AID TOWNSHIP — The Symmes Valley Board of Education Monday night filled a vacancy at the multi-level school, made use of some of the stimulus money the district received and sat down the classified staff members in hopes of hammering out a new agreement between the district and the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 491.

Board members hired Lee Ann Klaiber to replace teacher Charles Faulkner, who is retiring and hired Leslie Floyd as an intervention specialist at the multi-level school.

Floyd’s salary will be paid out of federal stimulus money the district has received.

The selection of both Klaiber and Floyd were made in accordance with a new hiring policy that allows teachers and principals greater input in the hiring process along with the school board and superintendent.

Board member Kim Turner said a couple of multi-level school teachers and principal Bob Harris sat in on the interviews to fill the two positions and made recommendations on the candidates,

“We’re going to listen to the teachers and the superintendent instead of us just hiring someone and shoving it down their throats. This way they have some say in it.”

Turner said in the future, teachers at each school will be selected for hiring committees when there are positions to fill.

Also Monday night, two board members, superintendent Jeff Saunders and Treasurer Sue Ann Dials met with members of OAPSE Local 491 to discuss a new contract for the district’s cooks, bus drivers, teachers aides, janitors and other non-certified staff members.

The roughly 29 members of the union have been working without a contract since last year.