Board Business Briefs: Superintendent's Update, New School Leaders

The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday heard a presentation from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mary Elizabeth Davis on her progress over the past month in the new role.  The school board also approved new school assistant principals for next school year.

100-DAY PLAN UPDATE
Dr. Davis continued her practice of presenting a progress report to the School Board at each meeting during her first 100 days.  She shared the second report at Thursday’s meeting; the report is online here and a video of the presentation is online here.

The report tracks the progress of her 100 Day Entry Plan, which also is posted online here, giving updates on work accomplished so far and in progress.

Since the last school board meeting, Dr. Davis has been focused on “deeper dive” meetings with teachers, support staff, students, families and community partners.  In addition to these listening sessions, she has continued to visit classrooms to see specific programs in practice and to review key operational and financial documents and student achievement data.

“Some early insights are emerging, and these insights will lead to actionable immediate priorities that I will articulate at the May 16 board meeting,” she said, after reviewing the progress report with the school board.  

Dr. Davis said she is, first and foremost, hearing the professionalism, commitment and passion that CCSD employees have for their work.  She also is hearing the call for CCSD to “narrow our focus” on the organization’s most effective practices “and then discern what practices we need to shed.”

“We’re good at a lot of things,” she said, “it’s time for us to be great at the thing that yields the best outcome for kids.”

She has identified three “mission critical” projects that have been underway for months and that CCSD must successfully complete before the start of the new school year: the migration to a new student information system; the software update for the financial and personnel management system; and the re-establishment of CCSD’s in-house custodial team.

“Beyond these ‘mission critical’ matters, I have invited the organization to pause new initiatives and join me in the listening because these early insights reveal themes,” she said.  “In addition to narrowing our focus, there are themes around elevating our alignment as an organization, along with elevating our collaboration and coordination across the organization from the board room, through cabinet, district departments and across schools.”

Dr. Davis at the May school board meeting, in tandem with the presentation of her recommended budget for next school year, plans to outline immediate priorities and action steps to address these themes.  

That presentation, she noted, will not be the end of her engagement with stakeholders to better understand how CCSD is succeeding and how it can improve.

“We started this journey with listening and learning,” she said.  “The listening and learning will never stop while I’m in this role.”

School Board Chair Kyla Cromer thanked Dr. Davis for her detailed report.

NEW LEADERS

As part of the monthly personnel report, the school board approved the appointment of new assistant principals for next school year.

The promotions follow the appointment last month of three assistant principals to principal positions as well as enrollment growth and the announcement of three assistant principal retirements.  

Longtime educators and assistant principals, Chris Bennett of Creekview HS, who also serves as the school athletic director; Alan Diaz of ACTIVE Academies and Gordon Swordsma of E.T. Booth MS, all are retiring at the end of this school year.

Assistant principal appointments and reassignments to new schools for next school year are: 

•    Kimberly Boehman, a River Ridge HS teacher, will serve at Cherokee HS;
•    Matthew Cates, assistant principal at Cherokee HS, will serve at Creekview HS and additionally as its athletic director;
•    Lisa Funderburk, the Etowah HS instructional lead strategist, will serve at Creekview HS;
•    Lawrence Gluckson, an assistant principal at Freedom MS, will serve at E.T. Booth MS;
•    Dr. Joan Graham, a Cherokee HS teacher, will serve at Dean Rusk MS;
•    Jennifer Loudermilk, a Sequoyah HS teacher, will serve at Sequoyah HS;
•    Dr. Heather Phillips Mitchell, an assistant principal at Sequoyah HS, will serve at Freedom MS;
•    Katie Murphy, the Special Education facilitator at Little River ES, will serve at Bascomb ES;
•    Kacie Reed, the instructional lead strategist at Avery ES, will serve at Woodstock ES;
•    Matthew Renney, a Creekview HS teacher, will serve at Etowah HS;
•    Carol Saladzius, an assistant principal from Hilton, NY, is joining CCSD to serve at Cherokee HS;
•    Courtney Shaw, assistant principal at Bascomb ES, will serve at Free Home ES;
•    Dr. Tom Usry, an assistant principal at Dean Rusk MS, will serve at Freedom MS; and,
•    Dr. Meagan Waid, an assistant principal at Woodstock HS, will serve at Sequoyah HS. 

