Bids approved for coming year

The Oneonta City Board of Education approved several Child Nutrition program bids for the 2009-2010 school year during Monday night’s meeting.

Bids approved were: bread – Sara Lee Bakery; milk – Barber’s Dairy; ice cream – Mayfield; produce – Forestwood Farm; and vendor – Buffalo Rock.

In a related item, the board agreed to raise school lunches for employees and visitors by 50 cents each. Employee lunches went from $2 to $2.50 and adult visitor lunches went from $2.50 to $3.

In other business, the board acted on the recommendation of Supt. Jack Housch and:

•granted a pair of facility-use requests from the Community Arts Council of Blount County. Permission was granted for the group to use the school’s art room for a youth art camp this summer and to use Eris Horton Auditorium during October’s Covered Bridge Festival for a concert by the group Three on a String.

•learned that no agreement has been reached with the Blount County Commission as to payment of tax money owed to the school system. “The ball is in their court,” said Housch. He said he expects to hear from Probate Judge David Standridge concerning the matter.

•learned that a final inspection on the school’s renovation project has been set for Wednesday, July 15, at 10 a.m.

•approved the enrollment of 42 out-ofdistrict students, all of whom are in the elementary school. Thirty four of those approved will be kindergarten students.

•received the school nurse’s activity report for the 2008-2009 school year.

After a 45-minute executive session to discuss job performance, the board handled several personnel matters.

Hired were Karen Clark, third-grade teacher, and Phillip McAfee, part-time high school math teacher (contract basis).

The board transferred third-grade teachers Emily Smith and Jana Hollingsworth to kindergarten and fourth-grade teacher Melissa Gehri to sixth grade.

In a related personnel matter, the meeting began with a teacher who was recently non-renewed addressing the board concerning her job and job performance. The board took no action on the matter.

Present at the June 29 meeting were Housch, board members Bill Burdette, Geoff Smith, Robbie McAlpine, and Cindy Tidwell, board secretary Charlotte Vick, system financial officer Kathy Loggins, elementary principal Ed Parrish, high school assistant principal Sharon Standridge, several faculty members, and visitors.

The next meeting of the board has been set for Monday, July 20, at 6:30 p.m. The change from the regular meeting date of the last Monday in the month is made because of a state school board conference in Orange Beach that week.