by Denise Etheridge
White County News
White County’s school board reviewed a new safety plan and approved changes to its admissions policy last week.
Board of Education members were told that the district’s revised safety plan was completed and would go into effect once the board approves it. The plan was updated by school administrators with the assistance of White County Public Safety Director David Murphy and his staff. Murphy said his department worked with school administration over the summer to develop a plan that “was better than what we had.”
“It’s got a little more detail, information, in it that will help each member of faculty, administration, dietitian, school bus driver...whatever your position or role is, it identifies in that plan something that you can do if you’re in any type of disaster,” he said.
Murphy said the plan was broken into segments, dealing with “everyday” emergencies or natural or man-made disasters.
He added that sections of the safety plan are also now specific to each school in the district.
“Going forward, every year, the school system will only update those portions of the plan that are necessary,” Murphy said. “If they have any changes in their particular school, then that part of the document is the only part of the document that would have to be edited or revised. The base plan will stay the same unless the state or we locally determine something needs to be changed to make it better.”
Board members also approved changes to its school admissions policy, specifically the portion pertaining to student records. Superintendent Laurie Burkett previously explained that the revision is intended to strengthen school safety.
The changes will allow school administrators to know a transferring student’s history before they are allowed to be enrolled in-person at a particular school, according to Burkett. The student would be permitted to have online instruction for a period of around 10 days. White County schools must also provide student records in a timely manner to other school districts when students transfer.
In other school board business, board members approved the purchase of a school activity bus and a new driver’s education vehicle.
The bus will cost $103,000 and the new driver’s ed vehicle, a 2025 Ford Escape, will cost a total of $26,088.95 for both the SUV itself and the price to convert the vehicle for driver’s education use. The purchases will be paid for with Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) funds.
The school board also approved the system’s purchase of Wonders Curriculum for $11,451.65, uninterruptible power supplies (IT) for $2,610 and a $2,500 new entrance gate for White County Middle School.