School Board Handles Business
After much deliberation, the Jasper County School Board at its regular meeting on September 13, voted to move forward with getting Rose Bowl Field surveyed and appraised for a possible sale of the property. Supt. Kenny Garland said he had explored the cost to bring the facility up to fully functional condition and said it was tremendous.
Supt. Garland suggested if monies are to be spent they would be better spent placing bleachers on the middle school practice field with a press box/restroom area between the practice field and baseball field to serve in a dual role.
Supt. Garland led a discussion on the potential of purchasing office space to create a Central Services annex. The goal of the purchase is to allow Jasper County Middle School (JCMS) to utilize existing Central Services facilities for classroom space. Mr. Garland noted JCMS is completely out of classroom space and is considered to be at full capacity by Georgia Department of Education guidelines. With the growth occurring in the area, Mr. Garland noted the purchasing of office space would temporarily alleviate overcrowding for JCMS and prevent the rental of mobile units. He noted the purchase of a facility could be more cost effective than mobile rentals. The Board authorized Mr. Garland to proceed with a search for facilities.
Supt. Garland recommended a salary increase for bus drivers, custodians, and lead custodians. The recommendation moved custodians up two grades and bus drivers one grade. The starting salary for a custodian would move from 10.01 to 10.74. The starting salary for a bus driver would move from 14.37 to 14.91. The recommendation is retroactive to August 1, 2022. The Board approved the recommendation.
Supt. Garland presented a five-year enrollment table from September 9, 2018 to September 9, 2022. He pointed out in 2018, KK enrollment was at 152. The same cohort, now in fourth grade is at 193. On the same date in 2018, first grade enrollment was at 154. Today’s fifth grade (same cohort) is at 193. The Kindergarten cohort for this school year is at 170. Overall enrollment has ballooned from 2,410 in 2018 to 2,608 in 2022.
He utilized this to demonstrate the growth of the system and the need for discussion in school facilities to accommodate the growth. Mr. Garland has requested the architectural firm to attend the October 8 work session to discuss potential scenarios for additional facilities.
Robbie Key delivered an update regarding the roofing project at Jasper County High School (JCHS). The project is now complete. He presented photos of the work completed on the project. Mr. Key also provided the board information regarding issues with the roof at Washington Park Elementary School, and requested to proceed in consultation with the roofing consultant used for the JCHS project. Mr. Garland asked Mr. Key to present the proposal to address issues at WPES in a future board meeting.
In other action at the meeting, the school board:
•Approved several policies after the second reading, and held the first reading on other policies.
•Heard a presentation from Dr. Susan Stone about volunteer training.
•Approved new retiree life insurance options and employee voluntary accident, life/disability options.
•Approved one fund raiser request and agreed to surplus two lawn mowers.
The board went into closed session to discuss personnel, then approved the following:
New Hires
•Lamon Clemons, paraprofessional, Jasper County Primary School
•Sydni Caldwell, teacher, Jasper County Pre-School
•Jade Campbell, permanent substitute teacher, JCHS
•William Martin, custodian, JCHS
•Brittany Carr, permanent substitute, WPES
•Gabriel Mask, permanent substitute, JCHS
•Marcia Jones, paraprofessional P/T, WPES
•Dorothy Few, bus driver, Jasper County Transportation Department
•Kristi Loggins, substitute School Nutrition Assistant, Nutrition Department
•Regina Langston, bookkeeper, WPES
•Erica Sands, bookkeeper, JCMS
Resignation
•Mandy Fletcher, clerical, WPES
Transfer
•Sarah Born, custodian, Jasper County High School, transfer to paraprofessional at JCPS
The Board approved amending the contract of the Superintendent with extension until August 31, 2025.
