EBOE hears concerns over upcoming graduation

Since the Enterprise City Schools Board of Education approved the bid for installation of new synthetic turf at Wildcat Stadium earlier this month, backlash in the community has occurred over the possibility of the upcoming 2021 graduation possibly not taking place in the stadium. The school board heard some of that backlash at the March 12 board meeting.

Enterprise High School Senior Class President Makayla Thomas spoke on behalf of the senior class pleading for the installation process to be delayed.

“This year has been hard on all of us,” Thomas said. “Any sense of normalcy has been taken away from us and we thought that we would be able to have graduation (at Wildcat Stadium). Even the 2020 class was able to have their graduation there in the height of the pandemic.

“Now, due to the installation of the turf we might not be able to graduate at Wildcat Stadium, which is the one thing we thought we were going to have. We are frustrated and upset and are asking for the installation to be delayed. We have a petition that has 1,700 signatures asking for this postponement. We would ask that you consider us. We just need this one thing and it would be enough for us.”

Dr. Lyn Diefenderfer, a parent of an EHS senior, also spoke to the board and asked for the installation to be delayed for both graduation and for the soccer team.

“There are 10 senior girls and six senior boys that very much want to complete their high school soccer career on their home field and have every right to do so,” Difenderfer said. “As a physician, I have witnessed the physical aspects of COVID but also the mental aspects, particularly in adolescence, which includes depression, suicide attempts and an overwhelming sense of loss.

“I would like for you to consider the loss that these students have experienced over the past year. Some examples include a normal class room where you can sit next to your friend, congregating in the hallways, sitting with friends in the lunchroom, a student section at football games, a homecoming dance, many seniors couldn’t get basketball tickets because of COVID restrictions and no pep rallies. Despite all of these losses these students have been patient, have endured and have held themselves up with poise.”

Diefenderfer said that she understands that delaying the project would have financial implications, but that it didn’t matter.

“I understand there may be some financial reasons not to delay this, but let me express to you as a parent and as a taxpayer I don’t care,” she said. “You are servants to these students and to their families, so I ask you to do the right thing and please delay this installation until after graduation to provide these students with a sense of normalcy and tradition during a time when they have been met with challenges that we as adults will never experience.”

Enterprise Superintendent Greg Faught responded to the concerns from both speakers. He said that the board began planning on getting a jumpstart on bids for capital projects after learning that the school would be receiving funding from the state for capital projects during the year.

“I feel like you are owed an explanation on how we got here today,” Faught said. “As a team we knew we had a capital plan that had been approved by the board and we wanted to get a jump on that so that we could beat rising demand for materials and labor and perhaps acquire better bids.

“We got with consultants and engineers and architects and the goal was to be ready by early this year. In this environment getting things pushed through – all the red tape that is involved – has slowed down everything to a snail’s pace. Our plan and hope was to get this project started in January, which would give us plenty of time to complete the project before graduation, but as things rocked along that was going to be a problem.”

Faught said that the No.1 priority for the school system is the replacement of HVAC systems at a number of schools, roofing projects, the replacement of windows system wide and the construction of a storm shelter at the Enterprise Career and Technology Center, but the turf project was the first thing that could be done at the moment.

Faught said as prices continue to rise on building materials it meant that the school system needed to get started as soon as possible.

“The issue is that supplies are in big demand right now and prices are skyrocketing,” Faught said. “We are paying upwards of triple for certain building materials that we paid just months before.

“This is driven by several things. No. 1, COVID-19. No. 2, the large number of hurricanes last summer and early Fall. No. 3, fuel prices. We had the bid last week so we could acquire the best prices on the next day.”

Faught said that after speaking with a number of parents – and seeing the backlash – he spoke with the consultants to see if it would be possible to buy supplies and put the project off until after graduation.

“What I learned this morning is that is not going to be doable,” Faught said. “We have a signed agreement, we accepted the bid as a board and so the project is moving forward.

“If we were to wait until after graduation we would have to rebid (the project) and I want the board to understand that is an option, but at what expense we don’t know right now. Prices are not rising slowly, they are rising rapidly. I spoke with our consultants this morning and they are optimistic that they can start the project pretty quick and it will be ready for graduation.”

Faught said that while some parents don’t care about the cost, many do and it is the school’s responsibility to be “good stewards of taxpayer money.”

“I want everyone to understand that our first choice is Wildcat Stadium, that is where we would like to have (graduation),” Faught emphasized. “The decision to start now is to keep the taxpayer in mind. I know we’ve heard from one of the parents tonight and they don’t care about the extra tax dollars but there are many that do. Our job is to be good stewards of the money being spent in the school system.”

Faught said that he initially believed Bates Memorial Stadium would be a good second option if Wildcat Stadium wasn’t available but now sees that was wrong.

