By Jamie Gardner
At the February 14 meeting of the Appling County Board of Education, board members approved a recommendation made by Superintendent Scarlett Copeland to hire Brenda Harvey as the new principal of Appling County Primary School. The position was previously held by Copeland and had been vacant since January 1 when Copeland left that position to become superintendent. Harvey had served as assistant principal under Copeland. Superintendent Copeland reported that a process in selecting the new principal was used, including appointing a committee made up of school council members, the principal at Appling County Elementary (Dr. Areatha Virgil) and the superintendent, to review the applications and make a recommendation. Copeland added that Appling School System policy was followed in the hiring process.
BRENDA HARVEY
Harvey selected Primary Principal, Dominy chosen Assistant Superintendent
Also under personnel, Copeland recommended Lantz Kennedy to fill the position of Energy Education Specialist. She stated that the same process was used in selecting Kennedy to this position, adding that policy was followed.
Copeland made a recommendation to appoint Dr. Sandy Dominy the Assistant Superintendent of Appling County Schools and she will be responsible for curriculum and human resources. There will be no additional increase in pay as a result of this appointment. The board unanimously approved this recommendation.
Public participation
Leigh Herndon stated that she was happy to see what has been going on with the board of education. Herndon expressed concern to board members about the approaching budget and added that the board needed to look at salaries and cutting wasteful expenditures. She also encouraged board members to hire the most qualified personnel. Herndon stressed that the system needed to get back to the basics and make children its first priority.
Recognitions
Copeland made a number of presentations to students and staff within the system:
- Atwon Jackson, a student at Appling County High School (ACHS), was honored for being named the 2010 NAPA/Larry Csonka “Blue Collar Player of the Year” and for his work and dedication to Appling County football.
- Devyn Woodle, a ninth grade student at ACHS, was honored for making the 9/10-grade All State Band. He is the top baritone saxophone player from 9th and 10th grade in the state. He is one of only four students to make the All State Band from ACHS in the last 20 years.
- Morgan Brantley, an eighth grade student at ACMS, was honored for making Middle School All State Band. She also made first chair in one of the two middle school bands that the state has. That means Morgan is one of the top two middle school trumpet players in the state. She is one of only three students to make the All State Band from ACMS in the last 20 years.
- Administration and staff of Fourth District Elementary were honored for receiving the National Title 1 Distinguished School Award. The school was one of two schools in the state to receive this prestigious award. The award is a project of the National Title I Association and provides an opportunity for Title I schools from every state to be recognized publicly for their positive educational achievements.
- The final recognition went to Appling County Bus Shop employees Edward Overstreet, Malcolm Hall and Richard Tanner. On January 20 the Georgia Department of Transportation inspected 56 system buses over a three-day period and only found three defects, an exceptionally good inspection.
Other business
The board approved minutes from meetings held on January 15, Jan. 24 and Jan. 28.
Joella Stalvey made a presentation on behalf of this year’s calendar committee. The calendar committee consisted of one calendar committee representative from each school and one county office representative. These individuals were JoAnn Belew from Altamaha; Geneieve Garnes from ACPS; Lana Clark from ACES; Christy Tillman from Fourth District; Sue Hayes from ACMS; Johnathan Hickox from ACHS; and Joella Stalvey from the county office. Copeland thanked the members of the committee for their hard work on this project. The superintendent recommended accepting the recommendation from the committee to institute a 170-day calendar for the 2011 - 2012 school year. The board approved the recommendation. (See more information about next year’s school calendar in an upcoming issue of The News-Banner.)
Board members approved a number of field trip requests including ACHS GradNite at Walt Disney World on May 6, a trip for Fourth District AR Students to Jacksonville, FL on May 6, ACHS TSA students to attend the State Conference on March 9 - 12, ACHS FBLA students to attend a conference in Atlanta on March 18 - 19, ACHS BETA Club students to attend a trip to Atlanta on March 4 - 6 (board member Scottie Ammons abstained, 4-1 vote), ACHS Biology students to travel to Jacksonville on March 21, and ACHS Health Occupations students to attend state competition on March 3-5 in Athens.
On a split vote, board members approved to purchase a back-up data system from AT&T. Board members Ammons, Randy Crawford, M.C. Barlow, and Minnie Barnes voted in favor of purchasing the service. Board member Randy Sellers voted against the measure.
Superintendent Copeland recommended three medical leave requests be granted. The board granted the leave requests for Carolyn Townsend, Janet Dykes and Janet Harrelson.
