The end of the school year is rapidly approaching. The next two weeks will be filled with special programs, honors nights, performances and graduations. But, those are what make this time of the year so special. Please enjoy as many of those events as you can.
The spring is also budget season for the school system. The Board of Education placed our 2017-18 fiscal year budget on first reading at the May 2 meeting. A public hearing will be held on May 15 at 5PM with the final adoption set for June 6. Let me share some of the highlights of the budget with you.
The general fund budget is projected to total $89.6 million dollars. Of that amount, 87.5% consists of salary and benefits for system staff. Teachers will receive a 2% raise on the state base teacher salary schedule as well as be eligible for step increases, if not already topped out on the scale. Two percent cost of living raises are included for all other staff but do not include step increases. Your contribution to the Teacher Retirement System will remain at 6% of eligible compensation, but the employer's share is increasing 17.8% over the prior year adding $1.6 million in cost to the budget. Equity factors were incorporated into the teacher allotment formula resulting in a net of 10.5 additional teaching positions for 2017-18. Use of the old formula would have resulted in a decrease in positions. Last week, I detailed the reasons for including the new executive director positions. A net of three new positions result from their inclusion which is a cost of approximately $450,000 in salaries and benefits. The Griffin Region College and Career Academy will begin operations in its own building next August with a projected student count of 250 taking career pathway classes and/or college core classes. Additional support staff is needed to operate that facility. Allocations include $250,000 for stipends for those helping develop comprehensive curriculum guides in math and ELA courses. We will be asking for teachers to help with that process soon. Our calendar includes 175 student days but a full 190 day work year for teachers. This continues our practice of using five days for professional learning during the school year. We continue to fund nurses in all of our schools as we have done for years, a claim not all school systems can make. Revenues include an increase from the State, driven primarily by salary and benefit costs, but no increase to the local property tax millage rate. That is projected to remain unchanged.
I hope this gives you an overview of a very important part of our operations, the budget. You can read about all the funds that make up our financial framework on the Finance Department page of the GSCS website. Our financial condition remains strong and provides opportunities to adjust and modify our operations in an intentional manner based on the goals of our district.
Happy Mother's Day to all.
Have a great weekend!
Jim Smith
Superintendent
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| 2017 GSCS RETIREMENT FIESTA |
On May 9, this year's GSCS retirees were honored and celebrated at a Mexican fiesta at the UGA-Griffin pavilion. Thank you to all of the 2017 retirees for their many years of services to the students of Griffin-Spalding. Congratulations!
Click HERE to view the list of 2017 GSCS retirees.
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SEAMLESS SUMMER FEEDING PROGRAM
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 The Griffin-Spalding County School Nutrition Program will be participating in the federally-funded Seamless Summer Option (SSO) of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Under the program, nutritious meals are provided to all children 18 years and under free of charge at the following community sites:
| Location |
Serving Days |
Serving Times |
Cowan Road Elementary
Cowan Road Middle
Orrs Elementary
Jordan Hill Elementary
Kennedy Road Middle
Futral Road Elementary
Griffin High School
Spalding High School
City Park
Fairmont Park
AMBUCS Park
Flint River Regional Library
UGA Kid's Enrichment
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Monday-Thursday
Monday-Thursday
Monday-Thursday
Monday-Thursday
Monday-Thursday
Monday-Thursday
Monday-Thursday
Monday-Thursday
Monday-Friday
Monday-Friday
Monday-Friday
Monday-Friday
Monday-Friday
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TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
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Meals will be provided June 5-July 21. No meals will be served the week of July 3-7.
Flyers will be sent home with students. Information on meal service times will be announced soon. For more information, contact the GSCS Nutrition Department at 770-229-3700.
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| GOOGLE CLASSROOM TRAINING |
 GSCS Instructional Technology will hold two Google Classroom trainings on June 6. The first session is from 10AM - 11AM and the second session is from 1:30PM - 2:30PM, both in Computer Lab #A211. Come and learn how Google Classroom can improve your department, class or school.
* All participants must pre-register in PD Express.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Instructional Technology Coach Leslie R. Fagin at 770-229-3710, ext. 10411 or [email protected].
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 If you are on the search for a fun, weeklong summer program for your rising K-6th grader, you're in luck! GSCS is hosting Camp Invention at The Enrichment Center on Spalding Drive the week of June 5th, 8:30AM-3PM, each day. Spalding residents receive a $100 discount.
As the host district, system employees also receive a discount. Contact Barbara King at [email protected] or 770-229-3723 for registration information. |
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"You can't have a million dollar dream with a minimum wage work ethic
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-Stephen C. Hogan
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| Pictured (L-R): SHS Girls' Volleyball Coach Mark Sanders, Veronica Harwell and SHS Girls' Soccer Coach Scott Henderson |
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GHS STUDENT HONORED AT
I-SWEEEP
Griffin High School Senior Jeramie Paz received an Honorable Mention award in the Environment: Management & Pollution category at the 2017 International Sustainable World (Engineering Energy Environment) Project (I-SWEEEP) olympiad held on May 3-8 in Houston, Texas. Jeramie presented his project on enhanced removal of metals from contaminated water using renewable biomass (pine wood). There were 437 competing projects by students from the U.S. and by international students from about 70 countries. I-SWEEEP aims to inspire interest among young student scientists for exploring solutions to preserve Earth's resources and create a sustainable planet for everyone.
