BOARD OF EDUCATION
Jones County Board of Education members were presented with a lot of information at their recent workshop pertaining to administrative issues as well as updates about curriculum, enrollment numbers and student safety.
The Sept. 7 work session was called to order by Board Chairman Ginger Bailey, and the first discussion was from School Superintendent Charles Lundy. All Board of Education members attended the work session.
The superintendent began by congratulating Dames Ferry Elementary’s NASA STEM Day that culminated with a link with the International Space Center and a question- and-answer session with astronauts.
“It was an excellent activity and an honor for Dames Ferry to be chosen,” Lundy said.
The superintendent said the school system had received a significant increase in Education Local Option Sales Tax collections, and he received a letter from the Georgia Department of Revenue with an explanation.
The letter dated Aug. 25 stated the department discovered a coding issue due to an upgrade that impacted the process from September of 2022 to Aug. 18. The letter stated the Board of Education would receive $93,365, which would be included in the August distribution.
The superintendent said he was contacted by Georgia Power about the need to increase some easements and clean up the areas. He said the school system would be paid for the additional easements.
Lundy gave board members dates for state of the school presentations from each school in the district. He said the presentations would take place Sept. 19 and 21 in the board room.
The superintendent also talked about an appeal sent to the state concerning the county’s 2022 sales ratio study. He said he was contacted by Chief Appraiser Anthony George about a problem with the state’s sales ratio study for the county.
Lundy said over half of the counties in Georgia had the same issue, and George would represent the board in the appeal.
He said all those items would be on the agenda for the Sept. 12 meeting for approval.
The superintendent announced the first JCHS JROTC Raider Competition would be held Sept. 16 with teams from 20 schools competing. The competition is open to the public.
Chairman report
Bailey also talked about the NASA event at DFES that morning. She said it was a wonderful celebration and only two schools in the nation had been selected for the honor.
The chairman added that was not the only issue that deserved celebrating. She said the Georgia State test scores had come out. She said “School Digger” is a public website that takes the scores and ranks all Georgia’s 244 school districts.
Bailey said Jones County increased 14 points to rank 61st.
“I have followed the website for several years and don’t remember ever being a four-star district,” she said. “Through Mr. Lundy’s leadership, the executive cabinet, administrators, educators and staff members who are dedicated and worked hard to teach our children has these four out of five stars been made possible,” The chairman said there is still room for improvement, but she feels it is important to celebrate achievements.
“Success is what we are here to achieve. This board thanks you for your hard work, dedication and your love for our children,” she said.
Information session
Felicia Skinner started the session by introducing Jones County High School’s class officers for 2024. The officers are 12th grade Class President Isaiah Dennis and VP Rylie Faulk; 11th grade President Rhett Perry and VP Paris Cobb; 10th grade President Ziyan Miller and VP Johnathon Van Patton; and ninth grade President Jayce White and VP Jayda Round.
Raymond Braziel spoke to board members about funds received from Coronavirus Response Supplemental Appropriations in his ESSER reports. He said the total budget for Esser II was $3,172,696 and $7,131,871 from Esser III.
Braziel went over how the funds were spent, including technology, additional pay for teachers and staff, professional learning, books for media centers, STEM activities, and school safety.
He said all funds must be expensed or encumbered by Sept. 30, 2024.
Braziel said student health surveys will be mandatory this school year. He talked about school safety plans, intruder alert drills, the anti-gang endorsement and applications for available grants.
Curriculum Director Mary Frances Stewart spoke about the ‘new math’ and emphasized that the math standards had not changed. She said what has changed is the new focus, which is on reasoning and contextual learning.
“Math can’t change; it’s the universal language,” the director stated.
Stewart said there are actually fewer standards per grade level, and some standards have shifted in others. She said there would be no harm on the Milestones testing for this year and noted that manipulatives have been provided for every teacher.
Board members were provided sample lesson plans for several of the standards.
Assessment and Federal Programs Director Charlotte Foskey spoke about the Milestones report received in the spring. She explained that each school has an assessment team that meets regularly.
She said the assessments included reading, ELA and math for third through eighth grades, social studies for eighth grade and science for fifth and eighth grades for physical science and biology.
Foskey said a few of the takeaways from the results for Jones County were the highest reading status in three years, third year above state average for ELA and the highest score in three years for math.
“That shows we are going in the right direction,” she said.
The director led board members in an exercise to look at the numbers and see things they noticed and what they might wonder about. Board members noticed the decline of scores during the pandemic and wondered about a group that appeared to do better in reading each year.
Foskey pointed out that the number of free and reduced lunches increase each year, but Jones County’s numbers continue to get better.
“That means our teachers and hard-working students are making it happen,” she said.
The final presentation was from Clinton Burston, accountability and school improvement director. As the clock showed the length of the work session clicking toward the two-hour mark, he pledged to be brief.
He presented the enrollment numbers as of Sept. 7. Burston said the total enrollment was 5,008, which is a small decrease from previous years. He pointed out, however, that it is early in the year and students continue to enroll.
He said FTE data is reported as of the first week in October, and that is the information used by the state for funding. The speaker broke down the numbers by school, students with disabilities, gifted students and minorities.
Burston talked about reason for student withdrawals and the number of Jones County students attending private schools. He also broke down the numbers for staff members.
At the conclusion of his report, the work session was adjourned.
The next meeting of the Board of Education was the regularly scheduled meeting, Sept. 12.
