school bus (copy)

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An Elmore County school bus was involved in a small accident in Wetumpka Thursday morning. There were no injuries reported.

Summer is a busy time for boards of education across the state. They are looking for teachers and staff to fill open slots.

This summer is no different for the Elmore County Board of Education. At its meeting last week it approved personnel actions filling many positions across its numerous campuses. But there are still needs, especially for bus drivers.

“We are four drivers short,” superintendent Richard Dennis told the board. “We have two auxiliary openings because they rotated over to regular routes. Transportation is a commodity we are in desperate need of.”

Auxiliary drivers are basically full time drivers with the school but without a route. They are used almost daily to drive routes where a driver is absent.

“They get quite a few hours,” Dennis said. 

The superintendent told the board there are still some teacher openings across the county. Dennis said state wide there is a need for qualified certified teachers.

“We are having to go out and recruit them,” Dennis said. “They are not in the colleges to hire.”

Dennis said he would likely have to call a meeting of the board to approve new hires before the next board meeting to allow them to be able to work by the first day of school.”

In other business, Dennis said Title 2, 3 and 4 funds have been frozen by the federal government following recent legislation from Washington D.C. The Alabama State Department of Education has provided guidance on how to navigate but some things are still unclear.

“We are adjusting programs such as the 21st Century,” Dennis said. “We will be making adjustments for funding that we are not expecting to get.”

Dennis said construction would still be occurring on some campuses as school starts next month. Projects at Wetumpka Elementary School, Wetumpka High School, Elmore County Career Technical Center, the Eclectic Child Development Center and the new road at Eclectic Elementary School will still be under construction at the start of the school year. Dennis said projects such as the road will be finished before others.

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At the meeting, the board recognized numerous students for efforts at state and national competitions.  SkillsUSA Robotics had competed in national competitions in Atlanta and Dallas after qualifying at state. The same can be said for DECA and FBCCLA marketing students who competed in personal financial literacy, travel and tourism team, entrepreneurship, Teach and Train, Focus on Children, Job Interview, Future Business Educator, Exploring leadership and Sports Medicine Healthy Living.

Students at Wetumpka High School were recognized for All State Choir performances, state placements in Science Fair and Gorgas and state and national competitions in BEST Robotics and GreenPower Electric Car. The cheer team at Holtville Middle School was recognized for their top performance at camp.

 

In other action the Elmore County Board of Education:

• Approved a bid for $1,486,000 to renovate portions of the old Wetumpka High School.

• Approved monthly financial reports for June.

• Approved minutes from June 24 meeting.

• Approved a facility use agreement for Holtville Elementary School.

• Approved the 2025-26 Student handbook code of conduct.

• Approved textbooks for AP History.

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