Wheeler School Board Plans March Groundbreaking

The Wheeler County Board of Education, which met February 8, voted to wait until March to reschedule a groundbreaking for the new K-12 school. The ceremony was postponed from February 2 because of inclement weather. Rain has slowed progress at the school’s new site; however, the construction crews are working as diligently as possible, Superintendent Suzanne Couey reported. “Property taxes have started rolling in,” Couey said. As of the board meeting, 29.94% of the projected amount has been received, “which was great to see since we have been operating all year thus far without them.” Couey noted, “The month of January went very well as far as COVID cases go, but we had a few cases the first week of February.” There were “just a few positive cases, but they led to many students being quarantined.” Most students were scheduled to return either February 8 or 9. The week following Monday’s meeting, no positive cases were reported among staff or students nor any additional quarantines due to school-related cases. “We will continue to monitor community and school spread and adjust accordingly,” Couey said.

In other business, the board approved the purchase of a used truck for the maintenance department, as well as a drag machine for the baseball and softball machines. The board recommended Kristin Hartley as a classroom substitute and approved the letter of resignation/ retirement from Cindy Bowen.