The Greene County School Board met Wednesday in regular session.

The meeting began with a public hearing of the 2022-23 school calendar, which the Board then approved following the hearing, where no public comments were made. The Board also approved the second reading of a revised board policy to remove “October” as the deadline for early graduation requests for high school students.

Additionally, the Board approved the first reading of a revised board policy for high school graduation requirements, with the main change of having one diploma with a minimum of 50 credits to begin next school year. They also approved increasing custodial pay by $1 to retroactively begin on February 1st for the March pay period, along with approving two fundraising requests, an early graduation request for Ben Johnson, an asbestos removal bid of $16,940 from August Enterprises for the middle school, changing the board meeting date in March to the 9th to avoid spring break and appointed Bonnie Silbaugh to replace Superintendent Tim Christensen as the Bell Tower Community Foundation representative. 

The Board also heard the initial offer from the Greene County Education Association for the 2022-23 school year to increase the base salary from a little over $32,000 to $34,950, with the assumption that the district would cover the increase for insurance. The Board approved to submit a Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation grant application to help pay for a new scoreboard at the football field and will discuss options for the district’s banking and insurance carriers. 

Finally, the Board heard feedback from McPhearson and Jacobson from the community input meeting also held Wednesday evening about the search for a new superintendent. The consulting firm representatives highlighted two questions that were asked of each of the 69 participants. One of the questions regarded the characteristics of a superintendent. Some of the responses included a supporter of all activities, a motivator and supporter of teachers and district employees, open and transparent, not a micromanager, and someone who has thick skin. The other highlighted question was about current issues in the community for the new superintendent to be aware of. The responses included the sharing agreement with Paton-Churdan, the need for consistency in the district and communication to explain why decisions are made the way they are.