Monday, Jan. 11, the Seminole School Board conducted its monthly meeting, where everything from the status of special education during the pandemic to the recent burglary at Wilson Elementary was discussed.

One of the first items on the agenda was administrative reports, which were kicked off by Assistant Superintendent Angela Willmett.

According to Willmett, some of the lower grade levels are in the process of star testing in order to assess the students’ current capabilities. They are now, “waiting to get results to see where the kids are,” in regard to their levels, Willmet said.

Willmett also affirmed that this year’s kindergarten group is doing even better than was expected, before closing her report with the assurance that they are all, “just glad to have kids back in the building.”

Next to be introduced was Charity Boyer, who gave an update on the status of Seminole’s special education department in light of COVI D-19.

“Special Education has definitely been a challenge,” asserted Boyer. “There’s been lots of stress.” However, Boyer also went into detail about the contingency plans which the state had called for before the start of school, which would account for any building closures and quarantines the students may face. “We have options of all sorts,” confirmed Boyer, “and we will decide with the parent as a team what is best.”

Superintendent Bob Gragg then began his report with an update on the recent thefts which have plagued the school.

He started with an update on the recently stolen trailer, which unfortunately was difficult to claim insurance on, as “there was just not a lot of comparisons for used trailers.”

Gragg then recounted the Wilson burglary, reiterating, “it’s a scary situation when you think about it,” before briefly mentioning the attempted vehicle theft which occurred shortly after.

Gragg took a moment to remind everyone of the City Council meeting which was scheduled for Tuesday, January 12, in which the members will be discussing the status of COVID-19 vaccinations for Seminole. He also mentioned the community engagement session regarding the purchase of the old high school building which has been scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 14.

Gragg then moved on to an update regarding the work left to be completed at the new high school building. According to Gragg the company, which is called Wynn Construction, “sort of finished the work they were supposed to complete on the school’s drainage, but some issues remain. However, he also asserted that although, “they are under no obligation to fix it, they said they will,” so all will hopefully be resolved soon.

The meeting then moved on to a discussion over the school’s status given these unprecedented circumstances. Personnel Manager Danielle Anson gave an update on the enrollment status of the various schools, assuring “everybody lost a few, but gained about the same amount.”

Finally, Dr. Gragg gave the board members the happy news that the girls high school basketball team had won the Stroud tournament which they had competed in the past weekend and the boys had come in third.

If interested in viewing the meeting in its entirety, one may find it on the school’s website.