Clarke County Board of Education approves $1.43 million Chromebook purchase

The Clarke County Board of Education unanimously voted at its monthly meeting on Thursday to purchase 3,000 Chromebooks for about $1.43 million. All four middle schools in Clarke County will receive the new devices.

This purchase displays Clarke County School District’s efforts to modernize its classrooms and equip students with proper technology according to the interim superintendent’s initial recommendation. The vendor Virtucom, a woman-owned business out of Norcross, Georgia.

“When we are looking at providing our students with devices that they can use to support instruction,we want to make sure that they have the most up-to-date devices that are reliable,” said Jennifer Scott, interim superintendent. 

The funding is sourced from SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax). The February SPLOST monthly report includes renovation and construction cost updates for the West Broad Street Campus, Clarke Middle School, Cedar Shoals High School and Gaines Elementary School. 

The West Broad Street Campus restoration project cost raised 21.30% more than the original contract amount because of cleanup and asbestos abatement following a fire in September. The revised contract amount is $173,368. Public update sessions will be held on Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m in the Vernon Payne Meeting Hall.

The Athens Community Career Academy is building a committee to lead the construction pathway. District 3 Representative Linda Davis volunteered to be on the committee despite it being her last year on the board because the project falls under her district. 

“That’s my community,” Davis said. 

The board also unanimously approved the $781,000 cost proposal for Clarke Central High School’s Crawford Gym and HVAC units replacement. The gym roof reached the end of its useful life and the four existing HVAC units are also in need of replacement. 

“They’ve been doing some maintenance work to make it work right now, but they need to replace the roof to really get the system that they need within that building,” Scott said.

Public Comments

Two community members gave public comments. Chelsea Freeman read a personal complaint she filed against an assistant principal, saying there was an abuse of power used against her. 

Jami Mays expressed her disapproval of the job description change from the executive director of public relations and communications position to the chief communications and engagement officer. Mays said district leadership should not stack power in fewer positions that could provide another job to someone else. 

“What's the justification for a district leader swallowing up another person's whole job?” said Mays. “Should the district leadership really have their hands on all the tasks from their position at the top? Have we not gleaned any lessons from recent current events about what can transpire when control and power is overly centralized?”

The board confirmed that this change is a new title rather than a new position, and it unanimously passed the motion. 

Awards and Recognitions

Several community members received awards and recognitions at the meeting including the Winterville Elementary School cheerleading team. The board approved the field trip proposal for the cheerleaders to attend Orlando, Florida for the National Championship Cheerleading Competition. 

Next

The Clarke County Board of Education will hold an executive session on Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. to discuss the evaluation of the superintendent position. 

The next business meeting will be held on March 12.