Schools To Lose A Lot Of Experience

Five of the 10 employees retiring from the Jeff Davis County School System were present to accepts gifts and receive accolades from School Superintendent Dr. Chris Roppe. Pictured from left are William C. Pitt Jr., Minnie Hall, Janice Conley, Ginger White and Carol Morris. Not present were Dr. Cecelia McLoon, Linda Davis, Teresa Ross, Richard Stone and Sandra Carver. The gifts were sponsored by Kim Sasser, Horace Mann Insurance Company.

The Jeff Davis County School System will lose almost 325 years of experience this year through the retirement of 10 employees.
Those employees were recognized Monday night at the Board’s monthly meeting.
The retirees, their years of service to education and their positions at retirement are:
Dr. Cecelia McLoon, 30 1/2 years, Human Resources Director.
Janice Conley, 36 1/3 years, School Nutrition Director.
Ginger White, 30 years, Jeff Davis Primary School Principal.
Linda Evans, 41 years, Transportation – Bus Driver.
Teresa Ross, 33 years, Jeff Davis Middle School Teacher.
Richard Stone, 28 years, Jeff Davis High School Teacher.
Minnie Hall, 39 years, School Nutrition Department.
William C. Pitt Jr., 32 years, Jeff Davis High School Teacher.
Sandra Carver, 30 years, School Nutrition Department.
Carol Morris, 24 years, Jeff Davis Middle School Teacher.
School Superintendent Dr. Chris Roppe commended all the retirees for their long years of service.
Curt Ekman of Parrish Construction Group gave the board and update on the extensive renovation work underway at the high school. He said some touch-up painting and floor waxing remains and he expects to have all the furniture back in the classrooms by the end of the day Wednesday and then the hallways will be waxed. He expects the work to be completed in time for the start of the new school year.
Ekman, whose company is also doing the work on the tennis courts, said the first asphalt coating has been completed and that layer needs to cure 25-30 days before putting on another coat. The fencing and sidewalks should be completed by the end of next week, he said.
Dr. Roppe commended Ekman for the fact that whenever he found an opportunity to save money, he pointed it out to school officials to help save money on the project.
In other action, the board ….
…. passed a continuing resolution to authorize the expenditure of money until the 2020-2021 budget is completed. Director of finance Betty Corbitt said the final budget should be ready for approval by the August meeting, as they are waiting until state allotments and the tax digest are completed.
…. heard the financial report from Corbitt which included the fact that the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax collections last month were over $185,000, the highest amount since the SPLOST’s inception in 2008. She added that the average monthly collections this year was the highest ever.
…. accepted the retirement of elementary school paraprofessional Carol Clements and middle school paraprofessional Bridgett James.