New High School Principal Is Named
The Jasper County School Board voted unanimously to offer contracts to numerous teachers, central office staff, and others at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Among those named is a new high school principal, Camille Murner. Ms. Murner comes to Jasper County High School from Rex Mill Middle School, where she has served as principal since 2011. Before that she was principal at Georgia College Early College in Milledgeville. She earned her specialist in educational leadership from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville in 2007.
Her original degree was a bachelors in history from Georgia College. She also has a masters of education degree from the Milledgeville school, and completed administration and supervision non-degree certification, also from Georgia College and State University.
Other new hires include Jessica Sheffield, seventh grade science teacher; NeAnn Wooten, eighth grade connections/academies teacher; Rhonda Stephens, PEC teacher, Jasper County Middle School; Alexis Gryzbowski, fifth grade teacher at Washington Park Elementary School; Kierra Rojas, second grade teacher at Jasper County Primary School, and JaDai McGee, third grade teacher at WPES.
In addition, the board approved about 150 other returning staff member contracts.
The school board also voted to add an additional three school days back into the academic calendar for the 2015-2016 school year. This is a result of being under budget for FY2015 and while it is still not a full 180 day calendar, it allows for students to be in school for 175 days and faculty for 183 days.
It was a general concern of the board members that days be added when possible. Dr. Shannon Barton, chairman of the board said “we can’t teach the kids if they aren’t here.” Currently the cost of one day of school is just under $85,000.
The school calendar calls for the first day of school for the 2015-16 year to be Friday, Aug. 14, giving the teachers three full days of preplanning before open houses on Thursday, Aug. 13, and school starting on Friday.
Students and teachers are out the week of Thanksgiving, and have two weeks at Christmas, with teachers returning on Monday, Jan. 4, and students returning on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. There is also a week-long spring break April 4-8. The last day of school is scheduled for Friday, May 20.
The board also voted to amend their current budget, FY15, to include $307,000 for repairs and maintenance to each facility and to include technology needs.
School Superintendent Dr. Mike Newton told the board that the school had scored well on the “school climate” rating with the primary school receiving five stars, and the other schools receiving four stars. It is another measure of how the school is performing other than the College and Career Ready Performance Standards.
Anne Harrison, Director of Finance and Dr. Newton explained that the current budget as a result of local tax collections being up, the budgeted health insurance increase not occurring, expenditures being under budget and the fact that the budget for teaching positions is always budgeted at a high rate.
Those improvements include updated HVAC controls for the Pre-K building (with the goal of reducing electric costs); money for JCPS playground equipment, tile work to be completed in all of the hallways.
At WPES, repairs to the outdoor lighting, tile the gym/activity room, repair the HVAC in the central office (there is currently little to none, according to Perry Hyde, maintenance supervisor), and new (32) computers and furniture in a lab.
For JCMS, maintenance to add three additional classrooms, patching for the roof above the cafeteria kitchen, painting of the outside breezeway.
Maintenance for JCHS approved was new stage curtains for the auditorium, beginning painting in the commons areas and cafeteria (to start a painting schedule for regular maintenance), purchase graphing calculators, adding flood lights at the ag barn, and replacing missing room numbers (with braille) outside of each classroom.
They also voted to upgrade facilities for a lounge and the bathrooms at the bus shop.
The board approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Morehouse College of Medicine to teach teen pregnancy prevention. The material must conform with the school’s curriculum. Roberta Anderson of the Get Ahead House was at the meeting and said it would pay the health teacher or appropriate person to be trained. The education will be done in school, not as part of the Carrera program outside of school.
