County school board OKs ELC plans, presents ‘Expect the Best’ awards
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, 10 p.m. — The Nelson County Board of Education gave the go-ahead for plans to expand the district’s Early Learning Center on Cardinal Drive.
The board was entertained with a performance by the mixed choir from Nelson County High School under the direction of Stephanie Robinson.
The project will double the number of classrooms from seven to 14, add a larger multipurpose room and larger lunchroom, and add offices and bathrooms.
Tim Hockensmith, the district’s chief operating officer, said the construction estimates for the proposed project are very close to the $2.25 million estimate the board heard in February.
Stephen Ward, an architect with Studio Kremer, updated the board on the project’s progress, which will require additional approvals from the Kentucky Department of Education following the board’s approval Tuesday night.
Ward said he is in discussions to improve the project’s ECERS scoring, which rates the environment of an early learning facility. The ratings in question aren’t dealing with child safety, but deal with the physical layout of the building for use in an early learning environment.
In other business, the board:
Stephen Ward, an architect with Studio Kremer, answers questions Tuesday night at the Nelson County board of education meeting.
— received an update on the district’s pre-audit annual financial report, including a discussion of the mandated 2 percent pay raises this year. Hockensmith said the district’s teachers may not see as much additional take home pay as they anticipate due to the greater contributions teachers must make toward their retirement system.
— approved a grant application seeking approximately $7,500 total in funding to be divided among the district’s family resource centers from the Tri-County United Way.
— approved a Thomas Nelson High School student’s grant application seeking $3,000 for a science and technology program for middle school girls.
— presented “Expect the Best” awards to:
- Kevin Patton, assistant principal at New Haven School;
- Lynn Fairfax, bus driver;
- Cox’s Creek Elementary School student Kamryn Lawson;
- and parent recipient Sandy Lyvers, who led Nelson County High School’s Project Graduation efforts this year.
NEXT UP. The board meets next at its working session, 5 p.m. Sept. 3 at the board’s Central Office on Wildcat Drive.
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