By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Three schools that had been without a secretary will have one in the upcoming school year following a vote by the Chilton County Board of Education.

Hiring secretaries for the Verbena Annex, LeCroy Career Technical Center and Maplesville High School was approved 4 to 1.

Board President Lori Patterson and board members Jim Shannon, Joe Mims and Linda Hand voted in favor. Board member Pam Price voted against. Board members Curtis Smith and Keith Moore were absent.

Having a secretary at the Verbena Annex had been discussed at a previous meeting, in which Superintendent Tommy Glasscock said he would recommend having one at each of the schools that had lost one due to funding concerns.

Price said a half-time vice principal had already been approved for the Verbena Annex. She asked if the school system should wait and see if this person could also fill the role of a secretary.

Each of the secretary positions would be paid for through local funding.

The board also approved creating a bookkeeper position for the special education department. Patterson, Shannon, Mims and Hand voted in favor. Price voted against.

Price expressed concern that is would be increasing expenses for the department, which would impact the required maintenance of effort.

“We were over maintenance of effort for special ed,” Price said. “This money (for the bookkeeper) will come out of special ed money.”

She said the school system had been trying to decrease the amount spent, and keep the amount within the requirements.

Maintenance of effort regulations require a school system to increase the finding to special education based on the previous year. In the past, the school system had increased the amount beyond what was required.

“It’s really about (budget) coding on the maintenance of effort, and I believe I can still make that go down,” LaVerne Williams, chief school financial officer, said. “I think in the past it was not coded correctly, so this year I have brought it down $1 million.”

Budget coding determines which of the school system’s budget funds (general, special education, federal funds) come out of for a particular expense.

Williams said the school system is trying to streamline departments, so that they each have their own bookkeepers.

The special education department had been sharing a bookkeeper with the federal programs department.

Glasscock said the current bookkeeper would become the federal programs bookkeeper and be paid through federal funding.

Concerns with the Child Nutrition Program personnel pay schedule were also presented. Price said updates to the schedule for the cafeteria workers needed to be approved.

“It was pulled because at this time we do not have a CNP director, and I didn’t feel comfortable making a recommendation until we had a CNP director in place to re-evaluate that,” Glasscock said.

The position has been posted.

Price said she would like to see it fixed before school starts.

During the meeting, the board also approved:

• Renewing the eBoard subscription for $7,500, which allows the agenda and supporting documents to be accessed electronically by the board. It also allows the public to access the agenda and minutes from the Chilton County Schools website.
• Several personnel-related issues, including the retirement of Rex Littleton and Donna Fraser, resignations of five teachers and the assistant CSFO as well as hiring 12 teachers, two bookkeepers and three CNP assistants.
• Updates to the Employee Grievance Procedure.
• Receiving bids for secondary entrances for each of the schools as a part of ongoing safety improvements.
• Principal contracts for Kendall Jackson, Kelvin Boulware and Corey Clements.