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Tahlequah board hears facilities timeline, grant awards and approves roofing contract and routine business
Summary
At its March 24 meeting at the new Tahlequah Education Center, the school board received a superintendent report on enrollment and a multi‑year facilities plan, learned Cherokee Nation and TSET grant awards, and approved several routine motions including a central gym roofing contract with a roughly $50,000 cost reduction.
The Tahlequah School Board on March 24 heard a detailed facilities and operations update from Superintendent Chrissy Nemo and approved a package of routine business, including a roofing contract for the central gym.
"We are extremely thankful for Cherokee Nation’s investment," Superintendent Chrissy Nemo said, describing a distribution of tag‑money that she said totaled $7,260,000 across the reservation and that provided $1,240,000 to Cherokee County schools and "almost half" (about $1,000,000) to the local TPS. Nemo also announced a TSET grant of $200,000 to remodel the Southwell High School cafeteria.
The superintendent reported district enrollment at 3,544 students and 507 employees, with building‑level counts provided for Sequoia, Cherokee, Greenwood, Heritage, the middle and high schools. Nemo said there were no open transfer slots for the remainder of the year and outlined several capital projects and timelines: the auditorium at the Tahlequah Education Center is expected to be complete by April 22 with a Chamber of Commerce‑supported grand opening scheduled for April 23 at 11 a.m.; middle‑school classroom and furniture replacements are under way; high‑school classroom furniture for 15 rooms is planned; and a multi‑phase field house project (including bleachers, concessions, bathrooms, a TMS band room, storm shelter and café expansion) is targeted for completion by August 2027. Nemo said the STEM center is contingent on the field house being finished.
On contracting, the board approved a bid to reroof the central gym. Nemo told trustees that the apparent $276,959 figure included an optional special coating that is not required by code, which she said reduces the expected project cost by about $50,000.
Trustees approved the monthly financials after a presentation from the deputy treasurer that listed bank balances and fund breakdowns for February, and discussed encumbrances and expected year‑end carryover. The superintendent reported that child nutrition served 81,608 meals in 19 days in February and ended the month with a positive balance of $2,895.27.
Other approved items included the consent docket (items 1–4), the schedule of encumbrances, revisions to the 2025–26 calendar to reflect missed snow days and to the 2026–27 calendar to reflect a homecoming date of Oct. 2 (which shifts related parent‑teacher conference scheduling). The board also approved a revision to the district’s falls/quarterly student transfer policy and a slate of personnel actions; trustees publicly acknowledged an employee retirement during the personnel section.
Votes were recorded by roll call during each motion; the meeting record shows the motions carried as presented.
The board adjourned after completing the posted agenda. A special board meeting was announced for April 9 to address staffing and the guaranteed maximum price for the field‑house project; the superintendent invited trustees to the April 23 grand opening event.