Copeland also recommended that the board accept the resignations of Belinda Smith and Laurette Slaughter, paraprofessionals, and the superintendent also recommended using substitutes until after the March 15 vote that will decide if Fourth District School will remain open or close. The board unanimously approved the recommendation.
The board approved a recommendation to hire RESA to perform a salary study system-wide. Copeland stated that the board could use the information gathered from the study during the budgeting process to compare salaries of communities with the same demographics as Appling. The cost of the study is $1,000.00 and the funds to pay for this expense will come from the business services account.
Superintendent Copeland recommended that the system contract with the Georgia School Board Association (GSBA) to allow for a review of Appling County Board of Education policies. Copeland stated that currently there are over 800 pages of policies for the school system and added that she expects that by performing the policy review, the number of pages can be cut in half. GSBA will charge the system $10,500.00 to perform the review. The board approved the recommendation unanimously citing the need to make certain that local policy is in agreement with state and federal law.
The board approved a request to allow Amy Rediger to remain the fiscal agent for Family Connections.
The board approved a request from Copeland to hire a long-term substitute for Altamaha Elementary School. Funding for the position will come through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Title I funds and will be used for this year only. Ammons asked Copeland to check to see if the funding could be used at any other schools to offset local funding of paraprofessional positions.
A request by the Appling County Elementary Music Program to hold a fundraiser was unanimously approved by board members.
Copeland made a recommendation to dispose of two rental houses located on Auburn Street, behind Appling Primary School. She also suggested that the board advertise and accept sealed bids for the purchase and removal of the houses before they are demolished. The board unanimously approved the recommendation.
Board members approved reducing the system’s insurance deductible on property insurance from $5,000.00 per occurrence to $2,500.00 per occurrence.
Under information and discussion items, CFO Adrienne Taylor presented information about Fourth District Elementary School. Taylor said that some of the figures on the cost of operating the school had changed since the public hearings, to decide whether or not to close the school, were held last year. Taylor pointed out enrollment for each school in the system and noted that Fourth District has 144 students, Appling Primary has 750 students, Appling Elementary has 532, Altamaha has 429 students, Appling Middle School has 774 students and Appling High School has 897 students. Taylor also addressed concerns such as if the school closes, will the staff lose their jobs and the answer to this question is no. According to Taylor certified staff would be relocated and classified personnel would be relocated to other schools based on the needs of the system. Another area discussed by Taylor was how much the system would save if the school were closed. She stated that it was estimated that the system would eventually save $1,054,000.00. Taylor said that this figure is based on retirement of system employees over the next two to three years. Taylor stated that the system would see an immediate savings of $404,000.00 if the school closes. It was also noted that the local cost to educate a child at Fourth District is 42 percent compared to an approximate 20 - 22 percent at other county schools. Taylor stated that the information is available on the system’s website http://www.appling.k12.ga.us.
Operations Director Winton Herrin presented sealed bids to Copeland for security cameras at ACHS ball fields. Herrin stated that Southeastern Security and Time and Twin Communications submitted bids.
A proposed Bullying Policy was presented to board members for review and is also available on the system’s website.
The board entered in a closed-door session to discuss personnel issues. Following the closed session, the board voted on hiring Harvey and Kennedy.
SACS CASI update
Copeland reported that she along with board members Barnes and Ammons, Dominy and the board attorney had a recent meeting with State Director of Georgia AdvancEd/SACS Dr. Mike Bryans to garner input from Bryans on how the system needed to proceed in order secure its accreditation. Copeland stated that Bryans was very complimentary and stated that he could see unity with the new board. Below are some of the suggestions the board received as a result of the meeting:
- Include means of involving stakeholders (ie. public participation at BOE meetings, surveys, parent involvement, and school councils).
- Review the chain of command with BOE members. Place on back of a business card for BOE members to distribute.
- Outreach to community leaders to further include all stakeholders.
- Have a timeline of budget process. Include meeting with principals and program directors on projected budgets.
- Conduct business-like BOE meetings. Do not bring up action items continuously if BOE is not ready to take action. Lack of evidence will support the implementation (ie. action items are not continuously being tabled).
- Provide BOE meeting tapes to show proper decorum and order of BOE meetings.
- Post BOE agendas/minutes on website and eBoard.
- Training by GSBA and Harben, Hartley, Hawkins on Governance and Leadership. The roles of superintendent and board of education members will be explained. Keep documentation such as sessions attended by all BOE members.
