On June 5, the Cherokee Board of Education gathered for a regular meeting. The room had a lighter feel than usual, and broke into laughter on a few occasions.

Principal's Reports

“We ended the school year with a really fun Super Kids Day,” Cherokee Elementary Principal Keela Patterson told the board, “and I want thank all the volunteers and parents who came and helped that day. It's something the kids look forward to all year. We had a bouncy house and lots of fun games for them to play, and the kids got a snow cone, so it was a really fun day.”

Keeping with the upbeat tone, she told the board that early test results had arrived for some students. “We just got our preliminary scores for our third graders, and I'm really pleased with the results,” she said, complimenting teachers and students on doing a “good job.”

Patterson's attention has now turned to summer school. “Today we kicked off our summer school program and 39 students showed up today,” she said to approving murmurs.

High School Principal Lane Pruett was clearly happy to be able to continue the good news trend.

“We received a plaque in the mail for the boys' track team. They received a Distinguished Academic plaque, for which they have to have a minimum 3.5 GPA and be in the top 10 percent of their class,” Pruett said. “It was very deserved,” he added, before turning to summer activities.

“Driver's ed is in full-swing, so if you see a driver's ed car around be cautious, back off,” he said as the group laughed. “We do have quite a few enrolled in that.”

Summer camps are underway, he said. “We had our little kid camp the week after school's out – over 100 kindergarten through eighth-graders, 117 or 120, attended that,” he said. “Last week was football camp. This week is junior high camp for boys, so all the camps are in full swing.”

He added that Mrs. Sniders' summer activities have already begun, and some hallways in the school are blocked off because maintenance projects will soon begin.

Consent Agenda Includes Claflin Resignation

The board approved the consent agenda, which consisted of minutes of past meetings; General Fund (11) encumbrances (261-278 and 70275-70277) and warrants; Building Fund (21) encumbrances (0) and warrants; and Child Nutrition Fund (22) encumbrances (0) and warrants. Also among financial items in the consent agenda was the treasurer's report.

The consent agenda also created a new activity fund for Mrs. VanMeter's Coffee Cart – Sub-account No. 870 – and it transferred funds from Class of 2021 Account No. 853 in the amount of $218.14 to the Beautification Account No. 840. (The Class of 2021 has no more financial responsibilities to fulfill).

The consent agenda also included out-of-state travel for FFA and Mrs. Snider to attend the national conference Oct. 30-Nov. 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana; and the resignation of Mike Claflin.

Superintendent Bryce Schanbacher briefly went over the financial components with the board, often using the phrase “nothing out of the ordinary.”

Other Board Business

Superintendent Schanbacher was appointed “agent” for a number of regulatory roles in the next school year, such as programs purchasing agent; hearing officer for vocational programs, complaints and civil rights complaints; risk manager of OSHA programs; and a long list of annual statutory requirements.

The board approved the school district's 2023-24 membership with Oklahoma Schools Assurance Group (OSAG) for worker's compensation insurance and with Oklahoma Schools Insurance Group (OSIG) for liability/building/fleet/property insurance. The fees are high – over $14,000 for OSAG and over $30,000 for OSIG – but the school has been with them a number of years, as have most schools.

They also approved the annual contract with Precision Testing Laboratories for the district's asbestos maintenance services in the amount of $1,000, as well as the district's annual membership renewal fee with OSSBA.