Clinton County Board of Education held a lengthy regular meeting Monday night, lasting over two hours with all members present. The majority of the session, about an hour and-a-half, was in closed session to discuss a discipline issue.

The board first recognized several CCHS students who participate in the Upward Bound program through Lindsey Wilson College. This program, primarily, allows high school students to gain college credit and show them what college life is like.

Jessica Conner then presented the board with information regarding senior trips and fundraisers the Class of 2013 is preparing for. Conner said that several destinations had been discussed and the students who plan to go on the senior trip will raise the money to do so through fundraisers.

Conner said more information would be put together over the coming weeks and more definite plans would be presented at the November board meeting. The board will have to vote to approve the trip.

After approving previous board minutes from a regular and special meeting, the latter with the deletion of a transfer from the BG-1 account, three medical leave of absences were approved, including a medical leave to Ronnie Gray through October 21; a family medical leave for Anna Sue Smith through December 13; and a family medical leave to Fred Dalton through November 23.

The board then voted to approve between meeting disbursements and to pay claims and bills.

Superintendent Charlotte Bernard then gave the monthly personnel report, as follows:

* Classified hired: Michael Thompson and Lonnie Shelton, substitute bus drivers and Greg Wells, Director of Finance.

* Certified hired: Ashley Ipock and Ashley Shelton, cheerleading coaches at the middle school.

* Substitute teachers: Cheryl Roberts, Amelia Massengale, Jessica Starnes, Tiffany McMillon, Sara Beth Reagan and Joy Armstong, district-wide, and Donna Groce, Clinton County High School.

On a motion by board member Junior Cecil, they voted to transfer funds from the proposed BG-1 (Building and Grounds) account in the amount of $154,794.14 to the Capital Outlay Fund to pay on the debt service, contingent upon Kentucky Department of Education approval.

On motions by board members Paula Key and Kevin Marcum, respectively, then approved the activities fund budgets for the 2012-13 school year and the District Staffing Document listing all certified and classified positions currently established by the board.

The board then voted unanimously to approve a contract for nonresident pupils between Clinton and Russell counties for the school years up through 2014-15; approved a shortened school day for a student with disabilities who attends Albany Elementary and Clinton County Middle School; and approved four hours credit as local board training hours on the topics of fiscal management and facility planning which was taken on September 25.

Three overnight trips were then approved by the board, including: a trip for FFA students to the National FFA convention in Indianapolis October 23-27; a trip to Kings Island in Ohio for students in the spring as a result of the Study Island program reward; and an overnight trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for gifted and talented students in December.

Following a presentation by Director of Transportation Larry Koger explaining the purchase of buses through the KISTA program, the board voted to purchase two new buses with the total cost range of around $185,000 and included air conditioning and luggage compartments as extras.

Koger explained that under the KISTA program, which the district has been associated with for several years, new buses are purchased each two years at a large cost savings to each participating district. He said that over a 14-year period, the district averaged paying only about $1,400 a year per bus.

The district will now have a total of four buses equipped with air conditioning. In addition to be used for normal bus route pickups and delivery of students, those buses are generally used on summer trips and field trips during the hot months in the school year.

Director of Pupil Personnel Julie Daniels then gave the monthly attendance report for the second month of school

Attendance remained up at each school and district-wide for the month, with average daily attendance across the district at 94.96 percent, up from 94.18 the same month in 2011-12.

The school that received the trophy for the highest ADA during the month was Albany Elementary School and the trophy for most improved attendance went to the Early Childhood Center.

Daniels also noted that on the statewide High Attendance Day on September 18, overall attendance for the day was 96.16 percent with AES having a 96.75; the ECC a 98.08; CCHS at 94.09; and CCMS at 96.44 percent on that day.

The board then entered into an approximate one and-a-half-hour closed session on a discipline issue and upon returning to open session, Board Attorney Lindsey Bell announced that disciplinary action had been taken against a student, but did not give any further specifics.

The meeting was then adjourned, with the next regular meeting of the board scheduled for November 12.