03/11/13 The Plymouth School Board handled a number of items during a regular Board meeting on March 5 including considerations of elementary positions, breakfast and lunch prices for the 2013-2014 school year, and approval for the hire of an Agriculture teacher at Plymouth High School.
Gloria Burnham, director of food services for the corporation, informed the Board that the price of school lunches for the next school year would increase by ten cents. Burnham said the increase reflects USDA requirement that prices increase until the cost reaches $2.59. Currently students in grades K-6 pay $1.75 and those in grades 7-12 pay $1.85. the cost of breakfast is $1.10.
Superintendent Daniel Tyree informed that Board of the need to hire new teachers due to retirements at three of the four elementary schools in the corporation. The new positions would be for one position to serve students receiving mild intervention and six would cover positions in grades K-4.New hires would fill positions at Menominee, Jefferson and Washington Schools. Tyree said there were 210 kindergarten students identified during the annual kindergarten roundup; however, they expect that number to increase at the fall registration.
Currently the enrollment for kindergarten is at 283. That number was arrived at during the official count day in September.
Tyree said, “We are excited to announce the hiring of Jacob Riley as the new Agriculture teacher.” For the last nine years, Riley has been with the Oregon-Davis High School where he has taught Career and Technical Agriculture, Advanced Life Science (dual credit), Agricultural Mechanization, Animal Science, Fundamentals of Agriculture Science and Business, Landscape Management, Natural Resource Management (dual credit), Plant and Soil Science, and Supervised Agriculture Experience. He had also taught at the middle school level. Tyree said “For the last two years, he has taught various courses collaboratively in their New tech Model.”
Additionally, he coordinated the FFA Chapter at Oregon-Davis, preparing students for numerous competitions.
According to Tyree, Riley will begin his teaching duties at Plymouth Schools in June of this year. He will teach Summer Agricultural Experience classes.
Riley earned a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Education, an Associates Degree in Agronomy and a Masters Degree in Agriculture Education from Purdue University.
