Goff chosen as new FCLE principal

About halfway through its slate of business matters, the Board of Education voted on Tuesday, May 17 to hire a new principal — Page Goff — at Franklin County Lower Elementary School.

“A search was undertaken for principal candidates, interviews were conducted and I am recommending Page Goff to be the FCLE principal for the 2022-2023 school year,” Superintendent of Education Chris Kent told the panel in asking for the administrative hiring.

District 5 representative Michael Coleman made the motion to hire Goff and District 2 board member Vanessa Walker, who serves as the panel’s vice president, seconded the measure.

District 4 member Joyce Calcote voted in favor of the motion while District 2 representative Tywana Lee-Reed abstained and District 1 member Gloria Hayes, who chairs the five-member body, voted against the hiring.

The three affirmative votes — constituting a majority of the group — were enough to carry the superintendent’s recommendation to passage.

“I appreciate that and look forward to moving forward,” Kent said afterwards in regards to the board’s vote.

This key personnel decision comes after the district did not renew the contract of current principal Sharlet Moore, who held the FCLE leadership post for one year following the retirement of long-time principal Marsha Webb.

Moore appealed that decision to the board, which stood behind the non-renewal of her contract following a lengthy closed-door hearing during the panel’s April business meeting.

Kent and members of the board did not discuss the matter during the remainder of the meeting or afterwards noting that personnel matters are not discussed publicly.

Most recently, Goff has served as an assistant principal at Franklin County Upper Elementary School.

In other action during the meeting, the Franklin County Board of Education:

• Voted to hire Kent King as a new social studies teacher and coach at Franklin County High School.

Additionally, Katie Turner was hired as a special services teacher — pending receipt of her license — while Brittany Forman and Vista Herring were hired as speech pathologists for the district.

• Unanimously authorized several budget adjustments, including a transfer of $150,930.70 from the District Maintenance Fund to the School and Building Improvement Fund; adding $38,816.25 to the Summer Food Service Fund to the fiscal year 2022 budget; and a list of revisions to allocations for the first round of Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds along with fiscal year 2021 special education and school improvement funds.

“With the reallocations, we moving money that might not have been spent in some areas to make sure we’re utilizing those funds to benefit our students,” Kent said.

“There are deadlines associated with the expenditure of these funds, especially the ESSER money.”
• Gave approval to a contract for evaluation services through Harper Educational Consulting in regards to the district’s 21st Century Community Learning program along with adopting an agreement between the district and Microsoft, which is acquiring BrightBytes.

Kent said BrightBytes is associated with the school system’s Chromebooks technology and tracks what is being done on the devices.

• Authorized an application for a Career and Technical Education Industry Certification incentive grant, which provides funds to the school system when students earn their recommended certifications.

The board also gave its OK to a request by Kristie Jones, who serves as Franklin County Career and Technical Center Construction and Carpentry teacher, to apply for consideration through the Harbor Freight “Tools for Schools” awards program.

• Voted in favor of a Mississippi Forestry Commission plan for timber sales on 16th Section lands during the 2022-2023 program year.

• Heard a report from FCSD Business Manager Tremel Young, who noted that, as of April 30, the school system’s District Maintenance Fund Balance stood at $2,369,962.

She went on to report that the district, through April 30, had received 84 percent of its anticipated revenue for the current budget year and had expended 70 percent of what was planned to be spent during the term.

• Approved a pair of fund-raisers, including a robotics summer camp for area youth on June 2, 3, 6 and 7 sponsored by the Technology Students Association and movie nights for the Pride of Franklin County Marching Band in November and March.

• Approved conducting the district’s fiscal year 2023 budget hearing, which will be open to the public, at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 28, in the Superintendent’s Office on First Street in Meadville.

The board’s next regular business meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 21.