PUTNAM NEWS: SCHOOL BOARD: Putnam school board OKs budget; Spending plan includes money for raises

The Putnam County Board of Education has approved a new budget andplaced 38 school system employees on the transfer list.

By unanimous vote, the board Monday officially passed apreliminary $84 million budget that mirrors the current budget, saidschool treasurer William Duncan.

The major change, he told the board, is in salaries. Board membersagreed late last year to provide all county teachers and servicepersonnel with a $1,000 raise spread over two years.

Superintendent Chuck Hatfield complimented Duncan on the budgetpresentation and on his management of the county school funds.

Also Monday, the board placed 38 teachers and school servicepersonnel on the list for possible transfer.

"Actually, some of those on the list were placed there simply tosafeguard the positions until federal money arrives for those jobs,"Hatfield said.

A few teachers or service personnel may be transferred becausechanges in individual school enrollment alter the need for thesepositions, he said.

"But really the vast majority of them will probably be workingexactly in the same place in the fall," Hatfield said.

The board voted to hold a special meeting May 23 to complete andmake public its evaluation of Hatfield. During a meeting in Septemberlast year, specific goals were set for him.

Now the board plans to determine how many of these goals have beenmet, according to board president Debbie Phillips.

While postponing action on several policies up for review, theboard approved a new policy on managing life-threatening allergies inschools.

The policy would require that staff be trained to recognize andrespond to allergic reactions as well as identify food allergens andhelp students avoid them. Parents, in turn, will be required tonotify the school if their children have a life-threatening allergy.Parents also will be required to provide a doctor's written diagnosisto the school.

Several members of the faculty at Putnam County Technical Centerin Eleanor spoke to the board in favor of extending their contractsto 210 days per year.

About 15 vo-tech teachers have been hired in recent years on 201-day contracts as the school system attempted to phase out the longerteaching year at the technical school.

Judy Hale of the American Federation of Teachers estimated thecost of adding the days for all 15 teachers would reach $31,000.

Phillips noted the issue was not placed on the public agenda andcould not be considered by the board until a later date.