Hale lays out school district’s needs

Lela Hale, superintendent of the Marshall County School District, brought concerns about the district’s needs before the board of supervisors last week.

The physical needs of the district’s schools, as well as concerns about accountability ratings that come out in July, were on her mind.

Hale said an EPA ruling in 2010, saying that water wells at H.W. Byers and Galena are deficient, is being addressed, but there is still work to be done.

“Some deficiencies are corrected and others we are working on,” Hale said. “The Department of Health says we have to do something about it.”

The well at Galena is within capacity but the storage tanks must be inspected and cleaned. The district is looking at costs for inspecting and repairing four water storage tanks in the district.

The water supply at H.W. Byers is not adequate and the campus needs a new well before December. The Health Department has to approve the well design, she said.

Addressing the deficiencies with the wells will be costly, Hale said. On April 3, she met with the Health Department to discuss the situation.

“They did not fine us,” she said. “In 2016 (before Hale won election), we were supposed to get a plan, so we went back to the 2013 plan.”

There are problems with leaking roofs in the gymasiums at Potts Camp and Byhalia, and condensation at Potts Camp School, where an air conditioning unit is also out.

She said two air-conditioning units are needed at Potts Camp.

Flooring is buckling at the Byhalia Middle School gym from moisture condensation.

The district needs to keep up with school bus replacements.

The contract for floor waxing has been suspended to save money. Maintenance personnel will clean and buff the floors for now.

Byhalia High School has foundation problems, she said, and the building is shifting and causing the roof to leak. Hale said the school will correct the leaks with rubberized roofing material that is flexible. A new roof is needed on the gym.

There are sewer line problems at Byers and Byhalia.

Due to underfunding of the school budget by $1.3 million for the fall, Hale said she has reduced teaching positions and had to use some reduction-in-force to eliminate additional positions.

The shortfall is in MAEP funding for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Federal funds have also been cut, she said.

“I want to make you aware of the issues we have now,” Hale said. “I want something better for our students. I will not request funding for just fluff. I am very conservative.”

Supervisor George Zinn III asked about the academic performance at the school district.

Testing cycles in the fall, winter and spring were recently discussed, Hale said.

The third testing cycle did not look as good. She said some teachers may not have covered certain material on the third test for progress monitoring.

Teachers had a few more weeks before the actual test to cover the material.

All graduation rates were not reported correctly for this year. The district has put certain safety nets in place to keep the district in good standing by accurately tracking graduation and following students if they leave the district.

“We have to determine where students are when they leave,” she said.

One school will be deducted by 42 points, Hale said, which will most likely cause the school to lose a letter grade due to inadequate tracking of graduation rates before she took office.

“There are several routes to help a student finish school, including online programs,” Hale said.

“Even if they have not passed all state tests, students have the opportunity to complete their credits and finish. The student may not walk during their home school’s graduation, but they will graduate and be counted in the district’s graduation statistics. They are able to get their diploma by transferring to the online school.

“Another safety net is that all high schools will go to block scheduling this fall.

“We are letting them catch up with the units they need for graduation.”