Schools could start Aug. 10 this year

Posted by
Margie Richards
in Top Stories
Monday, February 27. 2012
Comments (11)
Madison County schools could start a week later than usual for the 2012-13 school year, if a tentative school calendar is approved later this spring.

Superintendent Dr. Allen McCannon presented the calendar, which has school beginning for students on Friday, Aug. 10. McCannon said school could start a week later than that if the county does not receive the expected increase in equalization funding from the state that is expected due to a new way of calculating the funds that allows poorer counties to receive a greater percentage of funding. The last day of school would be May 24.

McCannon said the system ranks 161st out of 180 school systems in the state in “wealth per student.”

“That’s why the change in the equalization formula will help us,” McCannon said.

Under the new system, Madison County is expected to receive an increase of over $1.3 million in pro-rated funds.

In other news, McCannon told the board that Georgia ranks seventh in the nation for overall education quality and 13th in the nation in advance placement testing, according to press releases from state school superintendent John Barge. He also noted that African American students rank second in the nation in percentage of students who pass advanced placement (AP) exams.

Assistant superintendent Bonnie Knight told the board that construction at Comer Elementary is progressing and on schedule for a late June/early July completion date. School officials are also consulting with a UGA professor on an outdoor classroom design.

She also noted that cracks in the cinderblock have developed in some of the middle school’s walls due to settling and that tile on a section of concrete floor has also cracked. The construction company is expected to take care of these issues at no additional cost.

The board approved the following personnel recommendations:

Colbert Elementary – they approved the resignation of after school worker Kayla Stamps and hired Amber Drake to replace her.

Comer Elementary – they approved hiring after school workers Jessica Rush and Autumn Hall.

Danielsville Elementary – they approved a medical leave for assistant principal Angela Bush and teacher Cheryl Perry. They approved a maternity leave for teacher Selina Gilbert and hired Natalie Burroughs as her long term substitute. They also approved Bonnie Westbrook as a long term substitute for teacher Terri Thornton.

Hull-Sanford Elementary – They approved leave without pay for teacher Janice Gunnin.

Ila Elementary – They approved maternity leave for teacher Ashley Witters.

MCMS – They approved maternity leave for teacher Buffy Wennersten and approved volunteer community coach Mark Hallenbeck.

MCHS – They approved medical leave for custodian James Cooper. They approved Travis Moak and Jasmine Fleming as volunteer community coaches and approved Matthew Lang as a paid tennis coach. They also accepted the resignations of teacher James Schulte and parapro T. C. Ledford.

Transportation – They accepted the transfer of George Lovely to driver and Winfred Carey to substitute driver; Cedric Alexander was transferred from substitute driver to driver to replace Wesley Jordan, who transferred to a route formerly driven by George Patterson. William Lyles was hired as a bus driver to replace Sam Hill and the resignation of Enid Costello was accepted. Bonnie Sue Bullock was hired as substitute bus driver and an unpaid leave was approved for Mary Ann Vaughn. Mechanic Samuel Allen Ingram was transferred to assistant bus shop foreman and Tony Davidson was hired as a bus shop mechanic to replace Ingram.

In other personnel action, the board heard that MCMS parapro Amelia Nelson will retire at the end of the 2012 school year; MCMS teachers Elaine Johnson and Mark Turner have also announced their plans to retire, and both have asked to return as 49-percent employees for the 2013 school year.

MCHS food services workers Brenda Lord and Kay Shelnut will retire at the end of the school year. High school coach Randall Owen has notified the board of his intention to decline a 2013 contract.
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#1 anon on 02/27/12 at 01:37 PM [Reply]
How about starting after labor day like it used to be ! Give these kids a break during the summer !
#1.1 Virginia Moss on 02/27/12 at 02:48 PM [Reply]
Why? Because that's the way it used to be and that's the way it has always been? Especially with education, it is time to be thinking outside the box! One major problem teachers point to is that students forget too much over a long summer and both teachers and students need more time off during the school year. I would prefer to see year-round school with more time off in the spring and fall when the weather is nicer. Working parents need care for their kids while they work so they may as well be in school.
#1.1.1 anon on 02/29/12 at 08:36 AM [Reply]
Really ? Forget too much ? Be for freaking real. I for one am not in a box like you and year round school ? Maybe you need to be in year round school and see how you like it then ?
#1.1.1.1 Virginia Moss on 03/01/12 at 06:53 PM [Reply]
Is there anything you would like to add to this discussion rather than directing rude comments at me? I take it you are not in favor of year-'round school; however, you have not said why. If I am wrong (and I may very well be), please instruct me as to how I am wrong or to ideas I may not have considered. I would have loved year-'round school with time off in the spring and fall instead of long, hot, sweltering summers of bordome; that's how I would like it. I did year-'round school in college in order to get through faster, but never finished due to other circumstances. It didn't matter about when I studied since my focus was on completeing a course of study; the sooner the better was my goal and it wasn't any harder during the summer than at any other time.
#1.1.2 Anonymous on 02/29/12 at 01:16 PM [Reply]
NO TO YEAR ROUND SCHOOL!!!! I'M A WORKING PARENT AND I STILL SAY NO TO YEAR ROUND SCHOOL. BUT AUG. 10 GIVES THEM A FEW MORE DAYS. KIDS NEED TIME TO BE KIDS AND SCHOOL IS SO MUCH MORE INTENSE THAN IT USE TO BE.
#1.1.2.1 Virginia Moss on 03/01/12 at 06:43 PM [Reply]
My goodness! I would be interested in hearing ideas from others, but screaming at me and other readers here is a good way to keep from being heard. Maybe you aren't aware that, due to the word processing limitations of this site and to accepted internet practices, using capital letters is the equivalent of yelling.

