School board approves emergency for repairs
Jan. 10—By Johnny McMahan
Managing Editor
Woodward Board of Education members recognized the district's teacher of the year finalists during their first meeting of 2023 on Monday evening.
Finalists present were Kari Boone, Jake Henderson and Moriah Graff. They were introduced by their respective principals. Finalist Kenni Fewin was unable to attend the meeting due to illness.
Board members also heard various reports.
Assistant Superintendent Jerry Burch gave a financial update and Superintendent Kyle Reynolds went over the water damage that occurred during the Christmas holiday. The high school auditorium and the administration building received the brunt of the damage due to busted water lines.
"We're still in recovery and cleanup mode," Reynolds said. "We are working with our insurance company (and other companies) to make sure we have a game plan on how to put everything back together."
Reynolds said it may be up to six months before everything is fully operational.
He noted the high school has made alternate plans for various events if the auditorium isn't usable by the end of the school year. A number of events are typically held in the auditorium in late April and May.
With that, board members approved declaring an emergency due to the damage, allowing the school to "take away some of the red tape involved with a lot of construction projects," Reynolds said.
Board members also approved the bid by Ben E. Keith for food items and supplies for the child nutrition program in the second semester of this school year.
In addition, board members received a tour of Cedar Heights Elementary School (where the meeting was held) from Principal Heather Cupp.
