By Zach Hester, Reporter • zach@southerntorch.com

DeKALB COUNTY, Ala. — (Full Video below) Last week, the DeKalb County Board of Education (BOE) met to swear-in new members and address regular business.

New BOE member Chris Andrews, who was elected unopposed to succeed longtime Board member Mark Richards, along with returning member Randy Peppers were sworn-in by Circuit Judge Jeremy Taylor.

Andrews, a retired member of the school system with 25 years of experience, stated, “I look forward to being an asset for District 2 and all DeKalb County Schools. Even though I am a retiree from the DeKalb County Board of Education...I’ve still got a lot to learn. I look forward to the journey and appreciate your support.” 

“I appreciate the opportunity to once again serve District 1 and DeKalb County Schools,” said Peppers. “I’ve enjoyed the past term...and I’m looking forward to this one.”

The Board re-elected Peppers as Chairman and Robert Elliott as Vice Chairman.

The Board made the following placements:

• Avery Collins as itinerant EL teacher at Collinsville (certified)
• James Stack as band director (leave only from 12/1/20 through 5/27/21) at Plainview (certified)
• Alex Carpenter as assistant custodian (9-month/4-hour) at Valley Head (support)

The Board awarded the following contracts:

• 21st Century Crossville Teacher: Samantha Flaherty, Haley Harbour, Tara Pickers, and Laura Smith
• COVID Sanitation ESSER: April Hill and Lorilyn Owen
• Bus Sanitizing ESSER: Tammy Richards

The Board gave DeKalb County Superintendent Dr. Jason Barnett permission to place pending board approval until the next meeting. 

Barnett also spoke on the week of remote learning from November 30 through December 4, the week of classes following Thanksgiving break. The week of remote learning was scheduled to allow for students who gather with their families over the Thanksgiving break an extra week to make sure they were not sick with COVID-19 before returning to classes. The extra week outside of the classroom also allows each school to be properly sanitized over the break.

“When [students] return from their holiday, they will be returning to a really sanitary, clean environment,” said Barnett.

The next meeting of the DeKalb County Board of Education will be held on January 7, 2021, at 5 p.m. with a work session at 4:30 p.m. at the Facilities Building.