Newspaper Page Text
www.starnewsgaonline.com StarlMews October 15, 2023 Page 19
County school board to appoint a temporary interim board member to fill vacancy left by the
passing of Clayton Kierbow: interested residents of county school District 4 may apply now
story by Janice Daniel
The Carroll County Board of Education met
Monday, September 18, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. for
their monthly work session meeting. All were
present, with Board Member Thomas
Sizemore via phone.
A financial update was presented by the
finance director as follows:
Year-to-Date August 31, 2023 (60 days into
the FY2023-2024 Budget):
- Taxes/monies collected: $5,470,678
- Taxes/monies spent: $9,474,880
Fund Balance (cash reserve) totaled
$23,173,506 ($23.1M) with $3,041,237
($3.0M) of that in encumbrances. FY2023-
2024 Budget totals $227,121,271 ($227M).
Chair Bryant Turner discussed the District 4
vacancy left by the passing of Board Member
Clayton Kierbow, and how the board can go
about filling that vacancy for the remainder of
County school board approves purchase
of 628 Sage Street, Temple, for $260,000
plus closing costs for future expansion
The Carroll County Board of Education met
at 6:30 p.m. on September 21st, 2023 to con
duct their regular monthly meeting. Board
Member Bart Cater was absent; Board
Member erry Miller participated via phone.
There was no Public Input, and the Agenda
was approved.
Superintendent Scott Cowart reported that
the School District has received $190,000
Safety Grant for a Shield System to be
installed at Bay Springs Middle School. He
also informed everyone that this is Hispanic
Heritage Month and events are taking place in
and around school for this celebration.
The 2023 Annual Report was presented to
the Board Members and they were advised that
there is now an App “carrollcountyschools,ga”
where everyone can keep up with student
achievements and the community, stakehold
ers, and so much more. A special page has
been added in a new website launch the first
week of October that will be dedicated solely
to the Board of Education, and all of its related
information will be readily available in one
place.
Superintendent Cowart spoke on the Villa
Carroll EMC’s “Impact
Grants” awarded to 29
charitable organizations
in West Georgia area
Since 2002, $4.5 million has been awarded
through Carroll EMC’s “Operation Round Up”
from press release
Twenty-nine charitable organizations repre
senting portions of Carroll, Haralson, Heard,
Paulding, Polk, Troup and Floyd counties were
awarded Impact Grants from Carroll Electric
Membership Cooperative (EMC) Foundation.
Foundation Tmstees approved a total donation
of $107,978.51 for a variety of community-
based projects. Impact Grants are made avail
able each year to eligible groups who operate to
benefit their surrounding community. Health
and human services, education, environmental
protection and safety are a few areas that
receive funding from grants.
To apply, organizations within Carroll
EMC’s service territory must have a vision or
project in mind that would enhance the quality
of life for others. The grant writing process is
simple: Complete an online form that outlines
the project and provide a detailed budget.
It is through member participation in Carroll
EMC’s Operation Round Up program that the
cooperative is able to award Impact Grants.
Members can contribute by rounding their elec
tric bill to the nearest whole dollar. Funds are
separate from cooperative revenue and are
administered by Foundation Board of Tmstees.
Since the first issuing of grants in 2002,
$4.5M+ has been given back to Carroll EMC
communities.
Rica TAD Joint Committee which was brought
up in the work session on Monday the 18th.
He has agreed to be one of the Committee
members representing the Carroll County
Board of Education.
After some discussion, it was decided and
voted on to approve Jody Millains of Villa
Rica to be named the second committee mem
ber. Quasi Hudson was considered as a person
the committee wishes to engage for his input,
and also keep him informed of what the com
mittee is doing. Board members Sandra Morris
and Thomas Sizemore stated they had done
some research on Millains and felt comfortable
with naming him to the committee, primarily
because of his background in constmction.
Board then went into executive session. An
executive session is a secret session, not open
to the public, in which the only topics that can
be legally discussed concern real estate nd
personnel.
When the board returned and meeting
resumed, approval was given on the personnel
actions submitted by the superintendent.
Also, Morris made a motion for the board to
purchase the property at 628 Sage Street in
Temple for the amount of $260,000 plus clos
ing costs. Chairman Turner said this is a great
opportunity to purchase land next to a school
that may need expansion at some future point
and will now have room to do that.
Kierbow’s term which ends December 31,
2024. Having looked into the options, Chair
Turner said he will check with the school attor
ney, but he has seen the possibility of an
appointment by himself, or set an election
process for people from District 4 who might
be interested in filling the seat.
This election would be held in May, but in
the interim, the board decided they would like
to advertise the temporary vacancy and take
informal written statements from people who
are interested. When they get names compiled
they will take a vote at either the October or
November regular meeting.
There was a discussion about the Joint
Committee of the Villa Rica TAD. It was
decided that Superintendent Scott Cowart
should be one of the representatives. The pur
pose of this committee will be discussions
about high density projects proposed in the
City of Villa Rica. This was added to the
Thursday regular meeting agenda.
Terry Jones, assistant superintendent of
Administrative Services, gave an update on the
projects underway and those to be started in the
near future. He said the new Operations Center
will have two gas stations (regular and diesel),
but the current bus gas stations will continue to
operate as well.
Jones also asked for field trips and fFund-
raising events to be placed on the Consent
Agenda.
Dr. Jessica Ainsworth presented student
achievements with information about the West
Georgia Technical College MOU, which she
asked to be put on the Consent Agenda.
Superintendent Cowart said the EMT
Pathway added hands-on experience in an
ambulance has been a great success, and the 12
for Life Industrial Maintenance Pathway is also
very important. Chair Turner said Southwire
and PrintPak are two industries in Carroll
County that are excited to see young people
training on maintenance of industrial machin
ery, as that is needed. Currently, maintenance
people are trained on-the-job and at a cost, and
industries need people who are familiar with
the kinds of machinery these industries have.
After an executive session (secret meeting),
the board voted to approve recommended per
sonnel changes, and then adjourned the work
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