- BOE members hold each other accountable for actions that maybe considered violating the code of ethics.
- Current BOE members will sign an affidavit indicating their understanding and adherence to the code of ethics for board members (Refer to Code of Ethics Policy for BOE Members).
- Executive sessions must follow Georgia Law under the Georgia Open Meetings Act.
- BOE chairperson or other presiding officer must sign the affidavit of what was discussed during the executive session.
Copeland made a recommendation to appoint Dr. Sandy Dominy the Assistant Superintendent of Appling County Schools and she will be responsible for curriculum and human resources. There will be no additional increase in pay as a result of this appointment. The board unanimously approved this recommendation.
Public participation
Leigh Herndon stated that she was happy to see what has been going on with the board of education. Herndon expressed concern to board members about the approaching budget and added that the board needed to look at salaries and cutting wasteful expenditures. She also encouraged board members to hire the most qualified personnel. Herndon stressed that the system needed to get back to the basics and make children its first priority.
Recognitions
Copeland made a number of presentations to students and staff within the system:
- Atwon Jackson, a student at Appling County High School (ACHS), was honored for being named the 2010 NAPA/Larry Csonka “Blue Collar Player of the Year” and for his work and dedication to Appling County football.
- Devyn Woodle, a ninth grade student at ACHS, was honored for making the 9/10-grade All State Band. He is the top baritone saxophone player from 9th and 10th grade in the state. He is one of only four students to make the All State Band from ACHS in the last 20 years.
- Morgan Brantley, an eighth grade student at ACMS, was honored for making Middle School All State Band. She also made first chair in one of the two middle school bands that the state has. That means Morgan is one of the top two middle school trumpet players in the state. She is one of only three students to make the All State Band from ACMS in the last 20 years.
- Administration and staff of Fourth District Elementary were honored for receiving the National Title 1 Distinguished School Award. The school was one of two schools in the state to receive this prestigious award. The award is a project of the National Title I Association and provides an opportunity for Title I schools from every state to be recognized publicly for their positive educational achievements.
- The final recognition went to Appling County Bus Shop employees Edward Overstreet, Malcolm Hall and Richard Tanner. On January 20 the Georgia Department of Transportation inspected 56 system buses over a three-day period and only found three defects, an exceptionally good inspection.
Other business
The board approved minutes from meetings held on January 15, Jan. 24 and Jan. 28.
Joella Stalvey made a presentation on behalf of this year’s calendar committee. The calendar committee consisted of one calendar committee representative from each school and one county office representative. These individuals were JoAnn Belew from Altamaha; Geneieve Garnes from ACPS; Lana Clark from ACES; Christy Tillman from Fourth District; Sue Hayes from ACMS; Johnathan Hickox from ACHS; and Joella Stalvey from the county office. Copeland thanked the members of the committee for their hard work on this project. The superintendent recommended accepting the recommendation from the committee to institute a 170-day calendar for the 2011 - 2012 school year. The board approved the recommendation. (See more information about next year’s school calendar in an upcoming issue of The News-Banner.)
Board members approved a number of field trip requests including ACHS GradNite at Walt Disney World on May 6, a trip for Fourth District AR Students to Jacksonville, FL on May 6, ACHS TSA students to attend the State Conference on March 9 - 12, ACHS FBLA students to attend a conference in Atlanta on March 18 - 19, ACHS BETA Club students to attend a trip to Atlanta on March 4 - 6 (board member Scottie Ammons abstained, 4-1 vote), ACHS Biology students to travel to Jacksonville on March 21, and ACHS Health Occupations students to attend state competition on March 3-5 in Athens.
On a split vote, board members approved to purchase a back-up data system from AT&T. Board members Ammons, Randy Crawford, M.C. Barlow, and Minnie Barnes voted in favor of purchasing the service. Board member Randy Sellers voted against the measure.
Superintendent Copeland recommended three medical leave requests be granted. The board granted the leave requests for Carolyn Townsend, Janet Dykes and Janet Harrelson.
Copeland also recommended that the board accept the resignations of Belinda Smith and Laurette Slaughter, paraprofessionals, and the superintendent also recommended using substitutes until after the March 15 vote that will decide if Fourth District School will remain open or close. The board unanimously approved the recommendation.
The board approved a recommendation to hire RESA to perform a salary study system-wide. Copeland stated that the board could use the information gathered from the study during the budgeting process to compare salaries of communities with the same demographics as Appling. The cost of the study is $1,000.00 and the funds to pay for this expense will come from the business services account.
