The Bremen City Schools Board said they were impressed with the progress of the district’s after-school program this year after hearing a list of plans the new program director presented at the school board meeting Monday night.

In her new role, Megan Dorris’ main responsibility is to oversee the productivity of the after-school program. Her duties range from coordinating activities to tracking the amount of participants in the program. However, she expressed to the board her goal to implement more programming this year in addition to the free enrichment activities already offered to students. She said science and football may be tied into the programming schedule, which includes homework and other academic enrichment exercises.

“It’s important to add programming on top of enrichment,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ll start extra enrichment in October, but that will cost a fee.”

Dorris later announced a fitness bootcamp she is polishing that will be offered one day a week to Pre-K through third-grade students in an effort to promote healthy lifestyles. She shared other enhancements in her report, including the name of “Club Hero” to “Club Extreme,” which is a support group designed to support middle school students who are at-risk of using drugs or alcohol.

Among other changes, Dorris noted an increase in enrollment to 129 students in the after-school program compared to last year’s enrollment, which stood at 118 students. While first-grade students dominate the enrollment charts this year, she said after-school organizers hope to accommodate parents’ needs by extending the operation hours to 6:30 p.m. for elementary school students.

The board gave satisfactory reviews about Dorris’ contributions at this early stage of the program, as Superintendent Stanley McCain recommended the hiring of another individual he expects would be an asset to the system. The board approved the employee he recommended, who will have the overall responsibility to manage expenditures and help ensure that budgetary goals are met.

McCain noted the employee possessed important qualities he was looking for, including a college degree in accounting and work experience with state and school system audits. He said the employee also has some familiarity with Bremen City Schools after working with the financial records in the past.

The board furthered discussions about financial matters, as McCain presented the financial report that’s seen steady changes due to ongoing state budget cuts.

“We’re in good financial shape, so hopefully we can weather the storm,” he told the board after predicting another possible round of state cuts in January.

Bottling approximately $1 million in state funding this year, the board voted to pull $387,549 from the reserve to support general operations this year.

In other business, they approved a slew of requests on the consent agenda, starting with updates in board policy JR that pertains to the student attendance record policy.

In addition, the board approved an overnight field trip for an AP environmental science class at the high school. The implementation of a recycling program as well as a Caring Christmas Project for under privileged children were accepted. The board also granted an approval for the 2010 junior/senior prom to be held at the West Georgia Technical College in Waco.

Regarding personnel, the board approved the hiring of a special needs paraprofessional at the high school and noted the position will be funded through designated stimulus funds. The board also approved the hiring of a track coach at the high school to replace the former coach who recently stepped down. McCain said state funding will assist in the hiring of three employees the board approved to work in the after-school program.

The board wrapped up the meeting by approving three college students to perform their observations at Bremen Academy. Another West Georgia student was approved to conduct her observation, while an out-of-state student was permitted to complete internship hours at Jones Elementary School. The board concluded the meeting before entering a closed executive session regarding a personnel matter.

The next regular Bremen City Schools Board meeting will be held Monday, Oct. 12, at the Bremen Board of Education Office in Bremen.