Insurance premiums for Kingfisher Public Schools were set to go up 150 percent if the district stuck with its current carrier.

The board of education last Monday opted to go a different route.

Board members unanimously voted to go with Oklahoma Schools Insurance Group (OSIG) to cover the district for fiscal year 2021-22.

The move came on the recommendation of Super intendent Dr. Daniel Craig.

The district has been covered by Oklahoma Schools Risk Management Trust (OSRMT) during the current fiscal year.

The premium for FY2021 was $265,027.58. However, the quote for next fiscal year was $400,205.

Former Superintendent Jason Sternberger had told members at multiple previous board meetings that the group’s premiums were likely to sharply increase if there was even a bid.

He said there were a number of contributing factors, including a bulk of large payouts to policyholders.

Craig echoed those sentiments at the June 7 meeting, noting that OSIG’s quote was $270,537 for the exact same amount of coverage.

“If you’re comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges, it’s the same amount of coverage,” Craig said to the board.

“It seems straightforward to me to pay $130,000 less and get that coverage.”

The board also agreed to a contract with the Grounds Guys for mowing services from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

The contract comes with a price tag of $53,289.34 wherein the Grounds Guys crews will provide mowing, trimming and blowing services at the high school, middle school and elementary campuses 26 times.

Craig noted that the company is currently handling those services and - with several crew members working - finishes within a day.

When Kingfisher’s two-man maintenance crew is tasked with the duty, it takes 40 hours of work.

“And we’re using our mowers, our weed eaters, our gas,” Craig said.

He discussed with the board the option of trying to hire a pair of full-time employees to help with the mowing task as well as other district needs.

However, he said, even if hired at $25,000 per employee per year, the cost would eventually surpass the contract total in the Grounds Guys quote.

“You’d be looking at around $70,000 per year,” Craig said.

Board members also voted to terminate legal action against the Oklahoma State Board of Education.

It had voted at its April meeting to join a class action lawsuit against the state board to dispute the legality of a resolution regarding funding for charter schools.

The resolution would have changed the state’s funding formula and shifted some funds from traditional district to charter schools.

Since then, moves by the state legislature have quelled those concerns and the lawsuit was dropped.

Kingfisher’s board’s move was a formality on its part.

The district will continue its food service contract with Opaa! over the next fiscal year.

The contract calls for a 3.7 percent increase from the previous one.

That equates to just below $3.54 for lunches, $1.77 for breakfasts and $1.18 for after-school snacks for students.

A number of annual fundraisers for various groups were approved for next school year. Those groups include BPA, baseball, choir workshop, cross country and track, FFA, football, Gilmour faculty, Gilmour student grade, Gilmour and Heritage PTO, Heritage faculty, Heritage library, Heritage music, Heritage student grade, KHS band, KHS Student Council, KHS vocal, KHS band, KHS faculty, KHS student grade, KMS vocal and softball.

Craig said more fundraiser requests will be on the June 29 agenda.

In other moves, the board approved:

• Annual contracts with Filament Essential Services for the district website; OSAG for worker’s compensation insurance; OSSBA for board membership agreement and for policy services; Mercy Hospital Kingfisher for physical therapy and speech therapy, and, Precision Testing Laboratories, Inc., for asbestos operation and maintenance;

• Continuing to service as the lead fiscal agent for the Title III consortium;

• Amendments to the board policy regarding food procurements.

(Ed. note: The board also made multiple personnel moves after an executive session. Those moves were outlined in the Wednesday, June 9, edition.)