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By Travis Gupton

The Selma Times-Journal

The Dallas County School Board met at Southside Primary for the second time in two weeks to discuss matters of the district on Thursday.

Before the meeting began the second-grade class at Southside Primary entertained the board and audience with a dance to the song “Rockin Robin.”

As the meeting got underway Superintendent Anthony Sampson began with his ADEM Report. Dr. Tanya Miles started with her report. She said that there was an issue with plants at Valley Grande and Dallas County High School. The issue was caused by a chemical that was being used on the plants that caused ammonia levels in the plants to be high but as of the time of the meeting, the report is that there was a change in the chemicals being used on the plants and the ammonia levels were now down in those plants. Mr. Jerry Ware spoke on two bids for HVAC replacements at Valley Grande Elementary and Martin Middle as well as at Brantley Elementary and Dallas County High. The bids were from Frazier Ousley in the amount of $2,995,50 and $2,178,400. The motion was moved by Leroy Miles and second by Melvin Flanagan Brown. The motion passed unanimously. Zella Ford spoke about the ACAP test. She reported that the testing was going well and everyone was doing well so far during the test window.

Ford announced that the Dallas County School district will host its first-ever Teacher of the Year Luncheon on  April 20 from 11:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m. at ArtsRevive.

Sampson spoke to the board about the possibility of summer opportunities for students this upcoming summer. He gave examples of athletic camps, gaming camps, STEM camps and even a Harry Potter camp. He said that he wanted to make sure the district paid the employees fair for their work over the summer while giving the kids these opportunities.

“Our primary focus is dealing with learning loss and giving the students an opportunity for academic gains,” Sampson said. “So between the literacy program and the numeracy program, that are state programs that we are required to have for the summer, there is an opportunity to give kids an opportunity for something different.”

There was a motion by Miles to approve the ADEM report and it was seconded by William Minor. It was approved unanimously.

Later on in the meeting, the board discussed nominations for the Board of Equalization. Three nominations were named and the board approved the nominations. The board spoke on the School Calendar for the 2023-24 school year. The motion for the calendar was moved by Minor and second by Miles and the board approved it unanimously.

The board moved on to the Transportation Supervisor/ Salary Schedule. This was the second time this topic had come to the board. It was tabled at the February board meeting for more discussion. The board agreed to put in an amendment to have a requirement of education for a high school diploma with a preferred bachelor’s degree. The board approved the motion but later Miles rescinded his vote because the Transportation Supervisor was not on the salary matrix. The board discussed the LSA Centralized Bookkeeper/ Salary Schedule. This was a topic that had been discussed for several months over the Salary Schedule. The board made a motion to approve the salary schedule unanimously. The final business was for a Team Leader Salary Schedule. The motion was moved by Minor and seconded by Flanagan Brown. The motion passed 3-1 with Miles opposing. The board entered into an executive session. After a lengthy session, the board reconvened in a regular session and then closed the meeting.