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At its regular monthly meeting on April 20, the Polk County Board of Education spent much of its April meeting receiving updates on the efforts within Polk County Schools to serve students and families during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The board heard from Superintendent Aaron Greene and other administrators on the district’s initiatives to follow the directives from the North Carolina State Board of Education and Governor Roy Cooper – feed students, establish childcare for essential service workers and educate remotely to the best of each district’s ability.
Greene noted that Polk County Schools has worked hard since school doors closed last month to conduct weekly “wellness checks” on its 2,100 students and their families to ensure those in need get access to resources and support beyond lunches or schoolwork. Since March 18, Polk County Schools has distributed almost 40,000 meals, provided 22 days of childcare for emergency and essential personnel and planned and posted several weeks’ worth of student learning activities.
“True to this year’s theme of Together We Learn, our Polk Schools family has worked together to learn how to serve our students and families in new ways,” Greene said. “I want to thank all of our staff for their dedication during this challenging time. I also want to thank all in our community who have stepped up to assist us in our work.”
Chairman Rick Covil thanked the district’s employees on behalf of the entire board.
Other highlights from the April meeting:
• The board suspended Policy 3460 – Graduation Requirements for this year to ensure alignment with the State Board of Education’s recent changes to existing requirements for 2020 seniors.
• The board approved Finance Officer Debbie Lovelace’s recommended April budget amendment and the district’s 2020-2021 Budget Resolution. Greene noted that next year’s budget is a best guess as there is still not a budget for 2019-2020 and there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding future budget planning due to Covid-19.
• The board approved grant requests for additional Head Start funding to address program cost increases and changes to the district’s 2019-2020 calendar in response to school closure.

 

From Staff Report