The Paulding County Board of Education voted to certify the completion of the new P.B. Ritch Middle School last week.

The action clears the way for the state to give the district final reimbursement, according to information from the district. To do this the board must certify that accounts for labor, materials and services for the construction were paid in full.

The original projected cost was $13.1 million, and the project only cost $12.6 million, which saved the school district $746,400, officials said.

The board also wished goodbye to one of their own.

The Dec. 11 board meeting was the last for District 4 Board Member Michael Skelton. Skelton has served on the board since 1998 when he filled an interim position, and was elected in 2000.

“I believe in term limits,” Skelton said.

He said when he was first elected he decided he would only serve three consecutive terms, not knowing if he would be voted in that many times, Skelton said. He stuck to his word, and did not run again this year for the board, he said.

“Those are my convictions,” Skelton said.

Superintendent Cliff Cole spoke about Skelton at the meeting, and Skelton was awarded a lifetime membership to the Parent Teacher Association by the PTA Council President Annissa Katzman.

Katzman also gave updates about PTA memberships. Paulding County has 9,800 members, and 11 fully staffed PTAs in the schools, she said.

In other action, the board approved a request for copy paper from low bidder C.M. Tanner of Carrollton for $28.25 per case, according to information from the board.

Board members also voted to adopt a bid on foundation repairs to New Hope Education Center. The school had been showing ceiling problems related to a settling foundation, said Ken Elsberry, construction manager of the Paulding County School District.

The best bid came from Extreme Technology Inc. of Douglasville. They guaranteed that the job would cost no more than $32,000.

“The company will pay anything over $32,000, guaranteed,” said Elsberry.

No other group would guarantee their price, he said.

Board members also approved school district lawn maintenance for $76,936 annually from Dallas-based KLC Property Management.