Newspaper Page Text
THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 10. 2009 — PAGE 3A
Schools
MCHS students offered incentives for AYP results
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
New Madison County High School
principal Chad Stone wants to reward
students who help the school meet its
AYP goals.
Juniors passing all four
graduation tests and scor
ing a 516 on the math
portion — the minimum
score allowed to meet
AYP — will receive a
reduction in some student
costs and other rewards.
“I'm really a believer in positive rein
forcement,” Stone told the board of edu
cation Tuesday night. “If our kids do
what they’re supposed to do, we reward
them.”
Stone calls this incentive program “the
platinum card.” Those holding the plati
num card gain free access to all MCHS
athletic events, free student parking and
discounted senior annuals.
STONE
Other spoils are an off-campus lunch
day once a month (students are basically
granted leave to go eat), exemption from
summer reading and being first in line for
lunch as seniors.
Stone takes over at a school that missed
AYP last year in three areas on the initial
report, and he spoke in detail at Tuesday
night’s school board meeting regarding
plans to better MCHS's graduation test
scores and graduation rate.
Stone said the school has adopted the
motto, “whatever it takes.”
But Stone also believes intertwin
ing reward programs will help MCHS
meet those coveted federal improvement
marks.
For instance, the Raider Club, another
incentive-based program, rewards stu
dents who pass all classes during each
grading period and demonstrate good
behavior and attendance.
Those students meeting those criteria
are eligible for prize drawings, which
include a flat-screen television.
“They're trying to win the TV, but
they’re doing the things they're supposed
to in class, which is going to help us
on our tests and graduation rate,” Stone
said.
GRADUATION RATE
COULD BE HISTORICAL
School officials believe Madison
County High School’s graduation rate
from the past year will end up being the
school’s best ever.
Unofficial reports have MCHS’s rate
just above 70 percent due to a push from
summer graduates and summer re-tests.
“It definitely looks like Madison
County High School is going to have the
highest graduation rate in the history of
the school this time around,” Madison
County Schools Superintendent Mitch
McGhee said.
CLASS OVERFLOW
AT THREE SCHOOLS
The Madison County School System
is requesting classroom size waivers
at three different schools due to slight
overflows.
The state limits the number of stu
dents per class, but does grant some
exceptions. So school leaders are ask
ing for waivers for a second grade
classroom at Hull-Sanford Elementary,
a sixth grade gifted classroom at the
middle school and gifted classes at the
high school.
Without a classroom waiver, the
school system would have to hire
additional teachers at those grade lev
els.
SPLOST REBOUNDS
After a few months of slumping
SPLOST, the Madison County school
system's SPLOST receipts were about
$22,000 higher this month compared
to last and $17,000 more than this time
last year.
"I hope we have a few more months
of upswing to take care of the last two
or three months of down swing,” assis
tant superintendent Bonnie Knight
said.
Broad River
Commissioners deny Broad River concession stand
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County commis
sioners voted 5-0 to deny a
businessman’s request to place
a portable concession stand on
Roy Woods Road adjacent to
the Broad River for canoers,
kayakers and other visitors to
the river.
Michael Moody requested a
conditional use permit for a
recreational use on a 5-acre
tract that is zoned A-2 (agri
cultural).
The planning and zoning
commission voted 4-1 to rec
ommend approval of Moody’s
request following its public
hearing last month.
A number of neighbor
ing landowners showed up
Tuesday night up to protest
Moody's request, saying that
there are enough problems
along the river now without
adding another element that
would attract more people.
Moody said the facility would
serve hot dogs and other food
items, including soft drinks.
No alcohol would be served,
he said. He explained that the
concession would operate only
during the day and that there
would also be port-a-potties
on site.
Moody, owner of the Broad
River Outpost, said he has oper
ated his business for 25 years.
He acknowledged that there
are problems with trespassing,
drinking, nudity, littering and
other unsavory activities by
those using the river for rec
reation, but said this business,
designed to sell concessions
to kayakers and canoers who
leave the river for a ride back
to the Outpost, would not add
to those problems.
But neighboring property
owners disagreed, coming one
after the other to the podium to
express their frustrations with
the ongoing problems and with
the proposed concession stand.
Dan Dewald laid a two-
inch stack of documents on
the commission table, saying
the stack represented the inci
dent reports and Department
of Natural Resource violations
that had been logged along Roy
Woods Road and the Broad
River since 2006.
Luke Ferguson noted that a
heavy concession stand com
ing in and out of the dirt road
would further damage the road.
He said he and other neighbors
collect more than 100 bags of
garbage along the river and
roadside each season.
“I know (Moody) is not
responsible for all the trouble,
but (the concession stand) can
in no way help a bad situation
from getting worse,” Ferguson
said.
Property owner Dennis
Wester reiterated many of
Ferguson’s points, adding that
the neighbors are “all united
against this.”
“You live in Oglethorpe
County, it doesn’t affect you
in any way,” commissioner
John Pethel told Moody. ”...
The more you put there (on the
river) the more these people
have to put up with.”
“We have a problem there
that needs to be taken care of
before we go possibly adding
to it,” commissioner Stanley
Thomas said.
“I’m not sure this (condi
tional use permit) would ben
efit the citizens of Madison
County,” commissioner Bruce
Scogin said. “These property
owners have real concerns and
real issues and I believe in my
heart that if allowed, this would
exacerbate these problems.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the com
missioners agreed to accept
a contract with Southern
Software, Inc. for the installa
tion of E-911’s new computer
aided dispatch system at a cost
of $125,135. The dispatch
system will be paid through
SPLOST funds.
