The Centralia City Grade School Board was told at this week’s meeting that the new Schiller School gym is nearly complete.
Superintendent Craig Clark is hopeful for mid-March occupancy. Outside doors still need to be installed along with some minor work inside. The board was shown a video walk-through of the new gym. Clark notes other improvements at Schiller are still to be completed including the installation of solar, work on the parking lot, and installation of new playground equipment.
Clark says the new roof on Tiger gym at Centralia Junior High School is complete. Work is still being completed on the new mansard.
An April first goal has been set to place the new gym at Jordan School out to bid. Clark is hopeful work will start in May or June and be completed in the spring of 2024.
The board reviewed the number of students enrolled in each building at the start of the second semester. There are 365 at the Junior High, 220 at Central, 218 at Jordan, and 268 at Schiller. Those are about the same numbers as the second semester last year and up 25 students since the start of school.
In personnel action, the board hired Jennifer Woodside as a paraprofessional, Terry Wimbery as a junior high custodian, and Robert Purkey as a bus driver.
The board accepted intent to retire letters from four teachers effective at the end of the 2026-27 school year. They are first-grade teacher Laveta Middleton, Instructional Coach Teresa Burdin, Special Education Teacher Paula Helm, and Central Middle School Support Teacher Krystal Hutton. The board did not accept the retirement letter from Jordan Special Education Teacher Dee Borland effective January 20th.
The board accepted the resignations of Jordan School individual paraprofessional John Osbourne, Central Middle School Mental Health Support person Mackenzie Felgenhauer, Classroom Paraprofessional at Centralia Junior High Amber Coker, and Assistant Band Director Morena Hopkins.
