BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Top Photo: State Representative Troy Stubbs presents Elmore County School Superintendent a $140,000 check as a community service grant.
Alabama State Representative Troy Stubbs was a special guest this morning at a special Elmore County Board of Education meeting, and he brought a $140,000 check with him as a community service grant for the school district.
“We recognize there are many needs both here in Elmore County Board of Education and the City of Tallassee Board of Education, both which I represent.”
Dennis said that community grants are so important to help fund programs such as STEM, that may not get enough recognition and/or funding.
Stubbs explained there is a new opportunity for schools throughout the state to receive grant funding. The state created a $179 Million Capital Grant program for schools across the state, which can apply for a community service grant.
This could cover school systems for various programs and capital improvement needs. The deadline is Oct. 20 for grant applications.
Stubbs said the application process is streamlined and requires basic information about the individual school system’s needs. Letters of support are also needed from legislators that represent the school system. The grants should be submitted to Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth and the committee. The cap on individual grants is $5 Million. The amount of matching funds could depend on the financial means of each school district. There is a maximum of a 30 percent match.
“I am an advocate for education and for the children of Alabama. Many of you know I am a former educator, and certified math teacher here in Elmore County Board of Education. So, we will continue to fight and do all that we can to make sure we are putting our best foot forward as educators, administrators, and others, to serve the people of Alabama.”
The Legislative session will begin in February.
“If there are any local legislative matters that need to be addressed, we encourage you to initiate the process now so that we can pre-file bills and make sure that we have the time necessary to advertise, or anything else necessary, to move that legislation forward,” Stubbs said.
Supt. Dennis expressed his appreciation for Rep. Stubbs and said “I want to thank him for taking his leadership to the legislature this year. He was very instrumental in helping us achieve goals in curriculum areas that are very important to not only our teachers but to our community.”
Stubbs said communication is vital, as legislators have a lot of issues before them. It is important to know what specific challenges their areas are dealing with, or concerns that exist.
In other business, Dennis spoke of a technology outage that was experienced last week in the school system and said that is still being investigated. School staff are setting up a meeting to determine what happened, and how it can be avoided in the future.
Dennis said he is also working with the County Commission and ECEDA on Broadband expansion in the school system.
He also noted that there is a piece of property near Coosada Elementary School could become available for purchase in the near future. He said the property would aid the school system on the property line. Dennis said he would bring more information to the board when available.
Dennis also made a recommendation to the board to accept the low overall bid of $174,789 for perimeter fencing at Redland Elementary School. The issue was passed.
Dennis said that over half of the 50 acres will be fenced at the school, and he said this was a very good bid in his opinion.
Dennis also recommended the board accept all actions on the Personnel Action sheet, which passed.
As general business was complete a motion was made for the board to go into executive session to discuss the “good name and character” of an employee. No further details were given, but Chairman Michael Morgan said the meeting was for discussion only, and no action would be taken at this time.
