DAWSON COUNTY, Ga.- The Dawson County Board of Education voted to adopt and expand the learning resources being used in Kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms for all the elementary schools.

The board also approved the ESPLOST request for the month of July. Superintendent Nicole LeCave also presented the board with a new policy that needs to sit on the table for 30 days before being formally approved.

Director of Elementary Schools, Mrs. Page Arnette formed a committee made up of the Executive Director of Instruction and Student Support Services, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, K-5 Principals, and K-5 Assistant Principals to evaluate the learning resources currently in use by the schools. The committee recommended the expansion of the Fountas and Pinnel resources.

The expansion includes benchmark kits, guided reading resources, shared reading resources, independent reading resources, and interactive read-aloud materials. The schools currently have outdated and well-used materials for these, the expansion is just to update the materials.

There will not be a big yearly cost for these since they are actual books and will last a while. They are being purchased with ESPLOST funds and will be here in time for the start of school on Aug. 5.

Heard above is Chairperson Doris Cook giving kudos to the staff on their work with the materials. To review the criteria the committee used to determine the resources visit https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=4051&AID=1414612&MID=101107.

The July ESPLOST request is for $1,033,000.00. The request is for upgrades and emergency maintenance that pop up during the school year. This means if emergency maintenance is needed then as long as the repairs are under $100,000 then maintenance can fix the issue without convening a board meeting to get the funds.

There is also money being disrupted to upgrade playground equipment and band equipment. There will also be updates to the baseball and softball fields with the money.

LeCave presented the board with the new policy IKBB Divisive Concepts Complaint Resolution Process. This policy is in response to House Bill 1084 which was passed this year.

All Georgia school boards are having to make a policy regarding the divisive concepts complaint resolution process. Lumpkin county just put their policy on the table for 30 days as well, to review that visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/07/19/policy-updates-sitting-for-the-next-30-days/.

The policy has to sit for 30 days before it can be approved by the board. This is to give the board and community time to review the policy and ask any questions that may come up about the policy.