School board to discuss improved security fencing at Salisbury High

Published 12:04 am Sunday, June 12, 2022

SALISBURY — Rowan-Salisbury Schools administration will discuss adding additional fencing to Salisbury High School on Monday.

The district Board of Education will consider two options: 920 feet of fencing with an estimated cost of $552,900 or 536 feet with an estimated cost of $386,300.

The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. at Wallace Educational Forum. The meeting can be attended in person or viewed online at vimeo.com/rssboe.

The decorative fencing for the more expensive option would add the section of fence needed to enclose the section of campus including the cafeteria and music buildings along Caldwell Road and a security gate on Taylor Street, which leads to the school’s stadium. All the parking areas would still be left open.

The less expensive option would remove the large section of fencing between Caldwell Road and Taylor Street, leaving the lawn area open and instead fencing directly from the main building to the music building and the cafeteria.

A presentation to be shown to the board includes photos of existing fencing on Salisbury’s campus as well as examples of other security fencing at other nearby high schools.

In other agenda items:

• The board will consider a few issues from its previous meeting. It requested more information for a $1.8 million window replacement project at Salisbury High School and will discuss the project a second time on Monday. The board also requested a revision on proposed increases to activity bus mileage rates, voicing concerns a sudden large cost increase would be difficult for schools.

The new recommendation would increase the mileage rate in steps, starting with an increase from $1.25 per mile to $1.50 effective July 1 and an increase from $1.50 to $1.75 per mile effective July 1 next year.

• The board will consider extending its contract for enterprise planning software with Serenic by one year at a cost off $121,000.

• The board will consider extending its contract with Instructure for use of its education management software Canvas. The one-year extension would carry a cost of $109,000.

• Administration will recommend the board contract with Blackboard for its web services at $59,000, which will include a small amount of savings over the district’s current contract.

• The board will review the results of a curriculum audit funded by a federal grant it was awarded in late 2020. The audit was performed to get teacher input on the curriculum purchases the district makes.

• The board will review an updated code of conduct which includes stronger consequences for vaping as well as revised harassment and disruptive behavior definitions.

About Carl Blankenship

Carl Blankenship has covered education for the Post since December 2019. Before coming to Salisbury he was a staff writer for The Avery Journal-Times in Newland and graduated from Appalachian State University in 2017, where he was editor of The Appalachian.

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