The October meeting of the Jones County Board of Education began on a high note with the report of a good showing of the district following the release of information from the Office of Federal Programs.
The report listed at least one school in the district on the distinguished school list. This recognition means the school is among the top five percent of Georgia’s Title I schools for overall performance, based on combined ELA and Math scores from the FY24 school year.
Chairman Ginger Bailey called the Oct. 14 meeting to order and talked about the report of Jones County’s schools on the website schooldigger.com. The district is ranked 48th out of 206 in the state, which puts in in the top 25 percent.
“We need to celebrate the good work of our teachers and administrators,” Bailey said. “Their hearts are in it.”
Board member Brady Skinner acknowledged the number of people in attendance at the meeting. Additional chairs were brought in to accommodate the crowd, which was estimated at 20 parents in addition to the staff and administrators.
“It’s nice to have people in the community here. It’s good to be involved in our schools,” he said.
In his report, Interim Superintendent Clinton Burston said he was aware of the literacy concerns of some parents. He said he has a team being selected to work with teachers to review the materials.
In addition to teachers, the 12-member team will include media specialists, parents and board members.
Burston said the Jones County High School renovation was nearing completion with two fire doors remaining. He said work also needs to be done on the kitchen floor, the floor of the equipment room, small animal barn, cross country fence and a well.
The superintendent said the projects would be submitted in one proposal. He added that the fiveyear plan for Clifton Ridge Middle School was another project underway.
Family Connection Coordinator Joy Carr presented the board with information about the receipt of the Georgia School Based Health Planning Grant. She said the grant is in the amount of $10,000. The intent of the project is to improve attendance, which improves student success.
Carr explained the planning grant is to fund a 12-month process to consider a school-based health center.
“We want to increase the quality of healthcare to students and determine the best fit for Jones County,” she said.
She announced that Operation Early Intervention received a $12,500 grant to address truancy and that Jones County was chosen as School District of the Year by the Hopegivers organization.
Finance report
JCSS CFO Tonya Merritt presented the financial report for the month ending Sept. 30, which was 25 percent of the school year. The total revenue is $13,413,560 and total expenditures $16,693,975. The ending cash in the bank is $21,761,409.
Merritt reported Education SPLOST collections of $316,954 for the month of September, and the average monthly collection $321,990.
Public comments
The tone of the meeting changed, however, with public comments that were moved ahead of actions items at the request of Skinner. The speakers on the agenda were Guthrie Collins and Brooke Makarem.
The Arts and Letters Curriculum was unanimously adopted by the Board of Education in April to comply with new requirements due to the Early Literacy Act, HB 538, that was passed in 2023. It was part of a package that included the 95 Phonics Core Program and Universal & Dyslexia Screener at a price tag of $1.3 million.
Collins stated at the beginning of his remarks that he came from a diverse family that included a Black brother. He said his concerns began with a book he read from the third grade reading list to his daughters, “When Marion Sang.”
He said it was a great story, but in his opinion the book contained racial slurs.
Collins said he asked his daughters what they learned from the story, and their response was, “Why did white people hate Black people so much back then?”
He said his daughters are too young to learn about civil rights.
“This curriculum is disgusting, it is dangerous, and It has to be taken away from our school,” Collins stated.
Makarem said she is the parent of a first grader and asked how the curriculum was chosen.
“We spent $1.3 million on a curriculum that needs to be overhauled,” she said.
The mother said first and second grade are not the time to teach children about civil rights.
She said the books had inappropriate content across them all.
Skinner said Burston was already taking steps to have all the books reviewed, and Makarem said all the books should have been read before they were placed in the classroom.
Skinner and board members Kim Washburn and Dr. Nancy Nash appeared to agree there was a problem with the books. Washburn suggested trying to get money back for the curriculum, and Nash stated five years with the curriculum was a long time.
“We are telling you we are going to fix this,” Washburn said.
Skinner is the only board member who said he read all the books on the reading list, and Nash had read some of the books. He said he found some of the pictures in the books graphic for the age group but saw no problem with 85 percent of the books.
Bailey said if the books are found to be offensive, they will be pulled from the list, but the entire curriculum should not be thrown out.
