The Macon County Board of Education took advantage of its April meeting at Iotla Valley Elementary School to recognize and honor school staff and scholarship recipients, speak with AstroTurf about building a new soccer field, and approve a request to return Bartram Academy to a five-day schedule.
The board took some time at the beginning of the meeting to recognize the dedication and accomplishments of local teachers and students, with Iotla Valley principal Michelle Bell passing recognitions to Teacher of the Year Elise Parham, Support Person of the Year (and perhaps future teacher, Bell said) Katie Wiggins, and Outstanding Educator Larry Pickens. Student Nathan McAllister was recognized for receiving the Morehead-Cain Scholarship and Graham Caldwell for being admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Bartram Academy
Principal Brian Moffitt of Bartram Academy requested the board approve a measure to return Bartram to a five-day schedule. Moffitt said the unusual schedule had received a variety of reactions from parents and community members, not always negative but always surprised.
Moffitt said, however, that the schedule had been a necessary measure to account for a lack of available teachers. Now the school has been able to fill enough positions that, despite losing another staff member, it will be able to return to the five-day schedule without issue. Moffitt added that this would also allow teachers and students to adapt to the new schedule before joining Franklin High School in the new school once construction has finished.
Bus drivers essential
During a public comment period, Connie Dills spoke on behalf of herself and other Macon system bus drivers. Dills warned that bus drivers are aging, and that the board would have to find a way to attract younger employees in order to ensure the quality of school transportation.
Dills said that, though bus drivers are obviously essential to the school system, they are not treated as such. Pay and benefits for drivers do not reflect the effort they have to put in, and part-time workers who show up each day accumulate sick days they are unable to use. Drivers are left out of meetings with parents and are not treated as though their input is valuable. Dills requested the board consider options that would allow the system to entice younger bus drivers.
Highlands soccer field update
The board held a lengthy discussion with AstroTurf, which it expects to hire to build a new soccer field for Highlands School. Representatives with the company said they had seen concerning signs of groundwater and irrigation that could affect the pricing for their full services. Though they were confident they could design a drainage system that could prevent issues with the new field, they said they would be unable to give an accurate cost estimate without further surveying, for which they would have to be hired.
The board requested that AstroTurf develop a contract that would include all steps and expenses that would accompany a $60,000 design phase to be presented at the board’s May 19 meeting.