CLINTON — The pre-kindergarten programs at Lincoln and Douglas schools have earned the Gold Circle of Quality rating from the state of Illinois.

Last spring the Illinois State Board of Education conducted a review of the schools’ programs, including examining documents, reporting criteria and conducting observation, said Superintendent Curt Nettles at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Nettles and the board congratulated Principal Beth Wickenhauser and the staff at both schools.

The board also approved the hiring of four instructional aides for kindergarten and first grade.

Board member Ron Conner expressed concern that the district’s pay scale, which starts at $11 per hour, is causing qualified candidates to seek employment elsewhere. Conner told the story of a Clinton woman who found a similar position in Decatur for $19 per hour.

Board member John Blythe said the board has looked at the pay disparity previously because “(the discrepancy) been there a long time, but it’s a different school district and nobody has to drive 18 miles each way and have extra child care and I’m not sure if aides in Decatur get any of their health care paid. So, I think it’s what works with our district. It’s economies of scale and it’s what we can afford.”

Conner asked that the pay scales in neighboring and comparable school districts be reviewed to insure the district’s pay is in line.

In other business, the board:

•  Approved work on the junior varsity/junior high baseball field at a cost of $22,130. Nettles said the work should be completed by the spring baseball season.

• Learned the state of Illinois is now on schedule with this year’s payments to the district, although the money is at last year’s rate. Nettles anticipates the state will compensate the difference in time. Currently, the district is owed $442,000, Nettles said.

• Learned Illinois’ State Superintendent Tony Smith visited each school in the district on Sept. 18.

• Approved the hiring of Elizabeth Riley as second/third grade resource teacher; Rennie Cluver as eighth grade boys’ basketball coach for the 2017-18 school year; Julie Hott as a district bus driver; Kameron Bell as a volunteer assistant for boys’ high school basketball; and Alyssa Osterbuhr as a volunteer for high school cheerleading.