The Liberty County Board of Education voted to adopt the fiscal year 2022 budget during their regular meeting June 8. The BOE held a second public hearing on the budget before voting on it as an action item on their regular meeting agenda.
LCSS Executive Director of Finance Stephanie Clark, the FY 2022 budget is expected to have $158,322,169.00 in total revenue and transfers in the general fund and $14,916,255.00 in the capital projects fund. The total expenditure budget for FY2022 is approximately $137.2 million, representing a $21.4 million increase over the FY2020 budget.
Clark said the budget included an increase of state Quality of Basic Education (QBE) of 9.1 percent. The budget would allow the LCSS to continue their free lunch program for all students and includes a salary step increase for all personnel. Clark said the budget includes a revised pay scales for school nutrition cooks, custodial staff, grounds crew, transportation drivers and aides, high school bookkeepers and Central Office Accounts Payable Clerks. It also included additional funding for classroom supplies for all teachers and no reduction in calendar days or furloughs were required.
In other BOE business the Board approved Fraser Counseling Center to provide clinical counseling services for PK-12 students and their families as needed during the 2021-2022 school year at a cost of $186,160.
The BOE approved the request allowing the Bradwell Institute’s boys’ basketball team to attend a basketball camp that was held at Florida State University this week at a cost of $4,163 and paid out of the BI boys’ basketball account.
The Board approved to replace the varsity football uniforms at both high schools. The current uniforms are more than five years old and will be handed down to the junior varsity programs at each school. The bid for the BI uniforms was awarded to Baker’s Sporting Goods at a cost of $34,960.00. The award for Liberty County High School went to BSN Sports at a cost of $31,004.00.
They also approved the purchase of new band uniforms for both schools. The bid for BI was awarded to Stanbury for $50,475.00. the bid for Liberty was awarded to Fruhauf for $90,506.00.
The BOE approved the purchase of stylus pens which will allow teachers and students to write on their iPads at a cost of $263,736.00 funded by the CARES Act II.
The Board approved an update to the Teacher’s Evaluation Policy. The Georgia State Board of Education approved new guidelines pertaining to the evaluation appeal process afforded to teachers. Due to these changes, school systems needed complete and approve policy updates by July 1. The updated policy is to include procedural updates for the appeals process of an “Unsatisfactory” or “Ineffective” rating received by a teacher. The updated policy was reviewed by the LCSS’s attorney.