Henry Bray, a Boscobel resident, was confirmed as the North Crawford varsity softball coach at a school board meeting last Thursday. Bray takes over for the retiring Wayne Goplin.

The North Crawford School Board also accepted the resignation of assistant softball coach Charity Smith. Smith had applied to be the varsity coach.

The North Crawford School Board also confirmed Eric Hady, Judd Eastman and Mark Bender as assistant football coaches. The new assistants will work under Brandon Munson, who was named varsity coach at a previous meeting. Hady served as the head coach for the last two seasons.

The board heard a report on a new junior-senior high school schedule, which is designed to create more structured study time. Guidance counselor Hillary Day told the board the new schedule is in part a response to an anticipated change in state graduation requirements, which will make some students take an extra year of math or science.

Day said that students who previously had no intention of taking algebra, will now have to take the subject as the third required year for math. The structured study hall scheduled for the eighth hour will rotate through teachers. Students will have options to get help in the courses they are having trouble passing.

While the new schedule may help students academically, including the top students who can work on ACT test preparation and independent learning projects, it will not help the band.

Band director Luke Spicer told the board the new schedule would be detrimental to the band program.

Dr. Dan Davies, the North Crawford School Superintendent, confirmed the band director’s statement. However, the administrator pointed out that if the students do not test to proficiency required by the state it would mean firing teachers and maybe firing principals.

Davies insisted the district must find answers that work in helping students reached advanced and proficient levels in the anticipated state-imposed tests. He acknowledged that the school’s music programs presented a challenge in creating a schedule.

“Thank you very much for the work you do,” board president Mary Kuhn said at the end of Day’s presentation.

In other business, the North Crawford School Board:

• heard in a phone conference about an actuarial study of the benefits package for staff members

• passed a weapons policy consistent with the new concealed carry law that will ban weapons from being brought into the school by just about everyone except law enforcement officers and a few other approved personnel

• converted Tuesday, April 10 into a teacher in-service day

• approved the purchase of a used 2007 school bus  with 55,000 miles for $56,500 less a $6,000 trade-in allowance