The Murchison Independent School District Board of Trustees held off on action regarding the repair of the rock wall behind the school. Action on this issue, along with the selection of bids for the repairs, will be held off on until next month's meeting. This came as part of the board's regular meeting Thursday, August 21.

The repairs could also include cleaning the wall.

In addition, no action was taken on setting a new fire alarm system throughout the school.

There were a few information points in the meeting.

Jerry Landrum from Texpool spoke with the board about how Texpool can benefit the district with its saving needs.

Also, the preliminary expenditures for the 2008- 2009 school year were detailed to the board.

As for decisions made during the meeting, Board Member Gerald Wood made the motion to approve the school's annual contract with Hibbs Hallmark Insurance for property and vehicles. Nelda Tillison, board member, seconded.

The employee handbook for 2008-2009 was similarly approved, with Wood making the motion and Board Member Mike Davis seconding.

Next up was action for a contract to become part of a shared service agreement for energy, which would help the school get the best energy rate available as well as simplify the billing process. The motion to approve was made by Wood and seconded by Tillison.

Another handbook was next; the student code of conduct and student handbook for the school year. Wood and Davis made the motion and seconded, respectively.

There were changes to be made to the sick bank policy. The school's sick bank committee recommended allowing employees to donate one day of local leave to the bank, and the motion to approve this recommendation was made by Wood and seconded by Davis.

The school used to reimburse mileage at a rate of 44 cents per mile, but the board approved a motion to increase this rate following the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts raising the reimbursement rate to 58.5 cents per mile.

Davis made the motion to approve and Wood seconded.

The final decision made in the meeting centered on Budget Amendment #3. Wood made the motion to approve the amendment and Davis seconded.