Vicksburg Warren school board considers options for Rolling Fork assistance

Published 2:37 pm Thursday, April 6, 2023

The Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees held its monthly meeting on March 30.

Items addressed by the board included the election of officers and talks with the South Delta School District to provide assistance after a tornado caused massive damage to its community. The board also received updates on construction projects currently underway throughout the school district.

At the beginning of the meeting, Superintendent Chad Shealy mentioned that the district is exploring options to help schools in Rolling Fork after the devastating tornado that swept through the area a couple of weeks ago destroyed much of the community.

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“We have a local school district that has been absolutely decimated and we’ve been trying to reach out to see how we can serve,” Shealy said. “One of the updates is through the City Department of Education. And Kimberly (Nailor, City Attorney) is going to see how we can help with either (providing) long buses that are available within our fleet or helping them repair the damaged buses that they have.”

Shealy also spoke about the possibility of having the South Delta District’s high school prom combined with the VWSD high school proms, as the South Delta District is in need of a venue where theirs can be held.

The board also voted on its officers. All positions have remained the same, with Kimble Slayton as President, Joe Loviza as Vice President and Brian Pratt as Secretary.

Project updates were presented to the board by Jason Stewert and Mark Pipper of Bailey Program Management, LLC. The company is in charge of managing the various ongoing construction projects in the school district.

Pipper gave updates on Warren Central High School construction projects, including the status of the agora, a large open entryway being constructed at the school.

“They’re just finishing up the loose ends around the agora and hope to have that done by the end of next week,” Pipper said. “So things are going well. The critical path item is the delivery of the glass. That’s the key thing that we need.”

The board was also presented with its monthly financial report from Cassandra Lewis, Director of Financial Services for VWSD. The total district balance as of February was $28,756,106.41 and Mississippi Adequate Education (MAEP) Funding was $2,353,450, which is expected to stay consistent over the course of the fiscal year. Casino revenue from January was $62,179.66.

The next VWSD School Board meeting is scheduled for April 27 at 5:30 p.m. For a calendar of board meetings and documents, visit vwsd.org/domain/24.