By Anna-Claire Terry
Staff Writer
The Opelika City School met on Tuesday to discuss school calendars, field trips and school inventory.
First on the board’s agenda was to recognize the Opelika High School Theatre Society and the cast of “The Quilt, A Musical Celebration.” The cast was named best in show at the state competition. Several members of the cast were named to the 2014 all-star cast. Director Revel Gholston was selected as 2014 teacher of the year by the Alabama Conference of Theatre. The board also recognized Gholston for his work with and expansion of the theatre program at Opelika High School.
“We appreciate all of the support we got. It means a lot to them, I’m sure, as well as myself,” Gholston said.
The board approved personnel recommendations for new hires, resignations and retirements. The 2016-2017 school calendar was also approved.
Several out-of-state field trips were up for discussion and approval. According to Superintendent Dr. Mark Neighbors, the reason for approving out-of-state trips is because of a policy the board had to adopt for liability insurance purposes. A total of six trips were approved.
There was discussion about a fixed asset inventory guideline for Opelika City Schools. According to Chief Financial Officer Chris Harrison, with the existing inventory procedure, the city is taking inventory of simple items that are not at high risk of being stolen. The issue is with supplemental inventory. Harrison said supplemental inventory needs to be maintained for internal control, but these small items (such as staplers and other office supplies) might not need to be kept up with in the city’s financial statements.
Harrison said that time could be saved by not sending employees out to look for these small items, and inventory could be finished sooner. Administrators would have more time to speak with principals about the whereabouts of larger, more important items.
“We’re trying to keep up with everything, but not doing a good job of keeping up with anything,” Harrison said.
Changes in inventory procedure are expected to appear on the agenda as an action item for the next meeting. The next meeting for the board will be on March 31.