The Cherokee County Board of Education has declared an emergency situation at Centre Middle School to expedite replacement of the gymnasium floor.

The board took this action in a recent meeting at Gaylesville School upon the recommendation of Architect David Oliver, who stated that the floor has received water damage and needs to be replaced with a rubber or vinyl floor to replace the current wooden floor.

“We would like to ask that the board declare this project an emergency because of the tight time constraints that we are under to try to get this work accomplished as quickly as possible so that the gymnasium will be available for basketball season,” said Oliver. “We have had some independent testing done on the concrete slab that indicates a high moisture level in that building. That being the case, wooden floors are very susceptible to moisture and we recommend to the board that you strongly consider another type of flooring. That building is not air-conditioned, which is not unusual for a school gymnasium, but that means when that building is not being used, especially during the summer time, humidity levels build up and can have a serious impact on a wooden floor. We’ve seen that happen. I know of a brand new building that has just been finished at a school in St. Clair County that is experiencing moisture problems. Typically, wooden floor manufacturers want to see moisture levels at 3 percent or less based on the tests that we have done. The lowest percentage test we found was 6 percent. The majority were over 10 percent and as high as 20 percent, so we would strongly recommend that the board consider using a synthetic product like a rubber or vinyl floor product.”

The declaration of an emergency, Oliver said, allows the board to forego advertising of bids, which would delay the project for at least three weeks, and instead, go immediately into the bid process.

Oliver said he hopes to have the bids prepared for the board’s consideration by the Oct. 1 board meeting. Once construction begins, he estimated it would take about two weeks to lay the floor.

Oliver also presented, for the board’s consideration, plans for renovating the current field house at Spring Garden School and converting it into classroom space. Oliver estimated that two, possibly three classrooms could be housed in the field house. This would mean a new field house would have to be constructed. Total cost of these projects would run around $300,000, Oliver said.

Oliver projected the project could be completed by the start of the next school year.

The board also met with Eddy Norris, coach/physical education teacher at Sand Rock School, concerning overcrowded conditions in some of the elementary physical education classes. Norris requested, on behalf of SRS, that the board consider upgrading a teacher’s aide position to a full-time position to alleviate some of this crowding. The SRS physical education program currently serves about 516 students per day, Coach Norris said.

Superintendent Kay Davis agreed to meet with Charlotte Hooper, principal, Sand Rock School, take a look at some of the P.E. class enrollment figures and discuss ways to ease the problem.

The board also met in executive session to discuss the good name and character of an employee and also met in executive session with Angie Crane, Angela Stafford and Teresa Hanks to discuss good name and character of an employee, but took no action following the sessions. Each session lasted approximately 45 minutes.

In other personnel action, the board:

-approved hiring of certificated personnel including Jewell White as a pre-kindergarten teacher at Gaylesville School, with her salary to be funded by Title V funds, effective Oct. 1.

-carried over a request to raise the salary of Linda Prater, who is director of child nutrition and director of Indian education for the Cherokee County School System, by $7,300 annually and to change her salary funding from 100 percent CNP (Child Nutrition Program) to 90 percent CNP, 8 percent Pre-Kindergarten and 2 percent Indian education to research the matter further.

In support personnel action, the board:

-approved hiring Cheryl Emmett as a special education teacher aide at Centre Elementary School beginning Oct. 1.

-extended the hours of Debra Mauldin as homeless liaison from 16 hours per week to 30 hours per week to be funded by the Homeless Grant pending approval by the State Board of Education.

-rescinded the resignation of Toby Tidmore as custodian at Sand Rock School.

-agreed to place Jerry Comer at Gaylesville School for two hours per day on a 10-month contract which will increase his hours to eight hours per day for a total of $3,571.36 plus benefits.

-approved posting a Pre-K teacher aide at Gaylesville School to be funded by federal programs.

In other action, the board:

-approved supplements, as presented in a previous meeting, for Cedar Bluff School, Centre Elementary School, Centre Middle School, Cherokee County High School, Gaylesville School, Sand Rock School, Spring Garden School and Cherokee County Career and Technology Center.

-accepted bids on various materials including paint from Terry’s Carpet, lumber from Lumber Mart, electrical supplies from Rexall Southern Electric and an HVAC unit for Gaylesville Field House from Eddie’s Refrigeration for $9,000.

-approved out-of-state travel for Tammy Fleming, Lorie Howell, Lynn Curry, Phyllis Lambert, Andreanna Clifton and Pam Acker to attend an STI User’s Conference in Lexington, Ky. Dec. 11-13, since the Alabama User’s Conference conflicts with the ASHSGE/Exit Exam Dec. 2-6. The board also approved out-of-state travel for Gary Davis who will be traveling to Nashville, Tenn. Sunday, Sept. 29, to take students to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center for Phantom of the Opera.

-denied a request for transfer of a Cedar Bluff School student to Sand Rock School because of hardship.

-approved the transfer of a Collinsville student to Centre Elementary School because of hardship.

-approved a lease agreement with Gadsden State Community College to lease a driver education car for $1 effective Oct. 1, 2002 through Sept. 30, 2003. GSCC will provide all maintenance, insurance and fuel costs and expenses incurred for said vehicle during lease period.

-approved a 60-month lease agreement between Cherokee County Career and Technology Center and IKON and IOS Capital for a Canon copier.

-met in executive session for a student disciplinary hearing, but took no action at this meeting.

-were informed by Mrs. Davis of a request from Cherokee County High School Principal Paul Hyche to paint the bleachers at Cherokee County High School. The board will ask CCHS to submit three estimates on the project before proceeding further.

The next board meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. at Spring Garden School