2 days Ago
The Aiken County Board of Education swore in two new members Nov. 19 during its regular meeting. Colen Lindell was elected via write-in ballots during the general election on Nov.
5 for the District 4 seat, which includes North Augusta. Lindell replaces Dr. Patricia Hanks, who chose not to run for a second term.
Liz Morris was chosen in a special election on Nov. 12 to the District 6 seat, which includes the Midland Valley area. Morris replaces Dwight Smith, who resigned from the board in August.
“I feel good. I’m just excited to be able to represent North Augusta tonight and hopefully, like I said on the campaign trail, be a strong voice and an effective leader for them,” Lindell said before the meeting “I feel great, because so many of these people worked with my kids K-12 and now they’re 23, 26 and 20, and to be able to work with them on this level means so much, and thank God I didn’t give them too much trouble and neither did my kids,” Morris said before the meeting. Reelected board members Cameron Nuessle, John Bradley and Deborah Tyler also were sworn in.
The oath of office was administered by district superintendent Dr. Corey Murphy. Board chairman Nuessle welcomed Morris and Lindell.
“We’re excited to have you on the team and we look forward to your contributions as we work together,” he said. “Serving on a school board is no small task. Sometimes you’re asked to make difficult decisions and balance competing priorities and work collaboratively amongst the group of nine of us for the good of all students,” Nuessle said.
“Your willingness to serve and your dedication to our schools speak volumes about your character and commitment,” he said. Nuessle also thanked the public for passage of a penny sales tax for school construction and improvements. “You have no idea what that means for this district to continue that for another 10 years.
This is another significant step towards our commitment in trying to provide our students with the best learning environment that we can, and the support that we receive from the public is vital in the form of this penny sales tax to try to renovate aging buildings, make repairs, and equip our students with more modern learning spaces and equipment that meet their needs,” Nuessle said. In other matters, the board gave first-reading approval to a revision of its policy on student use of cellphones and other electronic devices during the school day, as required by a proviso in the latest state budget. The policy also covers smart watches and wireless earbuds.
Under the revised policy, elementary school students will not be allowed to have phones at school. The devices of middle and high school students must be switched off and stowed at all times during the school day. Murphy said the policy does not prohibit cellular devices completely for various reasons.
“Some students are walking home alone and some kids’ parents use their phones for tracking them as they go home. Some kids, believe it or not, their cellphone is also the key to their car. They're using their phones basically to get back and forth to school,” Murphy said.
“Our procedure moving forward will not involve actual confiscation, but strict enforcement of the rule throughout the day,” he said. The board withdrew from the agenda consideration of an item authorizing the district administration to negotiate a contract with H.G.
Reynolds company to manage installation of new artificial turf on the football fields of Aiken High, Midland Valley High and Silver Bluff High. Murphy said the projects should be started as soon as possible so they can be completed before the next school year. Board member Jim Broome of Jackson raised concerns about the cost of hiring a company to manage the projects rather than having district personnel supervise the installations.
“We do not have the capability right now to supervise simultaneous projects of that scope and scale,” Murphy said. Nuessle said the matter could be considered at the board’s next meeting..
