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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Chilton County Schools assistant superintendent Adriane Dennis has resigned to take a position with Bibb County Schools.

The resignation was approved during a voting session of the Chilton County Board of Education on July 16.

Dennis will be the federal programs director for Bibb County Schools.

Dennis had worked for CCS for 30 years. Prior to being assistant superintendent, Dennis had been the federal programs director, special education program specialist and special education teacher.

Rather than hire someone to fill the assistant superintendent position, Superintendent Jason Griffin proposed posting for a human resources director and a director of operations.

Both job descriptions were reviewed during the July 17 meeting. The Board approved posting for the human resources director with a vote of 4 to 3. Board President Brian Jackson, Vice President Jacqueline Sullivan and board members Chris Smith and Angie Sanderson voted in favor. Board members Pam Price, Keith Moore and Lori Patterson voted against. The motion to post a director of operations position failed. Price, Sanderson, Moore and Patterson voted against. Smith, Jackson and Sullivan voted in favor.

“We are taking one position, and we are breaking it into two?” board member Keith Moore asked.

“Yes, sir, and reassigning duties and basically cutting pay,” Griffin said.

The human resources director salary would be the same as a central office director, the equivalent to a middle school principal salary. The director of operations would have made the equivalent to what a high school principal makes.

“So it is going to take two people to do what one person was doing, no wonder they left,” Moore said.

A revised job description for a special education program specialist was also reviewed. Special education director Michelle Coppedge said the position description needed updating to be modern and better reflect what the job looks like now.

Board member Chris Smith asked what had been revised in the job description. Coppedge said the wording was very outdated.

“At the time that was written, we were obviously in a much different time than we are now,” Coppedge said. “Behavior — 20 years ago that was not something we were looking at, now that is something you deal with on a regular basis in that position, so we added those things.”

The employee would work with classroom teachers as well as special education teachers.

Price asked if it would be better for the job qualifications to require a master’s degree in a behavioral-related field.

“There is not a behavioral degree that I’m aware of outside of special education that has the education piece as well,” Coppedge said.

She said there is behavioral-specific training available to employees.

Several other resignations were approved during the board meeting including Chilton County High School assistant principal Jason Deason, Verbena High School teacher Tyler Kelley, Jemison Middle School English teacher Ashlin Castleberry, Clanton Middle School PE teacher Chad Lapp, CCHS math teacher Amy Easterling and Maplesville High School counselor Briana Burress.

Deason has accepted an assistant principal position at Benjamin Russell High School, which is closer to Alexander City where he lives.

VHS custodian Brian Watts, Level I Maintenance personnel Russell Jones and CNP assistants Emily Chandler and Carolyn Williams also resigned.

Transportation shop foreman Bobby Martin received approval of his retirement.

A new CCHS vice principal, a PE teacher for VHS and a PE teacher for CMS were hired to fill the vacated positions during the same meeting.

The Board also hired another PE teacher for CMS, an English teacher for Jemison High, counselor for Thorsby High, math teacher for CCHS (to fill a different position than Castleberry’s class), three elementary teachers for Clanton Intermediate and one for VHS, a preschool teacher for Thorsby, a science teacher for Jemison Middle, a Project Lead the Way teacher for Jemison Middle, an itinerant speech teacher and a building construction teacher for LeCroy Career Technical Center.

Holly Payne moved from being an elementary teacher at Jemison Elementary to being an elementary teacher at MHS.

All supplements were delayed to be considered at the July 30 meeting.  Initially, high school principals were told they would not be able to use waivers this year. However, during the July 16 meeting, the board of education approved the use of waivers, meaning a principal can use the supplement not being used for one sport for a different sport. After the waiver vote, a principal asked to amend his supplements knowing that he could use waivers, and the board asked that principals make amendments and submit before the next meeting. E-sports supplements were also delayed to be considered with the entire list.