Board approves moving mobile units
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 8, 2015 3:05 AM
The Wayne County Board of Education voted Monday night to move two modular units to schools to relieve overcrowding and a third for use as a wrestling room but had concerns about how to dispose of old cafeteria equipment.
The facilities committee recommendation was to relocate one mobile unit from Spring Creek High to Eastern Wayne High for use as a wrestling practice room; two mobile units to Brogden Primary and Eastern Wayne Middle; and to get rid of cafeteria furnishings that had been stored in the former Belfast School.
Instead of voting on the items in total, board member Eddie Radford asked that the one for the wrestling room be pulled and voted on separately.
His concern, as a former wrestling coach, was about the safety issue.
"Some of these guys weigh 200 pounds," he said, explaining that wrestling rooms he is familiar with need some type of "block wall."
"I don't want to be part of okaying project and someone gets hurt."
Dean Sauls, assistant superintendent for support services/athletics, said that the Eastern Wayne principal, Gene Byrd, and staff had indicated they would provide plywood and padding in the modular unit.
Radford was hesitant to sign off on it.
"I know they need space, but I will say this, the wrestling always gets put some place that nobody else wants," he said. "I would like to make sure these kids are safe."
Board member Dwight Cannon asked where practice is currently held.
"Eastern Wayne High School inherited the old New Hope Elementary gym so they have two gyms and in back of the new gym there was a wrestling room which they now use as a health classroom," Sauls said. "They do have a backup gym and most of the wrestling mats were in there and never moved.
"This mobile unit could be placed right beside that so they could have practices. I would assume that lighter weight ones would be in the trailer or the mobile unit."
Sauls said that the school was built with a weight room that was later converted into a health classroom for ninth grade physical education.
Cannon asked whether anybody had considered putting the health class into the trailer.
"I asked Mr. Byrd that and he preferred to keep them near the main campus and keep the wrestlers together and equipment storage and all that stuff," Sauls said.
When the vote was taken, Radford was the only one opposed.
The other hiccup surrounded disposal of old cafeteria equipment formerly stored in the gym at Belfast School until a fire forced it to be moved into the auditorium.
"We received funds from the insurance company so we're asking that this metal stuff from the cafeterias all over the county be sold as scrap metal," Sauls said. "We cannot bid it out because we've already received insurance funds for it.
"So it is my recommendation and the facilities committee that we sell this as surplus scrap metal and hopefully put the proceeds back into the Child Nutrition Department, maybe to offset fees owed by students at the end of the year, something to that sort."
Board member Jennifer Strickland questioned the ramifications, after having received insurance money.
"I just want to make sure we're OK with the state, that we're not selling the equipment and somehow they want the funds back," she said, asking if the district was "set" that the funds can be used.
"I'm waiting for y'all's permission so that maintenance can load it up and haul it to a scrap yard," Sauls said.
"That's not my question," Mrs. Strickland said. "The question is, are we clear, are we safe with the state the funds don't get reverted back to the state or (if) the items were purchased with state funds and the cash has to go back? Are we allowed to keep that money?"
Sauls said from what he had been told by the finance officials that it was acceptable, but he would check again.
Cannon said concerns were also raised for him by the discussion.
"We don't want to publicly say we're going to sell it for scrap metal and then it come back to bite us where we could have done that research prior to this," he said.
Board Chairman Chris West suggested the line item be pulled from the agenda pending further clarification.
The vote on two other units being relocated received unanimous approval.
One, from Spring Creek High to Brogden Primary, was prompted by a spike in enrollment at the primary school, Sauls said.
"We added a third grade and we added a tutor who has to pull kids out eight, nine, 10 at a time and find a place to meet with them," he said.
The other, a double classroom unit that was left over from Norwayne, had been recently stored at the maintenance facility.
Sauls said it could hold up to 85 students and was recommended to move it to Eastern Wayne Middle to offset its growing band program.
"They have 65 in (band) now," he said. "There is room to put the double unit in at Eastern Wayne to alleviate overcrowding in the band program."