Albertville School Board talks student safety | Over 18 staff resign, 15 hired | Free Share

Safety and security has been the topic of discussion for schools across the country with the recent mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 21 students and staff dead. 

Albertville City Schools Superintendent Boyd English said his district has already had many safety precautions in place, but board members and administrators have met to discuss ways to improve if needed.

“We always take these tragedies, and we look at the things that went wrong,” English told The Reporter. 

He said the school system was able to use ESSER funds to contract with Audio Enhancement — a technology company that provides audio/visual services in classrooms for learning and security — which will work with the current and additional surveillance cameras to better identify and give a location of a potential threat. Teachers will also have an alert button lanyard they can use to notify officials if they see something concerning.

“In the event we have an intruder on one of our campuses, when we’re fully functional, we’ll be able to identify where that threat is,” he said. “We can neutralize an intruder very quickly.”

Currently, all campuses operate on a single access, buzzer entry system to force all visitors or anyone entering the building to go through the main office where they can sign in and be accounted for. 

“It’s something we have to reiterate with our administrators, faculty and staff about the importance of securing exterior doors,” English said. 

He said they’re “ahead of the game” in that regard, plus the addition of a School Resource officer station at each school. “We’re fortunate to have an SRO in every school,” he said.

To add further security and deterrence, some states like Ohio and Louisiana are considering laws that would allow teachers to be firearms trained and carry a weapon while on the job.

While he said there are pros and cons to arming teachers, English said he already considers teachers and staff heroes for their service, and would be concerned having them armed may add to the stress they already face on a typical school day.

“Teachers go to school and are educated in college to teach,” he said. “Our teachers need to teach, and we need to make sure that we have all the precautions in place to ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff and our administration. I feel like we’ve covered it, but we’re always going to look for ways to improve.” 

The ACS school board discussed many of these safety issues during a special called meeting last Friday. In other business, the board:

-Approved a host of personnel items. English said with the statewide teacher shortage, the board is trying to get a head start on hiring for next year. “We’re proud of some of those who have been with and are now moving on to promotions in their career,” he said.

A. Retirements/resignations

1. Lee Orr, resigning as TEAMS math teacher at Albertville Middle School, effective June 2.

2. Canetha Beth Nixon, resigning as 10-month health science teacher at Albertville High School, effective June 10.

3. William Scott, resigning as health education teacher at AHS, effective June 1.

4. Joshua Reeves, resigning as special education teacher at AHS, effective June 1.

5. Hannah Smith, resigning as elementary teacher at APS, effective June 1.

6. Libby Nailor, resigning as Bus Driver at ACS, effective June 1.

7. William O’Donnell, resigning as social science teacher at AHS, effective June 1.

8. Chelsie Arnold, resigning as elementary teacher at Albertville Elementary School, effective June 1.

9. Claudia Morris, resigning as elementary teacher at AES, effective June 2.

10. Lydia O’Donnell, resigning as TEAMS Math teacher at AHS, effective June 1.

11. Shelia Pall, retiring as English Language Arts teacher at AHS, effective July 1.

12. Lorena Franco, resigning as 10 month assistant migrant recruiter at the Central Office, effective June 10.

13. Jazmen McCright, resigning as special education teacher at Albertville Middle School, effective June 6.

14. Brandace Sims, resigning as elementary teacher at Albertville Primary School, effective June 15.

15.Brooklyn McCool, resigning as elementary teacher at AES, effective June 1.

16. Yvonne McClendon, retiring as Assistant CNP Manager at AIS, effective June 1.

17. Deidra Tidwell, resigning as virtual principal, effective June 10.

18. Matthew Nelson, resigning as PE teacher at AMS, effective June 2.

B. Supplement Resignations

1. Amanda Tiner, resigning from the yearbook supplement at AIS, effective June 2.

2. Tracy Brooks, resigning from yearbook supplement at AES, effective May 17.

3. Lee Orr, resigning from the algebra team at AMS, effective June 2.

4. Lee Orr, resigning from leadership team at AMS, effective June 2.

5. William Scott, resigning from football assistant at AHS, effective June 1.

6. Matthew Nelson, resigning from head girls basketball coach at AHS, effective May 31.

7. Joshua Reeves, resigning from Football Defensive Coordinator at AHS, effective June 1.

8. Joshua Reeves, resigning from assistant head varsity football coach at AHS, effective June 1.

9. William O’Donnell, resigning from JV boys basketball coach at AHS, effective June 1.

C. Transfers

1. Amanda Tiner, transferring from elementary teacher at Albertville Intermediate School to elementary teacher at AES (replacing Lindsay Duquette), effective July 28.

2. Matthew Lambert, transferring from Alternative School teacher at AHS to 10-month Assistant Principal at AHS (new position), effective July 18.

3. Haley Bearden, transferring from elementary teacher at AIS to 10 month assistant principal at AIS (replacing Miranda Battles), effective July 18.

4. Caitlyn Smith, transferring from business education teacher at AHS to counselor at AIS (replacing Kristi Rains & pending certification), effective July 28.

5. Candace Bearden, transferring from Special Education teacher at APS to 9-month special education program assistant at the central office (replacing Britney Phillips), effective July 28.

6. Sherry Little, transferring from Special Education teacher at AMS to agriscience teacher at AHS (replacing Jared Beasley), effective July 28.

