An officer at each campus now set in stone in Picayune

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Tuesday’s Picayune School District Board of Trustees meeting involved reviewing bids for two services, accepting grants received by the Early Head Start program and approving the agreement for school resource officers with the city of Picayune.

The bids received during Tuesday’s meeting were for a heat pump and split air conditioning units. Three bids were received. Mingledorff’s Incorporated bid $111,241, World ADC Heat and Air Inc. bid $175,353 and Guriano bid $116,421. The Board approved a motion to take the bids under advisement.

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A second round of bids was opened for fresh produce for the District. Only one bid was submitted by Four Seasons Produce, which did not include a total price, but rather unit pricing. That bid was also taken under advisement by the Board.

The Board also approved a motion to add two more sixth grade classes, one to Nicholson Elementary and another to Roseland Park Elementary, due to an increase in enrollment.

A grant for $559,705 was accepted by the Board for use by the Early Head Start Program. EHS Research and Data Manager  Dr. Sonya Myers said the money will be used to buy supplies and meet other needs by the program.

One project that the funding will pay for entails improving the playground equipment at the Nicholson campus, Myers said.

Agreements with Pearl River Community College, Annie’s Daycare and the McCarty Learning Center were also approved by the Board. Assistant Superintendent Brent Harrell said the agreements allow those facilities to provide Early Head Start services to a total of 76 children in the county.

An adjustment to the athletic event season ticket package prices was also approved. Athletics Director Walt Esslinger said that while ticket prices will remain the same from last year, the adjustment was needed to compensate for the variation in home games during the upcoming season.

A motion was also approved to enter into an agreement with the city of Picayune to provide security services for the District. That agreement was needed after the Board decided during a previous meeting that an officer was required for each of the seven campuses with in the District.

According to coverage from the last City Council meeting in June, the District will be asked to pay the city $47,214 per school resource officer annually.