Hennessey Public Schools has some money to spend on school projects this year.

“We finished the year very strong in the building fund,” HPS Superintendent Jason Sternberger told school board members at their Monday night meeting. “We've got around $1.2 or $1.3 million in that fund right now. And with new money to come in, we will have $1.6 or $1.7 million to spend on projects...not that we want to spend all of that.”

Sternberger asked the board members if they wanted to “circle back” and look at doing away with the ditch on the east side of the school complex on Mitchell Road so they could add more parking.

“We talked about that a few years ago and that amount was about $1 million, but would probably be a little higher now,” he said.

Start Planning and Get Community Involved

Sternberger said they need to start planning: “Do we want to look at a bond issue? We grew as a district last year and our valuation went up faster than what Jordan Smith had projected,” Sternberger said.

Smith is with Stephen L. Smith Corp., the school’s financial planner.

“We’ve accelerated the payments to get the bond paid off a little quicker,” the superintendent said, “and he can go in and do that so it doesn’t affect the current tax rate whatsoever.

“I think it's just that time to kind of really get started talking with the community to see what people feel like they can, or cannot, support and get some other ideas out there.”

Suggested Projects

“If we want to look at doing something small, then we've been hit up for a locker room for softball and I think we're in agreement that something needs to be done,” Sternberger said. “We need locker rooms, bathrooms, redesigning the baseball area.”

Sternberger said he wasn’t going over everything that night about what people have brought up and said there had been talk about having storage and dressing rooms for the auditorium.

“There is a whole list of things and there’s no such thing as a bad idea when you’re investing in your kids,” he told the board.

In preparation for the start of athletics and school, Sternberger said, “We have a little bit of painting to do,” and the concrete parking lot across the street west of the auditorium was looking “really good.”

He added they’ve ordered parking blocks to put there, not so much for the parking, but to keep people from racing around over there.

Executive Session

Board members had no questions for Sternberger and then they voted to go into closed session to discuss three teacher hirings at the elementary school and extra-duty assignments for the 2024-25 year.

After a 43-minute closed session the board hired the teachers and approved the assignments.

Elementary Teachers Hired Second Grade Teacher – Becky Scharf Hood has an elementary teaching certificate in pre-K-8 with an emphasis on early childhood and is certifi ed as an elementary and middle school principal. She received her master’s in educational leadership from the University of Oklahoma in 2022 and a bachelor’s in liberal studies and obtained a California teaching credential from Simpson University, Redding, Calif., in 2000. She has worked from July 2017 to present at Epic Charter Schools as a teacher, teacher development specialist and principal; and was a teacher at Deer Creek Public Schools, Edmond, July 2016-May 2017, and was director of Stepping Stone Mother’s Day Out in Edmond June 2010-June 2016.

Elementary Special Education – Shawna Winstead graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in special education in 2000 and her master’s in school administration from Texas A&M in 2006. She has been the special education principal at Epic Charter School since 2018; dean of students at Newcastle Public schools, 201718, and a special education teacher at Mustang Valley Elementary, 2009-15.

Elementary Music Teacher – Olivia Fletcher graduated from Michigan State University in 2024 with a doctorate in music arts; Arizona State University in 2021 with a master’s degree in music and from Ithaca College in 2018 with a bachelor’s in music. She has a New York teaching license, K-12 music (March 2019-25) and a registered behavior technician license with Residential Option Inc. (202124). She taught bassoon at these colleges: Ithaca, spring 2024; Michigan State University, 2021-23, and Arizona State University, 2019-21. Other teaching experience: Boynton Middle School, Ithaca, N.Y., 6th and 7th grade music appreciation, 2024-25; Candor (N.Y) Elementary, longterm substitute, 4-6th grade band and general music, April-June 2019; Boynton Middle School in Ithaca, junior and senior student teacher, 2016-18, and was a private bassoon instructor 2014-20.

Sports and Extra Duty Stipends

The extra duty pay scale was approved, but no assignments have been made.

Athletic Director Josh Faulkner, HS, $1,000; Brian Richardson, Fall Assistant, $3,000; Nathan Hill, Winter Assistant, $3,000. Baseball Tanner Black, HS Head, $6,500; Nathan Hill, HS Asst., $1,500; Jacob Steward, MS Head, $1,500; David Redus, MS Asst., $1,000; Black, Summer Head, $2,000; Basketball Boys HS head, Dallas Hunt, $6,500; HS assistant, Doug Boyd $1,500; JH head, Hunt, $1,500; JH assistant, Boyd, $1,000; 5/6 boys Boyd, $750; summer head, Hunt, $2,000; assistant Boyd, $1,500. Basketball Girls HS head, Richardson, $6,500; HS assistant, Lisa Weaver, $1,500; JH head, Richardson, $1,500; JH assistant, Frances Streck, $1,000; 5/6 girls, Streck, $750; summer head, Richardson, $2,000; assistant, Weaver, $1,500. Cheerleading HS coach, Beth Curran, $1,800; MS, Evelyn Rodriquez and Sadye Cabral, $450 each; summer, Curran, $1,000. Cross Country HS boys, Cheyenne Baxter, $2,000; HS girls, Baxter, $2,000; JH boys/ girls head, Baxter, $1,500; HS/JH boys/girls assistant, Frances Streck, $1,500; summer track and CC, Baxter, $2,000. Football HS head, Mark Cox, $6,500; Assistant/ DC, Nathan Hill and Assistant OC, Cox, $4,500; HS assistants, Matthew Fuksa, Aaron Pitts, and one other TBD, $3,000; JH head, Cox, $1,500; JH assistant Hill, $1,000; JH Assistant Fuksa, $1,000; Summer head, Cox, $2,000; Summer Assistant, Hill, $1,500. Golf HS boys, Jacob Bullis and HS girls, Brian Richardson, $1,250. Softball HS FP/ SP head, Jeneva Nelson, $8,000; HS FP Asst., Hunt, $1,500; HS SP Asst., Matthew Fuksa, $1,500; JH FP/ SP head, Lisa Bossa, $3,000; JH FP Asst., Tanner Black, $1,000; Summer head, Nelson, $2,000; Summer Asst., Bossa, $1,500. Track Boys, HS Mark Cox, Head $2,500; Doug Boyd, HS boys/girls asst., $1,500; JH Boys & 5/6, Head, Cox, $1,500; HS Girls, Head, Baxter, $2,500; JH & 5/6 Girls Asst., Baxter and Boyd, $1,500 each. Volleyball Head, Todd Cameron, $3,000; HS Asst./ JH Head, Jacob Steward $2,000; Summer, Cameron, $2,000. Wrestling – Gene Bennett, Boys and Girls Head, $2,000; Jacob Steward, B&G Asst., $2,000; Summer, Bennett, $2,000.

