Jennifer Middleton Perry/Jefferson Jimplecute
Jefferson parents now have a new option pre-kindergarten education. A tuition-based pre-k class will begin this fall at Jefferson Independent School District, and the class already has about eight students signed up.
JISD Superintendent Rob Barnwell said during the Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday that the spots were filling up fast for the class, which can hold up to 22 students with a teacher and an aide.
Trustees approved the program in May for those families who do not qualify for Head Start, a free program JISD already offers. Students of district employees and board members will receive priority, and after that, Barnwell said it will be first-come, first-serve.
“It looks like the program is off to a good start,” Barnwell told the board.
Tuition can be paid in three different ways: a full-year, one-time payment of $3,000; semester payments of $1,650 each; and monthly payments of $370. Barnwell said they are also working on a system where the payments can be made online.
For more information on the program, contact Principal Lindsey Whitaker at the Primary Campus at 903-665-2461 ext. 3491 or Paola Bautista at ext. 3490.
Barnwell also gave an update on work being done at the JHS Football Stadium. He said the project is coming along nicely and that they are expecting to get the lighting started at the end of July and that it will be a two-week job. Asphalt will be poured in about four weeks, he added, and will take about three weeks to complete.
“It’s looking good,” Barnwell said. “We’ve had minimal problems. Nothing that will cost us money, but will just cost a bit of time on the project.”
In other business, Patti Wallace with the Marion County Tax Office told the board a struck-off property sale will be held August 2. Seventeen properties are included in the sale, with some being lake lots, five tracts in the Pleasure Point area, and several in the City of Jefferson.
Wallace said the minimum bids have not yet been set for August, and that another sale will be held on the first Tuesday of September.
Trustees also approved a lease agreement with Marion County for the use of district property in Smithland. For many years, the property has been used by the Volunteer Fire Department, Easter Marion County Water Department, election and constable site, and the lease agreement needs updating, Barnwell said. It was approved with the stipulation that addresses and names would need to be changed on the agreement and that an up-to-date survey be done on the property.
Gas and diesel bids were also approved during Tuesday’s meeting. The lone bid was from McCarty in Marshall for $3.7982 for gasoline and $3.9377 for diesel.
In addition, trustees approved Health Special Risk to carry the student supplemental insurance for those who participate in UIL Activities and Claims Administrative Services for worker’s compensation insurance and the campus teacher appraisal calendar for the 2022-23 school year.