The Fulton Public Schools Board of Education met Wednesday to authorize bond sales.
The board approved a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of $10 million general obligation bonds - voters approved a $27,750,000 bond issue in June.
The district is issuing and selling bonds in phases to match the construction schedule. Another $10 million will be sold in 2021, with the remaining $7,750,000 sold in 2022.
Representatives from L.J. Hart & Company were on hand at the meeting. Vice President Brad Wegman told the board that interest rates for school bonds are the lowest they've been in 60 years.
"It's a very advantageous time for you all to be borrowing this money for these projects," Wegman said.
With the district preparing for construction projects over the next few years, the board discussed what to do with memorials that might be impacted by these plans.
A number of trees planted on the Fulton Middle School campus serve as memorials.
"The thought process would be, if at all possible, we move it," Superintendent Ty Crain said. "If it was a tree, if it was small enough, we move it. But then if that wasn't an option, we would either relocate the memorial to somewhere where it could be seen or possibly replant something."
The board emphasized communication so that people associated with the memorials are informed and can give input.
A motion to approve relocating or replacing memorials if necessary passed unanimously by those present. All except board member Verdis Lee were in attendance.
The board also approved a plan to work together with the City of Fulton to support improvements to Tenth Street scheduled for next summer.
The city will add a bus parking lane at Fulton Middle School to benefit traffic flow and safety. The district will provide $40,000 for the asphalt and rock needed to add the lane.
"The city is going to be redoing sewage and drainage underneath that street," Crain said. "When they do that, they're going to tear up the sidewalk and tear up the street. They have proposed - if you've ever been over on Tenth Street when we have buses - they proposed moving the sidewalk back 10 feet and adding a bus lane."
Crain, who previously served as assistant superintendent, moved into his new role this month. Tuesday night was also Assistant Superintendent Chris Hubbuch's first Fulton school board meeting.
Hubbuch updated the board on the progress of the COVID-19 instruction task force, which is working on plans for learning in the event of a school closure.
"Three overarching goals are guiding the work of the task force," Hubbuch said. "First would be to maintain continuity of instruction from a seated classroom to remote learning for all students."
The second priority is to minimize negative effects. Thirdly, the task force is looking at professional development and guidance before the start of school for teachers.
"It's a pretty daunting task," Hubbuch said. "But we're very excited about the work. Sometimes life hands you an opportunity, and this does give us an opportunity to scale up blended learning."
In Fulton, many teachers used Google Classroom to communicate with students during the shutdown. Now, the district is looking for ways to improve on the platform and ensure any gaps are minimal if students have to be sent home.
The task force has four more meetings scheduled in July and August.
"I think the primary focus is when we realize that our students statewide suffered learning loss because of the sudden closure in March and potentially this could happen again," Hubbuch said. "No one knows for sure."