Nearly a year into Shane Barnette’s job as Cullman County Schools Superintendent, the time is nearing for his first annual performance evaluation.

To accomplish that task, the Cullman County School Board has agreed to contract with the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) to oversee the process of assessing how Barnette has stepped into the superintendent’s role.

By its own description, AASB is the state’s legislatively-designated “organization and representative agency of the members of the school boards of Alabama.”

Among other services, AASB offers the state’s public school school systems a low-cost, independently-managed means of administering performance evaluations for superintendents.

At its March meeting, the school board agreed to contract with AASB to manage Barnette’s evaluation. The process involves soliciting input from school principals, department supervisors and central office staff, who can rate and comment on Barnette’s responsiveness to their workaday needs and exigent concerns.

The school system will pay $1,200 for the service, according to school system’s finance office. Surveys will be sent out in the coming weeks, with a final report to the school board expected in May.

The board hired Barnette, formerly principal at the West Point Intermediate School, in March of last year to replace interim Superintendent Brandon Payne. Payne had served in an interim capacity following the departure of Superintendent Craig Ross in late 2015.

In other business, the school board:

Approved a request from Good Hope High School to pay, from Quarterback Club funds, coaches Ethan Cofer and Justin Ray $1,475; Blake Malin, Rocky Montgomery and Billy Joe Pugh $400; and George Norton $750 for summer work.

Approved a request from Hanceville Elementary to pay $200 stipends for supplemental instruction, out of Parental Involvement funds and the local school general fund, to kindergarten teachers Lauren Bentley, Keisha Malin, Elizabeth Smith and Monica Brown.

Approved a request from Fairview High School to pay $600 stipends for archery coaching, out of local school archery funds, to Hobson Hite and Mark Moore.

Approved a request to pay a $1,200 per-year stipend to any bookkeeper having earned the qualifying certification through the University of Alabama.

Approved a request to supplement, by half, a $2,000 stipend for a high school counselor or principal designee, for work done after their 2016-2017 contract has ended. The other half of the stipend is to be paid by the local school where the work will have been performed.

Approved a request by the Child Nutrition Department to pay Tracy Bailey and Tina Stansell their hourly rate for working with the At-Risk program.

Approved the school system’s use of virtual cards through Regions Bank.

Approved January bills and salaries. Bill for January totaled $6,064,099 and payroll totaled $2,714,322.

Approved a maintenance department request to declare surplus a 1991 International dump truck.

Approved a $2,400 concession stand/press box painting project; $6,500 in concession stand/press box concrete work, and $9,800 in general contracting work at the home side press box and concession stand at Good Hope High School.

Approved a request from the transportation director to purchase via sealed bid 20 new school buses to replace 10 buses at Fairview and 10 at Hanceville.

Approved out-of-state field trip requests for the Holly Pond High School band, Good Hope High School scholar’s bowl, Good Hope Middle School 6th grade, Vinemont, Hanceville and Good Hope High School FCCLA, and Hanceville High School band.

Approved a new policy authorizing the superintendent to develop a credit advancement program for students as an alternative to the Carnegie Unit approach to course completion.

Approved a revised wording of the school board’s employee conflict of interest policy to reflect state-recommended changes.

The next regular board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. April 17 in the central office board room. A 5:30 p.m. work session will precede the meeting.