Teutopolis Board Hears Enterprise Zone Presentation

Teutopolis school board members heard a presentation on a proposed new Effingham City-County Enterprise Zone at this week's meeting.

The new zone would replace a zone that the State is ending in 2018. Businesses and industries hoping to expand or locate in the zone would receive property tax abatements, if the affected taxing bodies, including the Teutopolis district, agree to the abatements. Effingham Enterprise Zone Administrator Todd Hull and City Administrator Jim Arndt explained that the City must have the zone application to the State by the end of 2014. The Board took no action on the request.

In personnel moves, the Teutopolis board accepted a resignation from Austin Robinson as frosh/soph baseball coach, and hired Heather Pruemer as a half-time teacher aide at the grade school and as the fourth junior high track coach. Pruemer was also approved as a volunteer for the high school girls basketball program. Pruemer's appointments and hirings are subject to getting clearance on background checks.

The Board authorized Superintendent Bill Fritcher to place an individual in the open bus driver position.

Board members approved an early graduation request for Ashley Schaufler; considered policy changes for first reading; heard a presentation from Chris Niebrugge of Consolidated Communications regarding the district's current internet service and a need to upgrade the bandwidth; and tabled a motion to appoint someone to represent the district at the state school board convention as no board members are currently planning to attend.

The Board agreed to purchase a school bus with the trade-in of the oldest bus in the fleet a part of the purchase, and discussed setting guidelines for purchasing and bidding, and then getting Board approval prior to the purchase.