New calendar among items approved by Demopolis BOE

Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff with new special education coordinator Yolanda Samuels.
Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff with new special education coordinator Yolanda Samuels.

Changes in personnel, a long list of out-of-state and overnight travel and the 2016-2017 school calendar received approval Wednesday during a short meeting of the Demopolis City Schools Board of Education.

The meeting was postponed from Monday because of the death of Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff’s father. Three members of the board were able to attend, and Linda Russell presided.

The board accepted the retirement of first grade teacher Patsy Cullum at the end of the school year and approved FMLA for Timie Lee Harper from Feb. 29 to May 23.

Substitutes added to the roster are Sebrina Moore, Parris Jones, Samantha Iwu and Cherie Zanders and registered nurse Brandy Daniels.

Jennifer Helms will substitute for Elaine Calvin, U.S. Jones Elementary teacher, while Calvin is on maternity leave; Veronica Faye McKinney-Hill is an extracurricular bus driver, and an extended return date for Pamela Morgan was okayed.

The student trips approved include:

  • Demopolis High School indoor track team to Birmingham Feb. 5-6.
  • DHS theater class to Tuscaloosa for “Midsummer Night’s Dream” March 4.
  • USJ fifth grade enrichment to Dauphin Island March 14-16.
  • DHS Health Occupation students to state competition in Montgomery March 25-26.
  • DHS track team to Meridian, Miss., March 26
  • DHS Student Council to Tuscaloosa April 17-19.
  • DHS track team to Mobile April 29-30.
  • DHS track team to Gulf Shores May 5-7.
  • DHS Peer Leaders to Youth Leadership Conference in Shocco Springs March 20-23.

In presenting the schedule for the next school year, Kallhoff told the board that 200 employees voted on the two proposed calendars, with 71 percent choosing the one presented at the meeting.

The calendar includes an extra day for professional development and a teacher work day at the end of each quarter.

“We ask a lot of our teachers and our employees,” said Kallhoff. “Education changes constantly. We make sure we give them a calendar where they can learn on the job.”

In his remarks to the board, the superintendent praised the girls basketball team, which is two games away from playing in the Final Four in Birmingham.

He said each school is sprucing up in anticipation of the five-person accreditation team from AdvancEd visiting Demopolis next week for a three-day review of the system. The team will present its report at a called meeting Wednesday, Feb. 24, at noon in the School Board office.

Kallhoff also introduced Yolanda Samuels, the new Special Education Coordinator for the school system.