Published: July 09, 2008 01:30 pm         

School board hires new band director, goes out for bids on baseball field repairs

PICAYUNE — Picayune Memorial High School has a new band director. He is Tim Garrett, a native Mississippian who is coming to Picayune from Colorado. Garrett starts his new job on Monday.

Band boosters who were at last night’s meeting of the school board for the Picayune Memorial School District initially were frustrated when the recommendation was tabled in the public session of the meeting to be taken into executive session.

Outside the meeting room between the public session and the executive session, Band Booster president Don Conlee vented some of the frustration, saying “They’re in a hurry to hire a coach for a spring sport (basketball), but they don’t appear concerned about the band. It needs to start practice in two weeks.”

Conlee handed out a letter the Boosters had prepared for the board in support of Garrett. The letter contained numerous recommendations from the directors of bands at Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi and principals and band directors Garrett had worked with before he left Mississippi for Colorado.

Also recommending Garrett was Ted Burns, a former band director in Florence and Pearl who the board had hired earlier as a consultant on band matters.

In the letter, Conlee said band parents who had met Garrett supported him and that the Boosters had paid for his travel expenses to come to Picayune to be interviewed.

“He is impressive, energetic, honorable, and appears to be exactly what the program needs to achieve a recovery from a devastate state,” Conlee said in the letter.

Booster treasurer, Gwen Conlee, said on Wednesday morning that the Boosters are relieved that the recommendation has been approved and that band practice can start on time.

Assistant superintendent Brent Harrell said that Garrett begins work in the district on Monday.

Repairs to improve drainage at the Maroon Tide baseball field won’t start for at least nine weeks.

The school board for the Picayune Municipal Separate School District last night approved advertising for bids for work to be done to the Maroon Tide’s baseball field. However, board member Harvey Miller said the board should have approved seeking quotes for the work on an emergency basis at its last meeting two weeks ago. Now repairs to the field probably won’t be able to get under way for another nine weeks because of state law concerning the advertising and bidding process for the work. He’s worried the field won’t be ready for the spring baseball season.

“It’s too late to now,” Miller said. “It’s all my fault. I should have been here.”

Miller said he understood the district administration’s concerns about how going out on an emergency basis for the work could impact a future audit. He pointed out, however, that the board has declared similar needs an emergency in the past to get work done in order to have a field ready for an upcoming season. He pointed to the current football field lighting project as an example, then took the blame for not seeking an emergency declaration on himself for having missed the board’s last meeting at which only three members were present to form a quorum and conduct business.

Miller said he is concerned that the drainage improvements and other repairs to the playing field won’t be ready in time for the spring season.

Baseball coach Cayne Stockstill said after the meeting that drainage in the outfield is so bad now that it “can suck the shoes right off a player’s feet.” However, he said he and Diamond Club president Fred Cruse are determined to have the field ready to play when the season starts.

On two other pressing matters concerning extracurricular activities, Superintendent Dean Shaw said prior to the meeting that the board would not be considering a contract for a Tide basketball coach last night because the Biloxi school district would not release its 9th grade coach, Jason Kennedy, from his contract. Shaw said he couldn’t understand that because he kept “a young man from advancing to improve himself.”

Shaw said the Picayune district routinely lets people out of contracts so that they may advance when offered a better position in another district.

The board recognized district bus driver Elaine Voss at the beginning of the meeting for winning the state’s Bus Driver Safety competition. Voss now advances to competition in Canada where she will represent the state.

The board approved seeking bids to air condition seven more district buses, to bring the number of air conditioned buses up to 39. Air conditioning those buses will leave 20 of the district’s buses without air conditioning.

“The district has been competing for five years, but this is the first time we have won,” Voss said. Board members noted that Voss placed second in the competition last year.

In other matters, the board:

— Approved personnel matters, except for the recommendation for band director and job descriptions only with changes.

— Approved consent items, including the budget and financial statement, payroll, claims dockets, out-of-state travel and sole source purchase orders.

— Approved 16th section matters.

— Approved change order #2 tot he central office renovation project.

— Approved payments of $79,569.89 to Webster Electric and $954.84 to architects Landry & Lewis.

— Approved the amended contract with Scientific Learning for Fast ForWord.

— Approved project application for IDEA, part B and Preschool for the 2008-2009 school year.

— Approved the 2008-2009 food services procurement plan.

— Approved the first reading on Policy JGH - Access to Security Camera Videos, which would limit viewers to school personnel and law enforcement officials only.

— Tabled the second reading on Policy GBJJ - Cell Phone Policy (All Personnel).

Went into executive session on personnel matters.

Adjourn