Board trustees return for another term

Four Columbia County school board members retook their oaths of office on Tuesday.

//

Regina Buccafusco, Mike Sleeper, Roxanne Whitaker and Wayne Bridges were re-elected to the school board in November. All were unopposed.

Buccafusco, the board's chairwoman, thanked the families of all the school trustees.

"It's not a full-time job, but it's a job that takes a lot away from family time," Buccafusco said.

Sleeper was elected as this year's vice-chairman, and Pete Fletcher will continue his duties as the board's attorney.

The board accepted a $100,000 grant Tuesday from the AT&T Foundation to initiate robotics and other labs in middle and high schools.

Programs incorporating robotics, desktop publishing, engineering and other math and science related educational tools have the potential to inspire pupils to want to learn more and improve retention, school officials said.

Now that the funding is available, educators intend to start discussing purchasing the needed software and hardware to start the programs as soon as possible.

"We see this as an investment," said ATfuture; an investment in the future of our workforce."

The grant consists of two $50,000 payments to the school system during the next two years.

It was just a portion of a $300,000 grant from AT&T. The remaining funds were awarded to the Richmond County Board of Education to support a high-school credit recovery program and to Communities in Schools for computers and educational software.

Also at the meeting, the board tentatively approved the school calendar for the 2010-11 school year, which features an Aug. 9 start date.

The board also looked at a plan to further "zero period" in high schools.

Zero period classes start before first period, allowing juniors and seniors with their own transportation to take their first class earlier than normal school.

The program currently is in place at Greenbrier and Lakeside high schools, where officials say it helps reduce traffic congestion before and after school.

Greenbrier High School assistant principals Ed Williams and Chip Fulmer were named the principal and assistant principal of this year's summer school, respectively.

Summer school classes will take place at Greenbrier High this year.