Hancock County superintendent reports emergency equipment failures, new counseling service and rising enrollment concerns

The superintendent of Hancock County School District reported that two of the district's largest electrical motors failed earlier this week, prompting an emergency order for replacement parts and immediate repairs to restore water and air-conditioning systems.

The superintendent said technicians inspected systems carefully before power was restored and that manufacturers of protective devices have been contacted to investigate the cause. "I inspected those and everything before I turned everything back on. I did not want to damage any more motors and [am] doing everything I can to make sure something like this doesn't happen," the superintendent said.

The superintendent also reviewed district-wide items including enrollment, instructional resources, safety and student supports. The district is seeing lower enrollment than pre-pandemic levels: "pre-COVID numbers for Hancock County Schools, we were right about 4,400 students, and we're sitting at 3,900 right now in public education," the superintendent said. They stressed teacher recruitment and retention as continuing concerns, citing national and local indicators of teacher burnout and compensation as drivers of vacancies.

On curriculum, the board approved a High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) selection for English language arts; the superintendent said administrators will set clear expectations for classroom use and monitoring if the district adopts the platform. The superintendent emphasized that if the district purchases an instructional platform, "we're going to use it. If we do not use it, then whoever's not using it, it probably doesn't need to be part of the agenda." The district plans to provide principals with implementation expectations.

For safety, the superintendent noted the board had approved electronic entry systems and the installation of ballistic film on doors and windows at schools. On mental health supports, the district approved Gaggle, a counseling and crisis phone service for students and staff; the superintendent said a donation from the Single Foundation covered the initial cost. "This is a phone service, counseling service that's provided for the adults and the students in our district," the superintendent said, adding that certified counselors will respond and contact district staff if a situation is serious.

The superintendent announced outreach to recruit retired teachers from neighboring states for specific subject areas, mentioned an upcoming job fair in March and said the district launched a mobile app that has been downloaded more than 6,000 times on iPhone devices. On dress code, the superintendent shared preliminary survey results showing parent/guardian responses: about 71.1% overall favored moving away from the current uniform policy, with middle school respondents showing 62% support for abandoning uniforms, high school 70% and elementary 61%.

The superintendent also summarized several state legislative items that could affect local schools, naming bills discussed at the legislature: a consolidation task force bill (House Bill 1431), a school-choice bill passed by the House (HB 1435), a bill allowing homeschooled students to participate in public school athletics (HB 1617), and a voucher bill that did not move forward (HB 1433). The superintendent cautioned the session remains active and that some measures may still change.

Board members thanked district staff and teachers for recent school visits and noted positive classroom observations. The superintendent closed by reminding trustees of upcoming district events and recruitment efforts.