An unofficial summary of discussions, presentations, and actions of the Columbia County Board of Education

April 25, 2006

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Charles Green expressed to the Board his concern for the legal fees paid to attorneys and the additional cost of equipping satellite navigation systems on school buses.
 

BOARD ITEMS:
The Board has reviewed both evaluation instruments (old and new from GSBA) and the Board may use a combination of both for the Superintendent's Evaluation. 

NEXT MEETING:
The next scheduled Board meeting will be a Regular Session on May 9 at the Evans Government Complex in Evans at 6:00pm.

The agenda for the next BOE  meeting can be found here and is updated by the Friday before the next BOE meeting.

BOARD APPROVALS
Consent Items.  The Board gave tentative approval of consent items: minutes of 3/28/06 and 4/11/06, March financials, employee travel, fundraisers, and memorandum of understanding with Family Connections for 21st Century Grant Application..
Budget Amendments/Transfers. The Board gave tentative approval to the following General Fund or Special Revenue Amendments/Transfers: Budget Amendment No. 37 - Matching grant funds from Monsanto for North Columbia Elementary ($2500); Budget Transfer No. 9 - Transfer funds for Belair Elementary special $10,000 Board grant; Budget Transfer No. 10 - Transfer funds for Title I School Improvement funds for Grovetown Middle.
Resolution. The Board approved the resolution honoring retiring personnel for 2005-2006.  The retirement reception will be held on May 2 at Westlake.
Graduation Waivers/Variance Requests.  The Board approved all the requests from current and previous students (total 32) for waivers/variances to the State Board of Education for high school graduation requirements.
Appeal of Library Book, The Same Stuff As Stars.  The Board unanimously approved to remove the book, The Same Stuff As Stars from all elementary school media centers based on parent's appeal of System Committee's decision and the concerns over the use of inappropriate language/content.
Approval of 2008-2009 School Calendar.  The Board gave final approval of the 2008-2009 calendar that follows the same timeline as the approved 2007-2008 calendar.  Sixteen out of Twenty-eight school surveyed, indicated to include Memorial Day as a holiday. Click here to see calendar.
 

BUILDING PROGRAM
Project Update.   Mr. Price updated the Board on the various building projects going on within the county: Evans Middle (projected completion date of 7/1/06), and the New Administration Building (projected completion date 5/17/06). The move for the central office is scheduled for May 11.
Underground Easement to Georgia Power for Installation of Distribution Feeders at Greenbrier High Schools.  The Board granted the underground easement to Georgia Power, which is near the new General Woods Parkway, and associated with the construction at the back of GHS.
Site Lease Agreement for T-Mobile Tower.  The Board gave final approval for a lease agreement with T-Mobile for a communication tower to be located on Evans High School property.  The lease agreement is expected to generate funds to the system anywhere from $500-1100/month


SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
County Commission's Interest in BOE owned property (old Leah School).  Mr. Price presented to the Board the County Commission's request indicating their interest of four acres of land that the BOE owns that was the old Leah School property.  The Board directed Mr. Price to begin discussion with the county and negotiate a price for the four acres.
Collaborative Planning.  The Board added this item to the BOE agenda for discussion and update from Dr. Williams.
Mr. Price reminded the Board of a few special events.
Five Year GADOE Facility Visit, Thursday, April 27,2006
Budget Study Session - May 2 @ 8:00am, Appling
Retirement Reception - May 2 @ 2:30pm, Westlake
Nurses Appreciation Breakfast - May 11 @ 8:00am, Brandon Wilde
Proposed Rollback Millage Hearing Schedule:
- July 11 @ 7:30am, 6:00pm, Board of Education
- July 18 @ 10:30am, Savannah Rapids Pavilion
Dedication of New Admin Building - July 25 @ 4:00pm

PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS
On the recommendations of Superintendent Price, the personnel recommendations were approved as presented. 

This newsletter is produced by the Superintendent's Office.  Any questions can be directed to Karen Ribble