7. Lillie Johnson, transferring from elementary teacher at AIS to special education teacher at AIS (pending certification), effective July 28.

D. Employments

1. Mary Dobbins (3586), kindergarten teacher at AKPK (replacing Melanie Scott and pending certification), effective July 28.

2. Bethany McLemore (3589), kindergarten teacher at AKPK (replacing Mary Maddox), effective July 28.

3. Jadea Chandler (3593), elementary teacher at APS (replacing Brandie Sherman and pending certification), effective July 28.

4. Rosemary Adams (3128), library media specialist at APS (replacing Jennifer Young), effective July 28.

5. Katelyn Gargus (3594), elementary teacher at APS (replacing Jessica Long

& pending certification), effective July 28.

6. Shelly Floyd (3595), special education teacher at AES (replacing Kim Wallace & pending certification), effective July 28.

7. Olin Collins (3596), ELA teacher at AHS (replacing Noah Walker), effective July 28.

8. Steven Hudgins (3185), 10 month assistant principal at AKPK (replacing Bryce West), effective July 18.

9. Marisa Dunn (3597), elementary teacher at AIS (replacing Amanda Tiner), effective July 28.

10.Claudia Taylor (3598), elementary teacher at APS (replacing Hannah Smith and pending certification) effective July 28.

11.Evan Patterson (1317), summer seasonal worker system-wide, to be paid $7.25 per hour, effective June 6, 2022 through August 2.

12.Sara Argiro (3601), ELA teacher at AHS (replacing Shelia Pall), effective July 28.

13.Kenneth Colvin (3106), special education teacher at AHS (replacing Joshua Reeves), effective July 28.

14.Justin Murphy (3600), social science teacher at AHS (replacing William O’Donnell and pending certification), effective July 28.

15.Ganon Pointer (3599), secondary education teacher at AHS (replacing Sean Watson), effective July 28.

E. Supplement assignments

1. Charity Arnold, JV cheer coach at AHS (replacing Chelsea Kinney), effective July 28, 2022 with extended duties effective June 1.

2. Erin Lang, leadership team at AES (replacing Becky Reaves), effective July 28.

3. Crystal King, yearbook supplement at AES (replacing Tracy Brooks), effective July 28.

4. Jon Cotten, Head Girls Basketball Coach at AHS, effective July 28, with extended duties effective June 1.

F. Other

1. Alicia Walker, summer literacy camp teacher at APS/AES, to be paid $225 per day, effective June 6, 2022 through June 30.

2. Brandy Shankles, summer literacy camp teacher at APS/AES, to be paid $225 per day, effective June 6, 2022 through June 30.

3. Lori Darnell, summer literacy camp teacher at APS, to be paid $225 per day, effective June 6, 2022 through June 23.

4. Jade Townsend, summer literacy camp LPN at APS, to be paid an hourly rate of $30, effective June 13, 2022 through June 16.

5. Samantha Childers, summer STEM Camp teacher at AIS, to be paid $225

per day, effective June 21, 2022 through June 30.

6. Jessica Lewis, summer STEM Camp RN at AIS, to be paid $225 per day,

effective June 27, 2022 through June 30.

7. Pam Fortner, summer STEM Camp LPN at AIS, to be paid an hourly rate of

$30, effective June 21, 2022 through June 23.

8. Donna Tabor, summer literacy camp LPN at APS, to be paid an hourly rate

of $30, effective June 21, 2022 through June 23.

9. David Cooper, to be paid a supplement of $20,000, to perform Athletic Trainer duties, effective July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. District will be reimbursed per agreement with HH Health System-Marshall LLC.

10.Cole Bowling, summer Migrant Program teacher, to be paid $225 per day not to exceed 8 days, effective June 23, 2022 through July 20.

11.Miranda Battles, to receive an additional 6 days at her current daily rate of $354.18, for transitioning as APS Principal, effective June 15, 2022 through June 24.

-Approved the following independent contracts:

1. Garrett Clement, independent contract to provide services to arrange music/songs for vocalpoint competition shows at AMS, to be paid and not to exceed $750 from AMS, effective July 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023.

2. Joel Denton, independent contract to provide services as a Leadership Camp Speaker for AHS Band, to be paid and not to exceed $1,500 from AHS, effective July 11, 2022 through July 12.

3. Sarah Barr, independent contract to provide services for choreography for Vocalpoint Competition Shows at AMS, to be paid $2,100 plus travel expenses not to exceed $3,500, effective July 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023. 

4. Amend Independent Contract by $5,800 for Anna Morgan, to perform consulting duties in the area of public relations that addresses all aspects of the district’s needs, not to exceed $35,800 by BOE, effective May 19, 2021 to May 31.

5. Steve Weaver, independent contract to provide services to screen and wax the AMS gym floors, to be paid and not to exceed $2,000 from BOE, effective June 3, 2022 through May 31, 2023.

6. Michael Shaddix, independent contract to perform football coaching duties at AHS to be paid $400 from BOE, effective June 1, 2022 through June 30.

-Approved an online fundraising agreement with Vertical Raise. This agreement will add another form of crowdfunding to accept online payments with a 20% fee charge per transaction. ​​Though the platform helps sports teams raise money as a whole, people can donate to specified athletes based on their individual profiles. The money goes toward the team’s overall goal but helps inspire a sense of friendly competition in seeing which athlete can raise the most money.

-Approved various surplus items to sell or dispose of.