School Board Tours Schools
As the Jasper County schools prepare to begin another year, members of the Board of Education toured both Jasper County Middle and High Schools Tuesday at the beginning of their regular meeting.
The board toured the newest school, JCHS, and the middle school which is in the process of implementing a resource classroom and has had a lot of work done to the C building which houses the lunch room and science wing.
BOE members and those in attendance for the walk through saw a revamped lunch room with new paint, lighting, and closet space.
In the kitchen area drains had been redone to allow for easier cleaning and allowed for less back up than the old copper lines, according to Perry Hyde, maintenance supervisor for the schools.
The renovations began in C wing when there was a pipe that burst and some of the floor had to be taken up and new pipe replaced. The bathrooms next to the lunchroom were redone as well as several classrooms on that wing of the building.
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The repairs had to be done and in doing so, the odor of mold and other unappealing smells that would never go away, has been repaired, according to Mr. Hyde.
Superintendent Dr. Mike Newton commended Mr. Hyde and his staff as they have been working diligently to have all of the work done by the time the 2013-2014 school year begins.
The board was able to see the financials as the accounting totals show that the previous year is at 100 percent, although the books don’t officially close until September. The end of the last school year showed that revenues were up some from what was budgeted and expenditures were down.
Dr. Newton noted that some things still had to be paid, but “for the most part we’re good in looking at the numbers budgeted for this upcoming year.”
There was some discussion among the board members on the purchase of a cyber threat insurance policy that the Georgia School Board Association (GSBA) recommended in the event that a device, laptop, etc. were stolen along with any personal information on students, teachers, and staff.
Dr. Newton explained that the policy would cost $3,300 roughly and that it was just a sign of the times and the world of technology that is upon us. “In the digital world, there are numerous ways for sensitive information to be compromised,” said Dr. Newton.
Several board members said that they didn’t understand why the current liability policy did not already have something like that included. Dr. Newton agreed to have a representative from GSBA to come and talk to the board about it further. The board voted unanimousily to approve the cyber risk policy.
The board also voted to approve the bread bid for the upcoming year and the lowest bid was from Bimbo, Sara Lee, which the school has used for the last several years. A milk bid will be brought before the board in August.
The board also put two policies up for a 30 day review on concussions and awarding units and transferring credits. These will be online and can be viewed from the policies tab under the jasper.k12.ga.us eboard link.
