DeKalb County School Board approves personnel matters

Lyles reported to the board that six DeKalb County schools have received $5,000 STEM grants, including Crossville, Collinsville, Sylvania, Plainview and Ider.

Lyles congratulated Child Nutrition Program Director April Shrader and the entire CNP staff on a successful federal review, which was very complimentary and found only minor issues to be corrected.

Lyles and members of the board all thanked Rick Baker for his pledge of 250 scholarships over 10 years for Crossville High School graduates to attend Snead State Community College.

The board approved the 2023-2024 DeKalb County Schools Calendar and accepted Lyles’ recommendations for the following personnel changes:

• Retirement of Donny Johnston, bus driver, Fyffe Special Services Center;

• Resignations of Donna Gifford, CNP worker at Collinsville High school, William Ott, bus mechanic, and Mandy Smith, assistant custodian at Geraldine High School;

• Leaves of absence for Jordan Gilbert, elementary teacher at Geraldine, John Daniel Pope, transportation shop foreman, Joni Mitchell Davis, math teacher at Geraldine (extended), Alicia Shrader, assistant secretary at Fyffe, Amanda McKee, CNP worker at Fyffe, Antonia Cordell, English teacher at Crossville, Sherry Pettis, pre-K auxiliary teacher at Crossville, Lacie Fricks, elementary teacher at Sylvania, and Ariel Brumbeloe, math teacher at Crossville;

• On the job injury, 2 days leave for Sharlyn Huber, physical ed teacher at Ider;

• Transfers – Alexa Williams from elementary teacher to elementary counselor at Crossville (note: board member Robert Elliott abstained from this vote), Jesse Martin from itinerant special ed teacher at Fyffe Special Services Center to itinerant special ed teacher at Fyffe High School, and Holly Murdock from itinerant special ed teacher at Valley Head High School to itinerant special ed teacher at Fyffe Special Services Center; and

• Placement, pending background check, drug screening and proof of certification, of Breanna Swords as elementary teacher at Crossville Elementary School and Olivia Isbell as itinerant special ed teacher at Valley Head High School, and placement of support personnel Jesse Martin as bus driver at the Fyffe Special Services Center, Tonya Causey as Title I aide at Crossville Middle School, and Hannah Crenshaw as assistant custodian at Geraldine High School.

The board approved the appointment of the following volunteer coaches: Marlene Lopez and Maria Garcia for girls varsity soccer, Lizeth Aragon for junior varsity girls soccer, Jimmy Franco for junior varsity boys soccer and Todd Dismuke for varsity boys soccer, all at Crossville High School; William Stephens, baseball at Fyffe High School; John David Willoughby, basketball at Plainview; and Walter Watts, baseball at Valley Head High School.

The board approved the contracts of several retirees who have agreed to fill in for the remainder of the school year, including Christie Deere as math teacher at Geraldine, Katherine Ables as English teacher at Geraldine, Carolyn K. Johnson and Tim Cochran as English teachers at Fyffe and Jodie Maze, elementary teacher at Crossville.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 16, at 4:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the facilities building at the DeKalb County Schools Annex in Rainsville.