NORTH CARROLLTON — Despite concerns about the possible merger of the Carroll County School District with the Winona and Montgomery districts, School Superintendent Billy Joe Ferguson convinced the school board to purchase two new school buses at Thursday night’s meeting.
Ferguson told the board the Carroll bus fleet has eight buses that are 16 years old.
“We buy one every year. We have money in the 16th Section Principal Fund that can only be used for purchase of buses or new construction,” he said. “This is our money. We will just be borrowing our money.”
Ferguson gave the board and the audience a list of ages of the buses with the one-way trip mileage they make each day. The routes range from 38 to 75 miles each way.
Board member Donnie Wiltshire asked Ferguson whether the district can afford another loan from the fund, saying, “We have six.”
Ferguson replied that the district has a “95 percent chance of being able to pay the money back. We have assets other districts don’t have and they want. We have a gravel pit and recreational leases. People are not likely to quit hunting.”
Kenneth DeLoach said he was for buying buses without air conditioning. “You could save $8,000. We need to be more conservative with taxpayers’ money. The bus won’t last as long and will cost more to run.”
Ferguson said, “We had a lady driver who almost had a heat stroke the day after Labor Day. It was 113 degrees on that bus before it got going.”
“We need to look after the safety of our kids,” Daniel Vest said.
The board voted 4-1 to buy two new 71-seat, air-conditioned buses, with DeLoach voting no.
In other business the board:
• Heard from the superintendent about his opposition to the proposed consolidation of Carroll schools with Winona and Montgomery County. Ferguson passed out materials giving facts about Carroll County and its schools, which he said have not been correctly stated by state officials. He also discussed the trip he and other county officials made to the state Capitol in Jackson Thursday to lobby against consolidation.
• Changed the school calendar to make the last day for students May 23 to pick up report cards, instead of May 20, to reflect a make-up day for students.
• Accepted donations to J.Z. George High School and Marshall Elementary School of an anonymous gift of $400 for baseball and track; a $2,500 gift from Monsanto and American Farmers Grow Communities on behalf of Carroll County farmer Billy Joe Ferguson, designated to BETA Club.
• Agreed to apply for a 90 percent grant to install Wi-Fi in the district.
• Agreed to purchase 30 Chromebook laptop computers to be used for testing.
• Accepted the resignation of Latisha Swims, a teacher assistant at Marshall Elementary School.
• Made a adjustment for J.Z. George Middle School science teacher Kenisha Henry, who has received certification verification.
