What was to be a culinary arts class at the Picayune Career and Technical Center, will instead offer instruction on sports medicine.
Career and Technical Center Director Joaun Lee submitted a request to make the change to the Picayune School District Board of Trustees during Tuesday’s meeting. She said the reason for the change was due to what she found during her research into establishing the culinary program, which determined it to be cost prohibitive. As a result, the administrators polled the students based on a list of five other programs to find a replacement program of interest.
Lee said that the program with the most votes was sports medicine. Her research found sports medicine would be cost effective to establish and offer continually.
The first year of sports medicine would be similar to a class already offered at the center, Health Science, but the second year would involve more hands-on training.
Lee estimated the textbooks would cost $3,000, with another $5,000 needed to purchase equipment, such as mannequins. Additionally, some of the equipment needed for the course is already on hand in the field house.
A certified trainer would need to be hired to teach the program, of which Lee speculates could be a recent graduate from a local university.
Another perk of the course would be that students could receive a scholarship at Pearl River Community College to work toward a degree in sports medicine.
A sports medicine professional can expect to earn between $50,000 to $75,000 annually in this area, she said.
Startup costs for the culinary program would have been much more substantial, with at least $200,000 being needed to purchase the equipment. That figure does not include the expense to renovate a classroom to meet the necessary standards and codes.
She said that Poplarville was able to cost effectively establish a culinary arts program by using an old cafeteria. Pearl River Central High School’s culinary arts program was established in the former meat processing facility, which already met the standards and codes.
Lee added that since PRCC does not currently offer a Culinary Arts program, students wishing to continue that training would have to attend another college, without the help of scholarships.
The Board approved a motion to establish the sports medicine program in lieu of the culinary arts program.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the Board accepted bids for the replacement of the roof at an elementary building and for the maintenance of 16th section land.
Six companies submitted bids to conduct roof replacement work on the South Side Elementary kindergarten building.
The bids ranged in price from a low of $114,900 to a high of $163,250. Greg Bailey with Dale Bailey, An Association, the architect firm involved in the project, said the best bid was the lowest, submitted by Rowell Roofing. He suggested the Board accept that bid, not just because the bid was the lowest, but because that company conducted work for the District before with satisfactory results. The Board approved a motion to award the bid to Rowell Roofing. Work will begin shortly after school lets out for the summer.
A second set of bids was opened in relation to 16th section land grass maintenance. Bids for the mowing of 17 lots owned by the district ranged from a low of $25,028 for three years or $8,342 for one year to a high of $48,060 for three years or $16,020 for one year, said District Finance Director Lisa Persick. The Board approved the lowest bid, submitted by Gulf South.
The next board meeting will be March 28 at noon, with a tour of the schools to precede the meeting.