Demopolis BOE adjusts facility rental fees, makes personnel changes in Tuesday meeting

Rental fees for the use of school gymnasiums and auditoriums are going up after the Demopolis City Board of Education voted Monday in a meeting that covered routine items.

The rental for gymnasiums rose from $150 to $250, and for auditoriums, from $250 to $500, effective immediately. The action came after questions about the fees were raised at meetings earlier this year.

The board also agreed with Supt. Kyle Kallhoff to make a general advertisement for elementary, middle and high school teachers in order to have a pool of applications to draw from. In addition, advertisements for library media specialists at Westside Elementary and Demopolis High School and for a DHS custodian are being posted.

The board voted on the personnel report which included:

  • Resignations by Jonathan Casey Moore, special education teacher at Demopolis Middle School, effective March 16, and Jillian Arthur, band director, effective at the end of the school year.
  • Retirements of Lori Giles, WES librarian; Katie Poole, U.S. Jones Elementary teacher, and Tammy Spruell, and Paul Bond, both WES teachers, all effective at the end of the school year.
  • Substitute license for Linda Driver.
  • Medical leave extension for Constance Cleveland.

Kallhoff asked the board to make a revision to the school calendar approved last month. Teachers will have a work day on Aug. 7, with three professional development days to follow. The previous calendar had the work day on Aug. 8 with two professional development days.

Teachers and students from WES and DMS were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments. From WES, office manager Joann Merriweather and second grader Areil Mata were honored. From DMS were 8th grade math teacher Jackie Tripp and 7th grader Ny Kierah Johnson.

Kallhoff said he is working on an application for all school volunteers. Still in the development stage is how to conduct background checks on those volunteers. Local background can be determined, but state and federal background checks may have to be outsourced.

In other action the board approved:

  • Out-of-state or overnight field trips for the DMS Beta Club to Orlando, Fla.; DHS DECA to Anaheim, Calif.; DHS Youth Leadership to Tuscaloosa, and DHS FBLA to Birmingham.
  • Travel reimbursement for the art teacher.
  • Inventory dispositions for unusable computers and printers.
  • DHS auditorium rental by the John Coley Show June 4.
  • 2017-2018 Course Catalogue.
  • Floor machine maintenance agreement for DMS.

Kallhoff asked the board to consider a janitorial bid for WES. He said summer work hours will extend from June 5 to July 28. Schools and offices will be open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays from 7-11 a.m.

In his report, Kallhoff congratulated board president Conrad Murdock for being reelected to the board by the Demopolis City Council.

He said the Area Special Olympic Games will be held at DHS on April 21, and April is being designated as Autism Awareness Month in the schools.

A job fair will be held at DHS on Thursday by local industries. Juniors and seniors will be interviewing during the day, and after school hours the general public is invited to take part in the job fair.

The next regular meeting will be held April 17. Kallhoff said he expected to have a recommendation for a band director at that time, and he hoped to have a DHS principal applicant as well.

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