Leon Garrett will continue his service on the Piedmont City Schools Board of Education after the City Council voted to approve his term renewal Monday night.Mayor Charlie Fagan told the council during its work session Garrett had expressed a desire to remain on the board to continue working on a number of projects Garrett wanted to see the school system accomplish.
During the meeting, Councilman Ed Hanson nominated Vealina Burroughs to fill Garrett’s spot, but the council voted against it on a 5-2 vote. After the meeting, Hanson said he nominated Burroughs because Garrett had previously said he did not want to continue serving on the board, and so Hanson sought out another candidate to fill his position.
Hanson said Burroughs was an ideal candidate for the Board of Education because she has a child in the school system, unlike the current board members. Hanson said only one of the board members has a grandchild in the system. “I feel like we need to blend our parents in with our school board,” Hanson said. “And since Leon had said that he did not want to continue on the board, I looked for someone else to fill his place.”
Garrett’s current term on the board expires at the end of May. His new term will begin June 1.
Superintendent Matt Akin attended the council meeting, not for the board appointment, but to announce the school system’s reception of a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant in the amount of $1 million to fund the construction of a community shelter.
The 5,000 square-foot concrete structure will be constructed on the Piedmont High School campus. It will provide shelter from natural disasters, such as tornadoes, for the high school students and the community.
Akin said the structure will be primarily used for high school students to shelter in during school hours, but that it can be for the community’s use after hours in the event of a tornado.
In other business:
• Hanson announced the Piedmont High School’s Awards Day will be Thursday at 9 a.m. in the school’s cafeteria.
• Councilman Bill Baker announced the Memorial Day Celebration will be held May 24 at 10 a.m. in Memorial Park.
• Fagan announced the city’s reception of an airport grant which will provide the city with a portion of the grant’s $1.9 million to fund the construction of taxiways and possibly an access road.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for May 27 starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building.
