By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
As people practiced on the nearby soccer field, the parking lot of the Barren County Schools central office slowly filled as the time grew nearer for the monthly meeting of the district’s Board of Education, which had numerous agenda items set for discussion as is typical of the start of the year.
One agenda item that was not of par-for-the-course nature was a discussion and update on a proposed access road. In a departure from the usual construction update, Richard Tutt, vice president for project development with American Engineers, the company overseeing the work on the road, stood saying the road project had slowed due to the permitting process taking longer than expected.
“Part of the [project] process beyond getting the plans and the bids is permitting,” Tutt said. “Part of our permitting, since our project crosses a big drainage way, we have to deal with the corps of engineers. That process started in February and in my wildest dreams, and in my experience, I’ve never had it take this long.”
Tutt said since the project also includes clearing some trees a permit was required from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. According to Tutt fish and wildlife sent a biologist late last week to review the trees as they could be habitats for the Northern Long-Eared Bat — a bat that, according to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, has habitats in 37 states and is listed as “federally endangered” — and the Gray Bat, which was added to the U.S. List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants on April 28, 1976 with the bat’s habitation more localized to southcentral Kentucky, Missouri and parts of Tennessee and Alabama.
“They want to assess what this project is going to do…and then tell us what are permit situation is within Fish and Wildlife,” Tutt said. “Whatever trees we clear, they’re going to assess a mitigation fee.”
According to Tutt, the fish and wildlife biologist will examine the area where tree removal is proposed and, assuming there is no great danger to either species, will allow the removal or can call for a “mitigation fee” to be paid to the department for each tree removed. Assuming the biologist waives the fee, Tutt said, the project can proceed; all-in-all roughly a two week process to get all this resolved if they will have to pay a fee.
The Barren County School District is currently more than 30 days into the 60-day hold Scotty’s Contracting granted them. If the delay is not resolved before the hold lapses the district may have to rebid the project if Scotty’s does not grant another hold.
Towards the end of the board meeting, when all the construction projects, grants and contracts had been discussed, the five board members turned their attention to Finance Director Joe Murley who spoke about the substitute teacher pay scale. He recommended the amount they pay substitutes be increased in order to make the district more competitive in that regard with their neighbors.
The pay is based on the level of education the prospective substitute has — for example, a Kentucky teacher with a four-year degree is rank III and rank IV and V are for emergency certified teachers. The proposed increases, which were approved by the board, increased rank I pay from $120 a day to $140, rank II went from $115 to $130, rank III was $100 and is now $125, rank IV is $120 a day up from the previous $90, rank V is now $100 when it was $90 and retired teachers increased from $150 a day to $155 a day.
In other news, the board approved a lease agreement with the Housing Authority of Glasgow for use of the HERO Center since the renovations at the College Street Campus will not be completed by the start of school. Gumm said they are beginning to hang drywall and should be totally finished by the district’s fall break.
They also approved a contract with Causey Demgen & Moore, a certified public accounting and consultant firm out of Denver, Colorado.
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