Board Given Report on Construction at CCES
Billy Parson, at the podium, speaks to the Cumberland County school district Board of directors about the construction work at Cumberland County Elementary School. PHOTO | Greg Wells
By Greg Wells
CCN – Editor
At last Thursday’s Cumberland County School District’s Board Meeting, Billy Parson of Alliance, the company overseeing construction work on a Cumberland County Elementary School, told the board that construction was proceeding well
Something that those passing by are likely to notice soon is the removal of the access from Glasgow Road, with the addition of a bridge in that location during May, Parson said.
He provided the board with photographs of specific areas, as well as overviews, to explain the nature of the work either completed or underway.
Parson indicated that things were proceeding on schedule.
The board also heard from representatives from each of the schools, as well as staff in the GEAR Up program.
Hannah Hopper, at the elementary school, said things were going well, with activities planned for every day in May, and they were currently focused on introducing next year’s kindergarten class to the school and their teachers.
Michelle Cash, at the middle school, said they had had three students named to the Rogers Scholars program, among other accomplishments.
High School Principal Tabatha Moons told the board about the many awards recently earned by students and the presentations by the Burkesville fire department and rescue squad as well as one by Tri-County Electric Coop.
She explained that the pre-prom “mock wreck,” presented by the first responders came before prom.
The presentation by linemen at the electric company provided students with a chance to speak with local graduates who have gone on to work locally in that trade.
Cumberland County school superintendent Kirk Biggerstaff told the board that Resource Officer Rob Dyer earned the district recognition for their safety program, which includes armed resource officers at all of the district schools.
“We’re much better off than other district in the area, having armed officers on all our campuses,” Biggerstaff said.
Cheryl Tarter and Michelle Dishman told the board that GEAR Up, which provides peer-tutoring and programs to prepare seniors for university, has two more years of grant funding remaining.
They both described the other programs they provide to ensure students are successful, and ready for life after high school.
Biggerstaff also told the board that a recently earned grant will help the district greatly, by paying for hundreds of thousands of dollars in curriculum materials for mathematics.
He added that hopefully they can move forward with even more federal grants to improve available curriculum materials.
