DEMOPOLIS -The talks of money at Monday night’s Demopolis Board of Education meeting made accountant, Linda Agee, the star of the show.

Agee discussed the five-year plan with the Board and went over plans for the budget at last night’s meeting.

She estimates the board will spend $150,000 on new textbooks, but the city will only use $20,000 of its funds while the rest will be covered by allocations.

The Capitol Outlay Plan has the city paying about $75,000 for new desks that run more than $90 each and $80,000 for a computer system upgrade.

Agee said additional funding will cover a necessary canopy at Demopolis Middle School for special education students and will fix the canopy at U.S. Jones Elementary.

Over the next five years, the Board will also put a fence by the new Wal-Mart, a new roof on the old building at DMS, and a new floor at U.S. Jones.

The board is also weighing the option of adding more classrooms to Demopolis High and making area gymnasiums cooler, literally.

“All the principals would like to have air conditioning in their gyms and we are looking at a new stadium, field house and track,” Agee said. “It’s in the plans. We just need the money.”

Agee said the Board also has plans to lower the ceilings in the hallway at U.S. Jones.

“We are at the point where we can do the cosmetic things that need to be done,” she said.

Agee also wants a time clock system to be used by all employees so the bookkeeping and accounting staff will not have to work as many hours to calculate time sheets.

Right now she is just asking the board for permission to ask for bids for the potential time clock system.

Board members agreed to unplug the old copier machines and purchase two new ones for each school in the system.

The Board also approved a 3.5 percent raise for maintenance employees, technical coordinators, payroll clerks, secondary and elementary supervisor, nutritional supervisor and other school system employees.

Students at DHS will have the opportunity to get a class credit for their work done in the library since Dr. Isaac Espy, DHS principal, recommended a Media Applications Course.

“Instead of them being an aide and just doing shelving, this will give them the opportunity to learn something and get an elective credit,” Espy said.

The Board approved 13 field trips for area schools, including six for DHS’ DECA Club.

DECA will visit Birmingham, Orlando, New York, Troy and Dallas over the course of the school year.

Sgt. Frank Hannah, DHS ROTC instructor, and Vincent Rowser, DMS custodian, received approval for their resignations.

According to Dr. Neil Hyche, Alabama State Department of Education Evaluator, who conducted the superintendent evaluation on Dr. Wesley Hill, Demopolis City Schools are in good hands.

“Mr. Hill scores a 49 out of a possible 52 points on the evaluation,” Hyche said at last night’s Board of education meeting. “The evaluation went well and I am real pleased to be here.”

The next Demopolis Board of Education meeting is October 17 at 5:15 p.m.