DEMOPOLIS – After having the first look at the proposed budget in July, the Demopolis City Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of it on Monday night.

The new budget will establish a bottom line of $18,183,490 for the schools to work with from Oct. 1, 2006, until Sept. 30, 2007.

It is also an increase of 11.1 percent from the 2006 budget.

The Board also voted unanimously to approve the financial statements, which included the purchase of over 100 desks for Demopolis High School and Demopolis Middle School and the final payment on a new time-keeping system now used by all the schools in the system.

“We are testing it this month, this pay-period and next pay-period,” said Linda Agee of the Demopolis Board of Education. “Our custodians and summer employees have been using them all summer and they like it.”

The Board of Education also debated the cell phone policy, which will be posted in a written form at the next meeting. The way the policy is stated is that at DMS, students who bring cell phones or electronic messaging devices onto campus are required to put them in their locker from the first bell until the final bell. At DHS students are required to leave them in their vehicle until the end of the day.

In other board action:

Grandparents Day at Westside is scheduled for September 12-14. Grandparents are invited to attend the school and eat breakfast.

Westside also boasted a roster of 632 total students.

At U.S. Jones, the enrollment is 511 with 17 no-shows.

School photos are also scheduled for next week. The school will be sending out information flyers.

The Demopolis Middle School has scheduled nine games for its football team this year.

They are also in the beginning stages of implementing a gifted program.

At Demopolis High, the roster boasts a total of 711 students.

The Board also got a copy of the new DHS Band’s policy book.

The next meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 19.