Page 2C January 23, 2019
eR orter
recognizes achievements and
service at Monroe Co, Middle School
Monroe County Middle School 8th grader Anna Woodgeard, left, won 1st place in the Annual Lion's Club
Peace Poster contest for the county, district and state. She was recognized by the BOE on Jan. 8. She is pictured
with Principal Dr. Efrem Yarber, Superintendent Dr. Mike Hickman and BOE Chair Nolen Howard.
Monroe County Middle School 8th grader Gabriella Miller, center, has been chosen to serve on the State
School Superintendents Advisory Board.
Monroe County Middle School 8th grader Samantha Fussell, left, won 3rd place in
creative writing at the State Jr. Beta Convention in Savannah on Nov. 30. This was the first
time MCMS Jr. Beta Club has been able to travel to a convention in a while. (Photos/Diane
Glidewell)
At its Jan. 8 meeting Monroe County Board of Education recognized the Middle School
Robotics Team, the StarWarriors, and its coach for winning the Grand Championship at
Monroe County Middle School staff who have reached milestones in their years of service Middle Georgia State University Regional Competition on Dec. 15. The team has a bid to
were recognized, awarded certificates and pins and thanked for their quality service at the Starbase Robins Super Regional competition in Warner Robins on Jan. 26.
the Jan. 8 Board of Education meeting. Pictured are Annie Dyke (5 years), Hannah Gross- Pictured, left to right, are Coach Heather Wheeler, Principal Dr. Efrem Yarber, William
man (5), LaKeisha Walker (5), Greta Beach (5), Cornell Walker (5), Terri Jones (10 years), Little, Camden Pippen, Christian Little, Dr. Mike Hickman, Ella Miller, Chloe Myers, Nolen
Christina Rogers (10), Sherondah Strode (15 years), Mattie Hammond (15), Mary Cunning- Howard, Haven Mosley. Team members not pictured are Jerry Ochieng, Joey Foster, Luke
ham (20 years). Not pictured is Laura Nelson (5 years). Cantrell, Madison Grier, Daniel Biek.
BOE recognizes service, efforts above and beyond by Transportation employees
Wes Brock has been a dedicated bus driver for Monroe
County Schools for four years and began driving a special
education bus this year. In September he observed a student
who was having a difficult day and refused to get on another
driver's bus to go home from K.B. Sutton Elementary. He took
the initiative to talk with the student and in a very patient,
caring way persuaded the student to get on the bus.
A staff member who observed the interaction, emailed Trans-
portation Director Jake Davis to praise Brock for the kindness
he showed in reaching out to a student at a traumatic time
and wisely de-escalating a tense situation.
"Thank you for your kindness and for having a caring heart
for our students," said Davis.
Director of Transportation Jake Davis
said Lead Bus Driver Jessica Knight
began the lengthy and stringent
process of earning her third party
CDL Examiner's certification through
the Georgia Department of Driver
Services in October. Over three
months she attended classes, studied
and completed hands-on skills tests.
She was one of eight out of 18 in her
class who successfully completed the
program. She can now conduct third-
party CDL testing for the district.
Monroe County Schools Transportation Department staff who have reached milestones in their years of service were
recognized, awarded certificates and pins and thanked for their quality service at the Jan. 8 Board of Education meet-
ing. Pictured are Megan Delucia (5 years), Emma Mullis (5 years), Connie White (10 years), Lori Hampshire (15 years),
Tina Ivey (15 years), Leslie Hart (25 years), Katherine Hugely (25 years), Vernelle Carter (45 years). Not pictured
are James Cobb (5 years), Sandra Howard (5), Melvin Jones (5), Lynne Melton (5), Roger Williams (5). (Photos/Diane
Glidewell)
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turn to the ex
Howard will chair
By Diane Glklewell
news@mymcr.net
In its first actions for the
new year, Monroe County
Board of Education re-
elected Nolen Howard as
chair and J.P. Evans as vice
chair. The vote for both was
five in favor and two ab-
staining, with Howard and
Evans each abstaining from
voting for themselves and
PUBLIC NOTICE
CITY OF FORSYTH ELECTION
TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 5, 2019
The qualifying fees approved at the City's 1st
meeting in January 2019 are as follows:
Mayor fee: $375.00
Council fee: $301.35
The positions up for re-election this year are:
Mayor held by Eric Wilson
Council Post #1 held by John Howard
Council Post #3 held by Melvin Lawrence
Council Post #4 held by Greg Goolsby
Qualifying dates will be August 26-30, 2019
October 7, 2019 is the last day for a person to
register and be eligible to vote in the November
General Election and Special Election Runoff.
