Local Board of Education Prepares to Adopt Budget

By superadmin | June 27, 2019 |

Supt. Mike Newton presided over his last two Board of Education meetings Tuesday evening, June 18, with one being a public hearing on the budget. No one attended to speak on the budget.

One budget hearing was held Tuesday morning, and a third is scheduled for July 8. The next regular business meeting, where the budget will be adopted is July 16.

Dr. Newton is retiring, and new superintendent Kenny Garland will begin work full time on July 1.

During the meeting, one item was to purge names from the substitute list if they did not sub at least 10 days in the last school year. There is a cost to keeping them on the payroll, and if they substitute less than 10 days a year, they are typically removed from the list.

Board members questioned removing them, saying the schools have a hard time finding substitutes sometimes, and perhaps even if they sub less than 10 days, there may be extenuating circumstances. They might be able to sub more in the coming year.

Finance Director Anne Harrison said she would get back with board members and let them know the cost of keeping a person on the payroll system.

Board members heard an update from Perry Hyde on the progress of the athletic complex construction. He said things are moving along, and that the baseball field and band areas are complete, and they are working on the softball field.

There’s along way to go for the football stadium to be complete, he said. They are hoping to have the stadium complete in time for homecoming which is set foro Friday, Oct. 18. It depends on the weather, he said.

Initially the stadium was set to be complete by the first home game, but rains last fall and winter put the project behind schedule.

The board re-appointed Dr. John DeGarmo to serve on the Jasper County Library Board.

Board members discussed trying to find a way to get more dollars into the athletic department, as the coaches’ supplements are limited, and there are other needs. Dr. Newton reminded them they plan to do a comprehensive salary study next year.

The board approved several personnel changes. They include:

New Hires

•Linda Burke, paraprofessional, Washington Park Elementary School (WPES)

•Allison Booth, teacher, WPES

•Deloris Thomaston, paraprofessional, WPES

•Kim Coady, ESOL Teacher (49%), Jasper County Board of Education (BOE)

•Lauren Murray, teacher, Jasper County Primary School (JCPS)

•Melissa Hadaway, teacher, WPES

•Rochelle Ammons, paraprofessional, Jasper County Preschool

•Briana Bailey, teacher, Jasper County High School (JCHS)

•Erica Sands, substitute teacher, BOE

•Tiffany Ingram, head custodian, JCHS