Board Debates School Name for Consistency

Monticello High School or Jasper County High School? Or Jasper County High School, home of the Monticello Hurricanes? That’s the dilemma members of the Jasper County School Board would like to resolve. Consistency is important.

For years, the high school has been Jasper County High School, and the academic teams use that name. However, for even more years, it has been the Monticello Hurricanes, which is used in reference to all sports.

The school board began discussing the school’s name earlier this year, when Dr. Shannon Barton said that when recruiters are looking for Jasper County athletes on sites such as MaxPreps which keeps up with statistics, they cannot find them. She insisted, there needs to be continuity. So for the last several months, the board has discussed what to do. It turns out it is cost-prohibitive to change the name on the front of the school. But it could still be changed on letterhead, with the Georgia Department of Education and wherever else it needs to be.

At their meeting on November 12, the board heard from Luke Vaughn, speaking for the Hurricane Student Council, asking the board not to rush into changing the name. That resulted in some lively discussion at the meeting, whereby Dr. Barton said she had no problem with staying Jasper County High School or changing to Monticello High School, but feels it is necessary to be the same.

Board Chair Bill Schilling echoed that sentiment. During the discussion, Erin Lynch pointed out that the academic teams use Jasper County. Board member Towonder Dennis said she didn’t remember when it became Jasper County High School. Board member Lewis Rice said he wanted to hear from the people.

Supt. Kenny Garland is going to draft a survey, which will be published on the schools’ websites for people to express their opinions.

Supt. Garland announced that he had just learned Jasper will be in Region 3AA out of Macon for the 2020-2021 school years. This will cut down drastically on travel compared to last year and this year, when the Hurricanes have traveled to Banks and Union Counties, among others. Counties in Jasper’s region include Bleckley, Dodge, Lamar, SW Macon, NE Macon, and Washington.

The board recognized two students who were awarded the REACH scholarship—Carlos Ramirez and Kelly Mitchell. The scholarship is awarded to sixth graders who meet certain criteria, and results in a college scholarship. The students have mentors, and parents and students promise to follow the guidelines.

The board also recognized members of the cross-country team that made it to state playoffs this year, and praised them for their accomplishments.

About 40 high schoolers competed in cross country this year. DeMario Thomas was 13th in the state and Mari Jablonski (who was not at the meeting) was fourth in the state. The team is coached by Mr. Robert Bradley who is a literature teacher.

The board heard from nutrition director Mary Richardson, who said the school had received about $15,000 worth of USDA commodities. She shared statistics and how many people eat at each school, and told the board of her plans to improve participation.

The board approved a new, simplified, substitute teacher pay scale. It is now a three-tier scale rather than the five-tier scale. Non-certified teachers will receive $72 a day for substituting; those with a valid teaching certificate would be paid $85 a day, and those on long term assignments with an in-field teaching certificate will be paid a daily rate of $175.

Board members reviewed CCRPI scores, as well as SAT and ACT scores. They also approved several fund raisers, field trips and use of facilities requests for existing facilities.

Personnel action taken includes the following new hires: Courtney Brown, SLP aide, Jasper County Board of Education.

Resignation—Valencia Clark, registration clerk, Jasper County Board of Education.

Retirement—Lauree Belcher and Jim Belcher, Advanced Lawn Maintenance; Jasper County Maintenance Department, effective January 31, 2020.

Lastly, released from contract was Kim Coady, teacher, Washington Park Elementary School.