Alva Review-Courier -

At their January meeting last Wednesday, the Burlington Board of Education rehired Superintendent Glen Elliott for the 2017-18 school year. Board members thanked Elliott for his years of service to the school.

Elliott's rehiring came after a 35-minute executive session. That session was also to evaluate Principal Shane Feely with no action to be taken upon return to open session.

All members attended the meeting, which was called to order by President Terry Graham including: Allison Armbruster, Aaron Smith, Robert Hill and T. J. Rockenbach. Superintendent Elliott, Principal Feely and Minutes Clerk Tamre McGinnis were also present.

Board members received appreciation certificates for their years of service as follows: Terry Graham, 21 years; Allison Armbruster, eight years; Aaron Smith, five years; T.J. Rockenbach, two years; and Robert Hill, one year.

Vehicles Purchased and Other Burlington Board Business

The board made a change regarding a vehicle purchase they discussed at the previous board meeting. One of those was to change the selection of the 2017 Suburban due to the lack of equipment called for in the bid sheet to the model that meets the specifications in the amount of $45,995 from Croft Chevrolet.

Bids received at the previous board meeting on a 2017 14-passenger capacity van were discussed. The board accepted the bid from Ross Transportation for $55,352.

The board also discussed bids received at the previous meeting on a 2017 47-passenger lift-equipped school bus. They accepted the bid from Ross Transportation for $91,648.

Encumbrances, change orders and warrants for 2017 received board approval as follows: General Fund – encumbrances $28,037.50, and warrants,$199,688.72; Building Fund – warrants $327.30; Transportation Fund – encumbrances $45,995; and Child Nutrition Fund – warrants $2,300.27.

The board tabled agenda item 4 concerning excessive absences.

Items receiving board approval included the December activity report and reaffirming the exposure control plan.

Superintendent Elliott Reports on Sportsmanship and Mid-Year Comparison

With basketball season in full swing, Superintendent Elliott reported on sportsmanship at basketball games. He said it's been a good year with no issues. He asks that fans, players and coaches keep up the good work through the remainder of the season and throughout the playoffs.

Principal Feely gave an update on Elks basketball records so far this season. As of this Tuesday, the Elks are 14-6 and the Lady Elks are 15-5. Feely said that the grade school basketball season is complete with girls at 7-4 and boys at 6-6. He said the junior high basketball current standings (at the time of the meeting) were boys at 4-8 and girls at 9-3. Burlington teams are competing in the Junior High Medford Tournament this week.

The superintendent said the mid-term adjustment was reviewed, which was a positive $369 for Burlington.

He presented a mid-year revenue and expense comparison for all funds. For 2016-17, Burlington Public School total collections are $2,023.961.10. That's up from 2015-16, which was $1,975,468.66. That's roughly $48,500 more collections this year.

The mid-revenue comparison sheet shows current ad valorem tax at $1,135,884.92. That's $25,500 more than last year. Back ad valorem tax for 2016-17 is $42,319.54 compared to just $5,293.14 in 2015-16.

Gross production for 2016-17 is $480,783.60. For 2015-16 it was $474,858.12. The highest year of gross production in recent years was in 2014-15 at $726,957.51.

These figures have Superintendent Elliott hopeful that Burlington School will see a healthy carry-over at the end of June like they did last year.

The Burlington Public School Foundation Annual Meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the school auditorium. Elliott asked board members to attend if possible.

Principal Feely Reports on Student Achievements and More

Principal Feely said Burlington's enrollment is 40 in the high school and 135 for elementary.

He said FFA members are preparing for spring competitions, speeches and shows. Feely said that senior Bayli Hyde received a $1,000 scholarship from the Oklahoma Youth Expo livestock show. Last year graduate Sadie Collins will be traveling to Ireland this summer for the trip she won at last year’s National FFA Convention.

This Friday 47 grade school students who earned their way by reading, get to attend the Accelerated Reader swim party.

Joe Coles will be back for the last session with the students and teachers on March 6, 2017.

The next Burlington School board meeting was changed to Feb. 15 instead of Feb. 22 as scheduled.