A new policy on harmful materials and a new name for the boardroom auditorium were on the agenda for the Richmond County Board of Education’s regular meeting on Tuesday evening, the final meeting of the year.
The board voted to approve Policy IKBC, a complaint resolution process regarding harmful material to minors.
“This is our last item on the to-do list that the legislature provided to us this year for policies that we were required to draw out,” school board attorney Kim Fletcher-Bowden told members. The policy lays out a procedure by which the school system addresses complaints of inappropriate materials found in schools.
Procedures include schools investigating written complaints from parents and caregivers about such materials with seven days of receiving them, and providing those parents with a determination within 10 business days.
The policy, which had been under review by the board for some 30 days, was passed through a vote unanimously.
The board also voted to rename the boardroom auditorium, where the meetings are held, in honor of attorney Leonard “Pete” Fletcher, who served as the Richmond County School System’s legal counsel for 50 years. Fletcher died in September of this year.
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“As you all know, we lost a very dear friend several months ago and a true servant to the Richmond County School System,” said District 8 representative Jimmy Atkins, before motioning to rename the boardroom the Leonard O. “Pete” Fletcher Auditorium. “I think it’s fitting to do something to remember.”
The motion ultimately carried unopposed.
The board’s District 9 At Large representative and county commission liaison Venus Cain proposed a partially informal gathering, such as a dinner, of school board members and Augusta commissioners to discuss how the two bodies could work together.
“They have a strong desire to bridge that gap,” said Cain. “And I think this is the first time we’ve actually had a county commissioner liaison where someone is actually working with them on issues that pertain to the school system.”
School board president Charlie Hannah expressed overall approval for the idea, noting that media would need to be invited.
“If we can be facilitating and there’s honest intention, I think that would be a great step forward,” Hannah said.
District 3 representative Walter Eubanks also agreed, advising that an agenda for such a meeting would need to be drawn up, a facilitator secured, and “all the press we can get,” a sentiment echoed by Atkins.
“When you put 20 elected officials in a room, there’s going to be a lot of discussion,” said Atkins, then suggesting such a meeting’s agenda be approved by the school board, and that Superintendent Kenneth Bradshaw also be involved. “Hopefully they will do the same on their end. Because we have attended these meetings and you know, there was a lot of talk and that went on and very little accomplishment that took place.”
Cain proposed a tentative late January date for the gathering. Hannah recommended presenting the idea to Bradshaw for further consideration.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
