A 19-minute meeting late Friday morning wasn’t without its contention.

In the end, the Kingfi sher Board of Education approved an estimate of needs for 2024-25 and also finalized contracts with seven certified staff members, but neither vote was completely unanimous.

The estimate of needs was for $16,200,523.76 in the general fund, which is about $7 million less than last year when several major construction and renovation projects were in the works.

The estimate of needs, which will be published in Wednesday’s edition of the Times & Free Press, now goes to the county excise board for approval.

The school board’s vote was 3-1 with Charles Walker making the motion to approve the estimate of needs, which was prepared by Britton, Kuykendall & Miller CPAs of Weatherford.

Terry Payne seconded the motion and Carly Franks joined them in voting in favor of the figure.

Brad Wittrock voted against it.

“We just lost the community,” Wittrock said after the vote.

Wittrock has been adamant the district do its part to pay down the $5 million settlement that came from a civil lawsuit brought by Mason Mecklenburg. A portion of that settlement $3.75 million plus interest over three years - will fall to landowners and homeowners in the district.

Wittrock had previously made a motion to table the agenda item in order to clarify an opinion on the legality of reducing the budget in order to help pay down part of a settlement agreement by the district.

The board had tabled the move at last Monday’s regular meeting as it was awaiting an answer from Eric Janzen of Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold (RFR), which is the firm the district retains as legal counsel.

Wittrock was seeking to reduce the district’s budget to about $14.5 million.

In Monday’s meeting, he said he was seeking to reduce the general fund by 12.96 mills, submit it to the excise board and then designate those mills for the sinking fund.

That would allow the district to pay the $1.25 million plus $504,687.50, which is part of the $5 million settlement.

Wittrock said he’d requested a legal opinion from Janzen, but never received one.

“I had to get my own counsel to get that answer,” Wittrock said.

Walker referenced an email from Janzen in saying “under the direction of RFR, we need to approve the estimate of needs as presented to us.”

Wittrock questioned if the school’s attorney ever considered the alternate plan.

“From what he told me in the email was to approve the estimate of needs we normally would approve,” Walker said. “What he said is that we can’t direct those funds into the sinking fund.”

“We’re not going to direct those funds into the sinking fund,” Wittrock said, restating he simply wanted to reduce the overall budget.

Wittrock then made a motion “to table it and get a ruling if the board can reduce the budget to take this money and keep this and pay the settlement for the community and the people here.”

The motion failed due to lack of a second.

Walker then made his motion.

Walker told the Times & Free Press after the meeting that multiple attorneys had advised to approve the estimate of needs that was presented.

“That’s the way they said we need to approve it,” Walker said. “The way we normally would without any changes.”

The board also requested an opinion from the office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Walker said he acted on that advice.

The question proposed was: “May a county excise board ask a public school district to set aside funds from its estimate of needs to dedicate those same funds to the district’s sinking fund for the purpose of paying down a money settlement reached in lieu of litigation?”

The response came from Thomas R. Schneider, who is deputy general counsel, who said his response was “a letter of counsel, it should not be construed as an official Attorney General Opinion…” and was “advisory only.”

Schneider’s response included: “Your question is answered by resolving another question: can a school district’s sinking fund be used by the district to pay down a money settlement?”

It went on to cite Oklahoma law and a state Supreme Court ruling.

It concluded with: “Because title 70, section 1-119 prohibits a school district from using the sinking fund to pay for judgments other than those stemming from bond indebtedness, a county excise board cannot ask or force the district to act contrary to law by using the sinking fund to pay for a money settlement stemming from litigation.”

The estimate of needs showed the district ending the 2023-24 fiscal year with just over $3.9 million in the general fund and more than $717,000 in the building fund.

It projects just under $8.2 million in revenue for the district, which includes $2.1 million in gross production taxes, $3.8 million in state aid and $808,000 in ad valorem taxes.

Also listed is about $3.7 million in sinking fund requirements.

Included in that is $1.25 million in “unpaid judgments” and $504,687.50 for “interest on unpaid judgments.”

••• Wittrock abstained from the vote regarding the contracts on the agenda for Dan Bivins, Stan Blundell, Derek Patterson, Amy Pearson, Reagan Roof, Kevin Yeagley and Taylor Young.

Those contracts were finalized as the board approved an extra-duty pay scale that was revised from the one approved during the August meeting.

The contracts were also on last Monday’s agenda, but were tabled in order to receive more information.

Board members have had questions about the extra-duty pay scale, what was told to some employees and what was reflected in the pay scale presented to them and also what was reflected in some of the employees’ contracts that were presented to them as school was starting.

(Ed. note: Several conversations between staff members and Superintendent David Glover have been referenced. However, the board has largely been unable to discuss those conversations with Glover as he has been hospitalized multiple times in recent weeks with health complications.)

Athletic Director Stuart Purintun and KHS Principal John Harris have answered some questions by board members.

Total extra-duty pay approved Friday was $559,525. (Ed. note: A breakdown of that pay schedule will be included in next week’s editions.)

Board members discussed the item for about 11 minutes.

“I’m going to make a motion we go ahead and approve this as listed. If next year we need to look at (adjusting it), I’m fine with that,” Franks said. “Mr. Glover’s not here to let us know what was said and I trust you guys.

“I’m quite certain this was said, so therefore I make a motion to approve the changes as listed.”

Walker and Payne also voted for the motion while Wittrock abstained.

“It may fix the issue that these people get their money, but it doesn’t fix the issue that we didn’t address it that this stuff was not presented, that they were just sent their contracts,” Wittrock said. “I agree that they should have it, but I have a hard time doing this without addressing the issue.

“I feel like it kicks the can down the road of accountability and how we lead for our guys.”

Board members did unanimously approve cashing in a certificate of deposit “for district cash flow.”

The amount of the CD was $758,235.06.

Also approved was an item allowing employees to voluntarily donate sick leave to Matthew Loch through the district’s sick leave sharing policy.

Board member Dana Golbek was absent from the meeting.

Among those also attending the meeting were Harris, Purintun, KHS Assistant Principal Colby Connel, Assistant AD Stan Blundell, Gilmour Principal Makylah Tollefson, Heritage Principal Lisa Meier and Kingfisher City Manager Jim Thomas.