001The February board meeting for the social circle board of education is now called to order. We will we will begin with a prayer followed by the pledge of allegiance. Our father At this time, I invite Staff Sergeant Carrie Burrow and Staff Sergeant Maria Jenkins of our high school JROTC unit to lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Please stand and remove your hats. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisibley and justice for all. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Wler, are there any changes to the agenda this evening? >> No, ma'am. No change. >> All right. Do I have a motion to approve the agenda as presented? Do I have a second? >> I second. >> Any discussion? >> All those in
002favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed like sign? Motion carries. The presented agenda is approved. The minutes from the virtual February 2nd regular board meeting and February 10th work session were provided to the board for review. Do I have a motion to approve both meetings minutes as presented? >> Do I have a second? >> Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed, like sign? Motion carries unanimous. The meeting minutes are approved. Um, we'd like to take to take a moment to thank you for coming this evening and also to share how our governance team made up of the board of education and the superintendent works together to support students and family. The board focuses on policy and long-term direction of social circle city schools. while the superintendent
003and his staff manage day-to-day operations of our district through well-defined chains of command. When questions or concerns arise, we ask that families and community members to follow the chain of command that's posted over here um beginning with the teacher or school administrator and then moving up as needed. This allows concerns to be addressed in a timely and appropriate manner and helps us ensure the best outcomes for students. At this point, I'll turn the meeting over to Superintendent Thank you. We would like to start off by recognizing some of our amazing elementary school students with Miss Amy Reigns. Come up to the podium and introduce some of our great students and what they've accomplished. >> There we go. Good evening. Before I recognize my students, I would like to take a minute and say thank you
004to our board of education, our board office staff, and our social circle administrators for seeing the importance of music education and supporting music in our school district. It is your support that helps us work to build a thriving music community here in the circle. Music touches everyone and we greatly appreciate your support. This evening, I would like to recognize several amazingly talented and hardworking students. We had five students this year represent social circle at the Georgia statewide elementary honor chorus. This is our sixth year going. For the first time ever, we had three sixth grade students represent us at the Georgia 6th grade statewide honor chorus. All state for elementary chorus is a yearly event that is sponsored by the Georgia Music Educators Association. Students selected to participate work in advance with their teacher to
005learn five to six songs from memory. Sometimes they even have to learn songs in foreign languages. This year, our sixth graders learned a song in Korean, a song in Japanese, and a song in African dialect along with their English songs. After a few short rehearsals with their teachers, students then gather with other students from across the state of Georgia to work with professional clinicians and then perform a concert for friends and family. This evening, I'll be awarding each of them their allstate medal and certificate. I am so proud of each one of our students and that we got to share this experience together. I hope this is a lasting memory for each of the students and their families. Unfortunately, not all could be in attendance tonight due to prior obligations. Students, when I call your
006name, please come forward to receive your medal and certificate. Representing sixth grade this year was Avery Cobbs, Andrew Turner, and Jason Young. [applause] Representing our fourth and fifth grade students this year was Arabella Carile, Bristol Payne, Sophie Sullivan, Ellie J. Johnson, and Gunnar Meyers. [applause] Give them one more hand. [applause] Thank you so [applause] much for Thank you, Mr. Manson. Thank you students for making our school system look so great. You did awesome. We move on to our student recognition part. We will start off with the elementary school, Dr. Maria Hardra. >> Good evening everyone. If you've not heard them sing, you should hear them sing. Drew, if I put you on the spot, will you do something for me? Do you remember J Biz when you made the commercial and you filmed yourself? Would
007you be willing to sing that? It's really short, really sweet, but y'all are going to be so impressed. Are you willing, Drew? Stand up and come do it for him. All of these kids could do a phenomenal job. But just because I passed him in the hall like two weeks ago and he was singing this, I just think y'all would really enjoy it. Are you ready? Okay. You want to stand up here? >> Okay. >> [singing] [applause] >> MJ was running for mayor and he was part of the committee and so he helped create the commercial that they filmed for people to vote MJ Stokeland. Isn't that pretty phenomenal? [applause] Thank you. Thank you. I'm sorry that was not practice whatsoever, but I couldn't I would have been remiss if I didn't let y'all hear
008their talent because they are all so very talented. So now at this time it is my privilege to recognize a second grade student. His name is Parker Britt and he is in Miss Hall's second grade class and I have some words to share from her. She wrote, "Parker is a thoughtful and creative problem solver who shares his ideas in class. He often thinks about problems in new ways. When he does, this helps his classmates learn and see things differently. Parker is a true team player. He is trustworthy, kind, and shows empathy towards others. He He works well with his classmates, listens respectfully, and is willing to help when someone needs support. Parker brings an A+ attitude to school each day and is motivated to always do his best, even if learning feels a little tough.