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SHS STUDENT NAMED MOST POSITIVE ATHLETE
Spalding High School rising junior, Veronica Harwell was named "Most Positive Girls Soccer Athlete" for the South Atlanta Region for Positive Athlete Georgia.
Positive Athlete Georgia is a movement featuring high character of current and former professional athletes, led by former UGA star and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward, who is an established and credible role model to young athletes. Positive Athlete is an umbrella brand for all athletes who are making a positive contribution to their communities, overcoming difficult circumstances with a positive attitude and believe a positive attitude is essential to their success.
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| NORTH HILL STREET CLOSING DUE TO CONSTRUCTION |
 Beginning Wednesday, May 17, the intersection of North Hill Street, Tuskegee Avenue and Northside Drive will be under construction for the installation of a new bridge over Cabin Creek and the construction of a roundabout at Tuskegee Avenue and Northside Drive. This project will take four months to complete and will cause a detour around the area. The detour will not hinder residents going to their local address other than the crossing of Cabin Creek. Portions of North Hill Street, Tuskegee Avenue and Northside Drive will be inaccessible. Driving northbound from the City of Griffin, the detour will take you along Realty Street west to North 9th Street. Driving southbound you will have the opportunity to take either W. McIntosh Road or Lakewood Drive West to North 9th Street.
For more information about the City of Griffin, visit www.cityofgriffin.com. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cityofgriffin and on Twitter @CityofGriffin.
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ELEMENTARY EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH
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ANNE STREET ELEMENTARY
Anne Street Elementary Instructional Staff
As we recognize and support teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, Anne Street Elementary would like to express appreciation to our instructional staff for their dedication and devotion to educating students.
COWAN ROAD ELEMENTARY
Misty Garvin, assistant principal
Misty has been a great asset to Cowan. She has shared her knowledge of PBL with our students and staff. She works diligently to establish relationships with students, staff and stakeholders! #teamcowan
CRESCENT ELEMENTARY
Katika Hand, Donna Taylor, Sheryl Willis, Connie Harpe, Michelle Bunn and Jennifer Berry
These ladies are awesome paraprofessionals that take care of business behind the scenes. They pick up after adults, create strong relationships with students and parents, fill in when needed and emotionally support their classroom teachers. Your hard work does not go unnoticed!
FUTRAL ROAD ELEMENTARY
Sarah Meeks, P.E. teacher
Coach Meeks is always going above and beyond for our students. She arrives early every morning to help out with car rider duty and often volunteers for afternoon duty. She makes P.E. fun and exciting and always puts together a phenomenal field day! We truly appreciate you Coach Meeks!
JACKSON ROAD ELEMENTARY
Melissa Bentley, assistant principal
Melissa worked diligently to make sure testing ran smoothly. She had a well-organized schedule and did a fantastic job of rolling with the weather event. She made sure that the teachers were well prepared and supervised the administration beautifully.
JORDAN HILL ELEMENTARY
Dixie Johnston, media specialist
Mrs. Johnston runs our Media Center like clockwork. She also works with our teachers weekly to help provide resources for them to use in the classroom. She chairs our Technology Team as well as manages our school website and Facebook page. She stays on top of things, monitors our webpages and posts items and events to keep our parents and community members informed. Great work Dixie!
MOORE ELEMENTARY
Dr. Sharon Williams, assistant principal
Needless to say, Dr. Williams did an outstanding job of coordinating our RTI process throughout the year and testing window for the Georgia Milestones Assessment. Dr. Williams' dedication to our staff and students is appreciated.
MORELAND ROAD ELEMENTARY
Paige Wynn, Debbie Harper and the rest of our incredible Relay for Life Team!
Moreland Road raised $7,982 for this year's Relay For Life which is the most money raised by any team in Spalding County. This took a tremendous amount of work and effort on our team's part and we would not have been able to do this without the dedication of Paige and Debbie. On behalf of those of us who have lost loved ones to cancer, for those who are currently battling cancer and for those who are survivors...WE THANK YOU!
ORRS ELEMENTARY
Christie North and Anita Berry
Christie North provides excellent service to our students, staff and parents as the media specialist. She works with groups of students and supports the school's mission, vision and beliefs.
Anita Berry came to our school and has transformed our cafeteria into a warm and inviting place to eat. She is very welcoming to our students, staff and parents.
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| MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH MONTH |
This month, Mental Health First Aid USA is taking the opportunity to spread information about how mental illness and addiction affect some key populations - and what we ALL can do to help.
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SPREAD THE WORD: STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK NEEDED
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 Help us spread the word to our stakeholders about these upcoming sessions.
Stakeholder input on district plans and policies is a key part of tailoring our school system to meet the needs of the families we serve. We would love to have families, community members and businesses be a part of this revision process.
Attend one of these 75 min. sessions to hear about the state of GSCS and provide needed input for the District Comprehensive Needs Assessment and the Parent and Family Engagement Policy.
May 18 @ 12:00 pm
May 18 @ 6:30 pm
May 23 @ 10:00 am
May 23 @ 6:00 pm
*All sessions will be held in the GSCS Learning Center at 216 South Sixth Street.
For more information, please contact Melinda Owens at (770) 229-3710 Ext. 10363 or [email protected].
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| NATIONAL SCHOOL NURSE DAY |
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