Third time's the charm for teachers and Social Security

A large crowd of teachers and others in the community attended the June 26 meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Education to urge the group to reinstate Social Security for system employees.

After reinstating Social Security and then revoking that decision, the Lincoln County Board of Education voted once again to reinstate the program for its employees.

The action was taken at a continuation of the June 3 and June 12 meetings of the board held Thursday, June 26.

At the request of a group of teachers, the board voted on June 3 to authorize School Superintendent Randall Edmunds to file a Letter of Intent for Request for a Referendum for Social Security.

The motion was made by Gail Remsen and seconded by Robert Hearst, with board members Wayne Williford and Becky Reed opposing the motion. Dr. Robert Williams, chairman of the board, broke the tie by voting in favor of reinstating Social Security.

The board agreed that the program would go into effect on January 1, 2009, following an employee referendum.

Also during the meeting, the board reviewed a copy of the Tentative FY 2009 Budget, proposed by Dr. Edmunds and Comptroller Kaye Bufford. The budget, which did not include Social Security, called for a millage rate increase of approximately two mills of tax.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the board instructed Edmunds and Bufford to make cuts in the budget as well as factor in the cost of Social Security, resulting in a millage-rate increase not to exceed two mills.

At the group's June 12 meeting, Superintendent Edmunds presented the board with a second draft of the Tentative FY 2009 Budget, which included Social Security payments for the second half of the fiscal year at a cost of $207,965. Among the school improvement projects cut from the budget was the replacement of the roof at LCMS ($275,000).

The millage rate increase, accompanying the budget, was estimated at two mills.

After looking at the numbers, Robert Hearst raised the subject of rescinding the board's vote on Social Security, and Wayne Williford made a motion to postpone reinstating the program, with the provision that the matter was to be brought back up for discussion during the board's annual planning session at the first of the year.

Hearst, Williford, and Reed voted in favor of the motion, with Remsen and Chairman Williams voting in the negative.

Now, with the focus of the discussion shifting to a budget without Social Security, Williford made a motion to approve the Tentative FY 2009 Budget, with the removal of Social Security and increases in teacher supplements and the addition of a new roof for LCMS.

The motion passed on a 3-2 vote, with Williams and Remsen voting against the budget.

Things shifted again on June 26.

At the outset of the meeting, Hearst said, "I know I am the one who changed his mind once or twice, but after much thought, I can't support this budget. We need to take the middle school roof out and put Social Security back in.

"We've waited nine or 10 years to replace the roof, we can wait one more. We're not going to do it in the winter anyway."

He went on to say, "I put myself in the place of our teachers. After retiring, Social Security is all that some of them will have. We need to provide it for the ones who want it.

"Also, we'll be able to recruit better teachers if we offer Social Security."

Concerning the replacement of the roof at LCMS, Becky Barden, LCHS principal, reported that the roof is not getting worse. "It's the same as it has been for the past two years."

"It can be put off," said Dr. Edmunds, "but somewhere along the line we'll have to do it."

In her comments, Reed asked about the possibility of phasing Social Security into the budget and then offering it to teachers in 2010.

"We've already put it off 27 years, and that's 27 too many," stated Hearst.

According to teacher Carolee Hobbins, "Every year we do not have Social Security hurts - we have a zero averaged in. Another issue is disability."

"Some of us will lose our disability if we wait," said Kathy Thomas, a teacher at LCHS.

Wayne Williford stated that he is not against Social Security. "But there's a lot on our plate. It would be better if we could fund it without raising taxes in 2010."

He also expressed concerns regarding expenses associated with the construction of the new high school. "One of the contractors I've called said he's scared to bid a job."

To date, $31 million has been appropriated for the project - an estimated $26 million to build the school and another $5 million for site work.

Superintendent Edmunds pointed out, "The cost per square foot has dropped from where it was, because more people are looking for work. Contractors are willing to take less profit and have a job rather than go out of business.

"I think we have good estimates on the cost of the school, but we'll know if we need to make adjustments when we get the bids."

In other discussion, Chairman Williams said, "If we put in Social Security, what will we do when next year's budget rolls around? Will we have to raise the millage rate two mills for Social Security and a roof?"

"At maximum, Social Security won't be over one mill," replied Edmunds.

To conclude the matter, Hearst made a motion to accept a budget that includes Social Security but omits funding for a new roof at LCMS.

The motion was seconded by Remsen and approved on a 3-2 vote, with Williford and Reed voting in the negative.

The approved budgeted expenditures for the General Fund are estimated at $13,106,748, with all-funds expenditures set at $36,334,613.

Moreover, since Social Security for half a year will not cost as much as repairing the middle school roof, the Fund Balance will show a slight increase.

The budget is expected to result in a millage rate increase of two mills.

In other business, the board:

.. Was informed by Dr. Edmunds that according to the Wilkes County Board of Education's FY 2009 Tentative Budget, the neighboring school system will receive $5,161,869 in local tax dollars, compared to $4,393,166 for Lincoln County.

.. Was informed by the superintendent that he hopes to bring bids on site work at the new school to the group at its regular August meeting.

.. Heard a report from Brian Campbell, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, on how Lincoln County fared on the Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT), which were administered this past spring to students in grades 1-8.

"When we were ranked second in any of the five categories (reading, English/language arts, math, science, and social studies), the only system beating us was Columbia County," said Campbell. "There's a lot to be said for the fact that we were ranked first or second in numerous categories. That's pretty impressive."

Concerning comparisons with the number of students statewide passing the CRCT, the assistant superintendent noted that:

(1) In seventh-grade reading, Lincoln County was ranked 43rd out of 511 Georgia middle schools.

(2) In seventh-grade English/language arts, the local system was ranked 53rd out of 511 Georgia middle schools.

(3) In fifth-grade reading, the county was ranked 145th out of 1,201 elementary schools in the state.

(4) In fifth-grade English/language arts, Lincoln County was ranked 128th out of 1,205 Georgia elementary schools.

(5) In fourth-grade English/language arts, the county was ranked 147th out of 1,201 Georgia elementary schools.

(6) In third-grade Social Studies, the county was ranked 141st out of 1,211 elementary schools in the state.

(7) In second-grade English/language arts, Lincoln County was ranked 36th out of 1,210 Georgia elementary schools.

In closing, Campbell said, "We have areas we need to work on. In fact, our School Improvement Teams spent time studying the test results this week."

.. Voted to enter into executive session to discuss the employment of personnel. Upon returning to regular session, the group voted to approve Donald Wilson to serve at the will of the board as the maintenance supervisor at LCMS/LCHS.

The next regular meeting of the board will be held Tuesday, July 15, at 7 p.m. at the board office on Metasville Road.