Catoosa County superintendent touts student gains, details lead testing, budget pressures and CTAE grants

Catoosa County Public Schools leaders used a staff meeting to highlight academic gains while laying out safety steps and financial choices facing the district.

Superintendent Nicks said the district reached a 90.81% four‑year graduation rate for 2024 and noted several school designations and student awards. He also described how the district has handled water‑source lead testing, steps to expand teacher planning time, one‑time grants for Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) travel and a recent $8 million tax‑anticipation note to bridge cashflow timing.

The achievements and statistics were front and center. Superintendent Nicks told employees that four secondary schools had been named math leader schools by the Georgia Department of Education, Wood Station Elementary earned a Title I Reward School designation, CCPS posted a 90.81% graduation rate that he said exceeds the statewide average of 85.4%, and more than 400 students participate in dual enrollment with Georgia Northwestern Technical College and Dalton State College. He also announced four $10,000 REACH scholarships and cited a 94% teacher retention rate.

Why it matters: the district’s academic progress comes as leaders manage health‑safety work and a budget squeeze the superintendent said has raised operating pressures on personnel costs and other items.

Water testing and mitigation

Superintendent Nicks said CCPS participated in the Clean Water for Kids testing program (a voluntary program in Georgia) and has closed and mitigated any water sources that tested above the program’s guidance. He credited the district’s Child Nutrition staff, including Chef Michael Brown, for helping carry out the sampling. One remaining sample — a kettle at Boynton Elementary — was sent to an external laboratory for confirmation; Nicks said the lab result was expected the following week. He said any source that returned higher‑than‑allowed readings was shut down immediately and retested after mitigation steps.

CTAE funding, CTSO grants and vehicles

Mark Pierce, the district CTAE director, announced that the Catoosa County Career Academy (CCA) and its board provided $500 checks to CTSO teachers to offset travel costs for competitions and that the district purchased a vehicle to support CTSO travel. Pierce credited Marissa Brower, CEO of the Career Academy, and the CCA board for raising the funds. Pierce said the intent is to make the support recurring and to expand middle‑school access over time.

Planning time and staffing changes

Superintendent Nicks and district leaders explained schedule changes intended to add teacher planning time. The district added two half‑days this year dedicated to planning and plans to have four half‑days in the next school calendar. Leadership described a disparity in noninstructional minutes across grade bands that prompted adding early dismissal Wednesdays for middle‑school teachers so their planning time more closely matches the time available to elementary and high‑school staff.

Residency checks and enrollment

The district hired a part‑time student services officer, Jeff Rhodes, to verify residency. Rhodes’ work prompted 86 residency checks this school year; the superintendent reported 49 students were withdrawn after investigations found they were not county residents. The district also reported that about 1% of students moved to a different school within the county this year (98 of 9,757) compared with 1.13% (11 of 9,809) the prior year.

Budget pressures, tax‑anticipation note and E‑SPLOST

Nicks described rising employer health‑insurance costs as a major driver of budget pressure. He said the state health plan cost per covered employee has risen considerably in recent years and that the district faces roughly $6 million more per year tied to those increases. To manage fall cashflow the district issued an $8 million tax‑anticipation note (TAN) in fall 2024, Nicks said — a common tool district leaders use to bridge timing between local collections and operating needs. He also said the district intends to place an E‑SPLOST (Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) referendum before voters in about 12 months; he described E‑SPLOST as restricted to capital and maintenance projects and repeatedly audited.

Other operational notes

Nicks highlighted other figures and operational items: CCPS school nurses logged about 42,000 visits in the first semester; the district transports more than 6,000 students daily on a fleet of about 50 buses and is about 70% staffed in transportation; the district’s technology office is screening classroom tools with privacy safeguards; and the district retains “low risk” audit status with the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, he said.

Quotes

"We went into this program because we thought it was the right thing to do," Superintendent Nicks said of the lead testing, adding any source that failed testing was shut down and retested. "Once we got that result back, anytime we got results back of a number higher than what was prescribed, we shut that water source down." He also framed the budget choices bluntly: "There's only two ways — increase your revenue or cut expenses," and said the district had used a mix of coding, grant adjustments and other steps to shore up finances.

What’s next

District leaders said they would post audit and financial reports publicly and follow up with principals and staff on any remaining testing results and schedule changes. The superintendent asked staff to watch for communications about the E‑SPLOST planning process and said the board would vote on next steps in about a year.

Ending

Superintendent Nicks closed by reiterating appreciation for staff and by encouraging employees to use the district’s channels to ask follow‑up questions. He said the district’s priorities remain student safety, supporting teachers’ planning time and protecting classroom staffing while pursuing capital funding roles for maintenance and facility investments.