Board announces public hearings on HB 581, superintendent schedules State of the District event

At the rescheduled January work session, the Newton County Board of Education reminded the public of two remaining hearings on HB 581 and the superintendent announced community events, including the district’s State of the District celebration and a literacy event at Newton High School.

Madam Chair Abigail Coggin and Dr. Bradley, the district superintendent, noted that a first public hearing on HB 581 had been held on Monday, Jan. 21. Dr. Bradley said the next hearing would be held "tomorrow evening at the Newton College and Career Academy lecture hall" beginning at 6 p.m., and the final public hearing would be at the board office on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m. The board invited all persons interested in speaking to arrive a few minutes early to sign up.

Dr. Bradley also praised the district operations and facilities team for their response to recent winter weather, saying, "There simply are not enough words to adequately express how appreciative I am" for the crew’s mitigation work, salting roads and securing pathways. He invited the public to the State of the District event on Feb. 11 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Porter Performing Arts Center and encouraged community attendance.

Other community items included a board recognition of an officer on duty who helped students board buses safely, a shout-out to Eastside High School’s production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a reminder about a literacy extravaganza at Newton High School scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Ending

Board members closed the meeting after brief announcements and recognitions and adjourned by voice vote.