During the Jan. 7 meeting of the Karnes City ISD school board, Superintendent Frances Penland gave approval for the opening of the school’s new track.

School officials consulted with Defargo, the company hired by the district to finish the track, and Roland Kunkel, the district expert who was previously hired to inspect the track and gave the approval to the district.

The track has been under construction since spring 2006 when the first company, Sports Surfaces Inc., began work for the district. At the time the district had paid $201,343 to Sports Surfaces Inc., which left problems in the track surface. The board then hired Georgetown-based company Defargo, with a contracted amount being $102,500 to resurface the track and all runways. The district also had M. Foster Construction to install the north runway foundations for the triple and long jump pits, costing $9,840.

"It would have been nice if it was done right the first time but … that happens," Penland was quoted as saying in the Dec. 14 issue of The Badger Times – Karnes City High School’s newspaper.

The total projected cost is now $316,260, including all three companies according to Business Manager Wayne Block.

The board also discussed property owned by the district in Panna Maria.

"The people of Panna Maria are interested in the property, but … we need to take a look if we’re going to let them take it all or divide it, because we do have a house there that is pretty valuable to the district," School Board President Dennis Mika said.

"We need to see what their wants and needs are and look at the district’s (needs)."

This property includes the old school and the house owned by the district.

Penland said that the district needs to think about it currently and in the future.

"We have got concerns about storage… we’ve got a pretty comprehensive inventory right now, but the main thing is that we need to look at our boundaries, if we see a need for any of the property," Penland said.

The district will be looking into it further in the near future.

Also during the meeting, the school board voted to renew the superintendent’s employment contract for one year.