MCBOE Gets Update on Operations, Shares Future Meeting Schedule
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During the December 16 meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Education, the Board received an update on the operations of the district and announced their future meeting schedule.
According to Assistant Superintendent Scott Barrow, operations within the administration and facilities are running smoothly, as the school has continued to work on campus safety and teacher recruitment. Barrow told the Board that Georgia Emergency Management Association Representative Curtis Hopper recently had done a walkthrough at the elementary and middle/high school to create a report on what may be improved for campus security. Meanwhile, a representative from the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner reviewed the campuses to determine whether the school was in ADA compliance, and ultimately determined that the building was considered to be in code.
Barrow informed the Board that he has created a document to track all of the times which the Centegix Alert Badge System is utilized within the school. This form documents when the alert system was used, who utilized it, the emergency which caused the alert, and the response time of the appropriate responders. Barrow said that so far, the badges had been used 11 times continued from page
this semester, and that every emergency had someone responding to the issue within a single minute.
In regards to employee recruitment, Barrow announced that the district has been approved for the Teaching Apprenticeship Program – a new opportunity which the Georgia Departments of Labor and Education have created to allow paraprofessionals to seek their teaching degrees while working. In addition to this, Barrow told the Board that 16 future educators from Brewton-Parker College had recently toured the district’s campus, helping to acquaint them with the leaders and students in hopes that they would choose to teach at the school.
During her report, Superintendent Ronda Hightower informed the Board that the Montgomery County High School Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter received a $2,500 grant from Altamaha EMC for their continued operations. Hightower also stated that the district was supporting local agriculture in their operations, as they purchased citrus and collard greens for school lunches from Usher Citrus Farms and L.G. Herndon Farms.
The next work session of the Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, January 13, at 5 p.m. A public hearing regarding the Board’s decision whether or not to opt out of House Bill 581 – which creates a statewide property tax exemption or the option to create a sales tax to offset property taxes – will be held after the meeting at 7 p.m.
The next meeting of the Board of Education is slated for Friday, January 17, at 6 p.m.; a public hearing regarding House Bill 581 will be held before the meeting at 5 p.m. The last public hearing on the subject will be at 6 p.m. on January 31.
February’s work session will be held at 4 p.m. on February 19, while the February board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on February 24.
The work session for March will be held at 5 p.m. on March 6, and the regular monthly meeting will be at 6 p.m. on March 11.
