Filing for a five-year term on the Hennessey Board of Education - and all Oklahoma school districts is Dec. 3-6.

Hennessey’s board got a jump on calling the primary election during its Monday night meeting.

Filing is from 8 a.m.4:30 p.m. at the Kingfisher County Courthouse.

A primary election is scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 13, if three or more candidates file.

A general election will be held Tuesday, April 2, if only two candidates file for a position scheduled to be on the ballot, or for a position on the ballot for an unexpired term, or if no candidate in the primary election receives more than 50% of the votes cast.

Charmasson Will Run

Seat No. 4 will be up for election and in Hennessey it’s held by the board’s newest member, Amy Charmasson. When asked after Monday night’s meeting, Charmasson told the KT&FP that she plans to file for the position.

She was appointed to the board in February and took office in March.

She replaced Cristopher Choate, who resigned in January. Choate had served on the board for nine years, and was a past president.

Employee Benefits Approved

“Gross production is down, but we’re in great financial shape,” said HPS Superintendent Jason Sternberger at the meeting.

That was his lead-in to a recommendation for the board to approve again this year fall stipends of $1,500 for certified employees, and $750 for support employees.

Those “benefits” started a few years ago and usually include stipends in the spring for the same amounts.

Other Personnel Action

• The board hired Lucia Perez as Early Childhood Center paraprofessional, and

• Approved a $750 stipend to James Faulkner as E-sports sponsor for this fall, but that does not include this spring. E-sports is an extra-curricular program, and stipends for this school year are $1,500. There are competitions and OSSAA approves which games are age-appropriate for players. President Luke Lough asked how many students are in that program. Sternberger said he thought there were six to eight students when he’d looked in on them.

FFA Trip

The board agreed to plans for Kaleb Hladik, a parent, who volunteered to drive his RV with 10 students, and a chaperone, to the National FFA Convention. It’s Nov. 1-4 in Indianapolis, Ind.

Sternberger said Phyllis Walta, board attorney, had gone over Hladik’s insurance, and the school’s, and gave the approval.

The group plans to leave Tuesday, Oct. 31, and will return Sunday, Nov. 5 “We will still need to take one of the Suburbans,” wrote Jorge Huizar, FFA adviser/vo-ag teacher.

Huizar said the original plan had been to take two Suburbans and his pickup- truck to haul luggage.

Superintendent’s Report

• The school’s parking expansion on the west side of Mitchell Road is waiting to see about a town project. The town is applying for a grant to move its water lines from the west side of Mitchell Road. That would help with the school’s plan to add more parking there, Sternberger said.

He said Town Administrator Tiffany Tillman said they should know in January if they got the grant.

• Sternberger said he’d have information on the bus barn, and the parking lot west of the baseball field at next month’s meeting.

• “An owl has been living, rent free, for years, at the press box (at the football field),” said Sternberger. He said it smells, and there are other problems, and the plan is to close up that area. He said Board Vice President Patrick Griffi n has brought it to his attention. Griffin is also the football game announcer.

At the Meeting

All board members were present: Lough, Griffin, Clerk Dr. James M. Matousek, David Tillman and Charmasson.

Also at the board table were Sternberger and Office Manager Timberly Mitchell who also served as recording secretary.

In the audience were principals: Ricardo Tarango, middle school; Barry Crosswhite, elementary, and Stacey Mack, early childhood center.