Board of Education Approves Proposal to Rebuild Davis Elementary Classrooms

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The February 26th meeting of the Dade County Board of Education included reports on school lunches and federal grants and the approval of a proposal to rebuild a classroom building (replacing the “old rock building”) at Davis Elementary School.

Beginning his report, Josh Ingle (superintendent) introduced Dr. Robbie Vincent from Northwest Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) who presented certificates to each school for their Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs.

Vincent reported that over 1,300 schools in Georgia and over 28,000 nation-wide implement PBIS. Handing out certificates, she recognized each of Dade’s four schools for “implementing PBIS with high levels of fidelity” and for falling within the advanced levels of PBIS.

Ingle then recognized players from the Dade Middle School girls and boys basketball teams for receiving NGAC All-League/All-Tournament honors. See the sports section for photos and names.

The National Association of Canine Scent Work presented a request for the board to consider. Casey York with the Dade County Sheriff’s office (K9 handler and deputy commander of the Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force) made the connection between the association and the school board.

Kathy Pierce, Angie Young, and Lindsey Lucy (certified instructors with the association) explained that the group stemmed from providing activities for retired professional canines and has essentially become a sport-like hobby for dogs and their owners alike. The group puts on competitive events where trained dogs must find certain scents at various locations across the country. There are 7,000 active members in the association with 33,000 dogs registered.

They find schools, churches, daycares, and other facilities that are willing to let the group use the space. The association would like to use any of Dade’s schools for such an event. About 30 dogs each day (one at a time) search inside the building, outside the building, and cars to identify the placed scents. “It’s supposed to be as close to real world searching as we can get it,” said Pierce.

However, rather than using scents of illegal substances (like those that police dogs search for), the group uses essential oils (contained to avoid filling up the space with odor).

The board members asked why Dade County, and the group explained that they haven’t hosted many events near the tri-state area so Dade would provide a driving-distance event for some participants.

The board asked when and how long a school would be needed, and the association explained that they want to host a two-day event sometime in the fall. It could be on a weekend or during a school break.

They explained that the association is insured to cover any damages, all competitors sign a waiver, and the group cleans thoroughly afterward. Pierce added that all of the dogs are well-trained and watched carefully to prevent any issues, and they’ve never had reports after events of any allergic reactions or issues. The schools can also designate which areas are available for the event and which are off-limits.

York reported that he would be at the event the entire time.

The board did not reach a decision at this meeting.

Jennifer Bowden (director of school nutrition) then gave an update on school nutrition, reporting that Dade’s is the fifth largest in the nation (based on participation, not population). The state average of students who enroll (free, reduced, or paid) in school lunch programs is 62.3 percent, while Dade’s for fiscal year 2024 is 78.4 percent. This year, 61.72 percent of Dade students are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

Bowden reported that because of a bill from Governor Brian Kemp, students who qualify for reduced prices have free meals this year. Also, families that receive SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid automatically receive free lunch.

When Bowden discussed menu items, Jennifer Hartline (Sand Mountain District representative) asked if the program is moving away from prepacked food. Bowden said they are, and the kitchen staff makes much of the food from scratch.

The board and Bowden spoke highly of the kitchen staff and cleanliness in the cafeterias (all of which received perfect scores from the health department). However, Bowden reported that they face staffing shortages and the low pay makes it difficult to keep substitutes to do the hard work.

She reported that (just as with everything) the cost of food and paper products have increased. Hartline asked if fewer disposable products could be used, placing food directly on trays instead, to help reduce these costs. Bowden said they are continuing to do that, particularly at the high school, but it makes clean-up more time consuming, especially when short-staffed.

Bowden proposed a slow increase in lunch prices over the next five years, noting that June 2017 was the last time the prices were increased. Out of 19 schools in northwest Georgia, only Chattooga had prices lower than Dade, and Bowden explained that if prices are “too low,” the schools could be fined during audits. The board did not make a decision about future price increases at this meeting.

