Marion County School District board approves personnel, financial items and multiple land leases; superintendent reports enrollment and PREPS awards

The Marion County School District board voted unanimously on a series of personnel, financial and lease items and heard a report from Superintendent Foster on current enrollment figures and annual PREPS growth awards.

Superintendent Foster presented the district—0-day enrollment and average daily attendance (ADA) breakdown, reporting a net increase in withdrawals of six students over the period and a grade-by-grade ADA summary included in the monthly packet. Foster also described the district—s participation in PREPS, an education stakeholder organization that issues growth awards when a school—s score improvement on state tests exceeds the state average increase by a specified multiplier; several Marion County schools received PREPS awards this year, including West Marion Primary, West Marion Middle (sixth- and seventh-grade math), East Marion High (algebra I and eighth-grade math) and East Marion Elementary (third- and fourth-grade math, fifth-grade ELA and sixth-grade math). Foster said the awards are based on growth relative to the state average, not on absolute proficiency.

On personnel matters the board approved routine items including athletic schedules, disciplinary hearings for February, a teacher transfer request to another district, an…