Muscogee County Public Schools, Georgia
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Website evaluation
The good
- Tax rate information is provided on a press release concerning rate increase proposals.[1]
- Budget is available with documentation.[2]
- Information for board meetings, including schedule and minutes, agendas, and other documents, is available.[3]
- Contact information for school board members and for administrative officials is provided.[4]
- Comprehensive annual financial reports are available, and audits are included within.[5]
- Purchasing archives provide contract and bid information for prior years, but current contracts are not available.[6]
- Background checks are performed, but not available online.
The bad
- Purchasing and contract information is not up-to-date.
- Tax rate information is only available via press release.
- No information about open records requests is available.
- No information on student academic performance is available.
Leadership
School Board
The duties of the school board include: formulating policy, providing funds for the operation and maintenance of the system, adopting courses of study, prescribing standards for operation and improvement of the schools, providing for planning, expansion and improvements of facilities, employing personnel, approving the budget, financial reports, and major expenditures, and appointing and evaluating the Superintendent.
| Title/District | Member | Term Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Board Chair - At-Large | Cathy Williams | 2014 |
| Chair Personnel - District 3 | James Walker | 2012 |
| Chair Construction - District 1 | Patricia Hugley Green | 2012 |
| Chair Finance - District 2 | John Wells | 2014 |
| Chair Education - District 4 | Naomi Buckner | 2014 |
| Board Vice-Chair/Chair Audit - District 5 | Rob Varner | 2012 |
| Chair Policy - District 6 | Mark Cantrell | 2014 |
| Chair Property - District 7 | Norene Marvets | 2012 |
| Chair Discipline | Beth Harris | 2014 |
Teacher Contracts
Georgia state law provides that school systems must offer contracts for the upcoming school year by April 15 of the current school year (OCGA 20-2-211 (b)). If an educator does not receive a written notice of non-renewal by April 15, then the contract is automatically renewed for the next school year, unless the educator notifies the local board of education in writing not later than May 1 of their intent not to accept employment for the following school year.[7]
Administrative Officials
In June 2011, the MCSD board approved a one-year contract extension for superintendent Dr. Susan Andrews; the contract now expires in 2014.
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Dr. Susan Andrews | Superintendent/Secretary to the Board |
| Sharon Adams | Board Treasurer/MCSD Chief Financial Officer |
| Greg Ellington | Parliamentarian/Legal Counsel |
| Karen Jones | Executive Assistant to Board/Superintendent |
Unions
Collective bargaining is illegal since Georgia is a "right to work" state[8], so typical union activity is absent from the Muscogee County School District. Teachers are allowed to join professional organizations. In Georgia, those include:
- Professional Association of Georgia Educators
- Georgia Association of Educators
- Georgia Science Teachers Association
- English Teachers Association of Georgia
- Georgia Classical Association
- Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
- National Education Association
School Budget
The MCSD board approved a $273 million budget for the fiscal year 2012 on June 20, 2011. This budget is $2.5 million more than the previous year's budget and the district opted not to increase property taxes (the rate is 23.37 mills, last changed in 1999).[9]
Due to concerns about the budget, the board voted in early June 2011 to close a successful school for teenaged mothers, the Teenage Parenting Center. The school's budget was $2.4 million and was home to over 200 students in 2010-2011.[10] Since the school's opening in the 1998-1999 school year, approximately 3,348 students had taken advantage of this special school. Superintendent Dr. Susan Andrews told the board and the community that closing the school would free up funds to pay for two instructional days for 32,000 students and two more days of pay for 6,000 teachers.[11]
Academic performance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has posted a complete database of results from the 2011 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT), tests administered in Georgia to students in grades 3 through 8 in April and May. The results for the Muscogee County School District can be found here.
Reform
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled 16 charter schools operating in Georgia unconstitutional in May 2011.[12] There are currently 3 charter schools in the Muscogee County School District.[13]
Muscogee County School District offers public school choice to parents under the provisions of No Child Left Behind and HB 251.[14].
References
- ↑ Press releases: Public Hearing on the Proposed Millage Rate for FY12
- ↑ Budget
- ↑ Meetings
- ↑ MCSD Board Members and Other Officials
- ↑ CAFR
- ↑ Purchasing Archives
- ↑ Georgia Association of Educators Need to Know
- ↑ Education Commission of the States Report 2002
- ↑ WLTZ 38 News, June 20, 2011: "Muscogee County School District approves 2012 fiscal year budget"
- ↑ Albany Herald, June 7, 2011: "Georgia county to close school for teen moms"
- ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, June 7, 2011: "Muscogee County School Board votes to close Teenage Parenting Center"
- ↑ Wall Street Journal Blog, May 17, 2011: "Georgia Supreme Court Deals Blow to Charter Schools"
- ↑ Georgia Charters, list by county
- ↑ No Child Left Behind
External links
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