The November meeting of the Jones County Board of Education was a marathon, including two hours of presentations from the administrative staff and comments from concerned citizens.
Board Chairman Ginger Bailey called the Nov. 11 meeting to order and thanked all school employees for their part in student success.
Board member Dr. Nancy Nash thanked all veterans for their service.
“Every day should be Veterans Day,” she said.
In his report, Interim School Superintendent Clinton Burston talked about the REACH Scholarship Program and the students who were selected for the scholarships that were presented last month.
It is a needs-based program, and the students will receive $10,000 upon completion of high school. The two scholarship participants are Kennedy Gault and Timothy Rogers.
Burston also congratulated all the coaches and students participating in extra-curricular programs.
“We need to educate the entire child,” he said.
Lastly, Burston acknowledged participants in the Aspiring Leaders program: Christin White, Amy Thompson, Erin Scroggs, Candance Page, Charm Mapp, Walter Prestwood, Sherrod Rockmore and Felicia Skinner.
The board does not seem to encourage public comments at its meetings. At the Nov. 11 meeting, for example, the two people who requested to be on the agenda were placed last on the agenda, following two hours of presentations and all other board business.
It is a common practice of the board to place the comments at the end for those who went through the process of being placed on the agenda. Without signing up, no comments are allowed.
That is not a welcoming practice for the highest taxing agency in the county.
Board member Brady Skinner did make a motion after the presentations to move the comments before the action items.
Belinda Chaney was the first to give her comments. She is a retired educator and raised questions about the qualifications of the sole finalist as posted on the school system’s website. She also asked for information about the other two finalists.
Chaney made a chart comparing the qualifications of the sole finalist, Dr. Jessica Graves, with Burston.
“I’m asking for a greater clarity of how these qualifications were evaluated and how this decision aligns with the standards set forth for the position,” she said. “I just want some transparency.”
The next speaker was Audrey Mays, also a retired educator, former employee of the school system and a product of the Jones County School System. Mays said she is a believer in the public school system.
“My whole family went through here, and many in my family work here,” she said.
She said a dedicated educator gives their all to the system and students.
“Over the years, I’ve watched Clinton Burston give all of this to the school system,” she said. “He has completed any roll that was asked of him, as he has done as interim superintendent.”
Mays questioned the amount of time committed by Graves to her previous positions. Her request was for the board to reconsider their decision.
A member of the audience asked if the citizens were going to get an answer to their questions. The answer from the board attorney was the policy of the board was not to answer questions.
Chaney said, at the past meeting, the board did answer questions at length from parents.
Bailey did say the superintendent search was done by the Georgia School Board Association, and it was professionally done.
Chaney asked again if Jones County board compared the candidates and chose Graves. The chairman said the decision of the board was unanimous and thanked those who spoke for their comments.
Sole finalist?
It is hard to determine when the idea of the sole finalist became acceptable. The practice that is now common, especially with boards of education, appears to be a mechanism to get around the open records requirement to release the names of up to three candidates in the selection process. It is difficult to understand the reason for the practice other than to keep the hiring process behind closed doors and hidden from the public.
This is not the fault of the candidates but cannot help but affect public perception.
The argument by boards of education that they are following what they are told to do by the Georgia School Board Association is not valid. The boards are not governed by the GSBA. The truth is the GSBA performs services for the board and is well paid for its services.
If boards abide by recommendations of the GSBA, it is by choice.
Any questions about the other candidates were answered, as was in the Nov. 11 meeting, by a canned response from the board’s chairman or GSBA attorney that it is the board’s policy not to answer questions.
Instead of answering any questions, those asking were thanked for their comments and dismissed.
Information session
Following the superintendent’s report, presentations were heard about family engagement by Shelly Edwards and Shelby Henderson; curriculum by Christine Giles, Kristen Beaver and Shelby Henderson; federal/assessment, Stacy Carr; parent engagement/ alternative school, Leslie Poythress; special education/gifted, Dr. Lauren Sheffield; student services, Dr. Tevis Killen; College and Career Academy, Lisa Collins; and human resources, Jennifer Holland.
Poythress also presented for building maintenance.
The presenters were asked by Burston to limit their reports to five minutes. The only administrator who complied with that request was Killen. He stated that Community Health Care Systems would be back in Jones County High School for school-based mental health services on Wednesdays from 1-5 p.m. and employees can also schedule sessions.
Future plans include the services in middle and elementary schools.
Killen said there were three students receiving homebound services, and there had been 21 tribunals so far this school year. He said there are 12 unhoused students.
The presentations can be heard in their entirety on the website jones.k12. ga.us, under the tab About Us / Jones County Board of Education.
Finance report
JCSS Chief Financial Officer Tonya Merritt gave the finance report for the month ending Oct. 31, which is 33.33 percent of the school year.
Total revenues are $17,817,656 and total expenditures $22,199,470. The ending cash balance is $20,660,010.
Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax collections for October were reported as $345,066 with the average monthly revenue $321,341.
Action items
Burston recommended approval of a contract with CDW-Government to purchase 100 HP Fortis G10 Chromebooks and Google Chrome Education Upgrade licenses for Gray Elementary School under the Sourcewell contract at an estimated cost of $28,989, utilizing funds from Title I.
The contract was approved with a vote of 4-1 with Skinner opposed. The board member has repeatedly made it know he is not a fan of Chromebooks.
All other recommendations by Burston were unanimously approved.
• Schoolcalendarfor 2026-27 school year
• ContractwithNolandA Winsupply Company to purchase an AO Smith Water Heater for Gray Elementary School for estimated cost of $12,503 utilizing funds from the Maintenance and Operations Budget
• Finalpayrollaudit for the 2024 policy year with the Georgia Education Workers’ Compensation Trust for the 2024 Workers’ Compensation Premium Audit for $14,690 utilizing funds from the General Fund Budget
• ContractwithVPrime Tech Inc to purchase Endpoint Detection and Response Software for the Jones County School System for the estimated cost of $18,536 utilizing funds from the technology budget At the conclusion of the action items, board members entered into closed session. They returned to vote on a list of personnel recommendations, and the meeting was adjourned.
The next scheduled meeting of the board is Dec. 9. It is anticipated a called meeting will be held next week for a vote to hire the new superintendent.
