Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
Dr. Crissie Stapleton has been hired to lead the new Barnwell County School District once the county's districts consolidate on July 1, 2024.
The Barnwell County School District (BCSD) Board of Trustees met on August 22 at the Williston-Elko High School auditorium for their monthly meeting.
The next meeting will be held on September 26 at 6 p.m. in Blackville.
Superintendent’s report
Dr. Crissie Stapleton was elected BCSD superintendent at the board’s July meeting and provided an update on policy revision, strategic planning, and board member training at their August meeting.
Policy revision:
The district is in the process of developing the entire policy manual totaling 500 policies and administrative rules and procedures. Each policy recommended will have to be approved by the board after two readings.
To do this, the policies of Barnwell School District 45 (BSD45) and Barnwell County Consolidated District (BCCSD) will be reviewed and compared to the S.C. School Board Association’s (SCSBA) model.
Dr. Stapleton explained a feasible goal is to approve all the policies within 12 to 18 months.
The first BCSD policy was approved on the first reading relating to public participation at board meetings.
Strategic planning:
Strategic plans for both BSD45 and BCCSD were approved both locally and by the state in the spring. A new strategic plan must be created for the 2024-25 school year at BCSD.
These plans are required to be developed every five years and updated annually, according to state legislation.
“It is imperative that the planning processes demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement and respond to accountability requirements in both state and federal legislation. The plans must be developed collaboratively by a broad-based group of stakeholders using a consensus process,” states the superintendent’s presentation.
Per state regulation, parents, teachers, stakeholder groups, and principals must be involved in this process.
The first step in creating a strategic plan is creating a vision and mission statement based on the envisioned future of the district.
In September, Dr. Stapleton will be meeting with both district and school administrators to set dates for upcoming planning sessions where stakeholders can participate.
New domain/Identification numbers:
The district officially has a new domain – bcsd.net. A domain is an administrative structure for organizing internet services and commonly compiles a website and emails for district members.
A website will soon be created using this domain name.
The district has been quoted $109,200 for establishing PowerSchool - a K-12 cloud based software provider used by both BSD45 and BCCSD. The state is involved in this to “determine our scope of work,” states the superintendent’s presentation.
As of August 21, the school received the new identification numbers for the district which allows for both state and federal legitimacy.
Board member training:
SCSBA has offered to provide an orientation workshop for board members. Funding has been set aside as part of the state’s consolidation allocation for board members to attend SCSBA training.
Board members were asked to check their availability.
Barnwell County Career Center information:
An informational presentation on the Barnwell County Career Center (BCCC) was provided for board members as well as the community.
Construction at the Reynolds Road campus began in 1968. The facility is 36,000 square feet and sits on 35.62 acres serving students from Williston-Elko, Blackville-Hilda, and Barnwell high schools. The career center is currently fully staffed, according to director David Augustine.
BCCC’s general fund operating budget for 2023-24 is $1,925,260. Although BCCC is not fully funded by the schools or districts, an allocated amount is paid to BCCC annually from both BSD45 and BCCSD. In the 2023-24 school year, BSD45 and BCCSD each paid $131,550.
The programs offered at BCCC range from agriculture to cybersecurity. In the 2022-23 school year, 383 students attended BCCC. 227 students were from Barnwell High School, 36 from Blackville-Hilda High School, and 120 from Williston-Elko High School.
The number of students from each school attending BCCC is based on population.
In this school year, the enrollment number climbed to 435 students.
A task force made of community and business leaders has been created to discuss priorities for BCCC.
Early Childhood Education efforts:
“This emphasis on early childhood is so critical,” said Chairman Terry Richardson. “The best economic development tool any community could have is early childhood because we know that 80% of the brain development takes place from zero to four.”
Barnwell County First Steps is partnering with BCCSD to bring a licensed childcare center to Williston as the town is currently without.
Discussion of this partnership first began last year, but has been making recent strides.
The childcare center will be located at Kelly Edwards Elementary School (KEES). Current steps at KEES include completing classroom and building upgrades for licensing purposes through the Department of Social Services.
Once First Steps has the center at KEES fully operational, they plan to replicate the model in Blackville.
New Business:
The board approved the BCSD Consolidation Plan which adds monetary amounts to each step forward as aforementioned. The approval of this plan allows the money to be allocated to each item as the consolidation process continues such as website creation.
Executive session:
Although no action was taken during executive session, the board received legal advice regarding contractual matters relating to the superintendent as well as a discussion of employment.
