Board approves new graduation schedule

Published 5:00 am Saturday, September 14, 2019

Graduating high school is cool enough, but seniors and their families could enjoy cooler temperatures after a change in the graduation schedule for Limestone County.

The Limestone County Board of Education approved a shift in the graduation schedule that moves all ceremonies to 5 p.m. or 7 p.m., avoiding the hottest parts of the day. The measure was voted on and approved during their meeting Tuesday.

Schools will now rotate which day their ceremony will be held instead of what time. The schedule for 2019-2020 is as follows:

• Elkmont High, 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, 2020, in the new gym;

• Ardmore High, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, 2020, at the football field;

• Tanner High, 5 p.m. Thursday, May 21, 2020, in the new gym;

• East Limestone High, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 21, 2020, at the football field;

• Clements High, 5 p.m. Friday, May 22, 2020, in the new gym; and

• West Limestone High, 7 p.m. Friday, May 22, 2020, at the football field.

Limestone County Schools Superintendent Tom Sisk also took the opportunity to recognize the district’s Partners in Education. Through the partnership, local businesses support schools through community service and other projects.

Here are this year’s partnerships:

• First National Bank of Ardmore with Ardmore High and Cedar Hill Elementary;

• Asahi Kasei Plastics North America Inc. with Blue Springs Elementary;

• EFi Automotive with the Limestone County Career Technical Center;

• Bank Independent with Clements High;

• Trustmark Bank with Creekside Elementary;

• Chick-fil-A with Creekside Primary;

• Hobbs Jewelers with East Limestone High;

• Snap-on Inc. with Elkmont Elementary;

• Steelcase with Elkmont High;

• Lowe’s with Johnson Elementary;

• Emmanuel Baptist Church with Piney Chapel Elementary;

• Family Resource Center with Sugar Creek Elementary;

• Rogers Group with Tanner High and Tanner Elementary; and

• BBVA Compass with West Limestone High.

Other business

Board members approved the following other items during Tuesday’s meeting:

• Budget for fiscal year 2020, with revenue of $90.7 million and expenditures of $82.9 million;

• Use of the football field on Saturdays by the Ardmore Tigers 10U football team for youth football games;

• Use of the middle school gym and old gym by the Ardmore Booster Club for basketball practice and play;

• Ardmore Band traveling to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Nashville Christmas Parade;

• Fifth-grade students at Sugar Creek and Cedar Hill elementary schools traveling to Washington, D.C.;

• Use of the Peer Helper Program at elementary and secondary schools at a cost of $35,000 funded by an Alabama State Department of Education grant and Title II funds;

• Cedar Hill Elementary’s lease of a copier using local funds;

• Use of the Voyager Sopris middle school math intervention curriculum for 2019-2020 school year at a cost of $37,634 to be paid from the state textbook fund;

• Renewal of school messenger notification service contract at a cost of $15,102.80 to be paid from the general fund (annual budgeted item); and

• ALSDE-required districtwide physical inventory of fixed assets at a cost of $29,350 to be a paid from the general fund.