Director of Schools Mark Willoughby, announced at last week’s regular meeting of the school board that DCHS teacher and former high-school baseball coach Joey Reeder will fill the attendance supervisor position left vacant by the retiring Clay  Farler.
Meanwhile, Willoughby made it clear that there was no room for leniency this year on the subject of student immunizations.
Students entering kindergarten and seventh grade for the 2013-14 school year must have their required shots up to date or they will not be allowed to attend classes.
“If you don't have your shots, you're not going to get to come to school, and if you don't come to school, our new attendance supervisor Joey Reeder will be making a visit and filing petitions on students for not being in school,” Willoughby said Thursday evening.
According to School Health Coordinator Dee Anna Reynolds, the school system is working closely with the health department to insure that all students comply.
“We got off to a great start Thursday with our pre-k registration, and we have partnered with the health department to help us check those records,” Reynolds said. “They will be out at seventh-grade registration on Aug. 1 to check records for us. They will also be making appointments for us that afternoon and all day on Friday to get those kids into compliance and they will be doing some immunization clinics for seventh-graders.”
“The health department has been super, great to work with this year,” Willoughby said. “They are going to make an appointment with the child and their parents on when they can come to the health department and get their shots. Like state law says, they are not going to be allowed to attend school (until immunizations are up to date).
“Three or four years ago we worked through that and let some people come, and we really weren't supposed to,” Willoughby shared.
Immunizations required for school are available from a variety of health-care providers, including county health departments.
Children may be eligible to receive free vaccine if they have no insurance, are enrolled in TennCare, have private insurance that does not cover vaccines, or are American Indian or Alaska Native.
There is a separate charge for administration of the vaccine which may be discounted for children with no insurance, who are American Indian or Alaska Native, and children with private insurance that does not cover vaccines.
Parents with insurance for their children that covers vaccines should contact their child’s primary care provider to get immunizations.
If the private provider does not have vaccines available for older children or adolescents, parents may call their local health department for an appointment. There may be charges associated with this service.
In other school business, children’s lunch prices will go up for the third year in a row.
The school board voted Thursday to add a nickel to the price of school lunches, raising the cost from $1.45 to $1.50 for pre-kindergarteners through fifth grade, and from $1.70 to $1.75 for sixth through 12th grades.
Breakfast prices will remain the same for all students at $1.
Prices for adults at schools will stay at $2.50
School Nutrition Supervisor Stephanie Dyer said she hopes that the price will not have to be raised again for a while.
“Each year we have gone up 10 cents,” she said. “However, this year with our funds we're able to just go up five cents and still be in good shape.
“Hopefully, we'll stay like this for a couple of years. That's what we're hoping for. They are becoming a little bit more lenient on that.”
No one has placed a bid on the home built on the DCHS campus by DeKalb County High School Construction Technology students.
The board voted Thursday night to extend the period for accepting sealed bids on the structure.
The minimum bid is $17,100.
The building is 26' x 56' or 1,456 square feet with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms with shower units, a living room, a kitchen, a utility room, three walk-in closets, and a 25-year, three-tab shingled roof.
The house has no plumbing or electrical wiring.
The buyer will be required to remove the building from school property within 30 days or be subject to a penalty of $100 a day.
Costs to build the house totalled $14,829.