The Oglethorpe County Board of Education discussed reading and speech services for home school students with disabilities for the 2025-26 school year at its work session Tuesday night.
Costs of services have “gone up” since last year, due to an increase in students within the program, superintendent Beverley Levine said.
“This is an annual item that we do have to set aside money that’s given to us for (special education) services,” she said. “This is federal money that we receive, and we are receiving full allocation of our (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) money.”
The board also discussed Oglethorpe County Extension coordinator Shanna Reynolds’ request to help fund a 4-H program coordinator position that was eliminated by federal cuts this spring.
The position was placed on the agenda for the Aug. 12 meeting.
Reynolds made the request at last week’s BOE meeting after speaking to the county commissioners at their meeting earlier this month. The commission approved its half of the salary in that meeting.
“Our budget’s already been approved, and (the position is) not allocated in our budget,” BOE chair Becky Soto said. “In order for us to pick that up, we either gotta find a pot of money or we’re going to have to amend the budget.”
In other news, Jimmy Stokes was approved as the 2025-26 disciplinary hearing officer and will charge $90 per hearing.
Out-of-state field trips for middle and high school chapters of Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) were also on the agenda.
Levine will also attend workshops in Ohio, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.
The five-year strategic plan will be presented at the next board meeting on Aug. 12, with a Sept. 15 training date requested.
Levine also reviewed previous meeting minutes and recommended approval of the July 29 personnel report, followed by an operations update from director of operations Paul Thiel.
Thiel said Select Trees “graciously” donated the trees behind the new elementary school and College Pro Landscaping will install the remaining trees at the front of the building in December.
Other updates included fencing placed around the kindergarten and pre-K playgrounds, roof repairs to the middle school, sealing asphalt in the middle school parking lot and renovations to the press box bathrooms.
Board members also discussed the Tuesday release of federal funds for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.
The Oglethorpe County School System After School Patriots Involved in Readiness and Enrichment (ASPIRE) program is funded from the grant money, Soto said.
Levine said that the school system received roughly $383,000 for the grant.
“We went through a rigorous application process, and (the federal government has) been holding that grant money,” Soto said. “And so they released it, and we will be able to have our ASPIRE program this year.”
She added that 150 elementary students will participate in the program.