Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During the regular meeting of the Madison County District School Board on Monday, April 3, the board heard from Madison County High School (MCHS) Principal Charles Brooks. Brooks gave details of a handgun being found on a student on campus on Thursday, March 30, resulting in the school being locked down. That student was subsequently arrested and charged with a felony. Brooks made no mention of the second weapon found in another student's possession later that same day. The second student was also arrested and charged with a felony. Brooks stated that on Friday, March 31, all students were searched as they entered the campus. Supt. Joseph also stated she had met with other school administrators, along with law enforcement officials. “From that, we mentioned some things we need to enhance,” said Supt. Joseph. “We appreciate what you have done, and I wouldn't ask you to do anything different, but as we've talked about, we will be enhancing to make things better. As this progresses, we will send a list of the various things we are doing.” According to Rod Williams, Coordinator of Safety and Mental Health for the Madison County School District, there are several measures currently in place for the district. These include:
• Light Speed – a system that alerts administration of instances of concerning information being passed on school networks;
• FortifyFL – an anonymous app allowing anyone to post alerts to state and local law enforcement officials;
• Campus Shield – an app that teachers have to alert administration and law enforcement of emergency situations on campus;
• State monitoring of traffic on social media through the school safety portal;
• The schools continue to encourage students, staff and parents to “See something, Say something;”
• Schools will continue to perform random searches and screenings;
• The Madison County Sheriff's Office continues to work closely with the school district to share resources and information.
“School safety is being taken seriously,” said School Board Member Katie Knight. “There are some things we know we need to work on, and we look forward to making all feel safer in the future.” School Board Member Devin Thompson suggested more guardians on campus.
There will be a joint meeting with the Madison County School Board and the Madison County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday, April 19, for the purpose of redrawing district lines. In Madison County, school board member districts and county commission districts are the same. Due to population changes and demographic make-up, these district lines must be adjusted from time to time. This is in order to keep districts similar in population size, as well as “minority majority make up” of districts. During this meeting, members of both boards will hear a presentation of the proposed new district lines. The public will also have an opportunity for input. The meeting is scheduled to take place in the meeting room in the Courthouse Annex, located at 229 SW Pinckney St., in Madison.
The board heard a financial report from the district Chief Financial Officer, Rose Raynak. According to Raynak's report, the district's unassigned fund balance currently sits at 6.24 percent. Raynak also spoke of possible legislation making its way through the legislative process. One new piece of legislation that has been signed into law by the governor is one that greatly expands parents' ability to choose the school(s) their children attend. Since much of the funding school districts receive is based on student population, this could have an effect on the amount of money the district receives. If parents remove their students from poorly performing schools in favor of better performing schools, the poorly performing schools could lose student population, and hence receive less funding.
There was a revision to the 2023-24 school calendar, adding two more teacher planning days. One day will be added to the beginning of the school year and one day will be added to the end of the school year.
The board voted to renew a subscription with Renaissance for accelerated reader, star math and star reading testing and materials. The subscription renewal has a price tag of $28,726.
The next scheduled meeting of the Madison County District School Board is scheduled for Monday, April 17, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in the district office, located at 210 NE Duval Ave., in Madison.