Board Authorizes ESSER Funding to Heat and Cool Four School Gymnasiums

February 14, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Board of Education will be spending funds to install HVAC heating and cooling systems in four of the district’s gymnasiums.

During its regular monthly meeting Thursday night, the school board authorized an additional $650,000 from ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds to heat and cool the DCHS, DeKalb Middle School, Northside Elementary, and DeKalb West School gymnasiums. The Smithville Elementary School gym is not included because the board still plans to replace SES with a new school.

“We have our bid in to put heating and air in four gyms. When we first started this project, we put over 20 air conditioners through the system on our school buildings and we estimated this would cost us about $1.2 million with the gym renovations but due to inflation we will have to move up to $650,000 to get that completed for the gyms. The bid has been awarded and the state has approved for us to move this ESSER money with approval from the board,” said Director Cripps.

It may be 2023 before all the HVAC systems for the gyms are installed.

Congress set aside approximately $13.2 billion of the $30.75 billion allotted to the Education Stabilization Fund through the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund). Signed into law on March 27, 2020, the Department awarded these grants ­to State educational agencies (SEAs) for the purpose of providing local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the Nation. ESSER Fund awards to SEAs are in the same proportion as each State received funds under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, in fiscal year 2019.

February 13, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Thursday, February 17 is the qualifying deadline for candidates to get in the race for the May 3 DeKalb County Democratic and Republican Primaries or the August 4 DeKalb County General Election as an Independent.

All 19 persons who had obtained petitions to run for the 8 county wide public offices this year have now filed them with the election commission. The last was Bradley Hendrix who filed his petition Monday for County Mayor in the DeKalb GOP Primary on May 3.

Only 3 of the 32 people who have picked up petitions to run for the county commission have not yet filed them with the election commission including Joshua Chapman in the May 3 GOP Primary in District 3, Michael Paul Atnip in the May 3 Democratic Primary in District 6, and Trevin Merriman in the May 3 GOP Primary in District 7.

Three of the 9 Board of Education candidates have also not yet filed their petitions with the election commission including Matthew J. Quarles in the May 3 GOP Primary in District 2, Jim Beshearse (Incumbent) in the May 3 GOP Primary in District 3, and Eric R. Ervin in the May 3 GOP Primary in District 4.

Offices on the May 3 Democratic and Republican primary ballots include: County Mayor; Road Supervisor; Sheriff, General Sessions Judge; Circuit Court Clerk; County Clerk; Trustee; Register of Deeds; County Commissioner in all seven (7) districts (2 can be nominated per district); School Board members in districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7; Constable in District 4 to fill a vacancy; Circuit Court Judge Part I and Part II (13th Judicial District); Chancellor (13th Judicial District); Criminal Court Judge Part I and Part II (13th Judicial District); District Attorney General (13th Judicial District); and Public Defender (13th Judicial District). While the above offices will appear on May primary ballots, candidates also have the option to run as Independent candidates who will not appear on the ballot until August. However, the same qualifying deadlines apply.

Petitions must be returned by Noon February 17th.

Winners of the May primaries will square off against each other in the August DeKalb County General Election along with any properly qualified independent candidates.

The local election office is open Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is located on the first floor of the DeKalb County Courthouse.

The entire list of candidates for either the May primaries or the August General Election is as follows:
(Click links below to view updates on other 2022 races)

13th Judicial District

County Commission and School Board

County Wide Races

February 12, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County High School continued its monthly observance Friday of recognizing a teacher, student, and parents or guardians of the month for January.

Each received a certificate from the school and a gift card for a meal from the Lipstick Pig. A different restaurant will be offering a meal gift card to each month’s honorees.

DCHS educator Lesa Hayes was selected as Teacher of the Month while freshman Christina Youngblood is Student of the Month, voted on by the teachers, faculty, and staff. The parent of the month is Kristen Lynch and this honor was based on a winning essay written by her son Jeremiah Elswick, a senior at DCHS.

“Jeremiah is an extraordinary young man,” said DCHS Assistant Principal Thomas Cagle. “He is always sending emails and messages to his teachers checking on us making sure we are doing okay so we have returned the favor checking on him all the time. He is one of our office aids. He is a very quiet young man but a very caring and loving young man and we are very fortunate to have him in our school. I wish I had a whole bunch more Jeremiahs in the school,” said Cagle.

Lynch said she was surprised to learn she had been named “Parent of the Month”.

“I am really honored. Its touching. I didn’t expect it. Jeremiah didn’t tell me he was doing it (nominating me), so it was kind of a shock. They just pulled me out of class and said get next door. I am very touched,” said Lynch, who is a special education math intervention teacher at DeKalb Middle School.

Hayes, whose duties include teaching as a profession, family studies, and human studies said she is excited to be named Teacher of the Month.

“I am excited and shocked. This is my third year here at DCHS. I have grown to love this school as well as the kids here. I just feel humbled that I was chosen as Teacher of the Month,” said Hayes.

Altogether Hayes has been a teacher for more than 27 years. In the local school system, she was at DeKalb West School for about 13 years followed by a stint at DeKalb Middle School for five years before moving to DCHS. Prior to her years in the DeKalb County School District, Hayes taught in Wilson County for a private company that contracted with the Department of Labor to train adults for re-entry into the workforce. Before becoming a teacher, Hayes worked in banking and then took a job at DeKalb West working in the office. “I had my teaching degree but there was not a position open at that time, so I started working part-time in the office and part time in adult education. When a computer position came open at DeKalb West is when I moved into the classroom,” said Hayes.

Hayes plans to continue teaching at least another seven years to get in her 30 years before retirement from the system.

Youngblood, daughter of Wade and Tonya Youngblood, said she is thrilled to have been chosen as “Student of the Month”.

“I never thought this would happen, but I am excited that it has, and I feel so honored. After high school I hope to go to college to become a nurse,” she said.

“These awards are a way for us to acknowledge students who are performing exemplary each month. This isn’t always going to be for your straight “A” student. It’s for those putting in the effort to make DeKalb County better each and every month. Every teacher can nominate a student and all teachers vote on the student nominated. Teachers are voted on by the administration. The parent of the month award is determined by student essays. Students can write an essay each month and nominate their parent for a chance to win. In the essays, students can highlight things the parents are doing in their life outside of school that we may not know about,” said Cagle.

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