The Bryan County Schools Board of Education approved several expenditures and personnel contracts during a relatively short meeting Thursday night.
Among the expenditures was $93,580 for a 54-passenger bus with a lift to be used by the special education program. Another $57,785 will go to Pope Construction for upgrades to the McAllister Elementary School cafeteria and $37,370 to Pope for repairs on the gymnasium at the community education building.
“McAllister is so crowded that we need to add a third lunch line to the cafeteria to keep things running smoothly there,” Superintendent Paul Brooksher said.
The overcrowding at McAllister should be eased somewhat when a new elementary school opens in August of 2020 off of Belfast River Road near Richmond Hill Middle School. Brooksher has said in the past that the new elementary school means the district will have to redraw attendance boundaries. The addition of McAllister was the first time the district had to do that.
The gym at the community education building has been closed for several months and the project will bring it up to code. It is mainly used for the after-school program.
Another $42,400 will go toward information technology upgrades.
Contracts for the 2018-2019 school year for teachers and administrators also were approved.
The district’s human resources department is holding interviews from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on March 24 to fill several positions. Brooksher said the district needs teachers in every subject at every grade level as enrollment continues to grow.
Interested parties, including spring college graduates and teachers from other districts, can visit https://bryanctyga.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx for a list of openings and to fill out an application. Brooksher noted that filling out an application does not guarantee participation in the interview day.
“We want to get ahead of the curve in filling these positions and want to make sure we’re getting the best of the best,” he said.
The website lists more than 40 positions currently open.