new board member Greg
Head abstaining, saying
he hasn't had the opportu-
nity to work with the other
board members, yet. The
Jan. 8 BOE meeting was
the first meeting for Head
as a member of the board.
Superintendent Dr. Mike
Hickman said the board
should consider a policy
of electing its chair and
vice chair every two years
instead of every year. He
suggested board members
discuss the policy at their
workshop on Saturday,
Jan. 26, which is scheduled
for 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at
Monroe County Educa-
tion Center. He said the
board will also discuss how
school finances in
to promote community
involvement at the work
session.
"We are now the largest
employer in the county;'
said Hickman. "We need
to talk about how we can
spread our message about
what we're doing;'
The board went into
dosed door session to dis-
cuss personnel, safety and
litigation, including board
attorney Ben Vaughn and
Assistant Superintendent
Jackson Daniel in the
meeting.
Back in open session, the
board re-appointed the law
firm of Harbin, Hartley &
Hawkins of Gainesville and
Ben Vaughn of Forsyth to
State of Georgia Monroe County
Under and by virtueof O.C.G.A. 36-5-24 (b)2, notice is
hereby given that the Monroe County Board of
Commissioners will take action at the February 19, 2019
Board of Commissioners' Meeting, 38 W. Main Street,
Forsyth, GA at 9:00 a.m. to consider increasing the
compensation for the Board of Commissioner Chairman
to $15,500 annually, and to increase the compensation
for Commissioners to $15,000 annually to be effective
January 1, 2021. All citizens of Monroe County are
invited to attend.
serve as its legal counsel,
with Head abstaining for
lack of experience and
information and Doster ab-
staining because of family
relationship with Vaughn.
Head asked if the board
had ever looked at chang-
ing attorneys. Doster said
Monroe County Schools
has used Harbin, Hartley &
Hawkins since at least the
1980's.
Hickman said Harbin,
Hartley & Hawkins special-
ize in education law, are
used by many other school
systems and are the rep-
resentative of the Georgia
School Board Associa-
tion liability coverage that
Monroe County Schools
have. Vaughn has the local
knowledge that the school
system needs regarding
local banks, attendance
zones, local contracts, etc.
In other BOE news:
Director of Financial
Services Chris Johnson told
the board the financial situ-
ation of the school system
looks good and the budget
is on track for where it
should be this time of
year. (The school system's
fiscal year runs from July
1 to June 30). He said the
school system has received
91 percent of the revenue
it projected for the year,
including property taxes.
Johnson said revenue is up
about $800,000 from where
it was this time last year.
Expenses are also in line
with the budget, although
Monroe County Schools
recently had a large bill for
a semiannual installment
on software.
Property taxes for large
utility companies were not
due until Dec. 31. On Jan.
7 Monroe County Schools
received a check from the
tax office for $10.8 million
to add to the $9.6 million
it had already received.
SPLOST money received
goes to an investment
pool where it draws about
2.8 percent interest until
it is needed as allocated.
$4,080,000 in SPLOST
revenue is budgeted for the
year.
Board member Smart
Pippin and Hickman are
reviewing a State Senate
See BOE Page 8C
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