Allen Public Schools will receive a $25,000 grant for the purchase of meat raised locally, according to Superintendent Jeff Hiatt.

The matter was discussed Monday evening during the regular meeting of the Allen Board of Education.

Hiatt said the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture is providing farm to school grants and Allen qualified for a $25,000 meat grant. The grant is similar to one that the school system received in 2023.

The grant will allow Allen Schools to purchase meat from local sources. However, Hiatt said with this grant, unlike in 2023, the school must receive three bids from a potential meat company. When asked by a board member if the school had to accept the lowest bid, Hiatt said probably, but he hasn’t seen all the contract stipulations just yet.

Also briefly discussed at the meeting was the transportation bond. However, because the meeting was held prior to Tuesday’s vote -- of which the proposition passed by a huge margin -- discussion centered on how residents were feeling about the matter.

Hiatt indicated that it had been relatively quiet.

“I’ve had nobody call me, nobody has come up to me at a ballgame really to ask about it,” Hiatt said.

Board Member Brad Wofford said of all the feedback that he received, it was all positive. Wofford said some people did ask why the school system didn’t lease buses anymore.

Hiatt said companies will no longer be leasing buses. Board Clerk Ron Batey asked, “Didn’t they beat y’all to death on fees and stuff?”

“They did,” Hiatt responded.

Hiatt said any issues including even a scratch on a leased bus would result in extra fees upon returning the bus.

In action items, the board approved this year’s prom being held Friday, April 4th, at Banks Valley Ranch in Pickett.

Hiatt said the ranch is where prom was held a couple of years ago. One board member was concerned about it being so far from Allen, but Hiatt indicated that the students overwhelmingly favored having the prom off campus, and it was mentioned that many people would probably be stopping in Ada for dinner anyway.

Also in action items, the board approved the superintendent’s recommendations regarding the fiscal year 2026 Allen Public Schools calendar.

Hiatt addressed the board saying that the difference between this year’s calendar and next year’s calendar is that Allen Schools will be getting out for the summer break a week later.

“The week we get out of school, that Friday and Saturday is state baseball and state track, so we could have a conflict for graduation,” Hiatt said, “It’s very possible. So, just to avoid all that in the future, just get out of school a week later and that would allow us to take some Fridays off after spring break.

This year, we don’t have as many Fridays off as we did last year, but the advantage to having Fridays off in spring is, if you’ve been to the high school or junior high baseball, softball, track, FFA, (etc.), they’re all going in 10 million directions and they’re usually gone on Fridays anyways. We don’t lose a lot of instructional time because the kids are gone those days anyway. So, that’s really the only difference (between this year’s and next year’s calendar). We start the same week that we did this year, that’s the same week that the tech center opens.”

Hiatt said even with the extra week, Allen Schools will still be letting out for summer break earlier than most schools.

Executive Session Upon returning from executive session, the board voted to accept resignations from Amber Goodson, elementary special education teacher, (effective immediately); and Shalee Brantley, junior high mathematics teacher/coach; and Luke Ring, high school science teacher/coach, (both effective at the end of the current school year).

The board hired Cheryl Rowsey as a long-term substitute SPED teacher. Rowsey retired in 2023 after more than 30 years with the district.

The board also approved an intern from ECU, Tanner Grace, to be an assistant baseball coach.

The board also voted to interview four candidates for the superintendent position. Current Superintendent Jeff Hiatt will be retiring from education at the end of the current school year.

Consent Agenda

The board approved the consent agenda, which included the minutes of the January 13, Regular Meeting; the fiscal year 20242025 Purchase Orders and Encumbrances: General Fund numbers 242 through 254 ($8,894.15); Building Fund numbers 48 through 55 ($43,885.80); Child Nutrition Fund number 42 ($250); Fundraisers: (Class of 2028, Elementary Staff, FCCLA, & Track); Treasurer’s report; Activity Fund report; and a Travel Request – TR-18 (Counselor Workshop).

The consent agenda also included the following overnight trips: - Baseball— Tournament in Union City (March 20th-21st) - FCCLA—National Convention in Orlando, FL (July 3rd-10th) - FFA—State Convention in OKC (May 5th-7th) - Softball—Tournament in Broken Bow (April 10th-12th)