I don't know how old you are, but I attended school in the 1950s and 1960s. We got a much better education then than kids are getting today. We had tons of homework and no opportunities to "do over" anything. The bar was set high then. Over the past 4 decades, that bar has been lowered many times so I don't understand how school work today can be more intense. If we are to discuss year-'round school, perhaps we should define it more clearly; it can be many different things.

As a teenager, due to triple (not double)sessions one semester, I started school at 10am and finished at 5pm. We all absolutely loved it and I was less tired at school. Year-'round school could allow for a month off in April and in October as well as the usual holidays. Now that there is air conditioning in schools, our summers are a good time to be indoors while spring and autumn are great times to be outdoors relaxing. It's the same amount of time off for students (and teachers)so what is the problem?
#2 BUSINESSMANTOO on 03/01/12 at 11:27 AM [Reply]
Let me try again. My post of yesterday didn't make but mabe this one will.
Yesterday I asked when did school become a setting service for working parents (and those that DON'T work)? Also if kids forget too much or all they learned over the summer hollidays, what happens after they (GRADUATE) and don't go to school anymore? Do they really forget what they learned after about three months?
#2.1 Virginia Moss on 03/01/12 at 02:54 PM [Reply]
Did you? I did. Even more over the years.
#2.2 Virginia Moss on 03/01/12 at 07:27 PM [Reply]
Children must be monitored at all times these days; it isn't safe for them to even walk home a mile anymore or to come home to an unsupervised house. Some kids are prone to misbehave if not constantly monitored. They are all required by law to be at school, so since they are already there, it makes sense to leave those who need after-school care in place, bringing in proper monitors paid for by the parents to supervise what would essentially be a study hall and even have tutors available for struggling students to be able to keep up. By the time parents pick them up, their homework is done and they are free to interface with their families and friends and participate in sports or other activities.

Now, you have asked three questions rather than make supported comments about this topic. You will have to ask teachers their experience with summer vacation forgetfulness, especially in the lower grades, but this is the concensus I have heard and read about. As to knowledge retained after graduation or quitting school, ask around to see what both young and older adults' experiences have been. This site is a good forum for folks to offer their own experience with retained schooling.

I went on to college for a while, but did not graduate. I married and did the housewife/mother thing. I remember thinking that all that memorization of historical dates and poems and chemical symbols was of no help whatsoever in raising a child. I learned nothing formal of human behavior or child development. I learned nothing about growing plants. I had almost no clue as to healthcare for me or my child. Maybe it has been my natural intelligence or something I learned in school, but I did know to seek out information in books, periodicals and newpapers. Of course, today access to information is a breeze on the internet. What I learned was how to learn and I wish my schooling had been on more practical stuff rather than on so much academics. I learned that reading always meant getting tested on what one read so I never read anything I didn't have to. Only in the past 4 years have I discovered the joy and enrichment of reading all kinds of books.

I would love to read what others in Madison County have experienced regarding their school days' impact on their adult lives.
#3 Emma Bowers on 03/01/12 at 07:04 PM [Reply]
I would love to see students go back after Labor Day. I have two daughters in Madison County School system. They both ride the bus because we work, and the school busses are extremely hot in the summer months. I feel for all the kids. I say No to year around school. The kids need a break and need to enjoy being kids.
#3.1 Virginia Moss on 03/02/12 at 05:52 PM [Reply]
Again, is a month in April and a month in October not time off, particularly at a nicer time of year? You have a good point about hot buses; it's hot in May and early June as well as August and Steptember. If they tolerate that (only in the afternoons)now, there's not a whole lot of difference. What if buses were air conditioned? I know that is a cost, but ignoring that for the sake of discussion here, would a month in April and a month in October be enough time off equal to two months in summer now? How would it not be? Would kids not know how to "enjoy" themselves in the lovely climate of April and October? What is driving the resistance to any changes? Just change? We've always done it this way so that is the best way? That's inside-the-box thinking when what we have been doing inside-the-box isn't really working. Does anyone have any outside-the-box thinking to offer here?
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