Ironton Board of Education member John Wolfe said he discovered that while some things have changed since the last time he was on the school board in the late 1980s, some things have stayed the same.

Wolfe, who was appointed to the board in August to fill a vacancy, said he noticed on returning that board members are paid $80 per each regular monthly meeting.

"That's the same as it was back in the dark ages when I was on here before," Wolfe chuckled.

With this is mind, he made a motion to raise that pay to $100, with members paid for a maximum of four special meetings throughout the year. The motion passed on a 3-0 vote. Members Teresa Parker and Gary Neal were absent. The state law allows compensation of up to $125.

The increase will only affect incoming board members Kathy Kratzenberg and Tim Johnson and board member Robert Pleasant Jr., who was reelected in the Nov. 4 general race.

Also Thursday night, the board honored Ironton Middle School teacher Alice Brown, who was recently named Project Learning Tree's outstanding educator for Ohio.

The board also adopted the Prentice Hall "Physical Science Concept In Action" textbook as the science textbook for the ninth grade.

The board also accepted a $964.74 donation from the Moose Lodge, a $1,000 grant from Sam's Club and a $2,000 volunteer stipend from Ohio Reads for Whitwell Elementary.

The board's next meting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18 at the Ironton High School Library. Afterward, the board will attend the Ironton Junior High School Christmas program in the IHS auditorium.