All the current officers of the Carthage R-9 Board of Education were re-elected to the same positions Monday night as the school board reorganized at their monthly meeting.

Danny Lambeth will lead the board again this year as president. Vice president is Jeff Jones, Dr. Mark Westhoff is the secretary and Lee Eliff Pound is the treasurer.

Before the election of the officers, Lambeth, Jones and Tony Diggs were sworn in to another term. All three are incumbents seeing re-election.

The board heard a report from Bevan Brawner of Hight-Jackson Associates on the progress of the high school construction.

“We are back on schedule,” said Brawner noting that the recent good weather gave the construction crews a boost. “The winter weather put us behind a bit, but we are now on schedule.”

He said that in addition to walls still going up, there is a great deal of work going on behind the walls.

“We are working on the roof and we are even starting on the dry wall in some of the classrooms,” said Brawner.

A change order adding $90,965 to the constructing cost was approved. However, the primary change – the addition of a canopy system at the front of the building for bus traffic, actually is a decrease to an “Add Alternate” which was previously approved.
The original add was a bus canopy design which was more extensive than the board really wanted. The redesign is now an all-welded extruded aluminum canopy system complete with internal drainage.

Other changes in the change order include electrical revisions deducting $6,400 from the original cost and revised lighting in the main and auxiliary gyms adding $4,213 to the original cost.

The board also approved $338,820 in summer maintenance projects:

• Junior High School roof – $79,800;

• Administration Building roof – $54,390;

• Pleasant Valley windows – $93,000;

• Columbian Drive and Drainage – $105,350;

• Mark Twain Elementary backstop – $2,950;

• Tile at the high school and Fairview – $3,330.

The board honored the 2007-08 high school and junior high student council officers for receiving Student Council Gold Awards. Those honored were: Emma Lambeth, junior high president; Kaylee Morgan, junior high vice president; Derek Peterson, junior high secretary; Lindsey Terry, junior high treasurer; Tiffany Stringer, junior high school student council sponsor; Jessica Baugh, senior high president, Lauren Matthews, senior high vice president; Tria Thomas, senior high secretary; Madie Kennedy, senior high treasurer; Mac Metcalf, senior high reporter; Allee Shepherd, senior high historian; Shelby Youngworth, senior high parliamentarian; Katrina Westhoff, corresponding secretary; and Dan Grundy, high school student council sponsor.

The board officially changed the name of the Alternative School to the Virtual Learning Center and it will occupy the top floor of the Transition Center.