NORTH MANCHESTER - Five school board members at the Manchester Community School Board meeting Tuesday night were reminded of their function by Superintendent Dr. Diana Showalter.

"I think you have a huge job," Showalter said.

Showalter said the functions of the board are to make policy, evaluate the district, plan and set goals, oversee financial resources, deal with personnel issues, adopt curriculum and communicate.

"One of the key things is we have to work together," Showalter said. "We have to communicate."

The key for all board members, administrators and faculty is to make the students a priority. "If we maintain that thought," she said, "I think we can't go wrong."

The board approved an increase in administrators' salaries. Showalter compared the current administrative salaries with those at other similar-sized schools in the area such as Rochester, Whitko and Wabash.

The increases were an average of 5.9 percent. The board approved the salary increases with a 4-1 vote. New school board member Steve Lambert voted against the increase.

In other business, the board:

• Hired Susan Klingler, Jump Start English teacher; Nancy Sare, Jump Start math teacher; Teresa Bailey, full-time year-round technology aide at Manchester Junior-Senior High School; Lisa Williams, instructional assistant at Manchester Elementary School; Nancy Hanback, long-term substitute for Janelle McLaughlin at MES; and Anne Fetrow, half-time kindergarten teacher at Laketon Elementary School.

• Accepted the retirement of Amy Shively, library assistant at Laketon Elementary School.

• Approved a request for Jeff Hunn to use the high school parking lot and driveways for a Human-Powered Race America bike race Aug. 19-20. [[In-content Ad]]