The Starkville-Oktibbeha ConsolidatedSchool District Board of Trustees fulfilled one of its obligations Wednesday by touring several district schools.
Members of the board are required by state law to spend the equivalent of one full day in district schools. All members of the board except for Debra Prince took the tour, along with Superintendent Eddie Peasant and Assistant Superintendents David Baggett and Anna Guntharp. Prince will complete her requirements at a later date.
School Board President Lee Brand said it was important for him to see the issues he was dealing with firsthand, and to interact with teachers and students.
“All of the things that we looked at today are things that there are plans in the works relative to, like at West Elementary there’s some things at the old auditorium area, to get that back to being usable,” Brand said. “That’s in the works now and should be brought to fruition very soon.”
Brand also said the group got to see where pre-K classrooms would be located next year at West Elementary and Sudduth Elementary.
School Board Assistant Secretary Keith Coble gave similar reasons for the tour’s importance.
“You end up talking to the principals about the curriculum, but you also end up talking about the facilities,” Coble said. “You often run into issues that are not enormous, a repair here, a repair there. You know, an air conditioning unit that needs to be replaced. It matters to whoever’s room that air conditioner is attached to.”
Guntharp, who is the district’s newest assistant superintendent, said it was good for her to see the schools firsthand. She commented on the emphasis on leadership she saw across the district.
“The students greeted us, welcomed us to the school,” Guntharp said. “They had their individual goals and their classroom goals. They knew what their academic goals were, and that was really impressive.”
Schools visited Wednesday included West Elementary School, Sudduth Elementary School, Armstrong Middle School, and Starkville High School. The board toured the East Alternative School before its meeting there Tuesday night. The board also toured Overstreet Elementary School last week.
“As a board member, any chance to actually put eyes on some of the things we talk about on paper, being able to go out and look at the facilities, but even more having a chance to be in those schools watching those children, seeing how they interact, being kind of brought back to square one,” Brand said. “Our job is about the children, setting things in place from a policy standpoint and governance that helps those children learn, achieve and succeed.”