Hennessey Public Schools has been certified to offer COVID-19 tests, Superintendent Dr. Mike Woods told board members at their meeting last Monday night.

“The tests are only for our staff,” he said. “Kits have been shipped and shouldbe here before Christmas break.”

Shelley Muzny, the school nurse who is also an RN, will administer the tests.

Four staff, seven students now positive

There are currently four staff and one student in the Early Childhood Center (preK-K) who have tested positive. In the high school, no staff and six high school students are positive, Muzny told the KT&FP Tuesday.

There are no current cases in the elementary or middle schools, she said.

“We have close contacts quarantined at this time,” the nurse wrote in an email.

“If a student tests positive, they are quarantined for 10 days. If a student is sent home for close contact-quarantine they are quarantined for 10 days with no test and symptom-free.

“The CDC has changed where a close contact can test on day seven and if that test is negative they can come back on day eight,” Muzny said.

At the meeting, Woods told the board the district had recently gone three weeks “with zero cases” and since the start of school have had about 70 students who came in contact with others who’d tested positive.

“Contact typically comes from the home, not the school,” he said. “I haven’t heard about the basketball teams (that closed their season early due to COVID).”

Woods asked Athletic Director Paul Hix if he knew, and Hix said he didn’t.

“How many school days have we lost to COVID-19 positives and close contacts,” asked Patrick Griffin, board member.

Woods said he didn’t know, but they are required to make reports to the health department so he would check and get back to him.

There was a question at the board table if Hennessey has more COVID requirements than other schools and Cristopher Choate, board member, asked about state requirements and penalties.

“Masks are not mandated,” said Woods, “but strongly recommended... Penalties: they could come and shut the school down.”

Stitt’s fan number mandate

Woods said Gov. Kevin Stitt’s new executive order requires there may be no more than four persons per participant at events, or only be at a 50 % capacity, whichever number is lower.

Hix said OSSAA says it’s “most likely” that participants include cheerleaders, concession workers and school staff.

Griffin asked about the Eagle Event Center’s capacity.

“We know how many seats there are (1,700), but what’s the fire-rated capacity?”

Woods said he didn’t know and would check.

Finances still down

During his monthly report, Woods said they are “off’ more than $1 million so far this year and he expects it will be “$2 million come June.”

“Has it been this bad since you’ve been here?” asked Choate.

“No, this is my first pandemic” and my fifth year here, said Woods.

Woods said there is no way they could have planned for gross production tax money to drop from $300,000 a month down to $70,000 and some people just aren’t paying their ad valorem taxes right now, he added.

However, the gross production income was $115,000 this month, he said.

Annual audit report

When accountant Steve Blasingame of Angel, Johnston and Blasingame gave the 2019-20 audit report, he said COVID certainly affected the year for Hennessey and most schools.

The general fund was down $92,000 from the previous year; the school had an increase of $939,000 in general fund expenses, and was up $160,000 in transportation expenses, Blasingame told the board via video conference.

He also pointed out on the written report that ad valorem evaluations increased $267,000; equity was down $110,000 and food service costs were up, and cafeteria repairs were up due to new flooring.

A usual hit came from fundraisers when money was not deposited in a timely manner into the activity fund.

He said FFA and chorus fund-raisers were “held for an extended period of time” when any deposit in excess of $100 must be made the next day.

“It was a good audit,” Blasingame said and commended the school staff for taking “pride in their work and doing an excellent job.”

Other matters

Woods reported that cameras had been installed and flooring work done in the Event Center and that they had 27 walkers signed up to use the walking track at the center. “I was surprised at how many we already have,” Woods said.

It started this month, and is open from 6-9 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and a student will be there to check them in.

He also went over the architect’s drawings/plans for two awnings from the southeast corner of the high school into the east side of the Event Center. The center is also a storm shelter and the awnings will allow students to get into the center during bad weather.

Richard 0. Starks of Prairie Rock Architecture in Blanchard is the architect on the project.

Ryan Cooper said at the start of the meeting that the school should have been better prepared for the snow because the sidewalks and parking areas were not cleared.

Woods said employees started working at 5:30 a.m. to clear them, but were unable to keep up with the constant snow.

Present at the meeting

All board members attended the December meeting: President Dr. James Matthew Matousek, Vice President Joe Garrison, Luke Lough, Clerk Choate, and Patrick Griffin. Garrison attended the meeting via video conferencing from his home, and the other four were on-site in the Seminar Room at the school auditorium.

In addition to Woods, also at the board table was Timberly Jech, office manager and minutes clerk.

Newly-elected board member David Tillman was in the audience and will take office in the spring.

Staff in the audience were principals Barry Crosswhite (elementary), Stacey Schovanec (early childhood); Hix, athletic director and head football coach; Matt Means, assistant mid-school principal and counselor, and Nate Parker, high school English teacher.

Also in the audience with Cooper was his wife, Ashli.

The Coopers have been concerned about security measures at the Early Childhood Center after their 4-year-old son left the school withoutbeing detected by school personnel, or cameras.

They have attended monthly meetings since September, but didn’t ask for an update at this month’s meeting.