The Pearl River School District’s Board of Trustees talked about embracing high expectations for school improvement and heard an update on the ongoing construction in the District during Thursday’s meeting.

The meeting was the first for Mark Herring as part of the Board. He replaced Natalie Glorioso, who previously stepped down from that position.

Superintendent Alan Lumpkin recognized both the Junior Blue Angels dance team and Blue Angels dance team for earning first place honors in the Jazz and Pom categories during the state competition held in mid December.

Kimberly Alford then presented the Board with the data from the various campuses within the District.

Alford said that between November and December there was a decline in the number of incidents that required disciplinary action, while the number of students who failed a subject also declined.

Her report correlated with Lumpkin’s previously stated desire for the district to continue to improve and grow as the schools look to provide more educational opportunities.

“The children deserve the best education out there. That’s a high expectation, but we embrace that and look forward to exceeding those expectations,” Lumpkin said.

Following Alford’s report, Warren Bowen, who is overseeing the construction projects throughout the District, came before the Board and gave an update on how the construction was progressing.

Bowen said work at the elementary campus has been difficult because of the elevation changes where construction is ongoing.

The time consuming process of making sure the measurements are perfect has led to the project moving slowly, but Bowen said progress is being made.

Bowen also said that canopies originally located around the old administration building have been taken down and will be reinstalled around the campus to save the district some money.

Once Bowen finished his report, the Board discussed a new code of conduct.

The code was signed by all of the Board members before it was approved.

The next meeting of the Board will be Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. in the District office on the Carriere campus.