Dierks School Board re-hires school principals

Members of the Dierks Board of Education met earlier this week and voted to re-hire Lori Finley as the JoAnn Walters Elementary principal and Gene Strode as the high school principal.

Finley reported students on the JoAnn Walters Elementary campus will celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday and Read Across American on Wednesday, March 2. She also stated parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for March 17th.

Strode reported the junior high quiz bowl team won a recent competition.

Board members approved three legal transfers into the district, two transfers out of the district and the expulsion of a student for the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year. 

Board members approved the purchase of 175 Chromebooks at a cost of $45,597.75. Superintendent Jody Cowart stated the Chromebooks would be paid for with Emergency Connectivity Funds. ECF funds are part of the $7.17 billion program that helped schools and libraries provide the tools and services that their communities need for remote learning. ECF provided relief to millions of students, school staff, and library patrons and will help close the Homework Gap for students who currently lack necessary Internet access or the devices they need to connect to classrooms. 

The board also voted to purchase new football uniforms from Southwest Sporting Goods at a cost of $15,961.40.

Cowart informed the board the elementary roof project was about 50 percent completed and the board voted to allow the Dierks youth baseball and softball programs to use the high school fields for the 2022 season.