PTI Sports & Recreation Construction will build new tennis courts at Quitman High School. The company’s $810,775 bid was approved by the school board at their meeting last week.

The project will increase the number of courts to six from four. In an Oct. 29 special board meeting, Superintendent Rhonda Turner said two additional courts will allow Quitman to host tournaments.

The other two options were from architecture firms Harris-Craig Architects, Inc. and Stantec Architecture.

Harris-Craig’s proposed cost was $822,500 while Stantec told the board the cost would be $100,000 to $125,000 per court.

When PTI presented its plan, Guylene Robertson of PTI said there could be increased costs due to possible steel tariffs in 2019. To save costs, PTI suggested the district purchase the steel products now and the company will store the material.

Trustees approved a budget amendment to transfer $850,000 to the buildings/construction fund. A budget amendment to transfer $310,000 to the buildings/construction fund to build the parking lot between the Ag barn and softball field was also approved.

Board trustees voted to request waiver from participation in a summer nutrition program. In a letter to the school board, Child Nutrition Director Vinnie Sue Bass said the “transportation is an insurmountable obstacle to program operations.”

Bass explained in the letter that, “In the city of Quitman there are no sidewalks or crosswalks and no city transportation. The children that live within walking distance of feeding sites would be walking in hazardous conditions to reach a feeding site.”

She added that the district is wide-spread and rural, with several students living more than 20 miles from the school.

After the board’s approval, the QISD Student Health Advisory Council committee will now be notified for their acknowledgement. An official request will be submitted to the Texas Department of Agriculture by Jan. 31.

Action or discussion on the One Act Play students traveling out of state to Beaver’s Bend National Park in Oklahoma was postponed. OAP teachers were not prepared to present to the board yet.

Reports

In the superintendent’s report, Turner said enrollment stands at 1,125 students. October’s monthly expenditures are at $1,140,450.17 from the general fund and $67,639.56 from the food service fund.

She noted construction on the parking lot between the Ag barn and softball is going well despite some delays due to rain.

QISD received $324.49 from the City of Quitman. The city gives a portion of the funds received from traffic tickets to the school district.

Business/ finance director Cayla Mars gave the regular board financial reports.

Trustees approved the following items on the consent agenda: minutes for the Oct. 8, Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 meetings, monthly financial statement, monthly check payments and donations.

Trustees approved donations from Ford Drive 4 UR School and Wood County Central Hospital. The Ford program gave one donation of $4,040 and another of $1,810. The hospital gave $14,985 to the district.