009His creativity, his positive mindset, and his caring heart make him a wonderful role model and an important part of our school at social at social circle elementary. Will y'all please give Parker Britt a round of applause school award? [applause] AND Parker has some words that he wants to share with y'all tonight. So, we're gonna put the mic down here tonight. Okay. >> Good evening. This week at the elementary school. We are getting ready for family vineyard night on Friday and a yummy icy day. During the first week of March, we get to celebrate read across America. It is a special week where we come where we celebrate reading and all the fun adventures books can take us. My favorite books are about the outdoors. During the same week, the Gabby B will be coming to
010our school for an in-house field trip. We are excited to participate in hands-on STEM activities right here at our school. We would also like to take a moment to say thank you. Since board appreciation week is coming, we appreciate everything you do to help make our school a great place to learn and grow. Thank you. letting me share the great things happening at our school. [applause] >> Thank you, Dr. Harvard. Great job, Clark. Next up, we'll invite Dr. Clark from the middle school. >> Good evening, everyone. At this time, it's my pleasure to introduce Social Circle Middle School's star student of the month. Um, and unfortunately I do not believe she was unable to make it this evening, but I would like to go ahead and recognize her for all of her achievements. Um, so
011our student of the month is Miss Claire Gray. Claire was selected as a star student of the month for her her outstanding character and leadership in seventh grade. Claire consistently demonstrates the ability to communicate compassionately, sharing her ideas and thoughtfulness and respect for others. She is a critical thinker who asks meaningful questions and approaches learning with curiosity and with purpose. As an empathetic collaborator, Claire is always willing to help classmates work productively in groups and ensure that everyone feels included. She models what it means to be a global citizen by showing kindness, awareness, and responsibility within our school community. In addition to her academic excellence, Claire's an active member of the band program where she demonstrates dedication, discipline, and teamwork. Her commitment to both her studies and the arts reflects her well-rounded character and strong
012work ethic. Claire actively participates in class and continually strives to do her very best, making her a positive role model for her peers. Let's give Cla a round of applause. [applause] And I I'd also like to provide some updates of some great things going on at Social Circle Middle School at this time. Uh so this month we're celebrating Black History Month with our daily trivia and classroom lessons that show the achievements, leadership, and lasting impacts of African-Americans throughout history. Uh coming up on March 3rd, our band will represent Social Circle at their large group performance evaluation in Athens, which is an important performance event. So we're very proud of their hard work and dedication so far. Also, we've kicked off our spring sports and we're excited to see our student athletes competing, improving, and representing
013our school with pride. Additionally, this Friday, we're hosting our monthly club day. And this is a time where students get to explore their interests, learn new skills, work with friends, and take charge of their learning outside of a traditional classroom setting. Also, our eighth graders have two exciting events coming up. On March 13th, we have the Be Proud, Be Pro truck come out. And this is uh gives students a hands-on opportunity to really work with uh simulators and different jobs like welding, driving big trucks, and operating heavy equipment. Um so that'll be on site here for our eighth graders. As well as on March 16th, we have reality check uh where we have members of the community come in and students do a budgeting simulation and get to experience what it's like to live on
014a budget. Uh so we have several things going on in at Social Circle Middle School. We look forward to leading the way this spring. um and showing let's get pride in all we do. Thank you. [applause] Thank you Dr. Mr. Armstrong from the hospital. >> Good evening. It's my pleasure to introduce to you our high school student of the month is Ava Middlebrooks. Academically, Ava has pursued one of the most rigorous course loads available at Social Circle. She's taken honors courses in English, math, science, and social studies, maintaining an A honor roll for years. Her achievements and advanced course work equally notable. She's earned A's in AP World, AP US, and AP psychology, and excelled on the AP exams. She also took several dual enrollment courses and is taking more this semester. Her accolades include
015the prestigious UG certificate of merit, being named a young Georgia author of state winner, which is a testament to her exceptional writing and communication skills that she's looking to pursue. I'll let her tell you a little more about that in a few minutes. She's also far more than an exceptional scholar. She's an accomplished athlete, leader, and a community servant. She participates in both soccer and volleyball, earning first team allreaching defensive players for three consecutive years. An hour that highlights not only her talent, but also her consistency, teamwork, and perseverance. I could talk on and on about her, but what I am most proud about is the kind, humble, and wonderful young woman that she has become. Please help me welcome our SCS of the month, Miss Ava Middle. [applause] >> [applause] >> My name is
