Cherokee to host Class A State Track Finals

School board hears about student activities, school finances

 

February 10, 2021



Cherokee Schools will host this year's Class A state track finals, Principal Jeremy Hickman told the Cherokee school board at its regular meeting Monday evening.

“We will host three track meets here in the regular season,” said. “We have also been privileged to host regionals again this year, and we will host the state track meet for the entire Class A this year at Cherokee. To me, that's quite an honor.”

Basketball playoffs start Friday at Laverne, Hickman told the board. The boys play Friday night, and the girls play Saturday after a bye on Friday.

Third- and fourth-grade students will play at Jet's basketball tournament Feb. 16, Principal Ruth Richmond told the board. “They're going to just have us all play on one day,” she said. The teams will each play one game.

Students are very active right now; Hickman had a long list of activities to report to the board. Among those, FCCLA Week is this week; on Feb. 21 is a local livestock show; the county livestock show is Feb. 22-24.

In recent weeks, the student council held a blood drive that was fairly successful, and students met with OSBI representatives about internet safety.

Students seem to be doing well academically. Thirty-eight students made the superintendent's honor roll, and 35 students made the principal's honor roll.

Seniors are meeting with college representatives and applying for scholarships, Hickman said. Cherokee has 25 juniors and seven seniors who want to take classes at Northwest Technology Center next fall – “a lot of kids for us,” said Hickman. Another 10-12 students plan to do concurrent enrollment.

Free ACT tests will be offered in early March, since Covid prevented state testing last spring. Sophomores will receive a free ACT on Feb 17.

School District to Receive $127,000 in Tax Protest Settlement

MACH Resources' tax protest has finally been settled, Schanbacher told the board. The protest, which is about three years old, held up about $400,000 that would have otherwise gone to the school. In the settlement, the school will receive about $127,000.

“It's definitely not the amount we'd like to have, but it's better than nothing, and I was told at one point that that would have been a possibility as well,” said Schanbacher. “We should get that money in March and there is still more money caught up in other protests. Targa – our portion is roughly $750,000 and Sandridge, which goes back to 2017, is roughly $208,000.”

In discussing the school's finances, Schanbacher talked about his efforts to extricate the school from some leases. One of those is for the administrative building, “but we're locked into that lease on that building until October,” said Schanbacher. “We have another portable up there for the elementary, and that lease is continuing, but we've given them 30 days’ notice and they'll come pick it up,” he said. “There are no pick-up fees; those were paid up front.” He said he's trying to eliminate the leases as quickly as he can.

Schanbacher also told the board that in an attempt to reduce the load on the general fund, the school will be paying utilities like gas, water and electricity, out of the building fund instead. That amount, about $14,000 total for the utilities, will help quite a bit. “Right now there's money in the general fund to do those things, and it'll be necessary for us to do that stuff to get through the end of the year,” he said.

Similarly, the school will begin paying two cafeteria workers' salaries from the child nutrition fund, rather than the general fund. “Because of the reimbursement money we've been getting, that fund is fairly healthy right now,” Schanbacher noted.

He also voiced a note of caution about the activity fund as we move farther into the year. Because sporting events can't draw the crowds of past years, the revenue coming into that fund is a lot less. “We've never had to rely on the activity fund for fuel costs and things like that,” said Schanbacher, “but a lot of schools do, and we'll have to keep an eye on that.”

Other Board Business

Due to bad weather, some of the items scheduled for the meeting were skipped, such as the presentation of the district's financial audit from Chas W Carroll. “Mr. Carroll couldn't make it,” noted Superintendent Bryce Schanbacher.

The board voted to keep the board as it is, rather than re-organize – something boards address early in the year.

The board approved the general, building and child nutrition funds' encumbrances, purchase orders and warrants.

the Jan. 11 meeting minutes

The board approved transferring $1,620.55 from one account to another within the activity fund because the wrong account was inadvertently used to pay an invoice.

 

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