A proposed cellular tower will not be installed on school property, according to one of two silent decisions made by the Poplar Bluff R-1 Board of Education during its regular monthly meeting on Thursday.
With little discussion on the issue during the open-session meeting, member Jerrod Murphy motioned to accept the proposal by Network Real Estate Solutions, LLC to place a temporary AT&T telecom tower near the middle school, as that is standard procedure for voting items.
The motion to accept the AT&T telecom tower proposal then died due to lack of a second.
A similar situation occurred when a proposal by district administrators for electronic employee timecards also was met with silence.
According to Superintendent of Poplar Bluff Schools, Dr. Scott Dill, the district's current system of time keeping is "a bit antiquated," as many of the employees use punch cards to document their time, while others use paper.
Assistant Superintendent of Finance Rod Priest said the proposed switch to an electronic system would cost the district nearly $60,000 for installation of the machines and a three-year contract.
The system, Priest said, would allow department supervisors to follow employee attendance from either a computer or smart phone and is also compatible with the district's accounting system.
Overall, Priest said, the goal for the electronic time clock proposal was to improve efficiency when it comes to figuring hours, holding employees accountable and cutting back on unapproved overtime.
"How much do you think this would save us from employees stealing time," Tuggle asked.
"It is difficult to calculate (return on investment). I do think our current system is a bit antiquated," Dill responded.
Member Roger Hanner voiced his concern with spending $56,000 on employee time clocks when there are other issues around the district which he feels need immediate attention.
"I really have mixed emotions," Hanner said. "It's $56,000 - that's a lot of money when we have a junior high parking lot with a crater that would swallow a Volkswagon Bug."
Transportation director Ronnie Martin said the transportation department secretary spends "about four hours" every two weeks totaling between 38 and 40 employee time cards.
"I know the board sounds like they have a lot of concerns on this and I don't want to push you into something," Priest said.
After three months of review, the electronic time card proposal was killed when member Heather Tuggle's motion to accept the proposal did not receive a second.
However, during the discussion, administrators said that because the employee time clocks and parking lot repairs come from different funds, it would have been possible to do both projects.
Tuggle said she doesn't support the electronic time clocks because of the cost.
"Between the reading program, teachers salaries and technology purchases, we've approved to spend a lot of money over the last few months," she said.
The next two items on the agenda received board approval - a 20 passenger Thomas Minotour activity bus with a 68,000 BTU air conditioning and two International route buses. All three purchases were planned and accounted for in the recently approved 2018-19 budget.
Dill said growing and maintaining healthy grass at the high school continues to be a focus for the district's maintenance department. Currently, he added, watering the hillside using soaker hoses and allowing gravity to distribute the water seems to be effective.
The next Poplar Bluff R-1 Board of Education meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday Aug. 23 in the Central Office Board Room, located at 1110 North Westwood Boulevard. School begins Aug. 16.