ISLE OF WIGHT
The Isle of Wight County School Board voted unanimously to approve a revised payroll calendar, which specifies two pay periods per month instead of one, and approved a proposal for new HVAC systems at Windsor and Carrsville elementary schools at their November board meeting, which was held on Thursday.

Also on the agenda was the proposed lease of the former Windsor Middle School’s gymnasium to the Town of Windsor for use as a community event center, on which the board decided to hold off voting until the Town of Windsor completes and sends its requested changes to the lease terms in writing.

The board reported that the remaining new school buses they leased earlier this year would be delivered next Wednesday or Thursday and approved a motion authorizing the superintendent to sign the final paperwork for the lease unanimously. The board also reported that their transportation department is now fully staffed with bus drivers, one of whom is a substitute but may stay on.

Additional highlights from the meeting included the recognition of Windsor High School’s Hannah Weisenburger and Smithfield High School’s Samuel Mott as November’s seniors of the month. Lauren McKeel of Windsor High School was also invited to come forward to receive her senior of the month award from October.

In addition to the district’s students of the month, November’s Isle of Wight Achievers included Bernie Robinson, a maintenance and grounds employee, and Johnny Whitney, a custodian at Smithfield High School, who were recognized as November’s employees of the month. Nigel Sullivan, a second-grader from Carrollton Elementary, was also recognized for calling 911 when he and his father were in a car accident.

Glenn Rountree, a representative of the Monsanto Foundation, awarded $10,000 to Isle of Wight’s “Girls Gone Geek,” a program to build STEM skills, and four Windsor Elementary teachers were awarded $4,000 in grant funds for first and fifth-grade students to visit the First Landing park in Virginia Beach.

The next Isle of Wight School Board meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m.