The McComb school board welcomed back a trustee for a second term Tuesday but learned that the district’s athletic director is retiring.
At the beginning of the meeting, trustee Betsy Murrell was sworn in for another five-year term. She was reappointed last week in a 4-3 vote by the McComb city board, with Mayor Quordiniah Lockley breaking the tie in Murrell’s favor.
The board also approved a monthly personnel report that said athletic director Mike Jeanson, who also is the alternative school director, will retire June 30. Superintendent Dr. Cederick Ellis said district employees have been invited to apply for the job. If an existing employee is not chosen, the job will be advertised.
In another matter, trustee Lynn Martin asked for five items to be added to the meeting’s agenda, but no one else on the board seconded any of the motions. She wanted the board to:
• Document P-16 Council representative Vernell Simmons’ remarks to the board last week by including the district’s responses to the council’s questions in the board’s minutes.
• Hire USM professor Dr. David Lee to make recommendations for better school board effectiveness.
• Hire a consultant to assess whether the three elementary schools — Otken, Summit and Higgins Middle School — should be reconfigured. “We do have two separate elementary school systems,” Gilmore said, apparently referring to Summit Elementary’s intentionally limited enrollment.
• Arrange for all school board members to receive a copy of the Enterprise-Journal if they wish.
• Allow trustees to ask questions about data used to produce reports such as graduation and dropout rates.
In other matters the board:
• Approved several donations, including $2,500 from Jimmie Pickett Jr. of Irvine, Calif., and the Burglund-Higgins-McComb Legacy Fund. The gift will pay for classroom supplies and student incentives at Higgins.
• Approved a $88,673 grant from the state Department of Education for science, technology, engineering and math programs, known as STEM. The money will be split between Summit, Higgins and Denman Junior High School.
• Approved the addition of an Earth and Space Science course for the current semester. The course is being offered online to a student who recently transferred to McComb High School. Curriculum director Robert Lamkin said the district will continue to offer the course in the future.
• Approved minutes of its February meetings. The minutes of a Feb. 2 executive session said the school board discussed potential litigation with the Internal Revenue Service over the district’s failure to file insurance and tax credit documents electronically. Board attorney Kashonda Day said a tax lawyer will assist with the matter.
• Approved financial statements for January. Revenue for the month was $2.436 million, including $1.479 million in local property tax payments and $939,000 from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. Expenses were $1.310 million, including $1.127 million in salaries and benefits, and $183,000 for goods and services. Feb. 28 cash on hand was $8.605 million.
