Dr. Martin Ringstaff is at left
photo by Claire Henley
Cleveland City Schools Director Dr. Martin Ringstaff stated at Monday’s board meeting he strongly opposes teachers carrying guns in school for safety measures.
Dr. Ringstaff referred to a legislative session at Bradley Central he attended, during which much discussion on training certain teachers to carry guns in school took place. The legislature should tackle this issue by putting a School Resource Officer (SRO) in every school instead of putting guns in the hands of teachers, Dr.
Ringstaff said.
It would take kids three seconds to figure out which teachers had the guns, he stated. “Putting guns in schools is not an answer…Even as a principal I would not want to be toting my gun down the hallway. It’s just not what we were hired to do.”
Dr. Ringstaff stated this is a hot topic that is “going to be interesting.”
On another subject, there is a big push this year on shortening student assessments. Dr. Ringstaff discussed how the length of student assessments this year ranges from 10.5 to 12 hours per child. That is too long, Dr. Ringstaff stated. He said the school system is testing kids too much, and that it ought to assess children on subjects without having it take so long.
Discussion took place over the progress of the new Raider arena being built at Cleveland High. Brian Templeton spoke on behalf of the project, stating the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components are close to completion. The lights are in place and very bright, creating a nice atmosphere, Mr. Templeton said.
Furthermore, the aluminum panel work on the exterior tops of the building are mostly installed and in the process of being sealed. Painting and ceiling work are on their way as well, with the acoustical ceilings above the track in place, giving the arena a “really nice look.”
According to Mr. Templeton, the arena has been climate controlled for two weeks. He expects to see basketball goals installed this week. The bleachers make for the next big installation and are scheduled for Jan. 30. Additionally, locker rooms, offices, and classrooms in the area are all underway. The flooring is the tail end piece and is estimated to begin in February. All in all, Mr. Templeton stated everything is going well and is on schedule.
Mike Collier spoke on the topic of the proposed bleachers at Cleveland Middle School. The bleachers are Alum A Stands, 33 feet long, and they come at a better deal than the 15- to 20-foot-long bleachers the school had originally priced. The custom-made Alum A Stands come fully enclosed. “Everything you see from the front will be blue. Everything you sit on will be aluminum,” Mr. Collier said.
The bleachers, which must be portable because of the utilities underground, will have four sections containing 200 seats per section. The price of the bleachers comes to $58,500. It will cost $7,000 for the installation of the four sections. However, because the band does not have a proper place to sit, Mr. Collier proposed that a fifth section of bleachers be added to accommodate the band and student section.
When priced at an earlier date, this project amounted to $250,000. As it stands now, it is estimated to cost around $100,000. If approved by the board, Mr. Collier hopes to have the bleachers constructed by June or July of next year, saying, “This is all we need to have a full functioning stadium.”
More discussion about the CMS bleachers is scheduled to take place at the next board meeting.