Votes at a glance: Bixby board approves contracts, policies and calendar; audit presentation flags untimely activity fund deposits

Bixby Public Schools’ Board of Education on Oct. 13 approved a slate of consent and action items, including staff training contracts, policies and administrative agreements. The board also received the district’s 2024–25 audit, which identified a recurring finding about the timeliness of activity‑fund deposits.

Key votes and approvals

- Consent agenda (items 1–13): Approved by single motion (unanimous).

- Keyboarding contract (6.1): Approved — agreement for keyboarding training for grades 2–5 at a cost of $585 to be paid from 1:1 activity funds. Vote: Justin Cheatham — aye; Matt Dodson — aye; Amanda Stevens — aye; Chair — aye.

- Teachers College professional development (6.2): Approved — one additional day of Writer’s Workshop training at a cost of $3,800 paid from federal funds. Vote: unanimous.

- Board meeting calendar for 2026 (operations 7.1): Approved — regular meeting dates submitted for next year. Vote: unanimous.

- Policy updates (7.2 and 7.3): Approved — revisions to personal leave policy for support personnel (clarifying eligibility and half‑/full‑day rules) and revision to policy 2170 to align clubs/organizations creation with established procedures. Vote: unanimous.

- Open Doors contract for NIL monitoring (7.4): Approved — agreement between athletic department and Open Doors for $5,500 (athletic activity funds). Vote: unanimous. (See separate article for details of that discussion.)

- Psychological services contract (7.5): Approved — contract with Pediatric Assessment and Counseling Services LLC for school psychological testing services to meet evaluation timelines. Vote: unanimous.

- Medicaid billing contract (7.6): Approved — agreement with Oklahoma State Department of Education and Public Consulting Group, LLC (PCG) for Medicaid school‑based health services billing for 2025–26. Vote: unanimous.

- Distance learning plan (7.7): Approved — board approved the district distance‑learning (virtual) plan required to request up to two statewide virtual days if the governor declares a state of emergency; includes special‑education IEP alignment and transportation/meal provisions where feasible. Vote: unanimous.

- Robotics nomenclature (7.8): Approved — renamed HS robotics account to “Robotics” to reflect broader BACC programming. Vote: unanimous.

- BACC activity fund account (7.9): Approved — new activity fund account for the Bixby Advanced Career Center (BACC) to manage supplies and fees associated with the facility. Vote: unanimous.

- Surplus declaration: Approved — district declared listed items surplus for disposal per Oklahoma statute. Vote: unanimous.

- 2026 board election resolution (9.1): Approved — call for the 2026 board election filing period; filing opens Dec. 1 and closes Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. Vote: unanimous.

Audit presentation

Jenkins & Kemper, CPA presented the district’s 2024–25 audit. The auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the regulatory‑basis financial statements (the typical opinion for Oklahoma school districts reporting on a regulatory basis) and reported no federal‑program findings for the programs tested this year. The audit contained one recurring finding related to activity‑fund deposits: some sponsor receipts supporting deposits were not submitted to the central office in a timely manner. The auditor noted statute requires deposits be made within 24 hours for amounts over $100 (the district and auditor discussed typical operational leeway of 1–2 days for bank posting). The district said it will analyze whether site clerks or other procedural changes can reduce late deposits.

Other district updates

District operations and facilities updates were provided by Gabe Hayes, including progress on the ninth‑grade gym, building repairs and various maintenance projects; these items were presented for information and planning and were not individual board votes.

What the board directed next

District staff will implement the approved contracts and policies, submit the approved distance‑learning plan to the state as required, and continue routine activity‑fund oversight; staff also said they will review deposit processes identified by the auditors and return with recommendations if targeted changes are needed.