T. Dennis Elected Chair Of Board of Education

Towonder Dennis was named chairman of the Jasper County Board of Education when the board met Tuesday evening for a work session to start the new year.

The three returning members Ms. Dennis, Larry “Bubba” Wilson, Jr., and Michele Coward—along with the new members, Matt Kelly from District 2 and Michele Celani from District 4 had participated in school board training for three hours earlier in the day.

Mr. Wilson was named vice-chair. As soon as that decision was made school board members determined which committees they would serve on. The personnel committee is Mr. Wilson and Ms. Celani; Ms. Coward and Ms. Dennis both serve on the policy and finance committees; the two newest members, Ms. Celani and Mr. Kelly will serve on the curriculum committee, and the two men, Mr. Wison and Mr. Kelly serve on the facilities committee.

The board set up work sessions to be held in addition to their regular meetings, which are typically the third Tuesday of each month. The work sessions will be held February 4, May 6, September 2, November 4, and December 2, each two weeks before the regular meeting.

Board members heard from the school governance teams (SGT) at Washington Park Elementary School and at Jasper County Primary School. Each group hit the highlights of what is happening at the school, and also outlined some needs.

Both schools expressed interest in having a school resource officer, at last part-time. Mrs. Pam Edge from the primary school said she is determined for the school to become STEM certified, even though it may not happen before she retires and the end of this year.

She said she’d be back. Ms. Laura Thompson from WPES outlined challenges the school had faced in the fall that have been alleviated. Both principals talked about implementing the “Leader in Me” curriculum. Mrs. Edge outlined how her school deals with extensive absences of students, and said she’s be interested in a school level behavioral interventionist.

The board agreed to hold public hearings on House Bill 581, then determine if it wants to opt-