016Ava Middlerooks. I am a senior and next year I plan to attend a four-year college, ideally the University of Georgia, and major in sports journalism. Sports and writing have always been close to my heart, so since I won't be playing sports in college, I want to incorporate them into my future career. Taking the yearbook class my sophomore year inspired me to take on the journalism side of things. Go dogs. Social circle High School is filled with many great things that I've come to love, but the thing I value most about is the one hallway we all share. Technically, the hallway is a little tight, but the unity is created in each class of students is something so special. Not many schools have the privilege to see the exact same faces every day and actually know
017the names of those people. It's inevitable to create close bonds when you go to social circle. Over the past four years, I've made countless memories that I will always cherish. One of my favorites was the extremely competitive games of Foursquare and Coach Patton's PE class. Games I won many times, by the way. Another unforgettable moment came during my freshman year of soccer when our team reached the final four. That experience stands out because of how surreal and exciting it felt in that moment. Some of the most meaningful memories, however, have come from all of the last this year. The last first day of school, the last dances, the last time cheering in the student section, and the last time wearing a social circle jersey. While those moments may not be my favorites, they are the
018ones I will hold closest to my heart forever. Balancing dual enrollment, AP courses, and work-based learning while also playing two sports, volleyball and soccer, has been incredibly challenging. I won't pretend it has always been easy. I'll never forget getting home from away games late at night while still having a full packet of AP work to do before my test the next day. There were times where I had to remind myself just how much I wanted to walk across that stage and earn my diploma. Through those moments, I learned to embrace challenges and use them as motivation, knowing that the real world after high school will demand even more of me. High school taught me the importance of stepping outside my comfort zone and pushing myself to be the best version of who I can be.
019I began as a quiet, insecure freshman who was nervous to cross over the big barrier of the rotunda. But by forcing myself to make friends with people older than me and speaking up as a student and teammate, I realized I had the potential to be so much more than who I started as. As I near the end of this chapter, I realized how valuable every challenge was and how it has paid off, especially in opportunities like this one. One thing is certain, I will be leaving with my diploma. Finally, thank you to my mom and dad for standing by my side and saying yes to every activity, extracurricular sport, and challenging class that I begged to take. I hope I made the time, effort, and investment worthwhile. Now, it's on the college. [applause] >> Great
020job, A. I think there is definitely a career there in journalism. [cough and clears throat] What we will do uh as the next part is we will have a superintendent report real quick if you like to see the other wonderful things that we have going on with our school Just >> [music] [music] >> Thank you. Um, we will now take a short break before entering the business portion of our meeting. Um, however, we do not have anyone participating in this evening's meeting. We will now receive a finance update from our CFO, Miss Nicole Cross. Good evening. We will start with Freshway January collections totaled $1,972.32.36 and the funds were allocated to each school for fine arts. This brings total program to date to collections to just over 1989,000. Get a long day. So next we'll
021begin with our general fund. We are 59% of the fiscal year complete. We have received 66% of our general fund budgeted revenues and we've spent 61% of general fund budgeted expenditures. For our local tax revenue, we have received a majority of those collections. Total is 4.6 million which represents about 99% of our budget. Susan Roker does a wonderful job of collecting our taxes and we're always almost at 100% collections. Tibt collections are at 85% of budget currently. Our other local revenue is the um intergovernmental revenue received from Newton and Walton County. We did receive Walton County. We received 1.9 million. This represents about a 21% increase over the prior year. Total zone five students in fiscal year 25 was 539 and in this current year it was 583. So that's an additional 44 students. We're
022still in the process of reconciling with Newton County. We should have those funds early March. Currently revenues exceed expenditures by a little over 1.5 million. Incumbrances for the general fund total about 841. Next are our special revenue funds. We are at 2 million approved budget and we've spent 68% of those funds. Incumbrances totaling 97 million. And next we have our school food service fund. We're at 57% of budgeted revenues and 53% of budgeted expenditures. Currently expenditures exceed revenue by a little over 72,000. If you remember, we budgeted transfer about 238,000 and currently using about 31% of that budget currently today. We served 33,000 meals in January. This was an average of 707 for breakfast and,261. Sorry. Next we have the lost funds. Bloss collections received in January for December collections totaled 255,000 from Walton County.
