At the Simpson County School Board meeting on March 14, Mark Hudson of Mendenhall High School was celebrated as the District Band Director of the Year, and the Magee Middle School Boys and Girls teams were honored as district basketball champs.
During board comments, member Stan Bulger expressed concern for the MS Hub project for natural gas that has existed in the county for years. He said the current owners are impeding the tax base of the property, which will have a negative effect on the county.
Bulger said, “If this entity gets no taxes or little taxes the tax base of the county will suffer. I am concerned on how this issue is being handled.”
Bulger said he believes the public should question what is going on. He said the new owners of the property are arguing that they should be taxed only on what they paid for the property since they paid little for it. But he said the owners are arguing that the taxes assessed should be based on the purchase value instead of the higher cost the county assessed to the property.
Bulger said, “We’re talking about millions of dollars here and the entity is arguing that they paid little money for the property so they should be taxed at that value. It’s very important that we don’t let them get away with this and we are using the proper legal counsel for this case. It’s important to the schools but even more important to the taxpayers.”
Bulger also commented on school attendance officers and explained that they do not work for the school district. He said the district does not have any influence over these officers because they work for MDE to support the district.
Bulger said, “These people are paid very little wages, and they are asked to do a whole lot of work.”
Board Secretary Danny Cowart commented that the new tax base went down 3 percent. He also said the board went to Dallas and sat in on training on how to include businesses in their strategic planning for the schools.
Cowart also commented that the district is close to getting a ruling that he believes will be in their favor and that the district will then be able to build the proposed consolidated high school, which he said is important to everyone who needs a strong public school system. He said, “It will happen unless the anti-public-school people win.”
The consent agenda was approved with some discussion on new job descriptions for the director of technology, secretary of maintenance and transportation, district level academic interventionist, and district level academic instructional specialist.
Board Vice President Lillie Hardy expressed concern regarding the new job descriptions. She said the district has policies and job descriptions in place and when there are proposals to change what is in place the board should know why and how the changes are made.
Superintendent Dr. Paul Lawrence said that the maintenance and transportation secretary was to help the director of the department, Jeffery Walker, assisting him with handling purchase orders and communicating with parents and schools about important changes to the bus schedule to make bus transportation more efficient. Dr. Lawrence said the district will have one person in charge of getting that message out to everyone and handling purchase orders, along with other duties.
The director of technology position currently requires a bachelor’s degree, and the new description changes it to an associate’s degree with six years of experience. Dr. Lawrence explained that many people in that field obtain an associate’s degree and then maintain certifications in specific areas.
He said there will be a reduction in the number of academic interventionists in the district, which is seven positions. He said the number can be reduced to five to save money due to a reduction in funding. He said facilitating the reduction in force would require a change in the job description.
He said the job description would change to allow academic interventionists to work grade bands of K-5 and 6-12 to reduce the number of staff across the district. One K-5 and 6-12 academic interventionist will be placed at Magee schools and Mendenhall schools, and one will be placed at Simpson Central for a total of five district wide.
Dr. Lawrence explained that ESSR positions went away because the district lost funding, which did not leave them with much choice. He also said a reduction in enrollment also led to a reduction in funds.
Hardy asked if these actions were in line with the district’s reduction in force policy and whether certification and credentials for the job would be considered. Human Resources Director Dr. Furlinda Travis said everyone in these positions would have an opportunity to apply. Dr. Travis said they will look to move employees elsewhere in the district if they did not want the position.
Dr. Lawrence said they are reducing the lead teachers from seven to four, who will become academic instructional specialists to will serve grade bands k-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Dr. Lawrence said to keep the cost of travel down, they will rotate among the schools and be stationed in Magee, Mendenhall, and Simpson Central for one or two days of the week. He said by doing grade bands the specialists can focus on needs of these students better. Dr. Lawrence said interested parties can apply for the position.
Cowart explained that the superintendent writes the job description and the board’s job is to make sure it is in place. Hardy said the board approves the job descriptions so they needed to review them. Member Stacey Herrin moved to discuss the job descriptions in executive session. Cowart and Bulger opposed the motion, which was carried via majority vote.
The board approved the financial report. Cowart stated that the district has not increased millage a significant amount over the years, and the rate has been stable. He said the district has only adjusted based on needs of the district and the rate is currently at 47.11 of a possible 55 mills.
Cowart commented on the claims docket that reflected power bills of nearly $14,000 and $24,000 for the two high schools. He highlighted how having one building would save this money each month. Bulger commented on the cost of utilities for running Mendenhall Jr. High.
The board approved to advertise for depository bids.
During his report, Dr. Lawrence said the district has applied for a pre-k grant and is currently waiting for approval. His reports included strategies to increase enrollment, and he announced that the Simpson County Technical Center is working with AirSouth to get a HVAC program started.
Dr. Lawrence said, “We’re excited to get a workforce development program started to teach students these skills at the technical center.”
Dr. Lawrence updated the board on the hire of school resource officers. He said the process has moved to the point to hire, and he has worked it out with Sheriff Paul Mullins. He spoke on the impact that an SRO has on a school and highlighted the fewer disciplinary problems at Simpson Central than at any other school in the district because they have a deputy sheriff there to act as a mediator.
The validation to move forward with the consolidated high school is waiting on a ruling by the Supreme Court. The issue is expected to go before them in mid-April and will be dealt with on an expedited basis.
Brandy Hickman, a parent, appeared before the board to discuss safety concerns about the school, saying she is upset at the lack of security in the schools and wanting to know if grants have been applied for to assist Mendenhall Junior High. She discussed opportunities available through Homeland Security. The board invited her to share these grant possibilities with the superintendent.
Hickman said the board has been focused on consolidation and needs to be focused on safety and security now for kids in the school system. Hickman said the district has lost money because people are moving away from our schools. She said that an incident happened with her child at Mendenhall Jr. High, and her plans are for the child is not to come back next year.
Hickman said, “We need to make sure all of our kids are safe and should put consolidation on the back burner.”
Bulger responded that he has spoken against Mendenhall Jr. High for the last 10 meetings.
He said, “We have too many buildings to secure and consolidation helps with that. If there was a quick fix, believe me this board would have done it already.”
Cowart said, “Consolidation is the only answer I can see for your problem. We have had two studies that say ‘don’t put money into Mendenhall Jr. High.’ This would already be fixed if it had not been for the objectors.”
Herrin expressed a need to address bullying and to remove the bullies from school.
Following more discussion the board entered executive session to discuss personnel and job descriptions before adjourning the meeting.
