then it should address the persistent pov
erty problems plaguing Athens. Pre-k para-
pros, custodians, after-school caretakers
and substitutes make about $10 an hour,
she said.
White said she wants less money spent
on curriculums, consultants and programs,
and wants money directed to those who
care for school children. A budget, she said,
is about priorities.
Former EMT Sam Rafal reminded the
board how long it took an ambulance to
arrive at a school where a child was expe
riencing anaphylactic shock. He suggested
that when school personnel dial 911, they
ask to speak to the fire department, because
firefighters are trained as EMTs and doing
so saves time. The current system sends
911 calls for medical emergencies to an
ambulance dispatcher in Oconee County—a
system Rafal said he wants changed to pre
vent delays.
Former Auburn athlete Rachel Hopkins,
a running coach and the marketing director
for Athens Transit, encouraged the board
to make the Clarke
Central High School
track eight lanes
instead of six when
it is replaced and to
make other changes
in its design. “Vote to
make the most of it and give our students
the facilities they deserve,” she told the
board.
Many speakers insisted the board return
Demond Means to his position as superin
tendent. Means has remained on adminis
trative leave, collecting his salary, since a
majority of the board voted to remove him
on Dec. 9 and to replace him with interim
superintendent Xernona Thomas. At a Nov.
21 meeting, Means told the board, “You
don’t want me as superintendent, and
we need to have a discussion about how I
leave.”
Means’ supporters at the board meeting
included people who live in Athens, such
as Fred and Lee Smith, Alvin Sheats and
Tommie Farmer, as well as Athens native
and current Oconee County resident Diane
Dunston. Barrow County resident Chalice
Montgomery read a piece about the his
torical use of and harm caused by a racial
epithet, presumably in response to board
member Greg Davis reading a Langston
Hughes poem that includes the epithet at a
recent Black History Month event.
Davis brought up House Bill 829, under
consideration in the Georgia legislature.
The Georgia School Boards Association sup
ports the measure. If passed, it could pave
the way for a local referendum that would
give homeowners 65 years old and older a
tax break at the expense of public educa
tion. For CCSD, the estimated loss in reve
nue could be $2.5 million. The board voted
unanimously for a resolution opposing the
proposal. [Rebecca McCarthy]
Voters, Want Paper or Plastic?
Early voters in the presidential primary
are currently using paper ballots after the
ACC Board of Elections voted last week to
ditch the state’s new voting machines.
The board voted 3-2 Mar. 3 (with chair
man Jesse Evans, Willa Fambrough and new
member Rocky Raffle
in favor, and Charles
Knapper and Patricia
Till opposed) to switch
to paper ballots for
the Mar. 24 presiden
tial primary over con
cerns that the new machines’ large screens
don’t give voters enough privacy. State law
requires counties to use the voting system
provided by the state unless it’s “impossible
or impracticable.” County attorney Judd
Drake told the board it will have a hard
time meeting that standard, and Director of
Elections and Voter Registration Charlotte
Sosebee said privacy can be provided.
The board had previously voted to
have paper ballots ready as a backup after
Sosebee told it that many voting sites can’t
handle the power demands of the new
system, which requires voters to punch in
their choices on a touchscreen, then prints
a paper receipt that is scanned in.
The State Election Board has scheduled
a hearing for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Mar.
11 at the Georgia Center for Continuing
Education to determine if the ACC BOE
acted legally. [BA] ©
Vote to make the most of
it and give our students
the facilities they deserve.
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MARCH 11, 2020 | FLAGPOLE.COM
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