023This was an increase of about 4% from the prior year. And Newton County was 3,672 and this is about 11% increase. The cash balance of floss currently is right at 5.2 million. Incumbrances for this floss fund total just over 23,000. And lastly, we have our debt service fund. There's no change here. Our next interest payment of 325,000 is due on March 1st. Are there any questions? All right. Do I have a motion to approve the January financial report as presented? Do I have a second? Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. >> Anyone opposed? July sign. Motion carries unanimously. The financial report is approved. Thank you, Miss Cross. We will now move into the business portion of our meeting with new business and action items. Many of these items were
024reviewed and discussed during the February work session, and the board is prepared to take action this evening. Um, first, in response to state legislation, the superintendent recommends revision to policy IFBG, internet acceptable use. These updates ensure compliance with the Protecting Georgia's children on social media act of 2024, strengthening student online protections, restrict access to social media on district devices except for supervised educational use, and clarify enforcement and parent communication procedures. This policy will sit for 30 days and the board will be prepared to take action at the regular meeting in March. We have two overnight field trips for consideration. Our high school track team plans to compete in the Bufort Track Classic April 3rd and 4th and our high school CTI students plan to attend the state leadership conference at Rock Eagle April 15th to
02517th. Um I wanted to mention that it's Buford, South Carolina, not Buford, Georgia. My accent didn't carry quite right. Um, do I have a motion to approve these overnight trips as presented? Do I have a second? >> Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed, like sign? Motion carries unanimously and these trips are approved. Next item for consideration is the proposed tuition rate for the 2026 2027 school year. Do I have a recommendation to approve the tuition rate as recommended by our superintendent? Do I have a second? >> Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. Anyone opposed? Like sign. Motion carries. The fiscal year 27 tuition rate of $4,851 is approved. The next item on our agenda is the superintendent's recommendation for continued employment of
026certified staff for the upcoming school year. These recommendations are presented in several groupings to ensure transparency and allow for appropriate extensions when required. First, we have the list of certified teachers from all three schools as presented on pages one and two. Is there a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation for continued employment of certified teachers as listed? >> Do I have a second? Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed you like sign? Motion carries. Next, we have three certified staff members, Yolanda Sculpit, Jessica Hester, and Crystal Sanford. These individuals are related to a board me to a member of the board of education who will abstain from this vote. Is there a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation for the continued employment of these three certified staff members?
027Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed like sign? Let the record reflect that Sabrina Sanford Glenn has abstained from this vote and the motion carries. Next, the recommendation is for a certified staff member, Ashley Morris. This individual is related to a member of the board of education who will abstain from this vote. Is there a recommendation to approve, excuse me, is there a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation for continued employment of this staff member? Do I have a second? >> Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. Anyone opposed to like sign. Let the record reflect that I, Taylor Morris, abstained from this vote. And the motion carries. Next is the recommendation for certified staff member
028Carla Griffy. This individual is also related to a member of the board of education who will abstain from this vote. Is there a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation for continued employment of the certified staff member? >> Do I have a second? >> I second. Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. >> Anyone opposed like sign? Let the motion reflect that Rico Jackson abstain from the vote. And the motion carries. Finally, we have the superintendent's recommendation for continued employment of school and district leaders as well as central office certified staff as listed on page six. There is no conflicts associated with this group. Is there a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation for continued employment of the certified leadership and central office staff as presented? >> Do I have a
029second? >> Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed like sign? Motion carries unanimous. We will now move on to the superintendent's personnel recommendations for this evening. These recommendations include certified and classified personnel updates as well as substitute teacher recommendations. First for certified staff new hire, Dr. Michael Bidowski, assistant superintendent for social circle city schools. Resignation, Carl Bowie, teacher at SCEES. Steven Diaz, teacher at SCMS. Jocelyn Holton, district social worker. Felicia Jenkins, teacher at SCEES. Wayne Langford, intern director of technology. Joy Miller, teacher, SCMS. Retirement. Annette Bennett, teacher, SCMS. For classified staff, the resignations of Angel Hunt, pair professional at SCMS. Mildred Smith, bus driver, SECS, retirement, Karen Monroe, accounts payable specialist, SECS, and Tina Waters, receptionist at central office. Is there a motion to approve the superintendent's personnel
030recommendations as presented? >> Do I have a second? >> Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed? Like sign. Motion carries unanimously. The superintendent's personnel recommendations are approved. Lastly, we have a list of overnight chop runs recommended for approval by our superintendent, Brian Crump, Brian Gatis, Katie Johnson, and Christina Shake. Is there a motion to approve the overnight check rooms as presented? Do I have a second? >> Any discussion? All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed like sign? Motion carries unanimously. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> Do I have a second? Second. >> All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Anyone opposed? Sign same sign. Motion carries and the meeting is ajourned. Thank you.