An estimate of needs totaling just over $20 million in the general fund for the 2022-23 fiscal year was approved last Tuesday by Kingfisher’s board of education.

The document is part of the budget-creating process and each school district is required to create the itemized estimate of proposed expenditures and revenues for the year.

Kingfisher’s is prepared annually by Britton, Kuykendall & Miller CPAs, a firm out of Weatherford that performs the district’s financial audit each year, and was approved by the Kingfisher County Excise Board.

The board passed the estimate of needs during its regular September meeting.

Thetotalgeneralfundestimate was $20,383,981.93. The estimate also included $2.5 million for the building fund, nearly $500,000 for the co-op fund and nearly $612,000 for the child nutrition fund.

Still, the auditor projected revenues for the district to soar this year and for the carryover to remain at more than $10 million.

The district now has a school resource officer.

[See KPS, Page 10] The board unanimously approved Justin Conner to serve that role on Superintendent David Glover’s recommendation.

The district will pay Conner $25 per hour and he will spend time at each of the campus sites five days a week.

( Ed. note: Look for a more comprehensive story on the district hiring a resource officer in an upcoming edition.)

Board members also approved the district’s alternative education plan, which has to be done annually.

The plan was prepared by Libby Wood, the district’s alternative education director.

“I was very pleased with the plan,” Glover told the board. “We’ve got a really good director in Libby and she does a great job with the kids.”

Glover recommended hiring Stephen Rempe to teach chemistry and Esther Stephenson special education on temporary contracts.

The board approved those moves.

Other approved hirings were Mallori Pool (KHS), Christy Gholson (Gilmour) and Diane Emmett (upper elementary) as paraprofessionals and Molly Storm as a cashier and teacher assistant at the upper elementary.

Approved as adjunct teachers were Keaton Callins for U.S. history, Micah Daugherty for intermediate math, Doug Jech for health, Dr. A.J. Johnson for photography and Jacob Farrell for elementary education.

Adjunct teachers are certified staff teaching a subject(s) other than those for which they’ve been certified.

Glover said the school’s auditor requests such moves get board approval.

In other moves Tuesday, the board approved:

• Fundraiser requests for girls basketball and cheer;

• Creating a new sub-activity account for Kingfisher Junior High PTO;

• An out-of-state trip next month for FFA members to attend the American Royal Contest in Manhattan, Kan.;

• The district participating in the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) in an agreement with the Level Services Program for the 2022-23 school year.