Mike Ketron is moving from his assistant principal’s job at Lord Botetourt High School to the same position at James River High School this fall.
He will replace Dreama McMillan who is moving to the School Board Central Office as administrator for secondary education, according to Superintendent Dr. Tony Brads.
The administrative change was approved by the School Board at its May 13 meeting.
Ketron, who came to LBHS from Tennessee, has been an assistant principal at Lord Botetourt High School since 2007. McMillan has been assistant principal at JRHS since 2004.
McMillan has 28 years of experience in the teaching profession. She came to Botetourt in 1994 after teaching in Cumberland and Bedford Counties and Roanoke City. She taught English at Lord Botetourt for one year prior to her joining the James River Guidance Department in 1985 where she remained until 1993. She joined the Lord Botetourt Guidance Department in 1993 where she also served as head of guidance before going back to JRHS as assistant principal.
Brads said McMillan is filling a position in the Central Office that will handle a combination of duties that will be left unfilled because of retirements in that office.
Brads said the school division has started taking applications for the assistant principal’s job Ketron is leaving at LBHS.
The School Board also approved a revised 2010-11 school calendar that was “tweaked” because the original calendar had some makeup days scheduled after high school graduations in June 2011. There were no changes to what is a shortened spring break in 2011.
The updated calendar is available on the school division website.
The board also approved of disposing of property it still owns on Lowe Street in Buchanan. The property will be transferred to the Board of Supervisors, which will hold a public hearing on the process at its May meeting. The supervisors have been asked to give the property to the Town of Buchanan.
The School Board also made some updates to the division’s health insurance plan so it could remain “grandfathered” as part of the new federal health care reform legislation.
Essentially, the plan will be unchanged. Rates are expected to go up 5.38 percent next year.
The School Board also learned that the lights and poles on the James River football field have been replaced as part of a contract to upgrade those lights and the ones on the Lord Botetourt football field. The LBHS field is a more complicated project because it involves putting wiring underground. Most of that project will be done after the school year ends.
The School Board also recognized a number of students and teachers during its meeting.
They included:
• James River High School’s varsity boys basketball team, Group A, Division II State Champions.
• Pioneer District and Region C Swim Coach of the Year Katrina Williams, James River High School.
• The 2010 Roanoke District Reflections Contest winners. Cherie Austin, Botetourt County Council of PTAs Reflections Chairperson, presented winners in Photography, Ian Haxton, a student Central Academy Middle School, and Katharine Dagley, as tudent at Lord Botetourt High School.
• The winners of the Regional Stock Market Game: First place, Cloverdale Elementary students Cooper Johnson, Ty Maust, Stuart Reavis and Jacob Steffey; second place, Colonial Elementary students Maggie Quarles, Tess Seibel and Emily Townsend.
• The first place winner of the Regional Young Writers Haiku Contest Aaron Burns, a student at Colonial Elementary School.
• Botetourt County Schools Spelling Bee representatives Mallory Stephenson from Central Academy Middle School and Mary Kathryn McLucas from Read Mountain Middle School.
• Those who received the Virginia Board of Education Competence to Excellence Awards. They are: Eagle Rock Elementary, Jessica Martin, principal, and James River High School, Jamie Talbott, principal.
• Those who received the Virginia Board of Education Excellence Awards. They are: Breckinridge Elementary School, Laura Camp, principal; Buchanan Elementary School, Debbie Garrett, principal; Colonial Elementary School, Tammy Riggs, principal; Greenfield Elementary School, Beth Umbarger, principal; Troutville Elementary School, Karen Crush, principal, and Read Mountain Middle School, Michael Tetreault, principal.
• Cloverdale Elementary School, David Marcum, principal, for receiving the Virginia Index of Performance Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence.
The board also approved an update on School Board policy that clarifies the policy for Dedicating Areas of School Facilities or Grounds.
