Moving begins for city schools

By Tiffiny Woo

Published: June 27, 2008

Workers began moving boxes Monday for the final phase of Eufaula City Schools reconfiguration.
Movers should be done with boxes and furniture in the next two weeks, and teachers can begin unpacking and preparing their rooms after the Fourth of July weekend.
Last Wednesday, building officials and school administrators completed the final inspection for the new additions at the former Western Heights and Sanford Avenue Elementary schools. The two schools will now become Eufaula Primary and Eufaula Elementary schools, respectively.
Some last minute plans to rectify drainage issues at Eufaula Elementary were discussed during the inspection.
“This is a problem they’ve been working on for some time,” said Superintendent Dr. Barry Sadler. Sadler also pointed out any adjustments he felt needed to be made to the building, from minor details such as heights for drinking fountains to more major adjustments with some of the floor tiles.
After the inspection, Sadler was presented with certificates of occupancy for the buildings, meaning the two facilities can now be used for school.
Upon entering the new hallway at Eufaula Primary School, the eye is immediately drawn to the bright red and yellow colors on the walls and floors and blue accents in the classrooms. These rooms will house mostly second grade and some first grade students. The color scheme at the Eufaula Elementary School is more muted, suitable for the older students that will be using the building (grades 3-5).
The new facilities feature some of the latest technology designed for convenience to conserve resources. Temperature controls in each room can be restricted to a certain temperature range.
An administrator can, for example, make it so that the temperature range can only be adjusted between 70 and 80 degrees or any combination of temperatures.
Florescent lighting fixtures in each room, including bathrooms, are fixed with motion sensors which turn the lights on and off when entering a room or when it is empty.
For safety, some of the hallways feature security doors that automatically close during a fire alarm.
This standard safety requirement keeps fires from spreading rapidly down long hallways.
At the primary school, metal fences were installed to close off student traffic traveling between buildings from nearby parking lots and unsecured areas. These fences can be opened from the inside during emergencies or for maintenance vehicles to pass through.
Each new addition also comes with some small luxuries that make the classrooms more functional.
All of the cabinetry in both buildings is made of solid wood.
“It looks better, but more importantly, it lasts longer,” said David Williams, Director of Administrative Services.
Each school has a new music room and art room with all the amenities including extra sinks, special wood shelving for storing art supplies and carpeting in the music rooms to dampen sound.
The primary school features a new autism center consisting of two connected rooms that share a separate, specialized bathroom.
“Previously, we had our autistic students spread out among the schools, but we’re getting enough students so that we thought we needed to have them all together,” said Sadler. “The rooms are connected so that students from both rooms can share the bathroom without having to go through the hallway.
“We’ve found that the students just seem to do better if they don’t have to travel through the hallways as much.”
The buildings will be used by students in the coming school year.

Monthly meeting
The board held a teacher transfer hearing for Eufaula City School employee Lynne Baker.
During the last board meeting, Baker was transferred from special education teacher at Western Heights (now Eufaula Primary School) to a self-contained special education teacher at Sanford Avenue (now Eufaula Elementary School).
Baker requested a closed hearing after which the board decided to take no action on her request pending further information to be provided by Baker.

The board approved the following personnel recommendations during the June meeting:
Resignations: Meg Herring, AMMS teacher
Transfers: Jamel Harris, P.E. teacher at AMMS to P.E. teacher at EHS; Ronnie McClintock, head custodian at BC to head custodian of HOPE Academy/Central Office
Employment: Magee Colley Patton, elementary teacher, Eufaula Primary School (EPS); Keith McKemy; seventh grade math, AMMS; Glenda Kline, seventh grade science, AMMS; Lindsay Hall, science teacher, EHS; Adrienne Davis, science teacher, HOPE Academy; Barbara Jones, CNP assistant manager, EHS; Lakia Slater, secretary/instructional aide, HOPE Academy.
Secondary summer school: Debbie Williamson, James Kennedy, Gloria Stough, Jennings Gilmore and Allison Mitchell
AHSGE summer review: Matt Jones, math; Amy Rasberry, math; Amanda Ates, history and reading; John Savage, biology; Callie Weaver, language
Supplements: Dan Klages, EHS head football coach, $14,773; Jamel Harris, EHS assistant football coach, $2,200; John Gilmore, EHS assistant football coordinator, $2,200; Todd Clements, EHS assistant football/JV, $2,200; Andy Hinton, EHS assistant football/JV, $2,200; Earnie Ragland, EHS assistant football, $2,200; Mike Henry, EHS assistant football/JV, $2,200 and EHS head boys’ basketball coach, $4,023; Duane Mock, EHS assistant football/JV head coach, $2,200; Tim Walker, EHS assistant football/JV, $2,200; Rebecca Symons, EHS head volleyball coach, $1,677; Ashley Klages, EHS varsity cheerleaders, $2,200; Cliff Washburn, EHS band director, $4,988; Jennings Gilmore, AMMS head football coach, $2,200.

The Eufaula City School Board also took the following actions during their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 17:
Dropout rates for the 2007 school year were presented. Out of 861 total students enrolled in grades 9-12, Eufaula High School recorded 20 drop-outs, an average of approximately 2.32 percent of the total students.
The highest percentage rates for dropouts were in the 9th grade at 3.41 percent with 12th grade being the second highest with 3.11 percent. The four-year projected dropout rate for the school is 9.31 percent.
Approved an amendment to the Worthless Check Policy after a second reading at the meeting.
Approved a salary schedule.
Approved various budget amendments.
Adopted a professional service agreement
Approved activity schedules for various social and academic groups in the system.