RCS makes April 2 flexible learning day for teacher shots
♦ The Rome school board approved CARES Act funds to go toward teacher reimbursement, technology and bus purchases.
The Rome City Schools Board of Education approved several items during their meeting Tuesday including making April 2 a flexible learning day for teachers to receive their second COVID-19 shot.
That dose will be administered at the system’s College and Career Academy building. Both the Rome and Floyd County school systems have partnered with Floyd Medical Center through their current nursing contracts to have the vaccines administered.
In addition to vaccination plans, the school board approved the use of federal CARES Act funds to reimburse employees $500 for COVID-19 related expenses incurred during the school year.
The school system will also replace 7,000 Chromebooks as well as purchase 600-plus new laptops for faculty and staff members to replace outdated technology.
The board also approved the purchase of seven new school buses using CARES Act funds and the purchase of two new special education buses from the general fund.
Policy change
Board members had a first reading of a proposed policy change regarding out of district students who are currently in the system.
Currently, students who are outside of the city school system can pay tuition to attend a city elementary school. The system changed the policy to allow out of district students to choose which elementary school they would like to attend, based on available space.
Current RCS students will also be able to apply to transfer to their desired school location, with consideration of available space, through the first day of school.
Applications will be available in April and accepted up until the beginning of classes.
Virtual learning
The school system will be sending out a survey to gauge interest in the virtual learning program.
A proposed plan includes questions about online courses for kindergarten through eighth grade students, taught by Rome teachers. Grades 9-12 will be instructed via Georgia Virtual School.
Students who choose the option of virtual learning will be locked into the program for one year.
Housing
The lack of affordable housing in Floyd County has been an issue for recruiting new teachers for some time.
As part of the system’s teacher recruitment push, the board gave the go ahead to Superintendent Lou Byars to negotiate lease agreement with Harvey-given Co. to secure apartments for new teachers.
“We’ve been working on this for a couple of years,” Byars said. “It’s a new concept for us, but necessary.”
The apartments are a part of the Midtown Alli Townhomes and the lease will span 12 months for four units.
Facilities and grade changes
The school board approved a resolution to submit a five-year facilities plan to the Georgia Department of Education to improve school facilities.
Plans include using the current North Heights Elementary School as the sixth grade academy. Once the sixth grade academy is in place, the school system is also planning to adopt a different grade placing system.
The plan would change elementary schools to kindergarten through fifth grade, middle school to sixth through eighth grade and high school from ninth through 12th grade.
The board also appointed Vice Chair Jill Fisher as the delegate for the 2021-2022 school year to the Georgia School Boards Association. Board member Elaina Beeman will serve as the alternate.