Board of Education hires 7 new employees

The Kennett Board of Education accepted four letters of resignation and approved the employment of several new faculty members during the executive session portion of its meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

The four faculty members who will be resigning at the end of the 2009-2010 school year include Tom Ryan, band director; Diane Medlock, fifth-grade teacher; Betty Lynn, kindergarten secretary; and Holly Jo Engle, first-grade teacher.

Following the approval of the resignations, the board voted to employ seven new faculty members, including Melissa Collins as a half-time communication arts teacher at Kennett Middle School (KMS); Mary Beth Storey as a half-time communication arts teacher at KMS; Megan Riedinger as a first-grade teacher; Stacy Carter as a fifth-grade teacher; David Bradshaw as a fifth-grade teacher; Paula Carter as a third-grade teacher; and Joyce Vanderpool as a South Elementary art teacher.

The board also approved the employing all classified personnel.

Prior to the meeting, Chris Brannan, returning board member, and Ralph Hemann, new board member, were sworn in. Hemann replaces former board member Linda Kelley who chose not to run for re-election.

Following the swearing in of the new members, the board voted in its officers for the current session. Matthew Shetley was elected as board president; Matthew Poole was elected as board vice-president; Donna Haman was elected as board secretary; and Phyllis Palmer was elected as board treasurer.

Following the election of officers, the board called its meeting to order.

After the approval of the previous meetings minutes and the payment of the bills, the board presented four commendations.

The first commendation presented was to South Elementary School Counselor Jennifer Nigut, for being named Southeast Elementary Counselor of the Year by the Southeast Missouri School Counselors' Association.

Also commended were high school art students Chelsea Hargrave, Brittney Williams, and Charles Gages, who placed at the recent Missouri Art Education Association art show.

In other matters, the board:

* Elected Board Member Randy Haman to serve on the Kennett Educational Foundation Board of Trustees;

* Approved the appointment of Board Member Chris Brannan to serve as the liaison for the Professional Development Committee;

* Approved the firm of Robertson, Scherer, and Collins, LLP, to conduct the audit of the district's financial statements for the year ending June 30, 2010;

* Approved the regular schedule of 5:30 p.m., on the third Tuesday of each month as the schedule for the board's meetings;

* Approved presenting board commendations to Jan Allgood, Regina Lee, and Kenneth McKinney for their work with Skills USA. The recommendation was made by Kennett Career and Technology Center Director Terry Bruce;

* Approved presenting board commendations to high school students Kasey Ellis, Allyson Luce, Elizabeth Hively, Holly Jones, Vickie Panousis, Aubrey Rowe, Yiota Panousis, Meredith Combs, and Dillon Johnson for being awarded the Award of Educational Achievement for their scores on the High Schools That Work assessment;

* Approved presenting a board commendation to Marion Jackson in recognition of Jackson going above and beyond her job responsibilities as the OPAA Food Service Director for the district;

* Approved advertising bids for the sale of a 1989 GMC truck and a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan;

* Approved establishing a new Chemistry/Biology teaching position at the high school due to the increase in graduation requirements, and;

* Approved moving the May 2010 board meeting to Tuesday, May 25, as to not conflict with the Delta Children's Home benefit concert featuring Trent Tomlinson and Tracy Lawrence.