Meeting brief example

Hello. Katie was kind enough to let me post her brief as a strong example of what editors would be looking for when covering a meeting.

Seminole County School Board meeting brief

SANFORD-- The Seminole County School Board voted unanimously to approve nearly $21,000 in preconstruction costs for Lake Howell High School’s culinary arts program at its meeting tonight.

The approval was put on hold in November last year so the board could decide if it had the money to go through with the project, said Dede Shaffner, board chairman. The board originally proposed a half-cent tax raise to pay for the school repair, which voters rejected.

George Kosmac, deputy superintendent of operations, said the board approved $60,000 in architect fees last year for the project, some of which has already been spent. The renovations are currently estimated at about 750,000 tax dollars overall, he said, but the board won’t know the final cost for several weeks. Kosmac said members are hoping to complete renovations by August of this year.

“The program has grown so dramatically,” Shaffner said. “We have 700 kids in that program and we’re trying to get it completed before school starts.”

The school already has a building for its culinary arts classes, but renovations are necessary, said Shaune Storch, principal of Lake Howell High School. For example, one of the three culinary classrooms is a former art classroom and doesn’t have the necessary ventilation to support ovens and stoves.

The board will vote again on the final cost of the culinary building renovations in about a month and a half, Kosmac said.