Superintendent Knighton started the August 10th board meeting by reiterating the mission statement to teach twenty first century skills for transformational learning. He proceeded to read the financial report for the month of July. During July the school collected $456,373.24, the Georgia power bill was $33,872.93, the Sumter EMC bill was $41,140.01, the water, sewage and sanitation bill was $14,894.20, the City of Americus energy bill was $5,406.95, and the cell phone bill was $2,098.71. The yearly budget was roughly $45,478,845 overall.
TSG Resolute, a major provider of gaskets, thermal insulation, adhesive lamination, and other materials was recognized for its internship program with the school. TSG resolute services electric vehicles as well as other major electronic markets and construction. The company offered to mentor ten students with its Spark training internship program, teaching them how to budget, set long and short-term goals, and other practical skills. Eight students were sent in the last year and a half. TSG hired three of the students for full employment after their first internship. TSG resolute was recently named work-based learning of the west central region business of the year.
Superintendent Knighton also recognized a group of volunteers from Central Baptist church. The volunteers received training in the read Georgia curriculum, working with students one on one twice weekly to ensure they learned sight words and letters. The board viewed a video showing the accounts of volunteers and their partnership with the school system. The program was praised for its success, citing students who formally had difficulty with spelling now checking out books. Professor Knighton presented certificates to several who were involved.
Knighton concluded the special recognition session but stated that each month of the current year there would be a special recognition session for business partners and community members who made a difference in Sumter County schools. Afterward, the board took a twenty-minute break so that the board members could personally thank the award recipients.
The board voted to approve the district wide copy lease agreement with Xerox services through the Georgia Department of Education for $40,432.80 a year.
Superintendent Knighton stated that the exact cost of the third-party soil test approved for the livestock and cannery site would be $17,975. The test had previously been approved and the pricing was subsequently approved. The facility is planned to facilitate a variety of FFA activities. The school already has three FFA teachers, with strong student involvement. The facility is designed to prepare students for jobs in agriculture due to a projected increase in local agricultural jobs. While tentative plans for the facility have been presented to the board, the board plans to choose an architect on August 28th and plans are open to revision. The facility will utilize ESEA funding and cost approximately five million. Current plans call for a metal building with a square footage of 2,666 square feet.
The board went into executive session. The board resumed open session and approved one transfer of an employee and the employment of a substitute teacher. After that the board adjourned.