The Hermleigh ISD school board learned graduation is at the top of many people’s minds when they met by teleconference Monday.
“Graduation is the hot topic right now,” Superintendent Cassie Petty said. “We’re going to have eighth grade graduation at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Cardinal Stadium, and then we’ll have our high school graduation on Friday at 7 p.m.”
Petty spoke about two buses and the district’s track, which was left unfinished.
“We should get that little 14-passenger bus within the next couple of weeks. All they have to do is put our vinyl on it,” she said. “The 59-passenger is ordered. With the coronavirus, it’s slowed everything down. They hope they can get it to us by Sept. 1, but it just depends on the Bluebird plant. The track, as you know, we’re still waiting. We won’t submit our final payment to them until they’ve done a punchlist with me and walked around.”
Petty said the construction company that installed the track did not clean up the construction site adequately.
“The salesman, Mark, who was in here with us when he sold us the track, texted me an aerial picture and said, ‘How do you like your track? How’s it going?’” Petty said. “I said, ‘The track’s great, but y’all left it a mess.’”
Petty’s complaints include torn up cement and a knocked-down fence, as well as a port-a-potty left on the scene. She suggested employees who make use of district housing as part of the terms of their compensation be required to obtain permission before making alterations to the property.
“I think it’s a good idea to maybe get some stricter guidelines on these houses and the people living in them, when they do some work to the house, even if it’s something in the backyard, get board approval before they do it,” she said. “I would kind of like to get something drawn up formally.”
The board met in closed executive session to discuss personnel matters.
Upon emerging from the closed session, the school board approved a routine annual audit engagement letter and took no action on employment of personnel.