At its March meeting Thursday night, the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees extended Superintendent Eddie Peasant’s contract for another year.
The decision was made by a 3-0 vote with one seat empty and Board President Lee Brand Jr. absent. Peasant received his annual evaluation from the board at its February meeting. His salary remains $180,000.
Peasant started as superintendent in June 2017 after being hired in March 2017.
Board assistant secretary Keith Coble praised Peasant’s leadership.
“He hasn’t been our superintendent a year yet, but obviously there are a lot of good things going on in the district, pre-K initiatives, a lot of other initiatives taking place in the district, so we just want to give that as a confirmation of our support,” Coble said.
There is a maximum of four years allowed in a superintendent’s contract allowed by state law. Each year, the board approves an additional year to the superintendent’s contract, replacing the previous year.
The board also elected its officers at the meeting. Peasant presided over the election of Lee Brand Jr. as president. Brand previously served as vice president. Brand then presided over the rest of the elections. John Brown, previously the board’s secretary, was elected as vice president. Member Debra Prince previously was elected to the secretary position and Coble was elected to the assistant secretary position.
All officers will serve in their respective positions until March 2019, except for Coble, who will not run for re-election when his seat becomes open in November.
The new member to be appointed in April to replace Melissa Luckett will serve as board member.
The board also approved the lowest bid for the district’s wide area network from MaxxSouth. The first year cost will be $280,301.13, and years two through five will cost $54,000. The bid is eligible for E-Rate, a government program allowing for discounts of up to 90 percent on telecommunications services for schools and libraries. If approved for E-Rate, the initial cost will be $56,060.23, with subsequent years costing $10,800.
The board also hired Archetronics architect Thomas C. Stewart to serve as architect for repairs to the East Oktibbeha High School roof. A measure to approve advertising for bids for the project was also approved.
“They oversee the construction of the project to make sure it’s meeting the specifications and the quality of the work,” said Assistant Superintendent David Baggett.
In addition, the board approved Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary’s School At Risk action plan. HWS was the sole school in the district to receive an F accountability rating.
“Dr. Julie Wade with the Mississippi Department of Education Department of School improvement came and just visited with me,” said HWS Principal Julie Fancher.
Fancher will bring updates on the plan and HWS’s progress to the board at each subsequent board meeting.
All measures were approved 3-0, with one seat empty and President Lee Brand Jr. absent.
The next board meeting will be held at the East Alternative School at 6 p.m. on April 10.