School board discusses recent winter weather, approves purchases for the new CCHS

As the consolidated Christian County High School takes shape, the Christian County School Board approved equipment and appliance purchases and discussed the impacts of Winter Storm Fern at Thursday’s meeting.

As a result of the recent winter storm, students in Christian County have been out of school and having nontraditional instruction days for the last two weeks. Board Chair Tom Bell thanked all of the CCPS staff who have worked behind the scenes to provide food for students and clear school parking lots.

During the school system’s closure, over 2,200 food bundles were picked up and around 6,060 pounds of salt was used to prevent ice from forming. To remove snow and ice impacting campuses, district workers and members of Chilton Excavating spent nearly 390 hours working with skid steers, 75 hours working with truck plows and 78 hours working with shovels to clear parking lots and sidewalks. Bell says all campuses are prepared for student traffic.

CCPS Superintendent Chris Bentzel says campuses were ready to welcome students on Monday, but due to neighborhoods across the county still struggling with icy roads, they did not return. Bentzel says he is hopeful that students will be back next Monday.

Turning toward the new high school, the board approved the purchases of three ice machines, health science equipment, a 138-inch ViewSonic LED display and weight room equipment.

Focusing on the whole district, the board voted to purchase a subscription to the data platform Abre. For around $100,000 per year, District Academies Director Kadi Ralston says Abre is able to gather student academic, behavioral and attendance data into one searchable database.

Board members also elected Bentzel as the board’s secretary and District Finance Director Jessica Darnell as the board’s treasurer.