District readies for school

The Comanche Board of Education met in regular session Aug. 9.

Board members accepted the superintendent’s recommendation to contract with Hallye Graves and Kelsey Stone for speech-related services. The board also approved hiring Vici-Beth Morgan for a Deaf Education/SLPA Education position.

Based on Bills recommendation the board also approved Bills adjuncting Leann Pollock, Connor Kelly, and Dailen Presgrove. Bills explained with the new laws the district can adjunct teachers outside of their certification for the complete school day while they complete the certification requirements for the specific area.

The board approved various routine consent agenda items, including the minutes of the regular board meeting held in July. The board also approved activity fund reports, the treasurer’s report, the contract for career and technology education programs, and the South-Central Oklahoma On-line Consortium Cooperative agreement.

Bills discussed with the board the current enrollment number projection. The district is seeing enrollment numbers being comparable to last year’s enrollment at all levels.

Contract amounts for non-certified 10-month employees were approved, as were the athletic and non-athletic extra-duty schedules.

The ESSER III plan is posted on the website. The plan is available for viewing and community input. The distance Learning Handbook and Continuing to Learn Plan are also posted on the webpage. Bills indicated that the district would continue to provide COVID testing as required by the Project 723 state grant.

Bills indicated that the school year will started Aug. 15 for new teachers followed by in-service on Tuesday and Wednesday with a focus on student advocacy, and safety measures. Mike Breeze will share his motivational “Wired 4 Success” with staff on Tuesday.

Students will return to classes on Monday. She also shared that she will recognize staff members for longevity with pins for every five years of service. She shared that Charlie Hughes and Morgan Mannen have been with the district for 50 years, and that many others had dedicated a minimum of 30 years.

Mrs. Bills and the staff would like to thank the new food service management company, OPAA and First Baptist Church for providing lunch for staff on inservice days and Aflac for refreshments.

The district is ready for the return of students next week with many activities already underway. Bills shared that her hope is to keep students and teachers in class with minimal disruptions and have a “normal” school year.

“We are ready to get the school year moving,” Bills said.