Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During the regular meeting of the Madison County District School Board on Tuesday, Sept. 7, the board heard a presentation from Jessica Johnson, a representative of Kelly Services, to provide substitute teachers for the district. As part of the proposal, Kelly Services would handle all aspects of hiring, training and supervision of the substitute teachers. The substitutes would be Kelly employees. According to Superintendent of Schools Shirley Joseph, there is a shortage of substitutes, not only in the classroom, but also among custodial and lunch room workers. This has caused issues of having paraprofessionals or other teachers cover classrooms whenever teachers are out.
According to Johnson, the substitutes would make the same pay rate the district is paying now. The primary advantage would be in the cost savings related to the management and supervision of the substitutes, which would be taken on by Kelly Services. “Right now, we're having to rob Peter to pay Paul where substitutes are concerned,” said Board Chairman Bart Alford. Since they would be employees of Kelly Services, the substitutes would be eligible for benefits offered by Kelly Services.
No action was taken on the presentation by Kelly Services. It was for purely informational purposes.
The district also heard from Madison County Department of Health Administrator Kimberly Allbritton. Allbritton informed the board that there has been a recent surge in COVID cases, but she expected to numbers to level off. Allbritton did not propose any changes in school board policies concerning the virus.
Barabara Thomas spoke to the district about the school improvement plan for the Joanne Bridges School, which is the Department of Juvenile Justice school in the district. The Joanne Bridges School is an alternative education facility within the Madison County School District. One area of emphasis will be the area of school attendance and the importance of being present in school. Other areas include improving performance in English and Language Arts. The board members voted unanimously to approve the 17-page plan.
Margaret Ann Smith with Smith Abstract and Title was selected to represent the school board on the county's Value Adjustment Board.
The next regular meeting of the Madison County District School Board is scheduled to take place on Monday, Sept. 20, in the board meeting room, located at 210 NE Duval Ave., in Madison. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.