CCISD names employees of year in board meeting
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
Five Copperas Cove Independent School District employees were recognized as Employees of the Year at the April Board of Trustees meeting held Tuesday evening at the CCISD Administration Building.
The CCISD Elementary Teacher of the Year was Robert Stroup, who is a special education PCMD teacher at Martin Walker Elementary. The CCISD Paraprofessional of the Year was Kristina Williams-Myers, of Martin Walker Elementary. The Rookie Teacher of the Year was Jessica Bredwell, who teaches 4th grade at Williams/Ledger Elementary. The Personnel of the Year was Bonnie Edmonds, who is the secretary with the Transportation Department.
“All of these folks do exceptional work and I say wherever we go that CCISD has the very best staff you will ever meet,” Burns said.
The Secondary Teacher of the Year was Jan Stalder, who has taught for 44 years, 38 of which were with CCISD. District superintendent Dr. Joe Burns revealed that Stalder had submitted her resignation earlier that day. Prior to presenting her with her award, Burns praised her hard work.
“She is not only the standard-setter, she’s the standard-bearer,” Burns said. “If you have taken her for Dual Credit or AP [English], you are ready for college level work.”
Burns shared that his son, who was one of her students, said there was no person who had prepared him for college better than Stalder. Board member Dr. Karen Harrison and deputy superintendent Rick Kirkpatrick are two of her former students, as well as countless others.
Burns asked for Stalder to take a picture with the principals she had taught under, including Miguel Timarky, Rick Kirkpatrick and Earl Parcell.
These were the principals she had gone through while Burns was superintendent, Burns said.
“What you’ll see is Jan could keep a job- they could not,” Burns joked.
After taking pictures with Harrison and Kirkpatrick, Stalder expressed her thanks to the board and the district.
“Actually, I couldn’t begin to thank everybody who has made this job easier. Some have made it harder too but that was part of it. The students are the ones though and nothing means more than to see students here as administrators and board members,” Stalder said.
Burns said that it would be hard to say goodbye to Stalder.
“We have bright young people who are coming in and assuming roles as teachers, people who transform and change the lives of kids in a positive way but it’s hard to say bye to people who have set a track record for success and they’re leaving a legacy of excellence for others to follow,” Burns said.
The board approved a contract for the Schoology Assessment Management Platform, costing $24,500 for the first year of a 3-year contract. They also approved the purchase of 300 HP Stream Pro 11 G3 Netbooks and 10 32-device charging Carts at a cost of $64,395 and $4,759.35, respectively. They approved the purchase of new artificial turf for Bulldawg Stadium for the cost of $375,800 which includes new goal posts and a $20,000 contingency which will be refunded to the district if it is not used. The price also includes a 10-year warranty, a field groomer, one complimentary comprehensive grooming and maintenance, and installation of a portion of the removed turf in the batting cages at the baseball and softball field.
The board accepted a $1,000 donation from Centex Recognition/Herff Jones to go to the CCHS Junior Class to be used to help with Prom.
The board approved an interlocal agreement with Killeen Independent School District to broadcast the 2017 CCHS graduation to remote locations over the internet.
The board also approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Texas at Austin for continuation of the ChemBridge Program for the 2017-2018 school year. The program provides an opportunity for high school students to earn 6 college credit hours for chemistry while earning one high school credit for an advanced science class that can also serve as an advanced measure under the Texas Education Agency Distinguished Achievement Program. ChemBridge will be offered as a fourth-year science course, with high school chemistry being a prerequisite.
The board approved a bid from Mitchell Construction to complete the cafeteria expansion at House Creek Elementary for a cost of $223,000. They also approved a big of $2,019,514.38 from Honey’s Roofing LLC for re-roofing and repairs at Crossroads High School, Halstead Elementary School, Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy, Fairview/Miss Jewell Elementary, Copperas Cove Junior High and Copperas Cove High School. The board approved bids for asbestos abatement at Fairview Elementary and Copperas Cove Junior High for $32,200 from Sisk-Robb, Inc. and a bid from Building Abatement and Demolition Co. for $94,000 for asbestos abatement at the district’s new administration building.
The board rejected a proposal from LMC Corporation for the renovation of the front drive at Copperas Cove High School, which came in at $643,956.69, because the engineer’s opinion of probable cost was $338,270. The board also approved competitive sealed proposal as the method to garner bids on the front drive project, with proposals due by May 2.
The board approved a waiver for remote homebound instruction for a student, allowing the student to use Skype to receive instruction. The board also approved submitting a low attendance waiver for March 20, 2017, where CCHS had an average daily attendance that was at least 10 percent below the previous year’s average daily attendance. This year was 70 percent compared to 93.8 percent in 2016, due to a threat directed at CCHS and posted on social media during Spring Break.