During their meeting Tuesday, the Anderson School District One Board recognized Palmetto High FFA members, approved changes to three board policies and an updated emergency operations plan.
The Palmetto High Future Farmers of America chapter was recognized for being the state’s only three star chapter and for having three state championships. The most recent state championship was won by the Parliamentary Team, which will compete next week in national competition in Indianapolis.
The team gave an impressive five minute presentation on parliamentary procedures during the meeting.
Spearman Elementary School was recognized for recently being named a national Model Professional Learning Communities at Work school. Spearman Elementary Principal is Jason Lesley.
The Board heard comments from District One stakeholder Kasey DiPasquale, who had concerns about federally funded programs associated with the World Economic Forum, US Dept. of Education and others being incorporated into District One.
District One Finance Director Travis Thomas reported the Procurement Audit was recently completed and went well. The 2019 Building program has a balance of $3.6 million.
The 2022 Building Program fund has a balance of $19.6 million. Work is underway on a new 12 room second floor addition at Powdersville Middle and preliminary design is beginning on a new elementary school to be located in Powdersville.
The Local Option Sales Tax for June brought in $3.2 million to Anderson County. Of that, AD1 will receive $1.64 million. $212,000 will go to property tax relief, $851,000 will go to capital projects.
In the Instructional Report, Director of Testing and Accountability Dr. Christie Shealy presented information on increases in scores and report cards for AD1 schools that again place District One in the top of State rankings.
Board members Mike Wilson, Wendy Burgess and Nancy Upton were chosen as delegates for the South Carolina School Board Association (SCSBA) 2023 Delegate Assembly. The South Carolina School Boards Association is a non-profit organization, which serves as a source of information and as a statewide voice for boards governing the 73 public school districts.
At the annual Delegate Assembly, representatives from each school district meet to elect officers, adopt resolutions to guide the association, act on constitutional changes and conduct other business. Anderson District One gets four votes at the Assembly.
Superintendent Robbie Binnicker reported architects are at work on design for a new elementary school to be built in Powdersville. Architects with Craig Gaulden Davis Architecture have recently met with representatives of Concrete Primary and Powdersville Elementary for input. Binnicker said there are six portables in use at Concrete and three at Powdersville. “We may have to add some more,” he said.
According to Binnicker, the new school is to be designed for 1,000 students.
At their last meeting, the Board approved the purchase of approximately 25 acres in the Powdersville area for the new elementary school. The new elementary school will draw about one third of the students each from Concrete Primary and Powdersville Elementary, Binnicker said.
The Board unanimously approved first reading on three policies including ADC Tobacco Alternative/Nicotine Free School District, GBED Tobacco Free Workplace and BE School Board Meetings.
Board members present included Mike Wilson, Wendy Burgess, Pat Cox and Nancy Upton.
Dr. Jeff Wilson said the changes to the Tobacco policies reflect use of e-cigarettes and vaping.
The change to Board policy regarding meetings reflects the current meeting time of 6 pm on the last Tuesday of the month. The Board changed their meeting time several years ago from 7 pm to 6 pm, but the change was not officially reflected in the Board policy.
The Board also unanimously approved changes to the 2023-24 Emergency Operations Plan. Dr. Wilson said the policy is updated regularly as needed. He said AD1 works with Anderson County Emergency Management, the Williamston Fire Department and other school districts to make sure safety procedures are current. Some minor changes were made to the policy, he said. Safety procedures include regular fire, active shooter, tornado and other drills, Wilson said.
A draft version of the 2024-25 school calendar was presented to the Board. The calendar will have to be approved by all five Anderson School Districts.
The October School Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 24 due to Fall Break.
