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Nola Sizemore

Staff Writer

Members of the Harlan Independent Board of Education hashed out details on plans for construction projects during a special meeting on Thursday, including cafeteria and kitchen projects at the elementary and middle/high school, football field house and softball concession stand projects.

During a lengthy discussion, board member Matt Nunez expressed concern over having sufficient staff for two fully functional cafeterias on the campus.

“If both cafeterias at the elementary school and middle/high school are fully functional, you’d need equal amount of staff at each one,” said Nunez.

Johnson told Nunez the number of staff is determined by the number of meals served. He said the staff at the elementary will decrease and the remaining staff would be distributed to the newly proposed cafeteria in the middle/high school.

Elementary principal Mary Lou McCarthy said there are now nine cafeteria/kitchen staff members at the elementary school.

“My understanding from our last meeting was that the middle/high school cafeteria will be a fully functional and the elementary school cafeteria was going to be more of a warming kitchen,” said Johnson. “If we try to make both fully functional kitchens, it’s going to cost more.”

Board members Cindy Allison, Matt Nunez and Kat Stacy were adamant about the elementary school cafeteria being a fully functional cafeteria instead of a warming kitchen.

“Everything in that elementary school kitchen is 30 years old,” said Stacy. “When you transport food you’re really supposed to have a refrigerated truck or a heated truck. I think it would be good for both to be fully functional kitchens.”

Board chairman Joe Meadors reassured Stacy the elementary school kitchen will be updated, whether it is a warming or fully functional facility.

“I think we can get to a fully functional kitchen at the elementary school. We might have to just buy newer equipment,” said Meadors. “The elementary will be serving 325 students instead of 800, so obviously you won’t have to have the same size equipment you may have now. It’s conceivable we can make both fully functional.”

Meadors went on to recommend the concession area at the high school be made into a secretarial office where visitors to the school would be more visible and contained in the lobby area. He said doors could be placed at the beginning of the hallway to make the instructional part of the school more safe.

At the end of the discussion and upon the recommendation of Johnson, BG-1 documents and amendments were approved. The BG-1 items recommended included approximately $2.1 million for the middle/high school project with alternates; $100,000 for the football field house project and $1,500 for softball concession project, with a note that boosters had donated the building and the architect had donated his services for the project; and a revised BG-1 for the elementary school project.

Other board actions included:

*Approval of the draft budget for 2013-14;

*Nominated, in priority order, Chris Thompson, Stephanie Smith or Tera Bryson to serve as a community/business leader to the Local Planning Committee;

*Approved Toby Tours, of Louisville, as the transportation carrier for the eighth grade field trips. Tabled Above All Coach Travel, of Minnesota, as the transportation carrier for the boys choir field trips until more information can be obtained;

*Tabled decision on district insurance for 2013-14 until a list of companies and agents can be obtained.

Reach Nola Sizemore at 606-573-4510 or at nsizemore@civitasmedia.com