Board of Education O.K.s Budget Items

The Jasper County School Board had a called meeting Tuesday before the regular meeting so they could discuss the budget further.

One item they discussed was the tax revenue from Shire, or the industry that is now Takeda at Stanton Springs. The county had agreed to talk to the school board about possibly sharing the revenue, but thus far has been unwilling to sit down with them.

Supt. Mike Newton explained that the money is now part of the Jasper County tax digest. Because of that, he said, the state would cut the equalization money the school gets, although the school is not getting any benefit of that money.

The other counties involved—Morgan, Newton and Walton—all have land in the park, and therefore revenue from the industry is divided just like other tax revenues. For example, the county gets a portion of alcohol sales receipts and the school board gets a portion. In Jasper County, all revenues are going to the county. The board agreed to ramp up efforts to talk with the county officials.

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The schools had submitted “wish lists” totaling nearly $800,000, and the administration whittled it down, and brought the remaining items to the board. Supt. Mike Newton and Director of Finance Anne Harrison assured board members they had discussed the changes with incoming superintendent Kenny Garland, and that he was okay with them.

After discussion on the items, which includes two more teachers for Washington Park Elementary School (WPES), $80,000 for bus engines, $50,000 for additional speech aid, and various other supplies as well as a new grounds worker for $40,000, the board agreed to add back in some $7,000 for graphing calculators at the high school. They also learned some of the needs would be addressed at the school level or from funds already allocated.

After the called meeting, the board had a brief regular meeting during which they heard from the School Governance Teams (SGT) for Jasper County Primary School (JCPS) and WPES.

Jehan El-Jourbagy, the chair of the JCPS SGT told board members about the improvements shown through MAP data. She said that each grade tested higher than the national average, and that the really exciting part is growth was shown for each child.

She mentioned the needs f the school which includes a nurse. She said the nurse is part-time, shared with WPES, and that is not good. She said young children get sick a lot, and there is a need for more time with the nurse. The board members had discussed that in their called meeting, but did not allocate more funds for additional nursing care. Supt. Newton mentioned the possibility of partnering with the health department to help out, or perhaps putting the school’s CNAs to work at some level.

Ms. El-Jourbagy also talked about the need for a parapro to work with behavior disorders, and the need for space for Transformation Therapy, which works at the school. She praised the board for allowing early kindergarten attendance for up to three children per year, and for adding to art and music instruction at the primary school. She told of the progress made because of those additions.

Ms. El-Jourbagy also mentioned to the school board that perhaps something could be done to prevent the waste of so much material at the school. Some 2,500 styrofoam plates a day are thrown away by the school system. She said the school pays for waste by tonnage, and questioned if something could be done.

She said her children had recently watched a documentary about plastic in the oceans, and they were very concerned. She suggested the students and schools may could come up with an alternative to what is currently happening.

After that, Ashley Pulliam spoke on the WPES SGT. She talked about STEAM activities taking place at the school, and said they opened the door to the teachers to choose something they were passionate about to pursue. She said students learned about cosmetology, art, robotics, and even went skating as a learning exercise. She talked about the benefit of field trips, saying they had been to the Georgia Aquarium and had been roller skating, as well as the children did gem mining at the school.

She said they talked about a fifth grade legacy, which used to be the students’ handprints down the wall, and said they wanted a change. They instituted a rock project, and the rocks that the children cleaned and painted are going to be put around the pond at the school.

She talked about the successful MAP data, and invited everyone to their awards program Thursday. She also said the school is investing in plastic hang tags for cars for students who are picked up. Apparently the current method is hard to see.

Perry Hyde gave an update on the progress of the athletic complex, and a full report is planned for next week’s Monticello News. He did say that right now they are hoping to play football there by the first Friday in October when the Hurricanes are slated to host Putnam County.

The board also approved several personnel changes. They include:

New Hires

Christiana Small, substitute teacher; Kathleen Eggleston, substitute teacher; Justin LeSuer, teacher, Jasper County High School; Danny Willard, substitute custodian; Rhonda McFarland, teacher, Jasper County High School; Karly Devole, teacher, Washington Park Elementary School; Patricia Richardson, SLP Aide,

Resignations

Lena Sims, substitute custodian, and Kelly Coady, teacher, Jasper County Primary School.

Transfer

Brittney Bryant, teacher, Jasper County Primary School, transfer from teacher at JCPS to teacher at Jasper County Preschool.