Franklin County Schools superintendent of education Greg Hamilton had some good news for his board at their February 27 meeting, as the system had an ending fund balance after January of 2018 of $732,977.55.
Alabama public schools are required to maintain a fund equal to one month’s operating expenses in reserve. This is the largest sum Franklin County Schools has held in reserve since Hamilton took office last January.
Hamilton updated the Franklin County Board of Education on the status of several projects in the system. The Tharptown School cafeteria project (Phase One) is underway, as ground work has started and a secure fence has been installed.
At Belgreen, there are new roofs on the Career Tech Center and the old lunchroom, and those projects passed inspection, Hamilton said. The system will send out bids for the new serving line at the East Franklin Junior High School classroom. Franklin County Schools received an $83,000 grant for the project. The current serving line consists of pieces of serving lines that were replaced at other schools.
At Phil Campbell, the field house project is finished. Hamilton said a broken water line had flooded the cafeteria and field house.
As for the prolonged battle with the State of Alabama Division of Risk Management regarding damages to the Vina band hall/science lab building, Hamilton said they are still in negotiation and he expects a definitive answer in March.
Actions taken by the board at its February 27 meeting included:
- Approval of out-of-state trips for Phil Campbell High School SADD Club to Six Flags in Atlanta (April 27, 2018), PCHS ACCESS class to St. Jude and Memphis Zoo (April 19, 2018), Vina third grade to Memphis Zoo (April 19), Vina High School softball team to Tremont, Miss. (March 8) and Vina kindergarten to Buffalo Park and Zoo in Tupelo (April 10).
- Approval of the construction of a new softball concession stand and restrooms at Red Bay High School at no cost to the board.
- Awarding a bid to Suburban Propane as lowest responsible bidder for liquefied petroleum gas and equipment for new school buses at a bid price of $.58 markup per gallon. The 44 new buses purchased by the system will run on propane fuel. Propane tanks will be installed at all schools except East Franklin. The new buses are expected to be delivered in late April, Hamilton said.
- Approval of personnel actions including leave of absence for: Holley Lewey, Red Bay kindergarten teacher, through the end of the school year; Resignation in supplement for Candi Fuller, junior high cheerleader coach at Red Bay; Resignation of Elizabeth Hill, Youth Tobacco Grant Coordinator, effective Feb. 9; Retirement of Carla Hutto, Parent Educator/Curriculum Facilitator for Franklin County Schools, effective March 1; Transfer of Lisa McCleese, Special Education Aide, from East Franklin to Phil Campbell Elementary; Employment of Myra Coats, Child Nutrition Program Assistant at Red Bay High School and Kendra Ward, temporary special education aide at Red Bay; Volunteer boat captains at Belgreen High School including Junior Willingham, Kenneth Sykes, Trent Vandiver, Tracy Hovater and Jeremy Donahoe. Substitute boat captains at Belgreen including Shannon Oliver, Justin Boyles and Michael Stevens; Kaitlyn Vandiver as volunteer softball coach at Tharptown; Dustin Welch as volunteer softball coach at Belgreen and Tynes Channel as volunteer baseball coach at Vina; New teacher substitute Madison Thompson.
The next regular meeting of the Franklin County Board of Education will be March 20 at 5:15 p.m., with work session at 5 p.m.
