Bibb County Board of Education approves hires, purchases and interagency agreements; tables spending-policy vote

The Bibb County Board of Education approved a slate of personnel appointments, school equipment purchases, interagency agreements and payments for game-day services at its recent regular meeting. The board also received a proposed change to its expenditures policy increasing the superintendent's single-purchase authority from $15,000 to $40,000 but did not adopt that change and moved it for discussion at the next budget meeting.

The actions approved included the employment of teachers and staff, the hiring of substitute staff, purchases for school food-service equipment, payments for contracted therapy and art/music instruction, and agreements enabling qualifying students to receive community-based work experience.

Among the personnel actions, the board approved employment of Brianna Tinker as a teacher at Brent Elementary School, Kristen Rogers as a part-time custodian at Woodstock Elementary School, and Steve Young as assistant middle school football coach at Centerville Middle School. The board also approved staff for the 21st Century program at Big County High School and Brent Elementary School, multiple substitute appointments, and student-assistant and instructional hires referenced in the consent and regular agendas.

Approved purchases and payments included a pass-through refrigerator cabinet for West Lawton Middle School for $9,591 (paid from CNP funds), a reach-in freezer for West Lawton Elementary School for $8,002.65 (paid from CMP funds), payment of $75 per hour to Helping Hands Therapy for physical therapy services to qualifying students (paid from IDEA funds), and payments of $100 per day for weekly music and art instruction at Woodstock Elementary School (paid from local school and Title IV funds respectively).

The board also approved interagency agreements to place qualifying students in community-based work-experience opportunities identified in individualized education plans with Compassion and Hope Food Basket Kitchen, Bibb Medical Center, Brent Centerville Public Library and Norris Chiropractic LLC. Board members discussed that these placements would be supervised by teachers and aides, occur on school transportation and be periodic rather than daily.

Several athletics- and event-related payments were approved: $300 per game to Green Pond Volunteer Fire Department for EMS/ambulance service at West Lawton High School varsity football games (paid from West Lawton High School local funds); concession pay schedules for supervisors and workers at home games; and $100 per game day to a contractor to clean and restock restrooms at home football games (paid from local school funds).

The board voted to appoint Kevin Cotner, Kim Partridge, Lane Lightsey, Wes Lawley, Keanu Lynch and Jennifer Downs as Bibb County Board of Education student due-process hearing designees (see separate article for details of that agenda item). The board then moved into an executive session to discuss student discipline.

The board received — but did not vote on — a proposed change to policy file 3.01.0.1 (expenditures) that would increase the superintendent's authority to spend without board approval from $15,000 to $40,000 on budgeted items; members agreed to defer final action until the next meeting and a budget work session so the change can be considered in the context of the budget.

Votes at a glance: motions listed on the meeting agenda were approved by voice vote with no recorded objections on the record. Where payment sources or fund types were stated in the agenda, the board minutes show those funding sources (for example, IDEA funds for certain special education payments and Title IV funds for arts instruction).