The Darlington County School Board kicked off its meeting Monday by recognizing the achievements of some of its students.
Those awards included some of the athletic achievements and achievements in the arts by several students. Those included the Class AAA State Champion Darlington Falcon softball team and members of the Hartsville High School band.
One of the most important tasks the board undertook, however, was the approval of the budget for the 2008-09 school year.
Among some of the changes, the price for a driver’s education class will increase to $40 per student. That fee will be $16 for students who have reduced lunch and will continue to be free for students in the free lunch program.
The price of lunch will also increase, as well. School lunch in Darlington County will increase 25 cents to $1.50 per student, and breakfast will increase to 75 cents per student. Superintendent Dr. Rainey Knight cited rising gasoline prices and commodity prices for the increase. School members also told the board the school expects the losses incurred from the increase in food prices to be $45,000 for the school year. The figures cited, however, were unaudited figures.
Along with the Darlington County School District’s budget, the board also approved the 2008-09 budget for Florence-Darlington Technical College. The overall budget for FDTC is $4.8 million, and both Darlington and Florence Counties pay half of the budget. Members of the board did, however, question the split. Some members felt as if the Florence County should be responsible for a larger portion because of its size advantage.
Finally, Dr. Knight listed for the board the changes in the Education Accountability Act. As a result of legislation passed earlier this year, PACT testing will be replaced by another test.
Students will now be given a essay test in March of the school year and a multiple choice test in May. “This is similar to the old BSAP tests,” Knight explained.
Knight also said this would simplify the annual report card and reduce it to two pages. This will also eliminate Student Improvement Plans once required by teachers.
Knight said this will bring South Carolina’s student performance targets into alignment with other states, making it easier to gauge the state’s performance with students in other states. The EAA will be reviewed every five years.
Knight also announced the Darlington County School District will host a dinner meeting of Darlington County’s Municipal Councils, County Council and School Board on June 30 at 6 p.m. at Hartsville Middle School. At the dinner, Knight will present the population trends in Darlington County and an overview of the district.
The next regular meeting of the Darlington County School Board will be on July 14 at 6 p.m. in the board/community conference room at Darlington County School District Administrative Annex I in Darlington.
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