DCS board members honored; mask mandate continues while COVID numbers stay high

Demopolis City Schools Supt. Tony Willis opened the Board of Education meeting Thursday by thanking the members who “genuinely care about their students” during Board Appreciation Month.

“We’re blessed to have such a hardworking and dedicated group of men and women serving this district,” said Willis.

The board approved several purchases and contracts during the meeting. The first was an invoice from “apptegy” for a one-time annual installation fee and service to streamline digital communications in the school system and with parents.

The initial cost of $19,100 will put everything “under one platform,” said Willis. The annual fee after the first year will be $7,000, which, he said, is considerably less than paying a fee for each individual service.

Lewis Pest Control received a four-year contract for the installation and maintenance of a Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System. Total cost of the contract is $87,500. One campus will be treated each year.

The board okayed the renewal of the SchoolStatus subscription for 2022 at a cost of $19,717.50. The student information system also allows teachers to communicate directly with parents.

The high number of COVID cases last week came close to having no nurses available at schools. Willis said DCS has an agreement with Fyzical to provide nurses if needed, but the company also is having staffing problems. The board approved a service agreement with ATC Heathcare Services to provide nursing staff on a temporary basis if needed.

New textbooks for language arts and career and technical education were approved to be used beginning in the 2022-2023 school year.

In other business, the board:

• Tabled action on an energy audit by Schneider Electric Buildings Americas, Inc. until the February meeting. A representative from the firm will be on hand to explain his company’s proposal.
• Extended Jessica Dial’s contract as a secretarial assistant through the second semester.
• Approved students attending the state competition in business and marketing in Birmingham Feb. 16-17.
• Voted to allow Two Rivers Arts Council the use of the DHS Auditorium March 10 for Ram:Corps.
• Approved teachers from each school, the Central Office and career-tech instructors to attend the Model Schools Conference in Orlando, Fla., June 25-29. The $15,000 fees for the 10 attendees will be paid for through the ESSER funds and the Perkins Fund. DHS principal Terina Gantt said what teachers learned was shared and is being used daily.

The board approved the following in the personnel report:

• Resignation of Rakeena Anderson, pre-K teacher.
• Hiring April Tucker as pre-K teacher.
• Adding to substitute roll Jessica Paulk, Geraldine Jones and Mary Schroeder as a nurse.
• Naming Shannon Hand as long-term sub.
• FMLA for Leroy Harris, custodian.
• McKewn Dannelly, to receive $767 as supplemental pay as softball JV head and assistant varsity coach during vacancy left by Andrea Miller.
• Gary Gibson to receive the prorated amount of $250 from the approved supplement as Social Media Contact at DMS for the first semester, and Rebecca Hasty to receive the prorated amount of $250 as Social Media Contact at DMS for the second semester.
• Joshua Thacker to receive prorated supplement in the amount of $1,901 for softball JV head and assistant varsity coach.

Willis extended the sympathy of the DCS system to the family of second grader Imora Tucker who died from cancer this past weekend.

He said the COVID numbers increased among students and staff last week, but suspending classes for two extra days over the Martin Luther King holiday allowed for many to return when classes started again Tuesday.

While numbers remain high, they are “not at that severe stage,” he said. Masks will be required until the case numbers drop below one percent of the student body in a school for two weeks.

All-call phone messages will go out to high school students on Sundays to remind them to remove any rifles from their vehicles that might have been used for hunting. The same reminders will be made by teachers, coaches and in an assembly.

The warnings are being made so that students will not face a severe punishment from a costly mistake of bringing a firearm on campus. There will be no second chances.

On a positive note, Willis said the canine unit inspected the parking lot this week and found no firearms.

The next board meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 24, at 5:15 p.m. in the DCS Board Room.