CMYK Thursday, March 20, 2014
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Teams tackle tests for 10-year-olds. 3B
Jackson County teacher ranks to be cut By LEANNE AKIN
lakin@clickthepaper.com
The Jackson County School System will be enacting its Reduction in Force policy in an effort to save approximately $3.1 million in the 2014-15 school year budget. That means there will be less fewer teachers employed by the district at the start of the next school year. During a March 14 called Jackson County Board of Education meeting held at the conclusion of a two-day board retreat, the school board accepted the staff recommendation to adopt a RIF plan which will reduce 40.5 certified positions. That number is in addition to another 19 positions being lost to attrition
Reduction in Force for 2014-15 will impact 40.5 certified positions, restore full calendar
die to resignations, retirements and contract non-renewals. The final recommendation was fine-tuned from a retreat discussion the previous day about the system’s financial condition. With personnel expenditures for the Jackson County School District accounting for approximately 90 percent of the overall budget and the desire to begin rebuilding the system’s depleted fund balance to $9 million over the next several years, Superintendent Dr. April Howard said to
attain the goal of providing the very best instruction to students, the system needed to work to restore teacher contracts to 190-day calendars with a 180-day instructional calendar for students. “With 10 furlough days, we were not rewarding our teachers,” said Howard. “We need as full a calendar as we can.” Board member Steve Bryant reiterated a statement he had previously made when talks were focusing on the system’s financial straits.
Downtown debut
“The bleeding has to stop,” said Bryant, who later commented that efforts thus far had only put a tourniquet on the wound. “We’ve got to balance our budget but the state only gives so much. We’ve got to get back to reality.” Bryant said, “Employees must be taken care of so our kids can be taken care of or we are not doing our jobs.” Teachers working for 80 percent of their salary can’t continue to be as effective as they should be, said Bryant. He noted that several good quality teachers have already been lost because of the ongoing calendar reduction days.
See TEACHER RANKS, 2A
COMMERCE SERVICE AREA
Fire service contract gets 3-1 approval from commissioners
By LEANNE AKIN
lakin@clickthepaper.com
LeAnne Akin The Paper
In spite of the rainy and cool conditions, eight students representing West Jackson Primary School and West Jackson Intermediate School braved Monday’s weather to participate in the ribboncutting ceremony for the grand reopening of downtown Braselton. Road projects are completed and the new Streetscape project (above) includes brickwork, planters with trees, benches, refuse cans and decorative light poles with signs that can be changed out. Involved in the celebration (below) was Elizabeth Franklin, Angelo Jiminez and Derek Vaughn with Braselton Downtown Director Amy Pinnell and Hayden Bradley, Jeremiah McKinzie, Damon Shaw, Berkley Castleman and Carlie Butler. The students, accompanied by adult chaperones, walked to the celebration along the completed sidewalks. See more scenes at ClickThePaper.com and in the upcoming West Jackson Community Guide.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners Monday gave a mixed blessing to the contract for Commerce to provide fire service to the East Jackson Fire District. Commission Chairman Tom Crow said the fire services contract from the early 1990s between Jackson County and Commerce had lapsed. A contract which has been approved by the elected board for the East Jackson Fire District and the City of Commerce was submitted to Jackson County last month. A memo from Commerce City Manager Pete Pyrzenski requested action at the next commission meeting: “Once this is done, I will move to place the project out to bid. It is our intent to fund this project with the incoming fire district tax millage. “This effort will be a great enhancement to the fire district and the residents of this particular area. It is hopeful by completing this project it will bring insurance relief to all affected,” said the memo. Crow said County Attorney Christopher Hamilton had not yet reviewed the contract. Hamilton said staff had not requested the review in advance of the meeting. Commissioner Dwain Smith said he has been contacted by the East Jackson Fire Board which is ready to do something and suggested approval be given with the option for the commission to revisit the contract should issues with it arise in the next three months.
“We’re under pressure to approve this contract,” said Commissioner Cha Hardy, who indicated the contract talks and search for a station location have been ongoing for as long as eight months. “They need to get moving on the engineering work.” Commerce and the fire board are simply looking for the county’s blessing on the contract, he said, suggesting it would be a failure on the county’s part not to proceed with approval. Commissioner Bruce Yates said the fire board is made up of members elected by the people and that board, along with the City of Commerce, have reached an agreement. “They are paying higher insurance premiums than they need to be paying,” said Hardy, who urged approval of the contract. When the new station is constructed and staffed by Commerce, property owners in the East Jackson Fire District should experience a better fire protection rating than they currently have. Hamilton restated an amendment to the motion to approve the contract being subject to legal review, meaning the contract would come back to the commission for final approval. Smith said that was not his amendment. It was noted the discussion had been batted back and forth for months and action was needed but County Manager Kevin Poe said the documents were only received two weeks ago. Crow said he was drawn into the issue when some East Jackson County residents contacted him to complain they were paying more than their
See FIRE CONTRACT, 2A
Jefferson, Jackson Co. on International VIP Tour’s Friday itinerary ‘Rock the Champs’tribute
Celebration set for 1964 season title The 1964 state basketball champions of Jackson County High are long remembered as they posted a 33-1 record for the season, and Braselton officials will host a gala “Rock the Champs” salute to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the accomplishment. The event is slated for Thursday, March 20, in the West Jackson Primary School gym begin-
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ning at 6 p.m., and the public is invited. Team members and cheerleaders will be featured, and tributes are set from the Town of Braselton, players and a distinguished coach whose team Jackson County defeated. Excitement is building and a packed gym is expected. West Jackson Primary School Braselton Mayor Bill Orr with is located on Highway 53. the State Champ basketball
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Jackson County will be one of 10 host counties for the annual International VIP Tour that takes place March 19-21. “This event is a fantastic way to show the international community how our business climate is booming and Georgia’s quality of life is drawing in visitors and investment from across the globe,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) Commissioner Chris Carr. “Not only does this event provide the perfect opportunity for the local community to network with influential leaders from 26 countries, but it also provides VIP Tour guests with a unique perspective of the culture, economy and overall character of Georgia,” said Carr. The 2014 International VIP Tour is a three-day event that showcases a region of Georgia to the Consular Corps.
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This year, the itinerary includes both traditional tourism and an economic development tour in northeast Georgia, and this will be the first time the Crawford W. Long Museum is featured on the tour. The group will be arriving by bus to tour the museum on Friday, March 21, and will participate in placing the wreath on the Long memorial in honor of Doctors’ Day. March 30 is designated as National Doctors’ Day in honor of the date Dr. Long first used ether as an anesthetic in 1842. “The City of Jefferson is honored to host the International VIP Tour of Northeast Georgia. Jefferson and all the cities in Jackson County have unique attributes that make them attractive to new residents and business,” said Mayor Roy Plott. “The
See VIP TOUR, 2A
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