Short and specific.

The special meeting of the Rock Hill school board Tuesday evening was nine minutes long and covered exactly three issues.

With all five members present, the board voted 3-2 to hire retired educator Dennis &uot;Dennie&uot; Hankins as the acting principal at the high school.

This issue was left over from last week’s regular meeting when board member Wanda Jenkins was ill and the remainder of the board was split 2-2.

Board members Jackie Harris and Troy Hardy cast the dissenting votes on both occasions, saying acting superintendent Steve Lambert should have promoted a person from one of the other schools to cover the void left when he moved to the administrative office.

Lambert disagreed and after the meeting, said he was thankful to have Hankins on board.

"He's been assistant principal here before and he understands the dynamics," Lambert said. "He's a good fit for us and a good person."

Hankins started his new position today.

The board also voted 3-2 to pay $38,287.36 to the law firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease - another issue left unresolved last week. Harris and Hardy voted against it, saying they have yet to see an itemized statement from the law firm.

The board also approved severance pay for three retired employees.