Athletic Trainer, TBD, $6,000 school year; summer, $4,000.

Hourly rate for covering activities, $20.

Non-Sport Extra Curricular Sponsors: HS Student Council, $750, Elizabeth Curran; HS Chorus, Melissa Faulkner, $5,000, and Middle School

Chorus, $1,500; Yearbook,

Curran, $2,500; Elementary Vocal, TBD, $1,000; 5/6 Quiz Bowl, Kaylena Grellner, $500; Middle School Student Council, Lindsay Jones, $500 and Speech & Debate, $1,500; High School Band, Daniel Powers, $5,000 and MS Band, $1,500; 7/8 Quiz Bowl, Craig Ullery, $500; HS Quiz Bowl, Jennifer Ullery, $500 and Concession Stand, $3,000; FFA Jorge Huizar and FCCLA Jenny Richardson.

Extra Duty Assignments

Gary Beaman, Transportation Director, $4,500, Groundskeeper, $3,500 and Maintenance Director, $6,000; Steven Brisco, Special Education Director, $5,500 and 504 Coordinator, $2,500; Ginger Cox, Treasurer, $2,500, Activity Fund Custodian, $4,500 and Payroll Clerk, $2,500; Barry Crosswhite, Title IX Coordinator, $1,000; Elizabeth Curran, Prom Coordinator, $3,000; Randi Franklin, Assistant Treasurer, $1,500 and Asst. Activity Fund Custodian, $2,000; Timberly Jech, Board Minutes Clerk, $4,000 and Grant Claims, $1,000; Brenda Jimenez, Elementary Test Coordinator, $500; Lindsay Jones, MS Test Coordinator, $500, and MS ELL Site Coordinator, $1,000; Carol Keeton, Senior Coordinator, $500, Site Test Coordinator, $500, and National Honor Society, $250; Amy Rawlings, National Honor Society, $250 and Senior Class Sponsor, $100; Shelley Muzny, After hours nursing services, $25 an hour; David Redus, Driver’s Ed (After School/Summer), $175 per student; Brian Richardson, District Safety Coordinator, $2,000; Amy Shelite, HS ELL Site Coordinator, $1,000; Lissette Sosa, Elementary ELL Site Coordinator, $1,000 and District ELL Coordinator, $2,500; Frances Streck, Child Nutrition Director, $3,000; Ricardo Tarango, Federal Programs Director, $5,000; Basilia Tovar, Head Cook, $1,500; Rosa Velazquez, Alejandra Calderon and Carolina Villalobos, translating, $9 an hour.

TBD – Two Sr. Class Sponsors at $100 each; Two Jr. Class Sponsors at $500 each, and School security (per person), $750.

Adjunct Teachers Approved

These adjunct teachers for the 2025-26 school year were approved: Tanner Black, physical education/ health; Kimberlie Fehring-Gritz, chemistry; Kevin Hopkins, biological sciences, physical science; Jennifer Richardson, family and consumer sciences; Jeneva Burgess-Nelson, intermediate math and physical education/health, and Dallas Hunt, world history and physical education/ health.

Consent Agenda

Included in a list of 16 consent agenda items (approved all in one motion) were these four items (all other items are included in the board’s July 14 agenda online at the Hennessey Public School’s website):

• Renewal of a June 27, 2018, lease-purchase agreement with F&M Bank, Crescent, to finance the acquisition, construction and equipment not to exceed $2.515 million 'for financing the construction, equipping and furnishing of new education facilities to serve students.' These are some of the funds remaining from a $15.49 million building bond issue approved by 61.9% of school district voters in 2017.

• An agreement with the Town of Hennessey to provide a school resource officer for the 2025-26 school year. HPS will pay $23 an hour regular time and time-anda- half for overtime (over 40 hours per week) for the services provided by the town at its regular payroll periods. A regular work week is Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.3:30 p.m. Contracted SROs benefits, insurance and equipment will be provided by the town.

• A contract with Renee Curry “on an as-needed basis for consultation for the student information system” at $55 an hour.

At the Meeting

Board members at the meeting were Vice President Dakota Semrad, Clerk Amy Charmasson, Luke Lough and Lance Painter. Absent was Dr. James M. Matousek, board president.

The only staffers at this month’s meeting were Sternberger and Timberly Jech, minutes clerk and administrative office manager.

There were no visitors at this month’s meeting.