The Tahlequah Public Schools Board of Education discussed the district’s technology department, and recognized students, teacher awards, and grants during a meeting Jan. 21.
Addison Davis and Emory Tidwell, Tahlequah High School students, were recognized at the beginning of the meeting as exemplary.
During the meeting, third-grade Heritage Elementary teacher Michaella Whittington was feted as a recent recipient of the Oklahoma Council of Indian Education Award. OCIE is an organization that advocates for Native American students throughout the state, according to Indian Education Director Christopher Ray. He said Whittington sponsors the Cherokee Challenge Bowl and Cherokee Language Bowl at Heritage Elementary, and leads the Cherokee cultural group during Heritage’s after-school program.
GEAR UP Site Director Cassie Landers presented a check to the district, acknowledging renewal of the GEAR UP program for an additional seven years, with grant funds totaling over $37 million. Landers said this is the fifth round of the grant at TPS, which started in 1997.
“This is a really very, very valued partnership,” Superintendent Tanya Jones said.
According to Jones, GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. She said the program offers students the opportunity to go on college visits, get FAFSA assistance, and help with ACT prep.
“We appreciate the opportunity to continue working with Tahlequah Public Schools,” Landers said.
According to Landers, Tahlequah is one of 12 Oklahoma schools with a GEAR UP program.
The board heard public comments after these acknowledgements.
Cathy Cott, a Tahlequah resident and mother of TPS graduates, asked the board to “think deeply” about what may happen to some LGBTQ students under the continued administration of State Superintendent Ryan Walters, and asked board members to support all students.
In the Deputy Treasurer’s Report, the general fund was still under the $5 million typically held there, which Jones said was again due to unpaid claims. However, Jones said they received a few approvals that day, and that those numbers should soon return to normal.
The board heard a report from Director of Technology Robert Batson, who discussed staff, goals, and efforts of the TPS Technology Department. Batson said the department consists of two full-time staff and two student staff members in addition to himself.
Batson said the department managed internet connections to over 3,000 devices across the district. So far, there have been 625 work order requests, with 35% of those opening in August. Batson said these issues are generally resolved in a day or less, with 93% of requests being completed on time. Roughly a third of all requests come from THS, on Chromebooks and Interactive TVs.
One of the recently completed projects was improving switching infrastructure, which took nine months to complete, according to Batson.
The department used funding from E-Rate, which provides discounts to schools and libraries for telecommunications and internet access, Batson said. Discounts are given annually based on the free and reduced-price percentages of the district. It offers two categories of services, according to Batson.
Batson said Category 1 services include internet and wide-area network services, and 90% of those costs can be covered by E-Rate at TPS. Category 2 services include wireless controllers, access points, routers, network switches, cabling and firewalls; E-rate covers up to 80% of these costs, within an allotted five-year budget, of $550,000, according to Batson.
In the Superintendent’s Report, Jones noted the board is finalizing what will be presented in Bond 22 later this year.
In other projects, the steps at the TMAC building should be completed this week, and remaining bond funds from the current bond will be used for small projects around the district. Jones said some of the bond funds will also go to the proposedaAg barn, which she said wound up costing a bit more than anticipated, at $350,000. Over $150,000 was raised by the community, with $100,000 being matched by the district. Jones said the remaining needed funds will come from leftover bond funds and renovation funds.
Jones anticipated the barn will be useable by the time school starts next fall, according to plan.
“The program is worth it, and our kids are worth it,” Jones said.
In other business, contract agreements, supply surplus, out-of-state trips, overnight trips, encumbrances, and personnel items were approved. An executive session was held to continue an evaluation of Superintendent Tanya Jones. The evaluation process was broken down into four parts, and this session was the final part of that evaluation; no action was taken during this session.
What’s next
The next TPS Board of Education meeting will be held Feb. 18, at 6 p.m., at the Board of Education Office at 225. N. Water Ave., in Tahlequah.