Countywide& Sun

Bethel
Sep
17 Focuses
2020
On
Page
A01
Clip
e
st
Finances
resized
55% t- By ALEX SLOAN
From n- The Bethel School
A03 e Board focused on the
B2 finances this week,
approving a number
of expenditures from
the school’s county
sales tax fund.
To a c c e s s t h i s
fund, the expendi-
tures must be taken
before the Pottawato-
mie County Board of
y Commissioners for
approval. Superin-
t tendent Tod Harrison
said he hopes to get
some, if not all of the
approved items on
the agenda for the
next commissioners’
meeting.
Specifically, Har-
rison said the largest
and most extensively
discussed of these
expenditures in the
amount $44,623.98,
s was still waiting on
r paperwork from Ap-
ple. The school board
appropriated a dif-
8
ferent amount than
the $46,422.58 that
was noted in the pre-
liminary quote from
the company’s online
store attached to the
agenda packet. The
approved funds will
be used to purchase
130 iPads and two
laptops, which is one
See Hot Spots..on A3

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Countywide& Sun
Hot Spots Available In Bethel School Parking Lot
Continued from A1
more than was includ-
ed in the preliminary
quote
Harrison said there
were a number of ad-
ditional discounts that
Sep would be reflected in
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17 actual price may dip
even lower than the
already reduced price
2020 approved by the board.
“We’re still in ne-
gotiations with Apple
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Page said. “There’s some in-
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He said this pur-
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resized school’s drive to have
31% one device per student
to send home should
the district be forced to
move education online.
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they were still waiting
on a few Chromebooks
that have been ordered
but not shipped.
Harrison said he’s
still working on getting
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fying that the company
is on a state contract.
“I want to get it on
here so we can get it or-
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Board member Da-
vid Elmore asked Har-
rison about the status
of the district’s portable
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or not the technolo-
gy purchase could be
made using CARES Act
funds.
Harrison said the
district has already
secured a number of
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they’re still waiting
for Verizon to deliv-
er them. He said the
school’s parking lot
hotspots are already up
and running.
As far as using CO-
VID-19 funds to be re-
imbursed for the pur-
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that would depend on
the availability of more
aid in the future.
Elmore also asked
Harrison if the iPads
purchased for the lower
elementary kids would
come with covers and
cases.
“We’re working on
looking for covers. The
problem with finding
covers is they’re not
available. They’re back
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but that’s a piece of the
negotiations. We’ll see
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Harrison assured El-
more that the district
does intend to get cases
for the iPads.
The two laptops on
the order will be used
by school administra-
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
WRUVDQG+DUULVRQVDLG Harrison also pre- EHOLHYDEO\ ORZµ +DU- trict. The document does
they would make it sented several items ULVRQ VDLG NQRFNLQJ The August 2020 VSHFLI\ORVLQJÀYHVWX-
easier for the laptops under the “New Busi- several times on his &KLOG1XWULWLRQUHSRUW dents to Epic Charter
to interact with other QHVVµ SRUWLRQ RI WKH wood desk. which was attached to 6FKRROV DQG RQH VWX-
Apple devices used by meeting. Per Oklaho- He said COVID-19 WKH PHHWLQJ·V DJHQGD dent to homeschooling
the school. ma’s Open Meetings PLWLJDWLRQHͿRUWVKDYH reports that the ma- for various reasons.
Board member Bran- $FW ´¶1HZ EXVLQHVV· actually been reward- jority of meals sent Keehn also present-
don Bussell said the DV XVHG KHUHLQ VKDOO ing in some ways. out by Bethel Public ed a remediation report
only item that gave mean any matter not “This has been a 6FKRROVDUHHLWKHUIUHH for first time college
him pause was a set of known about or which YHU\VWUHVVIXOEXWVXF- RUUHGXFHG2IWKH freshman from a va-
$LU3RGV 3UR $SSOH·V could not have been FHVVIXORSHQLQJµ+DU- child lunches sold in riety of surrounding
ZLUHOHVV HDUEXGV WKDW reasonably foreseen rison said. $XJXVW IRU H[DPSOH VFKRROGLVWULFWV%HWKHO
were priced at $249.
“Simply because
prior to the time of
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Harrison said par-
ents were doing their
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they’re $50 less than a Items 14 and 15 SDUW DQG VHYHUDO KDG WKHUHPDLQLQJFRVW students in remedial
ZKROHQHZL3DGµ%XV- XQGHU QHZ EXVLQHVV already pulled out their students the full price VFLHQFH RQO\ RQH VWX-
sell said. “That deserves which were brought children following ex- RI dent each in remedial
VRPHMXVWLÀFDWLRQµ IRUZDUG E\ +DUULVRQ posures to avoid po- $GGLWLRQDOO\ DVVLV- UHDGLQJRUZULWLQJDQG
Harrison said the included appropriating tentially spreading the tant high school prin- four remedial math stu-
school got $159 credit funds from the county virus. cipal Annie Keehn pre- dents. That makes for
WRZDUGVWKHPPDNLQJ VDOHVWD[WRUHÀQLVKWKH So far 15 students sented Bethel’s reten- an overall remediation
WKHÀQDOFRVWDERXW J\P ÁRRU DQG WR SD\ have been quarantined tion numbers for 2019- UDWH RI  ZKLFK
He said they could be the district’s water bill. due to COVID-19 test 2020. According to the put Bethel ahead of
WDNHQ RͿ RI WKH RUGHU Both measures passed results or exposure GRFXPHQWV SUHVHQWHG everyone else on the
but there’s a possibility unanimously. +DUULVRQVDLGEXWQRQH Bethel did not have a list presented except for
that the district will get During the Superin- of them have requested single student drop out 'DOH ZLWK D UHPHGLD-
them for free. WHQGHQW·V UHSRUW +DU- devices from the dis- of school for that year. WLRQUDWHRI
The proposal to allo- rison said COVID-19
FDWHWRZDUGV cases in Pottawatomie
the technology pur- County were beginning
chase was ultimately to come down.
approved unanimously “Our exposures at
by the school board. school have been un-
SEPT
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