By Rupert Howell

School trustees approved 246 school bus turn-arounds and were asked to consider using an employment service to place substitute teachers for short-term teacher absences at the July meeting held Tuesday at the South Panola Parenting Center on College Street.

The list of school bus turnarounds included all of last year’s approved turn-arounds. Once approved by trustees, the list is submitted to the Panola County Board of Supervisors for approval. When adopted by the county board, the list is submitted to the road manager, who is school board president Lygunnah Bean, for maintenance.

Bean said his crews would go to work on some of the turn-arounds as soon as approval was given by the county board as school begins in less than three weeks.

The process allows county equipment, personnel and materials to be used for the purpose of construction and maintenance of turn-arounds on private property.

The list adopted Tuesday was last year’s list and includes turn-arounds and maintenance to rural fire departments, private drives, roads and subdivisions, a church and a retail business.

School Superintendent Keith Shaffer explained that the district currently processes substitute teachers twice a year when they are fingerprinted and checked against the child abuse registry. Shaffer stated that substitute teachers who filed for unemployment from their other job caused the district to pay a portion of the unemployment costs.

Noting that both DeSoto and Quitman Counties have used Kelly services for substitute placement, Shaffer said that finding certified and qualified substitutes for teachers missing more than six-weeks would be up to the district due to long absences without qualified teachers affecting accreditation.

Shaffer explained that a structural problem was finally located after the roofer, architect and maintenance department got involved with the problem and found why downspouts were overloaded.

Other business included the usual payment of claims, personnel recommendations and approval for claims to be paid.