Classes Start Thursday for Douglas

Students in the Douglas County School System are set to begin their 2011-12 school year on Thursday.

 will be utilized for the first time this year and will be followed by a new elementary school for the 2012-13 school year.

Based on the new tax digest numbers, the Board of Education across the board for all 190-day-and-over employees to three days. The total school system millage rate will be 22.95 instead of the originally projected 24.1 mills.

"A reduction in the millage rates and a reduction to three furlough days will be possible since the Douglas County tax digest declined 3.88 percent instead of the seven percent originally anticipated by the Tax Commission Office," Superintendent Gordon Pritz said. "We are very happy to see a much smaller decline this year than the 7 percent anticipated or the 15 percent decline last year."

The Maintenance and Operations millage rate went from 20 to 19.85 mills and the bond millage rate went from 4.1 to 3.1 mills—allowing for the total drop to 22.95 mills.

"Providing tax relief for Douglas County property owners, as well as eliminating some of the furlough days for our employees, is very important," Pritz said. "While the smaller decline in the tax digest this year is very helpful, we must keep in mind that there has been an overall decline in most revenue sources during the last few years that have deeply impacted us. The school system must continue to be very diligent regarding all expenditures."

Student enrollment in the school district is roughly 24,500 students. There are 20 elementary schools, eight middle schools, and, with the addition of New Manchester, five high schools.

Staffing

The Board of Education named several new positions for school administrators during July.

Monte Beaver was named area director in the Student Achievement and Leadership Department in the Central Office effective July 1. He was previously the principal at , a position he had held since 2005.

Jeffrey Henderson was named assistant principal of Lithia Springs High School effective July 1. Henderson had been a graduation coach at  since 2007 and taught at the school from 2002 to 2007.

Sean Roach was named as assistant principal of . He had been assistant principal at  since 2009 and previously served as assistant principal at  from 2006 to 2009.

Robert Blevins was named principal of  effective July 18. He had been assistant principal at Chapel Hill Elementary since 2003 and taught fourth and fifth grade at  from 1988 to 2003.

Larry Moore was named assistant principal of New Manchester High School. He previously served as a principal at Dublin Middle School from 2008 to 2010, and at Americus Sumter High School from 2006 to 2008. Moore was assistant principal at East Coweta High School from 2002 to 2006, and Smokey Road Middle School from 1998 to 2002. He has taught in Wilkinson, Coweta and Floyd counties.

E-SPLOST

Citizens will be able to the Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in November. The third and current E-SPLOST is set to run through December.  

If approved, the 1-percent sales tax will extend the current ESPLOST for another five years beginning on Jan. 1, 2012.

Pritz said that E-SPLOST funding must be used for construction, renovations, resources such as technology, and paying off construction bonds, which then provides voters with a reduction in the millage rate. To see the proposed E-SPLOST projects list, .