Using Schools As Voting Locations Poses Security Risk: BOE

CANTON, GA — The Cherokee County School Board continues to advocate for local control in its annual list of priorities state lawmakers should consider when they return to the Gold Dome in January to begin the 2019 legislative session.

School board members at their Thursday, Nov. 15 meeting adopted its annual Legislative Partnership Program, which outlines requests for the Cherokee County legislative delegation to take into account in the upcoming session. Just like in previous legislative program adoptions, local control tops the list of the school board's program.

The one-page report, which can be viewed here, splits the School Board’s main concerns into three categories: Local Control & Governance, Educational Opportunities, and Funding.

"As is our practice, we will continue to monitor K-12 public education proposals during the legislative session and make sure that local control is the primary consideration of the General Assembly," said School Board Chair Kyla Cromer.

Under local control, the board has listed several issues, including the continued ability for school boards to set their own local school year calendar, a matter that some in the Georgia General Assembly have argued should be state-controlled to better serve the tourism industry.

Another important issue noted is the elimination of the state-mandated use of schools as public polling locations during regular schools days, a safety and security risk that the School Board thinks should be avoided by locating polls elsewhere.

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Under Educational Opportunities, the board is focused on one issue, which has been a mainstay on its priority list in recent years: state legislation to bring back the career/technical diploma track for students who are focused on entering technical college or the workforce, rather than a four-year university.

On its Funding list, board members are asking legislation to revise the state education funding formula to reflect the true cost of school bus transportation, which is seriously underfunded by the state; as well as to add state funding for safety and security and increase it for counselors, social workers, psychologists and school nurses to further improve these critical student services.

More state funding for students living in poverty also is among the requests, as is ensuring all state teacher salary increases are incorporated into its permanent salary schedule. The Cherokee School Board also is repeating its request that the legislature discontinue the use of public funds to pay for private school tuition or provide tax incentives to their parents, as such measures erode funding for public education.

In other business, school board members made two leadership appointments at the Nov. 15 meeting. Kim Barger, who serves as a teacher on special assignment to assist in leading the CCSD Preschool Centers, has been appointed as principal of Tippens Education Center. Lindsay Bowley, the Teasley Middle School academic coach and a past CCSD Teacher of the Year, has been appointed as the district’s first recruitment coordinator to assist the Office of Human Resources in recruiting the best teachers and staff possible.

The School Board also:

• Recognized Etowah High School senior Victoria "Tori" Ridgeway for achieving a perfect ACT score;
• Recognized CCSD Parent Mentor JoEllen Hancock as winner of the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership's 2018 Phil Pickens Award;
• Recognized CCSD 2019 Teacher of the Year Dana Townsend of Mill Creek Middle School;
• Recognized Creekview High School Assistant Principal Jessica Whitley as a finalist for the statewide title of 2019 Georgia Assistant Principal of the Year;
• Recognized Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy as a finalist for the Technology Association of Georgia and the TAG Education Collaborative 2018 Georgia STEM Education Awards;
• Recognized Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy for earning the Model Professional Learning Community (PLC) at Work Honor;
• Recognized CCSD Lead Nurse Gwen Chambers and Arnold Mill Elementary School Nurse Betty Miller as finalists for the March of Dimes 2018 Georgia Nurse of the Year Awards;
• Recognized Creekview High School teacher Andrea Sheldon, who was named to Serve on the State School Superintendent's Teacher Advisory Council; and
• Recognized CCSD VILLA Program Class of 2018 participants.

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