School Board Honors Lewis

Jeff Davis County Roads Department Supervisor Robert Lewis is earning a reputation as a team player who does everything he can for the betterment of Jeff Davis County.
And at the Jeff Davis County Board of Education’s August meeting, School System Transportation Director Alvin Merritt publicly expressed his appreciation for Lewis’ work by honoring him before the board.
“I gave him a list of about 40 roads (that needed attention before the start of school),” Merritt said. “And they got every one of them.”
“We’re very blessed,” he told Lewis. “The Transportation Department appreciates what you do for us. You do it in a professional manner.”
Merritt told the board members that “Many times he calls us to see what we need him to do. I wanted to express our gratitude to him and his employees for being team players.”
In other action, the Board ….
…. heard from Instructional Technology Specialist Tammy Girtman who shared a video of a recent STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) camp for students. She explained that she was able to secure a $10,500 grant through Plant Hatch and used it to purchase iPads and robots students could use to learn how to code. The items were used not only for STEM camp but also for middle school students.
…. heard from Maintenance Director Garrett Harrison about the need for a new tractor. The board approved a recommendation from Superintendent Dr. Stan Rentz to accept the bid from Ocmulgee Outdoors.
…. heard a presentation from Athletic Director Roger Metts who explained problems experienced with the 20-year-old bleachers at the high school gym. Metts gave the board several options ranging from replacing the wheels and tracks that allow the bleachers to be opened and closed, to purchasing new bleachers with seats that have backs either on just the home side or on the entire seating. The seat backing costs ranged from $202,000 for just the home side to $425,000 for the entire gym. Some board members were concerned about the fact that the capacity would be decreased with seat backs which would cause problems with the annual Honors Night and graduation if weather prohibited the use of the football field. The Board voted unanimously to do the repairs at a cost of $14,200.
…. approved requests from Finance Director Betty Corbitt to pay the bills, publishing the tax digest and a tentative budget, and selling bonds to complete Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) projects in a timely manner and using SPLOST proceeds to pay off the bonded indebtedness.
…. opted, at the suggestion of Chairman Roger Ogilvie, not to meet in closed session to discuss personnel and compensation and proceed with approving consent agenda items. The Board approved out of state trips for ag students and the FFA convention, a cross country trip to Amelia Island, a trip for Dr. Rentz to attend a National Superintendents Conference, the resignations of Andrei Hall, Kelly Deas and Grace Conlon, and the hiring of Cameo McLendon as a high school special ed paraprofessional, Lyndsay Simpson as a primary school paraprofessional, Sanford Gilbert as a full-time bus driver and Genie Hunt as a school nutrition worker.