Bill Schilling Remains Board Chair
The Jasper County Board of Education voted at a work session Tuesday for Bill Schilling to remain chairman of the board, and Erin Lynch to be vice-chair.
The board members also volunteered for committees on which to serve when needed. Dr. Shannon Barton and Erin Lynch will serve on the personnel committee; Towander Dennis and Bill Schilling will serve on policy committee; and Lewis Rice and Mr. Schilling will serve on the finance committee. In addition, Mrs. Lynch and Mr. Schilling will serve on the academic committee, and Dr. Barton and Mr. Rice will serve on the facilities committee.
Supt. Kenny Garland and board members spent some time discussing paid leave entitlements. Before December 31, the CARES act covered the cost of personnel being out because of quarantine or Covid-19. A report on Covid absences showed that 97.88 percent of the students and staff were not quarantined.
The board heard from Principal Dionka Jackson and members of the School Governance Team (SGT) at Jasper County Middle School. Angie Lee Willis told how the SGT had evolved to a group that is active in decision making about budgets, and now it has formed committees to influence the handbook, PBIS and safety. She said they will be active in the interview process. He said the SGT helps teachers understand the challenges of the online students. They are an integral part of JCMS, she said.
Parent members of the SGT team, Emily Beasley and Sheila Jones spoke about their roles on the SGT. Ms. Beasley said she likes being in the loop and was impressed when ScottiAnn Benton spoke to the group about hands-on activities. Ms. Jones talked about the needs in the media center, saying more material is needed, and the students need to be encouraged to read. The school is working to tie reading in with other activities. Ms. Jackson told that the school had purchased a new program to encourage reading.
Mr. Garland told of the plan for all students to participate in online learning next week, with in-peson classes resuming January 25. Monday, January 18, is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and Tuesday is a teacher work day. The semester ends Friday, and the new one starts Monday, Jan. 25.
Another item on the agenda was discussion of long range facilities. Mr. Garland outlined additional needs at the high school athletic complex. He said many of the needs are lighting needs, but the cross country track is being constructed, and they are adding changing tables in the restrooms and need a garage/storage building for FFA/athletics/maintenance equipment. He said he would discuss other facilities needs at next week’s regular meeting.
The board discussed how much milestones testing should be weighted, as the state has made a recommendation to reduce how much weight the test carries. The state recommends it counts no more than 0.01 percent and currently that test counts 20 percent. The board will discuss it Tuesday.
The board also approved several personnel changes, including the new hire of Patricia Duke, nurse, and the retirement of Jerry Williams, transportation director.
Transfers included Rydell Jackson from teacher/head football coach to transportation director, and two school nutrition staff transfers.
