BOE and Dr. Thurman, superintendent, present Cognia Accreditation plaque during a general session meeting

This past Monday, April 20th, Greene County Board of Education announced its new accreditation from Cognia during their general session. All districts were represented during the session. 

According to Cognia, the accreditation “signifies that a school meets or exceeds rigorous standards of educational quality and effectiveness.” The accreditation has been extended to schools in over seventy countries worldwide, serving as a global measurement for quality education. It validates diplomas so students can transfer their credits to universities inside and outside the United States. To learn more about this milestone and the school system’s plans, Dr. Thurman encourages parents to attend the remaining stops of his superintendent community tour and ask questions. 

After the minutes for the regular meeting on March 12, 2026, were approved, Mrs. Lennon delivered the financial report. As of March 31st, all accounts are reconciled, and no fraudulent activity has been reported. Lennon also thanked the Greene County Racing Commission for donating $177,000, which will be reflected in the April report. 

During the superintendent’s report, Dr. Thurman thanked parents for their participation during the Superintendent’s Tour. “We want to be transparent in every way that we can Dr. Thurman stated. The next tour stop will be for District 2 on April 23rd, at Paramount in Boligee, AL. The final date for the tour will be May 4th at the Branch Heights Community Center to address all districts. “We want to continue to build relationships with our parents,” Dr. Thurman began, “I’ve been enjoying it (the tour).”

After the report, the floor was yielded to the board members to ask questions. Robert Davis inquired about the status of long-term planning for the bus stops. The superintendent told Davis that there would be a call meeting to discuss bus stops and other items of importance not included on the agenda. The call meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 27th, at 4:00 pm for board personnel and administrators. 

All recommendations by the Superintendent were approved. Here they are as follows: 

1. Memorandum of Agreement for Special Education Services between Community Service Programs of West Alabama, Inc., Head Start/Early Head Start, and Greene County Board of Education to identify, evaluate, and provide special education services to young children (ages 3–4) with disabilities
2. Greene County Board of Education Organizational Chart
3. Removal of outdated and unused items from Peter J. Kirksey location by Otis Robinson at no cost to the GCBOE
4. 2026-2027 Academic Calendar 
5. Social Studies textbook adoption recommendation: Grades K-5 Studies Weekly and Grades 6-12 McGraw-Hill 
6. Social Studies textbook quote from Studies Weekly for 6-year terms for $60,376.40
7. Softbook quote from McGraw-Hill for 6-year terms for $88,063.44
8. Qofto provide Email Encryption software for $17,913 to be paid of71 (Funding Source: Cybersecurity Grant)
9. Out of state travel for the following to attend the SREB (Southern Regional Education Board) Conference to be held in Nashville, TN, on July 14 – 17, 2026:
   1. Tammy Anderson
   2. Paula Calligan
   3. Rebecca Coleman
   4. Ka’Needa Coleman
   5. Tura Edwards 
   6. Angela Harkness
   7. Tomora Hill, SREB Presenter
   8. Lorissa Holder
   9. Janice Jeames-Askew
   10. Dutchess Jones
   11. Charlayne’ Jordan-Riley
   12. Drenda Morton
   13. Andrea Perry
   14. Tameshia Porter
   15. Tamika Thompson
10. Payment of all bills, claims, and payroll
11. Bank reconciliations as submitted by Mrs. Marquita Lennon, CSFO

The following personnel action items were approved:

RESIGNATION

• Binion, Montoya—​EPS​ 2nd Grade Teacher effective, 5/27/2026

EMPLOYMENT​​​​​​​​​​​​

• Coley, Anglee, Special Education Coordinator​
• Cistrunk, Catherine, Bus Driver (Sub)​
• Thomas, Kayla, Substitute Teacher​

EXTENDED LEAVE​​​​​​​​​​​

• ​Washington, Elona—EPS ​1st Grade Teacher

As the board attorney was not present, the meeting was adjourned after action items were presented. The next regular meeting is currently scheduled for Monday, May 18th at 4:00 pm.