School Board Recommends a Kindergarten Teacher’s Dismissal

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer
At the May 9 meeting of the Franklin County Board of Education, Director of Schools Amie Lonas recommended the dismissal of Rock Creek Elementary kindergarten teacher Mary Jo West. Lonas submitted copies of the “charges to dismiss” for the board’s review. The board voted 7 to 0 in support of Lonas’ recommendation that the alleged charges, if proven, would justify West’s termination. Board member Gary Hanger abstained from the vote.
Board president Kevin Caroland directed Lonas to notify the tenured teacher of the board’s action and advise her of her right to seek legal counsel. “I’ll also ask the state director of education to flag her license,” Lonas said. No further information is available at this time.
Returning to regular business, the board voted to approve the $44,611,111 general purpose budget for the 2016–17 academic year. The budget includes a 2 percent raise for all employees and reflects a 6 percent increase in insurance costs.
The board also approved the pay scales for certified and classified employees, unchanged except for the addition of the 2 percent raise. Commenting on the pay scale revised last year to make Franklin County more attractive to prospective teachers, Assistant Superintendant of Schools Linda Foster said, “The salary for new teachers is higher if they have experience at accredited schools. For inexperienced teachers, the salary is flat for the first five years.”
Lonas said the cost of lunch meals did not increase, and the budget includes the cost of free breakfast for all students. The board approved the cafeteria budget, which is calculated separately from the general purpose budget. The cafeteria budget increased by $337,000 compared to 2015–16. Franklin County Deputy Director of Finance Cindy Latham said the budget took into account “the fluctuating price of food,” projecting a $400,000 increase over last year.
Caroland asked if the fund balance the school system is required to hold in reserve could be put in an interest-bearing account. The undesignated fund balance now stands at $4,465,647. Latham will present the request to the county trustees.
The board approved two policy revisions directly impacting students.
The school system will no longer have a separate drug-testing policy for alternative school students. The revised alcohol and drug-testing policy will apply to all students in the school system. The policy provides for testing when there is a “reasonable indication a student may have used or be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
The policy requires parental notification before a student is tested and stipulates a urine test be used instead of the current practice of hair sample testing.
Changes to the dress-code policy allow for patterned shirts and tops and top-of-the-knee-length shorts. The revised policy defines “spirit wear” as “any clothing item that displays the student’s assigned school’s logo or publicizes a class, club or team that is recognized by the assigned school.” Logos must be no larger than 6 inches by 6 inches.
Lonas stressed the new dress-code policy would not go into effect until the beginning of the next school year.