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Southwestern Con Sch Shelby Co. board accepts $25,000 alumni gift, approves IT contract and virtual SLP services
Summary
The Southwestern Con Sch Shelby Co. board on July meeting approved acceptance of a $25,000 alumni donation (including an $18,987 staging contract), authorized a recurring FirstNet IT data-plan charge, approved temporary virtual speech-language services and an SLP instructional assistant, accepted two resignations, and approved several hires; trustees also authorized the superintendent to hire staff before the August meeting.
The Southwestern Con Sch Shelby Co. board agreed Tuesday to accept a $25,000 donation from its alumni association and to allocate $18,987 of that gift to pay a consultant for the high school stage. The board also approved routine consent items, a recurring FirstNet data-plan contract and temporary speech-language pathology (SLP) services delivered virtually.
The board voted to accept the two donations — $50 from Mount Auburn Christian Church and $25,000 from the alumni association — during its consent agenda. Trustees then approved paying $18,987 to consulting work on the high school stage to be funded from the alumni contribution; board members asked whether the remaining roughly $6,000 of the donation was restricted and were told those funds are available for other uses.
Trustees approved a recurring IT charge for the FirstNet data plan at $2,234.65 per month. A staff member described negotiating with the vendor, saying, “Essentially, I threatened to leave and they said … they did the math themselves and undercut what it would be with the penalty,” and the board moved to approve the contract after the staffer’s explanation.
To address a gap in speech-language coverage, the board approved contracting SLP services through a virtual provider as a temporary measure while the district seeks a permanent in-person SLP. The board also approved creating an SLP instructional assistant position to supervise students during virtual sessions.
On personnel matters the board accepted the resignation of Tasha Norville as an elementary library assistant effective 06/28/2024 and recorded the resignation of Haley Jones (preschool instructional assistant at Southwestern Elementary) with an effective date listed in the record as 07/16/2020. The board approved hiring recommendations including an assistant tennis coach, a junior high girls basketball coach and a full-time day custodian at $15.75 per hour.
Board members granted the superintendent authority to hire staff as needed before the next board meeting and to present candidates for formal approval in August. The superintendent used his comments to summarize facility-need information related to what issuing bonds would require and reminded the public of upcoming registration and staff dates: staff days on Aug. 5–6 and student registration July 23 (11 a.m.–7 p.m.) and July 24 (8 a.m.–3 p.m.).
During public comment, Paul Dowdy thanked the district for coordinating Vacation Bible School with the summer “feed and read” program so children attending the week of June 24 could receive meals. An alumni association representative described a Saturday alumni gathering (2–5 p.m., business meeting at 1:30 p.m.), scholarship activity and recruitment efforts.
The meeting closed with trustees urging the community to review the facility and bond information, noting the district must address facility needs even though doing so could affect the tax rate. The board adjourned after routine closing remarks.
