The Limestone County School Board met Thursday to discuss several items of business, including the approval of the 2018-2019 school calendar.

School board members unanimously approved the calendar, which was selected by nearly 600 school employees. According to the calendar, county schools will start Aug. 8 and end May 23. The schedule includes a weeklong Thanksgiving holiday from Nov. 21–23, Christmas break from Dec. 21–Jan. 1 and a spring break that runs from March 18–22.

Report cards go home Oct. 19, Jan. 8, March 15 and May 31.

The system’s new chief school financial officer, Kimberly Hubbard, also provided a financial statement as of Dec. 31.

She reported actual revenue from October through Dec. 31 is $22.44 million, while expenditures for that same period are $28.68 million.

Hubbard said expenses are presently more than revenue because not all ad valorem taxes are in yet.

Brad Lewis, director of curriculum and instruction, provided the board with a detailed breakdown of how the Alabama State Department of Education arrived at a score of 83 percent on the county’s annual report card.

Lewis explained two criteria in particular brought the county’s overall grade down to a B. Chronic absenteeism accounted for 10 percent of the total grade. He said “it is a problem” in county schools but pointed out no distinction was made between excused and unexcused absences.

Lewis added the formula used to calculate their academic achievement score, which accounted for 30 percent of the total grade, was based on the “problematic” ACT Aspire Test. The ALSDE has since discontinued the test, noting that the test does not line up with current core standards.

In other business, members of the school board approved an item that would allow all ninth- and 10th-graders to tour the Limestone County Career Technical Center during the week of Feb. 12. The LCCTC will pay to transport students.

West Limestone High School Principal Charlotte Craig recently submitted a request to the board asking them to approve the purchase of 55 MacBook Air 11-inch laptop computers for the school using Title 1 Technology funds.

According to Federal Programs Director Allison Usery, the approximately 400 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students at WLHS do not have laptops and will have to share the Apple devices.

Craig’s request was approved by all board members except Earl Glaze, who questioned the purchase of MacBooks when Chromebooks cost about one-third less.

Usery explained that the MacBooks last two to three times longer than a Chromebook. She said they hoped to have the computers in time for students to use them before the end of the school year.

Finally, the board agreed to allow all third-grade students in the county schools system to attend a Farm Machinery Safety Day at the Limestone Sheriff’s Rodeo Arena. The event is sponsored by the local chapter of the National FFA Organization and will take place in March.