A raise in rental fees for on-campus facility use and personnel changes highlight the most recent Demopolis City Schools System Board of Education meeting held March 20.

After investigating costs for local facilities, the board voted to increase rental fees for gymnasiums on all campuses to $250, originally $150, and auditoriums to $500, originally $250.

In personnel matters, the board approved the following moves:

• resignations of Jonathan Casey Moore, special education teacher at Demopolis Middle School, effective March 16, and Jillian Arthur, band director, effective at the end of the school year.

• retirements of Lori Giles, WES librarian; Katie Poole, U.S. Jones Elementary teacher, and Tammy Spruell, and Paul Bond, both WES teachers, all effective at the end of the school year.

• substitute teaching license for Linda Driver.

• medical leave extension for Constance Cleveland.

The board approved a revision to the 2017-2018 DCSS Academic Calendar that will give teachers a work day on Aug. 7, 2017 along with three professional development days. The previous calendar had two professional development days and a work day on Aug. 8.

Summer work hours for the schools and offices will be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays and on Fridays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Summer work hours will last from June 5 to July 28.

Consent items approved by the board include the following:

• out-of-state or overnight field trips for the DMS Beta Club to Orlando, Fla.; DHS DECA to Anaheim, Calif.; DHS Youth Leadership to Tuscaloosa, and DHS FBLA to Birmingham.

• travel reimbursement for the art teacher.

• inventory dispositions for unusable computers and printers.

• DHS auditorium rental by the John Coley Show June 4.

• 2017-2018 Course Catalogue.

• Floor machine maintenance agreement for DMS.

The next regular meeting is set for April 17.

(This article originally appeared in the Saturday, March 25, 2017 print edition of the Demopolis Times.)