Unit 40 Board Awards Work at EJHS, South Side; Hires Summer Employees

Effingham Unit 40 school board members Monday awarded work to patch and repaint the Effingham Junior High School building.

The project will cost $118,750. Kirk's of Vandalia will do the patching work, while district forces will do the painting. The patching and painting is the last big project involved in the multi-year renovation of the junior high building.

The Board also approved the purchase of $80,000-$90,000 in playground equipment for South Side School. The equipment is being purchased with insurance proceeds from the incident earlier this year when a man drove through the playground on the south side of the building. Board members also approved the final part of the South Side building renovation project. The work involves replacement of the exterior doors and frames, at a cost of $149,000.

The Board purchased instructional materials. The materials will be used for 6th thru 12th grade Art students, 3rd thru 5th grade Social Studies students, Kindergarten thru 5th grade Science students, 6th thru 12th grade Chorus and Band students, and Kindergarten thru 5th grade General Music students. The total cost of the materials is $135,175. 

Also Monday, Unit 40 board members sold 287 square feet of land on the northwest corner of the junior high school property for $5,600 for street improvements on Henrietta Street at Richland Avenue, and also agreed to spend $9,048 for an Employee Assistance Program for district employees, with the program to be reviewed after the first year. It was also agreed to renew catastrophic and voluntary student accident insurance.

In personnel moves, the Unit 40 board employed Steven East and Brycelyn Simmons as custodians; Robert Weaver for maintenance and groundkeeping work; and hired Sidney Webster as an English teacher at the high school for the coming school year.

The Board hired K-5 Summer Bridge teachers including Elizabeth Stevenson, Angie Moeller, Jennifer Hall, Sandy Lohman, Elizabeth Russell, Missy Donaldson, Emily King, Denice Tarin, Christin Hartke, Abbey Meinhart, Cheryl Scanlan and Abra Woomer. Also hired were K-5 Summer Bridge paraprofessionals including Angie Probst, Kim Bushue, Kerri Krischel, Diane Arnold, Brandy Simmons, Donna Shields, Amy Wernsing, Brittany Regenhardt, and Darlene Krietemeyer. Those hired for summer and seasonal maintenance work were Payton Bushue, Blake Bushue, Maddox Burner, and Jacob Weaver. Those hired for summer and seasonal work in technology are Jason Eirhart, Katrina Eirhart, Megan Adkins, Weston Peno, Miranda Fox, Jared Hammer, Austin Waldhoff, Taylor Green, and Ty Morrissey.

Also hired were Wayne Mapes in summer and seasonal transportation, and Darlene Krietemeyer in summer and seasonal custodial work. Heather Hartman was transferred to student services secretary. Sidney Webster was named yearbook sponsor for the coming school year, and Logan Arney was named head soccer coach for the coming season.

Resignations were accepted from Jordan Andruch as JV boys basketball coach, Alex Bohnhoff as freshman boys basketball coach, Kasondra Murray as a teacher at the high school, Josephine Westendorf as a paraprofessional, Kelsey Hutmacher as high school Pep Club sponsor, David Lorton as a custodian, Kara Huston as a special ed teacher, and Natasha Czerwonka as a secretary. The Board accepted Teresa Fuesting's retirement as a bus driver.

The Board also approved pay increases to $15/hour for summer seasonal help, and for cafeteria monitors during the school year.