkler systems.
- Approved the initial BG-1 for replacement of the Flat Lick Elementary Waste Water Treatment Plant. During the discussion on the item, Noel stated that they looked at many alternative methods of providing the service without having to utilize a treatment plant, however, due to acreage and terrain, alternate methods would not be suitable for the site.
- Approved Summit Engineering to design the treatment plant.
- Updated the forms necessary to request a field trip or vehicle to remove set rates on the form itself and to allow the form to be filled in with current mileage rates, bus driver hourly rates, and any other amounts that would be charged. The prior procedure had dollar amounts within the form that had been changed.
- Approved the Reading Recovery MOA with the University of Kentucky and matching grants for Reading Recovery at Knox’s elementary schools.
The next meeting of the Knox County Board of Education is set for Monday, November 23, 6:45 pm, at the Knox County Board of Education Annex. Official minutes of the October meeting will be available once approved by the Board at the next meeting.