Altamont Board Approves Contract w/Support Staffers

The Altamont Board of Education Monday approved a three-year contract with the Altamont Educational Support Personnel Association.

The contract is retroactive to the past school year and will also cover the coming two school years.

The Board also took action on several personnel matters, hiring Lauren Withiem to teach junior high Math, Rodney Redfern to teach junior high PE, Bryant Horath as a custodian, and Redfern to coach 8th grade boys basketball and junior high boys track. Board members also accepted resignations from Casie Bowman and from Heather Began, and approved Lindsay VanBlaricum as a junior high volunteer assistant softball coach.

Altamont board members discussed student accident insurance, and approved an early graduation request.

High School Principal Jerry Tkachuk reported that Effingham Unit 40 has begun online registration for the school year this year. Tkachuk said he will contact Unit 40 to see whether Altamont could have a system set up before their registration in August. If not, Tkachuk said they will try to do as they've done before, allowing people to make corrections to their account online and then going straight to staff members to pay their fees. 

Tkachuk also reported the high school has students signed up for Dual Credit Speech through Eastern Illinois University for a second straight year. He also noted that a substitute teacher has interest in taking over Speech class for next year on a one-eighths time basis, so could be an option.

New Superintendent Steve Mayerhofer said he is holding a "Donuts with the Superintendent" once a week until the start of school, the first one being this Thursday from 9 to 10am at the grade school. The events are open to any Altamont staff member. He also plans to being every board meeting with positive news from the district, and also plans to partner with staff members to create school-wide Professional Learning Communities along with conducting a listening tour.

Information was shared on the grade school swingset project; $5,200 for the concrete and drainage work, and $17,000 for the fall protection surface.

The Board also discussed a proposed kitchen project.