Escambia County Schools Superintendent John Knott was excited to tell school board members Thursday that all three high schools increased their graduation rates in the 2013-14 school year.

During Thursday’s meeting of the Escambia County Board of Education, held at the Escambia County High School cafeteria, Knott told board members that the system’s goal was 78.34 percent, and last year’s system-wide graduation rate was 79 percent.

He also noted that each of the individual high schools had an increase in their graduation rates. ECHS increased its graduation rate by 1 percent, and W.S. Neal High School and Flomaton High School each increased by 3 percent.

“I would like to commend our high schools, our counselors and staff, and our attendance officers, that work hard to help us keep these students in school and engaged until they graduate,” Knott said. “I appreciate the job that they do.”

In other business, the board:

• Heard a financial update from Knott, who stated that the school system had seen a drop in revenue from the oil and gas severance tax recently. He said that the tax decreased by $184,000 this past year, and was projected to decrease another $200,000 next year.

Knott said that the drop was directly tied to falling fuel prices.

“We just wanted to be sure that the board was fully informed and aware of those trends,” Knott said. “It’s a pretty significant amount.”

• Approved the low bid of Brisco for $7,998 for a reach-in cooler at ECHS.

• Approved to open bids for Type C school buses. Knott said that the number of buses had not yet been determined, and would depend on how the bids come in.

• Approved the 2015-16 school calendar.

• Approved a revised salary schedule for employees.

• Heard two musical selections by chorus members from Escambia County Middle School and ECHS, under the direction of Conrad Weber.

“We want to thank Mr. Weber for the work he is doing with our young people in Escambia County,” said school board chairman Willie J. Grissett.

• Set a called board meeting for Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. at the Atmore central office, to receive the exit report from the AdvancED accreditation team. Set the next regular meeting for Thursday, Feb. 26, at 4:30 p.m. at Pollard-McCall Junior High School.

The board also approved the following personnel recommendations:

Resignations

• Jared Cooper, teacher, W.S. Neal Middle School, effective Feb. 2, 2015.

• Jessica Green, assistant softball coach and head volleyball coach, Flomaton High School, effective Jan. 6, 2015.

• Brett Amos, first grade teacher, Rachel Patterson Elementary School, effective Jan. 5, 2015.

• Andrea Graddy, teacher, RPES, effective Jan. 16, 2015.

• Heather Caraway, teacher, Flomaton Elementary School, effective Jan. 9, 2015.

Retirements

• Myles Yvonne Alford, school nurse, WSNMS, effective March 1, 2015.

• Katrinka Brown, teacher, A.C. Moore Elementary School, effective June 1, 2015.

• Carolyn Merchant, bus aide, Brewton bus shop, effective March 1, 2015.

Employments

• Charlene Wiggins, elementary teacher, RPES, effective Jan. 26, 2015 (replacing Andrea Graddy).

• Marci-Anna Sanders, elementary teacher, RPES, effective Jan. 26, 2015 (replacing Brett Amos).

• Amanda Strawbridge, substitute teacher, 21st Century Community Learning Center, ACMES, effective Dec. 18, 2014.

• Deloris Johnson, substitute community educator, 21st CCLC, ACMES, effective Dec. 18, 2014.

• Deloris Green, six-hour lunchroom worker, W.S. Neal High School, effective Feb. 2, 2015 (replacing Tashan Streety).

• Shaneise Ezell, substitute teacher, Title I After-School Tutoring Program, RPES, effective Jan. 23, 2015.

Employment changes

• JoLynn Godwin, teacher, RPES, to P.E. teacher, RPES, effective Jan. 23, 2015 (replacing Joanne Bonds).

• Brent Killam, sixth grade social studies teacher, WSNMS, to eighth grade social studies teacher, WSNMS, effective Feb. 1, 2015 (replacing Jared Cooper).