Cotter lauded at his last EBOE meeting

A man who has served on the Enterprise Board of Education since June 1, 2011, will continue his volunteer work for the schools in a different capacity.

Ross Cotter attended his last board meeting June 7, marking the end of his five-year appointment.

Cotter will continue serving the schools as a volunteer consultant, overseeing construction projects to include the soon-to-be-built new Coppinville Junior High School. The EBOE had approved that contact “for which (Cotter) will receive no remuneration” at a previous meeting.

At the special called EBOE meeting June 7, Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Dr. Camille Wright thanked Cotter for his years of service on the board. “It is with great reluctance that we let him go,” she said. “Mr. Cotter has ensured the future of Enterprise City Schools both fiscally and physically.”

Wright credited Cotter with saving the school system “hundreds of thousands of dollars—we can count close to half a million dollars in the last three years through hours and hours of meticulous research on everything from different construction issues, to negotiating contracts on behalf of the board, going over every one of them with a fine tooth comb to insure that the school system has the best possible position.

“I couldn’t tell you the number of times (Cotter) has found where something is not being done correctly and made those changes that may have otherwise have gone unnoticed,” Wright said. “Today, for example, we thought we had the most competitive price for one of our contracts and (Cotter) picked up the phone and made a call that saved us $5,000.

“We have had, in fact, less of half of one percent in change orders on the (schools’ construction) projects,” Wight said. “And that’s phenomenal.

“Every student will soon be attending a school in a modern or modernized facility that has a secure entrance and a safety shelter,” Wright said, crediting Cotter with overseeing each of the construction projects.

“It was (Cotter’s) idea and his negotiation that helped secure the (city’s) half cent sales tax (to benefit the city schools),” Wright said, crediting Cotter with working to ensure that once the school’s debt was retired, a portion of the sales tax will continue to benefit Enterprise City Schools. “(Cotter) has ensured that the students of Enterprise City Schools will have a sound financial future.

“Upon the board’s—and my—instance, Mr. Cotter has agreed to continue to help us with our construction projects, for no remuneration,” Wright said. “Because of his vast experience with construction, we need him to keep (the construction of) Coppinville within budget and to ensure that it is built to correct specifications.

“(Cotter) has given hours and hours every day to go out to the construction sites to insure that they are being done correctly and to hold everyone’s feet to the fire in terms of coming in on time and under budget,” Wright said. “He has agreed to continue to give up his time in the future to continue to work on this until we finished with our current construction projects.

“You give little when you give of your possessions; it’s when you give of yourself that you truly give,” Wright said, quoting from the author Kahil Gibran. “Mr. Cotter, you have truly given of yourself and you will be missed.”