The Polk County Board of Education returned to full strength Monday with the official addition of new board member Danielle Gibbs.

Gibbs, appointed to fill the unexpired term of the late Geoffrey M. Tennant, was sworn in by Polk County Clerk of Superior Court Pam Hyder at the start of the board’s regular monthly meeting at Stearns Education Center. Gibbs will serve as the Columbus representative.

Superintendent Aaron Greene congratulated Gibbs and welcomed her to the board. He also expressed the district’s appreciation and support for Gibbs as she takes on the role serving the students and schools of Polk County.

With Gibbs seated, the board heard presentations from school administrators and staff on 2019-2020 School Improvement Plans and Safe Schools plans. Each year, all schools develop annual goals and plans for growth to support student learning and development. The process and plans help guide the work of the district’s educators and focus efforts on areas identified for improvement. The reports also highlight successes from the prior year and introduce new programs and ideas to help students achieve at high levels.

Near the end of the meeting the board went into closed session, as required by law, to hear plans for school safety and crisis management.

Once back in open session, the board unanimously approved all plans and thanked the district’s administrators and staff for their hard work.

Other actions taken by the board included:

• Approval of overnight field trips for Polk County High’s boys basketball program, FFA Land Judging and Vet Sciences

• Selection of Chairman Rick Covil and member Mike Ashworth as voting delegates to the North Carolina School Boards Association

• Rescheduling the board’s November meeting to Tuesday, Nov. 12 due to the Veteran’s Day holiday

• Approval on first reading of Polk County Board of Education Policy 4202 – Service Animals in Schools

• Review of information about the upcoming Consolidated Federal Programs monitoring visit taking place in early November

 

Submitted by Andy Rhinehart