“I thought if we couldn’t get in (Wildcat Stadium) that Bates would be a good choice, a nostalgic choice,” Faught said. “There is a lot of mystique in ‘The Hole.’ Thousands of graduates have walked across that field and I thought in a crunch that it would be an acceptable choice.

“I see now that is not what the (students) want and I think we need to consider that. We have to make sure the project gets started and finished on time. (The engineers and consultants) feel comfortable that they can be done by May 21.”

Diefenderfer responded to Faught and said that EHS seniors feel no sense of nostalgia for Bates Memorial Stadium and questioned the need for new turf.

“Bates is nostalgic to me but my son was born after the tornado,” she said. “It means nothing to him. What is the urgency of AstroTurf when we have had football on grass for as long as I’ve been here, which is 48 years.”

The school board has discussed the reasons for new turf at the stadium at a number of board meetings leading up to the decision, but Faught went over it again at the March 12 meeting.

“The cost associated with the field and that type of grass is very, very expensive,” Faught said. “We spend in excess of $100,000 per year to maintain the field.

“Also, when the grass gets the amount of water it needs to maintain it at times it gets really boggy from about 15-20 yards in from each sideline and creates an unsafe situation, too.

“The turf over time is a lot less maintenance and the infill is a natural product – not the tire rubber – and is a lot cooler and also a lot safer. That field gets so much traffic over the year, that after soccer is over the field is very difficult to recover in time for graduation. Those are the primary reasons.”

The board did not make any recommendations on delaying the project and no discussion was further had over the subject.

In other business, the board approved the contracts of six ECS principals for the next school year. Those principals include EHS Principal Stan Sauls, Enterprise Early Education Center Principal Waller Martin, Harrand Creek Elementary Principal Ronnie Retherford, Hillcrest Elementary Principal Melissa Layton, Holly Hill Elementary Principal Christie Mitten and Pinedale Elementary Principal Trey Mims.

Also, the school board extended the use of the money for leave for teachers and employees for COVID-19 related issues, with funds received from the CARES Act, through May 27 or until that money has been exhausted.

The school system is also increasing the pay for substitute teachers in order to stay competitive with local school districts in the area. The school system will now pay substitute teachers with a high school degree or GED $72 per day – up from $65 per day – and substitutes with a four-year college degree will receive $95 per day and subs with teaching certificates will receive $120 per day. Long term substitute teachers with a teaching certificate will continue to receive $145 per day.

Instruction/teacher aide substitutes will see pay increased from $7.35 per hour to $8 per hour. Child Nutrition Program substitutes will also see a pay increase from $7.25 per hour to $8 per hour.

Substitute custodians will also see a pay increase from $7.25 per hour to $8 per hour, while substitute registered nurses will make $20 per hour. Clerical substitutes will see an increase from $7.35 per hour to $8 per hour. These changes are effective March 15 through May 31.

The board also approved the personnel decisions listed below. The next regularly scheduled school board meeting is April 27 at 5 p.m. at the central office.

Leave:

Janet Corneil, bus driver, Enterprise City Schools;

Eula Mayo, custodian, Hillcrest Elementary;

Dana Brantley, first grade teacher, Harrand Creek Elementary;

Emily Breedlove, first grade teacher, Harrand Creek Elementary;

Resignations:

Terence Lampley, custodian, Enterprise Early Education Center;

Craig Williams, custodian, Pinedale Elementary;

Gina Brown, special education teacher, Enterprise High;

Majorie Lane, second grade teacher, Harrand Creek Elementary;

Retirements:

Daniel Bourne, P.E. aide, Holly Hill Elementary;

Kymberly Drummond, third grade teacher, Rucker Boulevard Elementary;

Amy Fleming, third grade teacher, Hillcrest Elementary;

Alison Hancock, history teacher, Enterprise High;

Jacquelyn Jerrell, CNP worker, Holly Hill Elementary;

Donna Lampley, second grade teacher, Rucker Boulevard Elementary;

Karen Mills, 504 coordinator/system testing, Enterprise City Schools;

Margie Waters, special education aide, Hillcrest Elementary;

Melissa Boulton, PE teacher, Rucker Boulevard Elementary;

Transfers:

Jeannie Webb, CNP worker, Enterprise High, to CNP worker, Dauphin Junior High;

Employment:

Kimberly Rubio, substitute bus driver, Enterprise City Schools;

Quaneshia Young, substitute bus driver, Enterprise City Schools;

Earl Stokes, substitute bus driver, Enterprise City Schools;

James Baker, choral music teacher, Dauphin Junior High;

Willie Fells, contract coach, Enterprise High; and

Athletic Supplements:

Willie Fells, assistant football coach, Enterprise High.