After about an hour in closed session to discuss hiring three teachers for the 2024-25 school year, the Hennessey Board of Education voted to fill two of those openings.

Hired during the Monday, May 13, meeting as the middle school language arts teacher was Jill Boyd of Canadian, Texas, and the high school history teacher is Cade Balenti, currently of Weatherford.

The board took no action on hiring a high school science teacher.

New Teachers

Boyd has 31 years of teaching in Texas and has been a first grade teacher at Canadian Elementary School since 2006 and taught fifth grade at Farwell ISD 1994-2006 where she was also UlL director and a Teacher of the Year.

Balenti will graduate this month from Southwestern Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in sports management and graduated from Chisholm High School in 2020.

He has also worked on the football staffs at Weatherford High School and SWOSU.

Summer Support Staff

Hired for this summer as support staff are: cooks Basilia Holguin, Veronica Roman and Patty Shaw, at regular hourly rate; custodian helpers Tayler Franklin and Brandt Beaman, $8.50 an hour, and technology assistant, Raeanna Fuksa, $15 an hour.

Resignations

Superintendent Jason Sternberger told the board he’d received these resignations: Jill Moery (high school counselor); Joyce Holder (fourth grade teacher); Lee Linsenmeyer (head softball coach/middle school history); Kim Hallmark (middle school counselor and director of HHS internship program); Riley Faulkner (high school vocal music teacher); and Jacob Stauffer (paraprofessional aide).

Free Dirt

The parking lot in front of the baseball field should be ready in August, Sternberger told the board. He said the school is offering free dirt to anyone who wants to come and get it.

He also said the county has helped with getting some rock on roads near school facilities on the east side of Mitchell Road.

Food Vendor

Board members accepted the bid of $3.53 per plate from Opaa! Food Management Inc., the district’s food vendor for the past five years.

The only other bidder was Keystone, but its bid of $3.03 did not include pay for hiring additional employees. Sternberger recommended Opaa! due to its past record that included changes in food items requested by the school.

Other Business

Among the 11 items on the consent agenda were these items:

• Application for temporary appropriations to the County Excise Board to approve the following: General Fund, $12 million; Building Fund, $1 million; Child Nutrition Fund, $450,000; and Cooperative Fund, $10,000.

• Surplus of the following property: 2010 Freightliner Bus, and 67 Dell 3100 Chromebook computers.

• Financial – Total sinking funds, $1.435 million and total all funds, $13.093 million.

Present at the Meeting

All board members were present: President Patrick Griffin, Vice President Dr. James Matthew Matousek, Clerk Luke Lough, Amy Charmasson and Dakota Semrad.

Also at the board table were Sternberger and Timberly Jech, office manager and recording clerk.

In the audience were all principals and the tech team of Todd Cameron and Rae Fuksa.