The Bartlett school board approved an architectural firm and construction management for the high school renovations, and it also bought new air conditioning units for one school at the Aug. 24 board meeting.
School board members unanimously approved the agreement between the school district and Fleming Architects in Memphis for the next two years of work on the Bartlett High School renovations. It covers all the architectural, programming, design, development, bidding and negotiations, geotechnical, engineering and civil engineering work. Fleming Architects’ fee is 4.5 percent. The board also amended the Education Capital Fund Budget to reflect the cost of this agreement.
The board further approved as construction manager for the BHS renovations a partnership between Flintco of Tulsa, Okla., and Linkous Construction of Memphis. Superintendent David Stephens anticipates they will break ground in June 2018.
The board also awarded a bid from M & A Supply of $230,854.08 for new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units at Altruria Elementary, where a roofing project has just been completed. The board will select a company to install these at the September board meeting. The HVAC units’ purchase was also included in the Education Capital Fund Budget amendment approved.
At the start of the meeting, the board also held a brief ceremony honoring outgoing school board chair Jeff Norris, the first to serve in that position for the district. Shirley Jackson is the new board chair. Vice Chair Bryan Woodruff said, “We just wanted to take a minute and recognize your special contribution and your particular unique place in Bartlett history and say thank you for all your work and dedication as our first board chairman.”
They presented him with an engraved crystal gavel and fountain pen.
Norris praised the school board as one of the finest in Tennessee and said, “One of the things you’ll find is five folks up here with your students’ best interest at heart. We’re all pointed in a common direction, and nobody brings a personal agenda to the table. That’s what has made us so successful as a board. It’s not me as a leader.”
In other business, the board:
- Accepted a $10,000 donation from the Bartlett Education Foundation for the district’s Teacher Grant Program. Teachers can apply for the funds to make a difference in their classroom activities.
- Heard the superintendent’s report that enrollment is up with 8,964 students currently enrolled, which is 99.8 percent of projections. Stephens said he expects to be just a handful over that once the district completes its first 20 days of the school year.
- Listened to a parent’s complaint of slow transportation and unresponsiveness to her complaints about the non-air-conditioned bus for one of her children, who she said is a heart patient with severe asthma. In informal conversations after the meeting, Superintendent David Stephens explained that Durham School Services initially offered only buses without air conditioning, but any replacement buses for Bartlett are now required to be air conditioned. He told the parent, Valerie Embry, that the school district would look into her son’s needs.
- Heard updates on two projects: The high school’s band room renovation is expected to be complete around fall break. The soccer building with restrooms and locker rooms should be completed by the middle of September.
- Recognized the district students who were accepted to the 2016-17 Governor’s Schools. The Governor’s School for the Arts at Middle Tennessee State University included Karmen Moore, 10th grade; and Maryam Nemati and Lindsey Weber, both in the 11th grade. Governor’s School for the Humanities at the University of Tennessee at Martin included Walt Price, in the 10th grade. The Governor’s School for Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville included Ethan Kelley, 10th grade; and Amber Lamberty, 11th grade. The Governor’s School for International Studies at the University of Memphis included Trevor Holley, 10th grade.
- Recognized the accomplishments of Bartlett High School athletes and the contributions of their coaches. Those recognized include:
- BHS teacher/trap team sponsor Leonard Rovery
- Student athletes who advanced to nationals under the leadership of Coach Keith Fenwick and his assistants: Abigail Moore, Fisher Kee, Drake Fenwick, Jacob Taylor, Daniel Ison and Grant Summers
- Student athletes who placed nationally: Squad Division, third place: Conner Murley, Carlie Williams, Grant Gaither, Scott Brayden and Jessie Moore (absent); and Squad Division, third place: Anna McClung, Brandon Lonkar, Logan Simpson, Hunter Wolf and Conner Smith
- AIMS Scholarship awardee, Griffin Black
