Cloverdale, South Putnam to share counselor

CLOVERDALE — One item addressed in a short meeting, the Cloverdale School Board approved sharing an elementary counselor with South Putnam Schools on Monday.

Having worked with South Putnam Supt. Corey Smith on it for several months, Supt. Greg Linton presented a memorandum of understanding outlining the counselor’s roles and compensation.

While the counselor will be a Cloverdale Schools employee and adhere to its benefits, both corporations will share 50 percent of the counselor’s costs. As such, their time will be split equally between the schools.

“We will continue to work on a job description,” Linton assured, providing that said description would be similar to previous elementary counselors.

The job description is to be posted by spring break, with the position filled before the end of this school year. The counselor will start in August.

In other business:

• The board approved $500 Christmas bonuses for all classified employees with the exception of teachers and administrators. Linton noted that the corporation’s budget would cover the bonuses.

• The board approved Cloverdale Schools’ calendar for the 2024-25 school year. Linton said the calendar follows closely with the other county school corporations concerning special education and Area 30.

The board also recognized Cloverdale Schools’ Students of the Month: Marchessa Jones (Cloverdale Elementary School), Marley Johnson (Cloverdale Middle School) and Phoenix Breedlove (Cloverdale High School).

Cloverdale High School teacher Audrie Grimes was also recognized as the Staff Member of the Month.

The board also approved the following personnel report:

• Employment: Jennifer Williams - CHS part-time cafeteria staff; and Megan Puckett - Knoy Resource Center program director;

• Maternity leave: Kenzie Pigg - CMS/CHS agriculture teacher;

• Resignations: Jerry Bush - CHS part-time cafeteria staff; Justin Shepherd - seventh-grade football coach; and Angela Ladd - CMS cross country/track coach;

• Volunteer: Carol Pennington - CHS livestock judging coach.

The entire board and Executive Secretary Heather Stokes joined Linton for the meeting.

The next regular meeting of the Cloverdale School Board is set for Monday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Arthur L. Johnson Administration Office near Cloverdale High School.