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Board of Education receives $18,000 for middle school band instruments
Earlier Monday, Debbie Wells and Lou Riccuiti of the Washington- Wilkes Arts Foundation presented Superintendent of Schools Joyce Williams with a check for $18,000, the proceeds of the Hillary Lindsey benefit concert this spring. Presenting the check to the Board of Education, Williams said that the amount raised for the middle school band program far exceeded her expectations. A portion of the funds will go into an account for instrument repairs and maintenance, and some of the funds will go to rent or lease instruments for students who can't afford to. "This will allow many more talented kids to try music in our school system, and again I thank our Hillary Lindsey for this. And we're so proud of her." Turning the board's attention to the new school complex construction project, Superintendent Williams said she had toured the site with the construction manager and that grading was well underway. She thanked Washington Mayor Willie Burns and City Administrator Mike Eskew for their help in getting temporary water service to the site. She said that a request for bids had gone out to all three electrical power providers, and that bids were due July 24. Williams passed out a list of subcontractors that McKnight Construction was using for the project, and said that the company was soliciting for bids on parts of the project. She said that McKnight had assured her that more local companies would be used when the buildings started going up. "We've been assured of more local participation on the job." She announced that she would hold a monthly construction meeting on the first Thursday of each month at 8:30 a.m. at the Board of Education offices. The board heard Superintendent Williams' report of her discussion with Director of Transportation James Callaway concerning the need to purchase buses this year. "The fleet is in good shape," she said, "and we determined that we can do without any bus purchase this year." Williams also recommended that the board give $6,000 to the Mary Willis Library to supplement the library's budget as they had in years past, and the board agreed unanimously. The board also voted to reappoint Dr. Randy Clayton as the school board's representative on the library board. Williams invited board members to Saturday's Back to School Festival at the Booker Center. Sponsored by the Unity Group and Sheila Hill, the festival will help get kids excited about school, she said. After a discussion about the scope of RESA technical services assistance, the board voted to renew the system's membership in RESA, and to add a youth apprenticeship work study to the program. The superintendent said that she would not be proposing language for the upcoming SPLOST referendum at this month's meeting. The language was still being ironed out by lawyers at King & Spalding, she said, to be ready for approval by the board in August. "We're still shooting for the November ballot," she said. She was looking into a campaign and advertisements for the SPLOST initiative, but the campaign must not use system funds, she added. In other action, the board set a called meeting for the Superintendent's evaluation for July 25 at 6:30 p.m.
Elaine Wheatley presented the financial report and told the board that the recent audit went well. "The books are in good shape," she said.
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