The comments began with the parents on the agenda and then spread to others in the room.
Markarem said teachers have told her they were being forced to teach what they felt was inappropriate material, but they were afraid to report it.
Skinner asked any teacher who is afraid to speak up to email him.
Those comments can be heard in their entirety on the website jones.k12. ga.us under the heading of ‘about us’ and then ‘JC Board of Education.’
The books referenced by the parents as well as “When Marian Sang” were “Starry Messenger,” “Ready to Fly,” “Ruby Bridges Goes to School,” and “Amos & Boris.”
Observation
This reporter spent the afternoon Oct. 15, reading books on the Arts and Letters curriculum reading list. The word beginning with N and ending with O that was stated to be offensive was “Negro,” and the word beginning with C was “colored.” Whether those words are considered inappropriate or offensive appears to be with the reader.
The book “When Marian Sang” was published in 2024. According to Burston, the book is on the reading list but not available at the school because the vetting process was not complete. Collins said he checked out the book from the public library.
Literacy Specialist Kristine Beaver said the books are being used specifically with lessons in the curriculum to teach different topics. The book “Ready to Fly,” about the young girl wanting to be a ballerina, was in a lesson about what can be learned from books. It is on the first grade reading list. After not being able to go to dance school, Sylvia Townsend became the Bookmobile Ballerina, learning to dance using books she checked out of a bookmobile.
It was agreed it was a wonderful story. The complaint about the book was Townsend was told she could not go to dance class because she is Black.
Beaver said Arts and Letters is the district’s first knowledge-building curriculum in which all teachers use the same authentic texts.
Previously it was up to teachers to find books to go along with the lessons.
The objection to “Amos and Boris” was stated as depicting suicidal ideation. It was on the third grade reading list. The story is about a mouse named Amos who builds a boat to sail in the ocean. Amos is swept overboard by a wave and was left floundering in the water. He was later rescued by Boris the whale. Later in the story, Amos was able to return the favor by saving Boris, who had washed up on shore after a storm.
The suicidal ideation appears to be a thought the mouse had when thinking he might drown, wondering what that would be like.
The books are available to every board member to read the books themselves before making a decision about pulling the books or removing the entire curriculum.
The question might also be asked as to why a parent, grandparent or teacher would read their child a book they had not read first.
Action items
Burston recommended the following action items be approved. All but the Chromebooks and licenses were approved unanimously. That item was approved 4-1 with Skinner opposed.
• ContractwithFun and Function LLC to purchase sensory toys and tools for Dames Ferry Elementary School for an estimated cost of $20,808, utilizing funds from Title 1
• Contractwith95 Percent Group to purchase the Phonics Core Program for Dames Ferry Elementary School and Gray Elementary School for an estimated cost of $19,965 for DFES and $10,890 for GES for the combined estimate of $30,855 utilizing funds from Title I
• ContractwithIXL Learning to purchase the annual IXL Site License Renewal in for English, Math, Science and Social Studies for Clifton Ridge and Gray Station Middle Schools and DFES. Estimated of $11,162 for CRMS $12,925 DFES $16,870 GSMS for combined estimate of $40,957 utilizing funds from Title I
• ContractwithDiscovery Education to purchase Dreambox Reading plus license for CRMS for estimated cost of $21,700 and Dreambox Math Advanced Licenses for DFES for estimated cost of $18,150 for combined estimate of $39,850 utilizing funds from Title 1
• Contractwith CDW-Government to purchase 50 HP Fortis G10 Chromebooks and Google Chrome Education upgrade licenses for CRMS and 90 HP Fortis G10 Chrome Education upgrade
• LicensesforJones County High School under the Sourcewell Contract with estimated cost of $12,250 for CRMS and $22,250 for JCHS for a combined estimate cost of $34,300 utilizing funds from Title I
• ContractwithAtlanta Access Controls Inc to purchase access controls and installation services for GSMS and CRMS for estimated cost of $16,807 utilizing funds from State QBE Security Funds After the actions items were approved, the meeting was adjourned to go into closed session. At the conclusion of the session, the board returned and the meeting reopened. The only item of business was the approval of the personnel actions that were discussed in the closed session, and the meeting was adjourned.
