District has plenty of new, ongoing projects as school year begins

Nita Johnson, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·3 min read

Aug. 11—The 2022-2023 school year begins Thursday and the Laurel County School District has plenty of new and ongoing projects to start off the academic year.

Establishing a school district police department took another step forward as board members approved a resolution — a step that Superintendent Dr. Doug Bennett said was necessary for the progression of that program.

"This will allow us to hire ORI (Originating Agency Indentifier)," Bennett said. "This is just one step along the way but the first day (of school) will have plenty of officers."

Board members had questions regarding the duties of the school police. One question was if the school officers would serve off duty. Bennett said the school police were school district employees and would only function in the school setting. He added, however, if a child ran from the school that the school police had jurisdiction to follow the child off campus.

"As far as transports (to juvenile detention centers), the local police will still do that," Bennett explained. "We will have School Resource Officers and the LEOSA officers (Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act)."

LEOSA officers are permitted to carry firearms on properties such as schools and public places that traditionally ban firearms. LEOSA officers undergo special training and, historically, are retired law enforcement officers who have had prior training and experience.

Board members also approved the Chief of the Laurel County Law Enforcement and officers' job descriptions as well as an agreement with London City Police to provide School Resource Officers for the upcoming school year.

Several new positions within the school district were also approved. During Monday's meeting, the creation of a district preschool teacher and Secretary II positions were approved. The re-creation of other positions included attendance specialist for the district, attendance clerk at Hazel Green, social studies teacher at McDaniel Learning Center, preschool assistant at Johnson, special needs assistant at Bush, a certified counselor at Laurel County Day Treatment and an LBD teacher at North Laurel Middle School.

David Jackson with Hacker Bros. Construction and Ray Vaske with Sherman, Carter and Barnhart architects gave updates on projects to board members and administrators of the Laurel County School District on Monday evening. Those included the ongoing renovations at the Laurel County Day Treatment Center and the new roof at North Laurel High School. Vaske said the new roof at North High would be finished by the first of the year.

The Day Treatment facility is well underway, with Vaske and Jackson showing pictures of the progress. Vaske said he liked how the new brick and stone blended with the original section of the facility. One area which will house the media room features a recessed brick wall outlined with the stone on the outside.

"This is the media room and the outside wall can hold a digital board to announce events," Vaske told board members.

The auxilliary gyms at North and South High Schools also moved forward with Hacker Bros. and Sherman Carter and Barnhart hired as construction manager and architects for the project.