School Board Recognizes Longevity
The Jasper County Board of Education Tuesday recognized Horace “Junior” Hardwick for almost 50 years of service to the Jasper County schools and Paul H. Kelly for his long service on the board.
Superintendent Dr. Mike Newton said, “Junior is on the official records for beginning work in 1969, and he has been a huge asset to this system and all of our kids. I appreciate Mr. Hardwick’s dedication and sacrifice of time away from his family, because he is always here at school….If these walls could talk,” Dr. Newton commented, “I bet Mr. Hardwick would know the stories.”
Cheryl Marrett, Principal of Jasper County Middle School said, “I got to roast Junior a little earlier in his retirement party, but I am more appreciative of him than words can say. Junior works hard and nothing bothers him. I truly appreciate you and all of the work that you’ve done.”
The entire board echoed those sentiments and thanked Mr. Hardwick and his family for all that he has done.
Board Vice-Chair, Paul H. Kelly was also recognized at what was his last meeting. Mr. Kelly served on the board since January 2001 and will be replaced by Bill Schilling. Dr. Newton said, “I am very appreciative of Mr. Kelly. He’s my neighbor and I know that he loves Chick-fil-A. Mr. Kelly is a hard worker and has been a dedicated member of this community. He is a contributor through business and was a student at Jasper County Comprehensive High School.
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“When Paul talks most everyone stops to listen because he has something to say. And it’s usually about money,” Dr. Newton commented. “Paul, I appreciate you and your feedback because I deem it genuine and honest and I appreciate your service to this community.”
Mr. Kelly said, “I just want to thank the board for their friendship. I want to thank the board I served on for many, many years…I want to say thank you to the administration and the central staff and especially for Ms. Audrey Stokes for keeping me on track and on time to all of these meetings. I want to thank the voters for their support for all of these years, and now if you need something you can call Bill Schilling. Bill’s a good man and I think that he’ll do some really great things on this board.”
Dr. Newton then congratulated the entire board on being recognized as an Exemplary Board by the Georgia High School Association and said that it was an honor bestowed on very few boards in the state and that he couldn’t ask for better members and the things that each member was doing for the children in Jasper County.
The board approved the low bid for new security cameras at Jasper County High School (JCHS). The low bid of $96,835 was awarded to Micro Technology Consultants (MTC). The money was budgeted for last year and came in under budget.
Technology Director Dan Kelly reviewed and explained to the board that the current cameras were all analog and outdated. He said that the feed was grainy and identifying people was ineffective with the old cameras. Mr. Kelly said that the new cameras are all digital and will record in hi-definition. He said that the coverage areas will be increased and placed in problem areas.
The board also had some discussion about the multi-purpose building and not having enough safe equipment to put into it. Dr. Shannon Barton, Board Chair, commented that the weight equipment was unsafe and needed to be replaced. There was much discussion about equipment being functional and the expectancy of the athletic programs to have better seasons.
Dr. Newton presented a needs list and a want list to the board that was submitted from Head Coach Doug Huff and Coach Buddy Cain. Their needs list included benches, bars and free weights that totaled just over $21,000. The wish list included $14,000 more in additional equipment.
Dr. Barton asked Dr. Newton how many high school kids touched the equipment and he said about 90 percent through a weight class. Bobby Norris, board member, asked if the physical addition would make a better team. He was concerned that the money was being put into equipment and insinuated that it should justify having a better team and improve the programs and increase wins.
Dr. Barton said that she didn’t want to put the old equipment into a $1 million building. She said that the cameras came in at $13,000 under budget and there was roughly $10,000 in contingency therefore that made up for half of the equipment without touching the budget.
After the discussion the board voted to purchase the equipment for the weight room in the amount of $35,000.
The board also voted to purchase a surplus bus for $12,001. The 72 passenger bus is equipped with a handicapped lift and is an International with a Blue Bird body and has air conditioning. One of the board members asked how much a new bus would cost and the answer was about $96,000.
Dr. RaNae Fendley said unexcused absences are down in all of the schools and that the first meetings on attendance “hardship” would be this week. Those meetings include students that have more than 10 absences unexcused and what plan they have to make up missed credits. She noted that there were only five of those students.
There was much discussion about Jasper County Charter System and their CCRPI scores. Overall, the scores dropped in each school from last year’s scores and this was the first year that MAP data was available to compare Jasper nationally. Dr. Kristie Brooks gave an overall presentation on the scores and noted that there were improvements in some areas, and all of the data allows for changes to teachers, students, and focus areas in the middle of the year, rather than the end which makes for earlier improvement. (There will be a detailed article on the scores and the Charter System’s strategies for increasing these score in next week’s Monticello News).
