The Nashville High School Board of Education met last night and approved of the hiring of Ernie Fowler to be the new Superintendent from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018, as Wendy Davis will be retiring on June 30, 2015.  Fowler has been Superintendent of Sangamon Valley Consolidated Unit School District #9 in central Illinois.

We’ll hear from him tomorrow.  It is a busy week at the school, as it is the end of the semester.  There will be a final exam in the 1^st hour on Wednesday, then 3 on Thursday and 3 on Friday, with a 2:10 dismissal on Friday.  School resumes on Monday, January 5, 2015.  Davis also mentioned that the field trip for English Honors students to the Holocaust Museum has been rescheduled for January 9^th.  It was moved due to the racial problems in the Saint Louis area, as it would be unsafe for the students.  She also reported that the school had the Regional Office of Education make a visit to inspect the building and have a mini-compliance visit.  Both reports came back with everything in order.  They have had some electrical work done in the Assembly Hall and an outside light.  The HVAC units have come in and will be put on the roof on December 22^nd and 23^rd, as no one can be in the areas below the units as they are being loaded on the roof.  The Board is also thinking about have concrete work done outside the Assembly Hall.  They looked into adding handicap parking on the south side of the Hall, but it is not feasible at this time.  Technology Director and teacher, Paul Welte, applied for a Tri-County Electric Cooperative grant and was one of eight that received one in the amount of $500, which will be used for electronics projects.  Davis told the Board about the Christmas Concert on Sunday and then asked Music Director Steve Browne to talk about an award the Marching Band just received this month.  Illinois Marching Online votes on the Bands of the Year in 4 divisions.  In Division 4, which is for schools with fewer than 450 students, the Marching Hornets were 4^th with 20 points, including a 1 first-place vote.  They were also named the Most Improved Band.  He also talked about Music I class, which was Voice I, and was specifically for choir, but the new class, implemented this year, is for band and choir students and went from 10 or 15 students to 26 students enrolled, the majority of which will go on to choir and band.  The Board then went over the Tax Levy for 2014 to be paid in 2015 and approved it.  It will result in about an extra $240,000 or so for this school year.  The rate was set at 4.98 percent over last year, which means they do not need a Truth in Taxation Hearing.  There should not be an increase to the public when it is all completed.  They also agreed to an interfund loan from working cash to the Bond & Interest Fund in the amount of $145,000 to pay a bill that is due.  The final tax payments were due later this year and the disbursements should be by the end of the year.  They then should be able to transfer the money back in a couple of months.  They discussed curriculum changes in English as a Second Language and History/Government, but only approved the ESL and tabled the rest.  They received information on Illinois Vision 20/20, a grassroots effort to make education in Illinois the best that is can be.  They can review the material and decide to adopt a resolution to support the effort or not at the next meeting.  The next meeting is on January 19, 2015, which is Martin Luther King Day, and Davis says they may also have a Bond hearing beforehand.