Hawkins ISD Board of Trustees
Rose: raise, contract extended; & also Five administrators extended
By JOHN SPARKS

Meeting in regular session Monday, February 12 the Hawkins Independent School District Board of Trustees extended the contracts of all five administrators in the district to August 31, 2009. At a special meeting on February 1, the contract of Dan Rose, superintendent, was extended to August 31, 2009 at an annual salary of $90,100. The board heard an enthusiastic report from the team representing Hawkins High School at the mock UN event at Stephen F. Austin University.
 

The meeting was adjourned into executive session twice during the evening. Contract extensions were approved for Debi Crawford, curriculum coordinator; Charles Leffall, high school principal; David Ledkins, junior high principal; Letha Weurch, elementary principal and Keith Cook, AD and head football coach after one of the executive sessions.
 

A second executive session dealt with pending litigation brought by Bobby Green, former maintenance manager of the district. After consulting with attorney Todd A. Clark of Austin, the board returned to public session and voted a $5,000 contribution toward settlement of the suit.
 

Two of three students who represented Hawkins High School at the mock UN shared a powerpoint presentation that won them second place at the event held at Stephen F. Austin University. There were 52 schools with delegations at the event. Seniors Mary McKeown and Savannah Boyd reported on their award winning work. Ashley Griswold, a third Hawkins student who participated in the mock UN could not attend the board meeting. Mrs. Jeri Holcomb, high school English teacher was sponsor for the event. Hawkins represented the country of Turkey. Superintendent Rose suggested such learning experiences are part of the Accelerated Schools program initiated last year.
 

The School District has announced plans for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the construction and renovation project on Sunday, February 18 at 3 p.m. The public is urged to attend and participate in the ceremony.
 

Brice Davis, a principal in Thacker Davis Architects, Inc., said the dirt work and concrete flat work are on-going as the first stages of construction for the new facilities to be added to the campus. In response to a question by trustee Edwin Simmons regarding student access to the track and field facilities, Davis said there may be some construction work adjacent to the stadium, but that there would still be access for the student athletes. The Vo-AG expansion phase of the construction has encountered some problems requiring the removal and replacement of some concrete flat work and some special provisions will have to be made where construction traffic will cross a water line easement serving the elementary. Davis said these are unforseen details that always present themselves in such projects.
 

Most renovation work will be done after students are dismissed in May, 2007 and before they return in August 2007. That schedule will feature seven-day work weeks and long hours throughout the summer.
 

Davis also reported that AEP Swepco had agreed to install conduit and wiring to a new facility which will be served by AEP. Davis indicated the move will save several thousands of dollars against the budgeted construction costs.
 

In actions related to the construction project the board of trustees authorized Superintendent Rose to approve contingency change orders up to $5,000. Trustees also approved two work changes proposal requests. The first dealt with the need to demolish and remove a concrete slab at the VO/AG campus at a cost of $1,150 and the second involved removal of a 24 inch pine tree at a cost of $862.50. Both proposals were let to AK Contracting in which trustee Clayton Atteberry is a partner. Atteberry abstained from voting on both issues.
 

The board adopted a District Improvement Plan for the 2007-2008 school year featuring five goals and suggested strategies to pursue those goals.
Trustees also called an election for the Board of Trustees of the Hawkins Independent School District for Saturday, May 12. There will be three seats up for election to three year terms. Those seats are currently held by Ed Tunnell, Denny Rucker and Edwin Simmons. Applications for the positions are available at the HISD administrative offices now and must be submitted by 5 p.m. March 28, 2007. Early voting will take place at the administration office beginning April 30 through May 8 from 8;00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Election day (May 12) the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.