Greene County Democrat

Tag: Superintendent of Greene County Schools

  • Congresswoman Terri Sewell holds forum in Branch Heights to address local impact of Trump budget cut

    Pictured from left to right:  Rep. Terri Sewell,Dr. Corey Jones Superintendent of Greene Co. Board of Education, Jean Rykaczweski, CEO of West AL Food Bank, Dr. Marcia Pugh CEO of Greene County Hospital, and Dennis Stripling Executive Director of West AL Regional Commission


    On Thursday, March 20, 2025, Congresswoman. Terri Sewell held a community forum from 4:00 to 5:30 PM. at the Branch Heights Community Center Gymnasium in Eutaw. This session attended by 150 people was part of her “Congress in your Community” program.
    The forum featured a panel discussion where Rep. Sewell served as the moderator, addressing the impact of budget resolutions and decisions made by the current administration under President Donald Trump.
    During the discussion,  Sewell informed the audience that President Trump and the Republican members of Congress are planning to cut as much as  $4 trillion from the Federal budget to provide a tax cut to the wealthy and well connected. 93% of the benefits of this tax cut will go to the top 1% of the taxpayers. Sewell said, “Despite the Republican promises, we know that these tax savings rarely trickle down to us. We were not invited into the rooms to negotiate this deal, which is bad for our district and our nation.”
    Sewell continued, “Among the budget cuts that Trump, Vance and Musk want to make involve the wholesale firing of a quarter or more of the Federal workforce; $240 billion from food stamps; $880 billion from Medicaid, which provides for the health care of children and the aged in nursing homes; Title I and other education funds to provide equity to the poor, disabled and underserved children.”
    Sewell said she and Congressman Shomari Figures had to hold a press conference in Montgomery, the weekend of Blood Sunday, to push Musk to take the Greyhound Bus Station, now serving as the Freedom Riders Museum off the list of Federal properties to be sold. “Our history is not for sale” she said fearlessly.
    Sewell also blasted Trump, Vance and Musk’s attempts to reduce the staff and offices of Social Security, which will lead to cuts in benefits. “Social Security is not an entitlement program. It is an earned benefit paid for by people paying into the system over a lifetime,” said the Congresswoman.

    Rep. Sewell posed the question to the panel regarding how these budget cuts would affect their respective organizations.
    Dr. Corey Jones, Superintendent of Greene County Schools, expressed his concerns about education funding being placed entirely in the hands of the state government. He voiced skepticism about whether Governor Kay Ivey and future administrations would ensure that Greene County receives its fair share of funding. ‘Our Title I funds have gone to add teachers, lower class size and respond to children with special needs, will we get a fair and comparable share of the funds, when they are controlled by the state, with no oversight and accountability,” said Superintendent Jones.


    Dr. Marcia Pugh, representing the Greene County Health System, discussed the reality that currently Medicaid reimbursement rates are much lower that actual costs which is already a hardship. If these funds are cut, more it will make it difficult for our small rural hospital to survive. “Every one of the 37 patients in our Nursing Home today, Black and White, are covered by Medicaid. If Medicaid funding is reduced, how will we be able to take care of these elderly residents, where will they go, with other facilities having the same problem. We will not be funded to take care of them,” said Pugh.


    Dennis Stripling, Executive Director of the West Alabama Regional Commission, provided an update on senior services. He noted that, for now, the three senior centers in Eutaw, Forkland, and Boligee continue to provide food for seniors. However, he highlighted the upcoming reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA), which has been in place since 1965. Rep. Sewell assured attendees that she would advocate for the renewal of the OAA, ensuring continued support for senior nutrition programs.


    Jean Rykaczweski of the West Alabama Food Bank reaffirmed her commitment to working with local farmers to provide fresh vegetables to the food bank. USDA Federal funds for these programs have already been eliminated. “We have some funds from other sources, which we plan to use to purchase fresh food items from local farmers. These foods will be distributed to various locations throughout West Alabama, helping to support families in need,” she said.
    
Rep. Sewell pledged to fight for funding and continue working to protect the interests of her constituents, against the cruel and misconceived plans of the Trump, Vance, and Musk crowd.

    Debbie Duncan provided help in writing this article

  • Kickoff held for $6 million Sports Complex at Greene County High School

    This past Saturday morning, May 4, 2024, Dr. Corey Jones, Superintendent of Greene County School Board held a public kickoff celebration for the construction of a $6 million Sports Complex to serve the students and residents of Greene County.

