The start of the school year is fast approaching, and that was one of the many topics discussed during Pearl River School District’s Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday.

The Board recently toured construction sites across the District, and were impressed with the progress that has been made.

“I was really excited to see it, and it made me proud to start stepping it up,” Board President Elaine Voss said.

“Not just improving it, but also correcting issues we’ve had.”

Board Member Jerry Frazier also talked about the progress of the construction.

Frazier said he could understand why some members of the community would be frustrated by the seemingly slow rate of advancement.

However, he said that the contractors were doing a good job of focusing on the details of each project.

“You spend a lot of time making the foundation right and then it accelerates to a rapid pace,” Frazier said.

“Being patient up front, doing it right and laying the foundation, the contractor did a good job there.”

Additionally discussed were the necessary changes that would need to be made to the BCBC Board Meeting Preparation policy.

The policy was missing certain verbiage the members wanted to add to allow there to be more time for board members to review material, and determine the frequency of the meetings. The Board approved a motion to make those changes.

There was also discussion during the meeting about certain personnel changes that would be taking place.

A new custodial service was being added to the Endeavor School, and Board Member Christian Burge wanted to discuss the process of deciding who was awarded the job.

During the discussion it was explained that the bids are taken from a variety of vendors, and from there a committee is formed to determine the best bid.

The winning bid may not always be the lowest, with the quality of the services provided sometimes taking precedence over the price.

To end the meeting the Board discussed a resolution to borrow up to $3.9 million for construction purposes.

During discussion of the matter, Burge voiced concerns that it seemed like a lot of money to borrow and asked if cuts could be made, or perhaps projects could be put off until another time to minimize the

District’s debt.

Voss said the figure was that high in order to cover costs for any worst-case scenarios.

Burge remained unconvinced, so when it came to a vote Burge was the only member to vote against the proposition.