Jeremy Roerdink (director of federal programs and safety) then gave an update on federal grants. Title I (which is awarded based on free/reduced lunch qualifiers) is Dade’s largest federal grant and amounted to $496,129 this year. It is used to aid homeless students and fund instructional coaches, interventionists, paraprofessionals, and instructional software at both elementary schools.

Title II amounted to $86,783 this year. It funds an instructional coach at Dade Middle School, teacher training, the Teacher Mentor Program, classes and books for teachers working toward Gifted Certification, RESA Leadership Training for the assistant principals, and training for the director of academics/testing (Chris Davis).

Title IV ($38,809 this year), funds a part-time art teacher at both elementary schools.

The Safer Schools Grant ($250,000) is a competitive grant that Dade applied for and received. It helps cover training and salaries for school resource officers.

The Math Opportunity Grant ($3,177) was awarded thanks to several Dade math teachers who applied for it. It was used to purchase tools for math instruction.

Lastly, the School Security Grant from Kemp’s office ($200,000) was used for automatic external defibrillators, security alert system, door locks at Dade Elementary School, and radios for communication with Dade County Emergency Management.

Roerdink explained that surveying parents helps them assess the effectiveness of these programs. “If it’s not effective, then we change course or we don’t continue to spend money…We’ll check lesson plans, we’ll do walk-throughs, we’ll gather stakeholder input, we’ll do observations, we look at data.” He noted that funds must be used for research-based programs and tools.

Under action items, the monthly financials were approved as usual and the school year calendar was amended to make up for days lost to ice (with March 28-29th being full days instead of half/in-service days).

A bid for the Davis construction project was also approved. Kenneth Harless with KRH Architects reported that after making several modifications (including the adjustments to the closed off hallway – see the July 5th, 2023 issue of the Sentinel) the bid is almost exactly half a million dollars lower than the last bid.

Hartline added, “The way we’ve been about this, we’re not looking at actually needing to do any type of bonds.” Daniel Case (North Dade District representative) added, “We’ve made preparations, and the people need to know, that’s why she brought it up. We’ve been working hard as a board to make sure that this is able to be funded.”

Hartline continued, “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like it any better than anybody else that we’ve had to wait until this point, but I am pleased to say that we’re not having to borrow any money to do it.”

Harless reported that as far as space, the plans adjusted small items such as ramps and stairs to save money but kept the functional spaces: five classrooms, a music classroom, staff and student restrooms, and a custodial closet.

Hartline asked if the old classrooms that were torn down were undersized (according to the state’s standards). Harless said that they were, but the new ones will be 750 square feet and are not undersized.

Harless said they received two proposals and scored them based on nine criteria. Integrated Builds had the better score and lower price, and Harless voiced his confidence in the company.

In total (with costs for parking lots included), the price is $3,897,230.

Hartline confirmed that some of the stone from the original rock building will still be incorporated into the design. Harless added that monuments from the old Davis High School and Cole City will be incorporated as well.

Lastly, a board policy was presented for review by board members until the next meeting. Ingle explained, “Adopting this policy will increase the capital asset threshold beginning July 1, 2023…Any capital asset that we purchase, if it’s $5,000, we have to add it to our list which causes the depreciation to roll off of our depreciation list, sometimes sooner sometimes longer, depending on the asset. If we increase the threshold to $10,000…that’s fewer items that belong on our capital asset listing.”

The personnel report is as follows:

• Retirements: Tammy Davenport (end of FY24 school year), Diane McBryar (end of FY24 school year)
• Resignations: Angie Beach, Lori Crabtree, Katie Page (end of FY24 school year)
• Hire FY25 Administration: Charity Barton, Michelle Beeler, Brent Cooper, Chris Davis, Tonya Gatlin, Shenea Hill, Susan Reyes, Jeremy Roerdink, Melissa Valtierra
• Hire Certified Staff: Darby Ambrose Reeves, Sydney Poston Blake
• Voluntary Transfer: Skyla Castleberry – Administrative Assistant
• Hire Substitute Teachers: Marsha Townson, Robyn Cameron
• SNP Personnel: Sharon Cox (substitute), Kristin Beasley (substitute)
• Other: Kaelin Dupree to help with DMS track