The Lowndes County School District Board of Trustees approved two bids on 16th Section land and set in motion a process to change the time of their regularly scheduled meetings Monday at West Lowndes Elementary School.
Board president Jane Kilgore presented the winning bids for 16th Section land matters. Foote Oil and Gas Properties of Gulf Shores, Alabama was the winning bidder for a 10-year oil and gas lease concerning 643 acres in Section 16, Township 17 South, located in northern Lowndes County, for $97,736. Trustee Wesley Barret made a motion to accept the bid; he was seconded by Bobby Barksdale and the bid was unanimously approved.
Kilgore said the high bidder for a timber sale from 65 acres of 16th Section land was from Queen Staff, LLC from York, Alabama for an estimated $18,019, depending on how many loads of timber they can get out of the land. The bid was unanimously approved.
All 16th Section land in the United States is the property of the local public school district.
Trustee Jacqueline Gray made a motion to change the time of LCSD board meetings to 5:30 p.m. Under the current policy, LCSD meets the second Friday of every month at 11 a.m., with the exception of three meetings a year that are held at a district school on a Monday evening, as was the case this month. Gray’s motion was seconded by Barrett and discussion ensued.
“I’m asking that meetings be moved to 5:30 to be more accommodating to all interested parties, parents especially,” Gray said.
She feels that having meetings at 11 a.m. prevents many of the public and even district teachers from attending.
Barrett said he agreed with the concept of moving the meetings to the evening, but wondered if Friday at 5:30 was the best time to meet. Gray then amended her motion to propose the meetings be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday evenings.
Board attorney Jeff Smith, citing board policy, said trustees would have to table the motion for at least a week before it could be voted on. Barksdale made the motion to table the proposed time change; he was seconded by Barrett and the motion to table was unanimously approved. It will be taken up at the next meeting.
The board went into executive session for an hour and a half Monday to take up five student matters; no action was taken.
Trustee Brian Clark was absent from Monday’s meeting.
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