CCBOE Regular Session 8/13/2024 Notes

Invocation: Martinez Baptist Church Youth Pastor Navin Jeremiadoss

Special Recommendation:

Martinez Elementary School Assistant Principal: Melissa Buzzell. 5 yay, 0 no

Special Recognitions

Board Comments and Acknowledgements:

 (notes of comments in regards to Westmont ES)

Kristi Baker - Amazed at the school & keeping the school together.  I appreciate everything that y’all have done. (She also took a picture of a kid at Open House at Grovetown MS because he had an awesome shirt and looked so happy!)

Alalof: Westmont will open soon. He’s been going there everyday and talking to the contractors.

Approval of Consent Items: 5 yay, 0 no

Board Policies I, Instructional Program

IB-ICE changes covered during last meeting, vote 5 yay, 0 no

IED-end: wording changes, moving from policy to procedure. Changes will be available for public input and will vote on changes at the next meeting.

Building Program

1. Project Update

   1. Westmont: 

      1. They were supposed to move in on the 1st day of school but then there was a hurricane.

      2. The contractor is confident that they can move-in on Friday but they have a contingency plan because they’ve been told 2x before they can move in and then the date was changed.

         1. Contingency: PAC is unavailable after Thursday so they will move students to the Support Complex and they will do field trips on Friday. Even if they can move in on Friday, they will keep the kids at the Support Complex. It’s not fair to cancel field trips for the students. They should be moved in at the new school by Monday, but if not, then the students will be in the Exhibition Center.

Discussion: Lee Ann Meyers asked if the contractor was paying to move all of the equipment to the different locations. Flynt said yes because that is written into the contract so moving all the students and equipment to the different locations is not an additional expense to the district. Flynt said the contractors are being very responsive. The county is also being very diligent. They are not shortcutting inspections and/or safety concerns. Kristi Baker said that at the Open House all of the parents & kids were so excited. She said it was really great to watch a group of team players coming together. Flynt agreed that this situation really brought the staff together and they’ve really bonded as a team. Kristi Baker also praised the construction workers because they are working so hard and spending so much time & dedication on the building. The public just doesn’t recognize how much hard work and dedication the workers have put into the construction of the school building. Mr. Alaloff agreed that the workers have worked so hard, and mentioned that Westmont won’t open until it’s safe and that when it opens it will be beautiful.

2. N Columbia

   1. Ahead of schedule

   2. Below ground work is (pipes and electric) is almost complete

3. Greenbrier HS

   1. Finished the work on the roof and the AC is working great now.

4. Lakeside HS

   1. Slab & Footers complete

   2. Parking lot has binder and will open 2nd semester

   3. Picking & dropping off is going very smoothly

5. Evans HS

   1. Actual construction just started.

   2. Underground detention pond with parking lot on top. They will have much more parking when it is complete.

2. Bid Result

   1. Ice Cream Warehouse $178,420 - approve 5, no 0

   2. Membership RESA $142,000(? I couldn’t see the amount so this is a guess. It should be in the minutes though). Approve 5, no 0

3. FY 2025 Capital Outlay Program Application, Approve 5, no 0

Balance Assessment System

Flynt had slides from the milestones. The stats were based on comparing our district to other districts with 1000+ students. Here are some of the stats I was able to write:

Elementary

• 2.6% increase in ELA scores

• Grade 3-5 ELA ranked 2nd in state proficient

• Grade 5 Science ranked 2nd in state

Middle

• 2.03% increase in proficient & distinguished

• Grades 6-7 ELA ranked 3rd

• Grade 8 ELA ranked 7th

• Grade 8 Physical Science ranked (missed it)

I didn’t catch the stats but they said the HS scores were in the top 10 too.

Public participation:

• Jessica Fisher brought up inconsistencies with the rankings that the district reported tonight compared to reporting in an article. According to that article, CC is not the top 10 in Georgia for any of the milestone results.

• Karin Parham brought up concerns regarding transparency in the 10-year building program. She suggested that the board move recognition to a separate day so that the board and district could spend more time at the meeting focusing on policy and oversight. She suggested that the board do quarterly walk-throughs of all building projects, with more frequent walk-throughs nearing completion. 

Board Items

• Sale of parcel of land behind Martinez ES - approve 5, no 0

• Purchase of 2 parcels of land - one at Meadow Land and one at Cox Road - approve 5, no 0

• Board thanked Scott Johnson @ County Board of Commissioners for all of his hard work and diligence.