ONE BRIGHT FUTURE: County schools start 2019 on steadier road

Published 5:00 pm Saturday, February 16, 2019

Limestone County Schools experienced quite a few bumps in the road last year, but 2019 seems to be off to a more positive start.

Students at the Limestone County Career Technical Center have already made their fair share of headlines after being chosen to paint the first Toyota Corolla prototype for the Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing USA plant coming to the county. The prototype is one of 10 shells that will be used to test potential employees on their skills.

Also a first this year is the two-year advanced manufacturing program. Up to 30 juniors from the center’s base schools can complete two courses toward a short certificate in advanced manufacturing, with the following two available in their senior year.

By the time they graduate high school, students will not only have a head start on their associate degree but the skills necessary to get them hired at companies like MTMUSA.

The tech center is also hard at work at each of the high schools. At the start of the 2018-2019 school year, LCCTC took over the finance programs for the six schools, teaching personal finance, budgets, taxes and more to students.

This summer should see the completion of a greenhouse at Tanner High School, one of four greenhouses in the county, which will help students even further. The greenhouse will combine multiple courses into a student-run business of sorts.

“Agriscience will run it as a business, finance will do budget and payroll, and family and consumer science will do herbs and grow their own food,” said LCCTC Director Dr. John Wilson. “… It’s a really great place for students to apply mathematical and science skills in a controlled setting.”

Busy, busy buses

Many students wouldn’t be able to attend school, much less the tech center, without a school bus to get them there. Unfortunately, a lack of bus drivers has meant missed events, late starts to the school day and several conversations about how to correct an issue not unique to the county or school year.

“I drive routes, our mechanics drive routes — it’s all hands on deck right now,” Bates said in March 2014.

Five years later, he’s still driving routes most days, but as of Wednesday, he said the situation was improving.

“We’ve got several in training,” Bates said. “… We’ve had several come back from sick leave. Our situation has gotten better.”

He said the district still has two spots open, which he hopes to fill this month. The district offers a free class to those who complete training, and Calhoun offers training for those interested.

As for the route-driving mechanics, they’re still hard at work in the district. On Tuesday, the district superintendent and Bates praised their work during the Limestone County school board meeting.

“Our mechanics do an unbelievable job at keeping our fleet together,” Bates told The News Courier on Wednesday. “It’s amazing.”

“Financial woes,” as Bates called it, have kept the system from purchasing new buses. However, with thorough monthly inspections and a focus on catching potential issues before they become major ones, six Limestone County Schools mechanics are able to keep a fleet of 132 buses in the best shape possible.

“They’ve done a great job,” Bates said.