EMPORIUM — Cameron County High School students will adjust to a new schedule next year following changes made by the district principal and recently-hired superintendent.

Dr. Keith Wolfe participated in the first full regular board meeting following his hiring last month to a three-year contract. The district opted not to renew a contract with Christine Holjencin, who served as a teacher and administrator at the district prior to being hired for the top spot several years ago.

Wolfe and District Principal Amy Schwab have nearly completed scheduling high school students, and have changed the course structure from a five-day rotation to a six-day rotation.

The changes will not affect core classes such as math and science, but will allow for more instruction time for students in their elective courses like art, music and technical education.

“It’s very efficient in enabling students to take courses they need, plus some that they want,” said Wolfe. He stated that the schedule will not go by the days of the week but will be numbered, instead, so that if a day is missed, the classes scheduled for that day are not; they are taught the following day.

The move also helps facilitate the girls’ locker room schedule. Due to the high school having only one physical education teacher, a female teacher from another subject must be assigned to the locker room to oversee activities while students are readying to begin or end class. It also allows for the librarian’s schedule to be freed up slightly so she can teach courses.

Wolfe stated that at the other districts in which this change has taken place, the students get used to the schedule very quickly and the teachers take only a short period of time to adjust.

A few staffing adjustments were also discussed. A home economics teacher will split time between those courses and social studies. The individual is dual-certified. The high school technical education teacher will spend part of the time at Woodland to teach STEM courses to elementary students.

In a few instances, similar courses were combined to free up additional time.

Schwab also discussed a continuation of last year’s efforts to introduce more writing into the curriculum. Last year, teachers for Kindergarten through third grade were trained on writing across the curriculum, and Schwab wants to hold a training this year for fourth through sixth or seventh grade teachers.

Training for approximately ten teachers will cost around $360. The money has already been budgeted in the professional development line item.

“We feel what we started last year was a good start and we saw a lot of improvement, especially for the third grade,” Schwab said. She would also like to expand the training into the high school levels next year, and IU9 support staff will work with the Kindergarten through third teachers this year to refresh the information from prior trainings.

A request was received from the Cameron County Chamber of Commerce to place a memorial bench along the Gary Dubler Nature Trail behind the elementary school. The bench will be constructed of concrete and treated lumber, requiring little to no maintenance for many years. The bench is being donated by a resident in honor of Kendyl Shaffer, and will be delivered to the school by L&M Lumber and installed by Mountaineer Search and Rescue at no cost to the district.

Wolfe stated he will schedule a meeting with chamber officials and others associated with the trail to get the details, and the project will be voted on at the next board meeting.

Paving of the parking lot is ongoing. The elementary side is mostly completed, and work is expected to begin at the high school next week. The closures have caused several headaches for summer school programs, but nothing that has not been able to be worked around thus far.

The board tabled a motion to hire and rehire assistant wrestling coaches; spring sports coaches and co-curricular advisors for the coming school year. Board members had several concerns over the list which could not be hashed out during a brief executive session. One of the sticking points was a move to rehire an assistant band front advisor. Member Marilyn Erickson stated that the program has only 19 students, which is less than sports that function with only one advisor.

The board voted not to reestablish cross country as a team sport. Members Robert Lininger and Erickson voted against funding the program as there are only six students interested in participating. They believe the numbers do not justify the cost. Only five members were present, with members David McManigle, Robert Aversa, Daryl Richardson and President Paul Abriatis not in attendance.

The board approved paying the district’s bills in the amount of $463,250.22.

Lunches will increase by $0.10 this year. Wolfe explained that price increases are announced for the district. This is the minimum lunches must be increased by, but the district can charge more, if necessary.

The next regular meeting of the Cameron County School District Board of Directors will be held at 7 p.m. on Aug. 11. A workshop meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Aug. 1.