Superintendent Copeland recommended that the system contract with the Georgia School Board Association (GSBA) to allow for a review of Appling County Board of Education policies. Copeland stated that currently there are over 800 pages of policies for the school system and added that she expects that by performing the policy review, the number of pages can be cut in half. GSBA will charge the system $10,500.00 to perform the review. The board approved the recommendation unanimously citing the need to make certain that local policy is in agreement with state and federal law.
The board approved a request to allow Amy Rediger to remain the fiscal agent for Family Connections.
The board approved a request from Copeland to hire a long-term substitute for Altamaha Elementary School. Funding for the position will come through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Title I funds and will be used for this year only. Ammons asked Copeland to check to see if the funding could be used at any other schools to offset local funding of paraprofessional positions.
A request by the Appling County Elementary Music Program to hold a fundraiser was unanimously approved by board members.
Copeland made a recommendation to dispose of two rental houses located on Auburn Street, behind Appling Primary School. She also suggested that the board advertise and accept sealed bids for the purchase and removal of the houses before they are demolished. The board unanimously approved the recommendation.
Board members approved reducing the system’s insurance deductible on property insurance from $5,000.00 per occurrence to $2,500.00 per occurrence.
Under information and discussion items, CFO Adrienne Taylor presented information about Fourth District Elementary School. Taylor said that some of the figures on the cost of operating the school had changed since the public hearings, to decide whether or not to close the school, were held last year. Taylor pointed out enrollment for each school in the system and noted that Fourth District has 144 students, Appling Primary has 750 students, Appling Elementary has 532, Altamaha has 429 students, Appling Middle School has 774 students and Appling High School has 897 students. Taylor also addressed concerns such as if the school closes, will the staff lose their jobs and the answer to this question is no. According to Taylor certified staff would be relocated and classified personnel would be relocated to other schools based on the needs of the system. Another area discussed by Taylor was how much the system would save if the school were closed. She stated that it was estimated that the system would eventually save $1,054,000.00. Taylor said that this figure is based on retirement of system employees over the next two to three years. Taylor stated that the system would see an immediate savings of $404,000.00 if the school closes. It was also noted that the local cost to educate a child at Fourth District is 42 percent compared to an approximate 20 - 22 percent at other county schools. Taylor stated that the information is available on the system’s website http://www.appling.k12.ga.us.
Operations Director Winton Herrin presented sealed bids to Copeland for security cameras at ACHS ball fields. Herrin stated that Southeastern Security and Time and Twin Communications submitted bids.
A proposed Bullying Policy was presented to board members for review and is also available on the system’s website.
The board entered in a closed-door session to discuss personnel issues. Following the closed session, the board voted on hiring Harvey and Kennedy.
SACS CASI update
Copeland reported that she along with board members Barnes and Ammons, Dominy and the board attorney had a recent meeting with State Director of Georgia AdvancEd/SACS Dr. Mike Bryans to garner input from Bryans on how the system needed to proceed in order secure its accreditation. Copeland stated that Bryans was very complimentary and stated that he could see unity with the new board. Below are some of the suggestions the board received as a result of the meeting:
- Include means of involving stakeholders (ie. public participation at BOE meetings, surveys, parent involvement, and school councils).
- Review the chain of command with BOE members. Place on back of a business card for BOE members to distribute.
- Outreach to community leaders to further include all stakeholders.
- Have a timeline of budget process. Include meeting with principals and program directors on projected budgets.
- Conduct business-like BOE meetings. Do not bring up action items continuously if BOE is not ready to take action. Lack of evidence will support the implementation (ie. action items are not continuously being tabled).
- Provide BOE meeting tapes to show proper decorum and order of BOE meetings.
- Post BOE agendas/minutes on website and eBoard.
- Training by GSBA and Harben, Hartley, Hawkins on Governance and Leadership. The roles of superintendent and board of education members will be explained. Keep documentation such as sessions attended by all BOE members.
- BOE members hold each other accountable for actions that maybe considered violating the code of ethics.
- Current BOE members will sign an affidavit indicating their understanding and adherence to the code of ethics for board members (Refer to Code of Ethics Policy for BOE Members).
- Executive sessions must follow Georgia Law under the Georgia Open Meetings Act.
- BOE chairperson or other presiding officer must sign the affidavit of what was discussed during the executive session.
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