Randy Mitchell During The Regular Meeting Of The Allen Board Of Education Monday, The Board Accepted The Resignation Of Matt Mccreary As Head Football Coach. Mccreary Resigned Monday Morning, So The Matter Was Not Listed On The Agenda, But His Resig

Allen Board of Education Monday, the board accepted the resignation of Matt McCreary as head football coach. McCreary resigned Monday morning, so the matter was not listed on the agenda, but his resignation was accepted under “new business.”

Superintendent Jeff Hiatt said McCreary, who coached the Mustangs for three

Benefit Dinner

Calvin Public Schools is hosting a Benefit Dinner for the Jesse Nickell family on November 27th at 5:00 p.m. It will be held in the Calvin Cafeteria, prior to the Allen / Calvin Basketball game. All proceeds collected will benefit Jesse and his family. seasons, did not list a reason for leaving in his resignation letter.

On another note, during administrative reports, Hiatt spoke about a matter where residents can direct some of their tax dollars to Allen Schools rather than the state.

Hiatt spoke about a community meeting held November 8 concerning the publicschool tax credit option that is available to everyone including all businesses.

Hiatt is planning to get more information out to residents as soon as possible, he said.

“The program allows individuals to allocate a portion of their state taxes to a public school rather than sending it all to the state,” Hiatt said. “We are hoping those that want to help our school will opt to do this. We want everyone that chooses to do this to be able to know what their donation will go to help the school through different projects. This program doesn’t save anyone any money or cost anyone more money but is just an avenue to choose where your state taxes go.”

Hiatt mentioned the large turnout for the Veterans Day Assembly.

“I want to thank Wayne Bullard and Fred Barrett for speaking to our students,” Hiatt said. “I want to thank Mr. Purkins and our FFA students for putting on the assembly and thank Ms. Plunk and our student council for their speeches and participation.”

Hiatt said Allen Schools is still waiting on the insurance adjuster to find out more on the schools’ roof damages from September’s hailstorm.

Hiatt said the school system has completed an outdoor eating area which will be ready for the family Thanksgiving meal on Friday.

“It cleans up our courtyard area and is a nice addition to our school,” he said.

Principal Report In other administrative reports, High School/Junior High Principal Steve Butcher said the junior high Esports team placed second at area and qualified for state. The members are: Genna Campbell, Garrett Delaney, Gavin Wilson and JR Wofford.

“These boys have worked super hard and we are proud of them for making state and representing Allen in Esports,” Butcher said.

Butcher mentioned the academic team, which participated in regionals and qualified for area at Rock Creek. They are Jack Todd, Kelsey Hurt, Ty O’Daniel, Brooklyn Harper, Easton Ledo, Adam Sawatzky, Austin Stowe, Xzavier Parker, Chris Hurt, Breanna Nester, Cash Roberson and Cameron Reed.

Discussion Items During discussion items, Travis Graham, Superintendent of Pontotoc Technology Center, did a report on the technology center and programs that PTC offers and Allen students participating.

Graham indicated that in recent years, there has been a growing interest in trade schools as an alternative to traditional four-year universities.

He said there are 296 high school students at PTC this year, and 33 of those students are from Allen high school.

Graham said that in-district high school students attend at no cost, and financial aid is available to for adults.

He indicated most trade schools have programs that last anywhere from a few months to two years, depending on the field, and the students who attend trade schools can enter the workforce and start earning a salary much sooner versus those who attend a four-year university.

Graham cited as an example the average starting salary for a heavy equipment operator is $55,000 a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Also in discussion items, Butcher reported that there were two dropouts last school year. One student moved from Allen and never enrolled, while the other opted to pursue his GED. He also reported that Allen had three students who had to take remediation classes in college last year.

Consent Agenda The board approved the consent agenda, which included the minutes of the October 9, 2023, regular meeting and the minutes of the October 24, 2023, special meeting; the fiscal year 20232024 purchase orders and encumbrances: General Fund numbers 213 through 242 ($68,673.29); Child Nutrition Fund number 34 ($15,007.92); Building Bond Fund number 2 ($455,100); Treasurer’s report; Activity Fund report; the 2024 Calendar Year Board Meeting dates and Payroll dates; and Travel Request number TR13 – Sp. Ed Workshop.

Action Items The board approved the lone action item -- the Indian Policies and Procedures for fiscal year 2024.

Executive Session The board discussed extra duty and coaching assignments, but no action taken.