mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684
DURHAM -- The Durham school board affirmed its support for a local program and took care of numerous construction and property matters at its meeting Thursday night.
It also listened to a brief public report on legal settlements.
The organization that the board backed is the East Durham Children's Initiative, a program modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone. Minnie Forte-Brown, the chairwoman of the school board, is a key organizer for the initiative, which is seeking grant funding.
Ann Majestic, the board attorney, told the body that two legal settlements have been approved recently.
One involved Sean McCartney, who was injured while practicing with the Githens Middle School baseball team in 2006. A batted ball struck his eye, causing serious injuries including permanent vision loss, according to the family's legal complaint. A settlement of $95,000 has been arranged.
Majestic did not name the other injured minor or describe details of the injury involving the second settlement, which she said had been sealed by court order. The settlement amount in that case was $175,000.
In other matters Thursday evening, the board:
n Approved a four-year financing arrangement for 22 replacement buses at a cost of nearly $1.8 million.
n Dedicated right-of-way near Lakeview School so the city can build a sidewalk along Dearborn Drive.
n Dedicated about 1.1 acres near the Staff Development Center to the state Department of Transportation for the widening of Hillandale Road. The state is paying the district $414,500 in return.
n Awarded a $139,524 asbestos abatement contract to Demolition and Asbestos Removal Inc. (DARI) of Raleigh for work at Neal Middle School.
n Agreed to purchase a lot of nearly 1.5 acres at 1423 Snow Hill Road near the future Middle School B site for $10,000. Developer Arlen Park owns the property.
n Revised its agreement with the Durham Board of County Commissioners to reduce the paperwork needed for the county to take control of school properties during construction. Now the county will lease rather than take legal possession of the properties. The transfers are routinely done because the county retains a sales-tax exemption that the legislature took from public school systems a few years ago. The arrangement allows construction projects to proceed without requiring the district to pay sales tax. The work remains funded by the school district.
