The Simpson County School Board appears to be getting back to an agenda that does not focus on pandemic planning following Governor Tate Reeves’ orders to loosen Covid-19 restrictions.
At last Thursday’s board meeting, board member Stan Bulger announced that he had been to a reception acknowledging the first female African American medical doctor in Magee and wanted to make a point that the children in Simpson County could use Dr. Rita Redd as a mentor to show them that they, too, can have successful careers if they apply themselves.
Board member Lillie Hardy reminded the board that physicians Dr. Lee and Dr. Phillips were from Mendenhall, in addition to Dr. Dennis Adams and a Black dentist.
Board President Danny Cowart commented that he had just completed the School Board Annual Conference meeting, which was all conducted virtually. Hardy asked the board to allow her to travel to the National School Board Conference because there are so many programs the county could qualify through that meeting. The event is set for April 8-10 in New Orleans.
Jerry Walker, director of busing and maintenance, explained to the board the new process of working school bus turn-arounds. He said the County Board of Supervisors will be responsible for maintaining the turn-arounds in the future, and the district will submit a list to the county for inventory. Currently over 150 turn-arounds are actively used by county school buses.
Plans are being made for demolition and building of a new class facility between the Mendenhall Elementary campus and Mendenhall High School to create space to allow Mendenhall students to remain in elementary school through the fifth grade as is now being done in Magee. The initial plans were estimated to cost in the $2.1 million range and have escalated to $2.2 million because of drainage issues and the need for awnings to protect children in inclement weather.
The legal notices for bidding on the project should appear in next week’s paper, according to JH&H Architecture firm. The goal is for construction to take 12 to 13 months and the new classrooms to be occupied by the fall of 2023.
Cowart noted that this will reduce the middle school population by 25 percent and should have a very positive impact on the children and their scoring.
Judith Jones, director of nursing for the schools, reported to the school board that the number of cases of Covid-19 had lessened, and that staff and faculty will be able to start vaccinations at locations to be announced at the end of this week’s Spring Break.
Bulger asked about the use and effectiveness of digital scanners to detect whether students or staff have a fever. This is checked in the morning when everyone accesses the building through the same entrance. Jones said they have been very useful.
A representative of each of the county schools classified as underperforming on standards reported their current scoring and indicated that all were showing marked improvement.
The reports were given by principals Dr. Brad Blake for Magee High, Tracye Pierre for Magee Middle and Sydney Magee for Mendenhall Jr. High. They reported in most cases having improved scores as well as meeting growth requirements.