    The Sports Complex will include three phases. Phase 1 includes a Football Field with bleachers, lighting, a press box, entrance plaza, which will be surrounded by a running track and broad jump and pole-vaulting areas for Track and Field, toilets, and a concession area. Phase 2 will construct a Football Fieldhouse with home and visitors dressing areas. Phase 3 will include a Softball and Baseball Complex, with toilets and concession stand.

    The Greene County Board of Education, with help from our state legislative delegation of Senator Bobby Singleton and Representative Curtis Travis, secured $1.1 million, from the Lieutenant Governor’s Discretionary Fund for Educational Capital Projects, to begin Phase 1 of the project this year. The Board has established a “Sport Complex Committee” of community leaders and volunteers to give advice and help to raise funds for the project.

    At the Kickoff celebration, there were several large placards with drawings of the potential elements of the Sports Complex. One of which we have photographed and included with this news story.

    Superintendent Jones explained the project at the Kickoff celebration. He was joined by Eutaw Mayor Latasha Johnson , Coach James E. Morrow, from the City Council of Boligee, Representative Curtis Travis and Board President, Leo Branch of the Greene County Board of Education, in giving greetings and support for the project. The Greene County High School Band and Cheer-Leaders performed several musical and dance numbers.

    The initial $1.1 million will be spent on preparing the football field, constructing the track and field areas, and as much of the other facilities that the funds can be stretched to purchase. McKee and Associates of Montgomery, an architecture firm with experience designing schools and school facilities, has been contracted to provide architectural design and inspection services. Contractors will be asked to bid on elements of the project.

    The Sports Complex Committee has been meeting regularly to discuss strategies to raise private funds from citizens, organizations, churches, business, and other sources to help match public funds that may become available for the project.

    Leo Branch, President of the Greene County School Board, commented, “We want to have a way for everyone, from the smallest donors to the largest, to participate in helping to build this project. We plan to sell bricks or stones, which will be engraved with the names of donors, to construct walkways at the Sports Complex. We also want to offer large corporations that operate in our communities, like Love’s Truckstop, RockTenn, Alabama Power, Consolidated Catfish, Black Warrior Electric, Colonial Pipeline and others, the naming rights on the football field, buildings, and other facilities at the Sports Complex.”

    Anyone interested in supporting the Sport Complex Committee may contact the Greene County Board of Education and Superintendent Corey Jones, at 220 Main Street, Eutaw, Al 35462, phone 205-372-3109.

     

  • Superintendent Carter gives overview of school improvement plan

    Since his tenure as Superintendent of Greene County Schools, Dr. James H. Carter, Sr. has focused on creating a culture of caring and commitment which results in academic and career achievement and readiness for all students. Although the Alabama State Department of Education has recently listed two of Greene County’s schools on the failing schools list, this was not the driving force for Dr. Carter’s plan of initiating different and more intense approaches for reaching student achievement goals.
    According to Superintendent Carter, “ Noting the need to advance academically and remove Robert Brown Middle School and Greene County High from the failing schools list, each school has created an instructional plan of action that provides solutions necessary to enhance progress on the summative assessments provided by the Alabama State Department of Education.
    “The implementation of these plans of action will be monitored and assessed periodically for the purpose of improving student achievement. Now, the expectation is that teachers will formulate professional learning communities and incorporate strategies that engage all students.
    Further, students should receive more open-ended questions that encourage critical thinking, exposure to various types of reading passages, more math problem-solving questions, experiments in STEM and science, and hands-on learning experiences in all subject areas,” he stated.
    Superintendent explained that new initiatives often take time to grow the commitment and buy-in of all the components, “ Every school has its own narrative. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as stakeholders, students and teachers’ engagement, academic data, the trends and issues impacting the school and the kinds of programs and services that each school implements to support student learning. These variables indicated embody the school’s culture, but also exemplify how well the professional learning community works together,” he said.
    Dr. Carter explained that his role is to assist with enhancing the school system’s overall academic culture. “I am aware that this mission cannot be an individual stance. I am continuously promoting professional development and collaboration among parents, students, leaders and educators. Even now, I am organizing safe parameters to merge communities and organizations, collect data, formulate action steps, enhance trust, and stimulate conversations,” he said.