BOE proposes higher millage rate
There was a 67% increase in withdrawals from the Oglethorpe County School System this year.
Superintendent Beverley Levine said the sharp uptick —— 144 student withdrawals this year compared with 86 in 2023 — was due in part to the residency audit conducted in third, sixth and ninth grades.
“Some of the reasons were we live over the county line, some just said moving, but I could recognize names that we knew were folks out of the county,” Levine said. “We still have a few residency things to clean up that we're working on.”
Levine noted the district doesn’t have information on current enrollments, but she said the district won’t have a net loss of 144 students from these withdrawals.
The BOE also discussed three donation options — the PEACH Education tax credit, the Year-In-Review booklet and the Athens Area Community Foundation.
The PEACH Education tax credit allows individuals, businesses and corporations to give money to the district, and then claim the tax credit on their Georgia income tax return. The cut-off to donate is Dec. 31.
Levine said the school system had three individuals donate to Oglethorpe County Schools through the PEACH Education tax credit last year, totaling $6,000. This funding is used for career development, leadership development and mental health support for students and parents.
In other news, the board approved:
Furniture for the new Oglethorpe County Elementary School, which will cost $1.12 million. The board set aside $1 million for furniture in the original budget. Leftovers in the OCHS gym project fund will cover the remaining balance. The total includes shipping and installation costs.
A multi-purpose batting cage facility that costs $22,300. The OCHS baseball and softball teams, and the booster club will pitch in $5,000 each. The high school will cover the remaining balance.
Jimmy Stokes as the school system's 2024-25 disciplinary hearing officer. Stokes was the hearing officer last year and charges $80 per hearing.
The CTAE Perkins Improvement budget of $24,849. This budget is used for professional development and travel for the CTAE classes and clubs.
The ASPIRE grant amounting to $338,040.
Out-of-state travel for four trips, including: OCMS and OCHS to travel to the National FFA convention in Indianapolis on Oct. 22-26; Levine to travel to the Superintendents Leadership Network with Schlechty Center in Louisville on Oct. 23-25; Assistant Superintendent Kanya Cornish to travel to the Fall Summit Institute for Education Innovation in Pigeon Forge on Nov. 10-12; and OCMS and OCHS students to travel to the FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Orlando on July 5-9, 2025.
- Personnel changes, including: The resignation of Jennifer Faust; the hiring of Sarah Gray, paraprofessional at OCPS; Brenda Lester, bus monitor; and Jeanna Amos, full-time bus driver; the hiring of substitutes Corey Collins, Caitlin Scott, Lisa Wilson, Leroy Hall, Teri Roberts, Ashley Giles, Elizabeth Shelnutt, Patricia Massey and Jerry Barnes; ASPIRE program hires of Phoebe Dalton, Isabella Heckman, Melissa Mattox, Kimberly McElroy and Amberley Wilson.