CPS board addresses staffing, federal funding concerns

The Comanche Board of Education convened for its regular session July 15, addressing a range of issues including staffing approvals, new policy adoptions, and the significant impact of federal funding impoundments.

The board approved routine consent agenda items, including minutes from the June meeting, activity fund reports, and the treasurer’s report. Also approved were various designations and authorizations for federal programs, along with fiscal year 2025 and 2026 encumbrances across the general, building, and bond funds.

In staffing matters, the board accepted the superintendent’s recommendation to hire Sonya Kimbro as an adjunct instructor for American Sign Language (ASL). Melissa Scifres was approved as a paraprofessional, and Chandra Geraghty and Randall Reeder were hired as bus route drivers.

“Staffing positions are complete with the exception of high school English,” Superintendent Bills stated. “I am confident we will find the correct candidate.”

Contracts for certified and non-certified 12-month employees were also approved. Extra duty schedules received approval, including the hiring of contracted softball coaches Katy Morrow and Britany Patman, and high school girls’ assistant basketball coach Tiffany Ellis.

The board approved Policy FNG, addressing personal device usage to comply with Senate Bill 139, enacted last legislative session. The district plans to increase communication regarding this policy as the school year approaches and has worked on an agreement for student device use during concurrent enrollment and golf activities during school hours.

Policy FOB, relating to corporal punishment, was updated to prohibit corporal punishment for special education students. Policy FDC-P, concerning a medical exemption review committee, was also approved.

Parents and students will need to download the cpsok.org app and enable notifications to receive communications from teachers and coaches under Policy DHAC - Staff Members and Electronic or Digital Communications. This policy continues to provide a traceable correspondence feed and can include parents synced with the PowerSchool Student Information System. Bills urged parents to ensure their contact information is accurate and updated in PowerSchool during online enrollment, noting all electronic communications will come from Google Classroom or the website’s “Rooms” application.

An agreement with Lawton Community Health Care was approved, which will place nurse Misty Roberts at the elementary school for the 2025-26 school year. The Virtual Day Handbook for the 2025-26 school year, consistent with last year’s procedures and posted on the district’s website, was also discussed.

The Stephens County Sheriff’s Department will provide a resource officer for the upcoming school year, with Keelan Barton, a six-year veteran of the department, filling the role. The district will utilize a security grant to cover the cost, a development Bills expressed excitement about.

A significant concern for the district is the impact of federal fund impoundments. The Oklahoma State Department of Education was notified June 30 that some federal program allocations, including Title II-A, Title IV-A, and Title V-RLIS (Rural Low Income Schools), totaling approximately $85,000 for the district, would not be awarded as expected on July 1. Bills highlighted the difficulty of this announcement coming just one day before the anticipated allocations. 

These funds, already approved by Congress, are being withheld by a decision from the White House communicated through the U.S. Department of Education. Despite this, the district will continue to provide free lunches for students through the CEP program, which remains intact.

Bills also reviewed the district’s common goals with the board: improving communication with all stakeholders by the end of the 2025-26 school year through personal connections and timely internal communications, and enhancing student achievement components by focusing on increased student engagement, cognitively complex tasks, MTSS/Direct Instruction, and implementing Art and Science of Teaching Strategies through professional development.

With summer winding down, students are set to begin school on August 14 with “Meet the Teacher” scheduled for Tuesday, August 12. Announcements regarding “Meet the Teacher” times will be posted on the district’s social media.