Shelby County Schools ranked 20th in state

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Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Lewis Brooks shared some good news about things going on in the county during the June 25 Shelby County Board of Education meeting.

“Shelby County Schools ranked 20th in the 2020 Best School Districts in Alabama,” he said. “This was out of 138 in the state and received an overall grade of an A,” Brooks said.  To view the full list, visit niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/s/alabama.

Brooks also shared a letter he recently received from Chelsea Park Elementary 4th grader, Connor Driscoll, thanking him for his leadership during COVID-19. 

“I want to recognize the kind of students we have in Shelby County,” Brooks said. “[Connor] had an assignment to write a letter to a local hero. This is an indication of the kind of kids we have in our schools, and that showed care and concern not only for me as a leader, but the school district as well. It’s something to be proud of.”

John Gwin, Assistant Superintendent of Finance, gave the financial report for May 2020. The county’s unreserved fund balance was $39,536,317.59, which Gwin said is a 2.3 months reserve.

“We haven't spent as much due to quarantine and COVID-19, so the general fund balance is doing very well,” he said.

Expenditures were a little under at 64% and revenue is about 73% of budget. The ending book balance was $48,062,656.41. For the May tax revenue comparison with FY 2019, property gas 4.8% higher than last year and alcohol beverage taxes were up 10.11%. The total expenditures for May were $19,379,219.47 leaving an ending cash balance of $59,984,552.68.

“The local revenue is looking good,” Gwin said. “We haven't seen a dip yet.”

The board approved the FY2020 Budget Amendment 2 that runs through Sept. 20, 2020, which added several things including technology funds, new grants, trust grants and increased property tax revenue. 

“We cut substitute funds and bus fuels since we did not use them in May, and added some new capital projects that were approved,” Gwin said. “The general fund from savings was able to increase our ending fund balance little over a million dollars.”

The total expenditures for the final budget was $254,282,845.71.

Approvals were made for the following school administrators:

  • Cheryl Allen was named assistant principal of Montevallo High School. Allen’s former position was guidance counselor at the school.
  • Henry Long was named assistant principal of Helena Middle School. Long’s former position was Administrative Assistant at Chelsea High School.
  • Kristen Glover was named assistant principal of Oak Mountain Intermediate School. Glover’s former position was an instructional coach for the Shelby County School system.
  • Christopher Myles was named principal of Calera High School. Myles was formerly the Assistant Principal at Helena Middle School.

David Calhoun, Assistant Superintendent of Operations, gave an update on projects at several schools. PCI of Chelsea was awarded the contract for painting at Inverness Elementary for two halls, large front hall, gym and lunchroom totaling $37,300; Chelsea High School restrooms totaling $3,800 and Oak Mountain High School commons area totaling $8,800. These three requests were approved by the board. 

An easement request for Forest Oaks Elementary School at Beech Hollow Road was approved. The road borders the FOES property and the owner is splitting the 75 acres up into estate lots and this is for running electrical services to them. This will not impact the school in any way. 

Other projects that have been in the works include the weight room project at Chelsea High School that is complete and pending final inspection next week. Work on the field house at Chelsea Middle School that previously burned is about 80% complete.

Several schools will also be getting portable classrooms, although due to COVID-19 is behind schedule. They will be located at Calera, Helena and Montevallo. 

The next SCBOE meeting will be held at noon on July 7 at the Shelby County Instructional Services Center in Alabaster.