By Michael Wetzel

For the Enquirer

Morgan County Schools students will have more after-school and summer programs available the next three years, thanks to federal funding designed to help systems recover from pandemic-related disruptions.

Superintendent Robert Elliott Jr. said after a board meeting this past week that the Morgan school district’s estimated $11 million Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III funds will primarily go toward student learning and safety.

“We’ll be able to offer busing and lunches for our summer programs and busing for our after-school programs,” he said. The after-school programs run until 4:30 p.m., he said. “They will be of no cost to the parents and students.”

He said the summer program had 588 kindergarten through fifth-grade students, 55 in grades six through eight and 132 in grades nine through 12 this year.

“We’ll show a lot of improvement (in students’ education) with those numbers,” said District 7 board member John Holley. “We need to thank the teachers who worked this summer.”

In other action at the meeting, the board approved the low bid of $184,150 from Pettus Plumbing and Piping for the maintenance and transportation building. Board chairman Jimmy Dobbs said the money is coming from the general fund.

In an update on water fountains, Dobbs said they’ll be in use this school year if students wish to use them. The school system also has installed water bottle fillers to reduce the possibility of spreading germs.

In personnel transactions, the board approved:

• Promotions: Brian Paul Ellis, from counselor at Danville High to assistant principal at Falkville High.
• Transfers: Heather Mahan, from fourth- and fifth-grade science/social studies teacher to counselor at Union Hill; Brett Mooneyham, from fifth-grade teacher at Eva to Brewer drivers’ education teacher; Desireé Fowler Couch, from countywide special education teacher to West Morgan Middle special education teacher; Jillian Faulkner, from counselor at Brewer High to Jobs for America’s Graduates teacher at Morgan County technology park; and Elizabeth Ann Cossentine, from countywide ESL teacher to ESL teacher at West Morgan High.
• Employment: April M. Burgess, Falkville Elementary counselor; Elena Korey Andreotti, Lacey’s Spring English/language arts teacher; Jennifer Lynn Lane, kindergarten through fourth-grade teacher at Union Hill; Mallory Jones, head softball coach at Falkville High; Jenny Elaine Williams, countywide speech language pathologist; Tiffanie Danielle Shaddix, science teacher at Eva; Matthew Carlton Chance, social science teacher at Brewer; Lauren April Martin, eighth-grade science teacher at Danville Middle; Melanie McCutcheon Warner, pre-K teacher at Danville-Neel Elementary; Kayla Gracie Maze, agriscience education teacher at Priceville Junior High; Wanda Shipp, art teacher at Union Hill; Emily Manush Elliott, elementary teacher at Lacey’s Spring; and Carol Bennich, intervention teacher at Eva.
• Resignations: Tim Sharp, mechanical tech teacher at the technology park; Yulanda Hampton, half-time assistant principal, half-time teacher at Priceville Elementary; Kathyrn Alanna Twilley, library media specialist at Eva; and Bree Drake, teacher at Danville-Neel Elementary.

The school board called a meeting for 4:30 p.m. July 29. No work session is planned.

The school board’s next regular meeting was changed from Aug. 12 to Aug. 10, with a work session at 5:30 p.m. followed by the meeting at 6 p.m.