School Board Works on Budget
The Jasper County School Board has been working on its FY15 budget for the upcoming school year and while there is still a shortage of funds from the state, the board is looking to add about a dozen instructional positions back into the schools for the upcoming year.
For FY15, the projected budget is just over $17.4 million with the projected deficit being $850,000. This amount will come out of the fund balance. The board will add personnel and other instructional faculty and equipment but will remain with the same number of days this year when the proposed calendars are voted on next month.
The final budget will be voted on in May. Contracts to teachers and the calendar are on the agenda for a vote in April.
Positions to be added include a parapro, a Early Intervention Program (EIP) , and a half an art teacher (to be shared with Washington Park School) at the Primary School.
At Washington Park, in addition to the 49 percent art teacher, they will also get an EIP teacher.
The Middle School will get a parapro for the math lab, and a media specialist.
The High School will get a Program for Exceptional Children (PEC) teacher, a custodian, and a biology teacher.
In addition, bus cameras will be purchased, and there is some money for each school for needed supplies. The central staff will also get some additions.
The board received good news that it will be receiving additional Head Start monies, but staff is still researching where the dollars need to be spent.
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The board also discussed putting the ELOST resolution on the ballot in May to be voted on. The funds generated from this will be used as the major function to pay off existing debt for the new high school.
During the work session last Thursday the board heard from Robyn Mullis, Principal of Jasper County High School (JCHS) about the graduation rate. Mrs. Mullis pulled a cohort of students that began ninth grade in Jasper County in the 2010-2011 school year and has looked into who was counted as a dropout by the states terms. She said that roughly 25 percent of the ninth graders were considered dropouts.
Ms. Mullis stated that a dropout could be for several reasons including unknown, parent/pregnant, lack of attendance, adult or secondary education, and death. She went on to explain that students who are sent to jail are dropouts, unless they come back and finish at a later date, but those sent to a juvenile detention center are not.
She also noted that PEC (special education) diplomas are also considered dropouts according to the state.
She said that currently there are a number of students from Jasper County that fall into that unknown, such the cohort’s name that she pulled. She and her staff are trying to locate some of those students now and will have some additional information at a future meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Mike Newton said, “this doesn’t look good for us, and Mrs. Mullis I appreciate the work and the detailed explanation that you’ve given on this. I think that Jasper County is going in a positive direction becoming more involved and providing more options for them through virtual school and advanced education programs.”
There were several comments from board members on finding a better way to keep these kids and to see why Jasper County loses so many. Mrs. Mullis said that some were enrolled elsewhere but just “up and left.”
She said that some private institutions don’t request a transcript from the public school where the student left so there is no paper trail on those kids. She said that her staff, Gary Jenkins and Kelly Anderson were doing a great job of keeping up with the kids and keeping them motivated.
They also heard from Vickie Rogers about textbook allotments. She along with personnel from each school had the chance to look at new English/Language Arts textbooks and invited the publishers into the school for those that topped each list. When the teachers decided on which books would be most beneficial to them, a first and second choice were listed and that list must be sent to the state to be put on file before any textbook purchases can be made.
Ms. Rogers told the board that textbooks were expensive and each class had to purchase 18 copies of the adopted book. In addition to the 18 copies all of the supplemental materials were available to every child in the classroom. She stated that not everyone would get the books that they requested as there was simply not enough money.
Each department at each school will have to see where the need is and purchase those books. She gave an example of how expensive textbooks were stating that the first choice for ELA at Jasper County Primary School was $35,000 per class set. She said that if everyone got their “wish books,” it would be about $167,000.
The board voted Tuesday night to place a new policy on the table for 30 days for public review and discussion. The policy addresses how non-resident students can attend Jasper County Schools. This policy states that an out of county resident can apply to attend Jasper County schools if the admission for that year has not reached 90 percent. The out of county residents would have to pay tuition calculated each year based on local numbers.
The board also voted to pass a resolution for class sizes stating that one to 10 children may be allotted into the classroom over the state’s allotment.
The board also voted to accept three resignations including Fredrick Marks and Willie Ross, custodians and Michael Strickland paraprofessional at JCHS.
