The Fayette Board of Education will remain almost identical to last year’s board following the April 4 school board elections. All three incumbents ran without opposition, and the board hierarchy remains unchanged. Third-term incumbent Shauna Young, along with second-term incumbents Aaron Bentley and Sarah Wies, were sworn in by board secretary Jessica Dodson Monday night.

For the third year in a row, Skip Vandelicht was voted Board President and Matt Hudson Board Vice-President. The only changes from last year were board member committee assignments.

The reorganized board voted in favor of two grants Monday night, for which Superintendent Brent Doolin has already applied. If awarded, Fayette will receive $100,000 from a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Safety Grant, established by Missouri Governor Mike Parson. That money would pay for upgraded exterior doors, which are already set to be purchased with funds from the recently passed $3.7 million bond issue.

If Fayette receives the money, other upgrades, such as LED lights, could be purchased with that bond money.

The bond measure was approved by more than 70% of voters during the April 4 election. The board packet for Monday’s meeting included a proposal from Veregy, the company that oversees all of the district’s planned facility improvements. The board was tasked with approving a Scope of Work proposal from Veregy. Still, several questions arose during a lengthy discussion, mainly from Bentley, whose work as a product manager for a company that designs and manufactures specialized HVAC systems gives him expertise in this area. Along with Hudson and Vandelicht, he sits on the facilities committee that will meet with Veregy to verify details before the board approves the proposal. A special board meeting could be called to approve the Scope of Work so that work may begin without further delay.

Another grant for which Doolin applied has already been awarded. The board voted to accept the grant, which totals more than $27,000. The money will allow the Home to School Coordinator position to go from part-time to full-time.

All but one board member approved a proposal for the district to establish an account with Missouri Capital Asset & Advantage Treasury. The matter was tabled from the previous meeting to learn more details. The account will allow MOCAAT to invest district funds with board approval.

So far, only the opening of an account has been approved, and there is no obligation to make investments. The finance committee will likely meet with a MOCAAT representative to answer further questions. The resolution passed with a 5-1 vote. The lone dissenting vote came from John Stroupe.

Board members also voted to enter into a contract with Justin Cross, who is planning to build the district a new concession stand at the football field. As was previously reported by the Advertiser, Cross is raising the funds and will perform most of the work himself, with help from other volunteers. If things go as planned, the new concession stand could be constructed in time for the fall football season.

Cross said he expects the project to cost between $50,000 and $70,000 and already has some money promised.

The school board meets regularly at 6:30 p.m. in the administration building on the third Wednesday of every month except for July. This month’s meeting was moved forward to comply with state election laws that dictate elected bodies meet within 10 days of the election. Meetings are open, and the public is invited.