The board also agreed to
amend the 2009 budget to add
$42,384 to the county’s contin
gency fund.
The BOC amended the cur
few for amplified music in the
Madison County Memorial
Park in Danielsville to no later
than 8 p.m. each evening.
In a related matter, the BOC
asked county attorney Mike
Pruett to develop an amendment
to the county noise ordinance
to allow exemptions for events
such as agricultural activities,
recreational department activi
ties, school ball games and
other events. Pruett will also
look into placing daytime lim
its on amplified music.
Municipal
elections
... continued
from Page 1A
the Hull's mayoral posi
tion.
Council incumbent Paul
Cook, who was appointed
to his seat in 2007, will face
newcomer Paige Phillips.
Each of these seats are
four-year terms.
Comer
District 1 incumbent
Melissa Yarbrough did not
qualify for her seat, however
Jimmy Yarbrough did qual
ify for this seat. District 2
incumbent Laquita Bridges
was the only qualifiers for
her position.
The mayoral election will
be held Nov. 3 at Comer
City Hall.
Carlton
There will be no election
in Carlton this year.
Incumbents Mayor Rufus
Kidd and council mem
bers David Seawright and
Claudia Thornton were the
only ones to qualify for
their seats.
Newcomers Mike Jones,
Terry Kidd and Joey Cash
were lone qualifiers for
the remaining seats at the
council table. Incumbents
Myron Hedgelon, Robert
Tucker and Marty Tucker
did not qualify for re-elec
tion.
These are two-year terms
that begin Jan. 1, 2010.
Danielsville
Newcomers Ron Faust
qualified for Croya’s Seat 1
position at the council table
and Jamie Spurlin qualified
for Seat 2, currently held
by Barbara Dove, who did
not qualify.
Absences
• • •
continued from page 1A
sick, McGhee said.
He added that systems around
Madison County are also starting
to show higher absentee rates,
too.
“It’s making its rounds,”
McGhee said.
All these recent absences will
hurt these schools’ attendance
rates, and McGhee noted that cer
tain average daily attendance rates
are required at the elementary and
middle schools under Adequate
Yearly Progress guidelines.
Since the state is no longer
requiring doctor's notes to excuse
absences — doctor’s offices were
getting inundated with requests
due to all the illness — the absen
tee rate has skyrocketed.
“It could very much cause us
not to meet AYP because of that,”
McGhee said.
But the state department is
apparendy willing to grant schools
relief in this case, given the cir
cumstances.
“The state department has said
it’s going to formulate new guide
lines and work with schools,”
McGhee said.
Because, if the state for some
reason doesn’t revise its policy,
many elementary and middle
schools through out the state will
not meet AYP marks,” McGhee
said.
“It’s going to be a problem
state-wide,” he said. "It won’t just
be us. No elementary school or
middle school in the state may
make AYP unless something is
done about it.”
CALL AND COMPARE
PER GRAM
706-369-0000
GREG REEVES
Fine Jewelry
613 Hawthorne Ave. • Athens
SuperSummer
Carhartt
Hard at work since 1889.”
20%
/o OFF
Carhartt
Summer Items
'Excludes pants & accessories.
Madison County
Hardware & Building Supplies, Inc
535 General Daniel Ave., North
Danielsville, GA 30633
706-795-2260
SECTION AM
City of lla
INVITATION TO BID
Sealed bids will be received by CITY OF ILA, GA for the construction of 2009
WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS WATER MAINS. Submit bid to 5211
Danielsville Street, lla, GA 30647 until 6 PM local time, on October 13, 2009
and then at said time and place publicly opened and read aloud.
The work will consist of installing approximately 9,000 LF of 6-inch water main
and all related appurtenances.
Payment for the work will be made periodically on the basis of Contractor’s
Applications for Payment processed by the Engineer.
The CONTRACT DOCUMENTS may be examined at the following locations:
City of lla, GA, 5211 Danielsville Street, lla, GA 30647 (Owner)
Peoples & Quigley, Inc., 6059 Boylston Drive, NE
Sandy Springs, GA 30328 (Engineer)
Copies of the Contract Documents may be obtained at the office of Peoples &
Quigley, Inc., 6059 Boylston Drive, NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30328, (404) 255-
2650, until 48 hours before the bid opening for $125 per set, which is
nonrefundable.
Bids must be accompanied by a Bid Bond in an amount of not less than five
percent (5%) of the total amount bid. All bonds must be countersigned by a
Georgia Resident Agent. A Performance Bond in the amount of one hundred
percent (100%) of the amount of the bid and a Payment Bond in the amount
of one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of the bid must be furnished by
the successful bidder.
Bidders must comply with Executive Order No. 11246 as amended, entitled
“Equal Employment Opportunity” and with the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act (18
U.S.C. 874) as supplemented in Department of Labor Regulations (29 CFR,
Part 3).
Bidders must comply with all provisions of the “Georgia Security and
Immigration Compliance Act” of 2007.
The right is reserved by the Owner to delay the award of the Contract for a
period not to exceed sixty (60) days from the date of opening of the bids,
during which time bids shall remain open and not subject to withdrawal. The
right is also reserved to reject any and all bids and to waive any and all
technicalities or informalities.
CITY OF ILA, GA
Michael Coile, Mayor
September 11,2009