Kingfisher Public Schools filled some vital positions and moved closer to beginning some new construction and major remodels in the district.

The moves were made Monday during the board of education’s regular August meeting.

Jason Hukill with LWPB Architecture updated the board on design plans of a new junior high locker room facility and renovations to the football concession stand and Gilmour Elementary School.

Hukill said the design plans for the 4,500 square foot locker room facility, which will sit between the concession stand and the new junior high school building, are just over 65 percent complete.

He said the plans should be completed in time for the next board meeting (Sept. 5), at which time the board can vote to send the project out for bid.

Being bid at the same time will be the addition to the ag barn, for which plans have been complete for over a year.

Initial bids on the ag barn addition came in well over projections, causing the board to choose to delay the project.

Hukill said the concession stand renovation plans may also be ready by next month’s meeting.

Gilmour renovation plans, however, will take longer, Hukill said.

Those plans are about 35 percent complete.

He said while those plans won’t be ready by next month, “it will be well before Christmas” when they are ready.

Superintendent David Glover said he and the board, in the meantime, will discuss plans for a timetable on the projects.

Gilmour’s overhaul could take one to two years, said Van Storm of Joe D. Hall General Contractors, who was also at the meeting.

Joe D. Hall has served as the construction manager on multiple Kingfisher projects, most recently the junior high.

The length of time will depend on how much renovating the board opts to be completed.

Board members voted unanimously to fill three certified positions, including the one for which Glover was originally hired.

Jeremy Young will be the new athletic and transportation director for the district.

Young was most recently at Mountain View-Gotebo Public Schools and prior to that was a teacher and coach at Clinton.

KHS alumnus Steven Wilson was approved as the new co-head wrestling coach and the ISS instructor for the junior high and high school.

Wilson last year was the head wrestling coach at Cashion.

He’ll serve as co-head coach this season with Stan Blundell.

Also approved was Dan Bivins as a high school science teacher.

KHS still has a science position to fill as the board also accepted the resignation of Mariah Sinclair at the meeting.

Support personnel hired were Savannah Gilley and Jessica Hladik as paraprofessionals at the upper elementary (formerly the middle school), Barbara Hoselton as a paraprofessional at the junior high/ high school transition room, Irene Whitehead as a high school paraprofessional, Cliff Benson as a bus driver and Karen De la Torre as a teacher assistant at Gilmour.

Voting in favor of the hires were board members Jim Perdue, Carly Franks, Dana Golbek and Terry Payne. Charles Walker was absent.

(Ed. note: For more on Monday’s board meeting, including increasing the salary schedule for all extra-duty positions in the district, see this weekend’s edition.)