By Fred Guarino
The Lowndes Signal
The Lowndes County Board of Education has asked School Superintendent Dr. Daniel Boyd to further investigate an issue with a resigned school employee who now wants her job back.
Dorothy Williams, school secretary for Central High School, told the board at its meeting held Thursday night at Fort Deposit Elementary School, she was asked questions without representation regarding checkbook deposit slips and missing money.
She said she resigned because she did not want her family to get into trouble and because she was told if she did not want things to go further she could resign, even though, “In my mind I did nothing wrong.”.
Williams said she did not have an AEA representative present and was not allowed to talk with anybody.
She said, “I resigned, but then I thought about it, why should you resign, you did nothing wrong, you didn’t take any money from anybody, and God knows I have never stole anything from anybody.”
Williams said she came before the board to ask for her job back at Central High “because I love my job, I love my school and the people I work with.”
Speaking on Williams behalf were her daughter Cameka Miles, her husband Lee Williams and friend and former classmate Natasha Coleman.
School Board President Ben Davis praised those who appeared for the way they conducted themselves. He said prior to a one hour executive session with Williams, “Just rest assured that we are going to very best we know how to for the children of this county.”
Upon return from an executive session, Davis said the board made no decisions and took no votes.
The board elected Davis to continue to serve as School Board President for 2014 and Board Member Steve Foster to continue to service as Vice President for 2014.
Boyd reported that a wheelchair lift at the Central High football field house has been installed. He also said bids are being taken for a covered walkway at Hayneville Middle School and plans are being drawn for a roofing project at the bus shop .
The covered walkway was an item sought by the parent of a Hayneville Middle School student with cerebral palsy.
Boyd said data meetings have been held for Jackson-Steele Elementary, Hayneville Middle School and Calhoun High School to look a data on students in a new way.
He said Head Start is also testing students to see that they are progressing to levels they need to reach.
“Because this is the first time,” Boyd said, “ I feel that this data is going to be very helpful to make sure that we provide prescriptive professional development for Head Start teachers and we’ll know exactly where our students are when they enter kindergarten.”
Among action items, the board:
*Approve a resolution in memory of former employee Debra Moorer Williams.
*Approved a memorandum of agreement with the state Department of Education for special education and related services, Excel Institute.
*Approved contracts between the board and Excel Institute (Special Education State Reimbursement); H Tours charter bus service for the Calhoun High School Band; Central Alabama Basketball Officials Association Inc. for home basketball games at Hayneville Middle School, Lowndes County Middle School and Central High; William “Think Big “ Gailliard for motivational workshops and presentations for Hayneville Middle School students; Paulette Moncrief for Classroom Assessment Scoring System observations for Head Start Program teaching staff; Tracye Strichik and Joli Vincent for professional development for Head Start teaching staff.
*The 2013 Financial Statement for the Lowndes County Head Start Program.
*The September 2013 revenues and expenditure report, financial statment and payroll register based on reconciled bank statements.
*Personnel report.
The next meeting of the Lowndes County Board of Education will be Thursday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Central Office in Hayneville.