The Kingfisher Public School district will once again have a school-based social worker on site.

Kingfisher’s board of education approved a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to create the position, technically called a school-based specialist, then later filled it at last Tuesday’s regular meeting.

Jennifer Marler was hired to fill the role.

“The need is something that’s there,” Superintendent Jason Sternberger said to the board.

The position was essentially eliminated a handful of years ago when DHS and the district had to slash budgets due to reduced funding.

“Now that we have the need and we have the funds, we feel it’s a good contract,” Sternberger said.

The school district and DHS will split the costs of salary, benefits and other administrative costs. Each will pay approximately $37,000.

Sternberger said the pandemic and its resulting closing of schools and other economic and social impacts are leading to more DHS cases.

Marler is an Okarche High School graduate and lives there with her family.

She worked six years in the Kingfisher County DHS Child Welfare Unit and has spent the past 14 months as a care coordinator for Red Rock Behavioral Health-Systems of Care.

In all, she’s spent more than seven years providing direct care to children and families in Kingfisher County.

“It’s something I’m very passionate about,” Marler said.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in family studies and gerontology from Southern Nazarene University. She’s on course to earn a master’s degree in counseling from Mid-America Christian University in early 2023.

“I’m looking forward to collaborating with school staff members and outside community partners to bring available services to families who need them the most,” Marler said.

“We feel we can benefit from this as a district,” Sternberger said.

The motion to hire Marler was one of several personnel moves approved by the board after an executive session that lasted just under 30 minutes.

Other hires or moves included Cliff Benson as the alternative education director, Shane Hood as the Gilmour principal, Whitney Hauser as a kindergarten teacher, Kerri Lafferty as the head boys and girls track coach, Melissa Kiser as Gilmour child nutrition cashier, Jillian Clayton as a teacher’s assistant and Erica Long and Karolina Davila as paraprofessionals.

The board also approved the resignations of Tammy Castleberry as a Gilmour child nutrition cashier, Micah Nall as football and track coach, Dianna Weems as a middle school math teacher and Christy Shields as a transportation department assistant and bus driver.

Lafferty is filling the track position left open by Nall’s resignation. (See story in Sunday, Aug. 30, edition.)

Weems’ retirement led to several of the other moves. Shuffling of middle school staff after her announcement led to Mark Redwine teaching at KMS rather than at the alternative education site.

That prompted the move of Benson, who was Gilmour principal, to alt ed. Benson will also assist in the transportation department.

Hood will serve as principal of both Gilmour and Heritage schools.

The board also approved an estimate of needs for the 2020-21 school year.

It included more than $18.2 million in the general fund, nearly $1.4 in the building fund, more than $540,000 in the co-op fund and more than $513,000 in the child nutrition fund.

The estimate of needs establishes the maximum amount the board can approve for the various budgets throughout the year.

“It’s essentially an allowance,” Sternberger said. “They’re saying we can spend up to $18.2 million (in the general fund), but we don’t want to do that, obviously.”

The district had expenditures of just under $12.9 million from the general fund last fiscal year and had a carryover of more than $8.6 million, the largest in its history.

In figures provided to the board, the 2020-21 school year will see expenditures estimated at more than $13.1 million, though Sternberger admitted it was “a high estimate.”

There are also projected revenues of more than $10.6 million, meaning the district will dip into that reserve fund.

The estimate of needs was prepared by the CPA firm of Britton, Kuykendall & Miller and has been sent to the Kingfisher County Excise Board for approval.

Prior to action items, the board was addressed by Erin Richardson, a parent who expressed concerns over the culture of the football program and asked if teachers who were coaches and teachers who weren’t coaches were treated and disciplined differently.

The board couldn’t specifically address Richardson’s comments and questions because it wasn’t an item already on the agenda.

Other routine items approved by the board included:

• A District Alternative Education Plan, which had no changes from last year except the names of the directors;

• An emergency services plan for school activities, which was required by the Riley Boatwright Act;

• A contract with OSDE and Public Consulting Group for Medicaid billing services; and,

• A fundraiser for the Heritage School library.