The Brantley County Board of Educ ation discussed/voted on the following agenda items during the Monday, March 9 work session and regular monthly meeting.
Superintendent’s Update: Superintendent Dr. Kim Morgan updated the Board on an upcoming emergency response event, recent construction on Brantley County High School (BCHS) facilities, and a special recognition of BCHS students and faculty.
Emergency Response Event: Dr. Morgan asked Dr. Christopher Harris to tell the Board about an upcoming emergency response demonstration.
“March 28, 10:30 a.m. at the high school, we will have an emergency response exercise.…It’ll involve, obviously our local folks, but then state patrol, GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation), all the partners around,” said Dr. Harris. “There'll be a scenario that's made up that nobody knows about … it'll be a full-scale event.”
“The two parts of it will be the response, and then they'll stop, we'll have lunch, and then we'll go back to where we were, and do the evacuation and reunification….There'll be folks there that will be observing from a perspective of ‘what do we do well, and what do we need to work on?’” “We're thankful to be able to partner with our local folks to do this, to continue to improve our efforts to make our schools safe.”
BCHS Facilities Update: Dr. Morgan then invited LeVance Gay to give an update on the new BCHS sports and music facilities. He said construction is drawing to a close.
“By the first week of April, they should be finished,” said Gay. “We're hoping that we can get moved in just before spring break.”
Gay also shared a photo presentation of the new facilities.
Special Recognition: Special recognition was given to outstanding students and faculty at BCHS during Monday night’s regular meeting.
Coach Aaron Beck won the Teacher of the Year Award for dependability and a great work ethic.
Kathy Chesser won the Soar Award for consistently exceeding expectations and demonstrating exceptional dedication and a strong commitment to excellence.
Several state qualifiers from the BCHS wrestling team were recognized, including Aurora Edwards, Payton Perez and Ty Hughes.
Next, all-state band performers Jamie Waters, Aubry Gordon, Judianah Blount, William Guzman, Elijah Green, Amelia Ann Blount and Shawn Babb were recognized.
Finally, Dr. Morgan recognized the Board of Education for School Board Appreciation Month.
Adoption of Agenda: The Board elected to adopt the Tuesday, March 9 agenda.
Disposition of Minutes of Previous Meetings: Minutes from the February 5 work session were approved. Minutes from the February 9 regular board meeting were approved. Minutes from the February 11 and February 27 called meetings were also approved.
Financial Reports: A motion passed to approve the financial reports for vendor payments, general funds, the Summary of Balances for February 28 and the School Activity Accounts for January 31.
Teresa Lairsey gave the SPLOST report. “Our local SPLOST that was collected was $169,487.65, and our taxes on car sales that was collected was $97,511.79, for a grand total of $266,999.47.”
Lairsey continued, “My plug is, just keep your money local, from gas to buying groceries. We've got lots of boutique stores from one end to the other. So if you can keep your money local, it does help our school system tremendously.”
Certificate of the Board of Education Gym and Music Addition Resolution: The Board motioned to approve a certificate which shows construction on the gym and music additions is nearing completion. This certificate will be used to show donors the project was completed within the appropriate timeframe.
Board Policy IFGB Internet Acceptable Use Revision: The Board adopted a social media policy, which will restrict social media access on school devices.
Executive Session: A 45-minute executive session about personnel and safety resulted in acceptance of the following resignations: Sarah Thompson, teacher at Atkinson Elementary School, Amy Hickox, paraprofessional at Nahunta Primary School, Jake Bond, teacher at Nahunta Elementary School, John Smith, teacher at Brantley County Middle School, Brenda Gagnon, custodian at Brantley County Middle School and Andy Johns, Maintenance Department.
The board set the following recommendations for hire: Katie Lee, teacher at Atkinson Elementary School, Virginia Spain, teacher at Atkinson Elementary School, Juliana Pittman, teacher at Nahunta Primary School, Taylor Knowles, teacher at Nahunta Elementary School, Macayla Dunsmore, teacher at Nahunta Elementary School, Jonathan Bradley, teacher at Nahunta Elementary School and Marilyn Hewitt, Pre-K paraprofessional at Hoboken Elementary School.
Dr. Morgan recommended Karina Horan Abel as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Coordinator at Hoboken Elementary School, effective July 1, with the addition of Assistant Principal responsibilities in December.
She also recommended Coach James Matthew Hickox as the head football coach and PE weight training teacher at Brantley County High School.
The Board accepted her recommendations.
