Hicklin resigns from the Bath School Board

Monterey, VA – Bath County School Board member Allison Hicklin has resigned. Hicklin announced her resignation at the end of Wednesday night’s Bath School Board meeting. She is applying for the Millboro Elementary principal position and said she wants the interview and hiring to be a fair and impartial process. Hicklin currently teaches math at Alleghany High School and her children are considered non resident students in that district and so are not guaranteed admission each year. She said it is in her family’s best interest to send their children through the Bath school system and for her to pursue the principal position. She said she deeply regrets being unable to fulfill her term on the School Board, and if she doesn’t get the principal position, she would be interested in coming back to serve on the School Board.

Technology and Administrative Services Director Paul Lancaster presented the preliminary Spring 2012 SOL test results. He explained that the new math standards have been taught for two years, but this was the first year of testing them. The math scores are lower across the board from last year. At Millboro Elementary, there’s weakness in upper grade math. And at Valley Elementary, fourth grade math is weak. At the high school level, math is weak, especially in the eighth grade. Lancaster explained that the tests and the revised math standards are more rigorous and so it’s common to see a temporary drop in pass rates. But he also said that math is an area that must have attention. School Superintendent Sue Hirsh said they will get serious and deal with what the math results show. The preliminary SOL scores show that the Bath school division is strong in reading, science and social studies.

The Board approved the purchase of new math textbooks for grades 2 through 7. The purchase had been delayed from last year, due to budget limitations.

And the Board approved Cassie Ailstock as the high school cafeteria manager, Patty Reynolds as a cafeteria employee at Millboro and Lisa Rexrode was approved for increased hours in the Valley Elementary cafeteria.

And the following fall coaching appointments were made:
Will Fields as football varsity head coach. Jeremy Cutlip, Larry Grubbs and Michael Colaw as football varsity assistants. Shawn Loudermilk and William Stewart as football volunteers and Shawn Robertson as the football videographer. Terry Bradley was appointed as golf head coach and Mark Fry as golf volunteer. And Pat Whitson and Jane McMullen were appointed as cheerleading sponsors.

And the Board approved two joint quarterly meeting dates with the Board of Supervisors. One is Monday June 18 at 5 o’clock at the School Administration Building and the other is Thursday August 2 at 4 o’clock at the Millboro picnic area.