Unit 40 Board Acts on Personnel Matters, Expulsions

Effingham Unit 40 school board members took action on several personnel matters Monday evening.

The Board employed Jessica Barthelme and Lee Althoff as Special Education teachers for the coming school year, and transferred Maintenance man Gehl Higgs to a groundskeeper and maintenance position. Greg Brumleve was approved as a volunteer at Effingham High School for the remainder of the current school year. Leaves were approved for Valerie Traub and Charlotte West. 

Resignations were approved from Dana Koester as basketball cheer coach and from Becky Parker as junior high girls track coach. Retirements were accepted from Rita Bushue as a bus aide, Rhonda Tweedle as a bus driver, and from Becky Heuerman and Karen Hirtzel as paraprofessionals.

The Board also finalized end of year dates. May 20th will be the final day for students, a half-day of attendance, and May 21st will be a teacher's institute. Board members also expelled a student for the balance of this school year, and expelled a student through the end of the 2015-16 school year, although both were given the option of attending alternative education programs.

Superintendent Mark Doan also said the Board would not act on a funding agreement for the planned Construction Trades program at this time. Doan acknowledged that the Effingham City Council unofficially agreed at their meeting last week to approved funding for the coming school year, but allocated TIF dollars as the funding source. Doan said there are some limitations in how TIF funds can be utilized and those need to be considered before the agreement is finalized.