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Demopolis City Schools has renewed its contract with current high school principal Blaine Hathcock.

Hathcock joined DHS as principal in 2017, initially serving as interim principal after the departure of Chris Tangle. In May of that year he was named the permanent principal.

Prior to serving at DHS, Hathcock was the principal at Demopolis Middle School since joining the system in 2012.

Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said Hathcock’s contract is set to expire at the end of the school year.

“(Hathcock) has expressed his interest in staying at DHS and we are pleased with the work he has done there,” Kallhoff said.

The superintendent added the terms of the contract would remain the same.

The school board also renewed the contract for the system’s chief school financial officer, Evelyn James.

Support personnel employees with the system will be receiving a one-time bonus check based on their time employed by the system. The bonuses will range from $125 to $525 per employee. Kallhoff said the total to be paid by the system will not exceed $23,000. He added that employees who already receive bonuses are not included and that he would like to implement a permanent support staff bonus program in the future.

Other items discussed by the board included the following items.

• Approving a policy in handling insufficient funds check and a second involving the Child Nutrition Program.

• Approving dual enrollment and credit agreement with Wallace Community College.

• Kallhoff said the system will sell inventory disposition items to the public by sealed bid on Nov. 1, from noon to 5 p.m. inside the New Era Building.

• The board heard a report from Demopolis City Schools Foundation Director Amanda Barnes, who said the foundation has awarded over $79,000 in classroom grants in 2019, including about $58,000 awarded this fall. Since its inception, the DCSF has given $1.3 million in grants.

“We feel the DCSF is something our community should be really proud of and we thank all of our donors for making it possible and being a part of the Demopolis difference,” Barnes said.

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, October 30 issue of the Demopolis Times.)