The Bell County Board of Education approved change orders for the BCHS Athletic Complexes project and amended the auxiliary pay scale during a special called meeting on Monday.

The changes will allow bullpens to be built outside of the playing area on the baseball field along with a batting cage.

Superintendent Tom Gambrel said he considered that change necessary to alleviate a safety concern.

“When they designed this project, they designed the bullpens on the field of play in foul territory. Basically all they had was a home plate and a pitching surface out on the field of play,” he said. “You also have that raised mound that somebody could trip and fall over chasing a foul ball. I didn’t like it so I asked them to design something outside the field that can be used as a batting cage and a bullpen.”

Gambrel said the cost for the batting cage/bullpen would be close to $50,000. However, other change orders reduced the costs for labor and concrete in other parts of the project by close to that amount.

“In essence, we’ll be able to add the batting cage/ bullpens and still decrease the cost of the project by about $3,000,” he said.

Gambrel said the softball field would also have a bullpen area, but that would be built outside of the turf project. He explained that it was a little easier to set aside an area for softball pitcher to warm up because they don’t need a mound.

Also approved was a change to the Fiscal Year 25 Auxiliary Pay Scale that adds school paid Elementary BETA Coaches for Yellow Creek and Bell Central.

“With Yellow Creek and Bell Central being so much larger and their participation numbers being so much higher — Bell Central has over 80 and Yellow Creek has close to 70 — they asked for additional coaches for the BETA teams,” Gambrel said. “I asked the other schools and none of them were interested.”

The change allows the school centers with over 400 students to have a Junior BETA coach and assistant for the middle school aged kids as well as an Elementary BETA coach and assistant. The schools will play the stipends for the coaches — $1500 for the coach and $500 for the assistants.

‘I agree with them that 80 kids is a lot for two people to try and keep up with. I’ve been to the BETA competitions and they are everywhere,” Gambrel said.