BOE pre-meeting discussion offers topics of interest

ALBANY, Ga. — Warming to his new job, interim Dougherty County School Superintendent Butch Mosely told the Dougherty County School Board Tuesday his top priority heading into the school year would be trimming fat from next year’s FY 2014 budget.

“We’ve identified nearly $1 million in savings from overspending in the system’s transportation department for next year,” Mosely said. “And between now and the end of the summer, we’ll be looking at every staff position in the county in order to avoid redundancies and streamline the organization.”

DCSS Executive Director of Finance and Operations Ken Dyer informed the board his office has already begun the budget process by starting to interview the system’s principals in regard to individual schools’ staffing needs.

In other business, DCSS attorney Tommy Coleman presented the BOE with a list of administrative tribunal members who would hear potential appeals from teachers and administrators whose cases are currently before the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.

The employees, caught up in the system’s 2009 CRCT cheating scandal, returned to work last year, but their case files were sent to the PSC, which will determine if the teachers and administrators get to keep their certifications.

Should the PSC revoke the certifications, the employees would then have the option of appealing those decisions before the tribunals.

Coleman said he knew of “10 to 12” revocations but would not be surprised if that number increased before the PSC finished its reviews. He added that any appeals involving the tribunals would cost the system roughly $1,500 per day.

The board also discussed allowing dependent children of Marines stationed at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany to attend any DCSS school of their choice.

Mosely said he and board member Darrel Ealum met recently with base commander Col. Don Davis, and as they entered the base be passed a Worth County School bus.

Approximately 70 children at the base attend school in Worth County. At stake is approximately $266,000 in FTE (full-time equivalent) money from the state, or $3,800 per student.

Mosely would like to keep that money in Dougherty County.

“We should seriously consider this offer to the base,” Mosely said to the board. “The base commander (Davis) said he was confident that some of those kids would come back (to the DCSS).”

The next meeting of the School Board is scheduled for March 11 at 6 p.m. at the school administration building.