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Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009

Twiggs schools to resume some lost activities

The Twiggs County school system is planning to restart some student activities this fall that it had eliminated, officials told parents at a town hall meeting Monday.

Interim Superintendent Carol Brown said plans for the 2009-10 school year include allowing students who score in the 75th percentile or higher on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests into its gifted and talented program to meet the needs of more students who need to be learning on a higher level.

The school system also plans to add a Spanish curriculum for elementary and middle school students. And middle school athletics, eliminated a couple of years ago, are returning in part through partnerships with community organizations.

“Mostly, we’re working on bringing back students,” Brown said Monday.

In 2006, the school system was about $1.5 million in the red due to a loss of student base and tax revenue.

The Georgia Department of Education mandated that Twiggs start a deficit reduction plan, and it gave Twiggs three years to balance its budget, which the system did.

Part of that reduction plan included closing Dry Branch Elementary School and moving students to Jeffersonville Elementary.

Seven employees were cut, including assistant principals and a central office personnel director.

Programs such as middle school athletics, band, chorus and even the elective Family and Consumer Science were eliminated to save money.

Because of those cost-savings measures, the system hasn’t needed to borrow money to pay teachers this school year as it had in previous years, and it has a balanced budget. School officials are now working to bring back lost student activities.

“It helps build rapport with the community, provides students extracurricular activities and gives them pride in school,” said school board Chairman David Sanders. “It’s programs like students have in more affluent counties.”

Sanders said it makes sense to reinstate the gifted program as well as Spanish for younger students.

“I feel it’s a very important push to have right now with the Spanish population coming in,” he said.

The Twiggs school system expects to spend about $8.8 million this school year, and while the programs may cost a little more this fall to operate, Brown said it wouldn’t be an overwhelming expense to the system.

The Spanish curriculum wouldn’t require hiring a full-time teacher. “We have a couple of people certified already,” she said.

A countywide penny sales tax to collect $5 million for education improvements, which starts this year, will help pay for student textbooks and some athletic activities, she said. Brown said the system is also working with community partners to start recreational football, basketball, baseball and soccer programs for middle-schoolers to compete against other recreation leagues.

“I can’t say we’re bringing back full-fledged middle school sports yet,” she said.

Twiggs serves about 1,000 students in Jeffersonville.

During Monday’s meeting, parents were given a survey about education, and they could browse informational and school activity booths and meet and speak with board members.

To contact writer Julie Hubbard, call 744-4331.