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the Montgomery County Board of Education, has been uninhabited since 2012, when the middle school classes were moved adjacent to the Montgomery County Elementary School, in the facility that now houses Heartland Academy.

The old middle school’s roof sustained significant damage during Hurricane Helene. Because the wing was no longer in use due to its condition and facility needs, it was not covered under the district's insurance policy at the time and did not meet FEMA eligibility requirements for assistance. Thus, the building has remained damaged and has deteriorated even more, causing serious safety hazards.

In an effort to mitigate this issue, the Board has agreed to tear down the structure, as after receiving bids from five companies for abatement and demolition, Board members selected TDC of Georgia, based out of Valdosta, to complete the project, which is funded through Education Special Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) funds. The demolition is expected to begin by the end of the month.

At this time, there are no plans for the area once the building has been removed.

Other Action Items Insurance

The Board also renewed their Georgia School Board Association Risk Management Insurance, which did not change or increase in price.

Policies

Board members completed the review of the District’s Policies Section I, as they adopted a second reading of the changes, which were completed over the past several months under the guidance of Georgia School Board Association representatives. They also completed a first reading of potential updates to the Financial Reports policy; these proposed changes will remain open for public comment until the next board meeting, when the policy is officially voted on. All policies are available online at mcboe.net or by calling the District at (912) 583-2301.

Personnel

Resignations were accepted for Bus Driver Sean Seapeck, Montgomery County Middle/High School Media Specialist Sahira Wadley, Montgomery County Middle/High School Teacher and Football Coach Josh Harrell, and Bus Driver Quentin Thornton.

Montgomery County Elementary School Teacher Sherri Covington’s retirement was accepted by the Board. Several new employees were hired during the meeting, including Shawna Dixon – Montgomery County Elementary School Paraprofessional; Maylee Burns – Montgomery County Elementary School Teacher; Mylinda “Mindy” Fulford – Montgomery County High School English Teacher; Kaylee Coleman – Montgomery County Elementary School Teacher; and Amy Sammons – Montgomery County Elementary School Teacher.

Sean Seapeck was rehired as a substitute bus driver. Montgomery County Middle School History Teacher Leslie Thomas will now be the Montgomery County Middle/High School Media Specialist.

Lauren Henderson was approved to serve as a Montgomery County Middle School Girls Softball Community Coach.

The number of days which the Montgomery County Middle School principal will work was increased from 210 days to 230 days.

Transfer of Funds

The Board authorized $500,000 to be moved from the District’s General Fund to the Capital Outlay Project Fund.

Field Trips and Fundraisers Two field trips for the Montgomery County High School Boys Basketball Program were approved, as the boys will travel to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) basketball camp and a two-night team retreat to Orlando, Florida. These trips will not be funded through the Board but come from the basketball team’s funds.

Board members also agreed to allow Montgomery County High School Principal Tracy McNeal sell Montgomery County Eagles merchandise to raise funds for school events. Strategic Plan Update

The Board accepted updates to the District’s strategic plan; this plan may be reviewed by the public by calling the District.

Superintendent’s Report Senior Citizen Interviews Superintendent Ronda Hightower informed the Board that the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council had worked to interview senior citizens in their families and churches, and took a field trip to the Montgomery County Senior Citizen Center, where they interviewed more of these individuals. The students then wrote stories and accounts of the interviews and published the tales in a book.

State Recognition

Hightower announced that the Montgomery County Elementary School Third Graders have received the Georgia Department of Education John Hancock Award for their ability to write their name in cursive, and the Montgomery County High School had been named as a Literacy Leader by the Department because the school’s English Language Arts test scores had in-

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creased over 20% in reading on grade level. She stated that the teachers responsible for these honors will be recognized during the August meeting of the Board of Education.

Beta Club

The Montgomery County Beta Club has been recognized again as a District of Distinction, as the school system has active Beta Clubs at all three levels – elementary, middle, and high school.

Testing Data

Georgia Milestone Assessment data has been sent out, and the District’s third grade math scores had more than 10% improvement; the high school’s algebra concepts students also had the highest scores that they have had in the three years the test has existed. Fifth grade science and biology both achieved higher than 10% improvement, and they also achieved the highest achievement scores in five years.

“Look at how many areas our agricultural pathway students gained 10% or higher in. That is outstanding to me. That is a vast majority. That is all but two or three of those pathways, and our students made over 10% gains. When you get a 10% gain, that is a good jump – so, I am very proud of them,” Hightower told the Board.

Improvement and learning in reading and math were also seen through the District’s IReady assessment scores. “I-Ready is also an assessment that we use throughout the year to monitor students' achievement and to respond with some time intervening with their scores and with their needs that they have identified by those scores. You can see a lot of our grades made gains, and you can see third-grade reading, fifthgrade reading, seventhgrade reading, and thirdgrade math all achieved 10% or higher,” she added.

She explained that the Montgomery County Elementary, Middle, and High School Principals are currently working to collect this data and will discuss methods of continuing to improve student performance during a single day retreat on June 25. Exemplary Committee Assessment Hightower shared the two community members, two board members, and two staff members recently completed the Georgia School Board Association Exemplary Board Assessment, during which the group came together to discuss recommendations for the school in the future, which included to begin charging tuition for outof county students, to have a high school graduation plan and transcript audit, to further share the Board chain of command policy and graphic, to ensure teachers take safety drills seriously, and to increase recognition of students who demonstrate good character and citizenship.