Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
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H Wednesday, February 11, 2009
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 133 NO. 27 46 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Police look at cost-sav
ing measures
page 2A
•More families in need
of school food program
page 3A
•New gym, fine arts
building in the plans for
JCCHS ...page 3A
Op/Ed:
•'The bailout that
wasn't' page 4A
Sports:
•JHS wins over EJCHS
page 1B
Features:
•Maysville couple plans
garden to benefit food
banks page 1 C
Other News:
•School News
. . . . pages 11-12A, 5B
•Public Safety
pages 8-9A
•Legals
pages 8-24C
•Church News
page 10B
•Obituaries
pages 6-7B
School work force cuts expected
Job cuts anticipated next school year
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE JACKSON County
School System is preparing to
reduce its work force next school
year.
Superintendent Shannon
Adams warned district employ
ees last week of a “strong pos
sibility” to reduce the school
system’s workforce to meet the
demands of a leaner budget.
“I deeply regret the fact that we
are in the position of having to
take such measures, but the chal
lenges of the current financial
situation are very real indeed,”
Adams wrote in an e-mail to
district employees.
And facing an uncertain finan
cial outlook, the school system
is delaying rehiring teachers for
next school year by one month.
Traditionally, teacher contracts
are issued in March, but the
school system will now rehire
employees in April, Adams said
on Thursday.
But when the Georgia General
Assembly announced on Friday
that it will meet in late June to
finalize the state budget, Adams
said that will also hamper the
school system’s finances.
“The timeframe with our
budget process is just horrible,”
Adams said Monday.
The school system must final
ize its budget before the next
fiscal year starts on July 1. The
General Assembly typically ends
its session in March or April, but
has opted to complete its ses
sion in June — when the state
may know how much of the
federal stimulus bill is headed to
Georgia.
“The best we can hope for is
that we’ll know what the educa
tion cut will be, but I don’t think
anything will be final until they
adjourn,” said Jackson County
Board of Education chairperson
Kathy Wilbanks.
The district will not continue
to delay issuing teacher contracts
past April, she said.
And while everyone at the
schools has been working to
reduce expenses, Adams said it’s
obvious that the district will trim
its work force for the 2009-2010
school year.
“There will be an official
reduction of some certified per
sonnel and there will be some
reduction of positions of non-
certified personnel,” Adams said
on Monday.
Certified positions are those
that include teachers and admin
istrators, while non-certified jobs
may include bus drivers and cus
todians.
The Jackson County School
System is looking at areas to cut
and plans to give advance warn
ing to those employees who may
not have a job with the district
next school year, Adams said.
It’s too early to say where those
cuts will target, but they need to
trim an estimated $2.5 million
to $4 million from the school
system’s budget, he added.
“We’ll do it in such a way
that will minimize the impact on
the instruction program,” Adams
said. “We’ll do it in a way that’s
fair to the employees and the
school system (and) to those
who have proven themselves to
be effective over a period of
time.”
The school system is expect
ing that some of the difficult
decisions will be eased by those
employees who retire or resign.
Wilbanks said there may also
not be enough students in some
classrooms for certified posi
tions.
The BOE will discuss the bud
get during its annual two-day
retreat on March 19-20, at the
school system’s central office in
Jefferson.
“Obviously there’s a good bit
of concern in the school system,”
Adams said. “That’s understand
able. We’re going to try our very
best to be fair.”
Hollywood comes to county
MOVIE FILMED IN COUNTY
Several scenes from “Get Low,” a new drama thriller starring Robert Duvall
and Lucas Black, were filmed in Jackson County Monday. The former Center
Presbyterian Church, which was used until 1947, was used for several scenes.
Photos by Angela Gary
Robert Duvall films movie scene
at Heritage Village’s historic church
READY TO FILM
Several scenes for a new movie, “Get Low,” were
filmed in Jackson County on Monday. Actors Robert
Duvall (passenger side) and Lucas Black (driving) are
shown preparing to film a scene outside the chapel at
the Heritage Village at Hurricane Shoals Park.
BYANGELA GARY
A JACKSON County church
built in 1890 took center stage
on Monday when movie star
Robert Duvall came to Jackson
County to film a few scenes for
his new movie, “Get Low.”
