Additional Chrome books for the elementary school were approved by the Quitman ISD school board Monday. The district will purchase 62 Chromebooks for $17,010.

Principal Mary Ann Nichols made the request to the board. “What we are trying to do is get six of those in each of the classrooms so if teachers want to do full blown projects they can check out the carts with the Chrome books,” Nichols said. “We use technology every day in the classroom. We do use stations where students rotate stations. Some grade levels use the technology every day. They can do a lot of research on them. You can take virtual tours of museums all over the world. You can go anywhere in the world. We also use programs for intervention in English and Math.”

Things will soon start cooling off at Delbert Ballard Memorial Gym. Maintenance director Steven Schoon made the presentation seeking board approval for $24,806 bid by Garland Indoor Comfort of Big Sandy to install new air conditioners at the facility replacing units which have been in use since the early 1990s. 

In other action, the board approved a request from Athletic Director Bryan Oakes for changes in the athletic handbook for this year. “The major change I made was in the tobacco use area to include e-cigarettes and vaping. It started out when I first got here in athletics, but it has really backed off,” Oakes said. “I think kids are beginning to see some of the consequences of the e-cigarettes and the vaping, especially the misuse and that is some scary stuff. The problem seems to have dissipated quite a bit in the past year.”

In other action, the board approved the employment of Rhonda Johnston as a fourth Pre-K teacher at the elementary campus.  

The board approved nominating Dr. John Johnson as a candidate for the Wood County Appraisal District Board and passed a resolution and Adjunct Facility Agreement regarding extracurricular status of the Wood County 4-H organization.

Superintendent Rhonda Turner reported an enrollment of 1,170 students with the high school enrollment a steady 328 students. “We are hoping to stay around that 328. We are not accepting transfers at this point. We are meeting all the challenges facing us,” Turner said. “We continue to make adjustments as we go.”