“That is a pretty significant group of new leaders,” Dr. Davis said, after introducing them to the audience.  “We are rookies together … and we have the highest confidence in you.”

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The school board also heard a wrap-up report on the recently completed Georgia General Assembly and how approved legislation will financially impact CCSD. 

State education funding increased for CCSD with a $2,500 raise for teachers plus a 4.1% raise for certain classified positions, $3.5 million more for a total of $6 million in state funding toward CCSD’s $30.2 million transportation budget; and a statewide grant program providing each school with a $45,000 grant to use toward safety and security costs. 

Unfortunately, at the same time, State Health Benefit Plan costs for employers are increasing for CCSD by $2.8 million, along with a 4% increase in the annual employer costs for Teacher Retirement System.  The school district also must adjust its budget for next school year in response to the end of federal pandemic funding: a $17 Million loss for CCSD.

Legislation also was approved to allow Cherokee County voters in the May 21 Primary Election to determine if the current property value cap on the senior school tax exemption should be eliminated.  Seniors age 62 and older currently only pay school property taxes on the value of their home in excess of $485,500 (with the cap increasing annually along with Social Security cost of living adjustments).  If the countywide referendum passes in May, the cap would be eliminated resulting in a loss of an estimated $14 Million or more in the 2025-26 school year budget.

An even more significant loss of property tax revenue for school operations could take effect for the 2025-26 school year with the passage of a statewide floating homestead exemption.  If voters approve this referendum in November, school districts statewide, including CCSD, could see tax digest growth capped to the Consumer Price Index, which currently is approximately 3%.  

If the cap had been in place for this school year, CCSD would have seen a loss of $38 million in local funding … which translates to the cost of salaries and benefits for 380 teachers.  The cap would severely limit school districts’ ability to keep class sizes low, give teachers and support staff annual longevity salary increases and fund new programs to better serve students.

MONTHLY REPORTS
Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Owen reviewed the monthly financial report, which is included in the agenda materials each month.  This month’s report is online here.  He reported that the district is well within budget, with increased retail activity boosting sales tax collection, which allows for greater reduction in bond debt associated with construction projects.  

Both Mr. Owen and Chief Support Services Officer Trey Moores answered questions about the project underway to build a replacement Cherokee High School campus.  The project is within budget and construction milestones are on schedule.  The latest updates on this project and other construction projects are contained in the monthly report, which is included in the agenda materials each month.  This month’s report is online here.

 

The school board also: 

•    Thanked teachers in advance of Teacher Appreciation Day, which is Tuesday, May 7;
•    Recognized CCSD 2024 Teacher of the Year Crystal Bennett of Ball Ground ES STEM Academy.  Learn more here;
•    Recognized CCSD 2024 Counselor of the Year Whitney Morberg of Etowah HS and the Innovation Zone Counselors of the Year.  Learn more here;
•    Recognized Cherokee HS students for SkillsUSA Georgia State Leadership Conference honors.  Learn more here;
•    Recognized CCSD 2023-24 Governor’s Honors finalists.  Learn more here;
•    Recognized CCSD students selected for All-State Chorus.  Learn more here;
•    Recognized CCSD 2023-24 Cherokee County Commissioners Art Competition winner.  Learn more here;
•    Recognized CCSD’s Georgia High School Association State and Regional champions.  Learn more here;
•    Approved the renewal of the Partnership Agreement with Bethesda Community Clinic;
•    Approved the declaration and sale of surplus mobile units;
•    Approved out of state staff travel; 
•    Approved out of state and overnight student field trips; and,
•    Approved special lease agreements.

More photos from the meeting are online here.