September 12 Highland County School Board Meeting Recap

The September 12 Highland County Public School Board meeting started with two presentations, one from Mr. Michael Bedwell regarding the dark sky initiative and one from Sheriff Bob Kelly in regards to school safety measures. Bedwell asked the board to consider instituting phase one of a plan to secure dark skies by having a consultant review old lighting and make recommendations. He mentioned that there were funds available so this would not cost the school out of pocket. 

Kelly said the sheriff’s office is continuing to work with the schools to create safety measures for active shooters, bomb threats and the like. He mentioned that the school staff’s reactions in a threatening situation were of the utmost importance since there is not an SRO on site and it would take time for law enforcement to respond. To that end, a school lockdown drill will be held for practice on September 16.

Tammy Minnigh of The Recorder was presented with an award for excellence for her reporting and dedication to keeping the community at large informed of events and policies at Highland County Public Schools.

Public comments included support of the board from Highland County Supervisor Paul Trible, as well as questions from AMR staff about the new measures at the state level in regards to accountability standards, teacher accreditation, and clarification of reports that a teacher was under investigation by the board. All questions went unanswered, with the board saying they would follow up by email. At the time of this reporting, all three questions remain unanswered.

All administrative reports were positive, with superintendent Dr. Drew Maerz, High School Principal Tim Good and Elementary Principal Tim Johnson reported that school was off to a good start. 

Reading specialist Lynne Botkin will hold literacy month throughout October with a variety of immersive programs and field trip experiences for students. The theme will be bats and she is enlisting help from many in the community to bring this effort to life.

Vendor bills and past minutes were all approved unanimously. 

The personnel report included one separation and one hire for a substitute teacher. The separation left a special education aide position open. The position for an additional guidance counselor also remains open.

The gifted plan and all policies under review were accepted unanimously after Maerz read out and answered two input questions from the community at large. Johnson and Good gave the reporting for SOL testing in all grades, noting some upward trends in several areas. Chronic absenteeism is improving in the elementary school, but is still a large concern in the high school.

New FFA advisor Jennifer Neil presented the plan for the FFA National Convention Trip noting that four students would be attending. Neil’s plan was accepted unanimously by the board. 

There are a variety of policies up for review on the website, with the school board requesting parent and community input before the next school board meeting on October 10.