Clinton County Board of Education held a shorter than usual work session last Thursday afternoon, prior to its regular business meeting four days later. All members were present.

A handful of items were voted on before the work session conducted by Superintendent Charlotte Nasief.

The board took two votes pertaining to the school district’s facilities plan, which has to be updated and/or revised every five years, with this being the year to update the plan.

The board first voted to approve the selection of the Local (Facility) Planning Committee and also voted to allow the committee to move forward in the amendment process of the District Facility Plan.

The facilities plan basically prioritizes the needs of each school and building owned by the district when seeking funding for renovations, additions or possibly building new facilities and in a recent study, each school saw some renovation or maintenance related needs listed.

The planning committee will be made up of the superintendent and a parent, teacher and building administrator from each of the four schools, a district facilities manager, central office staff member, a community leader, one school board member, and a local building/zoning official.

The following individuals will serve on the District Facility Planning Committee: Charlotte Nasief, Robyn Warinner, Tammy Cook, Sheldon Harlan, Tara Chilton, Carolyn Guffey, Tim Armstrong, Holly Claborn, Josh Moons, Teresa Scott, Jordan Cross, Melissa Tallent, Stacey Evans, Doug Parrigin, Mike Reeves, Vince Ostertag, Jimmy W. York, Michael Davis, Kevin Marcum, and Pat Campbell.

The board also approved a field trip for some high school students in relation to those students who have scored high on the ACT and/or Compass tests, as recommended by Superintendent Nasief.

Students who met certain criteria can carry credits into college and may bypass having to take some pre-college courses and it was noted by board member Kevin Marcum that the district is pushing to get as many high school seniors as possible to earn a Comprehensive Diploma to get an early start on their higher education goals.

The other vote taken by the board last Thursday was to approve a certified job description for Food Service Director. The position had previously been a classified position, but the board voted last month to change it to certified, following a state mandate.

Superintendent Bernard also recommended to the board that they consider adding a second assistant principal position at the high school, due to the added work and high number of students at the school.

It was noted that next year (2017-18) the school enrollment would be the highest it has been in at least 15 years.

Bernard indicated it was standard for some districts to have two assistant principals in charge of the many aspects involved in administration and further noted that it could be funded from a position that will not be renewed next year, as well as the fact that several teachers at the school will be retiring at the end of this year.

The retirement of teachers means younger personnel, at lower pay scales, will be teaching, which would offset the cost of a second assistant principal’s salary. Finance Director Mike Reeves also agreed the district had the funding to afford such a position.

No action was taken on the recommendation last week, but was taken under advisement for the board to possibly act later.

Superintendent Nasief did conduct a brief work session of finances, administrative procedures, trips and personnel prior to the meeting being adjourned.

School board holds brief regular

meeting Monday

The Clinton County Board of Education held its regular monthly business session Monday evening with all members present except board member Goldie Stonecipher.

The meeting began with a packed Central Office conference room as the board recognized several 2016 students who had scored “distinguished” on the most recent K-Prep tests.

Following the recognition of the students, the board got down to regular business, first approving consent items that included:

* approval of a leave of absence without pay for Lisa Angel through December 31;

* approval of a family medical leave for Bradley Bell through December 31;

* approval of a family medical leave for Lisa Bray through November 25;

* approval of a family medical leave for Bobby Ruel Reneau through January 13, 2017;

* approval of a family medical leave for Lisa Hardin through November 28; approval of a family medical leave for Katrina Smith through November 23; and,

* approval of subsequent disbursements and payment of bills.

Under student services, the following trips were approved:

* Overnight trip for selected band members from CCHS to Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee November 17-19.

* Overnight trip for the girls’ basketball team to Bowling Green on December 19-20 to participate in the Warren East Christmas Classic.

* Overnight trip for the boys’ basketball team to Bowling Green December 26-27 to participate in the Caveland Classic and to Elizabethtown December 2-3.

* Trips for Clinton County Middle School 8th grade, CCHS (College Fair), November 17 and Campbellsville (Gear Up) November 22.

* Approval of No Kid Hungry (Thanksgiving Day meal, November 24.)

* Trip for Family Resource and Youth Service Center to take students to Pizza Hut on December 6.

Board chairperson Paula Key then gave the following monthly personnel report:

* Certified hired: Jared Bertram, assistant athletic director at CCHS; Tim Moons, Home Bound teacher, district-wide; Nathan Groce, teacher at CCHS; Kasey Conner, teacher at Albany Elementary; Kathleen Gregory, Guidance Counselor for AES–acting appointment.

* Certified resignations: Sarah Shaw Aaron, assistant softball coach at CCHS and Nathan Groce, teacher at the high school.

* Substitute teachers: Brenda Simpson, Whitney Bookout and Misty Brummett, all district-wide.

* Classified hired: Jason Thurman and Janet Lovell, cook/baker, district-wide; Bobby Evans, head softball coach at CCHS; Marissa Irwin, Recruit/Family Advocate, Early Childhood Center, effective November 28.

* Classified resignations: Nathan Boils, custodian at the middle school and Kathy Conner, academic coach at Clinton County High School.

The board, on a motion by Crystal Irwin, voted 3-1 to establish an Assistant Principal position at Clinton County High School for 211 days. The motion passed with board members Key and Jeff Sams also voting yes and board member Kevin Marcum voted no.

On a motion by Sams, the board voted to accept and match an offer of assistance for fiscal year 2017 from KETS funds in the amount of $14,016. These funds will be used for technology purchases.

The board also approved administrative procedures as recommended by the Kentucky School Boards Association.

Director of Pupil Personnel Julie York then gave the monthly attendance report for month three of the school year. Attendance was down slightly overall from 94.02 last year to 93.87 this year. The school with the highest attendance was Albany Elementary (95.01) and the most improved was Clinton County Middle School (94.48).

The report led to a brief discussion on attendance, absenteeism and possible ways to help improve the numbers by York, board members and some school principals that were on hand.

Discussions included trying to reduce “fraud” when it comes to students using excessive doctor statements, to filing charges against parents for allowing their children to continually miss school.

Under the superintendent’s report, Superintendent Charlotte Nasief discussed a work co-op program for high school students who may wish to pursue careers rather than college after school, working with local county officials to establish a Work Ready Schools program, and the work of the newly appointed District Facility Planning Committee.

Prior to adjourning, the board entered into an executive session to discuss the possible discipline of a student but announced no specific action taken upon returning to open session.

The next board meeting work session is scheduled for December 8 at 4:30 p.m. with the next regular business meeting December 12 at 5 p.m., both at the Central Office board room and both open to the public.