Guthrie board approves routine contracts, committee rosters and safety plan; hears dropout and remediation report
October 15, 2025 | GUTHRIE, School Districts, Oklahoma
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
GUTHRIE, Okla. ' The Guthrie Public Schools Board of Education on Sept. 8 approved a slate of routine business including construction change orders and contract renewals, ratified committee memberships for the 2025-26 school year, and approved the district's Chase Morris sudden cardiac arrest response plan. The board also received a presentation on the district's seventh-through-12th-grade dropout report and a college remediation summary for students who attended Oklahoma public institutions.
Board President Bentley Ward called the meeting to order and the board voted unanimously on a set of motions that included ratifying contingency and owner change orders for Crossland Construction Company, renewing service contracts, approving committee memberships and personnel actions. "We currently have 3,523 students enrolled in the district, which is 19 more than last year," said James Hancock, executive director of personnel and secondary education, during the presentation on enrollment and dropouts.
The dropout report covered students in grades 7-12 and a small number of students beyond grade 12. Hancock said the district recorded a total cohort of 1,485 students in the dropout review window and that 65 chose not to return to school last year. Of the group, 232 completed graduation requirements, a handful exited to other schools or adult training programs and 41 were counted as dropouts under the district's reporting method. On college remediation, Hancock said 66 Guthrie graduates enrolling in Oklahoma public institutions were included in the state data set; 4.5% were placed into remedial English (state average cited as 4.2%), and 15.2% required remedial math. Hancock noted a likely cause for elevated math remediation statewide: Oklahoma is increasing its high-school math requirement from three to four credits, and many students historically do not take math in their senior year, creating preparation gaps for college placement testing.
On construction and finance, the board approved Contingency Modification No. 10 and Owner Change Order No. 1 for Crossland Construction Company, items described in the packet as final financial closeout adjustments for Cotterell Elementary and related projects. Lane, the Crossland representative, told the board the remaining work at Carl (Carl [school]) was being finished and Charter Oak's punch list was expected to be complete by the end of the month. Board members voted to ratify those contract adjustments and to adopt the final contract totals so fiscal closeout can proceed.
The board also approved a package of renewals and vendor agreements: an annual accounting and personnel software renewal with Cilogis Ed Inc (formerly Municipal Accounting Systems, Inc.); an annual architectural services contract with the Stacy Group; renewal/ratification of an energy management assessment agreement with Synergistics LLC; and an agreement with Horizons Pediatric Therapy for certified occupational therapy services during the 2025-26 school year.
Several policy items were presented for first reading only and required no board action: a new district policy A addressing discrimination, harassment and retaliation to incorporate language added by state Senate Bill 942 (the packet places the draft policy on pages 144-146); a new District Policy D-52 addressing pregnant workers and differentiating federal FMLA rights from the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (page 147); and Policy G-16, a flag protocol policy that the presenter said duplicates existing state law but was required by a State Board of Education administrative rule.
The board approved committee rosters recommended by staff: the Gifted and Talented Committee and the Professional Development Committee for the 2025-26 school year. It also approved the committee recommendation to select the ACT as the district's high-school academic assessment for 2025-26. The Chase Morris sudden cardiac arrest response plan, which lists trained staff and AED locations across district sites, was approved as amended to incorporate corrected site-level documentation in the board packet.
On personnel and routine governance matters, the board went into executive session pursuant to state statute for personnel matters and later returned to open session and approved the personnel reports, extra duty assignments for 2025-26, a memorandum of understanding with the Guthrie Association of Classroom Teachers on maternity leave conditions pursuant to new state law, revisions to the support personnel handbook and the administrators' handbook and salary schedule (excluding the superintendent), and the resignation of Adrian Hennington, second-grade teacher at Fogarty.
Votes at a glance: all roll-call items in the meeting were recorded as unanimous with seven ayes and zero nays unless otherwise noted in the official minutes. Specifically approved by roll call were: the consent agenda; District Policy F-5 transfers exhibit A; Contingency Modification No. 10 (Crossland Construction); Owner Change Order No. 1 (Crossland Construction); Gifted and Talented Committee (2025-26); Professional Development Committee (2025-26); selection of ACT as the district high school assessment (2025-26); Chase Morris sudden cardiac arrest response plan (2025-26) as amended; transcription of math and science credits from Indian Meridian Technology Center; the 2025-26 estimate of needs and financial statement; contract renewals with Cilogis Ed Inc and Stacy Group; ratification of the Synergistics LLC energy management agreement; agreement with Horizons Pediatric Therapy for occupational therapy services (2025-26); personnel report actions; extra duty assignments (2025-26); MOU with the Guthrie Association of Classroom Teachers on maternity leave conditions; revisions to the support and administrator handbooks; and acceptance of the resignation of Adrian Hennington.
Why it matters: the approvals complete financial closeouts for major construction projects, ensure continuity of software and professional services, and set the district's assessment and committee structure for the coming year. The dropout and remediation figures provide a baseline for curriculum and staffing discussions, particularly around math course availability and future teacher staffing needs.
