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Clarke BOE accepts $62,419 bid for CCHS baseball/softball bleachers The Clarke County Board of Education last Thursday approved the lone $62,419 bid for aluminum seating for the new Clarke County High School baseball and softball fields. Superintendent of Education Gerald Stephens explained that Dant Clayton of Tennessee was the only bidder out of five solicitations. There will be 100 seats each on the home and visitors side for the baseball field and 50 each for the softball field. Electro Mech was the only bidder on new scoreboards for the complex out of three solicitations. The Wrightsville, Ga. company's option of $13,050 was accepted for the softball field and the $17,250 option was accepted for the baseball field. Stephens explained that the baseball field scoreboard cost more because it is bigger because the baseball field is bigger than the softball field. A $9,300 scoreboard was also offered but it was not taken. All total, the board approved $92,669 in expenditures for the new Gerald Stephens Sports Complex. The school board a while back agreed to name the new facility for the superintendent. It is located next to Grove Hill Elementary School. With last week's purchases, approximately $1 million has been spent on the complex. The first games for middle school teams, were played at the new complex the previous day, on Feb. 27, although a lot of work remains to be completed, Stephens added. The first varsity games on the new fields will be March 8. Superintendent Stephens explained that the board meeting had been moved to noon because so many people wanted to attend the Clarke County High School basketball championship game in Birmingham that evening. Stephens, speaking before the game was decided, lauded the team for showing "good sportsmanship and a lot of character." The CCHS team lost the game to Madison. Stephens detailed ongoing projects and said work is progressing on the new band room at CCHS. Also, the "second phase of the project is making good headway," he said, without specifically saying that the old CCHS school had been torn down and is being hauled away to make room for a new parking area. Some people had tried to keep the old school from being torn down but Stephens and the board did not budge from their earlier commitment to tear it down and put a parking lot in the space. Stephens announced that Tara Walker of Grove Hill Elementary School had been selected as the elementary teacher of the year. He praised her dedication and work. Also, Mary Roberts, vocational teacher at CCHS has been nominated for the Jacksonville State University Hall of Fame. State Board of Education School Report Cards for the county system and its individual schools were passed out but there was no discussion on the contents of the cards. A family medical leave of absence was approved for Sara Doggett of Jackson Intermediate School. The board approved accounts payable of $1,031,604.64 and a payroll of $2,104,666.63. All board members except the Rev. Thamus Douglas were present for the meeting.
The next board meeting will be held March 20.
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