Board announces makeup days for school

By JIM TALBERT\Staff
TAZEWELL – Teacher work days and part of the Easter break will be used to make up days Tazewell County Schools have lost to bad weather.
The school board approved a request at its Jan. 11 meeting to have school Jan. 29 and Feb. 26 instead of having staff development days. Assistant Superintendent of Schools Christine Kinser .said teachers will work with the administrators at their schools to complete the staff development time.
Using those days plus March 29,30, 31 and April 1 and April 6 will account for six of the seven days missed through Jan. 13. The remaining day and any additional days missed will be added to the end of the school year.
Board Chairman Mike Dennis asked that a notice of the board’s action be posted on the school system’s website and that letters be sent home when students returned to school.
[In other action the board:]
*Met in executive session to discuss legal matters and personnel with no action taken.
*reorganized for the new year with Dennis continuing as chairman and Randy Conn as Vice Chair.
*Agreed to continue meeting on the second Monday of each month at the Tazewell County Career and Technical Center at 5:30 p.m.
*Passed a resolution declaring January Bullying Prevention Month. The board also received an update from Toni Lawson about the school system’s plans for the Bullying Prevention Program.
*Recognized the winners in the county’s Internet Safety Poster Contest.
*Appointed Bethany Collins, Randy Sparks, Leesa Peery, Lois Mullins and Karen Webb to the salary scale restructuring committee.
*Heard from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brenda Lawson that the citizens budget advisory committee had met for the first time this year.
*Also heard from Lawson that the budget proposed by out-going Governor Tim Kaine would cut nearly $4 million from the county’s funds.
*Approved the first reading of the policy revisions covering travel allowances and expenses.
*Voted 4-1 to approve Steve Davis’s request that the board meet in each of the three school districts at least once during the year.
*Heard from Director of Environmental and Maintenance Services Charles Simpson about the fire hydrants at Tazewell area Schools.
*Also heard from Simpson on the status of the facility renovations project. He said several minor items have to be corrected before the final payment is made to the contractor.
*Approved the low bid of $201,675 for renovations to cafeterias at schools in all three school districts.
*Approved the personnel list as presented by the superintendent.
*Adjourned until Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m.