Board President Bentley Ward closed the meeting after standard adjournment procedures. Several items were presented as first readings and will return to the board for future action where required by policy or law.
Board President Bentley Ward called the meeting to order and the board voted unanimously on a set of motions that included ratifying contingency and owner change orders for Crossland Construction Company, renewing service contracts, approving committee memberships and personnel actions. "We currently have 3,523 students enrolled in the district, which is 19 more than last year," said James Hancock, executive director of personnel and secondary education, during the presentation on enrollment and dropouts.
The dropout report covered students in grades 7-12 and a small number of students beyond grade 12. Hancock said the district recorded a total cohort of 1,485 students in the dropout review window and that 65 chose not to return to school last year. Of the group, 232 completed graduation requirements, a handful exited to other schools or adult training programs and 41 were counted as dropouts under the district's reporting method. On college remediation, Hancock said 66 Guthrie graduates enrolling in Oklahoma public institutions were included in the state data set; 4.5% were placed into remedial English (state average cited as 4.2%), and 15.2% required remedial math. Hancock noted a likely cause for elevated math remediation statewide: Oklahoma is increasing its high-school math requirement from three to four credits, and many students historically do not take math in their senior year, creating preparation gaps for college placement testing.
On construction and finance, the board approved Contingency Modification No. 10 and Owner Change Order No. 1 for Crossland Construction Company, items described in the packet as final financial closeout adjustments for Cotterell Elementary and related projects. Lane, the Crossland representative, told the board the remaining work at Carl (Carl [school]) was being finished and Charter Oak's punch list was expected to be complete by the end of the month. Board members voted to ratify those contract adjustments and to adopt the final contract totals so fiscal closeout can proceed.
The board also approved a package of renewals and vendor agreements: an annual accounting and personnel software renewal with Cilogis Ed Inc (formerly Municipal Accounting Systems, Inc.); an annual architectural services contract with the Stacy Group; renewal/ratification of an energy management assessment agreement with Synergistics LLC; and an agreement with Horizons Pediatric Therapy for certified occupational therapy services during the 2025-26 school year.
Several policy items were presented for first reading only and required no board action: a new district policy A addressing discrimination, harassment and retaliation to incorporate language added by state Senate Bill 942 (the packet places the draft policy on pages 144-146); a new District Policy D-52 addressing pregnant workers and differentiating federal FMLA rights from the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (page 147); and Policy G-16, a flag protocol policy that the presenter said duplicates existing state law but was required by a State Board of Education administrative rule.
The board approved committee rosters recommended by staff: the Gifted and Talented Committee and the Professional Development Committee for the 2025-26 school year. It also approved the committee recommendation to select the ACT as the district's high-school academic assessment for 2025-26. The Chase Morris sudden cardiac arrest response plan, which lists trained staff and AED locations across district sites, was approved as amended to incorporate corrected site-level documentation in the board packet.
On personnel and routine governance matters, the board went into executive session pursuant to state statute for personnel matters and later returned to open session and approved the personnel reports, extra duty assignments for 2025-26, a memorandum of understanding with the Guthrie Association of Classroom Teachers on maternity leave conditions pursuant to new state law, revisions to the support personnel handbook and the administrators' handbook and salary schedule (excluding the superintendent), and the resignation of Adrian Hennington, second-grade teacher at Fogarty.
Votes at a glance: all roll-call items in the meeting were recorded as unanimous with seven ayes and zero nays unless otherwise noted in the official minutes. Specifically approved by roll call were: the consent agenda; District Policy F-5 transfers exhibit A; Contingency Modification No. 10 (Crossland Construction); Owner Change Order No. 1 (Crossland Construction); Gifted and Talented Committee (2025-26); Professional Development Committee (2025-26); selection of ACT as the district high school assessment (2025-26); Chase Morris sudden cardiac arrest response plan (2025-26) as amended; transcription of math and science credits from Indian Meridian Technology Center; the 2025-26 estimate of needs and financial statement; contract renewals with Cilogis Ed Inc and Stacy Group; ratification of the Synergistics LLC energy management agreement; agreement with Horizons Pediatric Therapy for occupational therapy services (2025-26); personnel report actions; extra duty assignments (2025-26); MOU with the Guthrie Association of Classroom Teachers on maternity leave conditions; revisions to the support and administrator handbooks; and acceptance of the resignation of Adrian Hennington.
Why it matters: the approvals complete financial closeouts for major construction projects, ensure continuity of software and professional services, and set the district's assessment and committee structure for the coming year. The dropout and remediation figures provide a baseline for curriculum and staffing discussions, particularly around math course availability and future teacher staffing needs.
Board President Bentley Ward closed the meeting after standard adjournment procedures. Several items were presented as first readings and will return to the board for future action where required by policy or law.
View full meeting
This article is based on a recent meeting—watch the full video and explore the complete transcript for deeper insights into the discussion.
View full meetingSponsors
Proudly supported by sponsors who keep Oklahoma articles free in 2025
