DEMOPOLIS — At a special called meeting of the Demopolis City Schools Board of Education Friday, board members moved to approve the hires of six new educators.

“We approved a social studies teacher and coach at the high school, a health and P.E. teacher and coach at the high school, at the middle school a science teacher and a social studies teacher,” Dr. L. Wayne Vickers, DCS superintendent, said following the meeting. “We hired a middle school English teacher and a half and half middle school and high school English teacher.”

Two of the individuals approved for hire were Jeremy Sullivan and Rudy Griffin, who will fill the coaching vacancies at the high school. The identities of the other new personnel were not made public as of press time as the individuals had yet to formally accept the system’s offers.

“I think we have hired the best that Demopolis will ever see in our classrooms,” board member Laura Foster said of the new hires.

The hires are the board’s first since its May decision to cut seven employees in an effort to comply with state education budget cuts. Upon seeing the tardy state education budget and determining its own, the board posted its vacancies for the 2008-2009 school year.

Vickers was upbeat following Friday’s approvals.

“We’re very pleased with the quality of the individuals that the board approved today,” Vickers said.

Before going into executive session to discuss the new personnel matters, the board accepted the retirements of Community Education Director Barbara Hill and Demopolis Middle School Library Media Specialist Cathy Leet as well as the resignations of lunchroom manager Helen W. Kelly and JROTC Sr. Army Instructor Beverly I. Jones.

“We look forward to approving the remainder of our personnel at our July 21 board meeting,” Vickers said. According to Vickers, the board will look to fill several vacancies at that meeting, including two elementary school teachers, a library media position, multiple CNP vacancies.