KPS in great shape, auditor says

Kingfisher Public Schools received a positive report Monday from its annual audit.

“Overall the school is in excellent financial condition and the records are in good shape,” said James Kuykendall of Britton, Kuykendall and Miller CPAs, the firm that handles the school district’s audit.

Kuykendall was speaking at the February regular meeting of the board of education.

Although Kuykendall noted some minor issues, he said there was nothing major to report.

“We’re seeing improvements in areas that needed to be worked on in the past,” he said.

Kuykendall’s report was part of a busy agenda of a two-hour meeting.

The night ended with board members unanimously voting to re-hire principals and directors for the 2019-20 school year. Those include:

• Todd Overstreet, Kingfisher High School principal

• Jay Wood, KHS assistant principal and athletic director

• Keith Campbell, Kingfisher Middle School principal

• Melissa Slezickey, KMS assistant principal and counselor

• Shane Hood, Heritage Elementary principal

• Cliff Benson, Gilmour Elementary principal

• Glenda Wolf, special education director

That move came after a 12-minute executive session.

Also hired after the executive session were Melissa Hill as a special education paraprofessional and Deb Cross-white as a slowpitch softball assistant. Cross-white will not be teaching in the district, only helping Danny Green with the softball team in its inaugural season this spring.

The board also saw plans for the new cheer and softball facility that will be constructed just outside the right field fence of the softball field.

Jeff Wegener of LWPB Architecture presented the most recent renderings for the facility.

“It’s a very simple job,” he said of the structure. “I think it will easily come in under the conceptual estimates.”

That estimate was right around $2 million.

Wegener said there will be more meetings to hammer out the final details of the facility and Superintendent Jason Sternberger said final plans will be approved by board members before construction begins.

Meantime, a crew will bore holes at the proposed construction site to see if the area is dry enough to begin construction.

Once that report is submitted, Wegener said a time frame can be more accurately laid out.

However, he projected the district is about four weeks from being able to send out bids for the project. There will be a 20-day bid period.

“I think you’ll be able to award bids at your April meeting,” he said.

The board approved hiring Horticulture Impressions to help with lawn care.

The company was hired last fall when the district maintenance crew dropped to one full-time person.

“We went from two-and-a-half or three full-time maintenance men to now being down to one,” Sternberger said. “We’ve been trying to fill those positions, but haven’t been able to.”

Mowing, on top of other duties, becomes too big a task for one person, Sternberger said.

“It’s easier in the summer because we have our summer help,” he said. “But once fall hits, they go back to school and are no longer available. That’s when we really need help.”

Horticulture Impressions was one of three bids received. Depending on the level of services, it will cost the district about $1,600 to $2,000 each time they’re needed to help with mowing.

“This isn’t a contract,” Sternberger said. “They’ll be available on an as-needed basis only.”

Board members also gave the approval for a fundraiser for the high school boys and girls track teams and declared a number of cameras and printers as surplus.