Now, for the September 11, 2017 School Board meeting:
Farm Bureau Scholarship Presentation:
One of the first substantive items on the agenda was a presentation by Farm Bureau Representative Glenda Greene regarding Farm Bureau Scholarships. The presentation was multi-subject and interesting. At one point Board Member Jo Boggs asked Mrs. Greene if a particular program was also associated with the Alliance for Health Program run out of the Health Department. Mrs. Greene said that it was. Then Boggs stated, “I serve on that (Health Department) Board.” You have to wonder why, if Jo Boggs is on “that Board,” didn’t she know they were associated with a Farm Bureau program? It sounds to me like Jo Boggs is on two boards too many? The Health Department Board and the School Board. It is too bad that Jo Boggs is not up for election this year too.
Bully Glover speaks up saying his kids enjoy planting seeds. You would think Bully would be more involved with advocating the teaching of agriculture and vocational courses at CCS. But no. Apparently just as soon as Bully and the rest of the Board get their pictures taken with the Farm Bureau rep and she leaves, all that kind of thought must have been forgotten by Bully and most of the rest of the school board.
Shearra Miller asked a question that backfired on her. Miller asks if the Farm Bureau Scholarship programs apply only to Cleveland County or to people who live in the county and have property outside the county. Mrs. Greene stated, regarding the scholarship programs, that they were within the county. Then she added Farm Bureau had also provided materials to Pinnacle Classical Academy-a Charter School that has out performed CCS at every turn and that CCS runs down at every opportunity-especially Kathy Falls. Falls says CCS has to teach “all the children,” a statement many consider racist and elitist. Fact is Pinnacle has to pick all their students from a lottery made up from a list of students that have applied. In this case apparently Pinnacle plans to out perform CCS on vocational programs too.
All in all, this Farm Bureau Scholarship presentation was entertaining to the Board and Board Member Danny Blanton did not take the opportunity to make the point as he often does that CCS should be doing more for students who will not be going to college. Overall, that would have been a minor part of such a topic as this. Probably a more important issue that should have been brought up was whether or not CCS was pushing for scholarships, for the most part, to go to Cleveland Community College as part of a quid pro quo arrangement-not in the best interest of the student or education in general. Sources indicate that is a high probability, but I can’t say more than that. Anyway, read on. The fuse to the fireworks has just been lit.
The next item is the Beginning Teacher Support Plan per Senate Bill 599 presented by Ms. Jennifer Walker.
Ms. Walker began her presentation by stating that her original plan presented to the school board and principals at the end of July 2017 had to be completely revised due to newly passed Senate Bill 599. One has to immediately wonder what the heck is going on here? And secondly, why was CCS caught by surprise by this new law that was introduced back in April?