The Snyder ISD board of trustees unanimously approved an 18-month contract for Jim Kirkland to serve as superintendent during Thursday night’s meeting.
Kirkland had been serving as interim superintendent since June 30. The board voted on the contract following a 27-minute closed session.
Kirkland will be paid $126,000 annually and be given a $750 monthly housing allowance. He will also be reimbursed for travel that is for school district business.
He had previously served as Snyder’s interim superintendent four times. He graduated from Sul Ross State University with a degree in biology, taught science for 27 years and coached girls’ basketball. Kirkland coached Sudan High School to two state championships.
Kirkland served as a principal and superintendent with Spearman ISD.
The board, on a split vote, will not allow the administration to negotiate a custodial and grounds maintenance contract with Aramark. Jim Drake and Ron Hester voted to allow the administration to negotiate a contract that would have been brought to the board for approval. Ronnie Anderson, Brad Hinton, Sarah Jamison, Doug Neff and Ralph Ramon voted against the authorization.
Chief Financial Officer Dr. Randy Burks said outsourcing the custodial and grounds maintenance contract could save the district up to $300,000 a year.
“We are not going to do anything to hurt our employees,” Burks said, adding that the current employees would have first option to be hired by Aramark if a contract was agreed upon by both sides.
Burks said the decision to negotiate a contract was being presented to the board as an effort to save money.
He said that the employee turnover in the department is high and it costs the district to advertise and train employees. Burks said some employees only stay a couple of months and the process has to begin again.
“Anything we can save, we can put back in the classroom,” Burks said. “One-hundred thousand dollars can hire two teachers.”
Burks said the district is currently spending $1.2 million annually for its custodial department.
Some board members said outsourcing the services would hurt the economy. Jamison said Aramark would not pay city or county taxes, but Burks said the district does not pay those taxes now.
Hinton said he did not want to see employees from out of town working when Snyder residents could be hired. Burks said the company would hire local people.
“I would like to see this stay as a local deal,” Anderson said.
Trustees were also split on who to nominate for the Scurry County Appraisal District board of directors’ election.
The nomination for Eddie Williams failed 4-3 with Anderson, Jamison and Neff voting in favor of the nomination. The nomination of former trustee Jerry Boyd then passed 4-3 with Drake, Hester, Hinton and Ramon voting for him.
The board approved a class size waiver for the first grade bilingual class because it exceeded the state limit of 22 students. The class has 23 students and Kirkland said since it is a bilingual class, the student could not be moved to another class.
Trustees also approved the investment policy and professional development and appraisal system calendar. The calendar was updated with the names of two administrators — Leticia McJimsey and Robert Webb — to serve as appraisers.
Dr. Rachel McClain, chief academic officer, reported that the district had met its first quarter goals for the improvement plans. She told the board that teachers and administrators are working to meet the academic needs of the students.
The board also learned that the district has 100 percent highly-qualified teachers, and received the latest policy updates from the Texas Association of School Boards. The policies will be presented during the December board meeting for approval.
No one spoke during a public hearing on the district’s passing rating in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST). Burks said the rating system was changed this year to a pass/fail rating, but the goal of the financial office remains the same.
“Our goal is to manage to the best of our ability, the funds of the school district in order to maximize the dollars that can be put in the classroom,” he said. “The information provided by the FIRST system will guide us in our continued efforts to maximize each taxpayer dollar.”
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