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The Covington County Board of Education approved 17 personnel matters at a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, May 2.

During the meeting the board approved:

Retirement

• Kathy Moore as lunchroom manager at Fleeta Junior High School effective May 27 (28 years)
• Donna Barnes as special education teacher at Red Level School effective May 27 (26 years)

Resignation

• Janet Norris as lunchroom worker at FJHS effective May 27
• Major Deacon as physical education teacher at Pleasant Home School retroactive to April 18
• John Stone as science teacher at Florala High School effective May 27
• Kristin Rambo as elementary teacher at Straughn Elementary School effective May 27
• April Clark as elementary teacher at W.S. Harlan Elementary School effective May 27
• Joea Faulkner Stuart as counselor at FHS effective at the end of the 2022-2023 school year

Transfer

• Carmen Powell from elementary teacher at FJHS to special education teacher at Straughn Middle School effective at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year
• Brooke Gardner from bus driver at Red Level School to bus driver at Straughn High School effective at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year

Employment

• Rachel Smith as pre-K teacher at RLS effective at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, pending verification of new or existing background reviews
• Kenneth Bledsoe as PE teacher/head basketball coach at PHS effective at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, pending verification of new or existing background reviews
• Amanda Till as elementary teacher at SES effective at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, pending verification of new or existing background reviews
• Shanna Davis as elementary teacher at SES effective at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, pending verification of new or existing background reviews
• Bruce Douglas as bus driver at SHS effective at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, pending verification of new or existing background reviews
• Randy McGlaun as transportation supervisor effective July 1
• Kenneth Rodberg as bus mechanic effective immediately, pending verification of new or existing background reviews

Superintendent Shannon Driver stated it was a busy time of the year with ongoing personnel matters and planning for the 2023-2024 school year.

“We have started our accreditation process with the board in training. We had a webinar the other day with our supervisors,” he said.

Driver also gave an update on the status of building projects throughout the system.

“These projects are going well. We have pretty much finished our two window projects at Straughn and Pleasant Home. The roof project at Straughn Elementary School and Straughn Middle School are virtually complete but have a little bit of work left to do. The auditorium is progressing along, and the bathroom building at Red Level is complete. We have several smaller projects planned for this summer at Florala and will be doing some work in the gym at W.S. Harlan with painting and new lighting. We have made a lot of good progress, and it has been a good year.”

Attendance at the AHSAA’s 1A-3A Sectional track meet was huge, according to Driver.

“We had all the participants come through one gate last Friday morning, and each one was given an armband. Mr. (John) Evers had a package of 1,000 armbands and ran out. You can imagine how many adults were there over two days. We had almost 40 buses. It was quite a feat, but our folks did an outstanding job putting it on. We had a lot of volunteers throughout the community who were certified as track officials. Our coaches have done an excellent job with preparations, and several individuals in the county are ranked number one in their event with a good chance at winning a state championship. One of our schools is in the hunt for a team championship, which has never happened in Covington County,” Driver said.

Valedictorians and salutatorians from Florala, Pleasant Home, Red Level, and Straughn will be recognized at the board’s annual banquet Monday, May 8, at 7 p.m.

The board set the next meeting date for Monday, May 22, at the central office but did not announce a time.