The Warren County School District board of directors agreed Thursday afternoon to send welding students to Jamestown Community College while the welding shop at the Warren County Career Center undergoes upgrades this fall.

The students will attend classes at the main campus in Jamestown, N.Y. five days per week, remaining at their home schools in the morning and being transported to the campus in the afternoons.

The motion passed 7 to 2 with board members Katherine Oudinot and David Wortman voting against it.

The special meeting was called after the motion failed to pass at Monday's regular board meeting with board members Kirsten Turfitt and Arthur Stewart absent.

All nine members participated Thursday, though Turfitt, Stewart and Wortman were on a conference call.

Board member Donna Zariczny made the motion to approve a general contract to Perry Construction in the amount of $146,000, an electrical contract to Allegany Electrical in the amount of $105,497 and an HVAC contract to Mazza Mechanical in the amount of $188,000 for a total award of $439,497.

Nathan McNett, welding instructor at the Career Center, told board members he thought they should move forward with the JCC option.

"Not everyone knew what was going to happen before school let out," he said. "We had all the welders and much of the equipment taken out of the shop. It would take an extreme amount of time to move them back."

Norbert Kennerknecht, the district's buildings and grounds director, said he believed it would be doable to restore the shop for student use.

"We can obtain portable partitions," he said. "We were caught between first and second base."

Board member Jack Martin disagreed.

"We were actually caught between home plate and first base," he said. "We didn't even get to first base."

Oudinot asked who made the decision to move equipment out of the shop.

Kennerknecht answered he would take credit for that.

Oudinot said moving the equipment without board approval was a way to force the board's hand to accept the JCC option.

Kennerknecht said he took a different view.

"I was trying to be proactive," he said. "I had to have a lead off of first base."

Martin said he didn't want to look backwards at how the district got into its current position.

"There's going to be chaos for a period of time," he said. "We should minimize the disruptions for other classes."

Martin also asked how the district would pay for the upgrades.

"It's not a capital project," he said. "It's not something we put in the budget."

Board President Kim Angove said the board was in a lose-lose situation.

"As we work on more projects, we need to find how to communicate better," she said.

Oudinot asked if anybody had figured out how to pay for the project.

Martin said in the worst case, the board could take the money out of the contingency fund.

Oudinot said the board always relies on the contingency fund.

"I wish that fund didn't exist," she said.

Martin said the project is a good thing for Warren County in the long-term and Angove said, in the end, the students are going to have a spectacular program.

Oudinot asked what would happen if construction isn't finished in December and continues until the spring.

"We lose a whole year," she said.

Kennerknecht said the contract specifies $300 per day in liquidated damages if the project is late.

"That doesn't help the kids any," Oudinot said.

Angove said it did provide an incentive for the workers.

In other activity, the board unanimously passed a certificated personnel report.

It included hiring Brenda Jones as itinerant technology education instructor, a salary/step change for Beth Brady and the resignation of Bethany Krowsoski from her position as itinerant special education instructor.

The board also discussed changing the job description of data systems specialist to require a bachelor's degree.

Martin said the issue was if the board didn't approve the description, the administration could bring forward a candidate with a skill set the board didn't approve.

"I understand the concept a whole lot of talented technology people don't have a bachelor's degree," he said.

Board member Jeff Lockett said he had mixed emotions.

"I know technology people who walk on water who would rather do technology than academia," he said.

After discussion, Lockett withdrew the motion to alter the job description.