City school board OKs more personnel actions

Published 6:00 am Saturday, June 9, 2018

The Athens City School Board unanimously approved a new round of personnel actions during a brief meeting Thursday that included an update on the new high school.

Transfers

Athens City Schools: Melanie Barkley, contract principal to secondary curriculum/district coordinator Athens High; and Amanda Tedford, instructional technology specialist to assistant principal to be assigned

New hires

Athens Middle: Chris Coffey, strength and conditioning Athens Intermediate; and Brianne Hargrove, special education

Athens Renaissance: Summer Neely, science; and Linda Moore, school completion specialist

Athens High: Willie Moore, assistant principal

Resignations

Athens Middle: Melanie Barkley, transferred to secondary curriculum/district coordinator position

Athens Intermediate: Jennifer Brooks, fourth grade

Athens High: John Malone, choir

Non-renewals

Central Office: Kathy Gifford, director’s secretary

Included in the personnel actions was a request from Casey Little for a one-year unpaid leave of absence. Little, a teacher at ARS, was arrested May 22 on a charge of attempting to commit a controlled substance crime at a Decatur pharmacy.

Dr. Trey Holladay, superintendent of Athens City Schools, said the district will hold a teaching position for her until she returns.

Construction update

Speaking on behalf of Jim Maynard, the project coordinator for Martin & Cobey Construction, Serena Owsley, the system’s chief financial officer, reported the new high school is now 86 percent complete.

Construction on the north parking lot has begun, and crews are installing finishes in all of the classrooms now that the building has air conditioning. Kitchen equipment will begin arriving on June 11, and an above-ceiling inspection in the ninth-grade academy is scheduled June 28.

“We are on track to be finished August 15,” Holladay said. “If not, all of our principals have a plan B.”

Moving plans

To date, all fourth-grade classes have been moved out of the elementary schools and into Athens Intermediate School, while all sixth-grade classes have transitioned out of AIS. Crews are now working to move middle school supplies and equipment to the former AHS building, which will become Athens Middle School this fall.

The system was able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in moving fees by hiring an in-house team led by two assistant principals and staffed by 10 high school students. Lowe’s of Athens has also donated moving trucks, drivers and moving supplies to the effort, which has also helped keep costs down.

According to Holladay, the district will spend approximately $75,000 on the move.

Budget

A budget report for fiscal year 2018 shows the system has brought in $43.1 million in revenues since October 1, 2017, and they have spent $42.6 million. Their fund balance sits at $5.4 million, which is approximately $79,000 less than it was at the beginning of the fiscal year.