As the 2023-24 school year inches closer, the Kingfisher Public Schools’ list for open positions continues to dwindle.

The board of education last Monday night approved multiple new hires as well as more movement in the administration positions that all were recommended by Superintendent David Glover.

The hires were made during the board’s final regular meeting of the 2022-23 fiscal year. ( Ed. note: See Wednesday, June 28, edition for financial information provided at that meeting.)

Among the moves was naming Stuart Purintun as director over maintenance and transportation as well as junior high and high school special education.

Purintun served last year as the principal at Kingfisher Junior High.

Chris Farris was hired at the June 5 meeting of the board to take on the KJH principal’s role.

Purintun relieves Athletic Director Jeremy Young of the transportation duties. Kristina Burnham, the district’s special education director, will still oversee that role, but Glover said Purintun provides an experienced voice at the upper levels.

“He’s got a good, strong background in special education and we are wanting to make sure we do as good a job as possible in that area,” Glover said.

Glover added he will continue to oversee the construction taking place across the district, but Purintun will take over the custodial and maintenance side.

The shuffling rounds out the administrative staff that also saw Lisa Meier and Colby Connel hired at the first June meeting.

Meier will be the new Heritage Elementary principal, replacing Shane Hood who is now the superintendent at Aline-Cleo.

Connel is the KHS assistant principal and boys basketball coach, both roles held by Jared Reese last year. Reese accepted a coaching and principal’s job at Dover earlier this year.

Connel saw part of his coaching staff filled out Monday as Drew Dennis was approved as the physical education teacher at Gilmour Elementary School, replacing Danny Green, who joined Reese at Dover.

Dennis will also be a boys basketball assistant coach.

Farris was able to fill his junior high math position with the hire of Brad Pennock, a Bethany native who has been teaching and coaching at Putnam City High School.

“He’s wanting to get back into a community-based school,” Farris told the board. “We are really excited to have him here.”

Glover said Pennock will also coach junior high football and basketball as well as high school tennis.

Kara Tripp was approved as the director at the district’s daycare center and Melissa Warren as a new pre-kindergarten teacher at Gilmour Elementary.

Elizabeth Koehn will be a pre-k teacher’s aide and Julie Barton a paraprofessional at Gilmour.

Part-time summer maintenance employees approved were Drake Friesen, Maddox Mecklenburg and Cash Slezickey.

All personnel moves were voted on - and approved unanimously - after an executive session that lasted nearly two hours and 20 minutes.

All but about 40 minutes of that executive session included Eric Janzen, an attorney with Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold, the Tulsa-based firm representing the district and some of its coaches in a civil suit filed by Mason Mecklenburg.

There was no action item on the agenda regarding the lawsuit.

In other moves on Monday, board members unanimously approved:

• Supplemental appropriations of $220,242.41 for the co-op fund;

• Fundraiser requests for nine different groups;

• A contract renewal with The Grounds Guys for $69,561.65. That includes 26 “visits” to each of the school grounds, which includes mowing, trimming and blowing. It also includes weeding all campus beds seven times throughout the year;

• Purposes for each of the district’s activity fund accounts;

• Renewal of lease-purchase agreements for the turfing of the football/soccer/ softball fields and for the junior high building;

• Updated board policy on internet access and acceptable use policy;

• The district’s transfer capacity for each grade, which is required every three months.