Meetings watch: Clovis Municipal Schools Board of Education

The Clovis Municipal Schools Board of Education met Tuesday. Here are highlights from the meeting:

• The board unanimously approved travel requests for three Clovis High School groups.

The school’s DECA club will trave to Albuquerque Feb. 12-14 for the state career development conference. The Air Force Junior ROTC program will compete in the U.S. Open JROTC Raider Challenge Jan. 15-18 in San Antonio, Texas. The Family, Consumer and Career Leaders of America will attend the January Jam meeting Jan. 9-10 in Albuquerque.

• Lt. Col. Joyce Storm, a liaison for Cannon Air Force Base, said an ROTC cadet field trip to the base was a success with 85 cadets taking part.

“I’m glad to see the push,” said Board President Terry Martin, former JROTC himself, “and I’m excited for both Cannon and our program.”

• The district approved a contract with RBC Capital Markets of Albuquerque for work on the district’s upcoming bond sale. Shawna Russell, chief financial officer for the district, said a $5 million bond sale is scheduled for either March or April of next year. The money will pay for final construction of James Bickley Elementary, design of Parkview Elementary and various playgrounds and parking lots.

• The district’s report on overall attendance on the 40th day of instruction was delivered. The total number of 8,311 is down about 80 from the previous year’s total, Superintendent Jody Balch said. The silver lining is that attendance dropped by more than 200 between the first and last days of instruction in the 2013-14 school year, so there was buildup in the summer months.

• Following adjournment, the board met in executive session to discuss parameters of its upcoming evaluation of Balch. The board will give Balch his evaluation during the next meeting, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at the CMS administration office.

— Compiled by staff writer Kevin Wilson