SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT

SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS

A. INDIVIDUAL ITEMS: The following items will be voted on individually.

The administrative, certified and classified personnel presented have been screened by the Human Resources Department, and interviewed, and/or approved by the Principal or supervisor for each location.

ACPSD Organizational chart updated.

Medical practices across South Carolina must keep up with different medication permission forms from each district that serves their patients. To streamline the process at the request of medical providers, the School Nurse Program Committee developed a Universal South Carolina Medication Permission form for all districts to consider adopting effective the 26-27 school year. The SC AAP, MUSC, Prisma and QTIP practices have approved this form, and we expect it to be widely distributed to pediatricians.

Periodic budget amendments are submitted for Board consideration.

At the request of the Board, alternative color options for replacing the conference room exterior panels have been researched and are presented for consideration.

B. CONSENT ITEMS: The following items will be voted on as a group; individual items may be discussed prior to a vote being taken.

The School Board, according to the Code of Laws for South Carolina Section 59-63-240, is authorized to expel students from school.  Although the Board may receive recommendations for expulsion from others, it is solely empowered to take the final expulsion action.

Board Policy JFABC allows the Aiken County Board of Education to arrange with other school districts for the interchange of students.  The policy stipulates that when students transfer out of the District, “the School District of Aiken County shall assume no responsibility for tuition to the receiving district.”

The School Board, according to the Code of Laws for South Carolina, Section 59-65-40, is authorized to approve home schooling for parents not opting for approval by the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools. The program has to meet certain standards as outlined in the bill, Policy IEK and IEK-R.

Change Order Number 1 reflects shared savings credit for the GMP #1 and unused allowances for the re-roofing of Midland Valley High School project.

Change Order Number 1:

Unused Allowances: <$18,135.00>

Shared Savings Credit Amount: <$146,573.61>

Total Change Order Amount: <$164,708.61>

A.L. Corbett Middle School, Byrd Elementary School, Chukker Creek Elementary School, Mossy Creek Elementary School, North Augusta Elementary School, and Wagener-Salley High School would like to submit an application to the South Carolina Department of Education Innovation Grant in the amount of $120,714.00.  The Innovation grant is funded by the South Carolina Department of Education and supports innovative pilot initiatives in public school districts and schools. The grant aims to raise student achievement and to ensure that all students are prepared to graduate, prepared for college, and prepared to be career and civic ready. The monies from the Innovation Grant will be used to strengthen the Leader in Me program at five schools and will enable our District to launch the program at Wagener-Salley High School for the first time. The Leader in Me program is based upon the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and will help students in grades K-12 develop future-readiness skills to thrive in school and post-graduation. Funding will provide extra materials and support to optimize academic instruction, School and District culture, and student and staff wellness. 

Silver Bluff High School has received $2,870.00 in grant awards from the National Future Farmers of America (FFA). The funds will be used to purchase materials and supplies needed to build and construct ADA compliant garden beds for a local nursing home.

The Aiken County Public School District has received $42,500.00 in grant awards from Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) made possible through the generosity of Battelle Savannah River Alliance, LLC. (BSRA), and the Columbus Foundation.  The purpose of K-12 Catalyst Grant for STEM Education Program is to support teachers in bringing STEM into K-12 classrooms which provides students with real-life skills, making them better problem solvers and better prepared for their future. After evaluating all of the grant applications submitted to SRNL, five Aiken County Public School District teachers were selected to receive awards. The funds are to be used by the awardee teachers to carry out the projects stated in their grant application. The individual awardees are listed below:

J.D. Lever, Cyril B. Busbee, Oakwood-Windsor, North Aiken, Greendale, and Ridge-Spring Monetta Elementary Schools have received a donation from the Public Education Partners (PEP) of Aiken in the amount of $5,610.00. The funds will be used to support the Battle of the Books programs already underway in the Aiken County Public School District. The individual recipients are listed below:

National Financial Services, LLC. (Mr. David Fauerby, Donor) has awarded a grant in the amount of $3,000.00 to the North Augusta High School choral program. A portion of the funds ($1,000) will be used to furnish and compensate guest musicians for providing both performances and educational experiences for chorus students. A second portion of the funds ($1,000) will be used for the maintenance of classroom pianos at North Augusta High School. The remainder of the funds ($1,000) will be used to fund travel and registration costs for the choral director to attend the American Choral Directors Association conference.

The Aiken County Public School District has received a $16,000.00 donation from Parkers Kitchen. The funds are designated to support district initiatives as determined by administration.

The administration has completed the scope of needs for the Aiken Intermediate School transportation office. The architectural firm Method Works Architecture has utilized this scope to produce construction documents and the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the project. The construction budget is $936,975. The overall budget includes GMP, design, advertising, FFE, and owner contingency for a total budget of $1,042,575. The scope of work includes a new addition and renovations of the existing campus. The project will be completed using 8% funds.

C.INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: The following items are for information only and do not require Board Action. 

Each summer the State Department of Education releases state test scores

from the previous academic year which are used to calculate Academic

Achievement and Preparing for Success for all schools in our state. Test

scores used to measure Academic Achievement are SC Ready ELA and

Math (Grades 3-8), and EOC Algebra 1 and English 2 for high school

students. Preparing for Success ratings are determined using and SC Ready

Science (Grades 4 and 6), and End of Course Examination Program

(EOCEP) for Biology and US History at the high school level.

In an effort to keep the Board current on the status and budget of this school construction project, the architects for this project, LS3P, and the administration, prepare a bi-monthly status report for the Board’s review.

In an effort to keep the Board current on the status and budget of this school construction project, the architects for this project, Goodwyn Mills and Cawood (GMC), and the administration prepare a bi-monthly status report for the Board’s review.

In an effort to keep the Board current on the status and budget of this school construction project, the architects for this project, McMillan Pazdan Smith (MPS), and the administration prepare a bi-monthly status report for the Board’s review.

D.INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS

E. OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT

F. EXECUTIVE SESSION

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No Items This Meeting

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RETURN TO OPEN SESSION

ACTION ON ITEMS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION

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