Meeting Thursday:

• Approved the minutes of the July 29 regular board meeting and July 27 and Aug. 11 called meetings.

• Approved donations of $350 cash from Vicksburg Outlet Partners, $200 to benefit the Warren Central High School cheerleader and NROTC programs and $150 to benefit Vicksburg High School cheerleader programs; and capital equipment donations of a used printing press valued at $4,000 from Digitect; school supplies valued at $500 from the Bass and Van Heusen outlet stores; and 180 computers, no value specified, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for high school Tech Prep programs.

• Approved amendments to the 2010-11 budget.

• Approved accounts payable claims docket for August.

• Approved personnel matters: compensation for extra duties, July; classified staff hires; recommendations for substitutes, mentors and tutors; certified staff hires; certified personnel changes in status; and hiring an assistant girls soccer coach (paraprofessional) at WCHS.

• Approved out-of-state travel for: Warren Central High School NJROTC students to travel to Bogalusa, La., for a unit rifle meet, Sept. 25; the WCHS Big Blue Band to travel to Memphis on Sept. 25, Indianapolis on Nov. 13 and Pensacola, Fla., on March 12 and 26, for competitions; and Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Duran Swinford to travel to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to attend the American Association of School Administrators conference. Swinford is District 5 representative for the association.

• Accepted the bid of Southern Time and Alarm for security system equipment and installation at the Warrenton Elementary ($3,785) and Vicksburg Junior High ($3,270) additions, to be paid from capital projects fund.

• Approved receiving bids for the sale of surplus capital assets.

• Approved the district’s Credit Recovery Program to provide course-specific extra learning opportunities for students who previously have been unsuccessful in either secondary courses or state tests needed for graduation.

• Approved updates to the district’s Wellness Policy reflecting changed standards for serving fried foods in school cafeterias.

• Approved a special education improvement plan to address deficiencies in identifying students with emotional disabilities. The district was cited for several instances of noncompliance with state law after a Mississippi Department of Education focused on monitoring evaluation in January.

• Approved changing the regular scheduled board meetings for November and December to Nov. 11 and Dec. 9.

• Approved a residential lease for the home on WCHS property at the fair market value of $500 per month on a year-to-year basis to a VWSD employee.

• Approved a change order for the addition at Vicksburg Junior High School. The $570 cost will come from the contingency fund.

• Awarded hunting and fishing rights on 16th-Section land at Ballground to the high bidder, Barbara Hearn, for $8,601.

• In executive session, the board met with parents concerned about a student discipline issue and upheld the recommendation of the superintendent; handled requests for student transfers; and discussed a request to solicit bids for the purchase of 44 school bus surveillance cameras, coming back into open session to vote 4 to 1, with District 3 trustee James Stirgus Jr. opposed, to begin the bid process.