The Clinton County school board held its monthly work session last Thursday afternoon, July 13 with three members present. Board members Jeff Sams and Goldie Stonecipher were absent for the meeting, which included a brief update on the proposed purchase of the SCC-Clinton Center.

The board was presented with the upcoming school year Instructional Day Schedule by Director of Pupil Personnel Julie York. That schedule will be reviewed in a later edition prior to the start of the 2017-18 school year.

Superintendent Charlotte Nasief then updated the board of the status of negotiations going on between the school district, Somerset Community College and state officials, including the Kentucky Department of Education, for the acquisition of the SCC-Clinton Center, located west of Albany.

Nasief said that although she was anxious to move things along faster, progress on the project was moving forward and informed the board that the KDE (Kentucky Department of Education) had a site visit planned for Wednesday of this week, July 19. She invited board members to tour the facility during the site visit.

It was noted that there were a lot of steps in the process, which would also require two public hearings. Actual occupancy of the building could be a few months ahead, but Nasief felt confident the project will become a reality.

The Clinton Center, if purchased, would become a new home for the Clinton County Area Technology Center, with some classroom space still available for use by Somerset Community College.

The building would also house some board of education offices, including the Central Office and the plans are to transform the current Area Tech Center, which is one of the oldest current school facilities in the county, to a facility that would be used for storage and maintenance.

Additional details on the acquisition project will be published as details are finalized.

During the session, the board was presented with the upcoming school year Instructional Day Schedule by Director of Pupil Personnel Julie York. That schedule will be reviewed in a later edition prior to the start of the 2017-18 school year.

The board also briefly discussed the possibility of a “nickel tax” which several area school districts have passed and put in place. The funds from such a tax would go directly toward a school districts building projects, such as new schools or other related facilities.

Board member Gary Norris noted that such a tax is somewhat misunderstood by the public, but said it actually only represented “one nickel” out of 2,000 nickels of an increase. Taxes raised would help levy additional state funds for school construction projects.

No official action of any type was taken, but is apparently being considered by the district.

The only action item taken during the session was to approve a trip taken this past Saturday, July 15 by the middle school volleyball team to a volleyball camp held at Lindsey Wilson College.

Finance Director Mike Reeves also gave a finance report, noting the district, financially, is where it should be at this point in the year and also noted that the Food Service Program had again ended the fiscal year in the black.

Prior to adjournment of the approximate 45-minute meeting, Superintendent Nasief conducted a brief work session on topics that reviewed second reading of policy updates, the Code of Pupil Conduct and various contracts. It also included the superintendent evaluation process.

The board held its regular business meeting Monday evening, July 17 and details on that meeting can be found beginning on page 1.