A location scout came
across photos of the Miles
Wilson Matthews Chapel on
the Tumbling Waters Society
website and contacted Helen
Gunnels about the church. She
handles rental of the church for
weddings but this was the first
time a movie company contact
ed her about the site.
Location scouts visited
Heritage Village and took pho
tos of the church, which was
used as Center Presbyterian
Church until 1947. The church
was moved to Heritage Village
at Hurricane Shoals Park in
1993.
Hundreds of churches across
Georgia were also checked out
as possible locations for the
movie but the director appar
ently fell in love with the inside
of the historic Jackson County
church. Just one week ago,
Tumbling Waters Society lead
ers learned the church had been
continued on page 10A
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11
Jefferson: Charter school system?
BY SHARON HOGAN
THE NUMBER of charter schools is growing
and the Jefferson City School System is looking at
joining this growing number.
Shenie Gibney-Sherman, associate superinten
dent for instructional services with the Jefferson
City School System, said, “We are in the very pre
liminary stages of exploring this possibility.”
The first step is to identify what the system
wants to do differently, Gibney-Sherman said.
A charter school system is a local school dis
trict that operates under the conditions of a state-
approved charter. Charter schools must attract
students, because unlike traditional public schools
they do not have students automatically assigned
to them, according to the Georgia Department of
Education website.
Gibney-Sherman said a workshop on charter
schools is scheduled the first week in March
and John Jackson, Jefferson City Schools
Superintendent, board members and herself will
be attending to gather more information.
The application to become a charter school is
due in November, Gibney-Sherman said.
continued on page 10A
Study: Jackson Co.
grade inflation low
GRADE INFLATION in the Jackson County and Jefferson City
school systems is low, according to a recent study.
A study done by Christopher Clark of the Department of Economics
and Finance at Georgia College & State University on Georgia high
school grading compared student achievement in the classroom vs.
the same student’s results on the End of Course Test test. Clark said
there were “considerable grading disparities” across the state and
that “some schools and school systems appear to be inflating course
grades relative to EOCT scores considerably while others appear to
hold their students to higher standards.”
In Jackson County and Jefferson City schools, Clark’s study shows
that the gap between those who fail the End Of Course Test in several
high school subjects and those who fail actual classroom work was,
for the most part, narrow. In some instances, more students failed the
class than failed the EOCT in Jackson County schools.
Jackson County School System Grade Disparity Gap
Difference Between Class Failure Rate and EOCT Failure Rate
Course Failed EOCT Failed Class
Gap
State Gap
Algebra 1
5%
11%
0%
19%
9th Grade Eng.
28%
23%
5%
17%
Geometry
14%
20%
0%
25%
Biology
35%
22%
13%
25%
Phys. Sci.
20%
16%
4%
20%
11th Grade Eng.
15%
15%
0%
8%
US FHistory
14%
7%
7%
19%
Economics
25%
2%
23%
30%
Jefferson City School System Grade Disparity Gap
Difference Between Class Failure Rate and EOCT Failure Rate
Course Failed EOCT Failed Class
Gap
State Gap
Algebra 1
6%
23%
0%
19%
9th Grade Eng.
23%
12%
11%
17%
Geometry
4%
16%
0%
25%
Biology
27%
18%
9%
25%
Phys. Sci.
24%
24%
0%
20%
11th Grade Eng.
5%
7%
0%
8%
US FHistory
25%
9%
14%
19%
Economics
15%
4%
11%
30%
HOUSE FIRE ON SUNDAY
A teenage boy suffered second and third degree burns
in a cooking fire at this Jefferson home Sunday.
Boy critical after house fire
A TEENAGE boy remains in
critical condition with second
and third degree bums from
a fire in Jefferson on Sunday
afternoon.
The 16-year-old youth was
transported by helicopter to
Grady Hospital with second
and third degree bums over 30
percent of his body from the
incident. The bums happened
from a cooking fire at the boy’s
home on Mahaffey Circle in
downtown Jefferson, according
to Mark Duke of the Jeffersor
Fire Department.
Jefferson, Arcade, JCCI anc
Harrisburg firefighters respond
ed to the incident and put out £
fire that had reached into the
attic of the house. When rescue
and EMS workers arrived at the
scene, the youth was standing
outside the house with bums
to his face and arms. Dispatch
reports indicated the youth’s
continued on page 10A
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