Cleanup for West Broad Campus after a fire partially destroyed it on Sept. 8 is underway, Clarke County School District Interim Superintendent Jennifer Scott said Thursday at the Board of Education meeting.
The board plans to hold a series of public information meetings on future actions regarding the school. The information sessions will be at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Clarke County School District administrative offices building.
“We are excited to really get traction going, and to really do what is needed, to really rehab that place so it truly is a part of our CCSD family that is used for programming that will support the needs of our school district,” Scott said.
The Board of Education agreed at the Oct. 9 meeting to spend nearly $143,000 for abatement and trash removal at West Broad Campus. The historic West Broad Street school, built for Black students during the Jim Crow era, had been vacant for around 20 years, only having been used as a farmers market and community garden. Neighborhood residents said people had recently used the building for shelter and drug use.
“I would implore you, encourage you, if necessary, compel you to reestablish West Broad Street School as an early learning center for our children,” said Alvin Sheats, a representative from the NAACP, during public comment.
The board also heard new data from the human resources department that shows the retention of Clarke County teachers jumped by 15% from 2024 for those hired in the past one to three years. The presentation from Dan Swartz, assistant superintendent of human resources, served as an update on new teacher apprenticeship and residency programs.
Teacher retention rate for Black, white and multi-racial teachers increased, while Hispanic, Asian, and Native American/Native Alaskan teachers decreased, though Swartz noted the data here may be too small to make any judgments prematurely.
We believe our recruitment and retention strategies have led to (the improvements),” Swartz said.
The board tabled a vote to renew the district telephone system contract — the Cisco Collaboration Flex Plan 3.0 from CDWG — for $158,371.20. The board needed to approve it because of an increase in price over the budgeted amount “due to product development, feature enhancements and inflation,” according to board documents.
Two board members questioned using the same provider for 20 years. District 3 board member Linda Davis said they should be “fair and open” in how they choose businesses.
“I’m simply saying, if we are going to be more equitable, then we have to do something different in terms of how we allocate these resources,” Davis said.
The Board also recognized the district teacher of the year as Timothy Pritchett, and the district professional of the year as Brian Smith, as well as the Clarke Central High School varsity boys cross-country team for placing second in the GHSA class 5A state championship.
Caroline Feagin is a journalism major in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
Show Comments (1)
Yusuf
I read your post, I was very impressed, thank you.