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Muscogee County outlines summer learning plan with 10 sites, 20 pre-K classes and $2M projection
Summary
District officials described summer learning sites, staffing and transportation plans, saying the program will prioritize students behind in reading and include 20 rising-kindergarten pre-K classes funded by a state grant; projected budget is just under $2 million.
Tim Smith, Muscogee County School District chief academic officer, presented the board with details of the district’s summer learning program, telling trustees the district has identified host sites and staffing plans ahead of a June start.
“We're starting with elementary. We're looking at having 10 sites,” Smith said, and added the district plans “20 pre k classes with the rising kindergarten grant from the state.”
The program will run mostly in June, with Monday–Thursday sessions (shortened the week of Juneteenth). Site directors will serve as the acting principal for each site, responsible for hiring and daily operations; site directors will start an hour before and work an hour after program hours, while other staff will start 30 minutes before and end 30 minutes after. The district expects to provide transportation to elementary and middle school program sites; high school students participating in certain credit-recovery or AP work will go to their zoned high school for transport to magnet-site programming.
Smith said staffing plans include dedicated counselors (14 total distributed across levels), one special-education teacher per elementary and middle school site, ESOL teachers where needed, and possible paraprofessionals to keep class sizes (target 15) compliant when teachers are scarce. Site director selections will be via interview and require at least two years' assistant-principal experience; the district intends to prioritize certified teachers who are returning in August.
On compensation, Smith said time-and-a-half pay was included in the projection where staff work outside their contracted days; the pre-K grant specifies a set teacher rate that the district will pay at time-and-a-half of that grant rate. He gave the program a projected budget “just under 2,000,000,” which includes construction offsets for sites, time-and-a-half for some positions and school nutrition costs.
The program will use existing instructional materials aligned to current adoptions; no additional curriculum purchases are planned. Next administrative steps include finalizing staffing by May 20, updating the summer learning app for registration, conducting interviews for site directors and communicating logistics to parents and staff.
Board members asked about who is prioritized for seats (Smith said priority will be students behind academically, with remaining seats filled by other students), how counselors will be used (on an as-needed basis unless the board requests formal counseling blocks), and whether classified staff who take on additional duties (for example, secretaries at host sites) will receive extra pay. Smith said administration will revisit pay and time-and-a-half details to ensure appropriate compensation for secretaries, custodians and other classified employees who work outside normal days. He also confirmed the rising-kindergarten grant will fund breakfast and lunch for pre-K classes on days outside the district’s summer feeding window.
The district will continue to use third-party subs (ESS) for substitute staffing as done last summer and intends to finalize teacher and leader assignments before the June start. The board did not take formal action during the presentation; Smith sought and recorded feedback and said budget details will be refined before final adoption.
