Dieterich Board Approves SRO Agreement, Discusses Need for Bus Drivers

Dieterich school board members Monday approved a three-year agreement with the Effingham County Sheriff's Department reflecting increased fees for the availability of deputies to serve as School Resource Officers.

The fees will increase to $18, $20, and $23 per student over the next three years. 

Board members received the most recent enrollment numbers, which show the Dieterich district has 524 students enrolled. This is an increase of 13 students from last year.

The Board heard a proposal from the Senior class about a Senior class trip to Louisville, Kentucky on April 16-18, 2019. The Board gave the trip its approval after reviewing the itinerary.

Dieterich board members hired these individuals: Rodney McWhorter as substitute bus driver, Angie Sipe as substitute bus driver, Samantha Tolch as after school program aide, Taylor Curry as after school program aide, Hailey Poe as after school program aide, and Allie Painter as student custodial worker. The Board also approved Madison Everett as a volunteer coach for the junior high girls basketball program and Kelsey Webb as a volunteer coach for the high school girls basketball program.

Dieterich Superintendent Cary Jackson reported on an application for Safe Routes to School grant funds designed to improve the usefulness and safety of streets and sidewalks near the school. Jackson also updated the Board on the rapid progress being seen in Hartke Subdivision just to the west of the school complex. He said plans are progressing for a sidewalk to connect the school and the subdivision. Construction of homes is expected to begin very soon.

Jackson also shared the difficulty in many districts, not just Dieterich, in finding bus drivers. The Board discussed purchasing an activity bus to relieve some of the strain that is currently on the transportation department. An activity bus could be driven by a coach and does not require the licensure that a bus driver must carry.