Cambridge City School District Superintendent Dan Coffman opened both his monthly livestream and his comments during the Board of Education meeting by thanking the voters in Cambridge for supporting operating levy that was on the ballot last week.
The operating levy was previously renewed in 2016 and generates the same $1.455 million per year it did in 1992, the first year it was passed. The levy funds support the operations of the school district and pays for utilities, consumable supplies, and salaries and benefits of employees.
“There are lot of good things happening in the school district right now,” Coffman said. “With the support of the community, we plan to continue to do these things and more moving forward.”
Coffman also reminded board members and viewers about the Veterans Day activities for students in the district.
This year, schools will be in session on Veterans Day with students from the High School and Middle School attending the parade and ceremony in downtown Cambridge. Students at the elementary schools will be learning about patriotism and the history of Veterans Day.
Any student who is part of an organization that participates in the parade or ceremony will be excused from school to participate in those activities. There will be no school on Friday, Nov. 12 as the district observes the holiday.
Another change to the school calendar was also announced as students in the district will be attending classes remotely on Monday, Nov. 22 and Tuesday, Nov. 23. The two extra days out of the building will allow for a more intense cleaning of the school buildings and help keep students healthy.
“A couple of remote learning days will allow our building custodians and maintenance crews to do ‘deep’ cleaning of our buildings,” Coffman said. “These extra couple days out of the building also will decrease the chances of a student being exposed to COVID-19 at school prior to the holiday weekend.”
During the general business portion of the meeting, the board approved a pay rate increase for substitute teachers to $115 per day effective Nov. 15.
“This is the right thing to do for the loyal substitutes that we have in our district” Coffman said. “We do have a shortage of substitute teachers, and we believe a competitive rate of pay will help us find more qualified individuals to meet the demand.”
The board also approved a pair of out-of-state trips for the Dance Team. The first is to Arlington, VA. and Pittsburgh, PA on Dec. 10-12, 2021. The second is to Walt Disney World ESPN Wide World of Sports UDA National Dance Team Championship on Feb. 2-9, 2022.
The board also approved an out-of-country educational trip to Europe. French teacher Cammie Bunting is planning the trip that will include 10-15 students. The group will travel in London, England; Paris, France, Heidelberg, Germany; Vienna, Austria; Prague, Czech Republic; and Berlin, Germany from June 14 to 28, 2022.
In personnel matters, the board approved the re-employment of Doris Klemann as EMIS Coordinator; Neal Stillion as a part-time bus driver, Randy Wheatley as part-time bus aid; Jennifer Connor as second shift custodian at the Intermediate School; Nathan Wright and Lisa Daughtery as substitute cooks; Raylin Forshey and Kim Valentine as substitute custodians; Ann Sherry as a resident educator mentor.
The board approved the resignation of Brad Brumfield, the resignation of Jennifer Conner as part-time custodian; the resignation of Mercedes Smith; the unpaid leave of absence for Leslie Leppla and Mary Cae Abrams; the resignation of Alisha Speer as a resident educator mentor; and the retirement of Amy Sloan.
The board approved Natalie Long, Megan Bonnell and Bernard Johnson as 21st Century Community Learning Center Aids at the Primary, Intermediate and Middle schools.
The Board approve the hiring of Cage Black as 8th grade girls’ basketball coach, Ben Ogle as freshmen basketball coach; approved Tamara Gibson, Tom Moore, Sawyer Leppla, Reyse Wallbrown, Logan Ball, Mark Bartlett, Audra Alexander, Kayla Shaddix, Jessica Dean, Chevelle Landman, Ashley Krise, Jennifer Wagstaff, Kenneth Hickman, Chris Petitt, Stacy Kennedy, and Heather Tabler as athletic or building volunteers.
The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on December 14 at the Garfield Administrative Center.